Staring Into Oblivion
By: Jenosavel
The air around her was cold enough to freeze her blood, but the numbing effect it had on Jenosavel would have been welcomed to the girl had she been aware of it. Thoughts no longer flickered through her mind, and her feet moved of their own accord as she followed Sephiroth through a dank passage towards daylight. With each hollow step, her conscious mind wavered, receding further into the dark recesses of her mind, further away from the pain, and closer to something else.
It throbbed there unseen in the blackness of her memories and she reached out to it. To escape the pain she would hide here, would remain hidden in this darkness until the pain was forgotten. As she touched it though, the beating ceased and she was overcome with wild images that forced her from her safe corner.
She clutched her head in agony. The pain that arrested her movement and doubled her over wasn't a physical one. It was the same pain she'd felt from that man. Thoughts were forced to come now, as Jenosavel frantically tried to put together what had happened.
Memories she didn't recognize flooded her mind. Hundreds of thousands of years played out. Pride, joy, service, pain, separation. The story, told by images, emotions, and snippets of thoughts, charged ahead with no reguard for the passenger it carried along.
Slowly, Jenosavel's fear melted away as a recognition sparked within her. Little by little, the events she was witnessing became familiar, until she was certain that everything she was seeing had been seen before. Though she couldn't recall much beyond what she was viewing at any one instant, she was certain that she had seen this before, that she had lived this before. As such, she became entranced in the tale. The emotions it fed her were her own emotions, the thoughts, her thoughts. She felt her anticipation building when suddenly the feed of information disintegrated.
As quickly as it had started, the story crumbled.
Shivering from the cold for the first time, Jenosavel sank to her knees. She was certain she knew what had happened next, but no matter how she tried, she couldn't recall the event. Everything was a blur in her memory, but despite the fact, thoughts burst from the muddled mess.
Why had he done this? She would make him pay, would make her pay too. The both of them must have planned this together, but she would see to it that neither of them would get away with it.
"Are you alright, sister?" a voice asked somewhere near her. She only vaguely recognized the sound of the words as another fleeting thought raced through her mind. Great, now some one else was here to see her imperfection. Imperfection? Yes, she was no longer worthy of her lineage, no longer worthy to be heir to the power that was her birthright.
The thought was gone before it could take hold, replaced by anger. She'd prove them wrong. She'd prove her worth! She'd prove... what? Who was "she"?
Jenosavel's thoughts became as liquid as water, running between her fingers before she could catch them. Maybe if she could only press her hands to the sides of her head hard enough they'd stop escaping. The futile hope didn't last long as her mind began whirling again.
"Sister, I am here. There is nothing to fear.
That voice again. This time she recognized it as her brother. Why had he brought her here? Couldn't he just leave her alone to die in what little peace she could scrape together? The thought hit her hard. Denied her succession right, she would die. She felt her body meet solidly with the ground as rage tore through her.
It summoned an image to her mind, a face. The man who had named her.
It was all his fault. If that man hadn't tampered where he didn't belong, none of this would have happened. What would have happened? Her thoughts began to lose their meaning. She knew these things were true, yet she could no longer recall the events that had placed them in her head. What had he done to her? Was this why she was inferior now? What was happening to her?
"He's a human," Sephiroth whispered to Jenosavel, kneeling down beside her collapsed form. "It's their fault that Mother abandoned you. You should make them pay."
Her rage swelled again, wiping out the little ability to reason she had managed to gather. Maybe if these humans, these truly inferior beings, would go away, maybe then Mother would come back. Maybe she could yet prove that she was not a failure.
"They have hurt me as well, Sister, and that is why I have a way to make them pay," Sephiroth's voice was calculating, malevolently sweet. "The ultimate punishment we can bestow upon the humans, the great Meteor. No one on this planet can summon it alone, but you, you my dear sister, may indeed be powerful enough."
Sephiroth grinned, turning Jenosavel's face up and adding as an afterthought, "Perhaps Mother just does not understand the extent of your power. Prove to her of what you are capable."
A glimmer of grim hope ripped away the last bit of control left in her. Jenosavel raised her head, her inhuman eyes burning with human tears. Seeing in her brother's hand a dark black orb, she held out her hand. It was time.
"What is that thing?" Goku demanded.
"The ultimate destructive magic, Meteor," Cloud answered. He must have misjudged the power of Sephiroth's time spell, if Meteor was already so close to the planet. They would have to hurry.
"What are we gonna do?" Barret asked. "Aeris aint here, and without her we aint got no way to stop Meteor!"
"The White materia may not have even been created yet," Vincent reminded his friend.
"We'll find a way to stop Sephiroth," Cloud stated. He didn't doubt the fact, regardless of whether or not he knew how at the moment. "We also need to know if we're going to have Holy's help this time. It may already be too late for the spell, but we still need to try."
Cloud looked around at the slated gray stone they were standing on. If he judged correctly, someday the Ancient's city would be built near here or was already there. It would be the best place to begin a search for the white materia.
"We'll split into two groups," Cloud began. "Those who can fly come with me and prepare to battle Sephiroth. Those on foot scour the area for the white materia. Don't come after us until you've either found it or are damned certain it's not around yet."
A few nods, and Cloud burst into the air. Better plans would take time, and time was what they didn't have right now. Grimacing and feeling rage ripple through him, he barreled towards the mountain peak over which Meteor hung.
Sephiroth would not live to see it fall.
Sitting alone atop the highest peak of the massive, snowcapped mountains, Jenosavel traced a finger over the black bauble she was holding. Occasionally violet engery arched through its liquid depths, but the solitary streaks were nothing like the storm that had cooked up when she'd first tried to use the materia.
That was what it was called, materia. She knew a great deal now that she hadn't before, though what exactly had just happened in the mountain crevasse she couldn't recall. Sephiroth hadn't even needed to instruct her on how to use this dark artifact, and had left as soon as he'd seen she was successful.
Using materia was as simple as drawing one's spirit through the tiny sphere. It formed the energy into a specific pattern, creating a spell. In fact, had the tight pattern this materia had created been any less complex, Jenosavel was sure that she could have created it on her own. As it was, though, they were reliant on this materia, and this materia was special. It required far greater amounts of energy than any normal human could supply. Even her brother, with his vastly superior spirit, would be unable to complete the spell. It was likely that there was no living creature capable of doing it on their own.
The first thing she'd learned to do, however, was to gather and use energy from around her. It had been simple to draw energy to herself and use that to power the materia in place of her own. In addition to summoning the avenging spell, the experience of handling so much energy at once had been rewarding in and of itself. Little by little, she was learning to extend her senses. She could feel energy at a greater distance and with a bit more detail than previously, and she was able to keep a greater amount of it under her control now.
She would prove to Mother that she was not the weak, worthless creature she had been made out to be.
Jerking her head up, Jenosavel set down the materia she'd been caressing. Her senses had indeed extended, and now she could feel energy approaching her. It was near already, proof of how much more experience she yet needed, but she did have enough time to rise to her feet before the group came into sight.
It was the boy who had helped her.
Not wishing to harm him, especially after the malice she'd already shown in return for his aid, Jenosavel eyed the group warily. The boy was not alone. He traveled with the red-cloaked man and the one who'd attacked her. The group set her off balance.
"I suggest you return to whereever it is you came from," Jenosavel began.
"We won't leave until Meteor is stopped," Cloud answered. "I won't let the planet be destroyed."
"You need to be punished for your crimes against us," She replied smoothly, a little heat rising in her voice. "Humans have destroyed all that was dear to us, they will not go unpunished."
"We haven't done anything!" Goku protested. "What are you talking about?"
"Feign ignorance all you like," Jenosavel sneered. "It won't change anything."
It was then that a small wind began to pick up on the mountain peak. Rustling the clothing of those gathered and tugging at Cloud's cape, it grew until small streaks of green could be seen in swirling with it. Enveloping the fair-haired girl, it lifted her feet from the ground.
Cloud's eyes narrowed as he caught sight of the black materia still resting on the ground. It made sense that Sephiroth would use her to summon Meteor. As much as he had tried to befriend this creature in the past, he knew they would have to go through her to get at Meteor.
Taking his black sword from its place on his back, he prepared himself. It looked like his new blade's first battle was about to begin. It, like himself, had nothing left of its former self. No, it could no longer be called Ultima. This weapon reflected his own heart, and needed a name suiting to that.
Cloud smirked. Oblivion's first battle would be a worthy one.
By: Jenosavel
The air around her was cold enough to freeze her blood, but the numbing effect it had on Jenosavel would have been welcomed to the girl had she been aware of it. Thoughts no longer flickered through her mind, and her feet moved of their own accord as she followed Sephiroth through a dank passage towards daylight. With each hollow step, her conscious mind wavered, receding further into the dark recesses of her mind, further away from the pain, and closer to something else.
It throbbed there unseen in the blackness of her memories and she reached out to it. To escape the pain she would hide here, would remain hidden in this darkness until the pain was forgotten. As she touched it though, the beating ceased and she was overcome with wild images that forced her from her safe corner.
She clutched her head in agony. The pain that arrested her movement and doubled her over wasn't a physical one. It was the same pain she'd felt from that man. Thoughts were forced to come now, as Jenosavel frantically tried to put together what had happened.
Memories she didn't recognize flooded her mind. Hundreds of thousands of years played out. Pride, joy, service, pain, separation. The story, told by images, emotions, and snippets of thoughts, charged ahead with no reguard for the passenger it carried along.
Slowly, Jenosavel's fear melted away as a recognition sparked within her. Little by little, the events she was witnessing became familiar, until she was certain that everything she was seeing had been seen before. Though she couldn't recall much beyond what she was viewing at any one instant, she was certain that she had seen this before, that she had lived this before. As such, she became entranced in the tale. The emotions it fed her were her own emotions, the thoughts, her thoughts. She felt her anticipation building when suddenly the feed of information disintegrated.
As quickly as it had started, the story crumbled.
Shivering from the cold for the first time, Jenosavel sank to her knees. She was certain she knew what had happened next, but no matter how she tried, she couldn't recall the event. Everything was a blur in her memory, but despite the fact, thoughts burst from the muddled mess.
Why had he done this? She would make him pay, would make her pay too. The both of them must have planned this together, but she would see to it that neither of them would get away with it.
"Are you alright, sister?" a voice asked somewhere near her. She only vaguely recognized the sound of the words as another fleeting thought raced through her mind. Great, now some one else was here to see her imperfection. Imperfection? Yes, she was no longer worthy of her lineage, no longer worthy to be heir to the power that was her birthright.
The thought was gone before it could take hold, replaced by anger. She'd prove them wrong. She'd prove her worth! She'd prove... what? Who was "she"?
Jenosavel's thoughts became as liquid as water, running between her fingers before she could catch them. Maybe if she could only press her hands to the sides of her head hard enough they'd stop escaping. The futile hope didn't last long as her mind began whirling again.
"Sister, I am here. There is nothing to fear.
That voice again. This time she recognized it as her brother. Why had he brought her here? Couldn't he just leave her alone to die in what little peace she could scrape together? The thought hit her hard. Denied her succession right, she would die. She felt her body meet solidly with the ground as rage tore through her.
It summoned an image to her mind, a face. The man who had named her.
It was all his fault. If that man hadn't tampered where he didn't belong, none of this would have happened. What would have happened? Her thoughts began to lose their meaning. She knew these things were true, yet she could no longer recall the events that had placed them in her head. What had he done to her? Was this why she was inferior now? What was happening to her?
"He's a human," Sephiroth whispered to Jenosavel, kneeling down beside her collapsed form. "It's their fault that Mother abandoned you. You should make them pay."
Her rage swelled again, wiping out the little ability to reason she had managed to gather. Maybe if these humans, these truly inferior beings, would go away, maybe then Mother would come back. Maybe she could yet prove that she was not a failure.
"They have hurt me as well, Sister, and that is why I have a way to make them pay," Sephiroth's voice was calculating, malevolently sweet. "The ultimate punishment we can bestow upon the humans, the great Meteor. No one on this planet can summon it alone, but you, you my dear sister, may indeed be powerful enough."
Sephiroth grinned, turning Jenosavel's face up and adding as an afterthought, "Perhaps Mother just does not understand the extent of your power. Prove to her of what you are capable."
A glimmer of grim hope ripped away the last bit of control left in her. Jenosavel raised her head, her inhuman eyes burning with human tears. Seeing in her brother's hand a dark black orb, she held out her hand. It was time.
"What is that thing?" Goku demanded.
"The ultimate destructive magic, Meteor," Cloud answered. He must have misjudged the power of Sephiroth's time spell, if Meteor was already so close to the planet. They would have to hurry.
"What are we gonna do?" Barret asked. "Aeris aint here, and without her we aint got no way to stop Meteor!"
"The White materia may not have even been created yet," Vincent reminded his friend.
"We'll find a way to stop Sephiroth," Cloud stated. He didn't doubt the fact, regardless of whether or not he knew how at the moment. "We also need to know if we're going to have Holy's help this time. It may already be too late for the spell, but we still need to try."
Cloud looked around at the slated gray stone they were standing on. If he judged correctly, someday the Ancient's city would be built near here or was already there. It would be the best place to begin a search for the white materia.
"We'll split into two groups," Cloud began. "Those who can fly come with me and prepare to battle Sephiroth. Those on foot scour the area for the white materia. Don't come after us until you've either found it or are damned certain it's not around yet."
A few nods, and Cloud burst into the air. Better plans would take time, and time was what they didn't have right now. Grimacing and feeling rage ripple through him, he barreled towards the mountain peak over which Meteor hung.
Sephiroth would not live to see it fall.
Sitting alone atop the highest peak of the massive, snowcapped mountains, Jenosavel traced a finger over the black bauble she was holding. Occasionally violet engery arched through its liquid depths, but the solitary streaks were nothing like the storm that had cooked up when she'd first tried to use the materia.
That was what it was called, materia. She knew a great deal now that she hadn't before, though what exactly had just happened in the mountain crevasse she couldn't recall. Sephiroth hadn't even needed to instruct her on how to use this dark artifact, and had left as soon as he'd seen she was successful.
Using materia was as simple as drawing one's spirit through the tiny sphere. It formed the energy into a specific pattern, creating a spell. In fact, had the tight pattern this materia had created been any less complex, Jenosavel was sure that she could have created it on her own. As it was, though, they were reliant on this materia, and this materia was special. It required far greater amounts of energy than any normal human could supply. Even her brother, with his vastly superior spirit, would be unable to complete the spell. It was likely that there was no living creature capable of doing it on their own.
The first thing she'd learned to do, however, was to gather and use energy from around her. It had been simple to draw energy to herself and use that to power the materia in place of her own. In addition to summoning the avenging spell, the experience of handling so much energy at once had been rewarding in and of itself. Little by little, she was learning to extend her senses. She could feel energy at a greater distance and with a bit more detail than previously, and she was able to keep a greater amount of it under her control now.
She would prove to Mother that she was not the weak, worthless creature she had been made out to be.
Jerking her head up, Jenosavel set down the materia she'd been caressing. Her senses had indeed extended, and now she could feel energy approaching her. It was near already, proof of how much more experience she yet needed, but she did have enough time to rise to her feet before the group came into sight.
It was the boy who had helped her.
Not wishing to harm him, especially after the malice she'd already shown in return for his aid, Jenosavel eyed the group warily. The boy was not alone. He traveled with the red-cloaked man and the one who'd attacked her. The group set her off balance.
"I suggest you return to whereever it is you came from," Jenosavel began.
"We won't leave until Meteor is stopped," Cloud answered. "I won't let the planet be destroyed."
"You need to be punished for your crimes against us," She replied smoothly, a little heat rising in her voice. "Humans have destroyed all that was dear to us, they will not go unpunished."
"We haven't done anything!" Goku protested. "What are you talking about?"
"Feign ignorance all you like," Jenosavel sneered. "It won't change anything."
It was then that a small wind began to pick up on the mountain peak. Rustling the clothing of those gathered and tugging at Cloud's cape, it grew until small streaks of green could be seen in swirling with it. Enveloping the fair-haired girl, it lifted her feet from the ground.
Cloud's eyes narrowed as he caught sight of the black materia still resting on the ground. It made sense that Sephiroth would use her to summon Meteor. As much as he had tried to befriend this creature in the past, he knew they would have to go through her to get at Meteor.
Taking his black sword from its place on his back, he prepared himself. It looked like his new blade's first battle was about to begin. It, like himself, had nothing left of its former self. No, it could no longer be called Ultima. This weapon reflected his own heart, and needed a name suiting to that.
Cloud smirked. Oblivion's first battle would be a worthy one.