Zeo
opened the door of his bedroom and peered down the hall. Everyone was
asleep–Barret was snoring loudly somewhere to his right.
"I
have to get out of here," he said, staring down the
corridor.
Cloud's eyes widened. He opened his mouth to say
something, but nothing came out.
"You had this huge green and
gold sword in your hand," Tifa avoided his gaze, "and you were
wearing gold armor. And your eyes...were green."
Zeo crept
up the hall, looking at the last door of the walkway which stood
slightly ajar. He faintly heard Tifa's voice, then a low
male's:
"Tifa..."
"Tifa..." Cloud's blue eyes
flickered. He bowed his head: "It was my clone."
They lay in
silence for a few moments, then Tifa spoke up again.
"Aeris did
say one thing before she died."
"What?"
"...'Ultimate
Sacrifice'."
Zeo shook his head, passing the doorway and
creeping down the stairs.
"I shouldn't have stayed here for so
long...I've put her in danger." He crossed the dark lobby,
heedless of the single yellow eye that watched him from the lounge
area. "Goodbye, Tifa."
Cloud looked away from Tifa.
"What
was that?"
"What was what?" she blinked.
"I heard a
door close," he got up, moving to the room door and peering out
into the hallway. Tifa joined him. Red XIII climbed up the stairs,
looking over his shoulder at the first floor landing.
"That was
strange..." he grumbled.
"What was?" Cloud asked.
"Ahh!"
Nanaki jumped and looked up at them.
"What's wrong,
Nanaki?" Tifa whispered.
"That kid–Zeo–I just saw him go
out the front door."
Cloud and Tifa glanced at one another.
"Did
he say anything?" Cloud asked the creature.
Red nodded: "He
said something about putting someone in danger, and then he said
goodbye to Tifa just as he walked out."
"He's going back to
fight the clones," Tifa lowered her eyes to the floor.
"Idiot,"
Cloud shook his head.
Zeo looked back at the receding Inn once
before running up the mountain trail. Sudden footsteps on the path
told him something was now in pursuit. He pulled out his bow staff
and stopped quickly, almost making the figure slam into him. It leapt
over his head, unsheathing a long, gold and blue lance.
"Marione..."
he murmured.
"Pleased to see you remember who I am," Cid's
clone hissed, his green mako eyes flashing. Zeo twirled the bow staff
and charged the clone. Marione charged too, knocking the staff away
and slicing at him with the gold blade. Zeo winced, rasing his hands
up and calling upon the great six-winged BahamutZERO. The power beam
struck Marione and made the ground around them quake. Zeo shielded
his eyes from the harsh glare. There was a pause and all of a sudden
Cid's figure leapt toward him, drawing back a powered-up fist.
"I
am not as easy as Ryan!"
"Zeo!" Tifa shouted, knocking him
out of the way. Marione stumbled and turned to see what had happened
when Cloud's huge Ultima Sword found its way deep into his chest.
He blinked, looking up at the blond.
"Surprise," Cloud
snarled, twisting the blade inward. A line of blood seeped out from
the corner of Marione's mouth and he pulled away, the thick blade
sliding out of him with a sickening noise. He stumbled back, leaning
against his own Venus Gospel and looked again to Tifa and Zeo who
were both getting to their feet.
"Kenya, you just gonna stand
there and watch!" he growled. Cloud, Tifa, and Zeo turned to look
at the dark red animal which padded up from behind the wounded clone
and glared.
"You seemed to be handling the situation quite
well."
"Get the girl! I'll hold them off!"
With a
snarl, Red XIII's clone sprang onto Tifa and Zeo, knocking the boy
aside. Tifa yelped as Kenya grabbed her wrist in his teeth and threw
her to te ground. He stood over her growling loudly and baring his
fangs.
"Tifa!" Cloud ran to help her, but Marione knocked him
aside. The mercenary scrambled back just as the clone dove at him,
spear extended. Zeo swung around and knocked Kenya on the back of the
head. The creature threw its head up and roared–more in anger than
pain. Tifa slid out from under the enraged animal, cradling her
wounded wrist in her other hand. Zeo picked her up and nudged her
toward the trail.
"Run and get help!"
She hesitated,
looking at Cloud and Marione. "But I can–"
"Tifa!" Red
XIII howled. She looked back to see Nanaki dart past her and slam his
duplicate to the ground. Almost at once, they got back up and lunged
at each other.
"Tifa, go back!" Cloud grunted, throwing
Marione away. Cid's clone stumbled, then abandoned his fight and
instead dove for the girl.
"She's coming with us!"
Cait
Sith came from their left and smashed a fist into the clone's face.
Marione fell aside, groaning in pain. Red XIII and Kenya stood as
still as statues, glaring heatedly at one another.
"Cait Sith!"
Tifa blinked as the stuffed mog stood protectively before her.
"What?
I'm a cat–I have excellent hearing," he smiled, then focused
his attention on Marione. The clone got to his feet, coughing up a
few spatters of blood.
"You will so pay for that," he
spat.
"You leave her alone!" Cait Sith meowed wildly, swelling
in size. A bright flash of light surrounded the pinkish animal and he
curled his fists up, getting ready to throw...dice.
"Huh?"
Tifa blinked. "This is new!"
Cait Sith threw the white
cubes high into the air, making everyone look up. He created a spell
in his paws and held it until it began to hum. The dice fell back to
the ground, landing on the numbers four and six. He hissed and threw
the ball of energy up into the air next. It glinted, bore down on
Cid's clone, and exploded upon impact. The spirit of the Grim
Reaper rose from the light, his scythe slung over one bony shoulder,
his toothy grin flickering eerily. With a powerful swing, Marione
fell dead and the attack vanished. Everyone turned to look at Cait
Sith, who blushed and danced around a bit.
"Roulette–like
it?"
"That'll come in handy," Cloud blinked.
"Hey,
wait! Come back here!" Nanaki howled. The others turned to see
the imposter creature rush up the mountain trail. Tifa clenched the
fist of her wounded arm and ran after him.
"Tifa!" Zeo
cried.
"I've got him!" she hollered back, rushing up after
the red animal.
They all watched as she disappeared around a bend
after Kenya and shook their heads. Cloud groaned and sat on the cold
rock beside the still figure of Marione. He lay his sword to the side
and looked at the body.
"Well, that's–"
He cut himself
off. Red noticed the abrupt silence, and turned to
Cloud.
"What?"
Cait Sith looked down to where he was and
made a face: "Eww!"
"Is that blood!" Nanaki sniffed at
the corpse delicately. Cloud got down on one knee beside Marione's
corpse and put a hand in the dark liquid staining the mountain trail.
Zeo looked from over his shoulder as well.
"Zeo," Cloud turned
to him, "how real are these clones?"
"Real enough," Cait
Sith retorted.
"Almost exactly the same," Zeo answered.
"Why,
'almost'?" Cloud asked.
"Because they've been
genetically programmed to thrive off mako energy," the white-haired
boy replied.
"Just like SOLDIERs..." Cloud mumbled.
"Think
you understand it, Cloud?" Nanaki nudged his leg.
"Yeah,"
the blond responded, standing up. "They need mako energy to
survive. Take away the mako...and they die."
"Why are you
chasing me!" Kenya growled.
"Because you have the answers I
need!" Tifa gasped back. With a snarl, he broke from the path and
leapt into the heart of the mountain range. She stopped and watched
his ascent for a few seconds, then ran around to the caves and the
bridge which led up to the old Mako Reactor.
Kenya dodged past a
few shadows on his right and looked back to see if the girl was still
chasing him. He couldn't see her, but he could smell the sweat and
blood on her skin. His one green eye darted around quickly, searching
for her. She leapt from one of the forgotten paths on his left and
tackled him. They tumbled through the dirt and rocks, Tifa landing
sprawled atop him. Kenya growled, panting for breath as she held
herself up with her arms, gasping.
"I don't want to hurt
you..."
He snarled and twisted out from beneath her, crouching
to attack. She held up her hands defenselessly, never taking her eyes
from his face. Kenya pounced on her, making her head slam into the
hard-packed dirt. She cried out but didn't move to retaliate. The
creature sniffed her for a few more seconds, then moved off of her
and turned away.
"Hojo sent us to bring you back."
"Back
where?" she groaned, sitting up and rubbing her head.
"Where
the last Ancient sacrificed themselves to Meteor."
"Aeris?"
"The
city where the Cetra dwelt–the key to the Promise Land."
"The
City of Ancients was home to the Cetra," Tifa thought aloud. "But
why would Hojo be there?"
"I can tell you no more. I must
return before I die here."
"Are you wounded?"
Kenya
looked back at her, his one good eye roving over her figure to her
face. It showed genuine concern. He grinned half-heartedly.
"We
are one in the same. Those which fight for good, become evil. But
those who were neutral, remain so."
"'One in the same'? I
still don't get that," she blinked.
"You no longer have
to worry about me," Kenya assured. "However, there are some who
still hunt you. Return to the City of the Ancients, and there you
shall find all your answers."
With a final glance at Tifa, Kenya
nodded and bounded up the mountain pass. She watched him
go.
"Tifa!" Cloud hollered. She got up and turned to see him
and Zeo running up the trail to reach her. She smiled, walking back
down to meet them.
"Where did it go! Are you hurt!" Zeo
yelped.
"Are you alright?" Cloud panted.
Tifa shook her
head, looking up to where the creature had disappeared into the
night.
"Cloud, Zeo...we need to have a talk."
