Final Fantasy VII

Emerald Princess of Vernea

Chapter Thirty-Six

It wasn't too long before everything was finally ready and the Junon Cargo Ship finally set sail and headed off across the waters that would lead them to the other continent. It left behind Junon and Midgar far behind, and it within twenty to thirty minutes of sailing the continent could no longer be seen, and the only thing that surrounded the boat was ocean, carrying the Shinra and passengers that were hidden beneath its decks.

Heidegger and Rufus were completely unaware of the presence of Cloud and his friends on board the ship, believing they had left them far behind on the continent they had just left. Little did they know that they were in fact on that very ship with them, walking around freely amongst the rest of the crew as though they were part of the Shinra themselves.

Cloud eventually stepped out from behind the crates, reluctantly clipping his helmet back into place, but at least he'd been able to sit without it for a while, and kept the visor up. They'd been sailing for a good while now, but it would still be a good while before the other continent came into view and they could go ashore. Even though Red XIII had gone off in his own disguise, Cloud decided it would be a good idea to check up on the others and make sure they were all doing all right in blending in with the Shinra.

Yuffie was the first person he spotted, probably because she was so easy to recognise. She was standing between a pile of crates near to where Cloud was, bent over and her head hidden, making a very peculiar growling and groaning sound. As Cloud walked over to her he immediately saw what was wrong with her – her face was sickly pale and her hands were trembling. She spotted Cloud nearby and looked at him, before looking away again. Cloud looked on in sympathy. Travel sickness truly was a terrible thing to have, and terrible to combat once it started.

"Urrrgh…" she groaned, putting a hand on her stomach. "This is why… I hate ships. Hey, Cloud. You have any 'Tranquillisers'?"

Cloud shook his head. "Nope."

"Ugh, you don't have any?" Yuffie said. She turned back to the looking at the floor. "…Unless it's an emergency, get away from me," she told him harshly. "Where are the others? I dunno. Aren't they hiding somewhere around here? How should I know? Ugh… urk……"

Even as she fell down onto her knees on the verge of throwing up onto the ship floor, she continued to mumble to herself almost deliriously. The travel sickness was really getting to her head. Cloud knew why it was affecting her so bad – it was because she didn't have anything to do to keep her mind occupied and off the movement of the ship as it travelled over the water. If there was something for her to do other than sit and complain about how ill she felt, she would probably be fine.

Cloud left Yuffie to her travel sickness and continued to look for the others. He had to make sure he didn't look too suspicious as he headed down through the lower decks, but as he did go on he soon figured out that he would have a problem. A lot of the people wandering around were dressed the same as he was in Shinra uniforms, and with the visors down it would be impossible to tell if any of the others were in disguise or not. He spotted one Shinra soldier heading cautiously towards him, and Cloud prepared to snap the visor down before they could see him clearly.

"Umm… It's me, Aeris," the soldier said suddenly. Cloud stopped, his hand already on the visor panel. He recognised that voice. Sure enough, as the soldier lifted the visor, Cloud saw Aeris hidden behind it, looking at him almost sheepishly. She looked equally relieved to see Cloud. "Hey, Cloud. Did you see the Airship at Junon?"

Cloud nodded. "…I heard it was big, but I didn't expect it to be THAT big."

"That was REALLY something," Aeris said, her eyes looking dreamy for a moment. "Hey, do you think I could get on it?"

Cloud nodded positively. "I'll take you someday… keep hoping," he told her.

"Wow!" Aeris exclaimed. She suddenly realised how loud she had yelled and quickly covered her mouth, her eyes darting round to see if she had attracted anyone's attention. When she was she no one was looking, she lowered her voice to an excited whisper. "I'm really looking forward to it! Let's ride on the Airship together, okay? Promise, promise me!"

The way she begged him to promise her made Cloud remember the way Tifa had made him promise, all those years ago, back in Nibelheim. In fact there were a lot of similarities between Aeris and Tifa, when he thought about it. Both of them ran into danger when there wasn't a real need for them to, like when Tifa joined him and Barret on the AVALANCHE mission to destroy the No. 5 reactor, and how Aeris followed them all the way to Sector 7 and ended up getting caught by the Shinra.

Cloud and Aeris then parted ways, Aeris continuing her 'patrol' of the lower decks to stop herself from arousing suspicion. There was only one room connected to the cargo room, but a soldier Cloud figured was NOT one of his friends guarded that room. With nowhere else to look on the lower decks Cloud headed up the stairs to the upper deck.

The sea air was extremely refreshing, and the sickening uncomfortable feeling Cloud had felt whilst wearing the almost suffocating visor disappeared in the salty breeze. Cloud stayed by the door for a moment, breathing in the clear air. He leaned over the side of the deck and looked out, but all he could see was water both to the front and to the back of the ship.

Cloud stepped away from the deck and looked around for Tifa, Barret and Red XIII. Most of the people on this deck were actual sailors and not Shinra soldiers, and looking around Cloud couldn't see any of the others disguised as sailors.

At that moment his helmet gave a loud crack, and the sound rang through Cloud's ears. He turned in surprise as a small rock fell onto the floor behind him from where it had hit. Looking up Cloud saw a Shinra soldier standing on the top of the lookout tower beside him, looking down at him. At least, it looked like a Shinra soldier, until the soldier gave him a quick wave and signalled him to come up. Cloud climbed up the ladder towards the soldier, who came to attention and saluted him.

"Yes, sir!" came a female voice from behind the visor. "Everything quiet, sir!" Cloud smiled as he recognised Tifa's voice. "…But you know what?" she asked him. "I really hate this uniform. Uniform, soldiers, war. I hate 'em all. They take away all the things and people you love… I wish they'd all disappear. Right, Cloud?"

Cloud nodded slowly. "Yeah……" he told her. It was a nice thought – to have a world without the need for war. Yet somehow he figured that wouldn't happen in the near future. Still, it comforted Tifa somewhat.

"You're right!" she said. She looked around and then saluted at him again. "Uh, yes sir! I'll continue my watch, sir! Hee hee…"

Cloud saluted back at her and smiled, before heading back down the ladder towards the deck again. There was only Barret and Red XIII left to find now, and it was Barret he was most concerned about finding more than Red XIII, who would have the most difficulty in disguising himself on the ship. Who knew what Barret could be doing, on a ship filled with Shinra?

He soon spotted Red XIII, and Cloud had to stop himself from bursting out laughing. Red XIII was dressed as a Shinra soldier and was standing on the deck just outside the president's cabin. He was actually standing up on his two hind legs, trying to walk just like a human on those hind legs, but he was finding it difficult. Even as Cloud watched he was wobbling across from one side of the deck to the other, trying his hardest to stay upright. His tail was also a pain to hide, and was sticking out of the back of the uniform. Luckily, no one was taking any notice.

"………… It's me, Red XIII," Red XIII said as Cloud wandered up, trying just as hard to keep the smile off his face. Red XIII looked down at himself and his wobbly form. "I'm a little woozy, but I shouldn't get caught," he said. "Humans only look at appearances anyway. Anyway you look at it, I'd say I make a fine human being." He staggered a little and almost fell over, but just about managed to stay upright. "It's pretty hard standing on two feet…"

Cloud left Red XIII and began to search for Barret, but he was nowhere to be seen on the upper decks. He even checked with Tifa again, but she hadn't seen him anywhere since they snuck aboard the ship during the parade. With nowhere else to look Cloud went back down to the lower decks, wondering if he had missed Barret on his way up. If Barret couldn't be found that was a major problem.

The moment he came back down to the lower decks Aeris ran to him. "Hey, Cloud," she said, her voice anxious. "Did you see Barret?" The look on Cloud's face told her the answer, and she shook her head. "I hope he's not doing something stupid…"

Cloud was just as worried as she was. Barret's temper was so volatile where the Shinra were concerned, and they didn't really want to make their presence known to the Shinra on a ship while it was in the middle of nowhere. He left Aeris and moved back to the upper decks, becoming increasingly concerned as to where Barret was. There was only one place on the ship he hadn't checked, and that was right at the front of the ship.

As Cloud walked as casually as he could to the front of the ship, he quickly spotted Barret. He was dressed in a sailor's outfit, and he looked very out of place, especially with his gun-arm in the way. He was standing by the window of the president's cabin, peeking through at Heidegger and Rufus as they stood talking in the middle of the cabin, in plain view of Barret. Barret heard Cloud approaching and spun round, his arm ready, but when he saw it was Cloud he relaxed and gestured to the window.

"Look, Cloud," he said harshly, and Cloud recognised the familiar tone of hatred in his voice that Priscilla had. "It's Rufus and Heidegger. They're this close but we can't do a thing to 'em…"

Cloud walked up beside Barret and looked through with him. He could see Heidegger talking to Rufus. He suddenly laughed heartily, despite Rufus's clear irritation. The moment Heidegger began to laugh Barret's face fumed until it was purple, hardly able to contain his rage.

"Ummmm…… Gmmmmm……" he snarled under his breath as he glared at Heidegger's fat, laughing mug. "How can he…… Goin' off laughin' like that? Because of him, Biggs…… Wedge…… Jessie……!" He growled fiercely. Suddenly he turned round and ran to the edge of the boat, shaking his fist angrily. "God!!" he yelled. "I can't take it anymore! I'm gonna settle things here and now……"

Cloud was about to protest to Barret when all of a sudden an alarm began to ring loudly on every inch of the ship. The alarm rang loud and clear, making everyone on the ship freeze to the spot and fall silent. Moments later a voice began to boom out over the speakers, just over the sound of the alarm.

"Emergency alert! Reports of a suspicious character found! Those not on detail, search the ship. Report when found! I repeat. Suspicious character found on board! Those not on detail, search the ship. Report when found!"

Rufus and Heidegger left the cabin immediately after the alarm sounded, Rufus being ushered off to a safer area of the ship. With them gone Barret and Cloud around anxiously as the alarm continued to sound around them, wondering if they had somehow been spotted despite their efforts.

"Damn, did they find us!?" Barret demanded. He stopped for a moment and scratched his head, thinking about what the alarm had said. "Hey, that don't seem like us," he said. "Do they mean… Tifa and the others!?" He jumped up and turned to Cloud. "Get off your spiky butt and let's go, Cloud!"

The two turned and dashed off back to the main part of the upper deck. They were surprised to find all of the ship personnel gone, they were probably all on the lower decks searching for the suspicious character. One thing they did notice however, were that the others were all running onto the upper decks, and they all met up in the centre of the deck.

"Everyone all right!?" called Tifa.

"You all right!?" said Barret in turn.

They all fell silent for a moment as they looked around at one another. Each and every one of them was present and correct, even Yuffie, who had managed to pry herself away from her travelsick corner during the commotion.

"Huh?" Aeris asked, confused.

"Everyone's here… right?" asked Tifa.

"Hey, wait," Barret said suddenly, a realisation coming to mind. "You don't think that suspicious character is… Sephiroth!?"

Tifa jumped. "Really!?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know!?" Barret demanded angrily.

"…Let's find out," said Cloud.

One by one everyone turned and looked at him. If Sephiroth was indeed aboard the ship, then the lives of everyone aboard could be in danger, and anyone who did find him would surely be killed. That chilling thought sent shivers down everyone's spines, and they were filled with a cold dread. Until then they had just been chasing Sephiroth, but now the thought that now they were within reach of him… It scared them just a little bit.

"It's the most logical thing to do," Red XIII said, breaking the silence that had spread amongst them.

Even so, Yuffie backed off a little away from them. "N, not me…" she stammered nervously, shaking her head fiercely. "I don't even like Sephiroth anyway. And besid……ugh……urk……" Everyone watched as she covered her mouth again, before she suddenly turned and ran to the edge of the deck, finally giving in to her sickness and throwing up over the side of the ship. Cloud looked down and shook his head, when Tifa suddenly walked forward towards him.

"Take me with you!" she said to him fearlessly. She gave Cloud a smile, trying hard not to let the fear break through.

"I'm goin' too!" Barret announced, raising his gun high.

Red XIII also stepped forward. "These clothes are too tight on me," he said. "Can I switch with you?"

Cloud nodded and looked around as Aeris also stepped forward. That was pretty much everyone. It looked like they were going to face Sephiroth after all. They hurriedly discarded their Shinra disguises, everyone glad to be finally out of the stifling uniforms, and headed towards the open door leading to the lower decks. Cloud stopped for a moment and looked back at Yuffie, who was still hanging over the bar looking into the water. Shaking his head he walked over to her, grabbed her by the back of her shirt, and dragged her with him towards the lower deck, ignoring her pleas for him to stop.

As they descended down the stairs towards the lower decks, they noticed that it was unusually quiet. There was no sign of Rufus or Heidegger – in fact there was no sign of any of the ship's crew. Apart from the gentle hum of the engine and other engine sounds, there were in fact no other sounds to be heard throughout the whole ship.

They reached the bottom of the stairs and immediately saw the reason for the eerie silence. In front of them and all around them there were soldiers and sailors strewn everywhere, thrown aside like rag dolls across the crates and over the metal floor. Tifa immediately ran forward to the nearest soldier lying close to the bottom of the stairs and knelt beside him. His visor was smashed and glass had cut into his face, but as Tifa checked his neck for a pulse she gave a sigh of relief. Most of the soldiers and sailors weren't dead, thankfully, although they were badly wounded. They would probably pull through, which was a relief.

Barret moved passed the injured soldiers towards the crates, and pulled off the lid of one of them. Tifa helped him as he delved into the crate and pulled out their weapons, which had been stored in there out of sight for safekeeping. Cloud's sword, Aeris's staff, Yuffie's Shuriken, all of the weapons were safe. The three took their weapons gladly, and then turned towards the door leading to the Engine Room, and passed through.

The moment they passed through the doors into the engine room they immediately felt a strong sense of evil hanging in the air. There were more soldiers lying either dead or unconscious on the upper levels, leaving the engine completely unattended. There was but one soldier left standing at the far end of the engine room, looking away from Cloud and the others as they entered and staring at the wall.

"Is it… Sephiroth?" Cloud said aloud, his voice seeming out of place in the silence.

As the echo of his voice reverberated off the walls and began to fade, the solitary soldier slowly turned and faced them. His face was blank and expressionless, his eyes empty, and with a single line of blood tricking from the corner of his mouth. The others watched as he then fell forward helplessly onto his knees and then face down onto the floor. He was already dead.

Cloud shook his head in disbelief. "No… Not Sephiroth!"

"……After a long sleep… …the time…… time has…… come…"

All at once everyone jumped and turned their heads round and round, looking around the room for the source of the unknown voice. The voice seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at once, with nothing to indicate where it might have come from. They looked round and round, until Aeris suddenly pointed straight ahead of them to where the soldier had fallen.

"Look, Cloud!!"

Everyone turned and looked ahead to where Aeris was pointing. As they watched the floor around where the soldier had fallen began to ripple and waver slightly, and a shadowy figure slowly began to rise up from beneath it.

The moment Cloud laid eyes on that figure he felt his blood boiling inside him. It may have been five years, but he would recognise Sephiroth anywhere. He hadn't changed one bit since Cloud had last seen him, apart from the fact that his green eyes seemed tired and heavy as he hovered in the air ahead of him, his head lowered to look at the ground. Sephiroth slowly lifted his head, seeming almost weary, and looked at the group through tired eyes.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud exclaimed. "You're alive!"

Sephiroth blinked sleepily and peered closely at Cloud without even a flicker of recognition appearing in his eyes. Looking back into those same eyes, Cloud could feel the rage rising in him. It was the exact same rage that Barret felt whenever he thought about the Shinra, the same rage Priscilla felt when she thought about what the Shinra had done to the port town of Junon and its once beautiful waters. Locking gazes with Sephiroth brought back all that rage and hatred, as well as the painful memories that went with them. He could almost feel the heat of the flames again, but that was just his blood boiling in his veins. Yet with all that rage and anger, it couldn't prepare him for what Sephiroth was about to ask him.

"……Who are you?" he asked.

Cloud shook his head in complete disbelief. "You don't remember me!?" he asked back fiercely, unable to believe what he was hearing. How could he, just how could he, after all that had happened back in Nibelheim, forget who he was? His fist tightened around the handle of his sword. "I'm Cloud!"

"Cloud…" Sephiroth repeated. He looked down at the ground again and closed his eyes. The name didn't seem to strike a chord with him, but he seemed so drowsy at that particular moment that it wasn't a surprise that he couldn't remember Cloud immediately.

"Sephiroth!" Cloud yelled at him angrily, trying to get through to Sephiroth. "What are you thinking!? What are you doing!?"

Sephiroth didn't answer him, and ignored his question. Instead he began to breathe in deeply, slowly lifting his head to look up at the ceiling of the engine room. His tired eyes seemed to brighten up a little as he breathed in, the air finally waking him up to everything that was around him. It was as though he was just waking up from his 'long sleep', and finally beginning to take notice.

"…The time…… is now…" he said. Even his voice seemed awake now.

"What!? What are you saying!?" Cloud demanded, fed up with Sephiroth's nonsense. "Be more – "

He never had the chance to say anymore, because very suddenly Sephiroth flew forward with amazing speed. He zipped right past Cloud and the others with such surprising force that they were all knocked back from the sheer impact alone. Without even pausing Sephiroth turned and flew upwards towards the ceiling away from them. A bright flash followed as he neared the top of the engine room, and something dropped down towards them. Sephiroth then disappeared, leaving the group alone with the item he had dropped.

It looked somewhat like a tentacle or an arm of sorts, covered in thick flesh and seeming to have been cut from something. It was also alive, for just as the group began to climb to their feet the tentacle suddenly began to swish and flip around the floor with a mind of its own. It slowly flipped back and forth like a fish out of water, and Yuffie and Aeris were forced to back up against the wall as it slid slowly over towards them.

"That smell…" said Red XIII as he sniffed the air. He shook his head and glared furiously at the tentacle. "It is an evil smell."

Barret cautiously stood up and headed over towards the tentacle as it flopped about the floor, his gun-arm raised and ready to shoot the thing if it made any other sudden movements. As he drew closer to it Cloud began to feel a sense of apprehension and dread, as though he could feel the wicked vibes that were radiating from it. Red XIII was right. It was evil. In a flash of realisation so strong it felt as though he had been hit by a truck, Cloud suddenly looked up at Barret.

"Barret! Get back!!!" he yelled.

Barret jumped away just in time and fell against the wall. At that very moment when Cloud had called out to him, the thick, fleshy skin that covered the tentacle suddenly burst open without warning and unleashed several beams of purple-black light. Dark blood began to ooze thickly from the wound and spread slowly across the floor into a large puddle.

The skin seemed to come alive on its own, beginning to open up and unfold of its own free will. Its fleshy complexion suddenly began to bubble and burn, as though acid had been poured on it. The burning released a powerful stench into the air, and hot steam began to rise up and shroud the tentacle from view. The cloud grew taller and taller until it reached the ceiling, and a tall silhouette appeared within it. The silhouette had a large, bulky body, with a small head that turned back and forth in the cloud of steam. It finally locked its shadowy gaze on Cloud.

Cloud had been gripping onto the handle of his sword right then, watching with anger as the shadow began to rise in the steam. Yet as he felt the shadowed gaze of the creature lock gazes with him, Cloud felt an instant of hesitation. His blood ran cold only for a moment, feeling like a wave of pins and needles spreading across his body and making it ache – the sense of pure evil that radiated from this creature was incredible. Even so it lasted only a moment, and Cloud narrowed his eyes, unafraid.