Chapter 5:
Illness of Voices
Sephiroth sat back into the chair with his eyes closed and started to ponder the thought of aspirin. Her presence had finally left him, but a blur of sounds, screams, and words echoed throughout his head, a constant pounding of Cetrain language, Wutai language, and very little of common language. If he were not already deemed insane by most of the mundane world, he would have shouted the fact into the open sky. He opened his eyes for a split second and saw some shadow figure standing over him. Long hair and a long formal trench coat outlined the shadow features.
Sephiroth stared at him for the longest before the shadow man vanished into thin air. Sephiroth relaxed his tense muscles, but was still weary of what just happened. His eyes shifted to Vincent, who was absorbed into a book, lying on the couch.
Another chance... another day... It will once rain again...
Sephiroth looked around and saw the shadow figure outside the window in the streets. His arms were crossed and he stared at the sky with his smile. The smile was unnerving. A child ran by him and the shadow went unnoticed. His trenchcoat tickled the boy's face in a sense. The shadow looked upon the boy with forest green eyes that mimicked the serenity of the vast forests. He knelt down and reached his hand out to the child's head only to have it pass through. The man shifted his eyes to stare into Sephiroth's. The man just gave him this malevolent smile that could rival the grins of predators before their squirming prey. The man's long black hair was being blown in the wind. His bangs were the only different colored part being that of silver. The tips of his hair brushed against the water tower behind him. At last he stood and beckoned Sephiroth to come.
All rain upon and he will rue the day...
A desperate struggle for salvation...
I can't believe this is happening... Never have I seen something like this...
The voices boomed inside of his head. The shadow man had long disappeared and left nothing behind in his wake. Sephiroth stood up and went to get him something to drink. Things like this were more like a daily routine to him. As soon as he reached for a glass the shadow man was reflected on the glass's surface. Sephiroth turned around to face him. The man smiled and stared into Sephiroth's eyes. Then, once more the shadow figure vanished into the air. Sephiroth went back to what he was doing. He rarely paid attention to apparitions anyway.
Such a great thing to be back!
The muted people of olden times shall show these pampered children a lesson.
Sephiroth just sighed and starting sipping at the wine he just poured for himself. His eyes shifted to Vincent, who appeared to have fallen asleep under the peaceful serenity of the house. Sephiroth scoffed and paid him no attention after the quick glance. He never was a social person anyway. He now concerned himself with the bitter taste of the wine in his glass. The dark red liquid went down easy enough, but the taste dissuaded the drinker from enjoying the full pleasure of it. If somehow the taste could be eliminated, then the wine itself could completely calm his nerves.
He stood at the window, swirling the glass in his hand. The liquid threatened to jump over its barriers, but Sephiroth set it in just the right motion so that it did not. His eyes were fixated on the ground outside. He longed to go out there, but the atmosphere was not in the right set for him to do so. Finally a single drop of wine landed on his hand. He stared at it for a moment before gravity rolled it off his hand and onto the floor.
Silently watching over head was the figure. His grin described his untold excitement and eagerness. Currently he made it a point not to be seen. He floated overhead in a laying position. He always had to be comfortable with what he was doing, even if it was spying on a potential threat. He finally set himself on the ground. He held out his hand to Sephiroth in a mocking motion and laughed to himself.
Tifa sighed as she wiped off the main table at the bar. Today was a relatively slow day in comparison to recent events, but she was thankful. Ryu and Michelle were still recovering and for a while it had been only her working. Though she was grateful when Barret and Cid avidly offered to help her today. She was forced to give Cid the job of mixing drinks in back. His colorful language would have scared off the customers. It seemed his many years fixing tea had served him well for he didn't have too much trouble filling the orders.
At the moment she just hoped Sephiroth was not getting himself into trouble. That was the last thing she needed. She had not even considered telling the others about his presence. She felt it was not necessary at the time. Her head sharply to the bar door when a large wind blasted them open. This puzzled her since the doors had locking mechanisms so they didn't do that.
"Now what the hell was that!" Barret exclaimed.
Sephiroth tore into Tifa's bedroom and was tossing many clothes out of a bag that Vincent had brought him. He finally emerged with something similar to what he was looking for. It was what looked to be a traveling cloak. Vincent must have thought it something he would wear. Without another thought he threw the cloak over his form and pulled the hood over his head. Quickly as he rushed down the stairs he tucked all of his hair into the hood. He made a quick glance to Vincent to make sure he was still asleep before he slipped out the door.
He looked at his surroundings and sighed. He knew Tifa would be mad at him, but this was too serious of a matter to avoid especially when it involved the dead. He stared at the ground and made his way to the bar. He stopped near the wooden structure of the well.
"Are you sure about this?" He said to something apparently only he could hear.
"Extremely. He heads for her and you must intercept him. He must not be allowed to wreak havoc." The voice spoke to him.
"Why am I doing this again?" Sephiroth asked.
"You forget so easily…You want to get rid of her, right? That guy will lead you to her. Also, I am sure you would have preferred to rot in that mako for a while longer, wouldn't you? It can be arranged." The voice answered.
"Fine I get it!" Sephiroth retorted, grumbling under his breath.
"Language…Sephiroth." The voice responded.
Sephiroth scoffed and caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye. Through a very dirty window he could see the forms of his lifetime rival and panther like creature, which he remembered all to well. He turned and went back to his course to the bar. He slowly turned the knob to the door and entered silently. He needed not draw more attention to himself than necessary. He took a table in the very secluded part of the bar in the shadows. He saw Tifa standing behind the counter and so far she had not noticed his arrival.
Tifa looked up from her gloomy position at the counter. She had heard a new customer walk in, but didn't bother to look at them until now. He looked like an adventurer with his cloak, but the manner and aura he was given off immediately made her panic. She knew that it was Sephiroth. She was about to scream. It would not be much of a problem if were not for the fact that Barret and Cid were there. Cluttered thoughts ran through her mind as she thought how to get him out of there. How could he be so stupid? When she was about to walk over to him she saw Barret beat her to her mark.
Sephiroth appeared to stare down at the table with his legs crossed. In reality he surveying the bar for anything out of the ordinary. He kept his ears very alert for any sound that was not supposed to be there. All he could hear was the creaking of wood as someone approached.
"What exactly am I looking for? You might prove to have some worth if you did give me more than a direction." Sephiroth said.
"Hopeless… Look for signs of death. That is what his calling card is." The voice answered.
"Hello…? I said may I take your order." Barret interrupted his thoughts with not so cheerful voice.
Sephiroth smirked under his concealment. He could not help himself. He remembered this man as while and the urge was too strong. "I thought waiters were supposed to be patient and courteous?"
Barret's face went red with anger, but he maintained a calm composure and he reinstated his question with an apology.
"Water." Sephiroth replied and went back to his investigation of the vicinity.
Barret marched to the back quickly as to prevent himself from saying a few colorful words to the aristocratic bastard sitting at the table. He gave the order to Cid and sat down for a moment. He had noticed Tifa's distress from the corner of his eye, but he decided it was best not to ask at the moment. He did not need to get her customers upset as well.
The old man laughed as he peered through his glasses at his container. The man inside the container had recently started to show signs of life and movement. His hands clenched and unclenched as the laughter continued. Monitors were going haywire in the background and giving off warning signals and siren alarms.
"That's it… wake up. Your time has come!" The old man said.
The form inside the container twitched violently with his eyes closed against the restraints holding him down. His long ebony black hair swirled about him. The wisps of his bangs were a haunting color of dark silver. Finally his head turned towards the scientist and his eyes opened forcefully revealing the dark green orbs. The glass of the containers shattered allowing the mako inside to flood out onto the floor. The straps holding the man in place snapped and he fell to the floor. The scientist looked at him as the figure got to his knees and coughed. Green masses came out of his mouth as he cleared his system of the poison.
After a few minutes the figure stood up and glanced down at his hands in a drugged stare. His legs seemed unsure to support him, but did so. His eyes blinked attempting to rid themselves of the drowsiness. He stood about six feet tall and nude due to his containment. He could barely hear the sirens in the background. His eyes started to glow very dimly.
"What is your name?" The scientist finally asked. His clipboard was in hand and he had on a smile of satisfaction and pride.
The man searched the haze of his mind for an answer that seemed to be lost to him at the time. His mouth opened and he finally gave the answer. "Orpheus…" He responded in a deep aristocratic voice.
The scientist inscribed something on his clipboard. His head rose once to glance at Orpheus. "Do you remember who you were, Orpheus?"
"I am Orpheus of the Northern Continent. I am a member of the Cetra… Council. She failed. I can't believe she failed," He replied starting to ramble in his thoughts, "Blasted bitch didn't do her job. They're still here." His eyes were focused on the air as he talked. They reflected of type of insanity that would scare those with weak wills. Though, he was still out of his body.
Sephiroth held his head a piercing screams started to enter his mind. Agonizing screams of the dead. His hands held his head up the table as it threatened to collapse with the tabletop. The voices came suddenly and were all screaming too much for him to pinpoint what anyone of them was saying. He pushed them to the back of his mind somewhat.
"What is the hell is going on?" Sephiroth asked.
"Great calamity…it has awakened. The Planet it screams. It hurts! They let it out!" The voice answered.
Sephiroth looked up and saw the same ghost figure he saw earlier standing over his table. His smile widened in a malevolent manner. The figure looked to the sky and then back to Sephiroth. His eyes shifted to Tifa and the other bar attendants at the counter whose eyes were as big as saucers. Apparently Sephiroth was not the only one who could see him now.
"What the #$#!" Barret exclaimed with slight terror.
"What do you want with me?" Sephiroth questioned, standing up from the table.
"To you, I thought it would be obvious, but I guess you will figure that out." The figure said slowly and quietly. He held his hand to the ground and chanted something. "Just say good-bye to it all."
The figure disappeared just as Sephiroth lunged at him. Before he could react to anything the ground started to shake violently. In the background Sephiroth could hear Cid's cursing and the sound of glasses falling from shelves. The establishment creaked and started to buckle. He could see the walls starting to crack. There was no time to escape before the whole place would cave in.
Tifa jumped out from under the counter as it crashed down. Barret was huddled in a corner near Cid. Tifa lost her footing and fell to the ground. A support beam from the roof landed not but a foot away from her and she jumped to get out of its way, but as soon as she did she heard Barret screaming.
"Tifa watch out!" Barret screamed, but it was all too late.
Author: Sorry for the long delay, but I finally got a chapter out that hopefully moves the plot line some for you guys. I hope you enjoyed it. I will here claim that Orpheus as my own creation as for who exactly he is will be revealed later. So I will not tell. Anyway I hope you guy loved the chapter. Please leave some reviews so I can get some feedback. I apologize for any grammar or spelling mistake I was typing this up quickly to post it.