I promised a new chapter in July, you're getting it in July! :) If anyone's reading this who I should have e-mailed by now, I'm getting there! Sorry! Xp And I still haven't mastered this QuickEdit-thing...
Disclaimery stuff: Everything belongs to Square, I own nothing. Warnings for baaad language, as in swearing and typos, and boy love.
Chapter fifteen: Be very, very quiet, we're hunting Materia!
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It was an uneasy but a necessary alliance. Both sides had something the other wanted, so they had agreed to help each other through this little adventure.
As long as Elena kept in touch with Rude in Midgar once every hour, Marlene and Shera stayed alive. So Barret and Cloud couldn't harm her or Reno no matter how strong the urge. And Aeris had assured that if anything happened to her two friends, the Turks could find their own way through the Temple, and she'd make sure that the spirits of her kinfolk would make every step they took feel like hell. But the thought was in everyone's head, save Aeris':
As soon as we get out of here...
"We're here. The Materia." Aeris whispered and entered a large room which bathed in torchlight. The four who followed her lead stopped, glaring at each other. Who would get to it first? Who would get to take it out of here?
The room was high and long, but the orange torchlight made it seem smaller. The stone walls were warm in colour, even without the fire. On the long wall opposite the door were murals, ancient pictures and hieroglyphs. Aeris, mesmerized, stepped closer. Cloud was right behind her, throwing suspicious looks in the Turks' direction. But Reno and Elena were more interested in the other end of the room where they could see a low altar. Something was shining just above it.
"This..." Aeris murmured, reaching out to almost touch the wall, "this is how the Black Materia... came to be... its history..."
The Turks started to inch towards the far end of the room while the two were busy with the wall. But Barret noticed.
"Not so fast..." he growled and the two froze. But only for a moment. Reno looked at the large man over his shoulder, and grinned.
"I think it's every man for himself from here on, buddy..." the redhead said and winked. Before Barret could lift his gun-arm to shoot, the Turk had lashed out with his weapon. The electricity shot out from its tip and caught Barret's gun-arm, making him roar with pain.
Aeris barely noticed, trying to make out the writing. Cloud turned around in time to see Barret fall to his knees while the Turks ran towards the altar. The blond didn't stop to check if the leader of Avalanche was all right; he growled and started to run.
Reno had figured they'd reach the altar before the others, grab the Black Materia and... well, then they could just get rid of Avalanche and find their way out. Couldn't be too hard. Elena was maybe twenty feet from the altar, he himself not far behind her when something landed on his back and he crashed, face first, to the hard floor. The Turk and his assailant rolled a few feet with the momentum of the crash, and when he could get his eyes open again the sight was far too familiar from his nightmares.
Reno screamed.
Cloud was sitting on his chest, pinning his arms down with his legs, hands on his throat tight enough to make it hard to breathe. The blond's face was close to his, the almost childish features twisted into a grimace. Reno couldn't help but wonder if this was the last thing Tseng had seen before dying.
There was a small click, and the barrel of Elena's gun was pressed to Cloud's temple. The blue eyes shifted slightly, and Reno could see a spark of fear in them. That didn't help him much, though; the hands on his throat only tightened their grip.
"Yes, they're only tranquilizers, but want to guess what your head will look like once I shoot one from this close?" the blonde Turk hissed, her hand shaking.
Another click, a louder one, and the end of Barret's gun-arm was suddenly pointed at her head, only a foot away. "Not so fast, girl..."
"...We still have your kid, Wallace..." Elena answered, but her voice was far from threatening.
Aeris turned from the mural, sure that they had found the Black Materia. But the others weren't behind her anymore. She turned towards the far end of the room.
"...I turn my back for a moment and they start killing each other? Oh mother, give me strength..."
She moved to the next mural, checked quickly if there was anything they needed to know in it, and moved to the next.
"We're not safe yet, I suggest you get up. And no fighting each other!"
From the corner of her eye she could see them get up slowly as she moved to the next mural. When she reached the one after that, the four were all standing a few feet from each other, glaring quietly. But her gasp made them all turn to her.
"... Oh no..."
The mural in front of her was similar to the others. It had the human-like shapes of the Cetras and hieroglyphs to add to the illustrations. But in the middle of it was a huge, circular shape, looking like it was falling down from the sky.
"What is that?" Cloud asked. He was the only one who had come closer; Barret and the Turks were still glaring at each other as they listened in.
"Meteor." Aeris said and stepped closer to the wall, staring up at the large sphere. "The Black Materia summons the Meteor."
Reno whistled. "Looks pretty powerful. No wonder Sephiroth's after it... too bad he ain't gonna get it!"
"You better pray he never gets his hands on it..." Aeris said, her voice loud and clear. "Do you have any idea what the Meteor does? Why the Cetras built this temple to guard it?"
"No, but I suppose you're gonna tell me..." the redhead muttered, not too thrilled. The flower girl turned to them, her eyes once again glowing green with anger and the power of the Cetras.
"The Meteor finds small, drifting planets with its magic and collides with them. This planet might get wiped out entirely!"
That wiped away even Reno's cocky grin.
"But... why the hell would he want to destroy the whole Planet? I thought he just wanted power!" Elena shouted, looking over her shoulder as if she expected Sephiroth to appear behind her at any minute.
Reno shook his head. "He's gotta be bluffing. He just wants it to make threats. 'If you don't give me this and that, I'll summon Meteor on your asses!' Like that. No one'd be stupid enough to destroy the whole Planet."
Aeris turned to Cloud. "Do you know anything?"
"... It's Jenova who runs the show..." was all Cloud said. Reno and Elena looked a bit puzzled, knowing the name vaguely from Hojo's projects.
"Jenova's been imprisoned inside the Planet for over two millennia. It must have been driving her crazy. She must be willing to do anything to free herself. Even if it means killing everything, including herself."
"Hey, who exactly is this Jenova-chick?" Reno asked when Aeris' words had sunk in.
"Ask Hojo. He should be happy to tell you. Of course, he'll kill you for it. Or make you one of his specimens..." Cloud said, turning towards the altar. The Turks shivered at the mention of the professor but didn't let it distract them.
"What do you think you're doin', brat?" Reno more growled than spoke, stopping Cloud before he'd taken more than two steps. "The Black Materia will be leaving with us. We'll keep it away from Sephiroth."
"We'll take it." Barret said, stepping in front of the Turk. "Shin-Ra ain't worthy to spit on the Planet!"
"We can't afford to fight, not until we're out of here!" Aeris shouted when Barret and the Turks seemed ready to jump to each other's throats.
Again, Cloud was faster than the others expected. While they were shouting at each other, the clone dashed to the altar and reached out to grab the shining miniature of the Temple which floated above the altar. But his hand went straight through it, making the whole room shake. The Turks, Aeris and Barret stopped shouting and turned to him.
"What did you do?!" Aeris asked, pale as a sheet, but before Cloud could answer a roar filled the room, and a large, red dragon descended from the shadows of the ceiling.
The small cat had covered its ears with its paws while Zax and Cid seemed to compete on who could come up with the worst expletive. Cid was leading so far, but this was mostly due to the fact that he knew more of them than the Soldier did.
They had reached the Temple almost two hours ago but were still stuck outside. They had climbed the stairs up to the top and found the way in, but without the Keystone there was no way they could get the portal to open. Zax had even tried hitting the altar and anything resembling a door with rocks or his sword, but had only managed to make his arms ache.
They had started to search the rest of the Temple for another way in, but so far had found nothing. They hadn't heard anything of their friends inside, either. Only when Elena had reported to Rude once every hour, but only Cait Sith had heard that, and only because the bald Turk was watching the screens over Reeve's shoulder in Midgar.
The cat let out a small sigh, as much as a robot could sigh. It had hopped down to the lowest levels of the Temple, where the vines and other plants covered most of the walls. If there was another way in, maybe a secret passage, this would be an ideal place to have it. But no matter how they searched, they still came up with nothing.
Then the Temple shook gently. Cait could hear Cid screaming profanities somewhere on the other side.
If it was an earthquake, it was a very small one. But the huge rocks of the Temple still moved a bit, making low, screeching noises as stone scraped against stone. Cait winced as the noise made his ears ring. The mog reached up and pulled them both up to a higher level. Zax had done the same, the Soldier was crouching not far from them, and Cid's swearing was coming closer.
"Shit, guys, what the hell was that?!"
"I don't know..." Zax answered, looking over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow. "Cait? Any idea?"
The robot shrugged. "Give me a sec..." the stones beneath their feet shook gently again while Reeve worked, back in Midgar. "Well, it wasn't an earthquake. The rest of the island was untouched by it. So it must have been just the Temple."
Another tremor, this time a stronger one. And they were ready to swear that they heard a screaming noise.
"... What the hell was THAT?! Cid asked again, looking nervous. Zax pulled out his sword as the Temple's shaking got worse and the scream grew louder.
Then it was over. The stones settled and the scream vanished. A few small pebbles fell before the world became still again. Soon the birds of the jungle started to sing, hesitantly at first.
"I think it's over..." Cait said when its human friends stopped being so pale. Zax nodded and Cid lighted a cigarette with shaking hands. But the world had to prove the words wrong.
The quakes must have knocked something loose in the Temple's foundations. Something cracked loudly, stone scraped against stone, making the building tremble slightly. They all winced when something big and heavy hit the ground.
"... Now it's over?" the cat dared a guess.
Zax was first to react, he jumped up and, keeping low, sword still in hand, hurried towards the source of the noise. Cait Sith followed him, and Cid grabbed his spear and kept looking over his shoulder while running after them.
"It's a door!" Zax shouted before the others caught up with him. The Soldier was on his stomach, peering over the ledge to the lower level of the Temple from where a stone had fallen, revealing an opening in the wall. Cid swore with surprise and kneeled beside him.
"Well I'll be damned, so it is... next you're gonna suggest we go in, right?"
Zax only smirked, sheathed his sword and hopped down to ground level, peering past the boulder into the darkness. Cid and Cait Sith were soon beside him.
"Looks like a hallway..." the Soldier muttered, pulled his sword out again and stepped in.
Cid swore and sighed. "Headlong into the darkness... damned soldiers... not a brain in that head, I swear... hey cat, you wouldn't happen to have a torch or something?"
"Umm..." Cait lifted a paw to its chin for a moment. "Wait, I think I have something..." it turned on the mog and pulled open the large zipper running along its spine. Cid watched curiously as the small robot nearly dived into the bigger one, making the purple wings on the mog's back flap a bit.
"A-ha! Got it!" The little cat pulled out and straightened its crown with one paw, pulling out a flashlight with the other. "Would this be of any help?"
Cid took the flashlight, shaking his head with amusement. "Well whaddayaknow, you're not completely useless after all, cat." He turned it on and nearly blinded himself before turning the light into the darkness of the hallway, startling Zax. "Hold on, hot-shot, we're coming..."
They had pushed the dragon's corpse off the altar where it had fallen and into a corner. Aeris had cured the wounds it had caused, even for the Turks, not listening to Barret's objections. Then they had taken a closer look at the altar and at the miniature temple above it, the Cetra girl glaring at anyone who tried to touch it.
"So... what the hell does that mean?" Reno asked, his patience thin and nerves on edge. It had been a long day, and it wasn't even close to being over yet, not from what Aeris was saying. None of them had much energy or patience left, they all just wanted to get out.
Aeris closed her eyes and breathed deep before continuing. "If you'd let me finish... the spirits tell me that the whole Temple IS the Black Materia. THIS is a model of it." She pointed at the small temple above the altar. "Inside it is a device which gets smaller every time you solve a puzzle. As the model gets smaller you get smaller too, until it's small enough to fit in the palm of your hand."
"So... if we solve the puzzles, the Temple gets smaller, and we can take the Materia out?" Apparently Elena's mind was still working, or at least faster than the other's. Aeris nodded slowly.
"Yes, but there's one thing... you can only answer the puzzles inside the Temple. So whoever solves them... will be crushed with the Temple when it gets smaller and smaller."
"... Fuck." Reno said after a long silence. "So we came all the way here for this?! To get to die in this rotten, stinkin' hole? No thanks, not even for Rufus Freakin' Shin-Ra. I'm outta here..." the redhead was angry but only walked a few steps to the closest wall and leaned against it, sliding down to sit on the floor.
Elena shook her head and stared at the model, thinking hard. Barret swore under his breath and vented his frustration by hitting the closest wall a few times. Cloud circled the altar, staring at the model. This was what he had been sent here to get. So close, but if he'd take it, he'd be destroyed. He was just a clone, this was what he was created for, but... he didn't want to die.
"Hey. Shin-Ra dog... let your friend know not to hurt my girl..." Barret said suddenly, remembering that it had been quite a while since Elena had last reported to Rude. The blonde Turk nodded and pulled out her PHS.
Reeve heard parts of Elena's report through the PHS since Rude was still standing just behind him, even though the Turk had now turned his back on him. It was a relief, having the large man bend over his shoulder like that made it extremely hard for Reeve to concentrate. He was used to working alone, and felt his territory violated. He knew that the Turks and the President didn't trust him much anymore, and they had good reason to, since his loyalties were shifting very quickly, but he wished they would have left him alone.
By following the pattern the tracking device in Elena's PHS had left on the screen he had gotten some idea on how the Temple had been built and in which part of it the small group was now. Another dot on the screen showed him where Cait Sith was, and they weren't that far from each other anymore, not after the trio had found the hallway into the Temple. The cameras in Cait's eyes showed him a stony hallway which twisted and descended. But it wasn't long before the hall came to a stop in front of a wall. There was something odd about the stone, Reeve could see it even through the cameras, even without Highwind swearing and explaining in his usual way how 'fuckin' weird' the wall was.
It was like it had a pulse. Lindeman noted that it was warm to touch, and he jumped quickly away from it when the wall let out a low, growling noise. Reeve jumped a bit in his chair, and again when Rude put his huge hand on his shoulder. The Turk was glaring down at him, Reeve could tell, even through the sunglasses. He was offered the PHS.
"We have a problem." Rude said, short as usual. Reeve nodded and took the device, lifting it to his ear.
"Hello?"
"Mister Reeve? Where did Rude go?" Elena asked suddenly, drawing everyone's attention to her. Barret's eyes flashed and he turned to Aeris.
"Reeve? Isn't that the guy behind Cait Sith?"
Aeris nodded and waved him quiet, listening when Elena explained the situation again. When she was done the room went completely quiet, and apparently so did Reeve.
"Mister Reeve? Are you still there?"
Reno and Aeris had stepped closer to Elena to listen, and leaned even closer when Reeve suddenly started talking frantically. The Cetra caught something about Cait Sith, a slight chance of it working and them getting out through the back door.
"What's going on?" Barret asked with a low voice, lowering his human hand to Aeris' shoulder. She just motioned for him to step closer to listen.
Cloud watched them all from the other side of the altar. He knew he had to do it, his blood, his mind, his whole being was telling him to grab the model, answer the puzzles and get the Black Materia out of the Temple. He'd die, but maybe that was his destiny. A part of him was ready for it, and willing, but most of him was fighting it. He didn't want to die, not like this, not this young. But if something didn't come and save him soon, the part of him which was Jenova's would take over and make him take the Materia.
Elena shut the PHS and looked at the others, one by one. Except for Cloud, they were all huddled around her now, staring at her expectantly.
"Um... yes. The... he... would you all stop staring at me now? Reeve said we should find a way out, Cait Sith, Captain Highwind and Soldier Lindeman found the backdoor. He'll send Cait Sith through that to get the Materia once we get the door to open. He says the robot's disposable."
"Makes sense..." Barret muttered, nodding. Cloud sighed with relief and joined the others.
With a last look at the miniature temple they left the long room by the door they had first entered through, and following in their own tracks they found their way back to the clock room which had completely puzzled Reeve when he had followed their progress on the screen. The hands wouldn't move this time, they formed a clear path through the room. With no other options they took it, and found another large room with a door on the far wall.
"This must be it..." Reno muttered and they walked carefully towards it, trying to avoid any possible traps. But there were none, and they reached the wall without any problems.
"Is the wall... I don't know... breathing?" Elena asked when Reno and Barret tugged at the heavy door, trying to get it to open. She turned back to Aeris and Cloud who were a bit behind, and frowned when she saw the horrified looks on their faces. The Turk backed away from the wall a bit, keeping her eyes on it, and felt her jaw fall to her chest when she saw a vicious, turtle-like head and clawed hands come out of the wall.
"... shit... reno... you better..." her voice was barely a squeak before she gave up, turned and ran behind Aeris.
"Barret! Get away from there! Quickly!" Aeris shouted, clutching her staff tightly to her chest. Cloud had pulled out his sword and Elena was quickly loading her weapon with tranquilizers and slipping various materia into her wrist-bangles.
Barret and Reno turned to see the other three ready to fight, but there was no enemy in sight. Then the wall before them trembled. The two enemies who had been forced together looked up, turned and ran from the wall as if they had one mind. The wall with its hideous head and arms followed, dropping heavy rocks and stalactites onto them.
Aeris called a protective wall above them but the creature was so strong its attacks still hurt. It was strong and stubborn, but in the long run not a match for the five of them, when Turk and Avalanche fought on the same side. In the end the monstrous wall collapsed on the ground, throwing up a cloud of dust and small rocks as it shattered completely.
"One more surprise before we get outta here and I'm gonna flip..." Reno muttered, lighting a cigarette with shaking hands while Aeris mended his leg, broken by a falling slab of stone. None of the others were seriously hurt, even though they'd all caught a stone or two with their heads.
"Hey guys! Are you all right?!"
Even though they were all tired enough to just drop to the floor and sleep, they all had their weapons out and aimed at the voice coming from the previously closed door. Cait Sith, standing in the open portal, stopped in its tracks, and both cat and mog lifted their hands.
"C-come on, you guys... you don't hate me that much, do you?" the cat squeaked and they lowered their weapons. Cid and Zax were behind the robot in the next moment and pushed it roughly into the room.
"Shit! You're even in one piece, all of you!" Cid shouted, sounding far more relieved and happy than his usual grumpy attitude would allow. Zax just ran past him and Cait, jumping over rocks without even slowing. Aeris had to smile when the Soldier grabbed Cloud into a tight hug, the two of them almost falling to the floor with the force of the impact. Cloud, eyes wide, took a moment to register that he was being hugged, not strangled, and wrapped his arms around Zax's waist.
"Oh how fuckin' adorable, I think I wanna puke now. Come on, Elena, let's get out of here..." Reno muttered while getting up. He limped a bit and exchanged angry glares with Cid as the two passed each other. Elena followed him, and soon the Turks were out of sight.
"Shouldn't we follow them..." Cloud asked, his voice muffled since he was still practically squished against Zax's chest.
"They won't leave until they've at least tried to get the Black Materia..." Aeris answered and turned to Cait Sith, smiling. "Are you sure you want to do this?"
The small cat nodded. "Yeah, well, it's the least I can do, right? This body's just a stuffed toy, so... no harm done."
"Do you know where the materia is? What to do?" the Cetra asked, scratching the cat's neck gently. Cait purred, and nodded.
"Yeah, I can follow in your tracks. Then I'll just... answer the puzzles, right?" Aeris nodded, and the small cat looked at them one more time. "Well I guess I'm off to save the Planet. Thanks for believing in me, even though I was a spy..."
"Yeah, uhh... bye then, cat..." Cid muttered, waving his hand quickly as a goodbye before he turned away, searching for a cigarette.
"Don't worry, Barret, Marlene's safe. And Shera, too." Barret nodded at the robot before turning and starting to walk towards the door. Aeris gave the cat a quick hug.
"Do your best, Cait Sith!"
"Good luck." Zax had finally let go of Cloud enough to turn his head and smile. The clone nodded his goodbyes as well, seeming more than a bit flustered.
"Thank you. You guys better get out fast..." Cait Sith said and started hopping towards the door to the clock room. It turned once more to wave and wink at them. "May the best man get the Materia!" Then it disappeared.
"Oh yeah, we still have to fight the bloody Turks for it, right?" Cid muttered, chewing on the filter of his cigarette as they started towards the open door. Cait Sith had filled him and Zax in on the details of the phone conversation while they had tried to get the door open.
Barret was already in the hallway, walking towards the exit ahead of them. Cid and Aeris were a few yards behind him, and Zax and Cloud followed them.
Aeris nodded, looking like she was ready to drop. "Oh yes. And then make sure we keep it until we reach the Canyon again. And then think of a way to get rid of it. This is far from over..." she said, sounding resigned. Cid blinked a few times, not knowing what to say.
"Hey, come on, buttercup... you're not supposed to be the pessimist of this group, that's my bloody job!"
Aeris laughed and caught his arm, leaning her head against his shoulder for a moment. "Thank you, Cid. I needed that."
"No problem, girl..." Cid muttered and sighed with relief. He felt that as long as Aeris believed in what they did, there was still some hope left.
Zax still had an arm around Cloud's shoulders, pinning the blond tightly to his side. Although he had slapped Cloud in the back of his head with annoyance as soon as the others had started to leave, he couldn't let the younger one out of his sight again.
"Don't ever, ever do anything stupid like that again, ok? I was worried sick!"
Cloud nodded, feeling like he'd heard the same words for twenty times now in the last minute. But it felt nice, to know that Zax cared for him after all. Even if the bright smile the Soldier was giving him now would soon pale to that almost fake one again, it was real for now.
"I'm sorry, Zax. I won't..." he said, for the twentieth time in the last minute.
The two Turks and Barret were waiting for them on the outside, and they walked across the bridge together, no one saying a word. Now they could only wait for Cait Sith to do his part.
The silence had enough time to grow into a heavy wall between them before the Temple started to rumble again. As the seven watched on, the large monument started to shrink in front of their eyes, slow at first but then at a quickening pace, until the area in which the Temple of the Ancients had stood was bathed in green light. When the light faded the building was gone. Only a hole in the ground was left, surrounded by a high wall.
They all went tense in a heartbeat, knowing that now the race for the Black Materia started. It would end in fighting, there wasn't any doubt of that. It was sad in a way, considering that they had spent most of the day working together, for the same goal. But now they were again divided into Turks and Avalanche.
Except, of course, for Cloud, who played for Jenova and Sephiroth. Zax hadn't thought to restrain the blond better, so as soon as the green light disappeared, Cloud was half a second faster than the others in starting to run. And he was fast, thanks to the large amount of Mako in his blood, and Jenova's cells in his body. He beat the others to the bridge easily, and was already over it by the time Reno, who was a good second, reached the middle of the bridge.
"Stop, you son of a bitch!" The redhead stopped once he was over the bridge, long enough to catch his breath to scream, which was enough time for Cid to race past him and punch him out of the way. Elena didn't stop to help her partner but hurried on, trying to catch the older blond. Reno managed to roll out of the way just before Zax and Barret ran over him, the Soldier also shouting for Cloud to stop.
Panting for breath, the Turk lay on his back for a moment. They'd still get a chance to get the Materia. They'd fight for it. And even if he nor Elena got it, better that the Avalanche have it than Sephiroth.
Before he could get up, a shadow fell over him. Reno looked up just in time to see the end of a staff coming towards his head, very fast.
"I'm sorry." Aeris whispered when the Turk fell back to the ground, unconscious. Then she ran again.
Cloud was already at the bottom of the pit when Aeris reached the edge. Cid and Elena were with him, but they seemed to be fighting each other rather than the clone. Zax was climbing down as fast as he could.
Aeris stopped by Barret's side, glancing up at the dark man.
"You took care of red there... good. Then blondie, an' we got the rock." Barret said, staring into the pit where Elena had managed to knock Cid to the floor and was in the process of rubbing his face into the dirt. Zax was pulling her away from the blond the next second, though, and Cid was swearing loud enough to be heard even up on the ledge. Aeris smiled.
Cloud stood very still, staring at the Black Materia in his hands. He didn't seem to be aware of the fight going on right beside him, so close that Elena was now kicking dirt on him.
"We should take the Black Materia from Cloud... I'm afraid we cannot afford to trust him, even if Zax does." She said quietly and was about to start to descend into the pit when the very air before them shimmered. The jungle fell completely quiet, and even the fighting ended. Aeris and Barret froze and could only stare as a dark shape began to form in front of them. It was just a blotch of darkness at first, but soon it deepened into pitch black and spread, growing legs and arms. A pale chest and neck came to their sight next, followed by a head which was haloed by a mass of light, silver hair. But the thing that captured their attention completely was the eyes. Thin slits of brightly glowing mako green with a venomous look that seemed to go straight through them.
Sephiroth smirked.
They could only watch as the man, looking like a beautiful angel of darkness descended into the pit. Barret fought to get his body to move, to do anything to stop the man, but his cells refused to listen. He could move only his eyes to follow every move Sephiroth made.
The soles of Sephiroth's black boots met the pit's bottom gently, making only a quiet noise. Amused, he let his eyes roam over the frozen, surprised faces of those who looked upon him in reverence. Or maybe it was horror, but was there really such a big difference between the two?
Zackery was there, pleading with his eyes. Those violet eyes which used to laugh all of the time. Why weren't they laughing anymore? Something inside of him said that it was his fault that they were so serious, but it couldn't be. He was a god, he could do no wrong. Zackery was weak, just a human. Not worthy of his time or attention.
The blond woman and Highwind were embracing each other strangely, like they had wanted to kill each other. But now they seemed to be trying to steady themselves, stay standing with each other's help. They were even weaker than Zackery. How amusing.
And then the clone. The only one with strength enough to actually move in his presence. Well, it was expected, the boy was a part of him. A part of Her. They might even make the boy the ruler of mankind once the world was theirs. If he was still alive by that time. As gods, they couldn't be bothered with running the pitiful race, taking care of its petty problems. The clone could pass justice in their name.
There wasn't even any fear in those glowing blue eyes. No fear as the creature gazed upon him in awe.
"Give me the Black Materia, Cloud." Sephiroth said, his voice full of mirth and power. He put out his hand and the clone twitched, stepping closer, hands raising, offering him death and destruction.
"Cloud, DON'T!"
Sephiroth looked up, annoyed. The Cetra had managed to escape from under his spell, making the clone hesitate. He could just march up to the blond and take the Materia, but where would the fun be in that? He enjoyed showing his power too much to just do it the easy way.
He turned back to the hesitating clone and fixed his eyes upon him. "Cloud. Give me the Materia."
The blond winced and let out a small, pained sound. Cloud's arms twitched as he offered the Materia again, but his feet didn't move.
"Don't fight me..." Sephiroth said quietly, slightly amused to see who'd win this battle of wills, he or the Cetra? Or would the clone break before they could find that out? It was breathing hard now, blood was starting to come out of its nose.
"I won't hesitate to hurt him, you know... but how much pain can you cause?"
The clone screamed in pain and the Cetra lifted a hand up to her eyes, whimpering in agony. Why didn't they just give up? Couldn't they understand that they couldn't beat him? He was, after all, Jenova's son. More powerful than any pitiful Cetra, far above the worms who called themselves humans. He was a god, and soon he'd rule them all.
"Seph. Don't. Please!"
A hand came down on his forearm suddenly, almost shattering his concentration. The clone and the Cetra both swayed with relief, and at least one of them was sobbing. Sephiroth turned to stare at the hand, followed it with his eyes over the wristband, up tanned skin to a shoulder covered with a dark green shirt and spikes of almost black, messy hair. To a tanned face and pleading, violet eyes which smiled no more.
"Zackery." The Soldier seemed almost relieved when he called him by his name. "I'm impressed. You escaped my spell as well. How surprising."
The Soldier dismissed his words with a wave of his other hand. There was urgency in those violet eyes now, desperation and fear. "Seph, please don't do this. You have to fight her. Don't let her do this to you, Seph! You gotta listen to me, she's--"
"She's my mother, Zackery. She's a part of me. Now if you don't want to lose your hand, I suggest you remove it from our person."
He wasn't watching the Soldier anymore, but he could hear the shocked intake of breath. The hand didn't let go of his arm, but Zackery's other hand was at the hilt of his sword and the sword out of its sheath in less than a heartbeat. Sephiroth was almost amused by the fact that his oldest friend was trying to kill him. Amused enough not to make it lethal when he lashed out with his other hand. It caught the Soldier on his upper chest and threw him back to crash against the pit's rocky wall. The body made an interesting sound first when it hit the hard earth wall and then when it fell to the ground, limp and useless.
The fist to his face came as a total surprise. Sephiroth staggered back a few steps and lifted a gloved hand up to his stinging cheek where the bruise was already healing out of sight. He looked in surprise at the panting clone who was glaring daggers at him.
"Don't... hurt... Zax!" The blond told him but the threat was hard to take seriously, considering the clone was barely able to stand. Sephiroth snorted and knocked him out with one quick slap of his will.
But the punch had broken his concentration, and the spell he'd placed on the humans had vanished. The two blonds who were still conscious made a quick dash towards the Black Materia which the clone had apparently dropped at some point. Sephiroth bared his teeth when the leader of Avalanche opened fire on him. The arrogance!
With a wave of his hands he threw the two blonds out of his way and concentrated on the Black Materia. It rose swiftly from the ground and came flying straight to his waiting hands. When his fingers closed around it, everything fell quiet.
He turned around a full circle, slowly, taking in everything around him. Zackery, bloody and broken but still breathing, laying on the ground. Some small part of him had been happy to see the Soldier had survived, but it was a very small part and it was quiet now. The two blonds, the Turk woman and Highwind, tossed to the other side of the pit like ragdolls, alive but stunned. The unconscious clone, a pile of failures by his feet not even worthy of a kick. The leader of Avalanche was still aiming his gun-arm at him, shaking with rage. He had jumped down to a lower ledge at some point, leaving the Cetra alone on the top.
The Cetra. Sephiroth smiled at her.
"Sweet miss Gast... daughter of Professor Gast. How nice to meet you..."
Green eyes, the same colour as his but still so very different, glared at him. "It's Gainsborough. I go by my mother's name."
"So would I, in your stead. Your good father doesn't deserve to have something as beautiful as you named after him." Sephiroth wooed her, smiling gently as she shivered and averted her eyes.
"What do you want, Sephiroth? Why do you wish to hurt the Planet?"
"I don't wish to hurt it... I wish to become one with it. I wish for it to become one with me..."
He was pleased to see that the green eyes turned back to him. "What? You... you plan to become one with the Planet? But why? How?"
"Don't you know? You, a daughter of the Cetra, a carrier of the legacy of this Planet? You can't see?" Now he was genuinely amused. The look on her face was priceless when she began to understand what he was after. "Oh yes, you shake your head but I can see that you understand..." he rose into the air and started to ascend.
"Only death awaits these mortal beings... but it's through death that the spirit energy is born. When the Planet is hurt badly enough, it gathers all the spirit energy it can find to heal the wound. The worse the injury, the more energy is needed to fix it. Now imagine..." they were face to face now, and what a pretty face she had.
"Imagine an injury that threatens the very life on the Planet. Think of the energy needed to heal that!" He floated closer to her, and she took a few steps back, her face pale with fear. He reached out with a gloved hand, touching her cheek gently. He was aware, to some extent, that his voice was different. More feminine than before.
"And at the center of that injury will be me. All that boundless energy will be mine. By merging with it all I shall become a new life form. I will cease to exist as I am now, only to be reborn as a god to rule over every soul. And all of those who died, they will live again as a part of me... and when the human race raises its head again, they will raise it only to bow down at my feet."
"No!" She was trying to get away from him but Sephiroth reached out with both hands, grabbing her by a shoulder and an arm. He pulled her against his chest and let go of her arm, only to take a gentle hold of her chin.
"You are the only one on this Planet who comes even near to me in power... you even controlled my clone! Surely you're the only one who is fit..."
"F-fit for what?" she was still struggling, even though she must have realized it was useless. He wasn't letting her go.
Sephiroth leaned closer and smiled, watching how his hot breath on her face made her shiver.
"The only one... fit to be... my queen..."
Her scream rang in his ears for a good while, even after he left her and the island and teleported back to the Northern Crater, the Black Materia heavy in his pocket. He gave the sphere a gentle pat and laughed when he walked past the new work of art in his little home. Maybe he'd name it The Last Battle or something as grand.
The Masamune was buried deep into the dead, alien head, and even halfway through the stone pedestal it sat upon. There was no blood, only a beautiful, clear crack all across the head, from the top to the smirking lips.
If she'd known that breaking the head would free her spirit to take another vessel for itself like this, to merge with a living soul, she'd had Hojo do it years ago. But... how did the humans put it? Better late... than never?
-
A.N: Weeeeell, obviously Jenova won her and Sephiroth's little 1 on 1...
ShiAne, thank you for your reviews! :D I'll put Zax on leash if he gets any silly ideas... ;)
V, sobbing: "I feel so... loved!"
Z, glaring at Vincent: "... Attention junkie..."
V: "You're one to talk..."