Author's Notes
--------------------
This is an alternate universe story, so expect a lot of changes.
This version of AR has been censored for language. An uncensored version is available on my website which you can find in my profile.
I feel the need to mention this before anyone starts to read further. One of the largest departures from the game is started in this chapter. The changes I've made up until now, I feel, are small in comparison to what happens here, so I implore my readers to remember that this is an AU story. Please just remember that this isn't meant to follow the world that the game set out, and try to enjoy it without comparing it to what you already know of FFVII.
Check back next weekend for chapter VIII.
If you have any questions, ask them in your review or send them directly to me. I'll either respond directly, or address them as best I can in the next chapter's Author's Notes.
Luminus
Chapter VII
Adding to the Noise
The Highwind sped away from the village of Icicle, and the growing party did their best not to think about the fates of the poor souls they'd left behind. Aerith was understandably devastated, but the rest of the party remained largely detached from what had happened; they had seen it happen before, and were growing used to such genocidal actions from the Empire. Tifa, and Jessie had tried to introduce themselves to the new girl once they had spoken to Cloud and found out who she was and why she was here with them. Aerith had greeted them both, but her mind had obviously been elsewhere.
Tseng, on the other hand, seemed more interested in speaking with Sephiroth about what had happened rather than caring about the mental stability of the poor girl who'd just had her peaceful life ruined. As for Cid, he hadn't bothered to leave the Highwind's controls for even a moment, as if he was holding onto every second of his freedom for fear he would lose it again.
Vincent spoke briefly with Jessie, asking her if she thought Aerith was well enough to answer a question he had on his mind. He had correctly assumed that she would be able to read the girl better than he, especially after his years in isolation. With a half-lit green light from the engineer, he approached Aerith cautiously.
"Excuse me." He said in as soft a voice as he could manage, but it seemed as if his unusual emotional outbursts had faded back to his standard monotone. "I'd like to ask you something."
Aerith looked up from her seat in the Highwind's crew lounge where she sat, hugging her knees and quietly crying into the fabric of her coat. She said nothing, the sorrow on her face and the pain in her heart probably too great for her to form words easily, but she made no effort to deny his request.
"Your parents." Vincent said as he thought of the photograph he'd seen in her home. "What were their names?"
"Uhm." Aerith faltered, wiping at her eyes as she tried to find her voice. "My mother was Ilfana, my father was Gast. Why do you ask?"
"It's nothing." Vincent said, shaking his head in a vain attempt at hiding his thoughts. "I will discuss it with you later, I'm sure you need some time by yourself."
Before Aerith could argue the point, Vincent walked away, the fine skin of his forehead creasing with thought. The photograph had sparked recognition, but he hadn't been certain until he had heard their names. Now there was no denying it, such things couldn't be mere coincidences. Professor Gast, the brilliant scientist who had founded much of the Empires science division, and Ilfana, the first living Ancient to have been documented in over a thousand years. The two of them had supposedly died in an explosion at Gast's laboratory over thirty years ago. They were Aerith's parents?
But in that case, Vincent thought. Did Gast learn of Rufus' plans and fake their deaths so they could flee? And if it's true that Ilfana gave Aerith this Holy orb, did she have it that entire time?
The questions buzzed in Vincent's head like a swarm of angry bees, but he wasn't about to ask Aerith any more on this matter just yet. At the moment she was far too fragile, and he wasn't very certain that she could answer any of his questions to begin with; she had already proven that she knew little, if not nothing, about the things that were transpiring.
As Vincent left her, Cloud approached the girl alongside of Tifa, who was concerned for the her state of mind despite having just met her. Cloud had explained enough to make Tifa feel deeply sorry for her already.
"Aerith?" Cloud said, crouching down next to the girl and looking over her. "Are you alright?"
"No." She said, the word coming out almost reflexively as she looked up at him and Tifa in turn with tears in her eyes. "How could I possibly be alright?"
"I'm sorry." Cloud frowned, moving his body back a little. "I didn't mean to belittle what you've just seen."
"How can the Emperor believe he is doing the right thing?" Aerith asked, her voice starting to choke up once again. "How can he think murder and lies will lead the world to peace?"
"I don't know, Aerith." Cloud said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "He's a messed up guy, people like that don't always think straight."
"My parents didn't trust him, but they never told me why." She quietly wept. "How could I have been so blind? I thought he was our savior."
"We all did." Tifa soothed. "Most of the world has fallen for his act."
"What can I do now? All the villagers, my friends and neighbors, they're dead because of me."
"No." Cloud said sternly. "It's not your fault. It's Rufus' fault, no one else is to blame except him. You have to understand that."
"It's all so wrong." Her head dropped to her knees again and her shoulders shook as her tears increased. "So very wrong."
"I know." Cloud said with a lump in his throat. "But don't worry, you're safe with us."
Aerith didn't respond this time, and Cloud stood, nodding to Tifa who took the hint and sat down next to the girl, wrapping an arm around her to try and show her that she was safe. Tifa started saying something to her, probably reassuring her of her safety and that she shouldn't feel guilty that she was forced to flee, but Cloud wasn't listening anymore. Looking around, he spotted Tseng and Sephiroth discussing things in another area of the lounge, and he swiftly walked to them.
"What are you not telling us?" He demanded, his angry voice cutting into their conversation like a knife.
"I'm afraid I don't follow." Sephiroth said calmly.
"Don't play dumb with me!" Cloud snapped, grabbing the other man by the collar of his coat. "You knew the name of that spell orb when even she didn't. You also mentioned another one called Chaos. What are you hiding?"
"I am hiding nothing." Sephiroth's lips set in a firm line as he batted Cloud's hand away. "Holy and Chaos are the names of the power sources Rufus is seeking, I learned this years ago from my investigations."
"Yeah? So why didn't you tell us about it?" Cloud stared into the Butcher's face.
"The names are unimportant." Sephiroth retorted, meeting Cloud's gaze evenly. "Knowing them would have served you no purpose."
"And how'd you know that Holy would hurt Rufus and his goons?"
"Come now, Cloud." Sephiroth shook his head. "A spell sought by the Emperor himself? Surely even you would have expected it to be strong enough to effect him if he was so intent on finding it. Or are you just looking for reasons to not trust me because you cannot let go of your past?"
"Shut up!" Cloud bit out, pointing a finger in Sephiroth's face. "I already didn't trust a goddamn thing you said, and now I find out that you're purposely keeping information from us? I'm sick of this ----!"
It seemed as if Sephiroth was about to respond with another snide comment, but he was cut off as the Highwind abruptly jerked. Everyone looked around, wondering what had happened, and then they realized that they were beginning to descend rather quickly.
"What's going on?" Cloud shouted over the sound of rushing air.
"I don't think anything hit us!" Jessie yelled back as she began running towards the hatch that would take her to the control room. "That felt more like the engines died on us!"
"What!" Tifa raised her voice as her beautiful face twisted with worry.
Ignoring the yells from everyone, Jessie swung the hatch to the hall open and darted inside. She ran down a small flight of stairs and across a short corridor with rooms jutting off to each side. After going through one last hatch that led up to the ships deck, she arrived at the large control room. There, amongst the many instruments and massive glass panels that allowed the crew to see outside, was Sherra and Cid.
"What's going on?" Jessie ran to them, noticing that they were frantically pressing buttons and pulling levers to no avail.
"We got problems!" Cid barked as he looked over his shoulder and spotted her. "Instruments all just died!"
"Everything?" Jessie gasped in shock, such a catastrophic meltdown seemed nearly impossible after she'd looked over the Highwind's design; the ship was practically flawless. "Did the system short out?"
"No." Sherra said, clearly concerned but sounding a bit more composed than her husband. "It's like some one just flipped a switch and turned the ship off."
"Can you fix it?" Jessie asked, her voice hurried.
"---- no." Cid cursed through clenched teeth as he looked out of the viewing glass to see another of the Frozen North's many forests rushing up at them. "You better hold onto something, kid. We're going down."
Like a speeding silver bullet, the Highwind fell from the clear blue sky and into the white-green palette of forest below. With heavy crunches the nose of the massive ship began scalping the tree line. Dipping further down as it continued its descent the ship was pummeled by branches; dents and gashes appearing all along its hull. At last the Highwind hit the ground, sending a wave of dirt and snow flying up as the ship slowed and finally came to a halt.
Cid mumbled something obscene under his breath as he pulled himself up, then helped Sherra to her feet before he began looking over the ships controls.
"Oh man." Jessie groaned as she staggered to her feet from where she'd fallen. Rubbing a hand over her sore rear, she looked around the control room. "How bad is it?"
"Damn systems are still down." Cid barked as he kicked one of the circuit cabinets. "We're dead in the ----in' water."
"I still don't understand what happened." Sherra said as she keyed a few buttons but received no response from the ship. "We're going to have to manually inspect the ship to diagnose the problem. It's a good thing we didn't have much altitude yet, or we'd probably be dead."
"Hey girl." Cid said, looking back to Jessie. "You're an engineer, right? You any good?"
"They don't get much better than me." She replied, drawing herself up to her full height and puffing her chest out a bit. "What do you need?"
"Just follow me." Cid grumbled as he stepped away from the consoles and headed out of the control room and towards the deck hatch. "You can help us figure this ---- out."
"We need to check on the others first." Jessie said, sprinting past Cid and back to the crew lounge. The Highwind's captain uttered something unnecessary again, but followed her anyway after a dirty look from his wife.
The lounge was a total mess with books, snacks, pillows, and a wide assortment of other luxuries strewn about as if a herd of wild children had run through it. Fortunately, the mess was the only problem. There had been no internal damage to the lounge, and aside from a few bruises here and there, none of the passengers had been injured; although, they had been thrown around quite a bit.
"What happened?" Vincent, who didn't seem phased by the crash at all, asked.
"Don't know yet." Cid said before Jessie could answer. "Systems are dead; we're going to have to look around to find out what happened. Could take a while."
"We should exit the ship and secure the perimeter." Sephiroth said as rolled his left shoulder around from where he'd landed on it.
"Who's going?." Cloud asked as he reached down and helped Aerith off the floor and back into her seat.
"I am!" Tifa told him, popping her knuckles as she did. "I've been sitting in here too long. I could use the exercise."
"We'll get started on whatever repairs need to be made." Jessie said for Cid, who had already started to leave now that it was clear everyone was fine.
"You better stay here." Tifa said to Aerith.
Aerith nodded, but it was merely a reflex. Her mind was no longer on the topic at hand, or even what had happened in the village. Something about this place where they had crashed was strange, but she didn't know how or why she even thought so to begin with.
"Some one should stay with her." Tseng said, checking to make sure his materia gun hadn't been damaged by his fall as he said so.
"I will." Sephiroth announced. "The rest of you fan out and survey the area, but be back here within fifteen minutes. If you run into danger, fall back to the ship at once."
"I don't think so." Cloud said, his voice stern as he stepped up to Sephiroth and pointed a gloved finger in his face. "I'm not leaving you alone with Aerith. You go do reconnaissance. I'll stay with her."
Sephiroth stared back at the young blond with a cold, unemotional gaze for several tense moments before he finally scoffed and stepped past him. "Very well."
The brief exploration of the Highwind's crash site turned up nothing. They were surrounded by little more than trees, and those weren't exactly dangerous unless by some insane twist of fate, one of them should happen to fall on the ship. Give or take a few minutes, the search party had all returned to the ship within the time they had been allotted, but when they entered the crew lounge they found it devoid of life. Confused and concerned as to where Aerith and Cloud could be, they split up and searched within the ship itself, but only managed to find Jessie, Cid, and Sherra who were still diagnosing the Highwind's problems. None of the three engineers knew where the two could have gone.
With the ship ruled out, they headed back outside to search further. This time Tseng opted to stay with the Highwind to protect it while it was being repaired, so their numbers were further reduced. Though at least two of the remaining members were concerned, they didn't have to search long. They located their stray companions not more than a mile away, standing in a small clearing in the forest, facing a spot where the woods changed dramatically. The trees they had crashed into were spread out and sporadic, otherwise the Highwind would have been torn to shreds rather than badly dented up. Laid out before them though, the forest abruptly changed into a dense wall of oddly colored white and gray trees that were so closely compacted together that it seemed unthinkable that anyone could navigate through.
Aerith was staring at this new tree line intently; her delicate features startled and fixated on the enormous plants as if they were the key to some abnormal secret that she had just discovered. Cloud stood not far behind her, looking uncomfortable in this place. As Tifa, Vincent, and Sephiroth entered the clearing, Cloud turned around with his hand on the hilt of his Buster Sword, but relaxed once he saw it was them.
"I thought you were staying on the ship to keep her safe?" Sephiroth asked in a way that was sure to get under the boy's skin.
"It wasn't my idea." Cloud growled at the silver haired man, motioning back towards Aerith as he did so. "She insisted, and I'd have had to tie her down to stop her."
"Her idea?" Tifa asked, sounding as confused as the others looked.
"Yeah." Cloud said as he turned his head to look once more at their newest party member. "She said she felt something calling to her. I had thought she was having a mental breakdown over what happened, but now that I'm here, I feel something too."
"The forest?" Sephiroth asked, looking to the strange configuration of trees with enhanced interest.
"Something is inside." Aerith spoke up, though her voice remained quiet and distant. There was uncertainty in her tone, and fear. "I don't know what, but there's something in those trees, and it wants me to come to it."
Aerith took a slow step forward, holding her hands to her heart as her body trembled. Nothing happened. She took another step towards the strange wall of trees, and then it all changed at once. To the shock of everyone, the center of the line of trees began to warp. The vision before them altered, in what almost seemed like an optical illusion, the trunks slid to the left and right, opening up a thin path illuminated by a soft white light that coated it in a haze and gave the entire scene a dreamlike quality.
"What the hell is going on?" Cloud whispered, awe struck by what they had just seen.
The path was lost to darkness not more than twenty feet in, but as Aerith took another shaky step towards the new walkway the darkness crept back just slightly. It was as if the forest itself was beckoning for her to enter.
"Aerith, don't go." Tifa's eyes darted over the eerie path. "I have a bad feeling about this."
"I-I can't help it." Aerith stammered, fear in her voice. "I can't stop myself."
Cloud and Tifa looked at each other with worry, and then Cloud stepped forward, obviously intent on physically picking the girl up and taking her away from this ghostly place. Before he could reach her, though, Sephiroth stretched his arm out and blocked the younger man's path.
"Let her go." Sephiroth said quietly.
"Are you crazy!" Cloud snapped, reaching up to knock Sephiroth's arm out of his way.
Turning to face him with fury in his cat-slit eyes, the former general lifted his arm again and shoved his palm into Cloud's chest, sending him stumbling backwards.
"What the hell are you doing?" Cloud bit out, his hands immediately balling into fists as he brought them up, clearly intent on throwing punches.
"Your senses aren't as fine tuned as mine because your blood is weak." Sephiroth said, his voice laced with an unspoken threat that told Cloud to back down. "She is not in danger; she only fears the unknown."
Cloud pointed a finger at the hazy pathway in the forest ahead of them. "Fear of the unknown, especially when that is happening, is a damn good thing!" He had no idea what Sephiroth was talking about with that blood business, but he wasn't in the mood to debate it right now.
"He's right, Cloud." Aerith spoke up, she'd taken several more steps towards the path but her voice wasn't as shaken now. "I don't feel danger, but something important is inside, and it wants me to come."
"Aerith, it's too risk-"
"I will go with her, then." Vincent at last broke his silence, moving past the others to fall in stride to the left of Aerith. He knew what Sephiroth had meant when he'd spoken of blood, and if both of the halflings sensed no danger, then that was enough for him.
"What!" Tifa gasped out, obviously thrown for a loop by the casual way Sephiroth and Vincent were going about this ordeal.
"Fine." Cloud ground his teeth, knowing that it was pointless to argue with both of the creepy men, they would certainly get what they wanted, regardless of his opinion. "Then I'm going too."
"I'll return to the ship." Sephiroth announced. "I'm uncomfortable with only Tseng being there. He is skilled, but he is not in a position to properly guard the Highwind on his own."
"Yeah, you do that." Cloud growled, but didn't bother saying anything else as the former general began walking back towards the crash site. He was glad to be rid of him, anyway. Turning, he saw that Aerith and Vincent hadn't so much as hesitated in their walk during that brief exchange, and were already inside of the tree line. With a frustrated sigh, Cloud took off on a jog to catch up to them, calling for Tifa to hurry up from over his shoulder.
Tifa looked to the disturbingly freakish pathway for a long moment before sighing and falling into place behind Cloud as he headed for Aerith and Vincent. She had a very, very bad feeling about this.
The four of them walked through the mist laden path through the gray and white forest in total silence, all of them wondering what this new bit of insanity would lead them to. Cloud, for one, was getting sick of unexpected events, and as such he was neither looking forward to nor expecting what happened next. After only fifteen minutes or so of their slow shuffle the forest abruptly ended and the party found themselves overlooking an incredible sight.
They had entered another clearing that dipped down from where they now stood, though this one was far larger than the last. The roughly circular area stretched for over a mile, and yet the entire clearing was enveloped by a canopy of limbs and leaves from the trees along the outskirts stretched impossibly long to cover such a massive expanse. The unbelievable tree cover was thoroughly ignored, however, as they looked down into the dipping clearing and at the dreamlike vision that it held. Stretched out before them was some sort of city, abandoned and left for ruin long ago, but nothing about these ruins were ordinary.
The dozens of buildings were constructed of what could only be massive sea shells, the size and likes of which none of them had ever seen or heard of before. The unusual buildings were set up in a vaguely circular pattern, extending out on either side from a single sea shell, the tip of which rose high in the air, easily making it the largest of the structures. Connecting each of the buildings, and also running straight from the large shell down the center of the circle and out towards their forest path, were roads that looked as if they were made from thousands of smaller shells, pearls, and tiny fossils.
The ancient city was also host to massive gardens of multi-colored coral reef that were situated here and there as if they were typical shrubberies. On the outskirts of the ruins, the trees of the forest and the ground around it were absolutely teaming with life. The cold atmosphere of the Frozen North also seemed to be blocked from this place, creating a near tropical temperature, and causing an abundance of brightly colored flowers and plants to surround the city. There were even small animals frolicking about in the plant life. In the midst of it all, the city itself seemed to glow with an unearthly light, punctuated by the pearly shine of the enormous sea shells. The entire image was absolutely surreal, none of them had ever so much as heard of such a place existing on this world.
Cloud stared out over the city in awe. The natural beauty was unlike anything he had ever seen before. Nothing in the Empire could hope to compare to the breathtaking view laid out before him; not the massive capital of Midgar, not the majestic and old world city of Kalm, and not the mechanized and industrial mecca of Junon. It seemed as if the others were equally impressed as no one had made a sound outside of a few gasps since they had arrived at this visual nirvana.
"Look." Aerith broke the silence at last, her lovely voice quiet as if in reverence to this stunning place.
She raised a delicate hand and pointed to the central and largest sea shell building. The others looked to it, but it took them a few seconds to notice what she had. All the buildings in the city were abandoned, as evident by their darkened windows and doors, as well as the lack of people. However, the doorway to the largest building stood open in their direction and a faint blue light was coming from inside. Just like the light in the forest beforehand, it was apparently beckoning for them to come to it.
No one spoke as they looked to the lit building; it was quite possible that seeing this city had left them all speechless, which would be completely understandable. It wasn't until Aerith let out a quiet breath and began silently walking down the slanted ground towards the ruins that the others broke from their staring trance and followed after her.
Aerith was the first to step inside the sea-shell building when they reached it. Inside she found a dome shaped room with several doors and stairs leading off into parts of the building. At the center of the room was a staircase made of a semi-transparent crystal that spiraled down beneath the surface; the staircase itself seemed to be the source of the glow they had seen from outside, as each step shone brightly in the otherwise dark room. The amount of dust coating the floor surprised her as it couldn't be more than a few months worth of collection, but it was painfully clear that this city had been abandoned ages ago.
The others seemed to be equally perplexed as they entered behind him and took a gander at the strange place they'd found themselves in. It was plain to see what their path was, so there was no need for any of them to say anything. In silence, they all walked to the spiral stairs and began descending into the dimly glowing depths. There were no rails to protect them from falling, and there were no walls lining the stairway as they headed down. In fact, it appeared that darkness engulfed everything around them except for the stairs. It was more than enough to make them all afraid of heights.
An eternity passed before the spiral straightened into a clear flight of stairs that at last ended at a large, arching doorway standing in the midst of the pitch black. Unfortunately, they couldn't see what lay beyond due to the bright light emitting from it. Tifa couldn't help but think that the unusual sight resembled the proverbial white light at the end of the tunnel as they wordlessly passed through its arches and found themselves in yet another fantastic setting. They now stood on an enormous platform that seemed to be floating amidst the darkness built of smooth, shining metal and encased by tall slabs of glowing crystal that circled it, forming an uneven wall around them.
Here, deep below the ruined city on the surface, they were staring blankly at another city; the buildings of this one completely different in design from the ones before. Rather than a natural beauty, these structures had been designed and built by an architect with a flair for the sleek and eye-catching. The floor of the platform was covered in crystal clear water, forming a artificially constructed lake. Jutting from that lake were hundreds of pillars colored silver and white that played host to the buildings and walkways they now stood amongst.
The four of them looked around in shock at what they had stumbled in to. Just like the city above, this place was unlike anything else they'd ever seen. Nothing on the planet could compare to what was laid out before their eyes.
"What is this place?" Tifa asked, her whisper sounding loud in the otherwise total silence. "It's so…unreal."
"Yet here we stand." Vincent helpfully added.
"Look." Aerith said, pointing over a railing near them. Near the center of the sparkling lake below them was some sort of room, just barely above the water level. Just as the building in the ruined city above had been, this one was lit up to once again guide them to their apparent destination.
"I guess we shouldn't keep our host waiting." Cloud said as he frowned and looked around. "Does anyone see the way down?"
Before the others could answer the floor beneath their feet began to hum, a soft glow emitting from tiny gems that were embedded there. As they watched the glow slowly extended in a line that led along the walk paths, shifting direction now and again as it showed them the way.
"Never mind." Cloud said. "Looks like they just rolled out the red carpet for us."
They began walking along the glowing stones, slowly moving through the strange city as it led them to a single path that skimmed the surface of the water and extended to the structure at the center of the lake. A small flight of stairs led up to an archway that served as its door, beyond which was a floor made of the same metal and gem material they had seen everywhere else. The round room had no roof, and aside from the opening at the top, the glass walls formed a perfect globe around it that was held in place by three metal braces that came up from the floor and hugged the glass from the outside. For all intents and purposes, it looked almost like a gigantic candle holder.
Cloud was just about to walk up the stairs and into the odd looking room when Tifa called out to them from behind.
"Look at this." She said from where she was kneeling down on the walk path and staring down into the depths of the water. With its amazing clarity, they could see all the way to the bottom, where there were hundreds of objects of varying lengths and widths that appeared to be wrapped in white cloth.
"Bodies?" Vincent pondered out loud, adding vocals to the creepy feeling they were all receiving.
"I can't tell. The water's distorting it." Tifa said as she squinted her eyes and leaned forward, her long hair falling past her shoulders and barely skimming the liquid.
Please, do not touch the water.
Tifa jumped up, looking around quickly with panic clearly etched on her face. She'd heard a voice, but it had been inside of her head. It didn't take her long to realize the others had heard it too, as they were behaving in similar fashions.
"What the hell was that?" Cloud asked, his hand firmly gripping the hilt of his Buster Sword.
Please, do not be afraid. I mean you no harm.
To accompany the mental voice, a sound emanated from the room ahead of them, prompting them all to turn and look. There, in the center of the glass globe, a strangely glowing woman had become visible. She wore long, flowing robes that covered almost every inch of her body and shimmered in multiple colors every time she moved. As they looked to her face, the only part of her body that wasn't covered, it became clear that she was not human. Long blue hair rolled down her back, almost covering the lengthy, softly furred and pointed ears that extended from the sides of her head. Her nose was like that of an animal; a light pink nub with small incision's for nostrils. She stared at them with wide, yellow eyes, the pupils of which were slit like a cat's. In fact, her entire appearance seemed a bit feline. The cat-like woman crossed her hands at her waist and bowed her upper body to them briefly, her entire form flickering in and out of existence as she did so.
"An Ancient." Vincent breathed out, his eyes wide with shock that was uncharacteristic of him.
Greetings child of the Cetra, and visitors from afar. Her voice spoke into their minds. Welcome to the Eternal City of the Stars.
Cloud watched the strange, feline-looking woman in astounded silence. He just couldn't understand how she had snuck up on them like that, not with all their skills. In fact, he couldn't even figure out how she'd come into the room to begin with. It had been empty just moments ago, and the only visible door was the one they were standing in front of.
"Cetra?" He asked at last as the woman's words registered.
"That is the true name of the species we call the Ancients." Vincent explained.
"You're an Ancient?" Tifa asked to the glowing woman.
Oh no. The woman's words resounded within their minds. I merely choose to appear as a Cetra in order to better communicate with them.
"But there are no Cetra here." Cloud said, wondering what the woman was getting at.
You are both correct, and incorrect.
"How's that?" Cloud asked, his voice skeptical.
"Aerith." Vincent said, nodding to the girl. "I hadn't had the chance to tell any of you yet, but I recognized her parents from a photograph she had in her home. Professor Gast, and Ilfana."
"What?" Cloud spun to look at Aerith, then Vincent in turn. "But you said that Ilfana was an Ancient!"
"She was." Aerith spoke quietly. "Mother was a Cetra, she used some sort of disguise to appear human, and hide her heritage from the people of Icicle."
"Then it's true? You're half Ancient?" Tifa asked, bewildered. "But you look normal to me."
There are only a few differences between Cetra and human in physical form. It would seem that her father's DNA was more dominant in her appearance, and so she looks entirely human.
"Yes." Aerith nodded, looking at the ground as she did so. "I've never told anyone about this. My parents said that I would be in danger if I ever revealed my heritage to anyone."
"Rufus would have found you long ago had you done so." Vincent said. "And those in your village may have hated you for being different. It is human nature to do so."
"That explains a few things." Cloud said, wondering if Ilfana had owned the Holy orb because of her species. "And that's why you greeted us like that? Because Aerith is half Cetra?"
You are correct.
"Well, what about you?" Aerith asked the glowing woman. "You said you only look like a Cetra, so what are you really?"
I am Ahziralirul, both the caretaker of this city, as well as the city itself.
"Can you be a little more specific?" Cloud scoffed. Her answer hadn't exactly been crystal clear.
Certainly. To obtain a city that could perform the functions the Cetra required, it would need many things; for example, power and guidance. To fulfill these needs, the Cetra created me, the Eternal City of the Stars.
"Alright." Cloud said, though that circular reasoning hadn't really helped explain it any better. "Then can you tell me what the Eternal City of the Stars is?"
Certainly. The Eternal City of the Stars, also known as Ahziralirul, is a self sustaining city created to house a colony of Cetra warriors during their long journey through the stars.
"The stars?" Vincent asked. "This city came from another world?"
That is correct, unknown organism named Vincent. Ahziralirul said. In order to create such a city, the Cetra merged a multitude of sea creatures together with advanced technology in order to create a living vessel capable of sustaining itself indefinitely.
As Ahziralirul spoke, she waved her hand and a semi-transparent image came to life in mid air next to her. It showed what appeared to be a scaled down version of the Eternal City of the Stars. It was comprised primarily of three enormous sea cones that had been joined together at their bases to create something close to a triangle when viewed from above. A city of much smaller sea shells with some sort of transparent dome surrounding it was constructed atop the merged bases of the larger three; that would have been the ruined city they saw on the surface. Apparently, the forest around the city was actually growing overtop of this enormous vessel, and only the ruins still remained above ground.
The souls of these living creatures, primarily the three wise and ancient Krysshkrash Snails that lived deep within the oceans, were merged into a single sentient soul that was then integrated into the inner city's computer systems. The resulting life form is I, Ahziralirul.
"So, you're a computer?" Tifa asked, trying to grasp what was being said here.
Correct, but I am also alive. I am the merger of many souls into a single entity, made eternal by my ties to the city's technology. I command all of the Eternal City of the Stars functions, some of which are; navigation, data storage, life support, janitorial services, and many others.
"And this is why you speak to us through our minds." Vincent said, nodding. "You are non-corporeal, and so you must communicate telepathically."
That is correct, unknown organism named Vincent. It is also beneficial, as I do not know your human language, but am able to translate your conscious thoughts quite effectively.
"Lucrecia never told me any of this." He said to no one in particular, and choosing not to mention his displeasure over the way Ahziralirul was addressing him.
"I have a question." Cloud spoke up again.
My knowledge is at your disposal.
"If this city came from space, does that mean the Cetra were not originally from this world?"
That is correct. The Cetra originated from the planet Ce, in the Omicron star system.
"Then why did they come here?" Aerith asked. "My mother never told me of the Cetra's history."
The Cetra constructed the Eternal City of the Stars and selected the greatest of Ce's warriors to inhabit the city and pursue the Greater Demon.
"Greater Demon?" Tifa asked, her fine brows furrowing in concern over that ominous title. "What's that?"
Why, Jenova, of course.
As Ahziralirul spoke that name into their minds, all eyes turned towards Cloud. Among the many things done to him by Hojo to make him into a makeshift copy of Sephiroth, a sample of some substance known only as "Jenova" had been used. None of them knew what that meant, nor had they ever heard the word before or again; until now.
"Alright." Cloud said, his voice a little strained as he thought this one through. "Can you explain to us what this Jenova is exactly?"
Certainly. Ahziralirul waved her hand once more, and a new set of floating images appeared next to her. The first of which was a beautiful blue and green sphere.
On their home world of Ce, the Cetra developed a unique balance of nature and technology. Their science was advanced, but they went to great lengths to assure that their world would remain pure despite the constant resources needed to further their civilization. In the pursuit of this noble goal, they created many hybrids of biology and machinery, such as myself.
It was several millennia ago that contact with the organism that would come to be known as the Greater Demon Jenova took place. The creature descended upon the planet of Ce, shaping itself into a form that loosely resembled a member of the Cetra race and approached them as a friend from the stars.
The image of the planet melted into a slideshow of pictures depicting massive carnage; cities in ruins, forests aflame, thousands dead. The party found themselves horrified by what they were being shown.
As you can see, Jenova's call for peace was merely a deception. As Cetra ambassadors approached her, she infected them with a terrible sickness that resulted in their eventual demise. This virus spread, and as the Cetra desperately tried to slow its advance, the Greater Demon Jenova unleashed her wrath upon their world. Millions died, entire continents were turned to ash; none had ever witnessed a creature of such horrible power.
However, Jenova had severely underestimated the Cetra. She had mistaken their love of nature and biological creations as a sign that they were capable of advanced technology. After the initial onslaught, the Cetra rallied and began developing ways of fighting back against the Greater Demon.
Again the images changed, now showing thousands of the cat-like Cetra wielding weapons that emitted a strange, blue-white light. With these armaments, the Cetra were engaged in battle with an enormous and fearsome creature composed of jutting limbs, pulsing organs, and spiky tentacles.
To combat Jenova, the Cetra created the Atma Weapons; melee and projectile weapons that combined science and magic to create ephemeral beams. The Atma Weapons could bypass Jenova's near impregnable defenses and strike at the source of her terrible power; her very soul. Shocked by the turn of events and badly injured, Jenova fled the world of Ce.
It was after the retreat of Jenova that the surviving Cetra made the decision to create the Eternal City of the Stars in order to track the fleeing beast and destroy it once and for all so that other worlds would not befall such destruction. The greatest of Ce's warriors were chosen to board the colony vessel and leave their home world for as long as it took to find and defeat Jenova.
"And that's what led them here?" Tifa asked.
Correct. Eventually, the Cetra were able to trace Jenova's path of carnage to this world. Here they did battle with the Greater Demon once more, and emerged victorious. Jenova was defeated, and her soul sealed away.
"Sealed?" Vincent interrupted. "Jenova was not destroyed?"
You are, unfortunately, correct. The Greater Demon's life force proved too powerful for the Cetra to fully destroy without annihilating this world in the process. To avoid doing such a thing, the Cetra used their magic to separate Jenova's weakened soul from her body, sealing her away for eternity.
"But it didn't work." Cloud said, his mouth set in a frown as he began to understand what was happening. "Did it?"
No, it did not. Approximately eighty years ago my systems detected that the soul of Jenova had been released. Although she is still very weak, and merely a shadow of her former self, she has remained active and stable to this very day.
"Rufus." Vincent said, stating what all of them were thinking.
"He must have stumbled across this thing when he was young." Cloud shook his head. "Do you think it possessed him?"
This is the most probable conclusion I have been able to deduce.
"And to think, I have some of that thing in me." Cloud let out a deep breath. "Okay. So if Rufus is actually what's left of Jenova, how do we beat him?"
I regret to inform you that I am unable to assist you in this endeavor. This ship, while well armed, has been thoroughly buried by time. I will be unable to lift off. I also do not have access to any of the Cetra weapons or magic's that could aid you. It is for these reasons that I suggest you seek out the Cetra and request their help.
"The Cetra?" Aerith asked in astonishment. "You mean they're still here?"
Not on this ship, no. I have not been in communication with the Cetra for several thousands of years. The battle with Jenova separated us long ago, but the Cetra still exist on this world, and in large quantity.
"Where?" Cloud asked, trying to keep a newfound sense of enthusiasm out of his voice. "How do we find them?"
With another wave, a map of the world appeared next to Ahziralirul. A red square blinked around a section of the inner continent, causing it to enlarge. This process repeated until an image of a red and orange stoned canyon was visible.
My monitoring systems show a high concentration of full blood Cetra in this area. They have been there for several hundred years. There was a second colony at one point, but it ceased to exist approximately two hundred years ago. If you wish to defeat Jenova, it would be wise for you to go to them.
"Let us hope that the Highwind can be repaired swiftly, then." Vincent said.
Ah, the flying vessel. I apologize, but it was I who caused your descent into the forest. I detected Cetra in my vicinity and used my defense network to bring your ship down and lure you here. I assure you, there is nothing wrong with your vessel. It will function properly when you return to it.
"In that case, we better go." Cloud said, looking to the others for approval. "If we can get to the Cetra and learn of a way to fight Rufus, this could change everything."
"I have a question before we go." Tifa spoke up.
What is it, human named Tifa?
"The water." Tifa pointed to the lake and the shapes at the bottom. "You seemed concerned about me touching it when you first showed yourself. What is it?"
Ah. This lake was a burial ground for the Cetra who died during the voyage here. It was intended to be the place of rest for the warriors who fell in the fight with Jenova as well, but as I already explained, the Cetra never returned to me after their battle. Originally, the honored dead that were placed within these waters were to be returned to Ce one day, but as I can no longer lift off, it has become their permanent place of rest.
"Oh." Tifa said, looking down into the waters again with newfound respect and sadness. "I'm sorry to hear that."
Your sympathy is greatly appreciated.
"We should go." Vincent said, interrupting the moment.
"Yeah." Cloud agreed. "Looks like we have a lot to do. Thank you, Ahziralirul. You've been a great help, I only wish there was something we could do in return."
In fact, there is something you can do for me.
"Anything." Aerith spoke up. "Just say it."
If you find the Cetra, please tell them I am still here. I do not wish them to forget about me.
"Of course." Cloud bowed his head in respect to the ephemeral being. "We'll make sure they know."
Thank you. Now make haste, and be wary. I do not know what has transpired of the Cetra since my last contact with them so long ago, I can not possibly attempt to prepare you for what you can expect, or how they will greet you.
"They've been gone for far too long." Tseng said as he paced to and fro in the crew lounge of the Highwind. Jessie, Sherra, and Cid all sat on a couch at the west wall of the room. The trio were covered in grease, oil, cuts, and looked utterly miserable as they studied diagrams of the Highwind's infrastructure laid out on a table before them.. They'd been unable to find anything wrong with the ship, and as such they'd retreated to the lounge to brainstorm. Sephiroth sat alone on the other side of the lounge, acting calm and detached, as was the norm for him.
"I can't believe you let them go." Tseng continued.
"Do not question my decisions." Sephiroth said with animosity in his voice. "I'm not very fond of such things."
"I think Tseng has a point." Jessie offered, though she seemed to sink down into the couch when Sephiroth turned to glare at her. "There's no telling what they've found out there."
"A lot more than you'd think." Cloud said, as he stepped into the crew lounge, prompting everyone to look up as he and the other explorers filed in.
"Thank heavens you're all safe." Sherra said, putting a hand to her heart as if to stop it from leaping from her chest. "We were worried about you."
"What did you find?" Sephiroth inquired, ruining any possibility of a tender moment.
"A long abandoned Cetra city." Vincent said as if it wasn't impressive at all.
"A Cetra city?" Sephiroth asked, sounding both astounded and skeptical at once.
"That's what he said." Cloud snapped at the former General as he sat down in one of the chairs and ran hand over his face, indicating how tired he was. He was getting very sick of hearing that man's voice. "And we have a new destination; a canyon on the inner continent. There are apparently living Cetra there who may be able to help us find a way to defeat Rufus."
"How intriguing." Sephiroth muttered beneath his breath before shaking his head to them. "It will have to wait though. We need to rest, and gather supplies and intelligence for such a venture."
"I can't argue with you there." Cloud scowled at the silver-haired man for daring to make a smart suggestion.
"Great!" Tifa said, sounding suddenly cheerful. "I can't wait to get some good relaxation in. It feels like I haven't sat down in years!"
Almost as if cued by that remark, the ship trembled like it had been struck, causing the entire crew lounge to rock.
"What was that!" Aerith asked, looking shocked and afraid.
"I don't know." Tseng said as he reached inside his coat and withdrew his materia gun. "But we better find out."
"Get the ship ready to fly." Cloud sighed as he pulled himself from his momentarily comfy seat. "We might need to take off in a hurry."
"One problem there, kid." Cid snarled. "We're dead in the water, remember?"
"Oh that." Tifa remembered out loud. "Uhm, it should be fine now."
"Excuse me?" Cid hissed. "And just how the hell would you know that?"
"Long story." Cloud said as the ship shook once more. "We'll explain later. Just get it started while we check this out."
"Fine." Cid said as he grabbed Jessie and Sherra from their seats and began dragging them towards the bridge, pausing only long enough to flash his middle finger in Cloud's direction.
"What the hell is that man's problem?" Cloud questioned no one in particular after the pilot had left. "It's like he hates everybody."
"Ignore it, and let's go." Sephiroth said as he stepped past Cloud, prompting a dirty look from the blond. "Aerith, stay here."
"No, I can help." Aerith replied.
"You would only be a hindrance. Just stay here where you'll be safe and out of the way."
"I'm not as helpless as you think." Aerith said as she put on a stern and stubborn face. "And I want to help."
"Leave her alone." Cloud said as he glared at the former general. "Me and Tifa will make sure she stays out of harms way."
Sephiroth watched the younger soldier for a moment, looking as if he were about to either say something, or simply smack Cloud in the face, but in the end he merely shook his head and exited the lounge. The others followed suit and made their way to the exit ramp of the Highwind.
Coincidentally, the moment the party began to exit the ship and step into the forest, the ship ceased to shake, leaving only the lowly thrumming sound of the engines warming up. Staying close together, they carefully moved out further so they could get a better view of the ships body, hoping that they would discover a tree limb hitting the ship due to the wind.
As a searing red bullet of flame zipped through the air and detonated the ground at the center of their little group, that hope was thoroughly shattered. Steel cried out as their weapons were instantly drawn, all of them looking around frantically in the direction the attack had come from. Not wasting any time, their would be assassin revealed himself by dropping from a tree limb not more than twenty yards away, his red tail of hair and disheveled blue suit flapping quietly in the wind.
"Reno." Sephiroth identified him. "I should have known Rufus would send one of his dogs after us."
"Heh." Reno chuckled as he twirled the still smoking materia gun on his index finger. "And I shoulda known you wouldn't be smart enough to run while you had the chance. Guess that makes both of us wrong, huh?"
"Be careful." Tseng warned the others. "He's much more dangerous than he appears to be."
"Aww, shucks Tseng. You're going to embarrass me." Reno laughed as he put his free hand in his pants pocket and began to lazily stroll towards them. "Rufus is going to be pretty pissed when he finds out you were the traitor. It's funny really, I never took you for much of a revolutionary, what with you always being a little ----- who did whatever he was told."
"Don't let him get to you." Cloud said quietly. "He's just trying to shake us up, make us easier to target. We need to take him down fast, we may have a numbers advantage, but it would only take him a couple good shots to kill some of us."
"You guys strategizing over there?" Reno grinned like a mage in a materia store. "Guess I better be careful then, seeing as how you've got a has-been general on your side."
"Vincent, go left." Sephiroth muttered just loud enough for them to hear. "I'll take the right. He won't be able to get a shot at both of us before we reach him."
"What about us?" Tifa asked.
"Stay with the girl. Make sure he doesn't go after her instead. Remember, Rufus wants Holy from her."
"Good point." Tifa said, setting her jaw and stepping into a defensive position to the left of Cloud, with Aerith behind the two of them.
"Tseng, lay low and watch for an opening to snipe him." Sephiroth instructed.
"Right."
"Uh, oh," Reno snickered. "I wonder what you're gonna do?"
"Now!" Sephiroth snapped.
In unison, Sephiroth and Vincent darted in their respective directions and ran for Reno with the intent to kill. Reno, in turn, spun his materia gun once more before firing in Vincent's direction. With his abnormally high reflexes, Vincent had no trouble dodging the single fiery bullet, but the dodge slowed him down just long enough for Sephiroth to reach the Turk first. With an elegant swing of his katana, Sephiroth slashed at Reno's chest, an attack that generally ended in the death of whoever his opponent was.
Instead of dying though, Reno whipped an object out of the inner pocket of his suit coat. With a flick of his wrist the small, steel cylinder extended to triple its length and he used it to parry Sephiroth's sword. Then, with a touch of a button on the base of the metal rod, electricity surged through the touching metal and into Sephiroth's body. With a cry of pain, the general stumbled backwards.
Reno was laughing hysterically when, seconds later, Vincent arrived and swiped at the Turk with the heavy claws of his gauntlet. Reno ducked with ease, and then flipped backwards as Vincent swung with his gloved fist, again easily avoiding the attack. Taken back by Reno's speed, but still quite determined to tear him limb from limb, Vincent resumed his assault by spin kicking his right leg towards the Turks face. Reno spun to the side, avoiding the blow again. Vincent slashed out with his gauntlet once more and Reno flipped back, placing his hand on the ground and splitting his legs to avoid another swipe of Vincent's claws. Then, as Vincent punched hard towards his skull, he used his other hand to spring board himself into the air, somersaulting and landing a good five feet away.
By now, Sephiroth had recovered and was heading in for a second attack while Vincent roared in anger and frustration. Both he and Sephiroth reached Reno at the same time, and began their combined assault. Vincent swung high, Sephiroth slashed low. Reno leapt sideways into the air and managed to slide between both attacks at once. Sephiroth swung his sword horizontally up while Vincent spread his clawed fingers and dove for Reno's jugular. Reno ducked Vincent's hand, and then pushed his arm downwards, causing Sephiroth's katana to deflect off Vincent's gauntlet.
Cloud, Tifa, Tseng, and Aerith watched the acrobatic display in stunned silence. Despite Vincent's animal speed, and Sephiroth's agile finesse, Reno was able to dodge everything they threw at him, all while bouncing around like some sort of primate. In fact, Reno hadn't even tried to fight back yet. It was almost like he was toying with them.
"Can't you do something!" Cloud shouted to Aerith, who looked shocked at what she was seeing.
"Me?" Aerith broke from her daze. "Do what?"
"Holy!" Cloud said as he watched the battle continue. "When you used it in your village it had an effect on him, use it again!"
"Oh, right!" Aerith said, inwardly scolding herself for not thinking of it sooner. Bowing her head, she began to quietly utter her prayer that would draw out the power of the Holy orb entwined in her hair. Yet when she was finished, nothing happened.
"Why isn't it working?" Tifa mumbled nervously.
"I don't know!" Aerith exclaimed, clearly distressed. "This is only the third time I've ever tried to use it, I know almost nothing about it!"
"Well if we can't depend on that," Tifa grumbled. "Then I'm not going to stand around and watch this happen."
Realizing that the two men needed assistance in taking the dancing monkey down, she abandoned her defensive posture and headed into the fray. With her martial arts training and speed, she believed her added skills would surely cause Reno to falter. As Sephiroth and Vincent both attacked and were dodged once again, Tifa leapt into the air and brought her right foot down towards Reno in a flying kick while he was still unbalanced from the men's attacks. Rather than hit her target, Tifa landed in a crouch as Reno some how managed to roll forward and beneath her then come up just in time to leap up and over Vincent, then duck and roll to the right below Sephiroth's sword.
Seeing his chance, Tseng raised his materia gun high, steadying his aim and firing an ice charged bullet at Reno's forehead. Crouching low, the Turk avoided the bullet, which smacked into a tree further back and exploded in a wave of ice that covered the trunk. Not letting up, Tseng fired four more shots in rapid succession, each of them missing Reno by mere inches as he weaved in and out of the way. Then at long last it seemed that Reno's play time was over. While diving away from another of Tseng's blasts, he pulled the trigger of his own materia gun, sending a flaming bullet into Tseng's gun shoulder. A cry of pain was issued as Tseng was knocked back, but he switched his gun to his other hand and prepared to continue firing. Reno never gave him the opportunity, as he sent another shot into Tseng's upper arm, fully disabling him as he fell to the ground, clutching limply at his burning wounds.
"You guys are just too much." Reno cackled now that he had a little distance between himself and his opponents. "It's too bad I'm going to have to kill you all. This is pretty fun."
"I'll make you eat those words!" Vincent roared, his eyes narrowing as he ran forward.
Reno stood still until Vincent had swung, and then he moved like the wind, shifting to the right and letting Vincent fly by while he brought his knee up and into his gut. With a groan, Vincent went to his knees, but was back on his feet instantly, just in time to find Reno's shock rod rammed into his left cheek bone. With a snap-hiss that left the smell of burning flesh lingering in the air, Vincent flew back and landed in a temporarily immobile heap on the ground.
"No!" Tifa shouted as she moved into action next.
As she reached the Turk she jabbed hard with her right hand with just enough speed to grab Reno's wrist and twist the rod away from him. Rather than let her use his own weapon against him, Reno flipped straight into the air, his foot kicking her hand sharply and sending the weapon flying out of her grasp. As Tifa staggered back, Reno landed on his feet and held his left hand out into the air, letting the rod fall into his palm. Grinding her teeth out of anger and frustration, Tifa let out a series of left and right punches and jabs, aimed both high and low. Reno dodged or blocked each and every one of them with perfect timing until the skilled woman left just enough of a gap in her defenses for him to jerk his upper body forward, slamming the top of his skull into her chin and sending her tumbling to the ground.
Next up was Sephiroth, who came flying at Reno with a round house kick, followed by a lateral slash of the Masamune. Reno bent his knees and leaned his body back to avoid the kick, then brought his gun up, using the metal casing to deflect Sephiroth's sword. Undeterred by his failure, Sephiroth crouched low and swung hard, but missed, causing him to spin away from Reno. With his back turned, Sephiroth flipped the Masamune in his hand and stabbed it backwards as he pulled his smaller nodachi from his belt and spun to slash the shorter blade at Reno's face. Unfazed by the general's agility or formidable swordsmanship, Reno dodged and ducked before bringing the butt of his gun across Sephiroth's jaw, sending him sprawling away.
With three at least momentarily down, Reno turned his wicked grin and glimmering eyes towards Aerith and Cloud, who was still steadfast in his defensive pose in front of the girl. Letting loose a chuckle, Reno ducked low and ran towards the pair with his arms aimed behind him, weapons at the ready. Realizing they were now directly in danger, Aerith chanted a quick spell and raised a shield in Reno's way. Rather than slow down, the Turk ran headfirst into the shield, its magical field exploding like glass as he passed through it with ease. Aerith let out a small squeak of panic as she raised her hands up and launched several small fireballs at him, but Reno deflected each of them with his palm. Biting her lower lip in worry, Aerith wracked her brain for another strategy but found none. Her magic simply wasn't strong enough to make any difference in this battle.
Cloud wasn't fond of his chances against a man who'd already felled three of the toughest and most skilled warriors he'd ever seen, but he also knew he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. As Aerith's spells failed to slow Reno down, Cloud curled his lips and narrowed his eyes. With a metallic ring, he brought his Buster Sword out of its sheath and held the heavy, cleaving blade in front of him with both hands on its long hilt. Reno began moving side to side, trying to throw him off, but Cloud stood firm, waiting to strike until the darting fool came into his range. Then, with one hard downward swing at just the right time, Cloud's Buster Sword struck Reno solidly on his right collar bone, shattering the man's bone and sending him to the ground; or at least, that's what it should have done.
Cloud stood, dumbfounded and with wide eyes as Reno's face inched closer to his. After a direct hit from his Buster Sword, Reno remained unharmed, even as the heavy blade lay against him where it should have crushed his upper torso. The bastard had let Cloud hit him on purpose, just to prove that it wouldn't be able to do any damage to him.
"Haven't you figured it out yet?" Reno snickered. "You can't beat me; Rufus gave me and Rude some of his power decades ago, when the three of us first found Jenova."
Cloud didn't know how to respond, nor could he. Three loud booms rang out, and he suddenly felt very cold. Reno's mouth continued to move, but for some reason he couldn't hear or, at least, understand the words the Turk was speaking. Confusion set in, and it seemed like the world had begun to slow down.
Aerith screamed as Reno blew smoke away from the barrel of his gun. Cloud Strife fell to the ground next to her in a patch of snow dyed red by his own blood; three scorched and gaping wounds in his chest.
Tifa had just managed to pull herself off the ground, her vision still blurry and her chin dripping with blood from a deep gash she now had there. Then her pain ceased to be as three loud booms rang through the snowy forest and she saw Cloud fall. She ran, staggering with tears streaming down her cheeks, towards the bastard who had shot the man she loved. She tried to kick him in the back, to make him feel physical pain that wouldn't possibly compare to what she now felt, but even that was denied. Reno was too fast for her before, and he was certainly too fast for her now.
As Reno side stepped the martial artist, she missed him and tripped herself up, falling to her stomach on top of her badly wounded friend. As she struggled up, she realized what had happened and looked down at the blood staining her shirt. Tifa's eyes went wide and she let out a panicked scream as she realized that the blood wasn't hers; it was Clouds. Her cry, and Reno's subsequent laughter was drowned out as the Highwind's engines ignited and the ship roared to life.
Aerith dropped to her knees, not wanting to believe that things had gone so terribly wrong in just a few short seconds. She knew she wasn't very strong in magic due to lack of proper training, but she placed her hands over Cloud's chest and chanted a low level cure spell nonetheless.
Sephiroth and Vincent had both climbed to their feet, and the latter was about to leap on Reno's back and tear his skull open before the former stopped him.
"Get the others on the ship and get out of here!" Sephiroth shouted at him above the roar of the airship.
"What?" Vincent asked in disbelief. "What about you?"
"I'll stay and keep Reno busy!" Sephiroth growled as he brought his sword up once more. "He won't let any of you escape if I don't!"
"But you can't beat him!" Vincent grabbed Sephiroth by the collar. "He will kill you!"
"We don't have time to argue!" Sephiroth yelled and pushed Vincent towards the others. "Go!"
Before Vincent could protest further, Sephiroth ran towards Reno, launching a ball of fire from his fingertips that exploded at the Turks feet and caused him to jump away from the others. Seeing a renewed threat from the former general, Reno turned and jumped at Sephiroth, swinging his shock rod at his sternum. Sephiroth narrowly dodged, and managed to catch Reno's left arm with the tip of his Masamune, though it did little good against him.
The short encounter had given the demonically fast Vincent just enough time to grab the two girls, the wounded Tseng, and the badly bleeding Cloud and herd them into the ship. To stop Reno from noticing, Sephiroth continued to take wild swings as the Highwind's boarding ramp retracted and the ship began to lift off the ground.
"No!" Reno shouted as he heard the change in noise and realized what was happening. He whirled around, raising his gun to fire at the ship, hoping to damage its engines and send it back to the ground.
"Brush off vanity, and show reality!" Sephiroth chanted quickly, his eyes burning bright. "Ultima!"
The air around Reno distorted instantly and a small pinpoint of blue light appeared on the Turk's chest that quickly exploded into a bright blue dome coursing with magical power. A shockwave from the attack kicked up snow and dirt at the base of the explosion and sent it flying into the air.
By the time the immense power of the spell began to fade, the Highwind was too high and moving much too fast for it to be in further danger. Sephiroth shielded his eyes from the flying particles and watched as the explosion died down to let him see that Reno was still standing. Ultima, the most powerful spell in all of black magic, had failed.
Though not nearly defeated, the spell had at least forced Reno to become defensive. Covering his human exterior was a glistening suit of ruby-red armor, thick but form fitting, almost as if it was another layer of skin. Sephiroth had just enough time to glance at the strange, red plating before it vanished. Reno resumed his usual smirk where a freakish and demonic mask had been seconds before.
"Ah." Sephiroth sounded calm as always, despite what he had just seen. "So you're the ruby one. I'd always wondered which one of you was which."
"You know?" Reno asked, genuine surprise in his voice. "How?"
"I know quite a lot."
"Well I'll be damned." Reno chuckled as he scratched his scalp through his hair. "Then I guess maybe you know that you can't beat me, huh?"
"So you say."
"Alright." Reno said, abruptly becoming annoyed with the situation. "Let's get this over with. I'm tired of this ----."
With incredible speed, Reno ran straight at Sephiroth with his gun firing. All the while the shadow warrior's lips were forming a smirk as if he was privy to an incredible secret that Reno had no knowledge of.
Additional Author's Notes
--------------------
Just in case anyone is having a difficult time picturing the way I redesigned the Cetra (or in this case, a holographic entity taking the appearance of a Cetra) in my story, try to imagine the Mithra from Final Fantasy XI, except with long elf ears that have fur on the tips. Another good example of what I was going for is Aisha from Outlaw Star. Kind of cat-like, but still fully humanoid, and not all furry.