Chapter 9: WHAT! HE'S BACK!
Cloud leads the group as they step into an area with a large altar surrounded by curving steps. Cloud remembers this area; it's where Aeris was killed. He clearly remembers from 3 years ago. The memories of Aeris flood Cloud's mind, sadness making his lip quiver.
"Let's get out of here," Cloud whispers to Tifa, his voice suddenly husky with emotion. She motions to the others and they continue past the altar, leaving Sephiroth staring at a mark on the altar's floor.
"Aeris's blood…" Sephiroth whispers as he looks at the floor. There is still an old blood stain on the floor, but it isn't even red anymore. It looks like a rust-colored stain on the white marble floor. He kneels down slowly and touches his hand to the floor. He notices the broken beams of sunlight arranged in a random patter on the ground. Looking up, he sees that the stained glass skylight above him had been shattered, seemingly a long time ago. He gets up and frowns, "What kind of monster would destroy such a perfect window?" He thinks, marveling at the detail on the bits of unshattered sections that remain.
"Sephiroth…what a surprise!"
Sephiroth spins his head around and looks outside the altar. He walks backward and looks around.
"Ha, ha, ha…my dear boy, you are still the same old Sephiroth from 7 years ago!"
Sephiroth is shocked. He reaches for his sword instinctively before remembering he wasn't armed. 'Dammit!' he thinks.
"Who are you? Show yourself!" he growls.
"Humph!"
A black figure appears in front of Sephiroth with a hood covering his face, along with a cloak for his body. He walks toward Sephiroth.
"Here I am, Sephiroth…I'm so glad that I see you're still alive after all these years!" Sephiroth growls at the hooded man.
"Back off, old man! I can't figure out who you are but your scent is pretty odd. Show me your face!" Sephiroth gets ready to attack the hooded man if he tries anything.
"Ha, ha, ha! You want me to let you see my face. Oh, this is so great! Fine, here I am!" Slowly the visitor lifts away his hood to reveal…
"HOJO!" Sephiroth screams, too shocked to say anything else. He grabs the old man and lifts him up into the air by his neck.
"How are you still alive! Cloud told me that you died! They killed you!" Sephiroth roars at Hojo.
"Ha, ha, ha! They killed my precious clone! Yes, I used my clone to fight them so I could have time to escape! This is so wonderful! Ha, ha, ha…!" Hojo laughs as Sephiroth feels a shiver travel down in his spine. Sephiroth pushes Hojo against the wall of the altar, tightening his hold on his throat.
"Enough about clones, you sick bastard! I lost my friends because of you! Your clone of me killed Aeris right here!" Sephiroth yells at Hojo.
"Friends? You had friends! Ha, ha, ha! That's rich! You didn't care anything about having friends! All you cared about was doing your job!" Hojo coughed, struggling to talk while being half-strangled. Sephiroth could barely hear Hojo's coughs over the thudding of blood in his ears, his vision turned a shade of red as his hands tightened on the man's neck.
"Shut the hell up!" Sephiroth growls as his body begins to slowly transform.
"Yes! (Cough) Get mad! (Gasp) Ha... ha...!" Hojo laughs as Sephiroth roars and throws him against the marble wall behind him. Sephiroth gasps as he slowly kneels down, grabbing his head.
"Valeria!" a voice from the bottom of the altar, "Please, calm down!" she runs up to alter and sees Sephiroth kneeling on the floor. She hugs Sephiroth from his behind, "Calm down, please!" Sephiroth lets his hands go from his head and looks up at Tifa.
"T Tifa…" Sephiroth tries to breathe deeply, to calm himself down, "Hojo…he…" He was cut off by someone.
"Ha, ha, ha! I, Hojo, have returned! Tifa, you look good!" Hojo laughs as he floats into the air. Sephiroth spins his head around quickly and looks at Hojo.
"Hojo! You're supposed to be dead!" Tifa gasps, even more shocked than Sephiroth was. Hojo glares at Tifa evilly.
"Ha, ha, ha! This is the second time you tried to choke me, Sephiroth! But you've failed once again! I cannot be killed by you or your little friends!" Hojo laughs. He moves toward Sephiroth and takes a good look at him, "Ooooh! Your eyes, they are beginning to turn red! Ha, ha, ha! Go ahead, transform! Let your anger boil out!" Sephiroth tightens his hands and growls at Hojo. Suddenly, a gunshot sounds from below, aimed at Hojo. Hojo raises his hand and a glowing green shield covers him. The bullet hits the shield and burns then melts away.
"Vincent! Ha, ha, ha!" Hojo giggles at Vincent. Vincent jumps toward the altar and lands in front of Sephiroth and Tifa. He looks back at Sephiroth; "Sephiroth, don't transform. Hojo just wants you to transform so he can take your dragon heart. Please calm down…" Sephiroth takes a heavy sigh and Tifa hugs him tighter.
"Hmm...How did you know that I'm here for the Dragon heart?" Hojo glares at Vincent. Vincent aims his gun at Hojo, "Stay away from Sephiroth…he's not—" he pauses then sigh, "You won't take the Dragon heart from Sephiroth. We're here to protect him from you!" Hojo laughs and points at Vincent; "Ha, ha, ha! You could say that, but my dear specimen, you never know when there could be a spy in your group! His Dragon heart could be taken anytime when he is in his true form!" Hojo points at Sephiroth, "Show me your dragon heart!" His hands clench into fists and the green cloak forms around him again. Sephiroth gasps and grabs at his chest in pain. The red light suddenly flashes from his chest. His head falls back while he screams in pain. Tifa gets up and stands front of Sephiroth.
"Hojo! Stop! Stop it! You're hurting him!" Tifa screams at him. Hojo floats toward Sephiroth but is blocked by Tifa and Vincent. He stares at Sephiroth's chest with it brightening red aura and giggles.
"Yes…yes! His Dragon heart is all ready! It is completed after all! So, I can use it to revive the real Jenova!" Hojo laughs but suddenly he falls onto the ground and looks up at the figure that has staggered him. Red growls at him; "Hojo…stay away from Sephiroth! Or I will rip your throat out!" Hojo smiles at Red then pushes Red out with his unknown magic. Red crashes back into the wall. Hojo gets up then floats into the air.
"You fools! You cannot defeat me with such weak power! Ha, ha, ha! Sephiroth, my dear boy, you shall wait for me…Just wait for me! Ha, ha, ha!" Hojo laughs as he floats away out of the altar. Sephiroth falls and blacks out due to the pain. Tifa gasps and kneels down; "Valeria! Valeria!" Tifa picks up Sephiroth's head, and brings it to her lap. Vincent kneels down and stares at Sephiroth. Red groans as he gets up and sees Sephiroth lying on the floor.
"What happened!" Red limps toward his friends.
"He blacked out from the pain Hojo caused. He will be all right, though. Now, we must keep eye on him while Hojo is around." Vincent says as he looks at Red.
"Hojo knows about his Dragon heart…I bet that was a long time ago when he was in the lab and did something to Valeria. I just heard Hojo mention something about reviving the 'real' Jenova by using Valeria's Dragon heart." Tifa says.
"Reviving the real Jenova from the Dragon heart itself, but I thought it was all just a myth…" Vincent looks up at Tifa.
"Yeah, I heard that myth too. According to my grandpa; Dragon hearts can be used to revive good or evil sources of power. However, this may cause the owner of the Dragon heart to become fully human again, in a case like this, and sometimes, it may kill the owner." Red explains as he remembers his grandpa's story. Vincent's eyes widen.
"It can kill the owner if it gets removed!" Tifa gasps and Red nods, "Yes…it may. Right now, for Valeria's safety, we must get him back to town immediately!" Vincent picks Sephiroth up and carries him out but he stops and looks around...
"Hey…where is Cloud?"
...To be continued. Chapter 10 coming up!