Start Date: July 24, 2022

Windwillow

Final Fantasy VII

Every avenue of the search for Sephiroth on the eastern continent has been exhausted. Though he was seen committing murder in Junon, he seems to have slipped away, allegedly to the western continent. Thus, Cloud and his team have infiltrated a Shinra cargo ship bound for Costa del Sol on the continent to the west.

But are they alone?

Chapter Twenty-Two: Onboard the Cargo Ship

Scene One

The paths taken by Cloud and his allies to reach Shinra's cargo ship were distinctly different. Whereas Cloud was thrown up onto an electrified tower in the middle of the water by an intelligent dolphin, disguised himself as a soldier, and experienced a number of adventures on the way in, the way the rest of the team arrived was a bit less dramatic. One of the guards protecting the path between Upper and Lower Junon was, shall we say, involved with a lady of the night. Tifa, Aerith, and the rest took advantage of this by finding her, bribing her, and blackmailing the guard into allowing them to pass. Once up top, Yuffie managed to smuggle them in inside a series of crates that ended up in the cargo ship.

"And that's that," said Tifa with a smile and a nod. After Barret returned Cloud's sword to him, the team gathered in a storage room far in the back of the ship. "Thanks to Yuffie and Aerith, we got here!" Tifa beamed. "Although... um... the way we got here was a bit shady..." she said with a flush of red on her cheeks, and Cloud immediately understood that Aerith had struck again.

"Oh, come on, Tifa!" Aerith giggled with a wink. She'd loved every minute of making the soldier's life a living hell. Making Barret blush was icing on the cake. "All we had to do was find his girlfriend! Yuffie did that, and she was happy to help us!" she laughed.

"Uh-huh, right..." muttered Red XIII, bowing his head in embarrassment. Her methods were less than kosher. "It only took two thousand Gil to get here as opposed to five thousand, and the little miss only decided to turn tail against her lover after Aerith charmed her and made her think that she was interested in her. It was all quite unsavory, the way they-"

"And he doesn't need to know any of that!" said Aerith cheerfully as she clapped her hand over Red XIII's mouth. Though he struggled at first, Red XIII soon gave up. "She was really sweet, you know?" she chirped. "Her name was Lindsey, and there was a lot we had in common! We both liked flowers a lot, and then we started talking..."

"That's enough!" moaned Tifa as she put her hand to her head. She was no more pleased than Red XIII what it took to convince Lindsey, and even worse she'd had to be at Ground Zero when it went down. "I... um..." she sighed, turning to a blushing Yuffie. "And stop making that face!" Tifa snapped at her with a scowl. "I hope you're proud of yourself for what happened!" she snarled.

"Hehe..." cackled Yuffie, rubbing her hands together. This kind of subterfuge was a specialty of hers, and watching it unfold was great fun for her. "I consider it an achievement the way it went down," said Yuffie with a wink. "And besides, look at these!" Yuffie presented five sets of Shinra uniforms with a dramatic flourish. "The clothing depot didn't have jack for security! It was kind of hard to find one big enough for Barret, though... Fat bastard's size was-"

"Can it!" Barret yelled as he bonked Yuffie hard on the head. She recoiled and scowled, and he turned to Cloud with an exhausted face. During all this, he and Red XIII had tried their best not to interfere with the girls' dubious tactics. To their relief, they hadn't been targeted during the whole debacle. But even being part of it was hard to manage.

For the sake of appropriateness, I feel it necessary to elaborate on what happened. There was nothing physical, nothing sexual, just a very steamy conversation that painted Tifa's and Yuffie's faces a deep crimson. Also,for the sake of remaining a family story, the contents of said conversation will remain confidential. Suffice to say, Barret and Red XIII excused themselves part way through it all. Tifa could only cover her ears and Yuffie was, well... She was having one hell of a time making mischief with Aerith.

"Anyway, that's all in the past now!" chirped Aerith as she clapped her hands together. As she turned to Red XIII, the gleam in her eye chilled his soul. Every time she made that face something horrible happened to him. "Red XIII's gonna have to stay here and guard our equipment, so we'd all better spread out around the ship to make sure we don't get caught," she said with a smile.

"I don't understand," said Red XIII as he cocked his head, confused. The logic didn't come right away, but he quickly realized that he didn't have a uniform to conceal himself in. "You mean I'm supposed to hole up in this tiny little cupboard for the entire trip?!" he exclaimed, baring his fangs. "I am not your butler!" he snarled.

"We have another option," Tifa said with a smirk as she raised a finger. "We stick you in a Shinra uniform and hope no one notices you've got four legs, drop you in the middle of the ship where everyone can see you, and try and pass off a red-furred research specimen as a human!" she grinned. "Which idea do you want to go with?" Tifa asked cheerfully.

Briefly opening his mouth, Red XIII paused when he realized that he wasn't being presented with another option. He was being threatened. So with a sigh, he circled around the ground and laid down with a whimper. Giving in was better than trying to oppose Tifa...

Scene Two

Once everyone had dressed the part of a sailor, the team fanned out across the large vessel to hide. The ship was several meters in size, a small ocean liner used to ferry supplies and personnel from Junon to the resort town of Costa del Sol. Before being killed, President Shinra had bought a lavish summer home there, which of course now belonged to Rufus.

Red XIII sat in near-total isolation inside the small storage area, surrounded by the party's clothes, weapons, and little else but boredom. To pass the time, he tried to imagine all the good times he'd spent in his home town, dreaming of better days. Sad to say, the passage of time had dimmed his recollection... He wasn't totally alone, though. Yuffie, though now dressed as a sailor and repeatedly boasting of her skills as a thief, found herself nearly ready to hurl. Her motion sickness very quickly soured her trip, and she soon found herself in Red XIII's storage closet trying not to vomit.

"Ugh... Ugh!" Yuffie hacked as she held her stomach. All her attempts to remain flesh colored were failing miserably. "How do all these people walk around in this hellhole?!" she gasped, sitting down on her seat with a thud. It was all she could do not to vomit. "To think, the great Yuffie's reduced to guarding a pile of crap with a big red kitty-cat in the middle of frickin' nowhere!"

"You realize," muttered Red XIII with a lazy eye open, "that you aren't guarding anything if you're just hiding here hoping to settle your stomach?" Red XIII sighed, lowering his head to the ground. "All you're doing is sitting in the middle of said hellhole trying not to puke... So you aren't really guarding anything..." he groaned.

"Aw, shut it!" snapped Yuffie, pointing an accusing finger at Red XIII. "I'll have you know that kunoichi like me are just as good at protecting things as we are stealing them!" Suppressing a gag, she drew her legs up to her chest and wiped the spit from her mouth with a flick of her fingers. "Tch... I never would've left Wutai if I knew where I'd end up!" she moaned. "Maybe it would have been better if I hadn't..."

"I've been wondering about that," Red XIII murmured. "Why did you leave your home town, anyway? I never heard anything about that from Cloud..." he said idly. "All I know is that Wutai lost some war..."

"Wutai didn't just lose the war, we were stripped bare..." Yuffie sniffed. It was still a sore spot for her, and just talking about it pissed her off. "After Shinra won, they took all our materia and left us as a tourist destination for hacks like B-movie stars to go on vacation..." Pausing, she lowered her head to her knees. "It was awful seeing what it did to my dad... He didn't even try to pick up the pieces, he just gave up..." she sighed. She lifted her head, angling it towards Red XIII. "How 'bout you? How'd you end up in Midgar?"

"That is a... loaded question," Red XIII said quietly. "Back in Cosmo Canyon, where I grew up, I wandered out a ways and ended up being snagged by Shinra goons. They ferried me to Midgar, slapped a tattoo on me," he said as he gestured to his shoulder, "and Professor Hojo used me as his research specimen. Those scars you see? His scientific methods weren't very humane..." he sighed.

"Oh, nasty! Nasty!" Yuffie spat, shaking her head. "That's just so wrong!" After dry heaving again, Yuffie covered her mouth and nearly threw up. She wiped the saliva from her mouth and bowed her head. "All those bastards do is ruin lives!" she snapped. With a sigh, she lifted her head slightly. "Guess we both got reasons to hand their asses to them in a hat... huh?" she giggled.

"Mm-hmm," nodded Red XIII. They had more in common than either of them thought. That a girl like Yuffie could show some emotion other than volatility surprised him. "And I intend to make them pay for each and every crime they've committed against the people of this Planet and the Planet itself..."

"What about the Planet?" Yuffie asked with a sniff. "They screw up a forest you liked or something?" she said as she lifted her head with a sigh. Her memories turned back to her home town, and they soured her taste buds (which already tasted like her last meal was coming back up). "Don't mean jack compared to what they did to Wutai..." Yuffie huffed.

"You know, I wonder..." Red XIII murmured as he closed his eyes. "I wonder if either of us realize how bad the situation is..." he sighed as he lowered his head. "My Grandpa knows more about this than I do. Maybe someday he can tell you just how much is at stake in this war we're waging..."

Scene Three

For the most part, the voyage passed uneventfully. The team was never detected, despite Barret having a large gatling gun on his arm, for some reason, and no one asked to see their identification. Shinra's elite garrison hadn't proven themselves so elite, it seemed...

"Things have gone awfully smoothly," remarked Cloud. He and Aerith stood on the top of the ship, staring down at the people below, who went about their business oblivious to the fact that they'd been infiltrated. "Maybe we really can get through this without any trouble..." he sighed.

"Mm-hmm," Aerith said with a smile. As she leaned against the side of the railing, Aerith took in the salty sea air and the deep blue ocean beneath them. She swallowed a deep breath of the fresh air and exhaled. "But it's so beautiful out here! I just love the feeling of the wind in my hair..." she giggled.

Cloud nodded as he reclined against the railing as well. For all the hell it took to get on the ship, he was actually having a good time riding the damn thing. And at least this time Aerith's scheme hadn't ended with him wearing a pair of fake breasts or Red XIII being hogtied to Barret. That was a big plus. On the flip side, she had romanced a hooker to get here, so it wasn't all kosher.

"But y'know, whew!" whistled Aerith as she turned her attention to Cloud, who continued to bask in the sun and the waves. The smile on his face stirred her heart, one she wanted to get to know better. "I wanted to ride on that big airship they had back in Junon. I bet that would've been even better!" she chirped. A sudden idea came to her as she spoke. "Think I could ever get onboard that thing? Do you?!" Aerith asked eagerly.

"I... don't know," Cloud muttered. He remembered wondering if Aerith or Tifa would have wanted to ride, and now he had his answer. "Maybe I can take you on a ride some day?" he wondered with a smile as he turned to Aerith. "I'm sure you'd love going on the trip!"

"Uh-huh!" Aerith giggled as she lifted her eyes to the sky. If only... "Some day, somehow, I hope we can ride that thing together..." she sighed, turning her eyes to Cloud. "Just you and me..." she whispered, so quietly that he didn't notice.

There was another person privy to their conversation: Tifa. She'd been wandering the ship aimlessly, looking for something to do, and by chance she'd decided to venture up top. As she approached, however, she'd heard their conversation. Upon hearing Cloud's offer, she'd paused. Innocent enough. Upon hearing Aerith's whisper, though, she froze, a sharp chill piercing her heart. How did she feel, after hearing that?

How, indeed? She'd grown up with Cloud, she'd been his friend since childhood. They'd been through Nibelheim and survived somehow, though through uncertain circumstances. But was friendship really all there was? Why was it that Aerith's words stirred something inside her? And what about Aerith herself? Weren't they friends? Or were they rivals? Whatever they were, her thoughts wouldn't stop. Tifa found herself pinned with her back against the wall of the ship, her heart seemingly beating out from her chest.

I... I don't even know what to think right now... But...

"Hey, guys!" Tifa chirped as she popped up from beneath the deck, surprising both her friends (Aerith more so, though for a different reason). Trying to put her apprehension to rest, Tifa stepped forward and turned her eyes to Cloud, then Aerith. She slowly made her way up, joining Cloud and Aerith as they looked out over the sea. "How's..." she said, hesitating. "How's the view... guys?" she muttered, looking first to Cloud and then flashing a frown to Aerith, who flinched.

"Oh, Tifa! Hey!" Cloud exclaimed, whirling to meet Tifa with a wide smile with no comprehension of the tension he found himself smack dab in the middle of. "Looks like you have your sea legs, huh?" he asked with a smile. "How long have you been down there?" Tifa and Aerith both paused as he spoke, again for reasons different than Cloud realized. He still hadn't noticed their feelings, somehow...

"Y-yeah," muttered Aerith absently. With a sigh, she lifted her head to stare at the sky. "How long have you been here... Tifa?" she said with a strange tone in her voice. The level of awkwardness had just gone over the top, back down again, and vaulted a second time. When Tifa flinched, Aerith simply proceeded with the conversation. "A-anyway..." Aerith trailed off, her eyes wandering. "Where did Barret get to?" she asked quietly. Anything to change the subject.

"I saw him go towards the front of the ship," Tifa said with a shrug. Leaning against the rail, she took a deep breath, looked at Aerith, and exhaled sharply. There would be some discussion later about this. "I don't know what could be over there but the bridge, and that's..." Freezing, she turned to Cloud with a look of terror on her face. "That's where Rufus is!" she shrieked as she held her hands to her mouth. "Don't tell me he's planning on-"

"Damn it, Barret!" Cloud snapped as he jumped down from the deck and leapt towards the bridge. As he landed, he slammed his fist into his palm. "Don't make me slug you, you idiot!" he snarled, dashing towards the bridge with great urgency, leaving Tifa and Aerith alone.

"Phew!" breathed Aerith as she plopped to the ground and wiped her brow. "That was awful close, but Cloud will put him in his place, right?" she asked. Seeing Tifa's strange stare, Aerith gave a nervous giggle. "I take it you... wanna talk about something...?" Aerith murmured. As Tifa folded her arms over her chest, Aerith drew her knees up to her chest. "Yeah, we better talk..." she muttered.

Scene Four

Rufus' quarters were located at the front of the ship, near where the bridge was. The bridge being the location the ship is controlled from, Rufus was situated at essentially the brain of the cargo ship. Barret had indeed gone to spy on his enemy, finding himself now hiding below the deck of the bridge. Rufus stood there discussing the itinerary with the captain, and as Barret seethed, to his surprise Cloud's fist met his gut. Barret spat up some saliva, clutching his wounded stomach with his good hand as he'd had the wind knocked out of him.

"You idiot!" snapped Cloud as he grabbed a reeling Barret, turning him around with a glare. As he drew him close, Cloud angrily shoved his face in Barret's. How many times did he have to have this conversation? "What the hell are you doing?!" Cloud hissed. "Are you trying to get us caught?!" he whispered sharply.

"Shut up, I got the right!" Barret spat back, throwing Cloud aside. He lifted his eyes to where Rufus was chatting with the captain. "If I don't watch the son of a bitch, he might-" Barret was abruptly stopped as Cloud grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into the wall, his arm to his neck. "The hell are you doing?!" shouted Barret angrily, struggling but failing to free himself. "Let me go, mother-"

"This is bigger than you!" Cloud said forcefully, drawing Barret closer to his face. "I have a responsibility to all of us to see us through this! Remember: I'm leader now, not you! Accept that!" he snapped. "We both know I'm right!" he snarled. As Barret's eyes dropped and he gave a reluctant nod, Cloud took his hand in his own with a soft smile. Crisis averted. "Listen, we have to-"

A sudden noise silenced them both, as an alarm sounded that signaled an emergency. Both of them, sensing the implications, dashed from the deck and ran for Tifa and Aerith, who were both in the midst of a heated discussion. Still unaware of the reason they were talking, Cloud quickly dashed past them.

"Tifa! Aerith! Meet back at the storage room!" he yelled, pausing only to see their bewildered stares. Clenching his fist, he swung his arm down hard in frustration. "Whatever you were talking about, it doesn't matter! Hurry!" he said forcefully. Tifa and Aerith exchanged brief glances, but quickly followed. The party hurried through the chaotic halls, passing several armed troopers before dashing into the storage closet where Red XIII and Yuffie jolted at their arrival.

"Cloud, what the hell, man?!" Yuffie shouted as she stomped her foot; he just had to ruin the tender moment between her and Red XIII. "You chain me up in this tiny little hole and then come roaring in, screaming like a-" After a quick dry heave, she angrily folded her arms. She wasn't about to admit she was scared or nauseous. And in this she failed. "What flew up your butt, anyway?!" she snapped as she crossed her arms with a huff.

"If you hadn't heard the alarm," said Cloud holding a hand to his head, "then let me tell you: it's blaring!" He sighed, dropping to his seat in relief. Everyone was safe, after all. "After I told Barret not to do anything stupid," he snarled as he stared back at Barret, who scowled at him, "the alarm sounded and we all rushed back here to see if we'd been detected!"

"It seems we're all accounted for," nodded Red XIII as he calmly lifted himself up. "Whatever the problem is, it doesn't involve us. So, calm down..." he said quietly. The bloodcurdling screams from below deck shattered their senses, as their eyes darted wildly around the room. "Something is wrong!" Red XIII gasped. "It's like someone is killing-" He froze, the realization striking him like a punch in the gut. If something was being killed on the ship, and it wasn't them, logic dictated that it was...

"Sephiroth!" shouted Cloud as he snatched the Buster Sword up and hoisted it over his shoulder. He was on the ship, after all! The massacre had followed them from Junon over the western sea. "It has to be Sephiroth! I have to go and-" Before he could exit, Tifa stepped in front of the door. "Tifa, get out of the way!" he snapped. "I don't have time to argue with you!"

"You aren't going alone!" Tifa said as she adjusted her glove. She already had a plan and knew how to put it in motion, though she needed help. "Me and Yuffie will go with you. If we need some ninja skills to hide ourselves, she's the one to bring!" she snapped as she threw the door open. "Yuffie, come on!" Tifa barked.

"Oh, the hell with you!" Yuffie screamed as she stomped her foot. Her seasickness had only gotten worse, and moving just made it worse. "What makes you think I'm gonna-" With a dry heave, Yuffie noticed that Tifa was cracking her knuckles. Resigning herself, she snatched up her shuriken. As she shook her head, Yuffie choked again. "Fine, whatever!" she gasped, glaring at the rest of the party that hadn't been threatened by Tifa, then dashed from the room with her companions, leaving them to talk amongst themselves.

Scene Five

All throughout the ship, horrific cries of pain and horror echoed down the halls and through the doors. By the sound of it, the source was down below in what Cloud and the others assumed was the engine room. Following the trail of blood and bodies, the party moved quickly through the halls with two bounding steps. While Cloud and Tifa moved quickly and agilely, Yuffie stumbled and staggered the whole way down.

"Anyone else vote we avoid running towards the blood curdling screams?!" Yuffie screamed as she darted through the hallways. The sight of so many corpses didn't do much for her morale, or her stomach for that matter. "Why the hell do we have to-" she hacked angrily, but after a quick gagging episode and a fierce glare from Tifa, she quickly fell in line. "Gawd, you people are insane!" she hissed.

As the screams intensified, the gravity of the situation also hardened: the sailors weren't just being attacked, they were being slaughtered. The never ending pile of torn-open sailors' bodies littered the ship like they were bread crumbs, the bloody remains dashed against the metallic hull leading to an uncertain danger. As they moved on, Yuffie futilely insisted they turn back, to no avail. Turning the corner as they descended the stairs, the party found a group of Marines huddled in front of a sealed doorway, presumably the way to the engine room and the source of the screams. There were at least a couple dozen, all armed with machine guns and ready to search for the assailant.

"Son of a bitch!" cursed Yuffie as she lifted her shuriken. She wasn't looking forward to fighting seasickness and armed soldiers. "Why does everyone have to charge into certain death around here, huh?! And why are we-" After she choked back a gag, she angrily pointed her shuriken at the soldiers. Whatever the issue was, screw it. "Oh, forget it!" Yuffie snapped as she spun her weapon around and caught it. "Let's clean house!"

"Cloud! You go on ahead!" Tifa shouted as she lifted her fists. With a nod, Cloud drew his sword and rushed towards the door. As the Marines moved to intercept, Tifa and Yuffie swiftly engaged them, and Cloud lifted the Buster Sword and cleaved the door in half before dashing through it while his friends mopped up the trash. While running through the blood soaked hallways, Cloud deftly switched the chocobo summon materia with Priscilla's summon materia and stored it in his clothes. Whatever it could do, whatever waited up ahead, it was better than throwing chocobos against a murderous maniac.

Cloud burst through a final hatch, entering a wide open engine room filled with corpses and painted red with blood. He swiftly turned his eyes around the room, watching as the mauled Marines lay silently in pools of their own blood. In front of the engine core, Cloud caught sight of a red-suited officer staring down into the core. Slowly, hesitantly, he reached for the man's arm. As Yuffie and Tifa caught up his arm met the officer's, and the trooper's body fell in half and dropped down into the core, frightening Tifa and absolutely horrifying Yuffie, who let out a shrill shriek. While Cloud and Tifa stared in horror at the scene, a silent humming noise pierced the air, like needles were pricking their ears.

"The time is now..." came a deep, chilling voice. Tifa and Cloud recognized the voice, and prepared for the worst. From the floor beneath the engine core, the silver haired head of Sephiroth appeared and lifted from the ground. As Yuffie continued to panic, his entire black cloaked body emerged, and came to a rest with his head hung. "After so, so long..." Sephiroth droned, a dead pattern to his voice, "the time has come..."

Seeming to hover in place, Sephiroth slowly shuffled around in midair, like a paper lantern fluttering in the wind. He made no move, nor a sound, as Cloud lifted his sword to his neck and put it to his throat. Now Sephiroth reacted, shooting a chilling glare at Cloud that shocked him cold and nearly caused Yuffie to wet herself. Tifa swallowed hard, as did Cloud. Seeing him again had chilled their souls.

"What are you babbling about?" hissed Cloud as he pressed his sword to Sephiroth's neck. If he moved, he intended to end the bastard. "What time is it? What the hell are you talking about, you monster?!" he snapped. Sephiroth gave a strange look at Cloud, cocking his head and frightening the warrior. The look in his eyes chilled Cloud's body to the bone. "Wh-what are you..." he gasped, fighting to keep himself from stepping back. He saw what seemed like the specter of the God of Death in Sephiroth's eerie gaze, the reflection of murder in his eyes.

"Who... are you?" rasped Sephiroth hoarsely. As Cloud's eyes snapped open, Sephiroth's eyes lifted to stare into his very soul with a look of honest confusion as he tilted his head. Cloud felt a chill run down his spine, something he would never admit. But he didn't have time for fear or doubt. "What is... your name?" Sephiroth asked softly, the same dull look on his face.

"D-Don't act like you don't know it!" screamed Cloud, his body trembling with rage. Every ounce of his being was filled with apprehension, fury, and terror. After all he'd done, Sephiroth didn't even recognize him? As Sephiroth's dead eyes continued to stare at him, Cloud's anger boiled over. "You son of a bitch!" he snarled, lashing out his arm and slicing Sephiroth's head off. As the head dropped to the floor and Yuffie screamed in terror, Cloud took the Buster Sword in both hands and lifted it for a finishing strike.

To the confusion and fright of all involved, however, Sephiroth's head clanked against the ground like a lump of metal, a sickening noise signaling the dissolution of the head as if it were melted in a vat of bubbling acid. Most terrifying of all, Sephiroth's torso continued to float like an empty paper lantern, his black cloak fluttering in the heat of the engine core. There was no wind, yet a disturbing emptiness filled the air. The stench of a rotting corpse spewed from his torso, foul and rancid.

"What... what the..." Cloud rasped, filled with silent terror. Whatever was happening, his heart had nearly stopped in anticipation and fear. As he watched the cloak flutter around, he felt the omen of danger. When the black cape started to tear, he quickly pushed Tifa and Yuffie back to the safety of the entrance with one mighty shove and leapt back to join them at the back of the room. A bubbling mass of flesh erupted from Sephiroth's cape, ripping it open and lashing out in all directions with what seemed to be tendrils of a dull, dark-gray mass. The flesh seemed to pulse in and out as if it were a living organ, steadily expanding like a swelling balloon and warping itself into a variety of shapes with a sickening slurping noise. Slowly, it began to take shape...

Scene Six

The end result was the stuff of nightmares. Its body warped into a monstrous, limbless torso with thick spears jutting from its shoulders, a stump-like head tearing out from the body teeth-first, literally ripping its flesh open to emerge. As the fangs chattered, the flesh cracked and formed into a beastly, one-eyed head with blood-red sclera and sickening scabs crusting the eye. Understandably, the party was stunned silent. Yuffie began to nearly foam at the mouth while Cloud and Tifa stepped back in abject terror as the mutant took shape. Neither of them could form words, except perhaps some that couldn't be printed. Slowly, hesitantly, Cloud lifted his sword and held it out in front of himself in a ready stance.

"What in the name of God..." Tifa gasped, placing her hands over her mouth. The sight was sickening, horrifying, and no words could really express how... ugly it was. The pulsing of its flesh, like it was a living organ writing, sickened her. "What... what the hell is this thing?!" she shrieked, stepping back slowly as the eye angled itself in their direction.

"Wh-wh-wh-what the... wh-wh-what the fl-fl-flying..." Yuffie stammered, covering her eyes with her hands. Even so, she couldn't help but spread her fingers to stare at the horror. "What the hell is happening?!" gasped the ninja, falling to one knee. These people were hell on her nerves. "Cloud! What the hell is-" she began, trembling, drunkenly stumbling to her feet. "What is it with you people that this crap always happens?!" she shrieked as she stomped her feet. "Why can't I ever hang out with normal people?!"

Before anyone could speak, a dim light began to shine in the creature's eye, ripples of red drawn in like blood pulsing into the organ. While entranced, the party quickly reacted as a lightning-fast jolt of red plasma ripped from its crusty eye and pierced the floor behind them. The bloody-red wave tore into the ground, igniting a raging fire that Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie narrowly evaded.

The ray's light intensified as it began to move, ripples of white hot crimson flames exploding from the eye. As it picked up speed, the team began to dash to avoid it, leaving behind a sea of flames that sealed the way out and engulfed the entire room in a searing heat. Tifa tucked and rolled to avoid the attack, while Yuffie hopped and jolted agilely and Cloud slid adroitdly around the floor, the three of them only narrowly escaping the plasma beam. Cloud pushed off with both legs and charged. Seeing no resistance, he drew up both hands and swung down with all his might. To his shock, however, the flesh simply dissolved around his sword as the creature split in half down the middle. With a sickening sound, its flesh dripped into a blood red puddle on the floor and the Buster Sword dented the ground below.

As the flesh reappeared, it jutted from the floor like a mass of jelly that surrounded Cloud's sword. Dragging his body upwards with amazing force, the flesh literally absorbed the Buster Sword and locked it into place in a ring of muscle and sinew, tendrils also coiling around Cloud's arms as if they were amorphous serpents. By the time it had stopped moving, Cloud's forearms had been sealed in the mass of flesh, keeping him in place as the body reformed. To Cloud's horror, the flesh slickly reformed into its monstrous head, the crusty red eye narrowing itself directly at his face. He could feel the vibrations through the core of his body and was stricken with fear as the energy began to flow from the bottom of the creature's body up into its blood-red iris. It bulged, shining red, as rays of energy began to crackle around it. There was no way for him to escape, evade, or counter. It was one sure shot to his grave.

My body isn't responding! Is this really it...?!

Suddenly, the entire head was blown to pieces with a wide stream of white light that engulfed it and dissolved it from the eye on out. Cloud turned his head to see Tifa with her hands locked together wrist to wrist in front of her chest, having launched an Aura Bolt that tore the mutant's head off. The energy ripped open a hole in the ceiling as it passed through it, much like what the creature's energy ray had initially done. Tifa took in a haggard breath, swallowing hard as she watched the aftermath. She only barely kept herself from wretching.

"Tifa!" Cloud exclaimed, feeling a vibration shake his entire body as the abomination's frame dissolved again into the floor. While Tifa cupped her hands at her side for a second shot, Cloud noted that Yuffie was bounding around the room using both hands to extinguish the fires with torrents of water from her materia. While she was mostly successful, sheets of flame still coated the room. However, the monster's body started to emerge again from the floor and its teeth ripped through to create another head. "This thing just won't die!" he screamed, leaping back with his sword raised. As he slid to a stop Cloud's body quaked with fear. "How are we supposed to-" gasped Cloud, terrified.

"Well, we have to do it somehow!" shouted Tifa, as she slid to a halt. She was out of ideas as well, though. "We can't just let it kill us!" she exclaimed, turning her eyes to a heavily-winded Cloud. The fatigue of his ordeal ailed him terribly, the shock of nearly being obliterated having caused his muscles to tremble and found he could barely stand. Almost dying had stricken him with unimaginable terror like a dagger in his heart. As Tifa's thoughts turned to her friend, her eyes narrowed on his haggard face, and she said a quick prayer. As she did her muscles spasmed and her heart fluttered, one conquering thought piercing her fear.

I... I won't let it kill you...

From Cloud's gauntlet, a shimmering bluish-white light shone through the flames, emerging from the summon materia Priscilla had given them and striking the floor behind him. As the mutated flesh slowly started to reform, the light condensed itself into what looked like a cocoon. The energy shattered like shards of glass to reveal a beautiful, blue-skinned woman wearing silver robes, long purple hair fluttering in the wind. The summoned creature lifted her arms and held them together above her head, and a ring of light split the sky from her wrists outward. From the ring, a series of shining lights broke open and created an orb that surrounded her hands. While the abomination writhed and wriggled as it struggled to reform, the summoned woman slung her hands down, and what seemed to be a sea of snowflakes emerged from the light and soared towards the enemy in streams of white.

As the air's temperature dipped to freezing, the snowflakes condensed around the thing's body like a wreath of ice. Coiling upwards, the ice sealed the creature in a titanic pillar of ice that jutted up far enough to piece the ceiling and crack it open with enormous force. The summoned woman turned her eyes to Cloud, who understood her intentions even in the absence of words. Taking the Buster Sword in both hands, Cloud lunged and jumped towards the creature. Gathering all the strength he could muster, he swung his weapon down and struck the icy ceiling, shattering the glacier.

Cloud's sword pierced the top of the ceiling, the ice breaking into thousands of pieces. With every ounce of strength in his body, Cloud drove his weapon downwards. All along the way, the ice shattered and, as it approached the thing's body, the snowflakes formed blades and began to surround the Buster Sword. Finally the sword and the razor-sharp snowflakes cut through the mutant's head and cracked it open like a walnut. As the snow formed into blades, the Buster Sword was dragged down through the whole of the monster's body, all along the way shattering the ice and dicing through its flesh along with the piercing blades of the snowflakes. Slowly it pierced the giant's frame and firmly embedded itself into the floor. When it did, from the bottom up the beast's body broke into millions of pieces and scattered to the winds.

Scene Seven

When the Buster Sword hit solid steel, the creature's body burst into a massive stream of blood-colored acid that dropped to the floor and turned a wide circle around Cloud into rust. As the dust settled, all that remained was Cloud, the summoned woman, and a bizarre, writhing green tentacle in the middle of the room. Cloud fell to one knee and vomited, coughing up blood at the same time. Rising, he staggered towards the tentacle and stared down at the abomination as it twisted and stirred.

"Whatever this damned thing is," Cloud snarled defiantly, "it's dead, now!" With all his might he skewered the thing, a thick gush of blood spurting from its fleshy mass. The tentacle wriggled for a moment, shrieked, then burst into a stream of goo that fell to the ground alongside a small, red gem that rolled towards Cloud's foot. The summon materia clinked against the toe of his boot and made a tinkling sound, then slid to a stop in the bloody mass the creature had left. In the chaos of it all, no one thought to pick it up.

All eyes turned to the beautiful, silver-robed woman who now hovered in the center of the room. Her hair flickered with specks of snow as she landed, a sheet of ice forming along the ground as she moved. She bowed her head and exhaled sharply, stepped towards Cloud, and extended her hand for him to shake. As he quietly began to laugh, Cloud took her hand and felt a pleasant chill course through his body.

"Who are you?" asked Cloud. Even as he spoke, the soft, cool air condensed and cooled down his body to the temperature he'd had before his blood began to boil, then colder still. His breathing began to return to normal as well. With a deep breath, Cloud's mouth curled into a soft smile. "Well, whoever you are," he said calmly, and with a grateful bow, "we owe you big time."

"My name is Shiva," said the woman with a chillingly sharp voice that pierced their skin. Listening to her was like being sprinkled with cold water, a prickling sensation inside their ears. As she retracted her hand, she took in a deep breath and exhalted sharply. Turning with a smile, she bowed to Cloud, much to his surprise. "I am the Monarch of Frost, the Eidolon of Ice. The desperation in your soul awakened me, and thus I emerged," she said with a smile, "to fulfill her wishes."

"Y-you're so beautiful!" exclaimed Tifa, holding a hand to her chest. As she thought more, a thin smile crossed her face. "It was Priscilla, wasn't it?" she murmured, pausing to wipe the sweat from her brow. "Priscilla gave us that materia, and because she did, you... you protected us?" she asked hesitantly. Cloud simply watched in mute amazement beyond words. He certainly had no idea what was happening at this point.

"Hers and yours, both," Shiva said with a smile. She slowly approached Tifa, much to her surprise. After a few brief steps, she stopped suddenly, and knelt before Tifa on one knee. As Tifa stood in stunned silence, Shiva bowed her head. "Your prayer was mighty enough to shatter the boundaries of worlds..." she murmured. "Your wish to save this man, whatever the cost, Tifa, pierced the darkness and summoned me..." Shiva whispered, so quiet that only Tifa could hear her.

"E-excuse me...? How do you know my name?!" gasped Tifa, shocked. Shiva simply smiled as she shone with a deep blue light and shattered into a million snowflakes. Tifa slowly backed away, unsure how to respond. Suddenly, from Cloud's gauntlet Shiva's materia began to quake. With a sharp crack it broke apart from the gauntlet and zoomed towards Tifa's wrist. She gasped as it struck her materia bracelet and the bracelet began to slowly absorb Shiva's materia, forming a third gem that embedded itself inside and formed a triangle in its center. The bracelet didn't sizzle with fire, but there was an oddly chilly warmth that filled her arm.

The light in the room dimmed before becoming blinding, and as the light faded Tifa dropped to her seat, admiring her new materia. Its color was both blue and white, like a shimmering orb of ice that seemed to glow like a star. Cloud could only stare in confusion, before slowly theorizing that, somehow, Shiva had been summoned by Tifa then bound to her for... some reason. It was the how and why that stumped him.

I had no idea materia could have something living in it...

Suddenly, they heard the sound of boots clacking and rifles clicking. The Shinra Marines were on their way, and the pair was too exhausted to move. While it seemed to be the most dire of circumstances, Cloud and Tifa felt a sharp hand grasp their wrists. In an instant they found themselves in the catwalks above. Stunned, they looked between them to find Yuffie gripping their arms.

"Told 'ya I was quick!" beamed Yuffie. She gagged again and pushed them down. "Now, don't make a sound..." she whispered. With a nod, Cloud and Tifa quietly laid down on the catwalk, hoping they wouldn't be noticed. The door broke open as a swarm of Marines rushed into the room. Finding pools of blood, frosted-over corpses, and a large circle of red bile in the center of the room, they slowly lowered their rifles and began to examine the area with cautious eyes.

"What the hell is going on?" came a familiar voice, one revealing itself to be Rufus as he stepped inside the ruined engine room. The party silently scowled as he quietly examined the bodies, the blood, and the sheets of ice that covered the ground, turning silently to one of the (terrified) troopers. "Report..." he muttered as he put a hand to his head, slowly regaining his awareness. "Report, now," he ordered the soldier.

"I-I-I..." stammered the Marine, uncertain of what to say."I, uh... don't... have a r-report... S-sir..." Rufus slapped him hard, sending him to the ground, a large welt on his cheek. He landed hard and slammed head first into the ground as his comrades rushed to his aid.

"Then come up with one!" Rufus hissed, as he turned towards the door. "I want to know exactly what happened here. I want exact details and I want them ASAP," he snapped. As he left, he coldly lifted his hand and menacingly flicked it at the trooper. "Dismissed..." he scowled, as the soldier picked himself up from the floor and they began to examine the remains of the engine room.

"Better keep quiet," Yuffie whispered with a finger to her mouth. Breathing in deeply, she swallowed another dry heave. "Hopefully they won't come up here, but if they do, get ready to fight," she warned. "Also..." With a flick of her fingers, she produced the summon materia that the creature had dropped. "Anyone care to tell me what this is for?" she muttered, to the amusement of both her friends.

Scene Eight

The investigation lasted for roughly half an hour as the Shinra troopers retrieved the frozen remains of the crew and examined the damage dealt to the room, soon after leaving the engine room. Once the coast was clear, the three team members quickly slipped out and made their way stealthily to their headquarters in the storage closet. There, they filled in the rest of the party as to what had occurred.

"So, what was it?!" Barret screamed, holding his head as he dropped to his seat. By this point, he had no idea what was going on, not the foggiest. "Was it Sephiroth or not?! God, this makes my head hurt..." he groaned, wiping the sweat from his brow. "I don't understand any of this, if it wasn't that guy..."

"I have a theory," Cloud said as he sat down Indian-style. He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I... I think that was Sephiroth's mother, Jenova," he proposed softly, to the shock of everyone present. While most of the party gasped, Yuffie barely held down her lunch. "Hear me out," Cloud muttered, breathing deeply and exhaling. Nothing made sense but this. "If it wasn't Sephiroth but was related to Sephiroth, all I can think is that it was... it was Jenova," he murmured.

"The one from the Shinra building?" asked Red XIII as he raised his eyebrow. "The headless specter that broke out of HQ and butchered President Shinra? It does make some sense, if what you fought didn't have much of a head. But what was it doing there? Why did it look like Sephiroth? There are so many unanswered questions I can't even count them..." he muttered.

"Whatever it is, it freaked me the hell out!" Yuffie snapped as she pounded her fists against the ground. "Do you have any idea how scared I was?! Do you?! I never signed up for this bull-" She held her hands to her mouth, gagged, and vomited to the side. "Gawd, forget it!" she spat, falling down and laying flat on her back with a huff. "I give up. I'm going to sleep..." Yuffie snarled as she turned her head to the side.

The rest of the party fell silent, no one knowing quite what to say. If Cloud's hypothesis was correct, Jenova and Sephiroth were roaming around the world together, murdering everyone they came across. There was no telling what awaited on the western continent if they had to fight both them and Shinra at the same time.

"I don't get what the materia's all about," Barret said as he scratched his head with a sigh. "Some weird snow woman pops up, then we get another materia out of a pile of muck from a freakish... something. What the heck is going on with these summon materia?" he groaned. "I'm with Yuffie. I'm going to bed," he sighed as he dropped to his back and closed his eyes.

"I'm more interested in what Sephiroth said, rather than the fight itself..." said Red XIII quietly as he hunkered down and trembled. "That 'the time is now.' What time is it? Does it relate to Jenova? Or Shinra?" he wondered. "Do you have any ideas, Aerith?"

"Nope," Aerith said as she shook her head. She had an uneasy feeling, but couldn't put a finger on what it might mean. "But I agree with Yuffie and Barret. Let's get some sleep, guys... We all need to rest before we get to the western continent, right Cloud?" she asked cheerfully.

"Sounds about right," Cloud nodded as he leaned against the wall. His body had passed its breaking point a long time back. "Whatever is waiting for us," he sighed as he closed his eyes, "we're gonna need all the strength we can get..."

Author's Notes

Another chapter down! I think I'm pretty satisfied with it, overall. Just a couple things. First off, Tifa and Aerith: I wanted to try to work on their love triangle with Cloud, and hopefully I did better than just "they both have the hots for him." I wanted to elaborate on their relationship a bit, how they feel about each other. They're both close friends, but there's a bit of a rift that only Cloud doesn't notice. It's hard to balance both their friendship and their feelings for Cloud...

Shiva came out of left field, even for me. I wanted to make Priscilla's contribution count, and somewhere along the way I noted that Tifa's main materia is her Blizzard/Cold materia, and somehow after that, I settled on having her as a personal summon. As for the materia they pulled from Jenova's remains, that will be addressed later, but it does involve the summon received in the actual game. That's all I've decided on so far, and because I'm completely improvising everything, it's possible it could change from what I'm thinking now. Probably will...

During the whole Jenova battle, I kept wanting to just call the damn thing Jenova, but there wasn't a good way to fit it in and make the revelation that it was Jenova work. I had to use 'creature, mutant,' etc. ad nauseum. At least now I can refer to it with its proper name.