Chapter 8: Revival
The Watcher looked at the Light One. He was still weak, but he looked like he'd be ready to fight in a minute or two. The Watcher turned her attention to the Dark One. He was standing up.
He grabbed his sword, and walked over to the Light One. He quickly brought his sword up to the Light One's throat. "I've been waiting a long time for this. I will Exist. And you... will be in pain like you've never felt before!"
The Dark One raised his sword over his head. He smiled. "Say goodnight!" The Dark One brought his sword down.
A loud "Chink" of metal on metal filled the room. The Dark One saw a long metal staff, blocking his sword from entering the Light One's head. He followed the pole up to the owner.
The Watcher's green eyes burned with a fire that only the Devil himself could rival. Her whole body filled with a fury that couldn't be vanquished. It seemed as if her stare alone was piercing the very existence of the Dark One's spirit.
She twisted her staff around, which flung the Dark One's sword away. She unleashed her fury at the Dark One. She brought her staff down upon him, one brutal blow after another. The Watcher quickly brought her staff up against the Dark One's head for what she thought to be a final blow.
When the Dark One landed, he noticed his sword was nearby. He grabbed it, and stood up. He readied his sword, and began to attack the watcher.
His sword made quick, decisive moves, but the Watcher blocked most of them. After a brutal swing from the Dark One's sword, the Watcher rotated around, and hit the Dark One in the back with all the power she could muster.
The Dark One fell to his knees. He gasped for air, but found none. The Watcher approached him, very cautiously. Suddenly, the Dark One grabbed her leg, and flung her to the floor. He pounced on her, and held her body down with his. He grabbed his sword, and held it at her throat.
"I don't have to worry about killing you. So I won't." He smiled a demonic smile as he raised his sword. Then he brought it down quickly.
Aeris smiled at
Cloud. The glowing light of the City of the Ancients surrounded them.
Cloud regarded her for a moment, before he noticed something behind
her.
A vortex of unimaginable power had burst into existence
behind Aeris. A flash of light preceded the appearance of a man.
Cloud couldn't believe what he saw. The man resembled Sephiroth, with
a few differences. Talon stood before Cloud and Aeris as he slowly
drew his sword. His brightly-glowing, blood red eyes smiled at Cloud
demonically as his long black hair flew over his body by the winds
that escaped from the mouth of the portal.
Talon smiled as he raised his sword. Suddenly, another figure burst out of the vortex, and tackled him. Talon and the new man wrestled on the floor for a few seconds, until the other man flung Talon's sword away. Talon rolled towards it, while the other man got up. Cloud was shocked to see a mirror image of himself.
"I won't let you change the past Talon!" The older Cloud roared, as he ran up, sword drawn and attacked Talon. Their swords clanged together in a brilliant burst of sparks. The force with which they attacked each other was like none that the young Cloud had ever experienced. Suddenly, the elder Cloud brought his sword down, and was somehow able to grab Talon's arms, and hold him in a headlock.
Talon just smiled as he struggled out of Cloud's grip, and bursted away. "You can't stop me! No one can stop me!" The two circled each other, each other, their swords ready.
Cloud almost froze when he realized where he was. He quickly looked around, and noticed WHEN they were! It was when Sephiroth killed Aeris. And that's when Cloud heard it. The same dark whoosh that had come with Sephiroth's arrival. The sound was quickly followed by the sickly sound of Sephiroth's sword entering flesh. He looked over to see that Sephiroth had killed Aeris. Again.
As he watched his younger self see Aeris murdered in cold blood, Cloud felt the feelings that had remained hidden for over a year.
All the anger... All the pain... All the anguish... It flooded his body like a tidal wave. But what had surprised him the most, was the love he still had for Aeris, and the dreaded sense of loss that came with it. It hadn't been until she was gone that he realized he had those feelings. It poured through his soul, adding to the pain, and the anger. Cloud was amazed that he still felt that strongly about her.
He watched this scene play out as it had before, when he felt a presence behind him. He turned just in time to bring his sword up and block Talon's. Cloud didn't need to see the scene to know what was happening. As he battled Talon, he ran the scene through his mind again, and again. Slowly, he felt a rage inside him swell.
Cloud brought his sword down and cut Talon across the arm. Talon briefly studied the wound, then turned his attention back to the fight. When he had a chance, Cloud looked at his younger self. That's when Cloud noticed that Sephiroth was gone. That was also when Cloud realized he couldn't hold his anger any more, and so he released his rage in one all powerful, earsplitting roar. All the anger, all the agony, all the hatred he had hidden for over a year escaped his lips with a fury all their own.
The roar penetrated everyone that was nearby. It passed through them like a chill going up their spine. It was so loud that the younger versions of his friends had to cover their ears. So did Talon, and his younger self. Even the newly arrived Jenova monster seemed to be affected by this young man's scream of anger.
Cloud's fury only made the battle more difficult for Talon. Cloud let his mind go. He just attacked. He recalled battling Talon until Talon's sword disappeared. Talon, his sword gone, also disappeared. His enemy gone, Cloud turned his attention to the Jenova monster. His anger suddenly burst into his hands, which tore away at Jenova's body. Minutes flew by, without Cloud even noticing.
When Cloud had beaten Jenova into a bloody pulp, he turned around and looked for Talon again. Cloud took a good look around. He was shocked to discover that Talon was nowhere in sight. Slowly, Cloud's anger began to melt.
Suddenly, Talon appeared behind the Avalanche party, his sword ready to slice the group in half. Cloud had to think fast! Suddenly, Talon's sword was cut in half by Cloud's sword. Talon looked at Cloud. He had thrown his sword to break Talon's. Talon turned his attention back to his sword, which was now a stub. He was dumbstruck. He hadn't expected anything like this to happen! He didn't have a back up plan, and fighting them by hand wasn't an option.
Finally, he smiled. He knew when he was beaten. "He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day." And with that, he jumped in front of the time vortex. "Oh, and one more thing... TOTAL DAMAGE!"
Dark colors began to swirl around Talon as Cloud realized he had just casted a summon spell! Cloud quickly casted several defensive spells around his younger self, and his friends.
After the dark colors had collected, a huge flash of light appeared, followed by the appearance of a small creature. At first, it looked docile, but after a second, it grew large teeth, and sharp claws. Cloud knew that this was no ordinary summon spell. With a ferocity and a speed that few could hope to follow, the creature began it's attack against everyone. Cloud tried to take as much damage as he could, but even he couldn't block everything. He was going to cast some healing spells, when he notice that the group was already doing that. They even casted a few spell on him. He was grateful, but now was not the time to say so.
Just when Cloud thought it was the end, the creature mutated, and attacked again. Only this time, it was MUCH more powerful. Cloud quickly began to tire out. His defensive spells where almost gone, and he was too tired to cast any more. Fortunately, the younger group began to cast some massive healing spells on him. After a few casts, and a few deflected attacks, Cloud felt more powerful than ever. And right when the monster was about to attack him again, Cloud took his sword, and thrusted it upwards, through the creature's spinal column. It collapsed into a breathing pile of rotting flesh, and vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
Cloud breathed heavily for a few moments. When he was ready, he looked for Talon. But even a quick glance around showed that he had disappeared. That's when Vincent pointed to the vortex. Talon had escaped through there.
Cloud ran up to the vortex, then stopped. He then turned around to face his younger self, leaning over Aeris' lifeless body. The young Cloud looked at him, almost on the verge of tears, and Cloud knew exactly what he was thinking.
"Don't worry." Cloud said. "Her death is not in vain." And with that, Cloud leapt into the vortex, which closed rapidly behind him.
Reeve walked back and forth. He mumbled to himself. He couldn't accept that the little girl from the field was Aeris. It was impossible.
He looked at Cait Sith again, but he was busy shuffling his tarot cards. Reeve began to think that it was either a joke, or a fluke. Cait Sith is usually wrong about these things. He thought. But what if he's right? Reeve began to think it was a fluke. He was walking over to Cait Sith to see if they could duplicate this "fluke", when very softly, Cait Sith began to speak.
"Reeve? We have company." Reeve turned to Cait Sith for an explanation, but Cait Sith told him to act as if he heard nothing. "I noticed them a while ago. Three people. Hiding behind some bushes."
Reeve, still pacing, just nodded. "How long?"
Cait Sith finished shuffling his cards, then put them away. "I noticed them about 10 minutes ago. They could have been there longer."
"Any ideas who they are?" Reeve afforded a quick, casual look around. Suddenly, he saw the sun reflect off of something shiny. And for a moment, he thought he saw dark blue. It added up to only one thing. "Turks!" Reeve cursed silently. "Three of them, you say. That leaves one more."
Cait Sith turned to him with a quizzical stare. "What do you mean? There's only three Turks."
Reeve shook his head. "Not anymore. They recruited a new member. I don't know anything about him." Reeve took another casual look. "He could be anywhere."
"Why not rush them? I can take the damage, and you can cast a few fire spells." Cait Sith asked.
Reeve shook his head. "No good. They still outnumber us 2-to-1. Besides. We need to stop anyone from going into the cave. If we fight them, then someone could sneak in. Like the fourth member."
Cait Sith's face filled with curiosity. "If that was their plan, why wait until we'd see them? Why not simply attack us?"
Reeve thought about that. "I don't know. Perhaps their fourth member isn't in position yet." Reeve shook his head, and looked at Cait Sith. "In any case, we will wait for them to attack, or the group to emerge. Then we-"
Reeve was interrupted by the sight of a man running out of the cave. His long black hair intermingling with his black uniform. He almost made it out of reach when the Turks popped up and surprised the man.
Reeve and Cait Sith jumped into battle postures, until they noticed that the man said something to the Turks, then ran off. After a few seconds to reflect, the Turks turned away, and left.
"Ok. NOW I'm confused!" Reeve stated.
Cloud emerged from the swirling vortex of colors just as it closed.
Most of the group was getting up. Vincent was the only one who was really standing. All of them had a bruise or a cut.
Vincent turned to Cloud. "He attacked us. Quickly, then left." Vincent rubbed his arm where the metal joined with the flesh. Cloud noticed a cut running up his arm from where the metal began. "He surprised us. I think he only wanted to delay us until he could escape."
Cloud absorbed this information has he helped the others get up. "Well, we'll catch up to him later. We have more important things to worry about." Cloud walked over and touched the Materia of Destiny. It glowed at his touch. He felt a tingling fall all over him, as if pure energy was tickling every inch of his body. Cloud carefully took the Materia of Destiny and placed it with his other materia.
"So... What now? We gonna sit here all day?" Barret asked annoyed.
"Barret's right. Let's go." Tifa stated. "We have what we need. Aeris is as good as brought back!" She said with a smile.
The group nodded, or said that they also agreed. All except Zack. He was facing away from the group, lost in his own thoughts. His mind swirled with ideas, feelings, emotions, and a thousand other things. Suddenly, he was broken out of his trance by a hand placed on his shoulder. Zack turned around to look into Tifa's brown eyes.
Tifa smiled at him as her eyes sparkled. "Come on Zack! We're going." Tifa left the room to catch up with the group.
Zack turned around and looked at the room. His massive sword gleamed in the lights of this mysterious room. He could feel something... something... evil. As if they where going on a path that was leading them into the fiery pits of Hell.
As carefully as he could, Zack left the room and caught up with the others.
"Talon!" Reno yelled.
The Turks studied Talon, ready for the battle that would occur. But it didn't.
Talon took a second to look at them, then turned away. "You services will no longer be needed." Talon smiled as he raced off. He would have simply killed them, but he was in a rush.
The Turks exchanged looks. Rude made a motion that meant "Should we follow him?" After a moment, Reno shook his head, turned, and walked off. Rude just shrugged, and followed him. Elena, confused as hell, ran after them to catch up.
Reeve didn't like it. He wouldn't believe that the Turks would just walk off. He stood battle ready until the Turks turned the corner, and was out of sight. He didn't like this at all.
Behind the rock face, Elena turned to Reno. "So why are we leaving?"
Reno just walked on, as if he hadn't heard her, with his hands in his pockets. After a moment, he stopped. He turned around and found a small pile of rocks grouped in a circle. He walked over and sat on the biggest one. Rude and Elena gathered around him, like young ones would gather around a storyteller.
Reno took a deep breath before he began. "Talon is one of the best fighters on the planet. He also wanted the Materia of Destiny. If it was down there, he would have it now. But since he did not have it, I can only assume that Cloud has it."
Rude exchanged looks with Elena.
Reno continued. "If Cloud has it, it means he intends to use it. And since he has the WEAPON materia, he can't really be stopped. Therefore, I say we simply follow him, and wait him out. After he's done with it, we'll take it from him, along with the WEAPON materia, and use it ourselves."
Elena looked at him. "Why would we want it? What does it do?"
Reno smiled. "It grants the user one wish. That means each of us will get one wish."
Elena giggled. "It will give us anything we want?" Reno nodded. "Ohh! I know what I want to wish for!"
Reno's smile just got bigger. "Me too." He turned and looked at Rude. "And what of you, old friend?"
Rude just sat there, with his arms folded. He did not move a muscle for about a minute.
Finally he faced Reno and adjusted his glasses. "Yes."
Elena's curiosity got the better of her. "Rude? You? What would you wish for?" Rude turned his head to face Elena, and two simple words. "Don't ask." Elena was confused by this answer, and looked to Reno for help. Reno rolled his eyes. "He's not going to tell us, so just don't ask."
"Yee haw!" Cid yelled onboard the Highwind.
It had been a long
flight to get Cid, then to get to the Forgotten City before
nightfall.
And since they where all so thrilled at the thought of
having their dear friend Aeris back, they decided to throw a little
party.
Cid was glugging all the booze with Barret. They where both singing and laughing and having a good time. Yuffie was playing "Pin the tail on the Chocobo" with Zack and the pilot. The engineers, Reeve and Cait Sith where playing charades, and the rest of the Highwind's crew where just having a great time doing anything they could, other than work!
Tifa looked around at her friends, and smiled.
She was leaning against a wall, watching her friends have a great time. She knew that tomorrow morning was the big day. She was excited too, but she didn't feel like partying. A while ago, she had noticed Cloud wasn't around. She wondered where he was. Slowly, she got up, and began to look for Cloud. She walked out to the main deck, and saw Cloud standing about 50 feet away.
Cloud stood before the Forgotten City, the doorway to the City of the Ancients. Cloud looked up as the stars passed overhead. He loved to just watch the stars sometimes. That's when Cloud heard the footsteps of someone walking up to him.
"Hey Tifa." He said without turning to look at her.
"Hi Cloud." She answered. She wrapped her arms around herself to fend off the cold.
"Sure is a beautiful night."
"Yep."
A long silence is passed between them, as they searched the heavens. Finally, Tifa turned to Cloud and asks him the question she had wanted to know for over a year.
"Cloud?"
"Hmm?"
Tifa paused as she collected her courage. "Are you still in love with Aeris?"
Cloud had been dreading this question. He wasn't totally sure himself. He and Tifa had shared a lot in the past year. Their friendship had grown into genuine love. He had gone to the ends of the world for her, and he would again.
But what of Aeris?
She had captured his heart in Midgar, and the love they shared had
only gotten stronger as their relationship grew. He could not deny
those feelings for her.
But when Aeris died, it was as if a part
of him went dead, as if she was the only woman for him. And it was
worse when he had re-lived that moment earlier that day. It was as if
he was feeling the same pain over again, multiplied by a factor of
30.
"Yes. I guess I still am in love with her." Cloud finally answered as he turned to face her.
Tifa's face dropped. It looked like her heart had been crushed.
But then Cloud added, "But no matter how much I love her," he began as he moved closer to her. "It feels like only a fraction of the love I feel for you."
Tifa's face rose, and she gave him a great big kiss. Afterwards, she slowly made her way back to the Highwind in a sort of dreamy state.
Whoa! Good one Cloud. But I'm not sure if even I believe what I just said. Cloud thought when he was alone. Slowly, he turned his attention back to the stars. It was true that he really loved Tifa... but he had spent the past year living with her.
Aeris has been dead. Dead! But now... Aeris is about to be brought back to life. Will their love also re-ignite as easily?
And if so, what was he going to tell Tifa?
Cloud sighed. He knew, one day, he would have to choose who he loved more. Aeris, or Tifa...
Red pour though book after book. "Karua Hembo Forlay... Damnit! What does it mean!" Red mumbled to himself.
Vincent had also taken up a few books, and was carefully paging though them, in search of an answer.
Finally, Red harrumphed in disgust. "I've read so many books, I don't even remember what he originally said!"
"Jabra Kokjo Murki Talms Matria ij Disnijk. Karua Hembo Forlay Esua Invika Trika." Vincent recited coolly.
Red sighed. "Any idea what it means?"
"Not yet."
Red sighed again. "I think I figured out what the first part means. It's roughly, 'All-powerful Materia of Destiny.' But I'm not totally sure. And I can't even find any of the words for the second part!"
Vincent brought his gaze up from the book. "Does it matter? As long as it works?"
Red turned to look at Vincent. "I'd like to know what we're having Cloud say. We don't want him to give his life so Aeris can have hers back, do we?"
Vincent turned a page in his book. "I doubt that's true. If so, Talon's life would have been taken for his wish."
Red sat back and stared off into space as if he had come upon a revelation. "You know... You're right! Why am I wasting my time, trying to figure out what words from some forgotten language mean, when we know it works!" Red stormed off in search of a cozy spot to curl up and sleep.
Vincent just continued to read his book.
It was a very interesting book. Not at all like what he usually reads. It was an old book about this pirate that finds the ultimate treasure, but after he buries it, he kills his crew, and lives for 5 years as a monk. Afterwards, the pirate gets another crew together to re-claim his treasure. They where about to land on the island again, when a hand closed the book.
Vincent was so startled, he actually jumped.
"Whoa! Sorry to startle you, Vince, old buddy!" Cid told him. "But it's time. They're going down now. I could use some help if it's not too much of a problem...?"
Vincent gave him the equivalent of a smile, and helped Cid off the Highwind. Vincent was surprised to discover that it was morning already. He simply put it down that he was engrossed in the book. With a shrug of indifference, he accompanied Cid into the Forgotten City.
Cloud and the rest of the group waited just before the stairs for them. When they where all there, they descended the stairs into the City of the Ancients.
The Dark One's face was filled with pain, as a sword pierced his chest and blocked his sword from hitting the Watcher's head. The pain was so immense, that the Dark One dropped his sword, and clutched the one that filled his chest with the pain.
The Watcher peered over the Dark One's head to see that the Light One had skewered the Dark One with his sword. A fierce determination was in the Light One's eyes. A fiery anger that would not be controlled.
"The Time has
come!" The Light One said in a very evil voice. "And you
shall not Exist!"
He withdrew his sword, and the Dark One
crumpled over in pain.
"Come on... where are you..." Zack mumbled.
They had been searching the city for over 20 minutes for the door that would lead them to the secret chamber.
So far, no one had found a thing, except a few bones from the Jenova creature.
"Hey! Cloud! I think I found it!" Yuffie suddenly yelled.
Everyone ran over, and looked around. Sure enough, there was door hidden in the wall. "There must be a switch or something-" Cloud started as he ran his hands around the door's frame.
Suddenly, the door whooshed open as Zack placed his arm on the wall. He looked at where he had placed his hand. There looked to be some sort of ancient secret panel there.
The group gathered around and looked into this secret room.
From the door, there was a marble path that lead to the center platform of the room. The platform was surrounded by a deep pit. As they looked into the pit, they could see a pool of what looked like liquid Materia and Lifestream, a few miles below them.
The little ledge before the path was big enough for the group to comfortably occupy. Slowly, Cloud walked up to the platform, and took out both the WEAPON Materia and the Materia of Destiny.
He took a deep breath before continuing.
The Dark One looked at the Light One with an evil stare. In an instant, the two were fighting like they had never fought before! And the speed at which they fought was almost too fast to watch.
Waves of energy emanated from where their swords collided.
The Watcher could only stand back and watch the events unfold before her.
Cloud looked at the Materia of Destiny. He concentrated on the task at hand, and began to recite the words that Vincent and Red had taught him to say.
"Jabra Kokjo Murki Talms Matria ij Disnijk! Karua Hembo Forlay Esua Invika Trika."
The silver orb in his hands began to glow, and at the same time, the WEAPON materia glowed. The silver orb suddenly began to float before Cloud.
"Nor Par Tellemar. What is your desire?" It asked.
Cloud had dreamed of this moment, and now that it was here, he could hardly believe it.
"I want to bring a friend of mine back from the dead!"
"Who do you wish brought back?" asked the silver orb.
Cloud took a deep breathe. "My good friend, Aeris Gainsborough."
"Your wish is as you command." The orb replied.
Cracks of energy echoed though out the room. The Materia of Destiny began to fluctuate and ripple. Suddenly, a pillar of energy from the pool below engulfed the platform. After a few moments, a dark opening formed. Cloud looked into it, and could see colors he couldn't even name. But it was breathtaking none the less.
Slowly, he walked back out of the pillar of energy to join his friends on the ledge, as the opening got bigger, and moved towards them a bit.
The Dark One and the Light One stopped battling, as a portal opened in their realm, flooding them all in brilliant colors.
Terror gripped the Light One. "No! Too soon!"
But it was too late.
The Watcher was being pulled into the portal, against her will. It was as if a powerful wind was sucking her into the portal. But this "wind" didn't seem to effect the Light One or the Dark One at all.
The Dark One, looking at the portal, then back at the Light One, formed an idea. He quickly punched the Light One, distracting him, and jumped though the portal.
When the Watcher was almost in the portal, she looked back to the Light One. "Give me your hand!" She yelled over the winds.
The Light One was a little reluctant, but grabbed her hand, and held on.
The group took a few steps back as the opening seemed to be getting more unstable every moment it was open.
Suddenly a figure burst out of the opening in a burst of light.
When the light faded, the group looked at the new comer, expecting to see Aeris.
The figure stood up, and the group let out a gasp as they came face to face with Sephiroth!
Sephiroth looked around, and laughed. "I EXIST!"
Without another word, Sephiroth rose into the air, and flew out of the room. The group, in confusion, ran outside the city after Sephiroth, to see if they had seen what they thought they had seen. If so, their adventure had just become more troublesome.
Cloud however, had remained behind. He lower his head in both disappointment and anger, when another figured burst though the opening. Cloud turned towards the newcomer, and was delighted to see Aeris. However, her arm was still inside the portal.
"Help me! We need to pull him though!" Aeris told him.
Cloud didn't hesitate for a second. He quickly rushed up and helped pull Aeris's arm though the opening. They both gave it a hard tug, and flew backwards as another flash of light appeared.
When she could sit up, Aeris found herself in Cloud's lap. Aeris smiled weakly as she realized the ramifications of this situation.
Cloud looked at Aeris and smiled. He couldn't believe how happy he was to see her. "Aeris... It's... good to have you back." Cloud looked deep into Aeris' eyes. As he did so, all of the love he had felt for her flooded every inch of his body. He was almost overwhelmed. "I've... missed you."
Aeris looked into his eyes, and blushed. "So have I."
Cloud and Aeris' lips almost touched. But they pulled away at the last second, finally getting a grip on the situation.
Aeris tried to break the unusual stillness. "I've brought someone from the other side to help us stop Sephiroth."
"Who?" Cloud asked.
Aeris looked towards their new visitor, who shook his head and grabbed his sword.
Cloud followed her gaze and was shocked when he saw another Sephiroth, wearing all white, standing before him.
