A/N: Busy, busy, busy. Hopefully all this rewriting will give me the momentum to push past Chapter 12.
Fun Fact: When I first wrote this, I didn't know about the mistranslation that caused everyone to think that Tseng had died.
Heavy Edits Completed: April 1, 2017
Final Fantasy VII – Remembrance
Chapter 5 – Predestination
The building was impenetrable, quite the feat for something so old and looking on the verge of collapse.
"Who would want to seal up this stupid old place anyway?" Yuffie growled out as they regrouped at the front of the Temple, having circled around to look for some way into the temple.
"Shut it, brat," Barret growled half-heartedly. "Yer jus' unhappy cuz you can't get whatever Materia they wanted to hide in there."
Yuffie flushed with anger.
"I…" she began hotly.
"That's enough, Barret," Cloud commanded curtly. "She already expressed her desire to help, so please drop the issue."
The man scoffed lightly, glaring at the girl.
"Sorry, Spike, but I can't just relax with her around. What makes you think she won't try the same thing again? What if we get cornered by Shinra the next time it happens?"
"I wouldn't…" Yuffie protested, hating how the large man was talking as if she wasn't present.
"I trust her," Cloud said simply.
Barret stared calculatingly at the man.
"Alright, man, whatever you say," he dismissed as he began trekking back to the Tiny Bronco.
Without another word, Cloud turned and left as well, leaving a thoroughly confused Yuffie behind.
"Ah! Wait for me!" The girl shouted when it became apparent she was the only one still at the temple.
AVALANCHE managed to make it back to the mainland with little incidence. Despite this, there was only so much the Tiny Bronco could do, forcing the team to wait restlessly as the plane got them as close to Gold Saucer as possible.
"How are you so sure this Keystone thing is in Gold Saucer?" Cloud asked skeptically.
"Some locals were talking about it back in Rocket Town," Vincent lied smoothly. "The owner, Dio, apparently likes to collect things like that. It's currently his prize showpiece."
And just like last time, they found themselves in the golden amusement park set miles in the sky. Vincent couldn't stand Gold Saucer and reliving it so many times in his nightmares hadn't helped. The sights, sounds, and smells never sat well with him. He could already smell the different food stalls set up in the amusement park. And they hadn't even left the tram yet. Suppressing a groan, Vincent followed the group off the tram. A particularly fat man in a chocobo costume hopped over to greet them.
"Ho ho hoo!" He laughed in a distinctly forced cheer. "Welcome to Gold Saucer!"
"Get the hell away from me!" A nicotine-deprived Cid growled as he brandished his lance at the man.
The chocobo-man gave a high-pitched squeal and waddled away as fast as he could, tripping over himself in the process. Ignoring Cid as the pilot went to smoke after the long tram ride, Cloud approached the ticket booth. He showed the ticket girl the lifetime passes they had purchased the last time they were there. One by one, the team entered the park, followed shortly by Cid who had smoked his cigarette in record time. The pilot had apparently gotten his own card from some Shinra event or other, likely in an attempt to appease him after keeping the space program on hold for so long. However, when Vincent approached, the girl frowned and refused to let him through.
"Sir, this card is over thirty years old," the girl pointed out suspiciously. "You look exactly the same in this picture. You'll forgive me if I don't exactly believe this is your card."
Vincent sighed, not wanting to deal with this overly-attentive girl in such close proximity to the park entrance where apparently all the sounds and smells were at an all time high.
"It's a long story, but this is my card," he said curtly. "Frankly, I'm not here for story time, so can I just go?"
The girl huffed in annoyance at the man who was clearly trying to scam his way into the park.
"Fine! I'll need you to type in the password to this card then," she said smugly thinking that he wouldn't be able to do so. "After all, this is your card isn't it?"
Vincent groaned internally and typed in the password without hesitation.
"Wha…?" The girl said in shock as she stared at the brightly lit "Accepted" on the screen in front of her.
"May I enter now?" Vincent asked with a small bit of annoyance lacing his words.
The girl nodded mutely and the turnstile beeped as it let Vincent through. He rejoined the group in the brightly lit entrance hall.
"What was that all about?" Cloud asked curiously.
"My card was a bit old," Vincent explained.
"Gee, I didn't know Gold Saucer existed in the Stone Age," Yuffie piped up, earning her a bland stare from Vincent.
"Let's… let's just get this over with," Vincent muttered, squinting as the lights caused his sensitive eyes to twinge in pain.
Everywhere Vincent looked he was reminded of how much he hated Gold Saucer. The tubes lining the walls of the entryway allowed the voices of people having fun to echo from every part of the amusement park. Young children passed by laughing with glee as their parents talked excitedly about the place. Lights glittered off every shiny surface, exploding into tiny stars in his vision. The air smelled of fried foods and candy, a tantalizing mixture of sweet and savory. Vincent felt like he was going to be sick from overstimulation. He quickly walked over to a tube that said Ghost Hotel and leapt in. Tifa chuckled lightly at his actions. It was obvious the man did not like loud noise and crowds.
"Okay, folks," Cloud said, shaking his head in exasperation at Vincent's hasty departure. "I'm gonna go find Dio. If anyone wants to come, you may. I'll call you all on the PHS when I have the stone."
Everyone headed off down different tubes to wander until Cloud had gotten the Keystone. Recalling the showroom's location, Cloud hopped down the tube heading towards the Battle Square. He was followed by Aerith and Tifa, the former squeaking as the rush of air caused her dress to billow out. Tifa rolled her eyes slightly at the other girl's antics. Her own clothes were more suited for battle and didn't impede her movement quite like the brown-haired healer's did. The girl let out a light 'oof' as she tumbled out of the exit, followed by Tifa who expertly skirted to one side to avoid the girl in the pink dress. As the girl dusted herself off, a strangled cry rang out from the arena, causing all three to turn towards the noise.
"Oh, I don't think he'll be continuing!" The announcer was shouting to the excited crowd. "No, the medics are coming to get him now. Looks like this fire lizard trumps anoth – "
A sudden crash interrupted the announcement as a deep roar echoed throughout the Battle Square. The cries of bloodlust turned to screams of terror.
"Everyone get back!" The announcer was shouting in a panicky tone. "Stay out of its way! Let it go!"
Even as he said this, a large dragon tore through the front gates of the Battle Square, bellowing out another roar of anger. Its eyes fell on Aerith whose pink dress stood out like a beacon in the dim lighting. With a snarl, it charged forward, claws extended and fangs bared. The girl screamed in surprise as she tried to run, only to stumble backwards in her haste.
"Aerith!" Tifa shouted as she attempted to intercept the beast only to be knocked back by a ragged wing.
Wicked, rust-colored claws descended on the wide-eyed girl. Suddenly Clout was there, gargantuan sword acting as a shield against the attack. Sparks fell as the dragon's claws screeched noisily across the toughened steel. Incensed at its failed attack, it lashed out again and again only to be impeded by the blonde swordsman every time. Realizing its attacks were in vain, it leapt back with a threatening snarl and turned its attention to the other human. Rearing back, its stomach bulged as it inhaled sharply.
"Tifa! Look out!" Cloud yelled in warning, not fast enough to reach the other girl in time.
Tifa tensed, realizing she was trapped against the exit chutes leading into the Battle Square. The beast's flaming maw swooped downwards, unleashing a jet of fire. Tifa instinctively raised her arms to block her face from the incoming flames.
A gunshot ran throughout the small chamber.
The female fighter flinched as she felt tendrils of flame dance across her arms only to fade and be replaced with the cool air being pushed through numerous air vents around Gold Saucer. Her eyes shot open in surprise and they fell on the berserk dragon, which was now thrashing in panic as flaming fuel poured out of a jagged hole in its throat. It screeched in panic as the flames consumed the less fire-resistant innards of the beast. Within seconds, it had stopped moving as its own fire reduced it to a charred husk. Turning, Tifa saw Vincent approaching while lowering his weapon.
"I thought you went to the hotel," she said shakily, her heart still pounding.
"Someone screamed," he replied, looking between Tifa and Aerith.
"That was me," Aerith replied sheepishly.
Cloud was already by the girl's side, helping her up.
"Are you alright?" He asked as he lifted her to her feet.
"Yeah," Aerith said shakily. "Just a bit rattled."
"Let's go find somewhere to sit down," Cloud suggested, leading her towards the pipe leading towards the hotel.
They were interrupted by loud applause. Looking up in surprise, the team found the crowd from the stadium cheering at their victory. As they did, a large, muscular man came to the front, an impressed look on his face.
"That was one hell of a fight!" He exclaimed. "Just enough suspense and a badass save at the end!"
"Uh..." Cloud said eloquently.
Dio was just as hard to interact with as the last time they were here. Once he started talking, it was impossible to get a word in.
"But seriously, you saved my customers and my business!" The owner rambled on. "This calls for a token of appreciation! After all, what host would I be if I didn't' reward such a spectacular display? I'll give you anything, within reason of course. Just name what you want and it's yours!"
"Oh," Cloud paused, his mind catching up with what Dio was saying. "In that case, can I have the Keystone?"
Dio looked at Cloud funnily.
"That little thing? Really?" The man asked incredulously before shrugging. "Sure, whatever floats your boat I guess."
The man strode off into the small museum nearby and came back after a few moments with the item in question.
"Here you are," the man proclaimed, presenting the Keystone. "One shiny rock. Thanks again for stopping that thing."
Cloud nodded as Dio left. He turned back to the others.
"Well," he said hesitantly. "That was easy?"
"So we can leave?" Vincent asked in what he hoped was a neutral and not at all hopeful voice.
Cloud suppressed a smirk and nodded. After a quick PHS call to the others, the group headed back through Gold Saucer's nonsensical and seemingly physics-defying tubes to get back to the tram station. They stood around the main hub area and waited for the others. The first to return was Yuffie, looking rather glum as she plodded towards them.
"Man…" she grumbled. "I wanted to stay longer."
"We can come back after we stop Sephiroth," Cloud said lightly.
"I guess…" she sighed resignedly.
Soon the others had arrived and they made to leave the amusement part, only to be stopped by a man dressed in work clothes.
"Sorry, folks," he said waving at them. "There was a sudden fault in one of the motors. You'll need to wait until tomorrow if you want to leave. The hotel is offering free rooms for the night in compensation for the delay."
"Dammit!" Cid hissed, with Vincent mentally agreeing with the pilot.
Without much choice, the gang took the hotel's offer and settled in for the night.
…
Just after a dinner consisting of overpriced amusement park food, Tifa sat alone in the room she was sharing with Yuffie. The energetic teen had run off to explore the park further while Tifa chose instead to relax and watch television. After aimlessly flipping through channels and finding nothing interesting, the fighter inevitably brought out Vincent's notebook to catch up on her reading. Unsurprisingly, everything seemed to be matching up fairly accurately with only minor hiccups here and there. Having spent a grand total of ten minutes reading, Tifa found herself idle once again. Most of the others had turned in early, making the most of their unexpected break. Aerith had said she wanted some alone time which meant Tifa didn't even have anyone to talk to unless she wanted to go bug Vincent, who wasn't a great conversationalist at any rate. And so, Tifa was left sitting around the empty hotel room with nothing much to do. Eventually her eyes wandered back towards the journal inside her pack as she wondered just what secrets that book held.
'No!' She scolded herself firmly with a shake of her head. 'You promised Vincent you wouldn't! Just… watch the news or something!'
But inadvertently a tiny voice in her mind whispered back.
'It's just a peek. It'll be fine if you don't look too far ahead.'
Tifa's eyes strayed back towards the book peeking out of her bag. Vincent had dodged many questions when he initially told her about his seemingly prophetic dream. She strongly suspected something terrible happened at the end of their quest to stop Sephiroth, but couldn't decide if she wanted to know what it was.
'You know something terrible happens! Forewarned is forearmed right?' That traitorous voice cajoled.
She hemmed and hawed, but eventually her curiosity got the better of her. Snatching up the worn journal, she flipped to the page where she left off. Feeling as if she was breaking into top secret materials, she carefully turned the page and read.
'At the time, I hadn't known the broken tram was a setup for the Turks to obtain the Keystone. We were all exhausted from travelling and the break was a welcome one. I even heard Aerith take the chance to go on a date with Cloud. In retrospect, it was probably good for the girl to sort out her feelings.'
That was as far as she got before the book fell from her hands. So that's why Aerith didn't want to be bothered. Tifa couldn't help but feel slighted by the betrayal on top of the sting of jealousy. The fighter bolted up from her bed and rushed out the door. She made her way towards the room Aerith and Cait Sith were staying intending on giving the flower girl a piece of her mind. However, as she turned the corner, she found the girl in question walking in the opposite direction with Cloud by her side. She giggled at some comment he made as they entered an elevator and left the floor. Tifa stood alone in the hallway feeling lost. She jumped as someone placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Are you alright?"
She whirled to find Vincent standing behind her with an odd look in his eyes.
"Y-Yeah," the girl stammered. "I'm fine."
Vincent stared at her for a moment. Tifa fidgeted guiltily under his gaze.
"You read ahead, I see." The man stated.
"What? I mean… I…"
Tifa stumbled around her words while her mind was still in complete disarray.
"I didn't really… just a few sentences," she finished lamely.
Vincent led Tifa back to her room before turning to her.
"Do you want me to take the book back?" He asked calmly. "I can only imagine how hard it must be, not knowing."
"No!" Tifa nearly shouted. "I'm sorry, I just… I got bored…"
Vincent let out a sigh.
"I know it's hard, but I really think we need to let things proceed as closely as possibly to what I know," he reiterated.
Something in Tifa's mind rebelled suddenly at that idea.
"What? So I'm supposed to just give up on him and let her be happy?!"
Vincent paused slightly, unsure of what Tifa was referring to. Then he remembered what the girl must've just witnessed.
"I don't know if Aerith truly loves Cloud, Tifa," he said cautiously.
"Then why are they on a date?!" Tifa demanded, ignoring the feeling that she sounded like a petulant child. "Why did he agree to go along with her?! Why… why would she do this to me?"
Tifa slumped as she sat down hard on her bed.
"Does she end up with him?" Tifa asked after a moment.
"I hardly think that's a relevant question," Vincent said trying to avoid her question. "We were on a mission to stop Sephiroth. There wasn't much time for relationships."
"Stop deflecting dammit!" She burst out. "Why can't you just tell me?! What could possibly change if you let me know such an insignificant fact?"
Vincent could only stare at the frustrated girl. Tifa glared back at him. Finally, he let out a sigh.
"They did not end up together," he said plainly.
Tifa blinked, anger bleeding away in an instant.
"Wait, why? Cloud's completely obsessed with her. And Aerith likes him, even if it's only…" she trailed off.
Vincent could almost see the gears turning in the fighter's head. He closed his eyes in defeat. Finally, Tifa spoke though her voice was barely a whisper.
"Who dies?"
"Tifa…" the former Turk said warningly with a pained look on his face.
"WHO DIES?!"
Tifa stared pleadingly at Vincent, tears already forming in her eyes. The man's shoulders slumped as he gave in to her demands.
"Aerith."
The silence in the room was almost palpable. Vincent hung his head guiltily as Tifa processed this revelation.
"You're going to save her right?" Tifa asked after what felt like an eternity.
"I will try."
"How could you not succeed? You know exactly what's going to happen." Tifa asked without much heat in her voice.
Vincent raised his head to stare at the girl.
"Look at me, Tifa," he raised his prosthetic arm. "Even knowing what Hojo was going to do, I failed miserably when I tried stopping him. Lucrecia is likely worse off now that she knows what's going on outside of her self-imposed isolation."
Tifa frowned at this.
"Is… there anything I could do? You shouldn't have to do all this alone."
Vincent ran a hand over his face, weary from the conversation.
"She'll leave the group after the Temple… maybe you could try to convince her to stay? Last time she left without a word to anyone except for Cloud."
Tifa seemed to cheer up slightly at this.
"Okay," she said. "I'll try."
Vincent merely nodded as he stood to leave.
"Vincent?" The fighter called out as he began opening the door.
He half-turned, indicating he was listening.
"We're going to save her."
The man merely nodded and left the room. With a sigh, Tifa laid back down on her bed. Glancing over to the abandoned journal, fallen on the floor from earlier, she closed it carefully and put it back in her bag. Lying down on her bed, the brunette placed an arm over her eyes.
'We have to save her.'
…
For the second time in days, AVALANCHE approached the decrepit, overgrown ruin that was the Temple of the Ancients. Tempers were growing short and nerves were on edge. After Cait Sith had stolen the Keystone and given it to Shinra, revealing himself to be an android working for Reeve Tuesti, many members of AVALANCHE were hesitant to even speak with the toy. This only made the ride across the ocean all the more unbearable. Tifa wondered if at the end, she would've preferred facing Sephiroth over spending another minute in that atmosphere. However, all venomous thoughts towards the innocent-looking toy vanished as a bloodied form staggered into view just inside the entryway of the Temple.
"Tseng!" Aerith gasped as she recognized her old minder.
She rushed to his side just as his legs gave out beneath him. The man hit the stone floor with a wet slap as he left a blood stain where he fell. The girl ripped open his outer jacket and let out as small scream as she fell backwards. The pristine white dress shirt underneath that was part of the Turks uniform was stained a blotchy red, with a jagged puncture wound just barely missing his heart. Blood had seeped down and stained his pants as well causing blood to pool rapidly around him as he finally stopped trying to keep his wound closed. Shaking slightly, a pale Aerith began to try to heal the man as a faint green glow of magic coalesced around her hands.
"Aerith…" Clout began before shutting up after seeing the girl's determined eyes.
Tseng's breath came out in ragged gasps as he tried to breathe through the blood filling his lungs. He held up a shaky hand holding a blood-covered Keystone.
"Here," he wheezed as his arm trembled from the effort. "Take it… Sephiroth… left already…"
Cloud nodded as he took the Keystone. He looked back to Aerith who was still frantically trying to save the Turk.
"Aerith…" he said hesitatingly. "We need you down there…"
"I know!" The girl said with tears in her eyes.
"You should go," Tseng wheezed out. "You… don't owe me anything… after all I've done…"
Vincent stepped forward.
"Go with Cloud, Aerith," he said calmly. "I'll take care of Tseng."
The girl looked up through teary eyes.
"But the wound…" she began.
"I have some experience in this," the ex-Turk said confidently as he channeled a Cure through his own materia.
Aerith hesitated for a bit longer before joining Cloud in front of the altar. He asked Barret to provide them ranged support as well. As Cloud placed the Keystone in the slot on an altar, the room pulsed slightly before the trio disappeared through the door. The others stared at the empty altar in shock. The space before the altar continued to glow, as if awaiting more passengers. Tifa snapped herself out of stupor first and rushed over to kneel down beside the ex-Turk.
"Anything I can do to help?"
Vincent nodded slowly as he continued to channel magic into his Restore materia, carefully casting a low-level Cure on the wound in the Turk's chest.
"Please hand me an ether," he said without taking his eyes off her task.
Tifa did as she was told. Vincent continued for a while before drinking the bitter liquid. He then resumed work on Tseng. The man's breathing appeared to be evening out, but he was still bone white from the blood loss.
"Shit, he's a Turk, Vince," Cid grumbled. "Why are you bothering with his worthless hide?"
Vincent's eyes never left the dying man's chest.
"Because Aerith asked me to," he said bluntly.
The old pilot gave a huff of exasperation but shut up nevertheless.
"Do you want me to cast Cure as well?" Tifa asked as the others stood around uselessly. "I've got Cure 2 in my Restore materia."
Vincent shook his head.
"Sephiroth's blade nearly pierced his heart, I'm trying to repair the internal tissues first before I close the wound. Fortunately, Aerith already started closing the internal lacerations," he explained as he worked.
The fighter stood back, frowning. She knew what Vincent said was true. While Restore materia was great for flesh wounds during battles, internal injuries still required the attention of a trained medical professional. The fact that Vincent was using a blunt tool like Restore materia to heal a potentially fatal stab wound was a challenge in of itself. While someone like Aerith, who had a closer connection to the Planet and by extension Materia, would have been a better choice to work on the injured man, she was needed in the Temple itself. Minutes dragged on as the quiet man worked. Then, almost without warning, the glow faded from his hands and he leaned back with an exhausted breath. Tifa knelt down again, steadying the man who looked like he was about to pass out.
"Is he…" Yuffie asked hesitantly.
The young ninja had been strangely silent throughout the entire ordeal. Vincent snuck a glance at her and found her fearful eyes glued to Tseng's unmoving form. He wondered if it was due to the man's Wutain descent or because he was simply a human dying before her, in contrast to the faceless enemies they fought and killed on a regular basis.
"He'll live, but he still needs professional medical attention," Vincent responded wearily.
"That was very impressive," Nanaki said as he sniffed the unconscious man carefully. "Had you tried to just seal up the wound normally, he would have bled out in a few hours."
"Good work, I suppose," Cid grunted from the corner where he was leaning against the wall and smoking a cigarette.
"Reeve said they'll send someone to pick him up," Cait Sith said to everyone's surprise. "That being said, you guys should clear out of here before Shinra arrives."
"Why are you being so helpful," Yuffie grumbled. "It was your fault he ended up like this."
The toy wilted slightly.
"Yes, but…"
Then the robot froze, its eyes becoming fixed and staring out at nothing.
"Uh…" Yuffie said while squinting at the android and moogle robot combo. "Did… Did he just break down? I'm not carrying him out of here."
"We should just leave it here then," Cid snorted.
As he said this, the cat jumped up with a cry, sending Yuffie tumbling backwards with a squawk of surprise.
"Oh man…" Cait Sith mumbled. "This is bad… I…"
Vincent looked at the hesitating robot, knowing the conflict the sentient AI must be having. While the replacement cat and moogle never made mention of the Temple of the Ancients, he had always suspected the event leading up to the loss of the AI's first body had been at least somewhat traumatizing since he had to continuously solve the puzzles of the Temple even as his body was being crushed into the Black Materia.
"I gotta go! You guys get out of the building as soon as you can!"
Without another word, the cat and toy hopped off. Yuffie looked around in confusion.
"What the heck was that all about?" She asked aloud.
Nanaki shook his head.
"Whatever it was, it can't be a good sign," he said as he exited the Temple.
Even as he did, the temple began to rumble.
"We should go," Vincent said urgently as he carefully lifted Tseng.
The man groaned slightly but remained unconscious. The remaining four quickly followed Nanaki out of the building as several loose bricks fell, fortunately, none disrupting the transporter with the Keystone. Vincent set Tseng down at the edge of the clearing around the Temple of the Ancients and turned around just as Cloud, Aerith, and Barret rushed out as well. Moments later, the entire structure shook violently and shrunk slowly as it every transformation was a slow and agonizing process.
"What's going on?!" Yuffie screamed over the sound of stone grinding upon stone.
"Cait Sith sacrificed his body to get us the Black Materia!" Cloud explained, his eyes never leaving the shrinking building.
As the building became smaller and smaller, the noise it was giving off decreased until AVALANCHE was left standing in front of a large square pit. The noise had scared off all local wildlife and the ensuing silence felt all the more unsettling. They peered over the edge to find a black orb hovering in the center of the pit. Cautiously, Cloud descended the hole and approached the Materia, Aerith following at a slower pace. He grabbed the pulsating orb, staring at it almost reverently.
"Okay," he said slowly. "Now Sephiroth won't be able to use it against the Planet."
"Is that right?"
Everyone's eyes turned upwards to see the form of Sephiroth floating several meters up in the air.
"Sephiroth!" Cloud snarled upon seeing his nemesis. "Give it up, you'll never get the Black Materia!"
A ghost of a smirk flitted across the General's face.
"Oh, I wonder about that."
A raw scream tore out of Cloud throat as he fell to his knees clutching his head.
"W-What's going on?!" Yuffie screamed as their leader thrashed on the floor below. "Cut it out you jerk!"
She threw several throwing knives at the floating General, but he merely swayed out of the way as he descended into the pit. Vincent and Barret raised their weapons as well, firing on their enemy. However, their bullets all seemed to miss Sephiroth, even if it should've been physically impossible to dodge. Vincent suspected it had to do with whatever form of astral projection Sephiroth liked to use as he worked to bring his plan into fruition. Vincent slid down into the pit followed by Barret as they continued in their attempt to stop the General. In the middle of the floor, Cloud was jerkily standing up and beginning to walk towards the silver-haired man, who had finally landed with one hand outstretched.
"Cloud! Snap out of it!" Tifa yelled as she too reached the bottom of the hole.
"I don't know what the hell you're doing, but no one wants you here you son of a bitch!" Cid shouted as he charged towards the General with a burst of speed.
"Out of the way," the man huffed as he turned his outstretched hand towards the charging members of AVALANCHE.
A wave of energy knocked everyone down, stunning them temporarily. Sephiroth turned back to Cloud who was still unsteadily making his way forward.
"That's right, my puppet," the General sneered. "This is all you'll be good for."
With a trembling arm, Cloud deposited the Black Materia in Sephiroth's outstretched hand. With a smirk, the General took to the skies and flew off. Cloud fell to his knees, eyes wide as he regained full control of his body.
"What… what did I just do…?" He mumbled brokenly.
"Cloud, calm down," Aerith said gently. "It isn't your fault."
"My… fault…" the man's eyes looked out of focus as he stared out into the distance.
He let out a hoarse scream and lashed out wildly only to strike. Vincent, who had regained his footing, moved to intercept. He grunted as the blonde continued to flail in anger.
"Get a hold of yerself!" Barret shouted as he attempted to restrain the psychotic man.
The man thrashed as he struggled to break the larger man's hold. In a moment of quick thinking, Tifa rushed over and knocked the struggling man out with a swift chop to the back of the neck. Cloud slumped in Barret's arms, causing the man to grunt at the sudden dead weight. Aerith looked at Cloud with a slightly shocked look on her face.
"Thanks guys…" she said in a small voice.
The trek out back to the Tiny Bronco was a somber affair. Most people were still reeling from Cloud's apparent breakdown after handing their enemy what was arguably the strongest Materia in existence. The closest location with any sort of civilization turned out to be a small village called Gongaga. By an unspoken agreement, the team brought Cloud there as he recovered from his incident. Gongaga's location as a rather vulnerable settlement in the middle of the wilderness meant that they couldn't completely relax. However, Cait Sith reassured them that Shinra was too busy tracking down Sephiroth to bother looking for them and promised to let them know if he heard otherwise. After Vincent and Barret had carried the surprisingly heavy swordsman into bed, there was nothing left but to wait for their leader to recover. Nobody really felt like talking at any rate, so the rest of the day was passed in relative silence. It wasn't until later that night Aerith decided to make her move. Having missed the girl the first time around, Vincent and Tifa had agreed to keep a vigilant eye on the flighty Cetra. As it so happened, it was Vincent that caught her sneaking away from the village.
"Where are you going?" He asked as he stepped up behind her.
Aerith let out a small squeak of surprise and whirled around.
"V-Vincent!" She said nervously. "W-What are you doing up this time of night?"
Vincent merely stared at her.
"Where are you going?" He repeated.
The girl let out a small sigh.
"I have to go, Vincent," she said.
By this time, Tifa had caught up to the pair.
"Aerith, you don't have to face him alone!" She protested.
Aerith stared at her friend for a moment with a strange expression on her face. Then she walked over and hugged Tifa tightly, sending alarm bells ringing in Vincent's head.
"I'm sorry Tifa," she apologized softly. "I have to do this. Sleep."
Vincent couldn't even blink before the healer's magic-tinged words echoed throughout the clearing. He tensed, watching as Aerith lowered Tifa gently to the ground.
"What are you doing?" He demanded.
Aerith turned towards him, that same strange look on her face.
"You told her?"
Vincent froze. Aerith giggled lightly.
"Don't look so serious, Vincent. You'll get wrinkles."
"How do you know?" He chose instead to ask.
Aerith smiled kindly.
"I'm attuned to the Planet to some extent. It was rather vague, but I worked it out over time," the girl dismissed casually.
"Why won't you let me help you then?" Vincent countered.
The girl took a step forward and Vincent instinctually took a step back, wary that he'd end up like Tifa. Aerith stopped and frowned.
"I have to do this, Vincent. This is my destiny."
"Fuck that!" Vincent hissed in a sudden display of anger. "You're going to die, you know?!"
Aerith smiled sadly.
"Everyone dies, Vincent," she said serenely with her hands behind her back. "I'm doing this so that the Planet can survive."
"What about Cloud?" The man asked angrily. "He'll be devastated."
Aerith frowned at this.
"I know," she sighed. "He's got a lot on his mind, but I'm not the one to help him through his problems."
Vincent merely stared, trying to process all the cryptic information Aerith was freely revealing. A heavy silence passed between them.
"Please, Vincent," Aerith pleaded. "Just let me go."
"So that's it then?" Vincent asked bitterly. "I know what's coming and I'll never be able to stop any of it?"
Aerith frowned.
"Of course you will, silly," she chided. "You've already done a lot."
"Like what?" Vincent scoffed. "Sephiroth is still terrorizing the world and you're still going to die."
"Sometimes, we don't see our true purpose until it is thrust upon us," Aerith said mysteriously. "You're doing just fine."
Vincent scowled.
"I won't let you go," he said stubbornly.
Aerith's calm smile faded somewhat.
"Yes, you will. Stop."
Even expecting a spell, Vincent was completely helpless as the Cetra's magic crashed against him. While her magical prowess was never readily apparent in battle, when her magic was turned against him, it was a completely different story. Vincent's muscles strained ineffectually against the spell as Aerith walked up to him.
"Don't worry, Vincent, I've been ready for this for a long time," she said gently while placing a hand on his cheek. "Everything will work out. Sleep."
And the world went dark.
…
" . . . !"
Vincent groaned as he heard someone calling his name and shaking him. Blearily, he blinked, staring up into Cid's face.
"You alright? What the hell were you doing out here?"
The ex-Turk looked around and found Yuffie nearby rousing Tifa, who was still unconscious.
"Yuffie, try Esuna… Aerith's spells are hard to shake off if you're not expecting them," he directed at the younger girl.
Yuffie looked a bit confused but did as she was told. Tifa groaned as she awoke as well.
"Vincent?" She called out. "Did she…?"
"She's gone," he replied.
Cid looked annoyed at being left out of the loop.
"What the hell's going on, Vincent?" The older man interrupted. "Why the hell would Aerith attack you?"
"She's gone to stop Sephiroth by herself," came a voice nearby.
They turned to find a grim faced Cloud walking up to them, Barret and Nanaki trailing behind.
"Spike, you have three seconds to explain before I knock your ass back into a coma," Cid growled.
"Aerith has gone to the City of the Ancients to speak with the Planet in the hopes of stopping Sephiroth from using the Black Materia," Vincent explained instead.
He turned to Cloud.
"Tifa and I tried to stop her. She knocked us out with Sleep spells."
Cloud sighed heavily and shook his head.
"She can be very stubborn if she wants to," he said in a resigned tone. "We'd better head after her then."
"We should hurry," Vincent agreed. "It's possible that Sephiroth sees her as a threat due to her being the last Cetra."
Cloud nodded at this and the team quickly left Gongaga. Once again, the ride on the Tiny Bronco was quiet. Cid gunned the engine as hard as he was willing to push the makeshift raft, but they were still traveling slowly. Idly, Vincent wondered how Aerith had gotten to the City by herself so much faster than the group in his memories. Nearby, Tifa stared fidgeted nervously, glancing at him every few minutes but never saying anything. They reached the shores outside Bone Village and quickly made their way towards the Sleeping Forest. Though they were stopped by the excavation site manager, the team quickly set about finding the Lunar Harp. Knowing they were potentially on a time limit made the team come together, even if some people still didn't fully trust other members like Yuffie or Cait Sith. With some subtle direction provided by Vincent, they quickly zeroed in on the Harp's location.
"We'll need the rest of the day to get to it," the head archeologist said apologetically. "We're using controlled blasts to loosen the surrounding earth but we'll need to dig it out slowly after that.
"Can we help?" Cloud nearly pleaded.
The man shook his head.
"Sorry, but I'm already taking a huge risk letting you lot into this site."
Hands clenched impotently, the AVALANCHE leader merely nodded and returned to the small camp set up nearby. A few minutes later, there was a muffled explosion and the ground trembled slightly. Cloud continued to sit at the camp, staring out in the direction of the dig site. He sat that way through the rest of the day until he finally dozed off out of exhaustion.
"Poor guy," Yuffie mumbled as she carefully covered the sleeping man with a blanket.
"This is such a shitty situation," Cid grumbled as he flicked the remnants of his cigarette into the campfire. "I still have no goddamn idea why little Miss Cetra ran off on her own."
This caused a wave of silence to wash over the AVALANCHE camp.
"Vincent, did you manage to speak with her before she left?" Nanaki asked after a while.
Expectant eyes turned to him. Vincent sighed and nodded slightly.
"She said she was the only person who could communicate with the Planet and she intended on doing it alone. She did not give me a straight answer for why she needed to go alone though."
The others digested this, but made no further comments. One by one, they each turned in for the night, leaving Vincent and Tifa sitting just outside the firelight.
"Vincent," the girl started after some time. "What do we do?"
The older man sighed sadly.
"I'm still going to try," he muttered quietly.
Without warning, Tifa wrapped her arms around him in a quick hug.
"Get some sleep, Vincent. We're going to need the strength tomorrow," she said as she crawled into the tent she was sharing with Yuffie.
Vincent sat outside for a bit longer, consulting with Chaos, but the demon had little encouragement for him.
'I'll lend you strength, of course, but the Cetra seemed pretty certain about everything,' the beast rumbled. 'Cetra were renowned for their borderline prophetic abilities back in the day.'
With that disquieting though, Vincent tried to force himself to rest. However, it felt as though he had merely closed his eyes for a few minutes when he heard the constant sounds of excavators working fading away. His eyes snapped open as he stood from his sleeping bag. Opening the tent, he found Cloud already heading off towards the dig site. The rest of the team soon followed and, just before daybreak, they watched as the dig team pulled out an intricately crafted harp. Even covered in dirt, the material it was made of seemed to glisten in the half-light, mirroring its namesake. Feathers decorated the column and soundboard, so intricately carved they looked lifelike. With a word of thanks, Cloud took the Lunar Harp from the head archeologist, holding it as if it were made of glass, and walked over to the edge of the forest.
"Here goes nothing," Cloud said warily as he strummed the ancient device.
Its strings vibrated much longer than any mundane instrument, its sound carried much farther than an instrument of that size should be capable of. It was as if someone had slowly turned up the volume in the forest. Birds chirped as they awoke from a magically induced sleep and the trees began to rustle by some unseen wind. Face grim, Cloud returned the Harp to the excavation team and set out into the Forest at a run with AVALANCHE trailing behind him. The waking forest passed in a blur, monsters unhappy with being awoken attempted to hinder their progress but were dispatched with haste. No one cared to appreciate the intricate seashells that made up the houses in the City of the Ancients as they made a beeline for the center of the City.
"This way!" Nanaki yelled as he tracked down Aerith's lingering scent from a few hours ago.
The team followed the feline without question. Vincent internally prayed they would not be too late.
…
Aerith had been praying for several hours now. The cold tile of the underground altar had long since lost its bite. She communed with the Planet, channeling her magic through the special Materia her mother had given her when she was young. She tried to encourage the Planet to aide in powering Holy, even if it was still very tired from Jenova's assault two thousand years ago. She knew that even though humans had also harmed the Planet over the years, there was plenty of Good in their race and they deserved to be saved. Aerith continued to pray, repeating her message over and over in her meditative trance. The prayer consumed her consciousness to the point that the outside world faded away. She never even noticed as multiple people rushed towards the altar.
"Aerith!" Cloud whispered in relief.
The blond-haired swordsman made his way across the platforms towards the kneeling girl. By this time, the rest of AVALANCHE had reached the prayer chamber as well, having lost their leader in the mad rush towards the center of the City. Vincent swore as he saw Cloud approach Aerith. He immediately jumped down the last few floors near the bottom of the crystalline stairway in an attempt to close the distance. Tifa let out a cry of surprise and put on a burst of speed to follow him. At the altar, Cloud the relief in his face faded into an almost robotic blankness as he slowed to a stop. He drew his sword slowly and swung downwards.
"NO!" The man shouted.
Cloud's muscles protested violently as he forced his blade away from the praying Cetra. His head felt as if it was splitting apart. There was something incredibly familiar about that feeling.
"What… what are you making me do…?" He slurred as he clutched his head.
Above, the lithe and deadly figure of Sephiroth plummeted downwards, Masamune brandished point-first. He wore a feral smirk as he envisioned the Cetra's bones cracking under the force of the blow and how sweet her last breath would sound.
"MOVE!"
With a roar, Vincent leapt across the platforms and up the stairs. He reached out with one hand and threw a struggling Cloud aside as his other hand drew his pistol and fired with deadly accuracy. Sephiroth's eyes widened slightly at the sudden noise, but he was too late to act. The former General could only watch, almost in slow motion, as a bullet shattered his precious blade. He landed awkwardly and turned towards the interference with a snarl, only to find himself staring down the barrel of a gun. A second gunshot sent the General's body crumbling lifelessly in a heap. The caped man panted heavily, his trembling weapon still pointed at Sephiroth's corpse. Disrupted from her prayer, Aerith blinked blearily and looked up.
"Vincent!" She exclaimed in a mixture of surprise and frustration.
"Sorry," the man replied unapologetically.
"Cloud! What the hell was that!" Tifa shouted as she too reached the altar.
Cloud sat on the ground where Vincent had thrown him, staring sightlessly at his own hands.
"I… I don't… I couldn't…" the shaken man stammered.
"Couldn't help yourself, right?" A cold chuckle echoed throughout chamber.
The 'corpse' of Sephiroth twitched and rose to its feet. The grotesque mess that was the man's face slowly reformed, broken pieces of bone and cartilage realigning as the muscle and skin repaired itself. Vincent's moment of hesitation in light of this disgusting display was all Sephiroth needed. The General whirled with a crazed look in his eyes and flung the broken half of the Masamune he had still been holding. Aerith let out a small grunt as shattered weapon pierced her chest. Time seemed to freeze as the girl coughed, sending a spatter of blood across the thin blade. Then she fell, hitting the altar with a soft thud. Sephiroth smirked.
"SEPHIROTH!" Vincent roared as he pulled the trigger of his pistol.
Unfortunately, Sephiroth was expecting an attack this time. The former General dodged the point-blank shot with an inhuman ease. At the same time, he swooped down, grasped the broken blade of the Masamune, and drove it into Vincent's gut all in one smooth movement. The breath left his lungs as he was lifted from the force of the blow. The world faded as Vincent fell limp, held up by Sephiroth's strength alone. Somewhere in the background, the other members of AVALANCHE were yelling, but whether it was for him or Aerith, Vincent didn't know.
"Nice try, Valentine," Sephiroth taunted as he pulled the blade out.
Vincent collapsed to the altar floor, bleeding profusely from his stomach. Sephiroth looked over the broken piece of his Masamune with a faintly annoyed look on his face, before tossing the blade away. Cloud was yelling something at Sephiroth now that caused the man to laugh mirthlessly.
"Don't be stupid, Cloud," the silver-haired man said as he rose into the air. "You'll never have feelings because you'll always be nothing but a puppet."
With that, he flew off leaving behind a piece of Jenova that quickly mutated into a monstrous creature. Vincent saw all this through blurry eyes and could do nothing as a tentacle wrapped around his midriff and dragged him into the air. Pain blossomed outwards from his wound, causing lights to dance across his vision. He struggled feebly before the tentacle tightened, causing several ribs to snap. Vincent would've screamed had he had any breath left in his lungs. The shouts and sounds of battle began to fade as his vision dimmed. Through the delirium of agony, he wondered how things could have spiraled so far away from what he had expected. Then, the pain seemed to vanish. Vincent blinked and looked down. The tentacle was clearly still crushing his body, but there was no pain at all. In fact, he could feel his bones shifting as they repaired themselves at a speed far exceeding anything Chaos was capable of.
'What… is going on?' He wondered as strength surged back into his body.
'A last gift I suppose.'
As Chaos spoke, Vincent caught a flurry of feathers out of the corner of his eye, but when he looked, there was nothing there. The air felt somewhat cleaner and lighter, even in the murky depths of the City of the Ancients. Inhaling deeply, he plunged his claw into the tentacle holding him just as Barret let off a hail of bullets. The combined pain caused the appendage to slacken, releasing Vincent to the floor below. He scrambled quickly to retrieve his weapon. As he did, he caught sight of the others attacking the Jenova creature with reckless abandon. Then, he saw the cause and realized what was going on.
Aerith's body lay at the edge of the altar surrounded by a faint glow. It was her dying gift to the team: Great Gospel. It was something he had only heard her mention in his memories, but had never experienced himself. Even all the top scientists in Shinra couldn't explain the miraculous effects of that massive spell that somehow reinvigorated and restored people to full health. Vincent couldn't help but be in awe at the girl's selfless nature. Even in death, she would continue to watch over them as they worked to stop Sephiroth. Gritting his teeth, Vincent charged into battle, knowing that miracle or not, there precious little time before the spell's effects wore off. He had to admit the timing was nothing short of divine intervention for the moment Jenova-LIFE fell, Great Gospel ran out and he passed out from the aftershocks of his injuries.
…
As Vincent regained consciousness, he could feel someone channeling a healing spell into his bruised and battered body. Crimson eyes blinked tiredly as he looked to his side to find Tifa steadfastly healing him. He was resting in one of the abandoned shell houses in the City of the Ancients. It didn't look like anyone else was staying in this particular house with him. When Tifa noticed he was awake and looking around, she stopped channeling for a moment. Her own wine-colored eyes looked tired and slightly puffy from crying. He grimaced as his mind began to fully process what had happened.
"I failed…" he rasped as his stomach protested the motion. "I'm… sorry…"
Tifa's eyes momentarily filled with tears before she shook her head.
"You did all you could…" she choked as she rubbed fruitlessly at her eyes.
Vincent watched the young woman try and fail to regain control of her emotions.
"You should get some rest, Tifa," he said instead. "I'll heal on my own."
Tifa didn't protest, merely nodding her head. Vincent raised an eyebrow as she climbed into bed with him, wrapping her arms around his bandaged torso.
"Tifa?" He asked cautiously.
The broken woman merely tightened her grip on him. Letting out a pained sigh, Vincent closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.
…
AN: Phoo… this chapter was rough. I really didn't like how the initial version turned out and ended up rewriting most of this chapter. If you didn't notice by the original revision dates, I actually gave up on this chapter for quite a while and worked on original stories instead. It's very frustrating that this story has taken so long to gain any sort of traction, but I'm trying to write a bit on a daily basis, so I'm aiming to work on Chapter 12 with whatever momentum I gain from fixing up all these originally rushed chapters.
…
Omake 5:
Elena let out a small cry as their helicopter descended towards the jungle floor.
"There he is!" She shouted as they saw his body laid out near the remains of the Temple of the Ancients.
The short blonde had opened the helicopter door and jumped down before they had fully touched down. She stumbled briefly as she ran to her boss's side.
"Oh god… he's so pale…" she muttered running her hands across the man's face.
By this time, Reno and Rude had made their over as well and were staring down at their boss's bloodied form with matching grim expressions.
"He's cold…" she muttered. "That cat said he needed medical attention still… what if… what if we're too late!"
The panicky woman continued to check over her boss.
"Reno… Reno, I can't feel a pulse!"
"What?!" The red-haired man shouted as he rushed over.
"I – I don't feel a pulse! There's no pulse!" Elena screamed as she hyperventilated.
"Y-You're joking right?" Reno said nervously. "That Vincent guy healed him didn't he?!"
He tried to find a pulse but his own heart was beating too hard for him to concentrate.
"We were too late!" Elena sobbed.
She let out a fresh wail as she clutched Tseng's body close, rocking back and forth.
"Revive?" Rude said grimly.
"No way," Reno shook his head. "Don't you remember those videos they showed us during training? Revive is only for near-death situations. Past death and they come back as zombies."
"DON'T SAY THAT!" Elena shouted at the insensitive redhead.
Then the 'corpse' of Tseng let out a groan. Still hugging the man, Elena let out a shriek and pushed the body away. Tseng's body collided hard with a tree trunk.
"ZOMBIE!" She screamed as she brandished her gun.
"Ugh… what hit me?" Tseng mumbled blearily.
Elena was by his side in an instant.
"Boss! You're alive!" She shouted, hugging him.
"Why does my head hurt?" The man asked, clearly still dazed from blood loss and blunt force trauma.
Reno stared at Elena with one eyebrow raised. The girl flushed a bright red.
"N-Never you mind that, Boss!" She squeaked. "Let's get you back to HQ!"
Then in a surprising show of strength, she dragged the injured Tseng onto her shoulders and dragged him back to the helicopter. Left behind, Reno gave Rude a look. The bald man merely shrugged as the two followed their coworker and boss back onto the Shinra helicopter.