I do not own FFVII nor make money with this writing. Characters belong to Square Enix Inc.
The crypt part II
Cloud narrowed his eyes, looking at the coffee table with an electric jolt of fear, excitement running through his veins. He called for Vincent once again just in case to confirm he was alone there. Tonight, he would accomplish his mission. It was so clear now; Vincent's request was a desperate plea for help that only Cloud would understand. Vincent Valentine was an ally, not an opponent. Cloud giggled, trying to cover his mouth, so thrilled he was with that newfound.
Over the wooden coffee table, an oxygen tank, powerful night goggles, a mask, a small red satin box that as soon Cloud opened it has white and black Materia, carefully disposed of side by side in separates cases. A full vial of what seemed Mako. Vincent Valentine knew Sephiroth was in the crater. It was so clear. Cloud knelt on the floor, getting closer to the table, his cyan eyes scrutinizing at the artifacts, one by one, feeling himself assured of his line of thought that lead him into those mass destruction weapons in front of his eyes. He never was crazy; he did not have a broken mind. At least, not entirely.
Far away from Cloud, in Edge, Tifa was cleaning the remaining glasses from the sink. The night was calm and most parts of its usual clients went home earlier because of the insistent rain. Denzel and Marlene were playing in the half-covered part of the backyard after driving Tifa crazy about being all day long home. They could get a cold, but they have seen worse days, so she let them play outside even with the dull rain, and from time to time, she peeked at the backyard.
Tonight her mind was full, she woke up worried this morning, bad dreams about Cloud, news of floods in Midgar, and cold winter in Corel.
Tifa believed in signs, and her heart told her that bad times would return. She phoned Cloud twice without answer, what soothed her uneasiness was Vincent's call. He was fine, and they would spend the night at Cid's flat in Wutai. But something was not right, and all day long as soon she finished some task, the anguish returned to her heart. She took the phone from her apron pocket and called Cloud, again. Nothing, again. Tifa breathed, put the phone back in his pocket, and frantically scrubbed the coffee machine, feeling frustrated. It had been like that for ages, Cloud was a selfish bastard, she put up with all his emotional crisis, and he could not give her even one damn call. The children's noise pulled her out of her thoughts. At least, she has them to cheer her up on her days.
"Wow look, look! Tifa, come to see it! It's beautiful!"
Marlene's cheering was not what called her attention, but Denzel's shout and Tifa ran to the back to check it out. The sky had a green mist that seemed to the lifestream. The last time she saw this, the planet was in great danger.
"Oh no…"
Tifa's heart raced on her chest, she looked at Denzel, and he seemed scary, touching his forehead.
"Is this bad, Tifa?"
She didn't answer, but tense, yelled at them to change clothes, and stay in their room. The children got scared, but they obeyed without arguing.
"I'll call my dad, Tifa."
"Sure, do it, Marlene."
This was Midgar, and they have seen a lot of weird happenings to argue with a jumpy Tifa. Denzel was a very good observer, and definitely, something was wrong. Tifa climbed the stairs behind them, entered the room, locked the windows, and pulled out blankets from the closet. Denzel's eyes followed Tifa's movements, and the boy gasped when she retrieved a gun under her apron.
"Stay together and wait for me. Denzel, lock the door. Authorized to enter only Barrett and me, ok? Say you did understand to me."
She said that and stepped forward the door to close it, but a hand tightened her fist. Tifa lowered her head and found out huge worried blue eyes facing at her. She really couldn't give lame excuses for a boy like Denzel. He had gone through so much to know when danger was surrounding him.
"What is happening, Tifa? I had to know to protect Marlene and me. Tell me."
Tifa pulled her hand on the boy's shoulder and sighed with a smile at him. Denzel was growing fast, his voice already showed the puberty accent. There was no point to lie at him.
"Actually, I don't know yet, but I believe in some kind of lifestream leaking far away. The last time I saw this, we were in great danger. This is why I need you both to be safe until we know what it is."
Denzel nodded his head and the boy was thoughtful.
"Where's Cloud? Is he coming to help us?"
Tifa smiled at him, unsure of how to answer his question. Who in the hell could guess if he would come home?
"Cloud is fine with Vincent at Wutai. He will be here tomorrow. Now, I'll come back in a sec with snacks for later ok, you can play…"
The boy's grip on her fist tightened, interrupting her sentence.
"Do you think those grey-haired men could come back?"
Tifa felt a little tingle of anguish inside her chest for Denzel. The boy even gulped after asking the question. His eyes demanding a truth, she had no guarantees.
"They're dead, Denzel, and I'll never let anyone harm you again. Never, and so does Cloud, ok?"
The boy nodded his head, and they hugged each other tightly until Marlene come to join them.
"I love you, guys."
In the dark living room of Cid's apartment, Cloud stared at the items in front of him. An oxygen tank, a mask, a mako vial, night goggles, and the white and black Materia, shining its purple light over the room. He bowed his head as if in front of an invisible commander, accepting his destiny in a suicidal mission.
Cloud found his backpack in the corner of the couch and immediately began to pack everything. He had a plan. He was unsure if it will work, but he would try it anyway. He couldn't hide it anymore. He didn't want to do it so, and wanted to live, and knew his freedom has a price.
He never was a soldier neither a hero and come to this certainly was a relieving joy for him. He was aware of what he really was. He took the mako vial, opened, and drank it in a gulp, frowning at the acid taste. The instantaneous Mako's effect on in his bloodstream caused his eyes to shine, and his body to shake, the veins of his arms jumped, his muscles expanded in mass with the powerful chemistry of the green liquid. Cloud clenched his fists, savoring the strength on his arms. He smirked admiring himself, grabbed his coat, his sword, backpack, and slammed the door behind him.
In Midgar, the green mist in the sky was getting visible in downtown. First, they thought it could be mako leaking from one of the reactors until a burst of energy was seen at the Northern Cave. The lights were expanding and dancing in the sky, many people, even under the rain, were in the streets to watch it. Reno and Rude, who almost lived at Seventh Heaven, started to call their contacts, one hour later, all the Turks including Rufus Shinra were in the bar, and also Avalanche's team. Everybody was there, except for Vincent and Cloud.
The only thing they knew, from Icicle Inn to Cactus Island, the green shimmer could be seen. Tifa's apprehension for Cloud tightened her chest, and as soon the latest news confirmed it was Lifestream leaking in the sky, she went to a corner in the bar and cried. The planet was wounded again, and they were in danger. No one did know how yet, WRO and Shinra would send their forces to Northern Crater, the main spot of the leaking.
Far away at Nibel, Vincent sat in the shore of the lake, admiring Lucrecia's cave. He heard for so many times her apologies, but tonight, he was the one asking for forgiveness. In a minute or so, she appeared to him, smiling, and sat by his side leaning her head on Vincent's shoulder. The man pulled her to his chest, tenderly hugging her close to him. They stayed in silence, looking at the lake.
Vincent Valentine could be immortal, at least, he was not aware of what could kill him, and not even Chaos would be capable. Until now. He never feared death, not as a man, and never as a demon. Maybe, after so many years of sadness, they could be in peace. Lucrecia moved her body, to caress Vincent's face, and kissed him on the lips. Gently, the woman touched Vincent's chest in the spot where Chaos kept restrained. Vincent looked at the spot and smiled, staring at her, tenderly caressing her face. Lucrecia has known since always about Gaia's plan from the very beginning after had manipulated protomateria.
Her mentor, Grimoire Valentine was right. Nothing could stop what was about to come. Cloud, Vincent, Avalanche, all of them have tried hard, with several consequences and a brief victory, but that was not Gaia's plans. The universe called this planet. The universe knows better, and their prison, finally, would end.
For so long, Lucrecia and Vincent talked through her crystal rock, without touching each other, feeling the sadness of longing and the eternity with no peace. Since the beginning of this year, despite none explanation, she could leave the crystal, and shape her body to fit that dimension. The other great blessing was seeing Sephiroth, connecting with him through the lifestream, help him to ascend to his place, and follow his destiny. Even when Sephiroth mentally shoved her off, she would be there, veiling his slumber, nurturing him with energy, being what she was meant to be for the man; a mother. Vincent had done his part too, providing as a father the ways for his progeny to grow and live.
"Everything will be fine, Vincent."
Vincent pulled over Lucrecia's face, staring at those eyes he loved so much. He downed his fingers over Lucrecia's lips, gently caressing the tender skin, and kissed them. They parted the kiss and stared at each other, the complicity overwhelming their senses.
"Now it's fine for me."
He kissed the top of her black-haired head and held her hands. They were together when Lucrecia's crystal began to split on its base, the cracks running up to the top, and finally, shattering in thousands of pieces of crystal, then turning into a pile of rock dust. Vincent's protomateria on his chest tightened. Cloud had succeeded. The world again will change. They snuggled at each other, soon they would be part of those little pieces of rocks, or lights, or whatever they would become, but this time they were together, and their son will reborn for a better life, far away from that damned planet.
~~/~~
At night, the crater was much more dangerous. Cloud admired himself with the absence of wind or snow. The night was clear, full of visible stars. The path for the crater had no obstacles as if it had been prepared for his coming. In the ground, Cloud found out some white feathers. Someone was easing the way for him, and he thought of someone else, apart from Vincent and himself that wanted Sephiroth alive. Lucrecia Crescent. Cloud felt again the mix of joy and excitement over the discovery.
Cloud cleaned the front of his goggles, looked at the sky above him, and firmly held the rope, diving into the abyss with a smile on his thin lips. He would know what to do when he gets there. Faster, Cloud vanished into the cave, the closer he got to the center, the clearer it became, the green light emanated stronger than ever. Cloud's face shined with the greenish glow, his goggles reflected the bright, and he was not blind yet because of the mako shot. The climbing was so easy, he was electric, feeling like an unstoppable bullet, a happy one, fulfilled with purpose, energy, and confidence.
"Cloud."
He thought about the reasons behind his acts, while his feet touched the last level of the crater. The snow melted, and the crystal crypt was fully visible, shining its green light, barely showing Sephiroth inside it. The entire place had changed as if aware of Cloud's intentions. He went closer to the crypt, studied Sephiroth's features that remained unmoving, but the spot where Cloud's blood had dripped, formed a magical red sphere pulsating above the crypt. He frowned, and leaned over the glass, Sephiroth's skin was blueish; his face still seemed frozen, but Cloud could tell time was not by their side. The roots had grown in large, spreading their organic tentacles around Sephiroth's chest, covering almost all of him. It should be the last attempt from the planet that didn't want to die, to save itself.
"Closing to an end, Sephiroth."
The Materia's box trembled inside the pocket of his coat, demanding to be unleashed. He strolled until the side of the crypt where Sephiroth's head was and raised his arms, one Materia in each hand. The white and the black, the good and the evil. Cloud felt goosebumps on his skin; the greatness of having the universe's power on his hands, alive, invading his body and mind, spreading delicate energy, a pleasure that his human limited brain or anyone else's could not describe. Each Materia emanated a ray, twisting in the air, and locking itself to Cloud's palm hands; he gave a deep breath and looked up to the sky. He was aware of all the consequences of his acts. Freedom.
The young man positioned his hands in the air, one parallel to another, with enough distance to join them without burst himself in the air. Aerith prayed when she cast the white Materia, he remembered the girl bathed by white light. Cloud deep breathed, shouted, and in one blow, mixed the two Materias, fusing them into a ball of magic energy above the crypt. An eruption of strong light flooded the entire cave until the sky, painting Cloud's vision in green. The green light flew up to the exit, it should be visible at any point from the planet, so dense, so cataclysmic. Beautiful.
Cloud covered his eyes, and after some seconds, he was able to look at the center of the crypt. It remained sealed. Sephiroth remained there. Cloud frowned, narrowed eyes, angrily tossing away his goggles, and preparing his Bustersword.
"One way or another Sephiroth, you will get out of there."
Cloud stabbed the crystal, one, two, four times in a tempest of rage, but his sword even scraped the apparently thin crystal, when he stopped to catch air, despair took place on his chest. He would not kill the planet for anything. Cloud cried out fiercely, anxiously pacing towards the crypt.
"Think; think about details, the sordid ones, details, think Cloud!"
Despair. He could not let this feeling shade his goals. Cloud deep breathed and focused on the scenario, searching for what he had missed. The roots enlacing Sephiroth's body were growing towards his neck, elevating it and surely, it would choke him to death. A final death he couldn't stop if he failed.
"No, it won't end like this, Sephiroth. Not this time."
After saying that, his eyes focused on the red sphere over Sephiroth's chest. It was withering away, becoming smaller. "That's it!"
Positive of what he was performing, Cloud pulled out his coat, approached the mass, and deeply cut his forearm, letting his blood drip under the red sphere. His dark red blood had small particles of mako, still visible while it was mingling with the sphere, causing an awkward shine.
Dark veins emerged in the ball's surface, engulfing the red and coloring the sphere in black and red or something black with shining red strings. The astounding mass increased in its volume, obliging Cloud to stop feeding it. The sphere pulsed as an odd sort of heart and suddenly, it ceased to do it and begun to drain all the light cast out from Materia's explosion. The green and strong mist, already high in the sky, compacted itself as a stream and ran back to the center of the cave, where Cloud and Sephiroth were, entering inside the black sphere, changing it into a pulsating green bubble, with large red veins on the surface, expanding up above the crystal. Cloud stepped back, clenching the lesioned arm against his chest, amazed with what was happening, but still doubtful about the result. Sephiroth was still laying there, not alive, not dead, getting even more blueish.
The sphere completed the task of engulfing Sephiroth's crypt and froze it. The ice turned into a massive emerald, seconds later, it cracked, expelling Sephiroth out of the crypt, covered in green and red goop. Cloud gasped and ran to cover Sephiroth's naked body with his coat.
He was still unconscious, some roots still glued to his hair moved towards his neck, trying to choke his sleeping body, but promptly Cloud cut them with his sword. Concerned, he also noticed that Sephiroth's body had parts missing, he pulled out a potent healing Materia, seeing that incredible spell, work its way to rebuild him, bit by bit. However, it was not enough. Sephiroth shivered, convulsing on Cloud's arms, throwing up green liquid, and he stopped breathing. Completely aware of what he was doing, Cloud reopened his wound, placing it above the man's mouth, and feed Sephiroth with his blood. The seizure immediately ceased, he breathed again, and Cloud sighed relieved. Even he was perplexed with the power of his blood to do that, they didn't have any minute to lose, Cloud put the oxygen mask on Sephiroth, and dressed him with a big sleeping bag, warming the cold body.
Distant noises of aircraft made Cloud hurried to grab everything he still needed, and prepare the second part of his mission, leaving with Sephiroth. Cloud raised his head to the sky. Amazing green and blue lights danced over the sky. Lifestream. A flash of red light crossed the sky. Chaos had been freed. Soon all the Weapons would come, and Gaia will perish. He looked down at his arms, Sephiroth was there, eyes still closed, clutched to his chest, his trembling hands clinging at Cloud's coat, regular breathing, and above all, alive. Cloud attached Sephiroth to his body with the climbing ropes and stretched his arms. Materia's energy running on his body glowed out from his hand, he could see Sephiroth's eyes trying to open and frowning at him.
"Hang on."
Cloud summoned a portal as if he were some sort of God.
"We're running out of time and the journey is long, but as soon we jump together in the portal, in seconds, there will be no more pain, no more regrets, new worlds, and a new life. Say goodbye to Gaia, Sephiroth."
Before they were fully inside, Cloud gave a last look at the cave and veered his head up, he would say he was sorry, but actually, he was not. Neither guilty. Cloud lowered his head at Sephiroth, who weakly opened his green eyes, and stared back at him, managing a faint smile. Cloud gave a last look at the Gaia's sky, painted in red by now, and both men disappeared inside the portal.
"Rest in peace, Gaia."
