Author's Note: Gaaah ... FF(dot)Net ate much of my formatting in this chapter. It was such a pain to replace. I hope I didn't miss anything, but if I did, and you notice, please let me know.
Anyway! And now we are back to our regularly scheduled programming. This chapter was such a beast to write! There is so much that happens, and I toyed with breaking it up further into secondary chapters. But, for various reasons, I decided it would be best overall to keep it all together and follow my original plan.
Thanks to LuckyLadybug for help on this chapter! And thanks also to Clolot for pointing out some loopholes that I'd forgotten about when trying to tie things up. There are so many threads to keep track of that's it's too easy to forget if I don't get them written down! Anyway, I've added a few things to this chapter that will hopefully address those problems. It's likely that they weren't too noticeable in the first place, so if you haven't noticed, I'm not telling you what they were. :P They should all be patched up now, anyway! Well enough for Frankenstein, at least ...
Hope you enjoy!
Chapter Twelve
Truth
Sephiroth leapt backward, but not quickly enough to completely avoid injury as the creature extended its claws in an upward swing that caught him across the chest. But the injury was minor, and he had no time to consider it as the creature drove forward, snapping its jaws.
Unwilling to use his sword, he slammed a fist into the creature's head to knock it away. A deep, rumbling growl answered him, and the monster came back, undaunted. Sephiroth brought both fists together upon Masamune's hilt, and again drove them into the creature's skull, pounding it toward the floor.
The monster caught itself with deformed claws, bared its fangs and screamed at him. The shrill sound split his ears; horror and disbelief drove him back.
"Zack!" His voice was anguished. "What happened to you? Stop this!" The very thought that his friend had become this monstrous, unreasoning … thing … choked the air from his lungs. His hands shook; he fought to keep them steady, keep Masamune between them.
The creature, now on all fours, narrowed soulless eyes and crept forward, a rumble spilling from its throat.
Sephiroth stared at it, searching its face for answers. How was this possible? Zack was supposed to be safe! He was supposed to be in his apartment! Sephiroth had secured the door himself! He shook his head in denial.
… But what if … the air ducts …?
His eye caught what he thought was a flicker of violet within the black depths of the creature's. Was Zack still there?
"Zack, it's me, it's Sephiroth." He clung to a frantic hope that he could reach his friend. He'd talked with him just hours before! That Zack could somehow become this creature, when he'd been laughing, smiling, seeking comfort from Sephiroth not long ago … it twisted his mind, destroyed his reality. "This isn't you! Gaia, Zack … Please!"
The creature seemed to consider his words, tilting his head first one direction, then the other. It slowly advanced.
"Zack. Come back! Remember yourself!" He had no idea what could have done this to his friend. Was it even possible for him to come back? Was Sephiroth even reaching him?
Gaia, how long had Zack been like this? Ever since the first murders had begun, a month ago … Had Zack even known what was happening? Had he been trying to reach out to Sephiroth? Had Sephiroth just been too blind to see it, just as he'd been too blind to help Genesis and Angeal before it had been too late …?
No! There had to be a chance that Sephiroth could bring him back! If he'd returned before, surely now … It couldn't be too late …!
Abruptly the creature sprung. But it caught Sephiroth off-guard, angling for the wall rather than directly for him, and his block met empty air.
Suddenly, there was no longer any steel between him and it. Sephiroth turned, but too late. The creature bunched its legs and rebounded from the wall, lunging for his unprotected back.
He was caught high, the impact pitching him forward and slamming him into the ground. Quickly, he tried to roll, but the heavy weight upon his back made it impossible. A short yell escaped him at the sudden pain of teeth stabbing into his shoulder. Claws raked into his back; one pair found purchase on his right shoulder pauldron and dug deep, seeking to pry it off like a shell.
He grit his teeth. Thankfully, he'd managed to keep his grip upon Masamune. Sensing the materia snug within its hilt, he turned his awareness to the one that crackled with energy. Lightning. Feeling it grow warm beneath his glove, he connected with it. Suddenly, like a switch flipping on, all his nerves came alive; deep inside, he could hear the distant song of the Planet rejoicing in the wild energy of the thunderstorm. The air around him became electrified. The creature atop him stilled, sensing something out of the ordinary.
He gathered the power, allowed it to grow, until it strained at the iron bonds of control he'd wrapped around it. Then, mentally directing it, he let it go.
Crack.
The energy speared through the monster, flinging it into the wall. It hadn't even the time to scream before it lay in a heap on the floor, tiny flames licking at singed fur. Its ears and tail twitched.
Sephiroth rolled away. A painful effort brought him to his feet, and he leveled his sword at the beast, maneuvering to put the creature between himself and the gaping hole into the elevator shaft.
"Zack …" His heart beat quickly. Had he killed it? But Zack was a First; surely not …
He raised his voice. "Zack." The word was strained, his throat tight. He willed the creature to get up.
There was no warning. In an instant, the creature transformed from a boneless heap to a snarling mass of rage charging straight for him.
He had time only to angle his blade between him and it, still unwilling to strike with it. The creature, too fast, hit the blade, steel biting deep into its shoulder and chest. It jumped back, screaming; lunged again.
"Enough! Zack, get a hold of yourself! Don't do this!" He beat it back, retreating as he did so. Was nothing he said getting through to his friend? Could he do nothing to help him?
"Zack, please, don't make me …!"
They traded blows, Sephiroth purely on the defensive, desperately hoping that Zack would come to his senses. The monster's strikes rained down hard; Sephiroth's back protested at the effort to block, wounds screaming at him. But the creature kept coming, occasionally landing a good hit and scoring additional injuries against the General. Though its own arms became bloody, Masamune cutting deep in order to defend its master, the creature, in its madness, showed no sign of stopping.
Despair trickled into Sephiroth's heart. Gaia … Is this what Zack faced in confronting Angeal? Am I to give him the same fate he was forced to give his mentor?
"Zack … if there's anything left of the friend I know … hear me, please! You're my friend, Zack! You're all I have left!" He was desperate. "Don't make me kill you!"
But the creature, unreasoning, insane, showed no sign of comprehension.
Finally, Sephiroth gave an anguished cry, and struck out at the beast. Masamune traced a hard line across its chest and flung it away, toward the far end of the hallway. The creature hit, rolled, avoiding the drop into the elevator shaft, and went back to its feet. To Sephiroth's horror, it still refused to stop. Going to all fours, clawing at the floor, it charged.
Time seemed to slow.
… I want you to promise me … that if it really is me … that you'll stop me.
Sephiroth went to a knee and braced himself.
Promise me, Seph! By any means necessary.
He leveled Masamune's tip with the creature's chest.
Promise me …
He bowed his head, closed his eyes. They stung.
"Oh, God … wake me from this nightmare."
A rumbling scream tore the air, reverberated from the walls. There was a split second when the clack of claws against floor ended. Sephiroth pictured the creature, jaws wide, going for his throat. Its arms reached greedily, claws spread, hungry for flesh and muscle and bone. He waited for his blade to miss, the pain to rip one last time through his body.
But Sephiroth never missed.
The scream was cut short. The blade jerked, then grew heavy as Sephiroth heard the familiar sound of steel sliding through flesh. He held himself still, eyes squeezed shut, as the vibrations along the weapon stilled and shrill echoes faded away.
Then the blade fell from numb fingers, with a dull clatter to the floor.
He slumped to the side, leaning against the wall. He allowed blurry green eyes to open, forcing himself to fix them upon the figure beside him.
The creature lay upon its side, mouth open in a soundless scream. Vacant, black eyes stared back at him. A bloodied claw wrapped around the blade embedded in its chest. It worked its jaw once, claw clenching. A trickle of blood dripped from the fist. Then it let out one last, slow breath, and relaxed. Slowly, its life pooled around it and stained the floor. It was still.
Sephiroth's breath hitched in his throat. He brought a trembling fist to his forehead, shut his eyes in denial.
"What have I done …?" The horrified whisper was loud to his ears. Abruptly, he slammed the fist into the floor and thumped his head back into the hard, unforgiving wall. "Oh, God … What have I done?"
He clutched his chest, curling upon himself.
It was not his best friend he'd impaled upon his sword.
It was his own heart.
For a long time, the hallway was silent.
Wow … Look, Angeal, it's General Sephiroth! Think I'll ever be like him? I wanna be a hero, just like he is …
Here ya go, sir, I dunno how you like your coffee but I made it the same way I do mine. I'll go back and fix it if ya don't like it. … What! You drink it black? Seriously? Man, didn't know you were that hard core …
Hey, Sephiroth! Guess what! I just finished another training scenario, and I've leveled up and everything! I bet I can finally take you on now …
Sephiroth sat, slumped against the wall. Echoes of the past whispered softly in his ears.
So, I, uh … thought I might ask your advice on somethin'. So I've got this friend, who has this girlfriend. And her birthday's comin' up, and he doesn't really know what to get her, but she likes flowers, so he wants to get her some flowers, but she already has the most beautiful garden in all of Midgar, so should he get her some flowers? Because it just seems redundant, and I dunno what to do …
Seph! What kind of ice cream do you want? I got a bonus from my last mission, so I am totally buying, and I better not get 'no' for an answer …
Did you see that guy in the movie? He was all like, "For I am the great General Sephiroth, the Silver Death, the Terror of Wutai, the Hero of the World, and I will vanquish you. Prepare to meet your doom." It was hilarious! "I am the great General Sephiroth." Dude, where do they dig up these actors …
He wished he could hold onto them. But they were a reality that was slowly fading away.
Heck, yeah! Those monsters never stood a chance. We make an awesome team!
Save me, Seph! It's Tseng, he's out to murder me! I swear I didn't do it, it was Reno this time, honest!
You know … I'm really glad you're here, Seph. Dunno what I'd do if you weren't.
Thanks, Seph … for everything.
He felt numb.
He was aware of the two bodies lying in the dim hallway, but he didn't see them. He just stared blankly at the floor, his injuries a dull throb in the back of his mind. He didn't know how long he'd been sitting there, but he didn't care. It didn't matter.
Nothing mattered anymore. It was over.
Everything was over.
… A shrill ring split the silence. His phone.
Some small part of him grew angry at it for disturbing his quiet, cutting through those faint echoes. But he couldn't muster the will to stifle it. So he let it ring.
After a while, it stopped. Probably gone to voicemail.
He returned to his thoughts.
Someday, I wanna show you my hometown. It's different, but I think you'll like it. Not at all like the crazy bustle of Midgar. Kind of a peaceful, sleepy place, but there's energy there in people's hearts. It's a good place.
Hey … think I'll ever see Angeal again? Sometimes … I feel like he's still there, watching over us, ya know? I wonder if he's proud of me …
I miss him a lot, sometimes …
The phone rang again. Slowly, the echoes faded away.
They were probably trying to contact him, find out where he was. They hadn't heard from him in a while.
But the monster was dead. So he wasn't in a hurry. They could wait.
Zack was dead.
He closed his eyes, turned his head away from the disturbance.
The ringing stopped.
Sephiroth continued to wait, to see if the echoes would return.
But once again, that shrill sound pierced his solitude.
The echoes hadn't returned; it seemed that the maddening sound had driven them away for good. As a pit of loss opened up within him, he finally, slowly, drew out his phone. Half on autopilot, he flipped the device open.
"… Sephiroth." His voice was quiet, dull.
"Seph! Thank Gaia, are you alright? The other SOLDIERs have been trying to contact you, but they couldn't get through-"
The voice sent a jolt through his spine, and the phone clattered to the ground from suddenly nerveless fingers.
Zack! What trickery was this? Zack was … He was dead! By Sephiroth's own hands!
"… Seph? … Seph? Hey, pal, are you there? Answer me!"
Staring at the phone as if it had morphed into a gremlin, he slowly reached for it and picked it up.
"… Who is this?" he demanded, struggling to keep his voice level.
There was stunned silence from the other end. "… Um … It's me, Seph. It's Zack."
Impossible! Zack was dead!
Sephiroth shook his head. "No, I … I …" I killed you. He gripped the phone tightly. The plastic creaked under the pressure.
"… Seph …?"
… Had he finally lost his mind? Created some illusion to protect himself from the truth? He jerked the phone from his ear to stare at the digital display. No, the call was real – the ID registered Zack's name, and numbers at the bottom of the screen slowly counted up the length of the call. … But if this was real, then how …? Slowly, he returned the phone to his ear.
"… Z-Zack … is that … really you?" Disbelief colored his tone, and his eyes flicked over to gaze at the twisted, lifeless form beside him, silently begging the voice to confirm his question.
"… Well, yeah." The voice was hesitant, questioning. "Of course it's me. Who did you expect-?"
Abruptly, Sephiroth's tone sharpened. "Where are you? Where have you been?" But the sharpness didn't quite cover the desperation that leaked into his voice.
"… I've … been in my apartment this whole time. Seph, you locked me in here yourself … What's going on? What happened, are you okay?"
"I …" He ran a shaking hand through his hair. What was going on? He'd killed Zack himself, so how …?
… No … Was it possible …? Did he dare to hope? Could he afford to?
… A copy …?
Stunned, mind still struggling to catch up with this revelation, he automatically voiced the first concern that came to his lips. "Zack … a-are you … are you alright?" He needed to hear it, from Zack himself, that he was okay. That Sephiroth hadn't really …
The voice went quiet. "… Yeah, Seph, I'm fine. Look, what happened? You … you're scaring me."
Zack … Zack was alive …
Sephiroth didn't know what to think. His eyes turned back to the creature. It … really … wasn't Zack?
No … and it had never been Zack. Zack had still been in his apartment when Sephiroth had first discovered the creature. He'd spoken with Zack himself, at the time. And the apartment had been locked. Though the air ducts …
No. It was too obvious now, and how he could ever have believed … He shook his head.
Zack was alive.
A sudden, euphoric feeling of relief swept over him, and he collapsed against the wall, quiet laughter escaping his lips. Zack was alive. He touched his forehead, then ran fingers through his hair, a physical echo of his attempt to straighten out his thoughts. Never in his life had he been so grateful to have encountered a clone! By the Planet …
"… Thank God. … Zack, I-I … thought you were dead. I thought I'd killed you." His voice trembled slightly.
"What? Seph, I … I'm right here! I'm okay, really, I promise! I'm right where you left me. … What made you think …?"
"It …" Sephiroth took a deep breath, struggling to get a handle on the turmoil of his emotions. Zack was alive. He was alive!
Taking a moment to gather himself, he turned his focus to the creature, finally beginning to properly analyze the situation. "… It must have been a clone, Zack, some kind of copy. … But it was monstrous, a distorted, warped creature. … It had your face … barely …" He shuddered at the memory. "And your hair and uniform … I thought it was you!" Unexpectedly, his voice broke on the last word.
"… Gaia … Seph, it wasn't, okay? I promise, I'm right here!" There was a hard thump. "Gaia, if only I'd been there, I'd-"
"It's alright, Zack. I'm fine now. Everything's …" He took a deep breath, let it out. "Everything's fine." And it truly was. He cast his gaze upward. Thank you. "I am just … grateful that you're alive."
" … Me too, Seph. I'm glad you're okay."
Sephiroth smiled, bowing his head. Never in his life had he been so glad to hear his friend's voice.
"… So you've finally got the killer then, huh? Wow … That's crazy, it really was pretending to be me."
Sephiroth nodded. "You have no idea how 'crazy' it was. Listen … I need to wrap up a few things here, but I'm going to send a SOLDIER over to disengage the lock on your door. I think we can safely assume that your innocence has been established."
"Really? Awesome! You're the best, Seph. Hey, where are you? I'll meet you there."
"Actually … it's best that you don't. You don't need to see this – it's not pretty. Besides, the elevator might have some trouble."
"… The elevator might …? Hoo boy, Seph, you're gonna have a story to tell when I meet up with you again."
Sephiroth smirked. "Indeed. I'll meet you in the SOLDIER lounge."
"Alrighty, see ya there! I'll buy you a drink – sounds like you could use one!"
"Actually, just coffee would be nice."
"Coffee? Sure. How do you-"
"Just fix it the same way you do yours." It was a little too sweet … but, come to think of it, it wasn't that bad, after all.
With a newfound lightness to his step, Sephiroth strode down the corridors to the SOLDIER lounge. It felt as if a great weight had fallen from his shoulders.
It had actually taken him quite some time to wrap things up on the other level. He'd inspected the corpse of the creature, finding that the humanoid monstrosity seemed to possess the same fur that had been found with the bodies of the victims. He'd expected as much, and that tests run on the beast's saliva would find a match with the foreign bacteria also found on the victims.
As for the scientist who had been the creature's latest victim … Nothing could be done for him, or what was left of him. He had likely been dead within seconds after those elevator doors had closed, for which Sephiroth was grateful. If he hadn't, his last moments would have been excruciating, and Sephiroth wished for him to have at least been spared that. He clenched a fist at the reminder of his failure. The man's death weighed heavy on his mind, and would for a while yet.
At least … he still had Zack.
Sephiroth had notified Tseng of the situation, allowing him to pass the information on to the President. In turn, Tseng expressed his relief at Zack's innocence, and passed on a message from Reno: that Aerith was looking forward to seeing Zack again, as he hadn't visited since before he'd gone on that last mission. Sephiroth was more than happy to let him know. He was sure Zack would appreciate a few days off.
The General had then called in a team of SOLDIERs and forensics experts to take care of the scene, making good use of a Restore for his injuries while he waited. The body of the creature would be sent to the Science Department for analysis. Sephiroth suspected Hojo would have a field day. At the very least, he hoped that the scientist would be able to determine where the creature had come from, whether it was some kind of extreme mutation or something completely new. He hoped that it was the former case; the latter promised only to open up a whole host of future problems if there were more of those creatures. The ability to mimic the appearance and behavior of a human was a truly frightening possibility. And even more troubling was how it had come to be here. Had it just crawled in from somewhere? Or had it been sent?
Finally, after ensuring he had done all he could, Sephiroth made his way to the SOLDIER lounge … only to find it empty. He was mildly surprised – he'd expected Zack to have arrived here by now. But, no matter. He would just wait.
Settling himself on one of the couches, he thought back to the events of the past few days. What a trial it had been for all of them! Thank Gaia it was over. Having to imprison Zack, the struggle to determine what was really going on … It had certainly taken its toll. Sephiroth was exhausted, and he was sure Zack was just as tired, likely having not gotten much rest throughout the ordeal either.
Several minutes passed. Sephiroth jerked, finding himself about to doze off. He frowned, checked the time. Where was Zack? Surely he would have been here …
Deciding to go see what was taking his friend so long, he got up. Perhaps he would just meet Zack at his apartment. He left, heading for the elevators.
He stepped out onto Zack's floor, a few minutes later, but immediately sensed that something was wrong. It wasn't that it was too quiet … but there was something different about the quality of the air. Sephiroth frowned, a spike of apprehension needling his stomach. Quickly, he strode for Zack's apartment.
As he rounded the last corner, the thick stench of blood assaulted his nose. The two infantrymen he'd had guarding the door were dead, lying still on either side of the entryway, and the door itself was stuck open, the light on the keypad blinking amber.
Sudden fear made him fly down the hallway, and he was at the door in an instant, drawing Masamune. The lights inside the apartment were on, but it was too quiet. Cautiously, he stepped through the doorway. He didn't even bother trying to find a clear place to step – it was no use. Giant swaths of blood had been painted across the floor by some insane artist. His boots stuck slightly to the substance; the sound as he pulled them up made his skin crawl. As he stepped inside, he froze at the scene that greeted him.
A third corpse … a SOLDIER … lay sprawled across the floor. He was only identifiable by the small bit of black sweater that remained which hadn't been stained red, and the distinctive boots. A First.
There wasn't much else left intact that would identify who he was … or would even identify him as human. It was as if something had … played with him. As if something had wanted to eat him, but couldn't, and so tore him apart, instead.
There was a second creature.
Sephiroth's first horrified thought was that the body was Zack's. But, thankfully, the hair was a matted brown. So, not Zack, and the relief mixed with guilt for the poor SOLDIER who had died in his place.
But then, where was Zack?
Broken from his trance, Sephiroth hastily followed a swath of blood drawn into the kitchen. Finding nothing there, he crossed the small living room to the short hallway where Zack's bedroom lay.
"Zack? Zack!"
The bedroom was empty, but left in shambles. The dresser had been smashed, bed covers and mattress slashed, and various objects littered the floor. A short line of blood had been splattered upon one wall, beside the partial bloody print of a hand.
Zack … No! The creature had gotten to him first!
With a desperate hope, Sephiroth whipped out his phone, dialing Zack's number. Please let him answer … Let me know he's still alive! He couldn't lose Zack, not again!
The sudden, loud blaring of Zack's distinctive ringtone shot through Sephiroth like a bullet. His eyes scanned the room: shelf, bed, dresser … there. Beneath a fallen lamp, the phone lay, neglected on the floor, and already open. Sephiroth's heart sank.
Zack was gone. And Sephiroth had no idea where he was.
Numbly, he went to collect the object. As he did so, his eyes caught upon something else abandoned among the rubbish. A broken frame, and next to it, the back of a photograph. His hand went to it of its own accord.
He flipped it over. It was a picture of Zack and Angeal. And the faces were missing.
Sephiroth raced down yet another hallway. He'd once again put the SOLDIERs on alert, and this time they were searching every inch of the building for any sign of blood, Zack, or the creature. There was more at stake here than simply cornering it like last time.
Scarlet's war machines, which they'd successfully reprogrammed, had, up until now, been of little use. But, finally, they'd received a signal indicating the detection of a DNA match. The initial signal had quickly blinked out, but a second one had come through moments later. It had lasted much longer, before dying.
By a stroke of fortune, it had originated from the level two floors below Sephiroth's, on one of the receiving and distribution levels, from which equipment was sent to other parts of the building. The machines were programmed to swarm upon getting a match, so he knew that more were on their way. But he wanted to get there first.
Having vaulted down the stairway and burst through the level's doors, he now hastened through the corridors as fast as his enhanced abilities would allow, taking the corners almost too quickly to keep his feet. The hallways here were wide, with tall ceilings, unfinished, gray steel panels lining the walls and floors. Not well lit to begin with, the sparse emergency lights made the place dark and foreboding. The occasional, loaded cart, abandoned in the evacuation, loomed near the walls, obscuring portions of the hallway and creating potential hiding spots for his quarry.
He'd stumbled upon a pod of Red Saucer bots a short while ago, still sparking from an encounter, and knew the creature had to be close. Caution slightly slowing his urgent flight, he took several more turns before coming to a loading dock. An enormous, hangar-like space, it contained numerous crates arranged in stacks in a wide pit, about six feet deep, which took up the majority of the area. Around the perimeter of the pit was a large walkway, wide enough to fit three vehicles comfortably side-by-side. At the far end of the room was a large platform where the industrial-sized elevator was housed, and across the ceiling were two cranes, each rated for several tons.
What caught his attention, however, were two Drill Machines, about halfway across the room on the walkway. One lay, decimated, upon the floor, and the other had speared itself into the wall, effectively shutting itself down.
And, leaning against the wall, staring at them, was Zack.
"Zack!" Thank Gaia. Sephiroth dashed toward his friend.
Zack started, and his head jerked up. "… Seph?" A sudden grin split his face. "Seph! Boy, am I glad to see you!" He pushed away from the wall, hand wrapped around his upper arm, as Sephiroth neared. "That monster, it came after me in my room, and I barely made it out! But it followed me, so I tried to give it the slip." He shook his head. "I think it followed me here, though," he finished, glancing nervously into the darkness of the hangar.
Sephiroth reached for his friend's arm. "Are you alright?" He frowned. "You've been injured."
"Oh, this?" Zack pulled his hand away from his arm, revealing a deep cut. "It's not so bad-"
"What happened?" he demanded.
Zack ran the hand through his hair in bewilderment. "You wouldn't believe it … It's these machines! They've gone crazy! They're just attacking people on sight." He walked up to the one on the floor, gave it a kick. "Whatever you guys did to try to reprogram them didn't work. Well … they did go after that monster too, but I think they're just attacking anything that moves!"
Sephiroth grunted. "I should have known things couldn't be that simple. Especially with Scarlet's machines. They've been known to malfunction on more than one occasion."
"Heh. Tell me about it." Zack himself had been sent to stop them multiple times already.
Sephiroth smirked, then took his friend's arm. "Hold still."
"Hey, what're you-"
The General prodded at the injury, earning a yelp from Zack, who then tried to pull away. "I said, hold still …" Determining that the wound wasn't too serious, he activated his Restore and cast Cure, watching as the cut knitted itself back together.
"… Hey, thanks." Zack beamed at him.
Sephiroth nodded. "Can't have you looking a mess for your girlfriend. … How is she doing, by the way?" Finished with the materia, he pulled away to scan the pit, keeping an eye out in case the creature might choose to ambush them from the dark shadows of the crates.
"Hmm?" Zack, thinking he'd heard something, had his gaze trained on the far end of the loading bay, where the elevator sat.
"Aerith. How is she doing?"
"Oh … she's fine. She says 'Hi' by the way."
Sephiroth nodded. Then he withdrew Masamune. "Ready to finish hunting down that creature? You'll need this …" Popping out his Lightning materia, he tossed the green orb to Zack. "Since you seem to have lost your sword."
Zack caught the stone, then shot him a pout. "Hey, let's see how you do when something attacks you in your own apartment! That thing was so fast, it was insane."
"Indeed." He remembered the torn remains of the SOLDIER and the two infantrymen. "How did it-"
Before he could finish, a sudden vibration was felt through the floor. A rotating yellow caution light sprung into being over the elevator, and a klaxon sounded, echoes bouncing around the hangar. Both SOLDIERs turned to stare as the platform began to rise up from below.
"Seph … I have a bad feeling about this …"
Sephiroth was not given the chance to echo his agreement. The head of a large machine rose into view, and immediately turned its red sensor "eye" in their direction. Without waiting for the elevator to finish rising, it lifted two pointed legs, set them on the ledge, and clambered out of the pit.
A Guard Spider.
"Tell me that thing's not coming after us, too …"
The machine lifted its two bulky arms, each with a cannon mounted on the end, and fixed the weapons onto their position. It fired.
Sephiroth sprang into action. As the bullets struck the ground around them, he shoved Zack to one side, then leapt to the other, seeking to get out of the line of fire.
"Zack, circle around, and … Zack!"
Rather than continuing in the direction Sephiroth had pushed him, Zack had doubled back and dove for the pit of crates. The machinegun fire followed him, tracking back across Sephiroth's position. He was forced to throw himself to the ground lest he be mowed down. Bullets struck the crates, splintering them and sending fragments flying in all directions. Small bits of wreckage rained down upon his hair.
The shooting stopped.
Sephiroth glanced into the pit, searching for his friend, but too much was obscured by the stacks of boxes. As he looked, the Guard Spider geared itself into motion and clanked forward. Its sharp legs dug into the concrete flooring, the weight of the machine leaving deep gouges in the surface. With the whirring of hydraulic servomotors, it clambered down into the pit and proceeded to indelicately navigate through the maze of crates.
Who in his right mind sent the Guard Spiders inside to hunt for the creature? Sephiroth frowned as the careless placement of a leg smashed through one crate, and a swing of the machine's torso toppled a full stack. What a nightmare, he groaned.
Springing up, he leaped to the top of the nearest stack of crates, and again to a taller stack, seeking to gain a better vantage point.
"Zack!" Finally, he spied the young SOLDIER darting away from the machine and between two boxes. "Zack, hit it with a Bolt spell! It's weak to-"
Abruptly, the machine started firing again and Sephiroth was forced to quickly seek a different position. The clanging of its steel appendages rang throughout the chamber.
With a muttered curse, he decided to take matters into his own hands. As he navigated the tops of the boxes, he activated the Ice materia secured within his armlet. Extending his hand toward the machine, he felt the chill of the magic course through his veins, and focused it on the center of the robot, where the majority of the gearboxes, motors, and control systems were housed.
Ice was a slow magic; he was forced to keep his focus for several moments as he waited, with uncharacteristic impatience, for it to take effect. Gradually, the machine's movements slowed, motors whining. Delicate crystals began to form on the outer steel plates, while frost covered the hydraulic lines. Finally, steaming joints helped to ice over the frost, and the Guard Spider stopped in its tracks, straining against its frozen prison.
Satisfied, Sephiroth rapidly closed the gap to the machine. Raising Masamune, he swung it down in a fluid arc.
Once. Twice. Three times, and the stressed steel fractured, shattering apart. An explosion from the internal power unit rent the torso, flinging the cannon arms away, forcing Sephiroth to duck. The remainder of the machine teetered on its legs for a moment, then collapsed into a heap on the floor.
Once Sephiroth was sure that it would not longer move, he leapt to the ground.
"Zack! Where are you? Are you alright?" Worried, he stepped through the wreckage, glancing to either side.
Just as he was about to fear that he would not get an answer, Zack called out to him.
"Seph! Yeah, I'm fine, I'm-" There was a grunt as he fought his way around a demolished stack of crates, whose contents were spilling onto the floor. "I'm right here." Nearly tripping over the debris, he finally made it to his friend. A whistle split the air. "Nice work! That thing didn't stand a chance."
Sephiroth grunted. "It was only a Guard Spider, after all." He flexed his hand upon Masamune's hilt, drawing closer to his friend. "Not nearly as challenging as you've been … Zack."
Zack cocked his head, questioningly, at the General. "Oh, yeah?"
A nod. "I'm glad you decided to stick around …" With a movement too quick for the eye to follow, Sephiroth plunged Masamune deep into the other's chest. "So I can finally kill you."
Zack stared at him in shock, gasping. "…S-Seph …" Sephiroth gripped his shoulder and drew close, driving Masamune deeper.
"Impostor," he growled.
The form of Zack convulsed, clutching the blade. Then he looked up, rage darkening his features. His lips drew back in a silent snarl, revealing suddenly sharpened teeth, which grew longer even as Sephiroth watched. Tan fur spread out from the face, as Zack's ears shifted and grew more pointed. His eye widened, then narrowed, becoming black as oil, and the bridge of his nose wrinkled, echoing the snarl across his entire countenance.
The creature reached out for the General with fingers now sporting long, cruel claws … but they grasped air as Sephiroth tilted the blade and caused him to slide away.
The creature hit the ground with a dull thud, dislodging the Lightning materia from wherever it had stashed it, sending it rolling across the floor. Still glaring death at the SOLDIER, the monster bared its teeth and attempted a low growl. But the sound was caught deep in its throat, and it only came out as a gurgle as its air passages failed.
Sephiroth watched it coldly, eyes flashing. "Zack hasn't seen Aerith in a month," he informed it, doubting how much it actually understood. "And he wouldn't hesitate to make use of materia." The creature before him probably wasn't even capable of it. Sephiroth took out a cloth and perched on the edge of a nearby crate. He turned his attention to Masamune, beginning to wipe the blood from the blade, as his anger at the creature simmered.
"Furthermore," he continued, "you could not have destroyed the Drill Machines without a weapon, and as you have no sword, you would have had to use your claws. It was also obvious that the machines were working perfectly; Tseng was in charge of the re-programming, so the only person they could have tracked was you." He deftly worked the sword. "However, these simply confirmed what I'd finally realized upon finding that photograph in Zack's room." Here, he let out a derisive bark of laughter. "What really sealed your fate was the death of the doctor. And why I failed to see it before, I will never understand.
"The attack upon Dr. Davidson was too precise to be a random event as the other killings seemed to be. I'd thought it was Zack that the other creature was after … but it was simply that you could not afford to have a medical examination done on you. It would have revealed what you truly are.
"Whether it was you or the other creature that killed the doctor, I do not know, but it doesn't matter. What is important is that that was when you committed your first, and largest mistake: Zack would never have sat by in the dark and allowed someone else to be murdered. Never." He snarled the last word, letting it embody all his fury at the deception, the heartache that the vile, wretched creature had caused.
He finished with the cloth, folded it, and tucked it away. "You do not understand what it means to be Zack Fair. Try as you will, you cannot, and will never be, capable of replacing him." He glanced back to the creature, where it lay, staring blankly at him. It's face still bore a snarl.
Sephiroth stood, crossed over to the creature, and toed it.
It was dead.
The General took a deep breath, let it out. Stepping away, he bent to retrieve the materia from where it had come to rest against the debris of a crate. Straightening, he gazed at it, rolling the smooth, green sphere between gloved fingers.
There was only one question left to answer – the most pressing one of all.
Whatever happened to the real Zack?
to be continued …