Me: (sigh) do people not understand English or something cause I know how many people are reading my story and not even a third review.
Lloyd: is that bad?
Me: I want to now exactly how and why people like my story and where I need improvement. I can't do anything to fix my weak points if I don't know what they are.
Lloyd: Oh..
Me: anyways, on to the story.
Lloyd: Jen Rem doesn't own ToS or FF, only Tiamatt and the Oblivion Blade.
As we walked from the House of Salvation to Hakonesia Peak, I couldn't help but have a suddenly wave of boredom hit. I began cast spells out of boredom, to the amusement of everyone.
"Blizzaga!" A large ice crystal formed in the air and began to fall to the ground. "Firaga!" Fire hit the ice and in a blast of steam, the crystal melted and evaporated. Then I had an idea to play a trick on Lloyd. "Haste!" Lloyd, who was walking normally, took off suddenly, screaming as he ran forward and then turned back towards us. "Slow!" Lloyd slowed dramatically, to a pace that made it appear he was in slow motion.
"Tiamatt!" Lloyd yelled angrily. The others laughed as the dual swordsman slowly made his way back towards us.
"Esuna!" Lloyd came out of slow motion mode and returned to walking normally, cursing to himself as he rejoined the group.
"Next time warn me before you do that." Lloyd said as he glared slightly at me.
"But it soooo funny watching you struggle with unfamiliar magic." I teased, grinning. Lloyd sighed, shaking his head as he gave in. I paused suddenly as I felt something. It seemed so familiar yet not. The true Tiamatt recognized it but I couldn't put my finger on what exactly it was.
You feel it too? Cloud asked.
"Yeah. It feels familiar but… I don't know." I said, shaking my head.
I don't like it. It feels evil. The paragriff clicked.
"Tiamatt?" I looked to see Kratos looking at me. "What's wrong?"
"It… its nothing. Don't worry about it." I told him as I caught up so that I walked besides the mercenary. Kratos looked slightly worried as we continued towards the peak. I also noticed that he looked nervous.
"Tiamatt?" I looked at Kratos again. "You said you can talk to the planet. What else do you hear?" I was caught off guard at that question.
"I… I talk to those that have returned to the planet. At home I used to do it all the time but then…" I trailed off, tears forming in the corner of my eyes as I remembered all my friends who had returned to the Lifestream. "So many of my friends, they exist now only in the Lifestream. Cloud, Aeris, Tifa, Squall, Riona, Quitis, even Oblivion and…" I paused again. "Sephiroth." I whispered the last name.
"I'm sorry." Kratos whispered. He then surprised me as he embraced me in a tight hug. "You've lost everyone in your life. I know how that feels."
"Kratos…It's ok." I said, returning the embrace. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that the entire group had stopped and was now looking at the sight. Lloyd and Genis were goggling at the sight as Raine and Colette, being the girls that they are, lets out "awes".
"Wow. I never thought of Kratos being like this. When I first met him I thought he was kinda cold and just wanted to get the job done but now he's like an entirely different person." Lloyd commented. Kratos looked quite shocked by this as I giggled, still in his arms.
"I honestly thought the same thing." Raine said. Genis and Colette nodded in agreement. Even I was shocked at how different he was from the Kratos in the game that I known on Earth.
"Do you feel the same?" Kratos asked, looking down at me. I nodded, causing Kratos, THE Kratos, to blush slightly in embarrassment. I giggled again at his reaction.
"Kratos?" The Mercenary looked down at me again.
"Yes?" Man I was having a major feeling of Déjà vu as he said that.
"Um, could you please le me go so we can leave for Asgard?" I asked. Kratos' face turned slightly pink again as he removed his arms from around me.
"Sorry." Kratos was obviously embarrassed. I couldn't believe it but it was true.
"You two look so cute together!" Colette giggled as both me and Kratos wore faces full of embarrassment.
We soon started up again and made camp less than a day away from the Peak. We would be able to cross the entire range by tomorrow as long as we didn't have any unexpected stops. Camp was arranged like normal. Lloyd and Colette were talking to each other, Raine was reading the Book of Regeneration, Genis was cooking dinner, and Kratos was on the night watch.
I walked away from camp and looked at the Hakonesia range. The mountain range looked exactly like the mountains that haunted my worst nightmares. The sight brought back memories of the reactor, the place where I ceased being just a Cetra and where I had lost my last love many years ago, about 5 years after the experiments had begun. I looked almost exactly like I did now only I wore a light blue T-shirt with khaki pants and black shoes. So many years ago and yet I appeared to not have aged more then a year since then due to the Dragon DNA that slowed down my normal aging cycle. It was strange but…
My squad had just arrived in the small town of Nibelhiem, just outside the Mt. Nibel range. My squad consist of a tall silver haired man in black armed with a abnormally long sword called the Masamune, Sephiroth; a young man with spiky black hair and the wide edged Buster Sword; and two basic Shinra soldiers. Sephiroth, Zack, and I were all part of the Shinra Corporation's elite mercenary group called SOLDIER. The humans in SOLDIER had been injected with Mako, enhancing their natural abilities.
Our mission was to investigate the cause for the malfunction of the Mt. Nibel. We spent the night at the inn. I remember Sephiroth kept fidgeting with something as he stood by the window.
"Seph, what wrong?" Sephiroth turned around quickly, stuffing what ever it was into his pocket.
"Tia! What are you still doing up?" He asked in surprise.
"Its only nine silly!" I giggled. Sephiroth grinned sheepishly.
"I… I know but we have to leave at sunrise for the reactor. Zack and the others are already asleep." I wasn't about to fall for it. I wanted to know what he was hiding.
"You know I don't sleep often. Now tell me what you're hiding?" I insisted. Sephiroth stuck his hand nervously back into the pocket. "Come on! Show me!"
"You're not gonna give up are you?" the SOLDIER sighed, giving me a skeptical look.
"We've known each other since we were little. When have I ever been one to give up?" I continued to press for an answer.
"Fine." Sephiroth sighed in defeat. "Close your eyes." Closing my eyes, I could hear the soft ruffle of his cloak and the quiet clink of metal. I felt his hands lift my hair as a cool metal chain fell around my neck. "Ok you can look now."
I opened my eyes to see Sephiroth smiling softly, green eyes shining brightly. I looked down at the chain around my neck and smiled as I saw the red and silver dragon pendent. The dragon lay curled in a circle, muzzle touching the tip of it's tail with its wings outstretched. I found it so appropriate for my situation.
"Do you like it?" Sephiroth asked. I looked at him, wrapping my arms around his shoulders as I kissed him.
"I love it!" I said as he returned the embrace.
"I promise, soon we will be free of Shinra and of Hojo. Then we can truly be happy together."
But that was never to happen. The next morning we left for the reactor. I hesitated as I entered the chamber where I had been held captive for two years of my life. I felt something, someone calling me. I walked up towards the top of the stairs as Sephiroth explained to Zack the horrific experiments that had and were still taking place. I could feel her presence, the Calamity, she called me, controlling my movements, leading me to the top of the stairs. The pain of her control was immense but I couldn't even scream. I watched helplessly as my hands reached out to unlock her from her prison.
"Tiamatt!" Sephiroth's cry was enough to allow me to break free but the Calamity was not willing to lose her control over me. She fought for control till as I screamed, clutching my head till I finally blacked out from the mental battle. Sephiroth and Zack rushed up the stairs to help but Sephiroth stopped suddenly as he noticed the words carved above the door. "Jenova. My mother's name was Jenova but she…" he snapped back to his senses as I uttered a final scream and collapsed. "Tiamatt!"
We returned to Nibelhiem where I remained unconscious for a week. I woke in the Shinra Mansion, a building where Shinra kept the record of all of its experiments. Sephiroth had carried me down to the basement library where he watched over me and read the documents on the Jenova Project. What I awoke to still haunts my dreams.
"Traitor!" The voice was cold.
"Sephiroth, what are you talking about?" Zack asked, confused by his leader's sudden change.
"You and all of your people, stole the planet from Mother." Sephiroth snarled. Mother? He can't possibly be talking about the Calamity, Jenova.
"Sephiroth, please stop this!" Zack pleaded.
"Get out of my way! I'm going to see Mother!" Sephiroth growled as he moved towards the stairs.
"Seph?" He turned towards me, gaze softening ever so slightly. I shuddered at the sight. Sephiroth's eyes had always had an intense look but now they no longer showed anything other then total and complete hate and anger so that now he even glared at me. The man who some had considered cold but had always been warm and loving around me was now completely heartless.
"Come with me to see Mother." Sephiroth grinned. I shuddered again as he turned and shoved past Zack out of the room. Tears welled in my eyes as my heart broke in two and Sephiroth began his mad rampage on the small town.
"Tiamatt, are you ok?" Zack ran to me and helped me to my feet. I nodded, physically lying as I wiped tears from my eyes and clutched the pendent that hung around my neck.
We followed Sephiroth out of the mansion and were in shock at the sight of Nibelhiem in flames. Zack ran off to help the town's people trapped in the fire. I watched, tears still flowing freely as Sephiroth Slashed through three innocent people as he headed towards the Mako Reactor, beckoning for me to follow. As he walked away, the Calamity called once more, causing my to fall to my already shaky knees as I grabbed my head and screamed. Sephiroth continued to walk away as my cries echoed through the town. Zack; Cloud Strife, a young Shinra soldier and Zack's best friend; and Tifa Lockhart rushed over and helped me regain control. Tifa then rushed after the fallen hero to ensure the safety of her father who was stationed as a guard at the reactor. With Tifa gone, Zack soon left after her with Cloud following a few minutes later once he was sure I was ok. I calmed my nerves before, I too, went to the Mako reactor.
When I arrived, Tifa and Zack were severely injured, as was Cloud who was the only one of the three who was still conscious. I watched as Sephiroth began to cross the bridge that span the reactor's core, the dismembered head of Jenova in his left hand and the Masamune in his right. Cloud rushed at the fallen hero, screaming loudly. Sephiroth turned sharply, thrusting the sword into his once admirer, grinning madly. Cloud gasped as, by miracle, he pulled the blade from his stomach and threw the deranged man over the rail of the bridge and into the Lifestream.
That was the first time I watched the man I had loved betray me and die, for Sephiroth would return two more times in an attempt to free Jenova and destroy the world…
I growled angrily at the mountain range that looked so much like the Nibel range where my life was ruined. A sudden rush of memories filled my head as I remembered watching the death of Sephiroth in FF7. My mind became tangled and confused as this memory collided with Tiamatt's memory of the incident. Finally, the true Tiamatt won and I broke down into tears.
Lloyd: Strange.
Me: I know but I warned the readers that this would be a mix chapter so I hope it wasn't too confusing.
Lloyd: uh…
Me; shut up Lloyd! Read and Review Please!!!