Lost in the Shadows
Chapter 30 - Heartbreak
Disclaimer: I do not own FF7, its characters, settings or the like. These words, however, are mine.
The group followed Aerith wordlessly and breathlessly through the portal to the other side. A few of them stumbled forward, their breath catching in their throats and their hearts skipping a beat.
Having set foot inside of the swirling mass of particles, they felt a pulling sensation -- like they were being ripped from their bodies. Their souls, being torn...
Their eyes scanned the area in silent awe, trying to understand where they were. All around them was a shimmering green glow. Most of them immediately connected it with the Underwater Reactor in Junon. It looked as though they were there, a clear shield of glass separating them from the water.
Only what would have been water, was now replaced with mako.
"Aerith... Are we in the...?" Yuffie began quietly, trailing off.
"The Lifestream?" Aerith finished for her, a grim smile gracing her lips. She walked over to the walls and made to place her hand on it but noticed specks of black covering it. She held back, unsure of whether to touch them. Suddenly, she felt something akin to a whisper. A pulse and slight lick of hot air followed, brushing against her arms soft as a butterfly's kiss. "What..."
"What is it?" Tifa asked, motioning her head towards the mass of black.
Aerith shook her head and backed away. "I don't know, but don't touch them." She looked around some more but her face fell. "I don't know where we are... I can't really even say how we got here..."
Lucrecia.
"So, if it's not the Lifestream then... Do you think it was an alternate entrance to the mako pools?" Cloud asked, coming up beside Tifa with a worried glint in his eyes. His face was set in stone though and Aerith only then realized that it was because of his leadership qualities. Never look intimidated in front of your team.
Aerith smiled. "It might be. We'll just have to go with it. However..."
"Such a large group couldn't possibly go on unnoticed?" Vincent finished for her, crossing his arms.
"I 'gree with him." Barret said. He immediately coughed and looked away.
Cloud seemed to look to Aerith for confirmation but she simply shook her head. Had they kept a consistent leader throughout -- Cloud, preferably -- maybe things would've ended up different.
"Well..." He said, looking them over. "If we do happen to come up to a fork in the road then we will decide. Right now we should stay together though. If Toyori and Kayana are here... Splitting up could lead to our demise."
Everyone nodded in agreement and Cloud took up the lead, Tifa beside him with a mischievous smile on her face and her hands clasped behind her back. She leaned her head to the side and looked up at him. "I bet you miss the old days."
Cloud sighed and shook his head. "Read me like a book."
"You were born to be a leader Cloud. Don't let Sephiroth intimidate you. You beat him twice -- that must count for something." She said, hitting the sore issue. Ever since Sephiroth had returned and joined their group, she'd noticed Cloud becoming distant in their conversations with everyone, not giving advice as often and just being generally uncomfortable when speaking aloud to them. Almost as though he doesn't want to screw up in front of Sephiroth, she thought, smiling internally.
"I know, I know... But they were sent back for a reason. It just seemed like... I should step back this time." He replied. Brushing past the topic after Tifa's silent nod, he started up a different conversation. "When this is all over..." Before he could finish, Tifa latched onto his arm giving him a reassuring squeeze.
"When this is all over..." She whispered, raising herself up on her tiptoes and giving him a chaste but loving kiss.
Cloud only grinned in return.
Behind them, Yuffie was dancing around with both Red and Cid chuckling at her. Vincent was at her side, smiling discreetly to himself at her behavior.
"They're so great together -- took them long enough, don't you think?" Yuffie whisper-screamed.
"Yeah, next thing you know they'll be on the ground and getti--"
"CID!" Yuffie yelled, hitting him on the head and punching his arm.
"Yuffie, perhaps you should be thinking about yourself and your... predicament." Red said, nuzzling her leg. She glanced down at him, her face turning a shade of noticeable pink.
"I uh... Don't know what you're talkin about... Stop blaming all your problems on me!" She retaliated, huffing and turning her head. Of course, unplanned, she managed to set herself up to look right into Vincent's eyes which, to her shock, held a hint of amusement. "Whatcha lookin' at! That was not about you!" She said, turning pinker. "I happen to have a wonderful ma--"
"Haha, Yuf, you're fuckin' hilarious!" Barret guffawed, walking past Yuffie who was sprawled across the floor. "Trippin' over your own feet, all because of tho' thoughts of--"
"GAHR!" Yuffie said, jumping up and onto his back. "Shut up, shut up, shu--"
"Well, well... Visitors are rarely seen here."
Yuffie's eyes flew upward at the arrival of a new voice speaking out above them. "Hey, you're ruining the moment!" She yelled, jumping up and over Barret, landing a little behind Tifa.
She heard Elena's hushed whisper about Avalanche's adventures being amusing and the shuffling of feet approaching her from behind. Looking to her side she saw Vincent, his hand trained on his Death Penalty and Aerith, her expression that of someone very determined. A sinking feeling was forming in her stomach.
"What the fuck do ya want now!" Cid yelled. "Get outta our way. I got somewhere to be." He waved his hand in dismissal and took out a cigarette, lighting it and sighing.
The man before them laughed. "You don't know what you're up against, do you?" He walked into the light slowly, lazily and Aerith suddenly rushed past Yuffie, Tifa and Cloud to the forefront of the group, chanting words unintelligible.
A spell, Cloud realized and he braced himself.
A low whisper was heard before a powerful blast of heat ripped past them with more speed then they could have possibly been able to see. Their their skin tingled and goose bumps ran across their arms. Tifa opened one eye and saw the flames running over and around her, the few licks hitting her cheeks a blessing compared to what could have been. She didn't think, however, she'd been hit with magic so intense.
"What is this?" Elena asked, stumbling back a bit from the force.
"I don't know. Why aren't we being hit?" Reno asked, his arms crossed out in front of him defensively as the attack droned onwards.
"I've seen him before." Elena said sharply. Reno looked over at her and her eyes were somewhat blank, focused on the man.
"Elena?"
'You'll wish you never pushed your friend aside...'
"He was... He..." She stuttered. "He held me captive." She turned to face him and grasped his arms, her thoughts of her surroundings far from her mind. "I know where we are!"
They both heard Aerith cry out and faced forward again. Elena moved forward but Reno held her back.
Aerith was laying on the floor, badly burnt. She'd set up a reflect on all of us, Reno thought, keeping it up more effectively around us then herself. The attack had, for now, ceased and Reno watched as black eyes roamed over her in satisfaction. The man's mouth moved like a snakes and it wouldn't have surprised Reno if there was a forked tongue hidden away in there. His unruly hair and crumpled robes moved around majestically as he walked toward her, the same dim glow of the tunnel they were in surrounding him. Immediately Yuffie, Cid and Tifa were in front of her.
Chuckling, he stopped mid-step. "Tell me, " he began, watching the woman struggle to sit up. "How did you come to possess such fine magical powers?"
Aerith merely glared.
"My name is Hiei." He started, turning his back to them and looking skyward. "My magics surpass all of yours... Except perhaps..." spinning around, his eyes pierced her. "Yours, little Cetra." He saw the faint widening of her eyes. "Yes, I know who you are. We all do."
"All?" She asked, finally getting to her feet.
"All." He repeated. "But I'm not here to divulge useless information... You won't need it when I rip your souls from your body."
"You won't get the chance." Elena said, startling a few of her comrades. Hiei's eyes flickered up to her in painstaking slowness and he smiled at her.
"Ah, it is you. How is your little friend?" He laughed hysterically, manically.
Vincent's eyes narrowed. How dare he. Aerith seemed to think the same thing because her hand moved ever so slightly behind her back and she seemed to concentrate hard; her hand began to glow faintly.
A diversion was needed.
Vincent shot forward, the Death Penalty out with such speed Hiei couldn't prepare a defense or counter. Bullets pierced his arm and a shuriken flew towards him. Black eyes narrowed and he caught the shuriken with grace. "He may have caught me off guard," he spoke harshly and threw the weapon right back at her with equal force. "Do not make the mistake of thinking it will happen again!"
Yuffie let out a cry of dismay as she caught the shuriken. The force of the hit forced her back and she executed a perfect backflip to catch herself. "How did you...?" The moment her feet hit the floor she was running forward again, this time with a different tactic.
"I too was from Wutai and trained by Wutai." He answered, swinging himself to a halt. "That was before that bastard Hojo and his assistant Kiyoku locked me away..."
Tifa let out a battle cry and ran forward, a fist flying towards his face -- a fist meant to shatter bones. She gasped when he caught her fists with his hands and swung her around to the wall. He meant to let go of her hands but she tightened her hold on him at the last moment and pulled him back with her. She managed to kick her feet out and kick off the wall, sending him to the ground. She forced her weight onto her hands, crushing him down and also springing her back into the air. Red ran past her, teeth bared and ready to sink into his arm but Hiei moved too quickly and he hit the dirt.
Aerith took his now being in the open to her advantage and cast her spell. A green light materialized in front of her and shot out towards Hiei. If anything, she thought, he was momentarily blinded, leaving room for Cloud and Cid to move in with sword and spear raised on either side of him. To her dismay, he caught them both and flung them backwards. Cid fell back into Tifa and Cloud managed to stumble to his feet.
Yuffie attacked from above and Vincent in front.
Their attacks hit simultaneously and Hiei was hit by both, but he came out smiling. Yuffie made to land on him and spring away but he caught her foot and swung her around into the wall. A dull thud and she was on the ground, unconscious.
Gunshots rang out and bullets cut through the air, Hiei on one end and Elena and Barret on the other. Hiei managed to dodge most and run forward, putting his hand around Elena's throat, pushing her up against the wall while sending a powerful but short blizzard spell Barret's way.
A scream erupted from his throat then and he dropped Elena to the ground. Clutching his head, he had to blink several times to regain his vision.
'So he's weak against Holy,' Aerith thought, breathing heavily from her last cast of magic. Looking to the side, she readied herself to cure Yuffie but saw that Reno was already taking care of it. 'Good,' she thought. 'I can deal with this then.'
The battle continued, many members of Avalanche falling only to be revived again. They dealt blow after blow and finally Hiei moved slowly, energy drained.
Tifa was moving again and she was moving fast, but what she did surprised them all. "Aerith!" She cried, hitting him in succession with her limit breaks.
Aerith nodded. She forced her entire being into the spell and as it's waves of energy rippled through her, she was confident she could get Hiei down on the ground.
A final hit from Tifa signified her cue and Aerith released the magic. As the white orbs fused together and Holy sailed towards Hiei, she knew that he would move in time as he raised his eyes and witnessed the incoming hit. What she hadn't expected however, was Tifa to jump back in and lock Hiei in a poweful hold, keeping him in his place.
She watched in growing horror as Hiei struggled with her, nearly overpowering her, but the previous inflictions had worn him down.
I'll be responsible...
For another's death...
"Tifa move!" Aerith and Cloud cried out. Cid was holding Cloud back, aided by Red and Vincent.
"Tif, fucking move!" Barret yelled in desperation as she simply continued to stand there.
As the spell connected Tifa smiled and slid her arms, still locked powerfully around him, down to his legs, putting power into her other fist and pushing it deep into the ground. The explosion that resulted forced the entire team back into the wall and Aerith had to cover her eyes.
She could hear Cloud calling out and tears formed in her eyes.
A crack.
When the shock waves settled, she uncovered her eyes and walked through the dust to the center of the battleground. "Tifa? Tifa!" She called, running faster.
"What happened?" Yuffie asked drowsily. Reno hushed her and Cait's usually cheery voice was gloomy as he did so along with Reno.
Aerith nearly stumbled over Hiei's body and she had to jump back a bit.
'Is he still alive?' She thought anxiously. His chest didn't seem to be moving... Walking over to him she leaned down and checked for a pulse, anything to indicate his being alive. Nothing. Not a single thing. Eyeing him carefully, she only then noticed the blood seeping from his neck.
Crack.
'That was what I heard,' she thought. 'Tifa did this!?'
"Tifa, no, please!" Cloud's voice was startlingly close to her.
"Cloud?"
"Cloud!"
"I'm here, we're here." He answered and Aerith saw him as the dust cleared. Tifa was laying on the ground, looking nothing short of battered and broken. Aerith choked back a sob. "Don't" Cloud said, looking up at her in agony.
"Is she...?" She asked, shaking her head.
Cloud looked down at her and didn't answer. Her chest wasn't moving, air wasn't being released through her mouth...
The other's watched in sorrow from afar and Cloud hugged Tifa to him and shook his head. "No, no, Tifa, come back to me. This isn't ending like this..." His agonized voice tore at Aerith completely.
"When this is all over..."
"Tifa, it's not over, it's not..."
She surged upward as she gasped for breath and her eyes shot open. She pulled away from Cloud hurriedly and he had to grab her by the arms to steady her.
"Tifa, Tifa, oh my god..." He whispered in relief, pulling her back against him. She coughed uncontrollably for a few moments before she was able to calm herself down enough to look over at Hiei. Her lips seemed to curl upwards in the slightest at the sight of him; her attack had connected properly, his head and neck was twisted at an odd angle.
Cloud's name was the last thing she uttered before she fell into oblivion.
After Tifa had fainted, Cloud gathered her into his arms and walked away from Hiei with a glare of contempt. "We need to get moving. We are not splitting up -- it took all we had just for him."
"I'll say." Yuffie chimed in, carried by Reno. Hitting the wall, her head had begun to bleed. Reno and Cait had managed to stop it before it got any worse, but she was too dizzy and disoriented to walk on her own.
"You alright, girl?" Cid asked, his question directed at both Yuffie and Aerith. Yuffie nodded, but her eyes were on Aerith. The burns she had sustained were bad -- really bad. She couldn't walk very well on one of her legs but she ignored it and moved ahead of the group.
"It doesn't matter right now. We just need to keep going." She turned back to Yuffie uncertainly. "Are you sure you're alright Yuffie?"
Yuffie nodded and slid down off of Reno's back. Taking a few steps forward she smiled and held her arms up. "See? I'm fine!"
"It gets darker up ahead." Elena said, and all eyes were on her. "I've been here before -- this is where they held me. I knew that man, he..." She swallowed. "He was the one who exposed me to the mako."
"What do you mean, darker?" Cait asked.
"There's something similar to a tunnel up ahead... It's not very long and once we're through, we should be in a large open area." She shook her head. "I'm sorry, I don't remember much about it, just glimpses."
"No, that's good." Aerith said, smiling sweetly. "At least we have an idea." She said, walking forward.
The group followed in silence.
"He was damn strong." Barret said quietly.
Yuffie sighed. "I wonder how many of them there are... And who is Kiyoku? Hojo had an assistant?" She looked over at Vincent. "Do you remember Hojo knowing anyone other then Gast and Lucrecia?"
Vincent shook his head. "I cannot remember anyone by the name of Kiyoku... I was never there all the time though... It is a possibility he may have had another assistant."
"Why would he need one?" Aerith asked, as they entered the tunnel Elena had described. It was indeed dark and surprisingly damp. The black specks on the walls were still glowing green in the dark but they were much larger. She wondered what they were, why they were there, but she didn't dare try to find out. The floor was adorned with small puddles of the toxic substance in several different places and they found they actually had to try to get past them.
Eventually, they did and they walked into the open space.
"Do you really think Hojo could ever do anything on his own?" A disgusted voice was beyond close to Aerith and she felt her goose bumps return. Before she knew what was happening, the group was standing in front of her and she was on the ground, Toyori standing over her and smiling sadistically. "I bet you were missing... This." He pulled out the shimmering white orb no longer in Aerith's possession and she backed away.
"Why do you have that...?"
Her friends were approaching him slowly from behind, but they all knew nothing would work against him. She looked at Tifa who was laying against the wall, her head fallen to the side. She's vulnerable, Aerith thought. Who knows where Kayana is...
This was exactly what she'd feared. Getting stuck in a potentially bad situation with Toyori.
"Why... That is none of your business. However... I believe you have lived long enough."
Red surveyed their surroundings. It was almost like they were standing in a dome. The entire room was circular, the mako still floating around them, dangerously close. There was nothing in the room to suggest another opening or exit. Nothing at all.
His eye caught something though... A shadow. He raised his eyes to Toyori quizically. He was standing nowhere near there... Rushing forward, he managed to get over to where the shadow lay and could only watch in satisfaction as it moved and the source was revealed.
Sources.
Sephiroth and Kayana materialized before him and barely managed to escape the winding of blackened wisps heading for him. Kayana frowned in disappointment when her attack didn't reach her opponent. Red growled, bringing everyone's attention toward the two.
Toyori made an odd sound. "Why are you here?" He said, putting emphasis on the "you". It was clear who it was directed at.
Kayana scoffed and walked over to Aerith and her companion. "Making sure you don't screw this up... Again." She smiled at Aerith. "How does it feel," she asked. "To know you are going to die?"
Again.
Aerith didn't need to hear it to know she was thinking it.
"How about I make this quick and painless?" Toyori said, grinning.
"Don't you dare, you fucker!" Cid yelled, quickly followed by Barret.
"Don't you touch 'er you slimy bastard." Barret growled.
Toyori chuckled and pulled out the small knife in his possession. Sephiroth's voice interrupted as he lowered it to her throat.
"Please... Allow me." Sephiroth said, walking towards them. The molevolent glint in his eyes made Aerith's stomach jolt and her heart fell. Toyori held the blade back from her throat and smiled.
"I guess I could let you... So I guess the question now is, how does it feel to be murdered again by a man you seemed to have grown attached to? The man who killed you once before?"
"Sephiroth, stop this!" Cloud shouted suddenly, paying no attention to his shocked comrades. "Don't do this, you changed. I saw it! You don't want to hurt Aerith, I know you don't."
"Seph..." Yuffie's voice added into the plea.
The group tensed as he paid no heed to their voices and walked onwards.
"Haha, you think he would listen to you liars?" Kayana's voice rung out sharply but Sephiroth and Aerith didn't hear her. Sephiroth unsheathed the Masamune and brought it to her throat.
"You will pay for your lies... With you life." He said.
Aerith fell back, her eyes wide and she heard her friends cry out in shock and dismay.
Sephiroth had spun around immediately to face Toyori and Kayana after saying his part. Toyori had jumped backwards, dodging the Masamune which Sephiroth had swung out towards him in a deadly arc. Kayana, however, did not fair so well. A well aimed punch to her gut and she was on the floor on her knees. His sword pierced her heart before she could do anything else.
Everyone stood in stunned silence.
"You... Lied..." Kayana gasped. "Just like... him..." Kayana uttered, before she fell lifeless to the ground.
"Sephiroth!" Aerith's cry rang out, but she knew she hadn't needed to say anything. His arm flew out and Hiei's magic, followed by Hiei, bounced back off the barrier he'd set up.
"How the hell are you still alive? And what the fuck is going on wit' you, Sephiroth?" Barret yelled in outrage.
Sephiroth said nothing but they all saw the alarm on his face when Aerith ran out to just in front of him where Toyori ran straight for him, double edged sword out and ready to strike. The two blades connected with a shattering clang that had the rest of Avalanche suddenly moving, ready for battle.
"I guess you planned it all, didn't you?" Toyori asked, true amusement in his eyes. He was glowing with the thrill of battle. He moved his eyes down to the Cetra and grinned. "And you..." He raised his knee to kick at her at seeing her hands glowing and her eyes shut in concentration but Sephiroth pushed him backwards. Aerith used that oppotunity to unleash holy onto him and his reaction was that of Hiei's -- he held his head in pain and screamed. "Cetra bitch!"
Sephiroth was on him before he could react and he was thrown into the wall. Landing on one knee, he smirked after recovering his sight.
"I see this is going to be an interesting fight."
"There will be no fight." Aerith said, walking over to Kayana and setting a fire spell on her with the help of Cait. Her body burst into ashes. "Who is Kiyoku?" She asked quietly.
She got the reaction she wanted. His entire body tensed and his eyes filled with rage. Hiei stopped moving at the mention of the name as well and watched Toyori intently.
"Kiyoku... Hojo's assisstant. He's the reason we're here."
"Toyori..." Hiei warned.
Toyori ignored him and his hands curled into fists. His eyes turned murderous. "Traitorous bastard involved us in an experiment... One that he said would change our lives." He broke out into laughter. "Little did we know!"
"What did he do?" Cloud asked, stepping forward.
"There were many of us before, you know. Now, we're the only surivors... Back then, Hojo was brought in and Kiyoku told him everything... His plans, his dream, his experiment... Hojo worked with him until he knew everything and then disposed of him. I can only hope that was a sickeningly slow death."
"Toyori, do not speak of it anymore." Hiei warned. "You know what will--"
"What could be worse then this? We have been here for decades! DECADES! Finally we can and have left this hell... Take revenge on the Planet, who never once tried to help us. Here we stayed, pleaing and praying for help... We got nothing."
"It couldn't do anything for you!" Aerith exclaimed.
"Once the White Mater--"
"Silence!" A deep masculine voice made the room tremble as it shouted loudly and clearly. It filled the entire room and gave the impression of someone talking from all sides of the room. "Toyori, we will not speak of this now and especially not to them -- your enemies!"
Whoever this is, he is extremely angry, Yuffie thought.
"I am sorry." Toyori answered, though it wasn't very convincing. "Agh!" He screamed, falling to his knees and clutching his head in pain. "Please!"
"Smash it!"
Toyori recoiled at the venom in his voice and Aerith could see how frightened he was, regardless of how determined he was not to show it. "Smash it...?" Aerith whispered. A bright shimmer as Toyori pulled something from his pocket. "NO!" She ran forward but Sephiroth's arm hooked around her waist.
Toyori brought his hand down and let the White Materia make an impact with the floor. It smashed into thousands of pieces and Aerith screamed bloody murder.
"What have you done!?" She said, clutching her head. She screamed again.
Tifa woke in response to her comrades scream and though her vision swam, she witnessed the white espers flowing from the White Materia's shattered pieces floating into a brilliantly bright hole in the ceiling of the dome.
Aerith's breathing was labored and she managed to break away from Sephiroth's grip. She fell to her knees on some of the shattered glass and picked up a piece. Her head was throbbing painfully, more painful then it had ever done before. "Why?"
"Thank you, Cetra, for providing us with our freedom..." The man spoke enthusiastically and her vision blackened. Before she knew what was happening, she was floating downward, surrounding by something enticingly warm. That was the last thing she felt before she faded out entirely.
"Aerith!" Her comrades called out after her. Sephiroth was over to the hole that had appeared in the floor in an instant and looked down, enraged. She wasn't even conscious.
"I can't swim..."
Toyori laughed; his mood had heightened fairly quickly. "So long, buddies!" He disappeared, along with Hiei and the room began to shake.
Cloud had Tifa in his arms and was over to Sephiroth within the second. "We have to go after her!"
Screams from behind them grabbed their attention. Turning they saw mako flowing quickly into the dome. The blackened specks on the wall seemed to have detached from it and attached themselves to their bodies, leaving no boundary between them and the mako.
"Do not worry about that... I will not let you interfere with our... My, plans..." His final words were followed with the floor falling out beneath them and they too were lost in a sea of mako.