Chapter 4: Place of Memory

By the time midnight came, Cloud and the others were still waiting around the campfire in the middle of Cosmo Canyon. They were still waiting for Naruto and Gaara to arrive. He didn't think Nanaki would come. He had a life here in Cosmo Canyon. He didn't want to tear him away like the Shinra did.

"We'll wait for Naruto and Gaara, then we'll go," said Cloud. Everyone nodded, saddened that Nanaki wouldn't be coming with them. Although they had known all along that Nanaki planned to leave their group at Cosmo Canyon, saying goodbye suddenly made it seem all the more real. It was probably easier to leave without saying goodbye, but it didn't stop them from feeling a little sad at the thought.

"You guys go to the buggy, I'll wait for them," volunteered Cloud. They all agreed and one by one they all walked out of the canyon. Cloud got up and walked over to the entrance and leaned againsed one of the rocks.

"Hey there Cloud! Wait long?"

Cloud stopped and turned around, his eyes opening wide as he saw Naruto and Gaara with Nanaki leaping down the stairs of the canyon. They came to a stop beside Cloud, the hound's furry red body breathing heavily from his long run from the dark depths.

"Mmm?" Cloud asked, confused. He looked up as Bugenhagen then began to walk down the steps towards him. He turned to Naruto and smiled.

"Naruto," the old man said. "Please look after Nanaki."

"Of course, he's my brother," answered Naruto.

Cloud stared, looking from Bugenhagen to Nanaki, to Naruto and back to Bugenhagen again. "What happened?" he asked.

"I think I grew up a little," Nanaki replied simply. "That's what happened!"

Before Cloud could say anything more, Naruto, Nanaki and Gaara ran briskly past him and down the stairs towards the car. As the others all exclaimed and cheered at Nanaki's cheery return to the group, Cloud looked back at Bugenhagen. The old man was smiling happily, with a knowing look that made Cloud feel that this would not be the last time they visited Cosmo Canyon.

Not wanting to sleep in a packed buggy, Naruto unsealed a tent for himself and Gaara. Everyone except Nanaki was a bit pissed that they had tents and they had to sleep in the buggy. Naruto and Gaara soon were asleep and Nanaki slept in the short strip of space in the front of the shelter.

It had been a very peaceful night, sleeping out underneath the stars. The air had been nice and cool, but not cold, and the sky remained clear all night through. The only member of the group who could not enjoy the peaceful night was Cloud. He lay in the back of the buggy, his arms resting beneath his head and his legs propped up on the side of the buggy, eyes open as he looked up at the stars shining above him. Only it wasn't the cool breeze or the faint growl of Barret's snoring that kept him awake.

He was still awake because of the many thoughts that were roaming around in his head. Thoughts that had been running through his mind ever since they left the boundaries of Cosmo Canyon and entered the plains again, heading further north towards the distant mountains.

Cloud recognized those mountains. Their image was burned into his memory as an everlasting picture that would never fade. The jagged grey structures of the large mountain range that stood in the centre of the entire continent – it had taken them only a day or two to reach them. They grey structures of Mt. Nibel, which meant that they were very close to his hometown of Nibelheim.

Cloud wasn't sure he wanted to see Nibelheim again. He didn't know if he could bear it – to see the ruined wreckage of what had once been his home. He wondered if it would be like Gongaga or North Corel, left to disrepair and abandoned by the rest of the world. Cloud had no idea how many people had survived the flames – would there be anyone he knew still alive?

The group were already up and moving again by the time the yellow ball of the sun rose the next morning, peering out between the tall rocky canyons onto the grassy plain where the buggy was riding. It was going to be another bright and sunny day for sure, which was good news for them if they wanted to make good progress. They had passed the slow-flowing river with ease and were now traveling at a fast pace towards the town that stood at the silent entrance of Mt. Nibel.

Nibelheim.

Cloud and Tifa were standing up in the back of the buggy right then, peering out over the top of the roof as Aeris drove on. They ignored the sound of Barret yelling angrily at Yuffie as she sat on the bonnet, and then Aeris yelling at him for making the buggy tilt with his angry cries. Their minds were focused solely on the town they were approaching, their hearts beating in anxiety at what they would see.

They expected to see the black remains of a ruined town, but as the buggy drew closer to the large break between the tall mountains of Nibel they realised that something wasn't right. At first they couldn't quite place what it was that was wrong, but as they passed the final slope and onto the straight path that led towards the town, they saw it.

"No way!" Tifa exclaimed, her eyes wide in an expression of pure disbelief.

The two had expected to see a wreck of burnt down houses and decaying old vehicles, but instead they got exactly the opposite. There were no burnt down houses left to rot, instead there were many houses, neatly built and positioned exactly as Cloud and Tifa remembered them. Driving up to the entrance they could see the side wall of the inn, staring back at them.

Aeris slowed the buggy to a halt and stepped out. Everyone was now looking out at the town now, staring in disbelief at the complete town that looked back at them silently.

For Cloud, this was absolutely impossible. He had prepared himself to see a ruined, burnt out wreck abandoned from the world. Yet somehow, by some strange miracle or disaster, the town was standing there just as it always did. There was just no way that Nibelheim could be standing there. No way.

Suddenly and without warning, Cloud jumped down from the buggy and onto the grass. Tifa was just milliseconds behind him, and followed as he ran swiftly across the grass towards Nibelheim. They ran on regardless of the fact that the others were calling out to wait for them, and focused only on reaching Nibelheim.

Naruto and Gaara looked at each other before running behind everyone else. Eventually their feet stopped pounding on frail stalks of grass and moved onto the more solid ground of the town, kicking up dust. It took them a few seconds to slow down, skidding to a stop beside the old inn. Even as they stopped their heads and eyes were already darting around, looking around in disbelief.

Cloud and Tifa were looking round with shocked faces. Everywhere they looked, everything seemed to be exactly as it was before it had burned down. In fact it looked like it had never been touched. Everything was as it was, from the well in the centre of town to the small wooden bridge leading towards one of the houses near the entrance of town. The streets were just as quiet and dusty, and it still looked like a deserted ghost town. Only this time it was more of a ghost town, for it shouldn't have been standing.

"What-!" Tifa exclaimed, her voice almost choking in her disbelief as she looked around. Looking past the well she choked again as she saw the familiar sight of her house – or what had once been her house a long time ago. "This was all supposed to be burnt down, right?"

Cloud nodded slowly. He was also looking past the well, but on the opposite side, where the structure of what had been his childhood home stood silently alongside Tifa's, exactly as it had once done. "…I thought so."

"Then why…? My house is still there too…"

The others finally caught up to them then, leaving the buggy abandoned just outside the entrance of town. There was no point bringing it in – the only way forward was through the mountains and they would not support the buggy.

They were also surprised to find the town intact, but not as surprised as Cloud and Tifa were. Throughout all the time they had been traveling, they had held the belief that Sephiroth had burnt down Nibelheim, and it was nothing more than a ruin. Yet here it was, like it had never been touched.

Seeing it all, Barret immediately snapped his head round to Cloud and pointed at him fiercely. "You said the whole town burnt down, right?" he asked. There was a strong sense of accusation in his voice that he was unable to hide.

"…Yeah," Cloud replied.

"Do you think Sephiroth might of cast some sort of an illusion to make you think that the town was on fire?" asked Naruto who was thinking of all the genjutsu that would be able to pull it off.

"We don't know how to do illusions with magic," answered Tifa.

"Oh, right. Then maybe Shinra rebuilt the town?"

Cloud and Tifa were silent. There was a possibility.

The first place they headed to was the inn, since it was the closest building to them. Cloud walked in first, followed by Tifa and then the others. It was exactly the same on the inside as well, once again making Cloud wonder. He quickly dismissed those thoughts and walked towards the younger innkeeper standing patiently behind the desk, looking at them earnestly as they approached.

"Hi, welcome," he said cheerfully. It was an almost fake tone of cheerfulness, the smile on his face almost there mechanically.

Cloud glanced at Tifa, who nodded. Cloud nodded back, and then turned to the innkeeper. "What's your story?" he asked, a faint touch of hostility in his voice. "This town was supposed to have been burnt down five years ago. What the hell is going on?"

The smile on the innkeeper's face instantly disappeared, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly. He turned away for a brief moment, as though composing himself. Then he turned back, the twitch gone, and his expression turning to something of a mechanical annoyance.

"Sir, don't say such awful things. I was born and raised in this town. What you say never happened."

Cloud glanced at Naruto. His story had more of a possibility now. He remembered the old innkeeper who used to run the inn, sitting behind the desk and doing his crosswords day after day. There was no way this… innkeeper… had been born and raised in the town like he had been.

While this was going on, Barret was standing towards the left of the group, his arms folded and his foot tapping against the ground irritably. While he was listening to the conversation he heard a small banging noise coming from ahead of him, and he looked up towards the wooden door leading to a side room behind the innkeeper.

"You're lying…" Tifa said plainly to the innkeeper, her gaze stern. It annoyed her that someone would actually pose as a resident of Nibelheim, especially when she knew that he wasn't.

Making sure the innkeeper wasn't looking, Barret silently shuffled over towards the door. It was ajar slightly, and he carefully pushed it open a crack, peering through the gap and into the storeroom that was hidden there. His eyes widened a little as he saw what was inside, but he continued to look.

"EXCUSE ME…" the innkeeper replied, the unreal tone of his voice now even more apparent than before. "That's so rude. If you're going to talk like that to me, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

With that the innkeeper crossed his arms and turned away stubbornly, refusing to even look at them anymore. Cloud glared at the ignorant young man angrily and was about to say more, when Barret suddenly gave a whistle and caught everyone's attention bar the ignorant innkeeper. When Cloud and Naruto looked over Barret nodded his head to the storeroom, pushing the door open wider. Cloud walked over to him and peered inside, and his eyes opened wide as well. Naruto peeked inside as well.

Inside the storeroom was a man – they presumed it was a man – standing beside a pile of crates at the far end of the storeroom. They could not see any of his features because he was wearing a long black cloak that shielded him, face and all, so he was merely a dark shadow hiding away. He was trembling slightly and murmuring softly under his breath.

Cautiously Cloud walked into the storeroom and stood beside the figure. He was bent over like he was crippled, and Cloud could see that he was clutching onto the ends of his cloak as he shivered, as though trying to keep warm.

Something inside him urged Cloud to examine the man further. While he murmured inaudibly Cloud slowly pulled one sleeve free and pushed it up so that he could see the man's upper arm. On the man's pale arm there was a tattoo, showing a simple number '6' in dark black.

"Man in a Black Cape?" he said aloud. "He has a tattoo number '6'."

"Urrr…rrrrr…" the man mumbled suddenly, his voice louder and twisting in a way that sounded like he was going to be sick. He lifted his head slightly and tried to turn around, twisting his head round to face Cloud. Yet as much as he tried he could not turn, not while Cloud held his arm. "Rrrgh… must… go… to… Re…uni…on…"

"Reunion," Naruto said, trying to remember where he had heard this before. It suddenly came to him. Jenova Reunion Theory. It was on the computer in Shinra HQ. The theory was that if you split apart Jenova the cells would find their way back to the original. He filed the info away for another time.

The man's voice then went quiet again, and he went back into his inaudible mumbling. Cloud slowly released his arm and turned back to the others, who had gathered by the door, and staring at the man with chills running down their spines. The man seemed unaware of their presence, as though he was possessed or at least mentally ill.

They left the room, shutting the door quietly behind them and leaving the cloaked man to his muttering. Cloud decided against asking the innkeeper about the mysterious cloaked man – he would most likely deny all knowledge, although something inside him told him the innkeeper DID know something about it.

Leaving the inn, the group headed further into the town. They walked around the well, Tifa gazing up at it as they passed, amazed at the likeness. Even the age of the wood seemed perfect, as it would be after five years. She found herself falling behind then, and she quickened her pace to catch up to the others, who had stopped in front of the two houses that stood side by side at the far end of the town.

Naruto, Gaara and Yuffie fell behind the group. They wanted to wait for the others to finish what they were doing but Yuffie was fidgety. Naruto realized this would be the best time to teach her some things on chakra.

"Yuffie, I'm going to teach you how to use chakra, ok?" Naruto asked.

Yuffie nodded, excited and a bit scared.

He cleared his throat. "Now then, if I was my old sensei Iruka I would explain every technicality and little detail that you will no doubt, need to hear six or seven times before you understand, but I prefer a practical approach." He extended his hands. "Give me your hands Yuffie."

She did so.

He placed his hands over hers and gently extended his chakra into her tenketsu system. Yuffie gasped again at the unfamiliar sensation. Naruto looked into her confused, slightly fearful black ones. "What you feel is my chakra flowing through your Tenketsu. The tenketsu is what allows your chakra to flow through your body. You can feel your own as it forms around mine right?"

At her nod he continued.

"Good. Now, what I want you to try to do, is push my chakra out of your system, back into mine, and then try to extend your chakra into my own Tenketsu. Focus on the parts that you know for certain are yours and not mine okay. Are you ready?"

She nodded again. Naruto smiled reassuringly.

Her face scrunched up in concentration and after several minutes he could feel his chakra receive a slight nudge. 'Good.' He thought.

Her forehead had small beads of sweat forming on it and after a few more minutes he felt a stronger nudge this time, then a weak, yet continuous push on the chakra he placed in her system, he smiled as his chakra was pushed from its original position along her wrists into the palm of her hands, just one more push.

Finally, she was able to push his chakra out of her system. He pulled his hands away.

She looked up at the lack of contact, confused, breathing a little heavier than before.

He smiled. "You did well Yuffie, but I think you should rest for now okay, we'll keep going later."

She nodded, smiling. She looked at Gaara and he nodded, also smiling.

At that point Cloud and the others moved out of the houses and walked towards Naruto. Cloud handed him a sheet of paper and said, "I found it in one of the rooms." Naruto took the paper and scanned over it.

Periodic Report to Professor Hojo

1 Clone Activity Report

Unfortunately, no 'CLONES' have left this town this quarter.

As previously reported, the 'CLONES' seem to be sensing something.

But all they say is, 'reunion' or 'Sephiroth' and show no other signs of activity.

2 Confidentiality Report

A total of eight people have visited this town this quarter. Fortunately, none knew about the incident five years ago. Therefore, no one knows that the town was restored exactly as it was five years ago.

Our staff, disguised as townspeople have improved their acting skills, and we do not report any problems at this time.

That is all.

"Well, well. It seems Shinra was behind it after all," said Naruto. "The incident five years ago would have been a big blow to Shinra's reputation, so they would have had to cover it up somehow. With all the residents killed in the fire, they would have no problem rebuilding the town as it was before, and hire people to act as residents until normal people chose to move into the town and take over naturally."

Everyone nodded. The only thing that didn't make sense was the cloaked men, or 'clones'. What, or who, were they meant to be clones of, and what was their purpose? He presumed now that the numbers on their arms were their code-signs – showing just how many clones there were.

"What do we do now?" asked Aeris.

"The only way forward was through Mt. Nibel, but the paths are so rugged in there that they would never support the buggy," answered Cloud.

"That means that we have no choice but to abandon the buggy and continue our journey on foot," finished Naruto.

"What about the chocobos?" asked Barret.

"I don't think we should risk it," disagreed Naruto.

They all agreed and moved through the town. The Shinra Mansion was the last building in Nibelheim they had to pass. That was the only original building left in Nibelheim, and stood the same as it always did. The group had intended on passing the mansion without a second thought, but they were forced to stop as they saw two more of the cloaked clones standing in the middle of the path, facing the mansion. They seemed more agitated than all the other clones, their voices high pitched and wailing mournfully as they approached.

"Wooooo-ooow…" the first of the clones wailed, his voice twisted and uncontrolled. "He's… calling… Sephiroth… is… calling…"

That caught everyone's attention. The group stopped beside the clone and listened the clone as he subsided again into mindless muttering. Sephiroth was calling? They listened closely to the air, but they could not hear anything but silence and the heavy breathing of the clones.

"The… Great… Se…phi…roth… is… near…" the other clone then said, his arms wavering shakily in front of him as though he was trying to grab something. "In…side… inside …the Mansion… Urrrrrrrgh… the great… Sephi…roth."

Cloud and Tifa spared enough time to look at each other for a quick second, before they both suddenly turned and ran towards the open gates of the Mansion. The others were close behind, running through the gates towards the close doors of the Mansion where Sephiroth awaited.

The old wooden doors of Shinra Mansion burst open, with such force that they flew back and crashed against the inside walls of the mansion. The sound of the crash echoed throughout the main hall, which was exactly the same as it was five years ago apart from an increase in the amount of dust in the air. In the doorway stood Naruto and the others, the light outside silhouetting their bodies so that their shadows fell on the ground, stretched so they reached deep inside the hall.

The hall was still as dark as ever, reminding Cloud of the first time he had stepped foot in the mansion. The curtains on the back windows were still drawn although they were falling apart, their structure disintegrating from the constant sunlight from outside. It wouldn't be long before they fell apart completely, letting the sunlight shine freely onto the oak floorboards.

Another thing that had not changed was the sense of unease – a sure sign that told him that Sephiroth was indeed somewhere within the mansion. The air was cold, as though something powerful and menacing had stepped through it and chilled the very air itself. And that could only be Sephiroth.

Together the group stepped past the doors and into the mansion. The floorboards creaked loudly underneath five pairs of heavy boots and one pair of stuffed mechanical feet, plus the pattering of Nanaki's paws. They echoed, too, joining the fading echo of the door crash. They were making no effort at being silent. They wanted Sephiroth to know that they were here, and they wanted him to prepare himself.

Once they were all inside the mansion, Barret and Cait worked together to close the old doors. They seemed to creak even louder as they slid slowly shut, creating a small faint bang as they connected and shut out the sunlight, leaving the hall in darkness apart from the single beam of light that shone in through the half-covered windows.

With the doors shut Naruto walked forward, walking to the very centre of the hall. He then stopped and looked around at the hall. There was no sign of Sephiroth, but he knew that he was somewhere within the mansion's ghostly walls. They would have no choice but to search the house room by room, and hope that no monsters had taken refuge within it. He was about to walk forward to the old door leading into the back corridor, when Tifa suddenly said his name.

She was standing in the corner of the hall, at an open doorway leading into a tiny side room. Aeris was beside her, and together they were looking at a small piece of paper that had gone yellow with age and was thick with dust. Tifa held out the paper to Naruto, and he looked down at it.

It certainly was a very old sheet of paper. The writing was scribbled very roughly and he could barely read it because of the dust. He blew on it, blowing carefully so as not to damage the paper, for it was very frail indeed. Thankfully it didn't fall apart in his hands, and with more of the dust gone he could read what was on the sheet.

I must get rid of all those that stand in the way of my research. Even that one from the Turks. I scientifically altered him, and put him to sleep in the basement. If you want to find him, then search the area.

But… this is merely a game I thought of. It is not necessary for you to participate if you don't want to.

Move the dial of the safe carefully, but quickly. You have 20 seconds. You cannot go past the numbers while turning. The four hints for the numbers are…

Dial 1 – The lid of the box with the most oxygen.

Dial 2 – Behind the ivory's short of tea and ray.

Dial 3 – The creak in the floor near the chair on the second floor… then to the left five steps, up nine steps, left two steps and up six steps.

"Huh?" was the reply that the blond gave. He looked up at Tifa and Aeris. "So someone's here. Think we should help 'em out?"

Aeris smiled at Naruto and nodded. "We have to help them."

"What yer talkin' 'bout?" Barret snapped angrily, his voice reverberating off the walls and the echo of his pounding feet sounding down the corridors. Not that he cared. "We're goin' after Sephiroth, not playin' a game of hide and seek!"

"I know that," Aeris replied. She turned away for a moment, taking a breath to compose her feelings. After those few moments had passed she turned back and looked around at everyone around her. "I'm sorry. I just can't go on knowing that someone is trapped and needs our help."

"You don't need to say anything more. We're going," said Naruto firmly.

Barret turned away stubbornly with his arms folded and his foot tapping impatiently on the floor. Even though he wasn't looking he seemed to know the unanimous decision of the others, and growled fiercely.

"Do whatever ya want!" he snapped.

Naruto sighed heavily and shook his head, while Tifa stifled a giggle under her breath. They were both secretly amused by Barret's apparent stubbornness, although they both knew that deep down he was in agreement over their decision. Aeris was right; they couldn't leave someone trapped inside the mansion.

"Let's look at the safe first. I might be able to open it," suggested Naruto.

Ten minuets later the group were all gathered on the second floor of the mansion, inside one of the side rooms on the left side of the house. It was just opposite the bedrooms, and it was the only room in the entire house that had a safe inside.

As soon as Naruto put his hand on the safe he could feel there was a strong hidden power resonating within the thick layers of metal that kept it secure.

"You'll need my help with this one," said Kyuubi. "The safe is set up so that anyone that tries to forcefully open it, the safe will destroy itself. If you open it how the letter says then you will just battle the entity that's inside. I have a demon jutsu for things like this. Let me take over."

Naruto gripped the handle of the sword and felt himself take a back seat in operating his body. Naruto had his eyes closed as the transfer happened. When he finished he opened his eyes and everyone gasped (except Garra of course). His eyes were bright green and were slitted, like a cat. And when he spoke, his voice was distorted and had a demonic undertone. It made everyone except Gaara, Tifa and Barret jump. Tifa and Barret still got chills down their spines though.

"Demonic Art: Sabotage," he said after flipping through hand seals. After he finished he placed his hand inches away from the dial. Small black tendrils flowed out of his hand and slithered under the dial. A minuet passed and they heard a loud click filled the room as the safe unlocked. Naruto brought his hand away after the tendrils dissolved. He closed his eyes as he gripped the sword handle. A few moments passed and he released his hand and opened his eyes, showing he was back with the deep blue irises. Naruto grabbed the door of the safe and pulled it open, exposing the inside of the safe.

As the safe door opened a loud screeching roar filled the room, followed by a cloud of steam that surrounded the safe and seeped across the floor like a liquid, curling like tendrils across the wood. The rest of the group stood waiting as the steam continued to thicken, waiting for the creature to emerge.

Slowly and steadily, the monster began to emerge from the safe. Its body made a sickened squishing and bone-crunching sound as it squeezed out of the safe. It stamped one thick blue and green foot onto the floor, followed by a squishy red and yellow tentacle that moved of its own will across the floor like antennae searching for food. It then stepped out of the steam and into full view of the group awaiting it.

It was a very misshapen creature, probably forged from a combination of different levels of mako energy. Its body was composed of two parts, split completely in half and joined together by squishy flesh.

The left-hand side of its body was entirely physical, with a firm body made up of a large rock-shaped head and a fierce yellow eye. Its leg and its arm were incredibly muscular and firm, covered in the same tough blue skin and tipped with sharp claws that made it an arsenal of physical destruction.

The right-hand side of the creature was entirely the opposite. Its firm flesh was replaced by soft, almost fiery looking skin, for it was burned a bright red. Many long tentacles like heavy eyebrows shielded most of its face, sweeping to the side like flames. Tentacles made up its arm and leg, each of them wavering around in search of prey, making it a weapon of magical force. Yet despite all these differences the creatures menacing grin was one long smile, tipped with razor-sharp teeth.

"NOW!" Naruto shouted from beside the safe.

On his command, Barret and all the others released the power of their materia in one powerful strike towards the creature. Large blasts of fire and ice stormed through the air and struck the blue half of the creature right in its face. It convulsed and screeched loudly, the magical energies burning through its weak magical defence. It cried out more as two blasts of dark energy merged around it, shrinking its body and then expanding it.

That was enough. As the flames and ice swept around it the creature shuddered, and the blue half exploded with a sudden poof of steam that filled the air. That left only the red half, the magical half, behind.

"Quickly! Before it reforms!" came Naruto's voice from behind as he saw the faint tinges of more red flesh begin to emerge from the creature's side.

The body was already half grown as the second attack came. The new red flesh that made up the rest of the magical half's body was blown to shreds as bullets poured in from ahead, piercing through the newly formed flesh with ease. As the bullets stopped then came the second part of the attack as Yuffie, Tifa and Cait ran forward together. Yuffie sliced with her shuriken while Cait used his megaphone to pound through the wounded flesh, making the impact of Yuffie's slashes much more devastating. Tifa worked alongside him, her punches forcing the wounds to grow.

They stepped back the moment the creature began to shudder. The magical creature's body twisted and convulsed, its tentacles out of control as they whipped around the room. A deep red glow began to burn in the centre of the creature, growing and growing until it enveloped the entire creature. Then, with a loud pop, the creature burst into flames and disintegrated in seconds, the steam from its body rising and dispersing into the air.

With the creature gone, the steam quickly began to clear. The sound died away too, leaving the room in silence again. No one moved until the steam had fully cleared, leaving only the open door of the safe behind it. The creature had been easy to defeat, but only because it had been locked away in the safe for so long. It had weakened after so many years, making it a cinch to defeat.

"Man, what an ugly bastard," commented Naruto. He moved round from the side of the safe and peered into the dark doorway. At first he thought it was empty, until he caught a glimpse of two objects hidden within the darkness. One was a key; the other was a ball of red summon materia.

"Get over here Cloud and tell me what this Summon is," asked Naruto. Cloud walked over and saw the materia. Hidden in its crystalline form was the faint image of a powerful lance.

"That's Odin," replied Cloud. Naruto tossed him the ball.

"You have it," Naruto smiled at him.

With the key in hand they left the safe room, now prepared to head down to the basement to rescue the person that was seemingly trapped inside the mansion. It was a lucky thing that they had to head into the dark basement, for that would be the most likely place where they would find Sephiroth, too.

Cloud led the way through the mansion now, remembering the secret shaft in one of the second floor rooms that led straight down into the basement, which he discovered when looking for Sephiroth the first time.

Sure enough it was still there – the stone shaft with its stonework that didn't quite match, slightly ajar as though someone had passed through and not shut it properly. It had to be Sephiroth, for there should have been no one else inside the mansion. He pulled the hidden door open with ease and peered down into the spiral staircase.

It still made him feel a bit dizzy, looking down at the dark spirals heading deeper into shadows. He could still see the bottom, and a very faint glow of light there. With the others close behind him he stepped into the shaft and began to lead the way down, one hand against the walls to steady himself.

It was so silent in the shaft he could hear everyone's breath as they breathed nervously inside the shaft. There was a cold chill in the air and the faint scent of something living – and that made them nervous. It was a fairly foul scent, not nauseating, but enough to make them hold their noses in disgust as they continued to descend towards the bottom of the shaft.

They found out what the smell came from once they reached the bottom of the staircase, and looked down at the floor. The smell came from various droplets of droppings that lined the floor here and there – something Cloud didn't remember. As they looked up they saw the owners of the droppings: hanging from the walls and the ceiling by their claws, with their leathery wings wrapped firmly around their bodies. A few of the bats looked at Cloud and the others, a peculiar clicking noise coming from their mouths as they tried to see what they were.

"Bats," said Nanaki, his keen eyes able to see the small, furry forms of the bats more clearly. "This place has become a nesting ground for bats."

With that he headed down the tunnel, carefully dodging the various piles of bat droppings. The door to the hidden laboratory was very visible now, and a bright light was glowing through the edges of the door. Naruto slid the key into the lock and turned it.

The door unlocked with ease, and opened a little as Naruto pulled the padlock free. He pushed it open and it creaked eerily, the sound of the creek echoing down the corridor. Once they were all in the room Cait Sith shut the door behind them, leaving it only slightly ajar so they could hear if someone emerged from the laboratory outside. Then they looked around.

As they looked around the room they immediately thought the letter must have been some kind of horrible joke. There was no one in the small square room, but there were an awful lot of coffins. All of them were open, lying here and there, each one untouched with their lids lying abandoned beside them.

There was only one coffin that was closed. It was not the grandest of coffins and was not properly sealed down like a used coffin should have been, but it was the only one that stood out. In the silence that followed they also realised that there were faint noises coming from inside that coffin.

Everyone immediately froze, their muscles tightening in fear, as the noises grew louder for a second, before subsiding back into faint mumbling again. It reminded Naruto of the clones outside, until he realised that these mumbles did not come from mindless ramblings, but rather the mumblings of someone in discomfort.

It was Aeris who plucked up the courage to move first. While the others stood frozen around her she moved forward and stood at the edge of the coffin, looking down at the nameless lid that kept it down. She pressed her head against the side of the coffin and listened to the faint mumbles inside. They were definitely human and in clear discomfort. Carefully she knocked on the side of the coffin and the mumbles stopped, and she was unaware of the person… or creature… that was slowly opening its eyes inside. She knocked again, and a voice spoke out from inside the coffin.

"…To wake me from the nightmare," came the voice, deep and somewhat monotonous, lacking emotion. The lid of the coffin began to shift slightly, the dust sliding off. "Who is it?"

As the voice spoke angrily the lid of the coffin suddenly shook violently, causing Yuffie to scream and grasp onto Cait's mechanical Mog body for comfort. The coffin continued to shake, the golden clasps that kept the lid down bursting open until the lid was free. It flew off instantly, held by some powerful magical force that lifted it away from the coffin until it rested calmly on the floor. Everyone looked at the open coffin, adrenaline rushing through them as they looked at the figure lying inside.

Slowly the figure began to sit up. He rose steadily from the waist up, his arms not moving, his head craned back in sleep. Once he was upright he began to lift his head and gazed upon the group standing fearfully in front of him, his dark eyes looking at them wearily.

He was certainly a very enigmatic-looking man. He looked to be in his late twenties, although the expression on his face made them think he was somewhat older. His skin was very pale as though it had not seen sunlight for a long period of time, although there were still a few faint traces of colour left. He also had a head of long black hair that was tied back, although he let a few long strips of fringe hang around his face. These were kept up by a red bandana tied around his head.

He was dressed in a black tunic-of-sorts, which was mostly covered up by a long red cape that flowed around his shoulders and down his back. The cape had a large collar that shielded the lower half of his face, such as his mouth and chin. On his feet were a pair of knee-high boots over black trousers.

What was most peculiar about the red-clad man was his left arm. While his right arm was normal and human looking, his left arm was most certainly not. It was as though he had been given a different arm made of golden-brown metal or very firm flesh – they couldn't tell which. It had many joints, especially at the fingers. Instead of normal fingers, this arm had longer, much more pointy fingers, as though they were claws made for attacking.

The others, except Naruto and Gaara, all stared in awe and in fear at the man who had so mysteriously moved the coffin lid and sat up to gaze at them. He was a man locked in the bottom of a deep, dark basement, sleeping in an unmarked coffin away from the sunlight…

They sincerely hoped that vampires were just legend.