Ch 8
KiyoYume came to discover on the long trip to Cosmo Canyon that her freedom depended greatly on Sephiroth's mood, which was in turn greatly affected by her behavior. Sephiroth knew that KiyoYume couldn't stand to be near him, and so, as punishment, Sephiroth often focused the range of the Gravity materia to very short, forcing KiyoYume to be within five feet of him at all times. Other times, he was very forgiving and KiyoYume could move up to about forty or fifty feet before getting the uncomfortable sensation in her chest.
She had tested the limits of the spell only once. Sephiroth had been asleep and KiyoYume had decided to leave the inn. She walked out of the door to their room and down the hall, the uncomfortable feeling becoming a pull. It became much harder to walk forward as the pull grew stronger. When it became painful the pull jolted KiyoYume off her feet and onto her back, dragging her back several feet. Determined, KiyoYume got up and ran, the pull tugging her back again. It caused her muscles to ache and her heart to hurt, for the pull was strongest there.
Sephiroth had of course felt her tugging at the spell and was awake when she came sulking back to the room, sore and irritable. He smirked at her. "Satisfied?"
"I hate you."
Sephiroth threw back his head and laughed at that. KiyoYume yelped in pain as the radius of the spell was suddenly shortened and she was jerked towards him. She tried to push herself away from him, her arms trembling as she fought the pull. Her elbows buckled and she collapsed against him. Her body shook all over in fear and repulsion. There was no greater torture that Sephiroth could inflict upon her than this and he knew it.
"Now," he said, tilting her chin up, forcing her to look him in face, "when I say I'm not going to let you cause anymore trouble I think you understand I'm serious. So we should get along a lot better from this point out. Don't you agree?" His eyes glowed in the darkness of the room. KiyoYume thought he looked particularly wicked when he was in these sorts of moods and so refused to answer in fear of retaliation. The angel spent a very miserable night on the floor, refusing to sleep on the same bed.
KiyoYume shook the dust out of her feathers as Sephiroth unpacked the saddle bags. He handed them off to KiyoYume while he parked the bike safely inside the city, once his motorcycle was take care of, he took the packs back from KiyoYume and headed toward the Inn of Cosmo Canyon. The angel looked about the city with great curiosity.
The city itself was built into the cliffs. Moving from building to building required the use of either stairs or ladders. Feeling pleased at their arrival, Sephiroth let KiyoYume wander the city while he went to talk to Bugenhagen.
KiyoYume made her way down to the gound level of the city. Dusk was falling and the citizens were lighting a camp fire in what could be considered the 'town square'. Curious and not wanting to waste a chance to exploit her temporary freedom KiyoYume approached the small gathering. Adjusting her robe to hide her wings she walked into the circle of light.
"Greetings traveler! Welcome to Cosmo Canyon! Come share a meal with us." KiyoYume was welcomed into their midst rather quickly. After a community meal everyone settled down into smaller conversations. The angel was content to simply listen until a well muscled young man with dark skin sat down next to her.
"Name's Barret! What brings you to Cosmo Canyon?"
"I'm… traveling with someone who has business here."
"They must have come to see Bugenhagen huh? Good ol' Bugenhagen. He cames so much about this planet. I admire the man. Wish there was more I could do to help!"
"You can help!" KiyoYume exclaimed, "Even the smallest thing can make a difference. Just as one small pebble can start a rock slide, or a single snow flake can cause an avalanche, so too can one person start something big!"
"You know… I never thought of it like that before…" Barret looked at her, his eyes full of hope, "you really mean it, you really think I can make a difference? You think I could start… well… an avalanche of change?"
"Sure!" KiyoYume smiled at him, "everything helps. The Cetra believed…"
"Woah! You know about the Cetra!? Tell me more!"
Sephiroth looked out the window at KiyoYume sitting in a circle of people. Bugenhagen floated over to his side and followed his gaze.
"I can't believe Hojo had one of the ascended, a Cetra…"
"She's more trouble than she's worth." Sephiroth retorted. "All I have been able to find out is that she's a being from the ethereal, if there is such a place, and that she can control Spirit Energy. Hojo tried to corrupt her with Jenova, but she seems to be immune to it. She won't tell me anything, refuses to unless I help her save the planet. But surely she can't know anything you don't."
"My knowledge is limited. KiyoYume could answer the questions of the universe for you, if you gave in a little and helped her."
"Mmm." Was Sephiroth's reply.
"But of course" Bugenhagen continued, "you do not believe she is Cetra, or an Angel, or any of that. But I warn you, I can sense she is as stubborn as you are, and neither of you will get anything from the other if you do not concede a little in some way."
"I refuse to believe she is the only person with knowledge pertaining to the Cetra. There has to be records of them somewhere."
"There are two people left alive in this world who can answer your questions. KiyoYume and Hojo. You'll have to cooperate in some way with either one of them to get what you want. Brute force and intimidation isn't the solution to every problem."
"Enough. I'm tired of hearing your prattle on. I don't have to help her do anything. If you won't help me, I will find someone else who will. If you say Hojo knows, then I should be talking to him, not you, for information. In the end I will get what I want."
"And what, exactly, is that Sephiroth? To what ends will you sacrifice the angel for?"
Sephiroth turned away from the window. "Godhood."
They were on the road the next morning at dawn. Sephiroth had refused to allow KiyoYume to speak with Bugenhagen, instead restricting the Gravity Materia and forcing the angel to stay at his side.
"I tire of your games. I'm returning you to Hojo."
KiyoYume's eyes widened in horror. "You can't, please, don't, I beg of you, please don't turn me over to that monster! I'll do anything, I can't go back to that kind of torture, he'll kill me!"
"You should have thought about that before you decided to be so uncooperative. We're headed for Nibelheim."
"Please, don't give me back to him, don't let him put me away in the dark! What he did to you, you can stop that from happening to others!" She pleaded. Sephiroth narrowed his eyes at her. She felt the fire material start to warm in her chest.
"You know nothing about what happened to me. If you do not quiet yourself this instant I will make you burn the entire way to Nibelheim."
"Sephiroth… are you done playing with my lab rat?" Hojo said by way of greeting.
"You should thank me, she's doing better now than she was when you sealed her." Sephiroth gestured to the corner where KiyoYume sat, bound and gagged.
"Oh come now, was that really necessary?" Hojo moved towards her.
"Don't! Not until I have what you promised me." Sephiroth help out the Masamune. "Is she a Cetra, and what happened to them?"
"She is a Cetra, the last of her kind I'm afraid. I found her in a small mountain villiage, the last survivor. The wings are a result of my experimentation. The Cetra are simply a race, just as the Wutai are a race. There was nothing magical or special about them." Hojo went to the bookshelves, 'Here are the records from when I found her."
Sephiroth looked at KiyoYume and then back to Hojo, a little unsure of who to believe. He took the book and began to thumb through it. Sephiroth continued his inquiry to which Hojo had a endless supply of answers.
KiyoYume stopped listening after the first several lies. She would not go back to Hojo, no matter what the cost. There was no way she could wiggle her way out of the ropes, and phasing over to the ethereal would kill her. She briefly considered it, but quickly decided that for the sake of planet she could not. The angel had one desperate idea.
The two men were deeply grossed in conversation and did not notice KiyoYume close her eyes in concentration. After several minutes she began to sweat and a soft glow could be seen under her shirt. As her spell was nearing its end Hojo happened to glance in her direction.
"Nooo!" He shrieked, bolting towards her.
With the last bit of strength KiyoYume unwound Sephiroth's spell and forced the fire material from her body. There was a violent explosion and the room caught fire.
"Find her!" Hojo screeched, "She cannot get away!"
But the corner was empty and the fire was rapidly spreading. After several seconds of frantic searching she was not to be found. Hojo and Sephiroth were eventually forced from the mansion.
"This is your fault, all your fault, if you hadn't messed with my precious specimen none of this would have happened, all my research, all those books, gone, GONE!" Hojo screamed.
Sephiroth drew his sword, "Don't try my patience Hojo, I will cut you in two!"
Hojo spat and headed back towards the burning mansion and Sephiroth turned and walked into the night.