Final Fantasy VII [3rd Instalment]
Emerald Princess of Vernea
Chapter Forty-One
At the end of the path they discovered another doorway. They went through it, and when they came out the other side they found themselves back along the inner wall of the North Crater. The mako pool glowed brightly some way below them. Its glow lit up the cavern walls, meaning they no longer needed a flare to light their way.
The winding path continued here, circling the crater. It came to an end after the first loop, and to their amazement they saw that numerous rocky platforms, suspended in midair, carried on where the path left off. What mysterious power held these platforms in the air they did not know, but they did not question it. The platforms circled the crater wall and descended down towards the bottom of the crater.
Cloud walked to the edge of the path and looked down. Showers of mako streamed down the crater walls towards the pool; its cool heat washed over his face. Shielding his eyes with his hands he peered down, where he could just see a large platform suspended over the mako pool: their destination. He could not see Sephiroth.
"Yo, we're a bit late?"
The swordsman looked up. Barret and his group were on the walkway overhead, after emerging from a second doorway in the rock. Cloud noted that they scuffle and dirt marks on their arms and faces. It seemed that they too, had run into trouble.
Barret's group made their way down and rejoined the group. The eight companions stood together on the path, looking down into the glowing light of the mako pool. Cloud peered down to the final platform, just visible through the intense light.
"This is the centre of the Planet…?" he asked aloud. Nobody answered him. Cloud stood and jumped off the path to the walkway below and walked to the edge, where the first of the floating platforms hovered. The swordsman turned to his friends. "Let's get going," he said. "All right, everyone, let's mosey!"
"Damn!" Cid cursed and waved his arms angrily. Everyone turned to him in surprise. The pilot ignored them and glared at Cloud. "Again! Stop sayin' it like a wimp! Can't you say 'Move out!' or somethin'?" He crossed his arms huffily and tapped his foot.
Cloud scratched the back of his head. Beside him, Tifa put her hands over her mouth and giggled to herself. Eventually, Cloud sighed. "Move out!" he said, with as much might as he could muster, just to please Cid.
The pilot grinned, satisfied. The companions then moved forward. They were just about to jump down onto the first floating platform when a loud roar suddenly shook the cavern. They froze and looked up above them.
"What!" exclaimed Barret, his eyes widening.
The crater walls above them were crawling with monsters, dozens and dozens of them. They poured out in great numbers of the holes dotted along the wall, all of them heading in the same direction: down towards them. Parasites scrabbled down the walls with ease, climbing down the walls and over the other monsters. When she saw them Yuffie cringed, remembering the nest they had disturbed during their brief encounter with them in the caverns. Gighee stood on the edge of the pathways, rearing up and screeching loudly. Christophers, winged beasts, circled the air above them like vultures, waiting for the carnage to begin.
One of the walls crumbled and an Armoured Golem broke through, its large feet causing the paths to shake and quiver. Through another dark doorway the head of the Dark Dragon, now awakened from its slumber, slid out. Its eyes moved around until it saw the companions gathered below, and it roared. The sound of its roar startled the monsters, causing them to move away quickly. Even Pollensalta was there, perched on a ledge, glaring down at them with a wide smile on her face.
The companions stared in wide-eyed horror as the monsters began to swarm down the sides of the crater. Their intent was obvious: stop the companions before they could reach Sephiroth. The companions quickly gathered together, their hands on their weapons, ready to fight.
"Look at the number…" Red XIII breathed in disbelief. Never before had he seen so many monsters together in a single place. This was likely Sephiroth's doing.
"%#^!" exclaimed Cid. "They're comin' out in full force!" He spat in disgust.
Another wall, closer to them, crumbled and a second Armoured Golem stomped out. Parasites poured out of the hole like cockroaches, swarming the walls. They could hear their insect-like screeching, and could see their antennae twitching.
Barret raised his gun-arm and fired a single round at the rock just below the swarm. The Parasites scattered but quickly regrouped and continued heading towards them. "Cloud!" shouted Barret over his shoulder. "You go first!" He fired again.
Cloud shook his head. "I'm fighting here too."
"Shu'up!" the former resistance leader snapped. He fired another few rounds and the Parasites scattered again. "It won't do us no good wit' everyone back here!" Beside him, Vincent fired a warning shot at a King Behemoth. The monster took no heed and jumped down onto the next path.
"Barret's right," said Cid. Cloud turned to the pilot in surprise. Cid took his cigarette out of his mouth and hooked it behind his ear. He then turned to Cloud, giving him a stern, level stare. "You take two of us with you and go first," he told Cloud. "The rest'll catch up with ya later."
Tifa raised her fists. "Is this like a practice run before the real thing?" she asked.
Cait shook his head miserably. "Yeah, a major practice run…"
"Heh heh, I'm fine with that," said Yuffie. She drew both of her shuriken and added under her breath: "It's probably more fun than fighting Sephiroth down there."
"Hmm, this might be fun to pass the time," said Vincent, reloading his gun.
Red XIII crouched down low and bared his fangs. "They're coming!" he growled. "They're already on the floor next to us!"
"Cloud! Hurry up and make up your mind!"
Cloud looked around at his friends, torn. He knew they were right. If they wasted time up here, all they would do was exhaust themselves and then they would never reach Sephiroth. They had no other choice but to split up again: one group to stay behind and fend off the approaching monsters, and the other to go down and face Sephiroth. But who should stay behind and who should go? Of all the choices Cloud had ever made, this was the most difficult of them all.
Eventually, he made up his mind. "Tifa! Red XIII!" he called.
At his command, Tifa and Red XIII pulled back away from the group to join him. Tifa, he knew, would want to go all the way and face Sephiroth. Red XIII, however, would have great difficulty fighting here, on the narrow platforms. The hound would be of much better use down below, where there was room for him to move. He wanted to take Vincent as well, with his expert aim, but his skills would be more essential here. When Tifa and Red XIII pulled back, the others closed ranks on the walkway.
Cloud looked around at the friends who would be staying behind. "All of you!" he said. "Later!" He would not say goodbye—not here.
Barret did not turn. "Yeah, later," he replied. He, too, would not say goodbye. The man then raised his gun-arm and opened fire on the approaching monsters. In the first few rounds alone he took out several swarming Parasites, whose bodies came crashing down onto the rocks.
Yuffie gave an angry cry and stormed up the winding path, twirling her shuriken in her hands. She threw one and it went zipping up the crater walls, slicing through anything that got in its path. The others, too, began their assault.
While the monsters' attention was fixed on their friends, Cloud, Tifa and Red XIII turned and jumped down off the ledge onto the first floating platform. Without waiting or looking behind them, they leaped onto the next one. They moved quickly, heading from one platform to the next, heading further down the crater.
As they landed on the sixth platform they passed through an unseen barrier, and the atmosphere around them changed. The air became closed and thick, drowning out the sounds of the battle going on above them. Everything around them seemed to slow down, even their own movements, making it seem as though they were moving in slow motion.
Cloud stopped on the eighth platform and looked down at his hands. The air around them was shifting, pulsing with unseen energy. He could breathe easily through the closed air, but it left him feeling sick and light-headed. The swordsman turned to Tifa and Red XIII. They, too, had noticed this change in the air. Red XIII padded softly across the ground, testing his movements, while Tifa touched her throat anxiously. Cloud tried to speak to them, but the dense air dulled his words. Instead he gestured for them to carry on. The two nodded and followed him as he jumped down onto the next platform.
They hurried on, moving as quickly as they could through the dense atmosphere. They followed the platforms as they circled the mako pool, until at last they came to the very last one. The platform was large but covered only a tiny portion of the pool's surface, hovering above twenty metres above the pool. As they landed the strange force that held them during their descent disappeared and everything returned to normal, changing so suddenly that they lost their balance and fell forward onto the platform. They quickly climbed onto their feet and looked around.
The platform was made up of a number of square pillars that rose in uneven levels. It was quiet this far down the crater; they could hear nothing except for the movements of the Lifestream below. Clouds of steam rose from below, shrouding the platform in an unnatural glow. Cloud walked forward, his footsteps echoing loudly.
"Where are we…?" he asked aloud. His voice sounded hollow and surreal.
Before anyone could answer him, a loud and piercing shriek filled the air. Tifa put her hands over her ears. "What!" she cried.
Red XIII raised his head and sniffed the air. A foul scent filled his nostrils, and his ears dropped down low as he growled menacingly. Cloud followed the hound's gaze to the far end of the platform and cautiously walked towards it.
There was something rising up from beneath the Lifestream. The surface bubbled and swelled and then fell away in waves as the creature that had been hiding inside broke the surface and rose up swiftly. It moved so fast that Cloud did not have time to back away and he found himself suddenly staring into its face. His eyes widened.
"Jenova…!"
Indeed it was Jenova, but she looked entirely different. Before she had been a tall monster shrouded in folds of flesh, giant and terrifying. Now she was a giant, bloated ball. She had gorged on the Lifestream so that her body had become round and swollen. Flakes of petal-shaped flesh rose out around her head and over her body, rising and falling as she breathed.
The scariest thing of all was her face. That horrible face that was stretched out into an eternal scream. The sight of it reminded Cloud of Hojo in his Helletic form, his body twisted by Jenova's cells. That face, long and stretched, with eyes that were covered in a thin, fleshy film that stared unseeing into their hearts. They could feel her hate and her hunger through her eyes alone.
Cloud stared. This was the calamity in her truest form, bloated and gorged and always seeking more. Was she coming to protect her son? Or was she like the rest of the monsters, seeking only death and destruction? Cloud did not know exactly what this calamity was, but it was unlikely to be the former. Cloud reached behind him and drew his sword, held it out in front of him. He stepped back, slowly, and Jenova in turn inched forward onto the platform. Two long, vine-like tentacles reached up from just beneath her head and slammed onto the platform, pulling her along.
She stared at Cloud; mako dripped from her mouth. Then, suddenly, she attacked.
"It's coming!"
Jenova surged forward with surprising speed. Her two tentacles whipped out and struck Cloud before he had time to defend himself. One tentacle missed and hit the ground, but the other struck him hard across the face. The swordsman was thrown to the side and hit the ground hard. He rolled and lost his grip on his sword, which skidded across the platform.
The arms whipped again, this time heading for Tifa, who was running in for an attack. The young fighter expected the attack and quickly dodged and rolled out of the way, letting them sail past her before she got up and charged right up to Jenova's unguarded face.
Up close the calamity's face was even more terrifying—so terrifying that it almost made Tifa stop in her tracks. Almost. She mustered her courage and struck the calamity a devastating blow in her misshapen face. She could hear bones crack but Jenova seemed to be in no pain. The fighter drew back her other fist and struck again. More bones cracked, crushed beneath her might, but still the calamity did not react. The fighter struck again and again, delivering blow after blow, determined to keep the calamity from paying any attention to anything else.
Something wrapped around her waist and hoisted her into the air. Tifa cried out in alarm and tried to pry the tentacle away, but its grip was like iron and she could not budge it. Jenova lifted her high up and then threw her as easily as if she were but a small rock. Tifa landed hard on the edge of the platform. She rolled quickly away from the edge and pulled herself to her feet. Her vision swam, but she just shook her head and charged forward once again.
She passed Red XIII, who leaped over the thrashing tentacles as they sought to snatch him off the ground. The hound dived and latched onto the skin behind Jenova's 'petals'. He closed his jaws around the bulbous flesh and yanked hard. The flesh was thick and tasted bitter, but he managed to tear a large chunk of it open. As he did so a foul taste filled his mouth. Red XIII opened his eyes and saw a thick, green ooze seeping out of the skin, falling over his paws and face.
Hurriedly Red XIII released his hold and pulled back. The ooze was like glue and stuck to his face and fur. It had a heavy scent that made him dizzy, and though he had not swallowed any of it, Red XIII could already feel its poisonous effects trying to take hold. Red XIII shook his head, shaking off the venomous Bio oil. If he had held on any longer, he would have been in trouble.
Jenova raised her tentacles and crossed them over her head. She shrieked painfully and the hot flash of Ultima ripped its way across the platform. Cloud ran in front of Tifa and blocked the blast of light with his sword. The metal burned hot in his hands, singing his gloves, but he held on fast. Tifa clung onto his shirt, her eyes shut tight.
After a few moments Ultima's light faded. Cloud lowered his sword. Smoke rose from his burned gloves, and when Tifa opened her eyes she was horrified to see blood dripping where the leather had burned away entirely. Forgetting the danger Tifa ran in front of him and held closed her fingers around his hand. Her Cure materia glowed with a gentle light, and soothing steam rose from the wounds as they slowly healed.
Outraged by the interference, Jenova darted forward again. Cloud and Tifa parted quickly, ducking and diving out of the way as her tentacles came slamming down into the ground between them. One tentacle managed to grab Tifa around her waist again and sent her flying across the platform, slamming her into the ground.
The other tentacle reached for Cloud but he leaped over it and darted towards Tifa. He swung his sword and sliced through the tentacle holding her down. Jenova screeched in pain and brought her injured arm to her, cradling it. The severed tip flapped about like a fish out of water, and then became still. Despite the amount of Lifestream she had ingested, she was not invulnerable.
With Jenova's attention diverted, Red XIII called upon the Titan materia and summoned the great being onto the platform. Titan charged forward, his giant bulk causing the platform to shake with every step. He raised one gigantic fist and slammed it right into Jenova's face, striking with ten times more force than Tifa could ever hope to muster. The calamity was thrown back, green-black blood pouring from her left eye, crushed when Titan hit. The calamity landed with a thud, bounced like a ball, and then rolled to a stop. Her tentacles waved about in confusion.
As Titan returned to the materia from whence he had been summoned, Cloud ran forward. He thrust out his sword and shoved it right into Jenova's belly. The calamity shrieked in pain and anguish as the Buster Sword sliced through her, ripping organs apart. Blood spurted over the wound and drenched the blade, but Cloud was not done with her yet. He twisted the blade, pulling it vertical. He then began to pull it downward, intending to slice the calamity wide open.
Realising his intent, Jenova's uninjured tentacle whipped around and closed fast around his waist. It then slid up, winding around him. It pinned his arms to his sides, forcing him to release the Buster Sword. It moved upwards still and wound its way around his neck. The calamity lifted Cloud up into the air and began to squeeze.
"Cloud!" Tifa tried to run to him, but the wounded tentacle suddenly lashed out and struck her below her ribcage, flattening her once again. Red XIII, the only one able to move, dived and latched onto the arm. He started to yank but was forced to let go as more poisonous ooze seeped out of the calamity's pores. The hound turned to Jenova and growled warningly, but the calamity simply ignored him and carried on squeezing. The hound tried to draw her attention by casting a fireball, but it did nothing but slightly char her flesh.
Jenova continued to tighten her grip. Cloud coughed and choked, but suffocating him was not Jenova's objective. What she wanted was to snap the swordsman's neck clean in two. She tightened her grip further still, and there was a hint of a malicious smile on her malformed face as Cloud cried out.
A shot fired and ripped through the arm. It severed and Cloud dropped down onto the floor. Jenova cried out and curled her arm towards her. Cloud reached up and pulled the slackened arm away from his neck. He took deep lungfuls of air, too thankful to have air again to notice the shower of bullets that were raining over his head and driving Jenova back.
The swordsman wriggled free of the flapping tentacle and crawled over to Tifa. "Are you all right?" he asked her, his voice hoarse.
The fighter sat up. As she moved she winced and clutched at her ribs. She swallowed the pain and nodded. "Yes…" she said. Cloud touched her shoulder, but she just shook her head. She placed her hand over her chest, and the Cure materia glowed.
While Tifa worked to heal herself, Cloud finally looked up to see what had caused Jenova to cease her attack. To his amazement he saw Vincent standing on the platform above them. The gunman had his gun raised and was firing on Jenova. His shots struck the ground in front of her, forcing her back. The calamity screeched with each shot, cradling her injured arms to her. When she was far enough away Vincent jumped down, breaking through the barrier, and walked over to Cloud and Tifa.
"Vincent!" Cloud called, surprised. "What are you doing here? I thought you were with Barret and the others?"
Vincent stopped beside them and regarded Cloud calmly. "I thought you might need some help dealing with her. They can handle things." He looked down at Tifa, who was still holding her ribs.
"I'm all right," she said quickly, guessing his thoughts.
Vincent raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. He looked up over Cloud's shoulder. His eyes widened. "Cloud!" he shouted.
He pushed the swordsman aside and then quickly scooped Tifa up in his arms and leaped backwards, just as Jenova suddenly surged forward and slammed one of her arms onto the platform.
Even as he moved, Vincent was assessing the current situation. Red XIII was keeping his distance, trying to find an opening. Cloud's sword, he noted, was stuck in Jenova's underside. The blade was wedged in deep; she was badly wounded. Still, this was calamity from the skies. She would not go down easy.
Vincent gently lowered Tifa onto the floor. The fighter started to stand, but Vincent placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Stay there," he said. "Heal yourself first."
Tifa looked up at him defiantly, but then she sighed and sat back down. "All right," she said. She put her hand over her chest. She was in no position to argue.
Vincent left Tifa and rejoined Cloud, who stood nearby. Jenova watched him closely as he moved, her body turning slowly. She, too, was assessing the situation. Vincent looked over at Cloud. "Do you have a plan?" he asked.
Cloud shook his head. "It's fast," he replied. He looked down at his gauntlet, to the three balls of summon materia. "And there's not enough room for me to summon Bahamut." He looked at Vincent. "Odin?"
"Perhaps," said the gunman, giving it some thought. "Though there are other ways to use summon materia." He reloaded his gun and clicked the barrel shut. "But first, you need your sword back. I'll provide cover. You get your sword back."
Cloud nodded. It was as good a plan as any. Vincent raised his gun and ran forward, and Cloud ran close behind him. Vincent opened fire and then swerved sharply to the left. As he expected Jenova turned with him, shrieking in rage.
Cloud, meanwhile, swerved to the right and ran along Jenova's other side. The calamity whipped one of her arms around to strike at him, but Red XIII dived in and latched onto it, pinning it to the floor. Cloud jumped over the hound and ran in to where the Buster Sword was still sticking out of Jenova's gut. With one hard tug he yanked the blade out.
Jenova screamed in agony and swung her arm again even with Red XIII still attached to it. Cloud turned and ducked down, letting the arm sail over his head. It slammed into the ground, and Red XIII quickly reaffirmed his grip and pressed down on it with all his weight. The calamity tugged, but the hound had a firm hold; she could not move it. Jenova started to turn, but stopped as bullets ripped through her right-hand side. She turned her back on Cloud, and headed towards Vincent.
That was the moment Cloud was waiting for. He lunged and swung the sword in a tight upward strike. The blade cut a long, deep gash in Jenova's leathery body. The swordsman kept on moving, letting his momentum carry him forward. He struck again, this time in a downward arc, and cut another deep wound in Jenova's bulbous body. The calamity shuddered in struggled forward, trying to get out of the range of Cloud's blade.
Yet as she moved forward, Vincent opened fire, forcing her back. He ran along the outer edge of the platform, keeping out of range of Jenova's one remaining free arm. He paused to reload his gun and fired another set of rounds at the calamity. The calamity turned from him to focus on Cloud, who was her immediate threat as he cut numerous deep gashes into her side.
Vincent saw her arm whip round, and quickly he fired a shot at the point where her arm joined to her neck. The bullet ripped through the flesh, tearing through the muscle. The arm fell limp, useless, leaving Jenova defenceless. Realising this, the calamity pulled back, trying to move out of range of Cloud's blade.
But Cloud was far from finished. He whistled to Red XIII, who released Jenova's arm and ran over to join him. The two ran forward, Red XIII pulling ahead. The hound jumped and dug his claws into the calamity's back, getting a firm hold. Cloud then jumped and landed on the hound's shoulders, before he jumped again and landed on Jenova's top half.
The calamity turned about in confusion, bewildered by this sudden change in tactic. Cloud raised his sword over his head, intending to plunge it right into the calamity and end it right here.
Because you are… a puppet…
Cloud stopped. He hesitated. In that instant, Jenova's arm whipped up and swiped him from her back. The Buster Sword was wrenched from his grasp as the blow sent him flying back. The blade spun rapidly through the air before striking the ground, its tip embedded in the rock.
Cloud hit the ground near the Buster Sword. The swordsman rolled onto his back and stared up at the walls of mako that showered down the crater walls, and the floating platforms of rock that dotted the air. His vision then blurred as waves of dizziness overcame him, and everything blurred together into one giant, glowing green light.
Slowly, Cloud turned his head and looked up at the Buster Sword standing beside him. Unlike everything else, the image of the Buster Sword was perfectly clear. Cloud focused on it, as though seeing the blade for the first time. There were many scrapes and scratches along the wide metal blade now; worn from all the battles it had to endure. Cloud blinked. Had it always been like that? When had it started looking so… worn?
A piercing roar brought Cloud back to reality. The swordsman shook his head, clearing the fog, and rolled onto his front. He pushed himself to his knees and looked up. Ahead of him, his friends were still fighting. Tifa, now healed, had rejoined the battle and was calling his name. Red XIII had leaped onto the calamity's back and was attacking ferociously, biting and scratching. Vincent continued to run along the edge of the platform, firing his gun wherever he could find an opening. Jenova's body was drenched in blood, some of it their own.
As Cloud watched, Jenova opened her mouth and unleashed another wave of Ultima magic. Tifa flipped out of the way as the magic ripped through the ground, churning up the rock. It hit one of the giant boulders that bordered the platform. The boulder broke free and fell down into the Lifestream below, sinking beneath its surface.
His mind now clear, Cloud grabbed onto the hilt of the Buster Sword and pulled himself to his feet. His fingers lightly touched the blade, passing over the scratches. A puppet… Yes, he had been a puppet. Sephiroth had used him well, but no more. Sephiroth and Jenova would control him no longer. He would make his own choices now. And his first choice would be to end this battle now, and put an end to Jenova.
Cloud pulled the Buster Sword out of the rock. He held it ready before him. He took a breath, and then charged.
Jenova turned as she saw him coming, but it was too late. Cloud raised his sword above his head and leaped into the air. With an angry cry, he brought the blade down on Jenova's head.
The blade sliced cleanly through Jenova's neck, severing her head from her body. The calamity gave a strangled cry before her voice died out, and her head fell down onto the ground at Cloud's feet. The now beheaded body quivered, still struggling to hold onto life even as it seeped away. The arm made one last attempt as it reached, shakily, for Cloud, but fell limp as the life finally left it, dropping down onto the floor.
Cloud lowered his sword. He breathed heavily, his lungs aching. He watched as Jenova's body slowly lowered itself onto the ground. The life then left the rest of the body, and it sagged. With nothing left to hold it up, the body began to roll across the platform like a horrible, bloodied ball. It reached the end of the platform and rolled over the edge. It fell back into the Lifestream, landing with a loud splash. It bobbed like a cork for a second or two before sinking out of sight.
Silence fell upon the platform as those last few moments sank in. Cloud looked down to where Jenova's head lay. The head, too, was lifeless, but left a horrifying image in Cloud's mind. One eye was busted, stained with blood. The jaw was broken by repeated blows from Tifa and Titan. Cloud set his lips into a firm line and raised his sword again, intending to destroy this final remnant of the calamity from the skies.
A strong quake suddenly shook the platform, and Cloud stopped. He looked up in alarm as the platform began to break apart around him. The giant chunks of rock that surrounded the platform crumbled and fell down into the Lifestream below. The rising square pillars on which they stood separated, some of them falling down into the Lifestream while others floated upwards. He saw Red XIII leap back as the pillar he was standing on rose rapidly upwards. Cloud heard Tifa call his name, and he turned to run to her.
A bright light flashed, and the ground beneath his feet disappeared. The swordsman found himself falling, cool air rushing past his face. The bright light of the Lifestream rushed up to meet him. He fell into it, and he cried out as its burning light washed over him, swallowing him up entirely. He could not see the others, but he knew that they were there. He could feel their presence near him, and he felt energised with renewed courage. This was not the end.
The light faded. It turned into darkness, a darkness that Cloud remembered well from when he last fell into the Lifestream. He could feel its cool sensations pass over him, replacing the burning light. It wrapped around him like a cold blanket, gently smothering him. Cloud tried to fight against it, but he could not fight it for long. Slowly it began to win him over, yielding to its might.
Then… a light appeared. It was a small light, but it cut through the unending darkness, releasing Cloud from its hold. The swordsman looked into it. Though it was only a small light, trapped by the darkness, he could feel immense power pulsing within it, yearning to break free. Cloud's eyes widened.
"Li…ght…" he said. "A light… Is this… Is this light… Holy?"
Cloud headed towards that light. Before he could reach it, a harsher, brighter light flashed and took hold of him. It yanked him away, dragging him away from Holy.
To where it was taking him, Cloud had no idea.