Here you go, another chapter is on your way. This chapter and the next may contain spoilers for Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus.
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and the Final Fantasy series are Square's creation.
Chapter XV: Attack of the Tsviets
Yoran absentmindedly glanced out the window in his lair, pondering his move. Arlene silently approached, slightly board of constantly waiting"Do you have another assignment for me, yet?"
The man didn't turn"Not quite, I have yet to collect the last two Twilight Shards. I can leave the ones gathered by our enemies well enough alone. It pains me to deceive our opponents in such a dishonorable fashion, bit this is necessary."
"Careful, some of us may already know what a big softy you are. No wonder Weiss could be revolting against us, Xemnas was loads better at this leadership crap than you" smirked Arlene.
"You think so? I suppose you wouldn't mind testing me, then" smiled Yoran.
"I think I will pass. Oh, and does the name 'Questa' mean anything to you?" scathed Arlene.
A flash of pain passed through the man's eyes as he turned"Q-Questa? How do you know about her?"
"Rosso and Raines came up with some rather... juicy tidbits before the Cloud of Darkness got herself zapped. If I am not mistaken, this Questa person seems to know you" Arlene spoke.
"That doesn't concern you. And don't mention my past in front of anyone else, just go do something productive rather then trying to get inside my head" sighed Yoran as another flash of pain crossed his eyes.
"Very well, then" Arlene left the room towards the entrance hall of the mystery world with a smirk.
Yoran just stood there, rubbing his head as he composed himself'Are Arlene and Kuja toying with me? I hope not. Lingering Spirits are quite dangerous when provoked. They'd better leave Questa out of it. I will not let anyone touch her... If she's even out there, still.'
Sora's group returned to the Gummi Ship and made ready to take off. Luneth and Refia rejoined Arc and Ingus in the Pride of Sasune while Tidus' group went to their own small gummi vessel to go join Sora's in the Ragnarok II.
When they ran into each other on board, Tidus addressed them"Okay, here's the gist. Yuna and I had used a small ship for four passengers to reach Spira from Destiny Island. Hopefully it won't be too much trouble for us to help you kick some Chaos Warrior behind."
"Its great to have you along again, Tidus" grinned Sora.
"Okay, so we failed to collect two shards. Hopefully we'll have better luck" sighed Tifa.
A beeping signal suddenly ran throughout the ship's computers. Sora and the others rushed to the bridge to find Cid inspecting the source. Zidane addressed him"What's happening?"
"We got us an odd signal coming from the west" shrugged the blond engineer.
"Hm. Should we go check it out?" asked Tidus.
"Great idea" smiled Sora.
"All right, let's head on out" said Cid.
Sora went over to the pilot's seat and set a course to the west. On the Pride of Sasune, Arc took charge of the controls and followed the Ragnarok II where it was headed. They traveled only a short distance when they came upon a black vortex.
"Whoa, where does that go?" wondered Serenia.
"Who knows? Let's go in. Luneth, you ready?" Sora used the intercom to contact the silver-haired Cosmos Warrior.
Luneth grinned as he replied from his end"Ready when you are."
The two ships sped into the vortex, going at a high speed as they went. When they emerged on the other side, they could see a light blue circular mass in the new sector.
"Man, that never seems to get old" shrugged Sora.
"It sure dropped us off at another unknown world" grunted Cid.
Tifa went over to check the navigational screen"Huh, I think I just saw a slight orange dot there. Do you think there's a shard down there?"
Sora grinned"Probably not, but let's go check it out. Cloud, Tifa, are you coming this time?"
"Of course. How about it, Cloud?" acknowledged Tifa.
Cloud squared his shoulders"All right, let's move."
Serenia, Tyler, Tidus and Yuna went over to join them. The brunette summoner addressed them"So where do you think we'll wind up this time?"
"Beats me" shrugged Sora, going to use the intercom to contact Luneth.
The Onion Knight answered"Hey, what's up? Refia and I were about to go down there."
"Great, so are Serenia, Tyler, Tidus, Yuna, Cloud, Tifa and me. Can we meet you down there?" grinned Sora.
"Sure" piped Refia.
Sora's group went to the teleportation device and warped down. They landed in a large green field with a huge city up ahead.
"Huh? Hey, Cloud. I think this is our original homeworld" mussed Tifa.
"Midgar... I think we've been here" mussed the blond swordsman.
"Hm. No doubt. Hey, what's that over there?" Tifa spotted smoke coming out of the huge city, and over a dozen unknown soldiers charged at them. Sora braced himself.
"This doesn't look good" groaned the brunette Martial Artist.
"They may have numbers, but we have a few tricks up our sleeve" grinned Sora.
"Wait, look!" Yuna had looked behind her, over a dozen soldiers clad in blue raced to intercept the soldiers which were clad in black.
"Cloud. Its... Its the World Regenesis Organization" gasped Tifa, looking behind her.
"Deepground soldiers here, too. Huh? Why do we know those two groups?" gasped Cloud.
Sora shrugged"I'm guessing the guys in black uniforms are the bad guys."
"Try not to take out any of the WRO by mistake" pointed Tifa, charging at a Deepground soldier.
Cloud charged forward and cut down two Deepground soldiers before narrowly avoiding a bullet from another. Tifa attacked the soldier that attacked Cloud, while Sora struck at the remaining soldiers with his Rising Sun technique.
"Man, these guys are good" commented a WRO soldier, shooting one of the last Deepground soldiers.
"Thanks a lot" breathed Tifa.
Cloud heard his cellphone ring and answered, a voice spoke to him"Cloud? Is that you?"
"Yes, its me. But who am I addressing?" asked the blond swordsman.
The voice replied"Its me, Reeve, the Commissioner of the WRO. For some reason, you, Yuffie, Cid, and Tifa vanished from our world. We barely managed to fight off some of the Deepground soldiers with Vincent's help."
"Sorry for not being there, Reeve. What is Deepground after?" asked the swordsman.
Reeve replied over the phone"We found out Deepground is trying to trick the planet into unleashing Omega to destroy the world. Vincent, Red, Barrett and the majority of the WRO are fighting them over in Midgar. Can I ask you to go help them? Oh, and if you're wondering, someone called Cosmos said you may be here, and that a man with silver hair is also attacking. I suspect its Sephiroth, though I doubt it could've been since Sephiroth was destroyed three years ago."
"Sephiroth? All right, we'll be there, Reeve" Cloud hung up.
"What's going on?" asked Yuna.
Cloud shrugged"A friend of Tifa's, Yuffie's and mine, Vincent Valentine, is fighting the Deepground organization. They are after Omega, apparently. That could mean this world's end."
"So what are we waiting for?" Sora rushed ahead. Cloud and the others followed.
"That was a grave mistake on Weiss' part" mussed Caius.
Sephiroth, who materialized next to him, spoke"You want me to dispose the Tsviets?"
"I will dispatch Weiss, if the man in red and black doesn't get to him first. Cloud is yours to deal with" said Caius, grimly.
"Vincent Valentine... this should be somewhat entertaining. I will ambush Cloud if I can, he is in for a nasty surprise either way. Vincent should not be a threat to you" grinned Sephiroth, walking down the column they were on via the walkway.
Caius stood in place before warping somewhere else'Time to see how this unfolds.'
Sora and his group hurried onward, noticing the dead bodies of WRO agents and Deepground soldiers alike. Yuna spoke"How is it you remember this place when you and Cloud were from Radiant Garden, Tifa?"
"Alternate universe, I suppose. Cosmos may know, but I doubt she would tell us" said Cloud.
"Good to know what we're up against in this world, so what exactly is Deepground?" shrugged Sora.
"Supposedly, it was a secret unit built by the Shinra Company. It was hidden from the rest of the world three years ago in this dimension" replied Cloud.
"Deepground sounds scary" remarked Tyler.
They headed through Midgar, making to the upper levels of the city. Along the way, several Deepground soldiers ambushed them from the shadows and narrowly hit Cloud.
"Fira! Blizzara!" Tyler and Serenia's spells took down three soldiers, while Tifa bashed through the rest with a combination of Beat Rush, Somersault and Final Haven.
"Its a good bet we'll see Nero and his ilk" remarked Cloud, walking ahead.
Tidus squared his shoulders"Well, ready or not, here we come."
The group made their way up to the highest heights of Midgar via a wall with climbable vines and gears. At the very top, a large multi-floor building loomed in front of them. Cloud readied himself"Shinra Headquarters, if I recall. Shinra was a corrupt organization."
"Hey, you don't suppose we are linked to our original selves from this universe?" pondered Tifa.
Before Cloud could reply, Serenia pointed"Look!"
Up ahead, a man clad in red with dark hair and a gold gauntlet was shooting down some Deepground Soldiers before going in. Tifa rushed ahead to greet the man"Vincent!"
"Tifa, long time no see I suppose" said the man.
The brunette Keyblade Master approached"Hey, I'm Sora."
"I'm Serenia, and that's Tyler" said the teenage red-head, pointing to the shy blue-haired teen.
"Yo, I'm Tidus. Yuna, here is my wife" said the blond blitzer.
The man, who was holding a pistol in his hand, nodded"Pleasure, but this is no time for pleasantries." With that, he began to move on.
Yuna ran up to him"Wait, what's your name?"
The man stood in silence before replying"Vincent."
"Vincent, will you let us help you?" asked Cloud.
The gunner was about to protest, when Tifa interjected"I know what you're going to say. 'This is my problem, not yours. I must do it alone, blah, blah. I believe that is Cloud's line."
"Do whatever you want" said Vincent, walking ahead.
The others followed the gunman into the Shinra building to find it partly in ruins. Serenia gasped"What could have destroyed all this?"
"Meteor destroyed most of the upper levels, I think" shrugged Tifa.
The trek through was mostly uneventful as they walked, save for an occasional encounter with Deepground soldiers. As they ventured further in, a dark-haired woman in red approached with several Deepground Soldiers"You again, Sora. Well, now you will get a taste of the power of Rosso the Crimson. And Vincent, shame you and Shelke had to interfere."
"Shelke? Who is she?" wondered Serenia.
"A former Tsviets member, she turned against Deepground. I imagine that Nero the Sable is dealing with her right now" grinned Rosso, maliciously.
"Your heart has long turned to darkness... Hasn't it?" said Sora, sensing the malice in Rosso's words.
Rosso readied her blade"Enough talk, let's see just what you are capable of." With that, she converted it into a gun and fired bullets at the group. Sora quickly through up Reflect, deflecting the Crimson's attack. The Deepground soldiers in the area charged at them, firing away. Sora and Yuna kept reflecting as best they could while Cloud, Tifa and Tidus proceeded to counterattack.
"Its over" Vincent fired a bullet at Rosso, piercing her shoulder. The infuriated crimson warrior charged, slashing at Vincent. The red-clad man staggered and countered with a kick.
Sora cut down a Deepground soldier while Tifa smashed another. Tidus dodged round after round, toying with his opponent until he found the opportunity to stab the soldier in the chest.
Tyler and Serenia cast Fira and Thundara respectively at Rosso, who fired back with a round of bullets. Vincent recovered and shot Rosso in the chest. Staggering, Rosso tossed her blades, which whirled towards Vincent. The gunman barely dodged while Serenia cast Fira at Rosso. Rosso shot her guns again, only for Sora to quickly jump in front of Serenia and take the blow.
"Sora!" Yuna hurried to heal the keyblade master, while Tidus flipped forward and attempted to land a Spiral Cut attack on Rosso. The Crimson dodged and slashed at Tidus, who barely blocked with his sword.
Yuna healed Sora, who got up in time to intercept a couple of Deepground snipers who attempted to butt in using Reflect to deflect their bullets. They keyblade master then turned to witness the duel between Tidus and Rosso. Tidus was winning, but Rosso got so irritated that she tripped Tidus and tried to stab downward when Cloud darted forward and stabbed Rosso. The Crimson staggered back from the attack long enough for Sora to finish her with Strike Raid.
"That was it?" asked Yuna.
Rosso staggerd, clutching her wound"Very... Impressive, though I will not let you have the honor of killing me: Rosso the Crimson."
"Pathetic" a long sword struck from nowhere and finished Rosso off. Cloud glanced ahead to see Sephiroth emerging from the nearby corridor.
"Sephiroth, do you want to be next?" Tifa readied herself.
The Chaos warrior smirked"Not quite, there are three more Tsviets members for you to contend with. I am looking forward to see how you all fare, you who oppose Yoran in his grand scheme. Mind you that Caius and Kuja may have plans of their own."
Sora kept his keyblade ready"What do you mean?"
"Never you mind" replied Sephiroth, walking away and vanishing.
"Doubtless, it would've been foolish to face him so soon after fighting one of the Tsviets" remarked Vincent.
"Who are the other Tvsiets?" asked Serenia.
"I know of Nero the Sable and Azul the Cerulean. A girl, Shelke, was one of the Tsviets. She eventually betrayed Deepground not long after reuniting with her sister, who is nearly dead" said Vincent, grimly.
"The third one is Weiss, isn't it? Just call it a hunch" shrugged Sora.
Vincent shrugged and led the way further down the hidden tunnels and passageways.
Sephiroth walked down a different passageway when he met up with the Mad Mage"Yo Sephiroth, are you going to hog all of the fun?"
"Kefka, aren't you supposed to be witnessing what is going on in the dimension where Chaos has lost control of himself and gone feral?" frowned the silver-haired swordsman.
"Aw, what's the fun in that? All right then, I will wait back at the secluded castle. The activity here should prove quite amusing, however. Especially if it looks like you're marching towards your doom" cackled Kefka.
Sephiroth shrugged and kept on walking'Once Rosso, Nero and Azul have been dealt with, I will eliminate Cloud and Weiss at the same time. Vincent and Tifa will not be spared, either. Caius was correct about this, Sanhille could not predict Weiss' betrayal.'
Sora's group pressed on, fighting off more Deepground Soldiers as they headed for an elevator. Upon reaching it, the sight of a large man with dark blue hair greeted them"Hail Weiss" he whispered to himself.
"Is that-?" Tifa trailed off.
"Azul" Vincent readied himself.
Azul stood there, a dark aura emitting from him. Sora recognized the symptoms, the man before them was becoming a Heartless. A moment passed before the man's body began to transform into a giant beast resembling a large Behemoth/Bahamut hybrid.
"Are the Tsviets evil from the beginning?" paled Serenia.
Vincent got in front"He's about to charge."
Arch Azul roared and charged, ramming Vincent and Sora before casting a spell at the group. Yuna cast Curaga on her allies while Arch Azul trampled towards Sora. The Keybearer jumped aside and slashed at the monster's side. Arch Azul spun around, knocking Sora into the wall before charging at Vincent. The gunman dodged and shot a flammable can not far from the elevator. The blast stunned Azul enough for Serenia and Tyler to blast him with a spell.
"This guy looks tough" commented Tidus, administering a potion on Sora.
"Bladebeam!" Cloud unleashed a magic beam attack, which caused Arch Azul to stagger a bit before charging at Cloud with its horns and swinging its tail at the rest of the group.
"Okay, that's it" Tidus pulled out his Blitzball, bounced it into the air before back flipping into the air and kicking the blitzball right into Azul's face. Vincent, Serenia and Tyler pelted the huge monster with spells.
"Time to end this" Sora charged forward, unleashing a series of strikes with his keyblade and stabbing Azul. The blow stunned the huge monster enough for Vincent to transform into a Galleon Beast and pound the living daylights out of Arch Azul before blasting it with a tremendous flare attack.
Arch Azul began to disappear in a shower of sparks before reverting back into human form, staggering before them. Vincent charged, grabbed Azul while still in his beast form and hurled him towards the elevator shaft. In his weakened state, Azul fell to his death.
"Scratch one behemoth" remarked Tidus, putting away his weapon.
"Too bad he didn't stand a chance" smirked Tifa.
Yuna and Sora healed their companions before they went to take the elevator deeper into the lair of Deepground. Vincent transformed back into his human form before following.
Caius spied on the situation from the shadows"So they have bested two of the most powerful warriors of Deepground, which Yoran said the Tsviets are. Major miscalculation on his part, I presume."
"Indeed" Sephiroth approached"Cloud and his friends are nearing the last two traitors of Yoran's organization."
"Excellent. I need not interfere after all" grimaced Caius.
Here you go, I hope this chapter wasn't too bad. Despite the chapter title, I'll leave a cliffhanger here and wrap the 'Deepground' section of the fic up in another chapter. Sorry if this seems a bit rushed, Dirge of Cerberus wasn't exactly the best game I played, but it was still good.
Please feel free to review.