Chapter 27-Walls Closing In
The stairs leading from the boulder trap wound into the darkness, meandering in a violet-lit tunnel until they opened on a vast circular chamber. Shaped much like an enormous grain silo, its upper and lower limits vanished into dark obscurity. Twelve arched passages ringed the room and above each stone arch were the numbers one to twelve like the numbers on an analog clock. To further the resemblance, massive stone hands hovered at ground level. The minute and hour hand remained in place, while the second hand ticked around the clock its sound ominously echoing off the rough stone walls.
"It's a clock," Yuffie huffed, breaking the silence. She tilted her head up to Zack and asked, "Any interesting theories about this one?" Gaping at the anachronism with wide eyes and dropped jaw, Zack just shook his head.
"Fascinating that the numerals match the ones we are familiar with," Red XIII mused peering at the slightly archaic but still recognizable Roman numerals above the doors.
Cid huffed and rolled his head, cracking his neck, "Maybe the fella who 'invented' clocks stole the idea from the ancients?" He shrugged, "I ain't gonna say he got it from here though, cause any idiot crazy enough to make it this far probably wasn't too interested in somethin' borin' like makin' clocks."
The narrow minute hand stretched from their feet to the periwinkle hub. The center bulged up and a mouth opened and in a nasally voice declared, "This is the room of time! Wave your arm in whichever direction you want time to go. Point down when you've reached your desired destination." Message delivered, the toothy mouth opened and closed mechanically but said no more.
Aerith grimaced, shifting closer to Zack and he wrapped his left arm around her shoulders to draw her closer. Shuddering while she narrowed her eyes at the clock's 'face' she muttered, "I never thought I'd say it, but this clock is freaky." Tifa nodded her agreement and then grimaced to Cloud silently pleading for him to do or say something.
He sighed, shoulders slumping for just a moment before he sucked in a fortifying breath and stepped forward. He pointed his arm to the left and the minute hand obligingly moved forward, emitting the amplified sound of ticking mechanics despite no sign of any actual mechanics. When the hands aligned so they could travel to the center and then the first room, Cloud pointed down. "It is time," the guardian attempted to intone, but the slightly whining tone of voice lacked severity. A green light bathed the room and the face sunk back into the center square.
"I advise we stay wary of the second hand," Vincent warned before Cloud stepped out onto the waiting minute hand. The second hand continued ticking around the chamber, unaffected by the manipulation of the larger hands.
He stepped back belatedly noticing the hand's approach. "Thanks Vincent, I was so focused on setting the time I forgot about it." When it safely passed, Cloud crossed to the center. He hesitated, not really wanting to step on the creepy guardian's face. His cautious step on the raised platform ended up his salvation as it wobbled beneath his exploratory foot. "Watch out when you reach the center guys," he called back, carefully balancing on the center before the second hand could sweep his feet from beneath him. The center rocked and rotated a few degrees beneath him then settled.
"Aw man, that's gonna suck," Yuffie muttered lowly while Cloud finished the trip to the selected archway.
One by one they made the perilous trip across, Aerith decided to be kind about the cursing Barret and Cid let slip when they reached the precarious center perch. (She refused to admit it was because she hissed her own vulgarity at that point, and the men were wise enough not to return the favor.)
Once they were all safely in the tunnel, they followed the golden light at its end to a rectangular chamber. Two more of the strange, eternally burning torches book-ended a small raised platform with a chest. The rather ominous presentation distracted them from instantly realizing the room was occupied.
A tall woman with honey gold hair and luscious curves slunk out of a darkened corner. A pair of Toxic frogs flanked her, their slick, violet skin gleaming despite the pervasive dust in the temple. The sweetheart neckline of her canary-yellow, one-piece bathing suit barely contained her breasts. She walked with a swaying bounce that drew attention to them.
She regarded Zack and Cloud with heavy lidded eyes and hummed, "I've been waiting for you. My name is Jemnezmy, and you're now mine." She kissed the first two fingers of her right hand and flicked them towards the party. Instantly all the males relaxed, swaying on their feet. Even Cait Sith and Red XIII visibly drooped where they stood, awareness lowered.
Tifa, Aerith, and Yuffie gaped at the men in shock and momentary confusion. "Oh heck no!" Aerith snarled, understanding hitting when the woman stroked Zack's cheek possessively. Punting one of the frogs viciously out of the way, she swung at the woman with her Aurora Rod.
Jemnezmy shrieked, narrowly avoiding the blow and hissed at the three women, raising a rime of frost on their skin and hair. Aerith shuddered in the cold but spat, "Oh, you think a little cold is going to stop me? I only just got him back and I am not losing him to a freak like you!"
Tifa and Yuffie backed up and exchanged worried looks. Aerith hadn't been hit with Fury lately but….
The young Cetra yanked the mastered Poison materia from Zack's sword, triggering it in her bare hand. She cried, "My turn, eat toxic waste!"
Viscous globs of green and violet toxic waste engulfed the woman, plastering her perfect hair to her back and staining her pristine skin and clothes. Jemnezmy wailed, instantly dissolving back into the Lifestream.
The moment she screamed, the male party members shook their heads and the lethargy abandoned them. Zack grimaced down at Aerith and grabbed her hand rubbing it over the cheek the monster woman stroked as if to erase the unwanted touch.
"Damn," Barret breathed, gaping at the still seething young woman. "I didn't know you could use materia without a bracer or a weapon to channel it."
"I did," Vincent admitted, watching the young woman with a new respect. "However, it takes extremely good control of materia and a strong will."
While the other rooms were inhabited by various guardians and monsters, thankfully there were no more nasty surprises like Jemnezmy. In recognition of her work in pulling them out of her spell and whatever she planned for them, Cloud gave her the Ribbon they found with no complaint from the others.
That wasn't to say there wasn't an outpouring of envy the first time she shrugged off an attempt from a Toxic Fog to turn her into a frog and poison her.
Cloud felt a twinge of jealousy, his White Cape didn't shield from poison. "I want one," he muttered enviously.
"Even though it's a girly pink ribbon?" Cid asked with a faint snort.
Cloud gave him a flat look and deadpanned, "You're looking at the man who wore a shimmery white cape across three continents because he didn't want to get shrunk or turned into a frog again. Do you really think a little scrap of pink is going to bother me?"
Cid snorted and then nodded, "Ya' got me there."
"Besides," Zack interjected philosophically as he flexed his no longer webbed fingers around the disintegrating Remedy pouch, "there's no rule that you have to tie it in a bow in your hair."
"I suppose one wouldn't be poorly taken woven into one of my braids," Red XIII mused.
"Or tied around an arm," Cloud added.
Vincent shook his head, "Musing aside, we have merely one and need to press onward."
"You're right," Aerith agreed, glad to have the focus taken from the covetous discussion of her new favorite accessory.
The twelfth door was sealed and Cloud saved the sixth for last. Instead of a tiny room or collapsed chamber, this doorway led to a three tiered, rough hewn chamber of brown stone. While they couldn't see the far wall of the chamber, it didn't seem as vast as the labyrinth room since the air hung thick around them and their noises were muted as if the chamber was smaller than they could actually perceive. Peering over the edge, Cloud could see the faint shadows of multiple openings in the walls.
An elaborate door flanked by twin columns stood between the doorway they just entered and another rough tunnel. Twisting golden designs wove across the faded teal of the double doors. A robed Ancient manipulated the portals, the sound of locking mechanisms engaging ringing out in the breathy silence of the hall.
Without a word he bounced away from the doors and vanished into the tunnel on the far end of the chamber. Desperately hoping it wasn't what it seemed, Aerith skipped up the short flight of stairs to tug the handles.
The doors didn't even rattle with her attempt. "No good," she sighed, shaking her head. Creases formed between her brows and her lips pulled into a pout. "I think we're going to have to catch it."
"Other than their healin' these purple guys ain't bein' much help," Barret grumbled. He kicked a small pebble off the edge, it clacked once against the floor of the third level then over the edge, as if on a signal, they all paused to listen for another clatter that didn't come. He grimaced, meeting Cloud and Zack's somber looks.
Trying to pull her mind off a bottomless drop, Tifa shrugged and advocated, "They are supposed to guard whatever weapon is hiding here. They're technically only doing their job."
"I wish they'd done a better job keepin' Sephiroth out," Cid mused, shaking his head. "But judgin' from what we saw back in that hallucination, he's gone so far off the deep end he's toastin' his toes in hell."
"I suppose it's too much to hope that doorway isn't the way we need to go," Zack asked, a distinct lack of hope in his tone.
Cloud shook his head slowly and then peered over the edge in the dimly lit room. The tawny brown stone was covered in irregular ridges and lumps making it look like rain-soggy cardboard. He silently counted and then nodded his head, decision made. "There are eight doorways down there and nine of us," Cloud explained motioning to the area below with a jerk of his thumb. "Though I suspect the Ancient isn't going to leave the area I don't want to take any chances. One of us should stay up here to guard the doorway while the others each take a doorway."
"Why do ya' think we'll all need a doorway?" Barret asked, brow furrowed in confusion.
Vincent tilted his head to the side and answered before Cloud could, "Considering the obstacles we've already encountered, it isn't too outrageous to suspect the tunnels don't travel in a sensible manner."
Yuffie winced, "Ugh, no kidding. As for guarding this door, I call 'not it'!"
Cloud snorted in brief amusement and then flicked his gaze over the rest of the party members before nodding once. "Sorry Cait Sith, but you're the slowest so why don't you stay here in case the Ancient tries to come your way."
Cait Sith slumped and shook his head sadly, "Aye laddie, afraid you're right there." He perked up and saluted, "But I'll do my duty to the best of my ability!"
"Right," Cloud turned from the mechanical cat and pointed to Aerith, "I want you to take the pathway Cait Sith is guarding so we know the way out. The rest of us will jump off the ledges to our respective doorways and give chase as needed."
"Okay," Aerith nodded, visibly relieved that she wouldn't have to jump off the ledges.
"Kinda wish I hadn't kicked that rock now," Barret muttered while he gingerly lowered himself to the second level.
"'Ya ain't the only one," Cid grumbled, dropping the last few feet with a hastily censored curse.
Yuffie rolled her eyes and teased, "Don't worry you boring geezers, we wouldn't want you breaking a hip falling farther than this. I'm pretty sure Cloud, Zack, Vinny and I can handle the last floor."
Vincent stiffened and repeated, "'Vinny'?" The young woman giggled and instead of responding to the implied question jumped down with a whoop of glee.
"Thanks for volunteering us!" Zack called down with a half hearted grumble before he calmly stepped off the ledge to follow her.
Vincent peered over the edge down at the young woman who hopped around trying to avoid Zack's noogie attempts. Cloud shook his head and huffed, "You'd better go down before she decides to group you with the 'geezers'," Cloud warned before timing his jump to land on Zack.
"Traitor! I thought we were friends!" Zack attempted to bellow but he couldn't quite manage to sound wounded with half his words choked off with laughter.
"I suppose this group is the children then?" Vincent sighed from behind Yuffie, startling her into choking on her giggles. "Children needing a chaperone that is."
Cloud hid a grin at Zack and Yuffie's near identical pouts. Pouts which only deepened when the blond opened a chest they hadn't noticed and pocketed a pair of work gloves with a small snort. "Come on, pick a passageway," he huffed waving them off.
Once they arranged themselves in front of their doorways, Zack called up, "Alright Aerith, come on down!"
"Here I come!" she replied and took the passageway Cait Sith guarded. The purple cloaked Ancient emerged straight into Cid's grasp.
The loud sound of a mechanism triggering sounded and the Ancient rocked back and forth sadly with its defeat. "Well that was easy," the pilot chuckled scratching the back of his head.
"The 'fun' part will be getting us all back together," Cloud warned darkly.
Stepping around the purple robed ancient Cid cackled, "Don't be silly, all I gotta do is go back through the door he came outta' and," he stepped a few steps into the darkness and emerged facing the bemused Red XIII. "...the hell?"
"Woah, this is so weird!" Yuffie breathed when Aerith popped out of her tunnel. "I gotta try it!" She dashed into her tunnel full speed and crashed into Zack when she popped out. She turned back around and narrowly avoided colliding with Tifa this time.
Cloud rolled his eyes and walked to the farthest tunnel from him, Aerith and Vincent close behind. They emerged on the top level and Cloud called down, "Guys, I know you're having fun but we need to get going." He called out directions on which door to go through and most of them obeyed.
"I can make my own way!" Zack called when Cloud tried to point a path out for him. As a result, it took him a few tries to make his way back to the top, the passages seeming to alter when he used them. "Poor Zack," Aerith giggled, reaching up to smooth the pouting man's spiky black hair. His pout eased slightly and he leaned into her hand, humming in pleasure.
"Ugh, save the mush for later," Yuffie huffed in mock disgust, but not before snapping a few pictures with her PHS for later blackmail. The former SOLDIER rolled his eyes but straightened up and settled his expression into a more serious look.
All throughout the temple, it seemed the proportions of space were pushed to their limits. Most of the chambers' true dimensions unclear. The mural room was no exception. While it appeared ten feet wide and one hundred feet long, the amber light of the staggered torches failed to reveal a ceiling. Rather than entering a chamber, it felt more like following a box canyon.
"Cloud," Red XIII called, pulling the blond's attention back down. He tilted his muzzle to drying splatters of blood on the floor.
"Tseng…" Aerith whimpered, the skin around her eyes tightening as they followed the trail of blood.
"Why the he-ck didn't we see any blood before?" Cid wondered, stumbling over his self-censored curse.
"He probably used an exit materia," Cloud mused, stepping around the blood to study the ancient mural.
"A simple enough explanation," Vincent agreed, "But how did Sephiroth enter without the keystone?"
Yuffie shuddered and whimpered, "He's a ghost, he can go through walls."
Vincent tilted his head and looked down at the suddenly pale girl, one brow raised higher than the other in silent disbelief.
Ignoring their conversation, Cloud narrowed his eyes at the first picture facing them. While he couldn't read the writings, pictures tell their own tales and the current one filled him with a sense of foreboding. The strange diamond shape prominent in the mural where Tseng was attacked was in the center of the silhouette of the temple.
"That is the place," Aerith breathed, recognizing the figures on the wall and spying a splash of crimson of the ground further down the chamber.
Zack scowled and shouted, "Where are you Sephiroth?"
The instant the words left his mouth, a sharp spike of pain struck Cloud's head and his pulse throbbed loudly in his ears. Noises of shock from the others forced his eyes open to see Sephiroth crouched as if he'd landed from above. His form wavered and danced, doubling in Cloud's vision as another spike of pain lanced through his head. Masamune's naked blade flashed in the the amber light of the flaming basins along the walls.
Sephiroth lifted his arms and rose from his crouch. He kept rising until he drifted a few feet in the air. "I'm hurt," he replied in a mocking tone. "Remember, I'm always by your side. Come," he commanded, his image flickering as he leaped in the air to land further down the corridor.
Careless of the drying puddle of blood beneath his feet, Sephiroth stood before the image of the diamond shape floating above an altar with figures seeming to worship or manipulate it. He folded his arms careless of the naked edge of Masamune in his hand and peered at the image. "Splendid," he murmured, flicking his gaze from the painting to Cloud and Zack. "This truly is a treasure house of knowledge," he drawled, a faint smirk on his face as he repeated what he'd said to Tseng.
"What in the blue blazes is that supposed ta' mean?" Cid interjected. Sephiroth flicked a disinterested look at the pilot before returning his attention to Cloud and Zack. He threw his head back and laughed, taking another flying leap further into the room.
"Hell man, is this guy part frog?" Barret muttered from the rear of the group as Cloud and Zack dashed to the next image where the former general waited.
"Don't let Zack hear that, he might get ideas," Tifa whispered, cracking a weak smile despite the anxious situation.
"Look well," Sephiroth intoned, gesturing to the image of a figure wielding the diamond and a strange circular shape angling from above.
"What is it supposed to be?" Cloud asked, brows furrowed with the effort of thinking through continuous pulses of pain.
"The fragments of knowledge are there, if you open your eyes to them," Sephiroth replied with a smirk before raising his arms as he did in the vision and proclaiming, "I am becoming one with the Planet."
The spike of pain centered behind Cloud's left eye at this proclamation, like some sinister creature struggled to escape his skull though the socket. Sephiroth turned and locked his eyes with Cloud, the throbbing intensified when the silver-haired man threw his shoulders back and laughed. The blond squeezed his eyes shut, the momentary agony fading slightly. When he opened them, Sephiroth was yet another distance inside the room, sitting on the ground and leaning against a stone altar at the end of the hall.
The man's voice echoed in the chamber and inside Cloud's head, "Mother… it's almost time…
Soon we will become one."
"It's the end of the line Sephiroth," Zack declared while the others arranged themselves in the corridor around him.
Sephiroth carefully climbed to his feet and Aerith demanded, "What do you mean when you say you're going to become one with the planet? You're already part of the planet. Are you planning to kill yourself?"
Masamune made a heavy humming sound as Sephiroth gestured wildly with it as he spoke, "It is simple, but I'll explain so even fools like you can understand it."
Cid growled when the silver haired man shot a look his way and continued, "When the Planet is hurt it sends Spirit Energy to the wound to heal it, much like your frail human bodies." He turned to address Zack and grinned, "The amount of energy gathered depends on the size of the injury."
He waved his sword wildly and then changed his grip to stab it two-handed into the stone floor. Zack and Cloud winced at the mistreatment of the blade. "What would happen," Sephiroth mused, ignoring their reactions in favor of continuing his explanation. "If there was an injury that threatened the very life of the Planet? Think how much energy would be gathered!"
His eyes gleamed and he pulled Masamune free. He threw his head back and cackled, "And at the center of that injury will be me. All that boundless energy will be mine." The fingers of his empty hand curled into a fist as though he were grasping something from the air and squeezing the life from it.
"By merging with the energy of the Planet, I will become a new lifeform, a new existence." His voice rose in intensity and he shouted, "I will cease to be as I am now, only to be reborn as a god to rule over every soul!" He laughed again, the mad laughter of the insane.
Aerith shook her head in disbelief. "Injure the Planet… but how would you manage something of that magnitude?"
Sephiroth's form flickered with a strange inner light and wavered as though seen through heat waves. "Look at that mural and behold the ultimate destructive magic, Meteor."
In the last mural, the worshipers from the previous murals writhed among flames.
"Like hell we'll let that happen!" Cloud snarled, the pulsing in his ears changing to a high pitched whine. Everything was too bright, he could barely made out the form of Sephiroth tensing and leaping towards and then through him.
"I told you he was a ghost!" Yuffie yelped when the figure passed them and Cloud swayed dangerously on his feet. He blinked and then looked around wildly, calling for Sephiroth. He ran past Cait Sith and Red XIII, nearly treading on the latter's tail as he jogged by.
Fortunately, Cloud didn't go far. When he reached the mural of the gigantic circle crashing to ground, an image they now realized was the horrific precursor to the scene of fire.
Cloud chuckled, realizing now what Sephiroth had meant about the knowledge being there. His pulse thundered in his ears and for some reason instead of worrying him, it made him laugh harder. Distantly he thought he heard Tifa ask him what he was doing and he felt torn. Part of him shrugged, just as confused as she was, while a darker, strange part of him answered in between laughs, "Black Materia… Call Meteor."
"Cloud get a hold of yourself!" Aerith cried, her voice trembling with worry.
"Wake up!" Zack's voice echoed in his head fighting through the haze in his mind.
The peals of laughter petered off and his vision returned, reawakening the agonizing pain in his skull. He clutched his temples and gritted out, "Cloud, I'm Cloud!" He shook his head, struggling against whatever strange power gripped him, clinging to the worried voices of the others. The thunder of his pulse dimmed and the pain faded, finally allowing him to think clearly.
Blue eyes hazy with pain, he leaned against the mural and looked from Tifa, to Zack, to Aerith and groaned, "I'm okay, I found my way back."
Within seconds, his breathing regulated and his eyes cleared only to blink in confusion at the apprehensive gazes of the rest of the party. "Cloud, are you okay?" Yuffie asked hesitantly.
The dark presence in the back of his mind whispered, 'You're a SOLDIER first. You are strong. There is nothing wrong with you, show no weakness and they'll see none.'
"But I'm not…" Cloud whispered and then shook his head, both to shake away the voice and respond to the question. "There isn't time to discuss this now, where is Sephiroth?"
Vincent shook his head, narrowing his eyes momentarily at Yuffie and replied, "He disappeared after flying through you."
"Which was damn creepy," Cid interjected. "Maybe the kid's right and he really is a ghost?"
"His blade is real enough," Cait Sith replied, reminding them of the wounds on Tseng.
Cloud shook his head with a faint flicker of a smile and then explained, "Even so, if I understood his plans then this is what he intends…." He trailed off and pointed to the mural of the falling orb.
Aerith stepped closer to the wall, studying the image in the flickering torchlight. "I think you're right. That diamond shape must be the Black materia and that must be Meteor."
"Somethin' tells me it's a bit different from Cloud's Limit break," Cid muttered to Barret, only half joking.
Aerith's eyes grew distant as the temple communicated something to her. After a moment she turned away and nodded in affirmation. "This is showing the Ultimate Destructive Magic, Meteor. It finds small drifting planets with its magic and then forces a collision."
"Planets?" Barret yelped in horror. "But somethin' like that would kill everyone!"
"Maybe even the planet itself," Aerith agreed grimly.
Red XIII tilted his head in confusion and pondered, "My Grandfather taught that all materia comes from the Planet. Why would the Planet form a materia that would kill it?"
'Not from nasty Planet. Mine. Is mine!' the Voice hissed angrily. Cloud flinched but before he could share the strange revelation with the others, the corridor shook violently. Just as the rumbles abated, a creature's thunderous roar sounded from above.
"Is it Sephiroth?" Tifa asked while she widened her stance to fight whatever enemy was upon them.
"Ha ha… It's not me…" Sephiroth mockingly replied from somewhere in the vast ceiling's darkness seconds before a crimson dragon dropped from above. Acting quickly, Aerith and Zack used their Big Guard Enemy Skill to shield the party from its attack.
"Where the hell did this thing come from!" Cid groused, flinching behind the Big Guard shield while flames roared around him. When the fire abated, his Counter Attack materia launched him in the air, lashing out at the reptile in retaliation.
Shocking as its appearance was, the Red Dragon wasn't terribly stronger than the Dragons they encountered in the Nibel Mountains. Cloud attempted to use the Morph materia to no effect. Yuffie shook her head in disappointment before pelting the confused beast in the eye with a stuffed moogle.
The distraction worked perfectly to give Aerith time to summon Shiva who finished the beast off with one blow of her icy magic. Still disgusted by the thought of dropped gil being the corpses of monsters, Yuffie didn't leap on the crimson orb and Dragon Armlet left behind among the gil. "Very nice," Cloud mused, turning the armlet over in his hands. "We'll have to decide who gets this later. In the meantime, here Vincent." He handed the red cloaked man the Bahamut summon materia.
Vincent nodded once and placed the gleaming orb in an empty materia slot. Squashing down her pout, Yuffie asked, "Is Sephiroth still around?"
"I don't think so," Zack replied, shaking his head.
Tifa looked up from where the dragon fell, slightly regretting there weren't more so they could get a good supply of Dragon Armlets. Her eyes widened. "Guys! Look at the altar!" she cried, pointing to the far end of the chamber.
Something strange hovered over the stone table. Wary of Sephiroth's unknown location and tendency to drop unannounced from above, they returned to the stone slab.
Distracted by his pain, Sephiroth, and the man's insane plan, Cloud hadn't taken the time to study the altar at the end of the mural room. A stone tablet engraved with Ancient writing adorned the wall behind the pedestal. A miniature image of the temple bobbed over the stone altar. He frowned, none of the others seemed disturbed by the strange apparition, was he the only one seeing it? Or in his haze of pain and confusion had he been the only one to miss it?
Aerith struggled to interpret the faded writing, murmuring words and phrases, none of them really making sense until she muttered, "...dark star seed…"
"Wait lass," Cait Sith interjected, perking up. "Do you think that might mean the Black Materia?"
Aerith blinked, pulling her focus from struggling to remember the language her mother hadn't finished teaching her and blinked dumbly before humming, "I think you might be right."
Zack circled the altar and frowned at the bouncing image before asking Cloud, "What do you think? Something tells me if it were as simple as grabbing this thing, Sephiroth would have already left with it."
Cloud grimaced, "Very true. Unfortunately we've got to at least try to figure out what it is." He extended his hand to grab the object and the whole building shook, much like when the dragon attacked. Cloud wrenched his hand away and the trembling instantly ceased.
"Huh, guess we know why the buildin' shook back then," Cid mused after regaining his balance.
"I'd better ask," Aerith sighed, sending her question mentally to the Ancient spirits filling the building. A faint pink glow surrounded her as she spoke to the air. A few times she'd murmur in surprise or ask for clarification. Finally she thanked the spirits and turned back to pass on what she'd learned.
"They said this whole building is the Black Materia," she informed them.
"This gigantic friggin' buildin's the materia?" Barret repeated in shock.
Cid snorted and dusted his hands against each other. "Welp, that's that. Ain't no chance Sephiroth's carryin' this away. Looks like our job here's done."
Aerith shook her head sadly and continued, "I'm afraid that's not all. This is a model of the temple." She waved her hand to indicate the floating pyramid shape. "There's some sort of mechanism inside of it that shrinks the model each time you solve one of its puzzles. As the model shrinks, so does the actual temple. It shrinks until the temple is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, like a normal materia."
"So if we solve the puzzle we'll be able to take the Black Materia?" Yuffie asked, eyes gleaming at adding an exotic materia to her collection, even if she never intended to use it.
Aerith nodded, but didn't return the smile. "There's just one catch though," she said quietly, clasping her hands behind her back and hanging her head. "The puzzles can only be solved from here."
"And the person solving the puzzle…" Zack's voice trailed off, his expression falling into grim lines.
"And the person solving the puzzle will be crushed by the temple," she continued, confirming his fears.
"I see," Cloud said quietly. His stomach churned at the thought of sacrificing any of them just to get an object none of them wanted.
Tifa rested a hand on his shoulder and said, "I suppose it makes sense, the Ancients didn't want such dangerous magic to be easily accessible. That's why we had to pass through all those traps and obstacles. Anyone who made it through those would find they'd have to die to make the materia a size someone could use or transport."
Barret folded his arms and jerked his head to the display and huffed, "So's that mean it's safe here?"
Cloud and Zack shook their heads at the same time. "Leaving it here isn't a safe option," Zack explained, a flicker of pain in his expression. "If Sephiroth's powers are anything like… like those of someone else I once knew, he has plenty of mindless drones he can sacrifice to get the materia."
"We can't leave it here," Cloud mused, "but we can't just sacrifice one of us either."
"Sure you can," Cait Sith piped up. Cloud flinched and the robotic quickly explained, "You can use me. I'd be happy sacrificing this stuffed body if it meant saving the Planet." Cait Sith's mog pounded its stuffed torso.
"But…" Aerith stammered, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
"Ach lass," he soothed. "Ye know it's the only way of doing it without someone else getting killed. Let me do this."
Aerith's lower lip quivered, what he said made sense but it felt like a betrayal. Though his brow was creased with a seemingly permanent frown, Cloud saw the wisdom of Cait's suggestion and nodded.
"Take my things," the mechanical cat insisted, pulling off his Gold armlet and passing his Blue Megaphone to Cloud.
"But… you'll be defenseless!" Yuffie protested, trying to snatch the megaphone back.
Zack shook his head and pulled her hands back. "He'll be safer than we will," he told her quietly.
She bristled, her short hair standing on end with her rage. "Need I remind you, we just fought a red dragon?" she spat, pointing to where the creature once stood.
Vincent gripped Yuffie's shoulder and explained, "Sephiroth wants the materia. He will make sure Cait Sith is safe to complete his task."
She cringed, shoulders hunching in and bit her lip, shooting Zack an apologetic look. She sniffled once, stroked one of Cait Sith's furred ears and whirled away. The former Turk quietly wished Cait Sith well and followed her.
Barret scrubbed the back of his head and muttered, "Even though I'm still pissed ya' were workin' for Shinra, 's a pretty brave thing you're doin'."
The mood darkened and Aerith sniffled loudly in the grim silence.
"Ah, don't drag yourselves down with farewells," Cait Sith shook his head and made a shooing motion with his hands. "Get on with ye' I'll wait here. Call me when you've made it outside and I'll start solving the puzzles."
Stroking his hand down Tifa's back in silent comfort, Cloud turned and stalked from the mural room. One by one the others followed.
The Ancient that locked the door peered sadly at them and restored their battle wounds before pointing towards the passageway they'd entered from. The time guardian didn't emerge when they entered the clock room, the time stubbornly halted at six o'clock. The door that was sealed their first time here gaped open. One by one they crossed the pit into a large room with another elaborate pair of doors.
"I hope that's the exit," Zack muttered, sprinting ahead to open them. They didn't even rattle when he pulled on the handles. He hung his head, fists trembling with poorly suppressed frustration. Releasing an inarticulate bellow of rage, he punched the door and then fell back, shaking his hand.
Yuffie grimaced and suggested, "Maybe I can try unlocking it?"
Tifa's brows lowered and she asked, "Why didn't you suggest that when we were chasing the Ancient?"
The young woman shrugged, "Firstly no one else suggested it and since there was a key available…" She trailed off and looked around the large, empty room. "I don't see any fashion challenged old men around with keys so this is probably our only option."
"You are confident in your ability to manipulate the lock?" Red XIII asked quietly.
Yuffie smirked and shot him a double thumbs up, "Have no fears, if it has a lock, I can pick it." Shooing Zack aside, she crouched and leaned one hand against the door so she could study the locking mechanism. She frowned slightly and peered closer, there was no sign of lock or key hole. Her fingers twitched on the surface of the door, it felt strange, it wasn't wood or metal.
She stroked it a few more times, trying to figure out what was drawing her attention. She rose to her feet and her gaze was drawn to where Zack punched the portal. It wasn't dented or scraped, instead the pale green surface had darkened slightly. She spread her other hand over the spot, it felt warm under her palm and she felt the faintest movement. With both hands splayed on the surface she could clearly feel the deep thrum of a pulse.
Flinching as if the surface was electrified, she fell back and crab walked from the portal shrieking, "It's alive!" They didn't have time to doubt her words since a pair of clawed arms and an alien, fanged head emerged from the wall disguised as an exit. Zack hauled Yuffie to her feet by the straps across her back and she nodded her thanks before drawing her Razor Ring to fight.
"This is a strong one," Cloud warned his hands tightening on the grip of his Murasame. "Aerith, Zack, cast Big Guard. Red tell us what you can sense from it."
"It's magic defense is insanely high," Red XIII reported after activating his Sense materia, "We'd best stick with physical attacks.
"Maybe if we stay out of range and those with distance attacks take it out?" Zack proposed, skipping out of range of one of the Demons Gate's flailing arms.
The wall creature pulled free from the corners and rushed the party, slamming them against the back wall before it retreated to its original position. Spitting the corner of Vincent's cape out of his mouth, he muttered, "Guess not. The hard way it is!"
"You know," Cid sighed as they slowly recovered from the battle. "Before I joined up with you folks, inanimate objects never attacked me. Doors were just doors, walls were just walls, and I kept away from monsters by stayin' in cities and towns."
"Bet that was pretty boring though," Yuffie huffed, picking at a pebble embedded in one of her abrasions.
The older man snorted and shook his head ruefully, "Sometimes. Was a lot safer though."
"Do you regret coming with us?" Tifa asked as she dropped the last handful of gil in Cloud's pouch.
"Hell no," Cid grinned and laughed. "I may have been livin' but now I'm actually doin' somethin' with my life. I ain't felt so alive since the Rocket failed." A faint wistful tone entered his voice at the last and he leaped to his feet with a stretch. "We may not be goin' inta' space but if our only other option's doin' it as space dust…"
Zack grimaced, "Yeah, sitting around when that's a possibility? I don't think that's an option for any of us."
"Right," Cloud agreed and stood, extending a hand to help Tifa to her feet beside him. "Now that the way's open, we'd better get out of here so Cait Sith can transform the temple."
A general murmur of subdued agreement went through the party at the reminder of their need for haste and the imminent loss of their travel companion. The newly revealed, real door inexplicably transported them to the entrance. The temple trembled under their feet, a dark haze surrounding them. "Hurry Cait Sith's started already!" Aerith cried pointing to the stairs.
"God damn cat. Why didn't he wait until we were out?" Cid hollered, grabbing the pillar nearby to balance. The building trembled again and shaking his head, he crawled on the giant creeper vine crowding the stairs and pushed off, using it as a slide.
"Hah! A convert!" Yuffie crowed, following him headfirst. Zack scooped Aerith into his arms and followed with Tifa and Cloud close behind.
"Ah hell," Barret huffed scrambling to follow the others. Vincent and Red XIII shook their heads at the yelping, chaotic mess as the group slid different directions but ultimately returned to the bottom. Vincent alighted on the massive vine and gracefully jumped from one section to another, Red close behind.
"Show offs!" Yuffie accused with a snort then absently scraped more moss residue off the back of her shorts with her nails. The black haze around the temple thickened and strobed with lightning until the building was fully engulfed. The ground shook and rumbled, the noise intensifying to the point Cloud worried they'd have to retreat further. Suddenly with one final rumble the darkness shrank, vanishing into the massive footing of the temple.
"He didn't even let us call him," Yuffie wailed, dissolving into tears. "Cait Sith you idiot!"
Cloud carefully approached the edge of the pit and peered down. Rocks, exposed roots and loose soil skittered down into the pit hissing like a pile of angry snakes in a hailstorm. At the very bottom of the crater, something sparkled like black glass. "That must be the Black Materia," he mused quietly. Louder, to the rest of the party he said, "I'll go down and get it, the rest of you keep watch in case Sephiroth or anyone from Shinra comes."
In three carefully planned jumps, Cloud descended into the pit. Huffing in frustration, Aerith declared, "I'm going down too." She turned and carefully crawled down the steep slope of the hole.
Zack squawked in worry and moved to follow but Barret held him back and joked, "Eh man, if ya' really want Cloud to be the next one to take a fall, ya' oughta stay away from that edge."
Zack scowled and opened his mouth to protest but Tifa called his name in a voice tinged with worry. He looked over to the woman and she shot him a pleading look, her arms full with the distraught young ninja. With one last look down at Cloud and Aerith far below, he sighed and held out his arms, "Come here Yuffie. It's okay, we'll all miss Cait Sith." He wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her head as she cried.
Cid snorted, "With any luck, maybe Sephiroth was still in there." Zack shot the pit a stricken look, torn between the fear and hope he was right.
"What about those crazy old guys?" Barret mused. "They were still inside."
"If you recall," Red XIII interjected, "Aerith said they were spirit imprints, so I imagine they've merely passed on fully."
Vincent shook his head and watched Cloud and Aerith's descent with interest.
Cloud reached the bottom swiftly but waited for Aerith to be safely down before approaching the Black Materia. His stomach churned uneasily at the gleaming surface and he flicked a look over his shoulder before declaring, "As long as we have this, Sephiroth won't be able to summon Meteor."
He scooped it off the ground and stared into its depths before shaking his head and turning to Aerith and asking, "I don't suppose you can use it? Maybe to find some way to disable it?"
She extended a hand, holding it above the orb for a second and then shook her head. "No, we can't use it here. It requires massive amounts of spiritual energy. One person's power wouldn't be enough to activate it."
Cloud frowned down at the orb and asked, "What about more than one person?"
She shook her head and explained, "That still wouldn't be enough. You would have to go somewhere special. A place where there's plenty of the Planet's energy to help activate it."
Their eyes widened and at the same time cried, "The Promised Land!"
Cloud frowned, brow creasing with worry. He rolled the orb on his palm and mused, "But if that's the case then Sephiroth…"
"I know I said Ancients can sense the Promised Land," Aerith agreed and then shook her head. "But I don't think Sephiroth is actually an Ancient."
Cloud nodded, some of the worry leaving his face. "I suspected as much. That means he can't sense the Promised Land and won't be able to find it."
A sudden spike of pain through Cloud's skull took him off guard, nearly knocking him to his knees even before Sephiroth's voice rang out, "Ah, but I already have." He drifted through the air to float directly above them.
"The little Cetra is right, I'm not an Ancient. I'm something vastly superior. By traversing the Lifestream I gained their knowledge and wisdom." He smirked, tilting his head to look down his nose at them. "Not only their wisdom but that of those who came after. With all I've learned I will create a new future."
"By destroying the world?" Aerith cried incredulously, throwing her hands wide. "Besides, the future doesn't belong to you, it belongs to everyone! I won't let you harm our future."
Sephiroth smirked down at her and flicked his gaze down at Cloud. "Hmm will you now?" he asked, locking his green eyes on the young man's pain-hazed blue. 'Wake up!' the former general's voice shot through Cloud's body before the silver haired man slowly drifted to land in front of him.
"The noise…" Cloud keened, clutching his head and then collapsing on his stomach. Agony tore through his body and suddenly, he wasn't in his body anymore.
"Much better," Sephiroth purred smirking down at Cloud before his body woodenly struggled to its feet.
Locked in place and unnoticed by anyone but the smirking Sephiroth, Cloud howled in impotent rage as his body went to Sephiroth's side and surrendered the Black Materia. "There's a good boy," Sephiroth hummed and then shot into the air. He casually dodged Yuffie's thrown Razor Ring and bullets from Vincent's Shortbarrel and swiftly disappeared.
With the puppetmaster's departure, Cloud's body collapsed and he finally regained the use of his limbs. He clutched his head, pulse still throbbing painfully and pled, "Tell me I was hallucinating. Did I really give Sephiroth the Black Materia?"
He attempted to stand but instantly collapsed again, limbs not entirely obedient. "Urgghhh!" He cried in frustration. "What have I-" He tried to stand and once again fell to his knees. Whatever Sephiroth did to him scrambled his nerves and strained his muscles while he tried to fight it.
"Cloud!" Aerith cried in distress, her eyes locking on the blood trickling from his nose and ears. "Just relax, whatever happened wasn't your fault."
"No!" Cloud howled, pushing her away and surging to his feet once more. "I've got to-!" Cloud never finished because Zack cast Frog Song from his Enemy Skill materia. With the blond's White Cape, it merely put him to sleep. Zack caught the younger man, scowling at the fine tremors in his unconscious hands and body.
At the top of the pit, a new Cait Sith bounded across the bridge and winced at the collapsed Cloud, "Oops this looks like a bad time. Anyway, I'm Cait Sith number 2. Right pleased to meet you all!"
Eyes red-rimmed from crying, Yuffie pointed at the stuffed cat and accused, "I thought you were one-of-a-kind?"
Cait Sith sniffed haughtily, "I was until someone squashed us under an iron cage. Then my creator decided it would be a good idea to make a back-up."
Yuffie winced and rubbed the back of her head guiltily. "You're not going to let that one go, are you?"
"Not until he's milked it enough," Barret snorted, swatting playfully at the feline. "'S a good thing you had a back-up, man," he added in a quiet, sincere voice. "Especially with whatever this is," he muttered, watching Zack carefully climb out of the pit with Cloud's limp body thrown over his shoulder.
I was totally going to have Aerith blast the Jezmenn-whatever (that name is a pain) with Shiva, but I discovered she's immune to ice. Poison, however is instant death (grins)
***okay, let's face it, some of the dialogue in this part of the game is awful. When playing the game you're too caught up in the story to realize where things are poorly phrased or cut off. In watching walkthrough videos for dialog I'm seeing more and more where things were translated exactly, thus losing their meaning since the two languages (English and Japanese) have slightly different methods of trailing off dramatically. It takes a certain level of understanding and finesse to convey the meanings properly in translation.
I did decide to change the meaning of one of Sephiroth's lines here. In the English version he says "So cold. I'm always by your side." Now while that's a literal translation, (the cold part) I've seen that used as an expression in Japanese meaning something along the lines of complaining about someone being distant when they were once close/familiar. I figured it was this type of expression judging by his next lines. Any readers from Japan or who encountered the actual text feel free to correct me if I've misinterpreted it. :D
Can I just say that calling the numbers on the clock "Roman numerals" grated on me? But that's what they are! (grumble)