Chocobo's Final Fantasy Haven
Ray Pang
Story
Story
Story |
CHAPTER VIINOR PAR TELLEMAR...Cloud
opened the hatch on the submarine and they all stepped out,
looking around. They had surfaced in a large cavern. A pale
green glow surrounded them, the unmistakable glow of the
lifestream. It filled the air, growing stronger toward the
back of the cave, which slowly shrank until it turned into a
narrow but brightly lit tunnel. They
had returned to the sub without incident in the Tiny Bronco.
Cid quickly diagnosed the problem with the submarine and
corrected it. And now here they were, late on the day after
they left Rocket Town. "Looks
like your vision from Aeris was correct," Vincent said,
looking at Cloud. Cloud
nodded. He had never doubted it. "So
where do we go from here?" Cid asked. They
turned to ask Red and realized for the first time that he had
not yet come out of the submarine. But even as they noticed
this he appeared. He looked at them soberly. "I
have been attempting to translate the exact procedure we need
to follow in order to successfully complete our mission,"
he said, walking over to them slowly. "And I am afraid I
have discovered something extremely disturbing." They
all waited for him to continue. Cloud knew Red had been
working hard, and had spent almost all his time the entire
trip with his nose buried in that book. "We
can bring Aeris back," he said, "but to do it
requires the sacrifice of someone else." "What?"
Barret exclaimed. "It's
not so much a resurrection as an exchange," Red said
slowly. "In order for it to work someone else will have
to die." They
all looked at him in shocked silence. Standing beside Cloud,
Tifa went deathly pale. "Are
you sure?" Yuffie asked. "As
certain as I can be," Red replied. "The translation
is difficult, but I have analyzed it over and over, and it
seems pretty clear. The procedure itself is relatively simple.
We need to be in the lifestream, a step we've already
accomplished," he said, glancing around them. "The
next step is to find a flux, a place of power, which would
manifest itself as something familiar to us." "What's
that supposed to mean," Barret asked. "We
need to enter the lifestream and look for someplace
familiar," Red explained. "Someplace we know from
the surface of the planet. It could be a town, or any familiar
location. In this place will be a focal point, a bright area
of intense light. This is the doorway. Standing there and
holding the Crystal Materia, all the person has to do is ask
for someone's return." "Just
say, hey, bring back Aeris?" Cid asked. "Not
exactly," Red said. "You must ask in the Ancients
language. You have to say Nor par tellemar and then the
name of the person. Then you are both transferred through the
doorway." "Bringing
the other person back and sending you...", Vincent said,
"elsewhere." "Exactly,"
Red replied. "What
were those words again?" Tifa asked. Red
looked at her. "Nor
par tellemar and then the person," he replied.
"Then the exchange takes place. But if we continue with
the mission, who would use them? I'm afraid this changes
things drastically. I think the question now is, do we
continue the mission at all?" The
others were silent for a long time. From the looks they gave
him, it was clear to Cloud they were waiting to hear his
opinion. All except Tifa, who moved off by herself and did not
look at him at all. So
this must have been what Aeris meant when she had spoken of a
sacrifice, he thought. She hadn't been kidding. This was a
doozy. It seemed a shame to end the mission now, when they had
come so far, but he knew he could never ask any of the others
to make such a sacrifice. And even if he did so himself, would
that be what Aeris wanted? Would she want someone else to have
to die, even to save herself? There
had to be another way. "Are
you sure there's nothing else we can do?" he asked, not
because he thought there was, but because he desperately
needed another option. "I
don't think so," Red replied. "There is still some
more translating that needs to be done, and perhaps another
option will reveal itself then, but it's doubtful." "Well
then I think you should continue with your translating as
quickly as possible," Cloud replied. "What we have
now is unacceptable. We need another alternative." "I'll
do what I can," Red replied. "But I don't know how
long this will take, and it may be that there are no other
alternatives." "We'll
just have to face that when we come to it," Cloud
replied. Red
nodded, then turned and padded back into the submarine. "So
what are we supposed to do in the meantime?" Yuffie
questioned. "Sit
down and relax," Cloud replied. "Looks like we're
going to be here awhile." Barret
grumbled. Cait
strode over to Cloud. "I'm
afraid we don't have much time," he said. "What
do you mean?" Cloud asked. "Tarkin
is here," Cait responded. "Who
the hell is Tarkin?" Barret
perked up and walked over to join them. "The
man who stopped the Turks from taking the Crystal
Materia," Cait answered evenly. "So
you did know him!" Barret exclaimed. "You really are
spying!" "No!"
Cait said quickly. "Not exactly. I was just keeping him
informed of where we were, and where we were going. But I was
really trying to find out what he was doing so I could
tell you." "What?"
Barret said angrily. "I
know he wants to use the Crystal Materia to bring back
Sephiroth." "What?"
Barret said again. "But
that's the same thing Lucrecia wanted to do," Vincent
said. "It that were true, why didn't he just let the
Turks take it and give it to her? It seems to me it would have
saved him some trouble." "I'm
not sure," Cait replied. "That's what I was trying
to find out. He has something else in mind. Something more. I
don't know what it is, but I know it involves you, Cloud. He
wants to make sure that you are the one who brings the Crystal
Materia into the lifestream. But I don't know why. That's why
he stopped the Turks, and that's why he's been sending you
those dreams." "What?"
This time it was Cloud's turn. "He
has something called Influence Materia," Cait said,
looking at Cloud sympathetically. "It works kind of like
Manipulate. But with Manipulate you know you're being
manipulated, and you fight against it, although you may not be
successful. Although it can be used that way as well,
Influence is usually more subtle, and can affect you without
you even realizing it. With Influence, you think what you are
doing is your own idea." Cloud
stared at him for a long time. "And
you're telling me that he's used this to make me think that
Aeris is trying to contact me." Cait
nodded. "I'm
afraid so. I know he's been using it on you for a long time.
It was given to him by Sephiroth, and I've a feeling Sephiroth
used it on you as well, which kinds of puts everything that
happened to us in our previous adventure in a new light. But
the whole point behind his maneuvering was to get you here
with the Crystal Materia. I pretended to spy for him because I
wanted to find out exactly what he was up to, but now it's too
late." "You
say he's here," Yuffie cut in, "but how did he get
here? Does he have a submarine too?" "No,"
Cait replied. "There are many entrances to the lifestream,
if you know where to look." "Why
didn't you tell us any of this sooner?" Barret
questioned. "Because
if he found out I told you, I wouldn't be able to find out
what he was up to, now would I?" Cait answered sharply.
"I don't know the full extent of his powers, I don't know
what other spies he may be employing. I didn't want to show my
hand before I found out anything, but now I'm afraid I have no
choice. I didn't want you to run into him unprepared." Cloud
looked at him for a long time. He felt anger, disappointment,
and disbelief, and he wasn't sure which of these emotions to
go with. Was it safe to believe anything Cait told them? Once
a spy always a spy, hadn't he said that once before? How were
they to believe him now? How were they to know that anything
he said held even a shred of truth? The
real truth, he told himself, was that he didn't believe the
story, couldn't believe the story, because of what Cait had
said about Aeris. Could it be that the whole thing was a lie?
Could it be that he had been manipulated again, that this
entire mission had been a farce, a charade caused by yet
another Sephiroth clone? Could it be that he had not seen
Aeris, not talked to her at all, but just some illusion that
had been planted in his brain? Could it be that she was really
and forever dead? He
could not believe that. No way. Barret
shook his head. "Looks
like you were sort of right, Tifa..." he started to say.
He stopped and looked around. Tifa
was no where to be found. The ground sloped sharply down in front of her. Tifa moved slowly down the tunnel. The lifestream flowed around her now almost like a living thing. She moved forward slowly, as if unsure of herself, and a few times she hesitated and looked back, but each time she took a deep breath, turned ahead once more, and moved on.As
soon as she had heard Red she had been gripped by a deadly
fear. She knew what Cloud would do, no matter how much he
delayed, or how long they discussed it. There really wasn't
any other choice. Which
gave her no choice. She couldn't let it happen. She had to act
before he did or it would be too late. She slowly took out the
Crystal Materia and looked at it, thankful that he had never
asked for it back. It glowed faintly with reflected green
light of the lifestream. The
best thing to do would be to destroy it, she thought once
more. It was the simplest solution, and probably the easiest
thing to do. But she knew she couldn't do it. She couldn't
take away this chance on her own. Though it might be prudent
it wouldn't be fair to Cloud or Aeris. She wished she could
bring it back to Cloud to let him destroy it, but she knew
that would never happen. The
tunnel dipped even more steeply down, and suddenly she lost
her footing. She felt herself sliding down rapidly. She
grasped desperately for handholds but found none. The air
around her grew bright and she found herself falling, much as
she had in Mideel the last time she had been in the lifestream.
She seemed to fall for a long time. She
stopped falling and the bright green glow faded into blue sky
and wooden thatched houses. She looked around and immediately
recognized where she was. Nibelheim! She
walked slowly into the center of the town, which appeared to
be deserted. She looked around. One building stood out. It's
windows were brightly lit with a greenish glow. It was the old
Shinra Mansion. She
walked swiftly over to it and entered. She followed the glow,
which brightened perceptively to the right. She found herself
walking though the secret door that led into the basement. The
stairs down creaked and groaned as she walked down them, but
they held, and nothing disturbed her as she walked down the
now brightly lit corridor and into the old library. There
she stopped. For in front of her was what appeared to be a
circle of light, and she knew she had reached her destination.
She
stood there unmoving for a long time, looking down at the
Crystal Materia in her hand. She
couldn't let Cloud sacrifice himself. She couldn't live with
that. There was no other choice. But still she did not move. She
took a deep breath and with all the resolve she could muster
started forward. "Foolish
girl." She
jumped and turned to see Tarkin standing a few feet away. "Stay
away from me," she said, taking a step back. He
laughed. "Don't
worry," he said. "I have no intention of harming you
as much as you seem to want to harm yourself. Foolish, and
noble too, but your attempted sacrifice would have been
useless. Apparently there are still some things you don't
know. The Crystal Materia cannot effect a transfer unless both
people are of the Ancients race or infused with Jenova's
cells. It wouldn't have worked for you." "What
do you want?" she asked, somewhat defiantly. She had
gotten over her surprise. "I
want to see the return of Sephiroth," Tarkin replied.
"And revenge against the one that destroyed him. And I
must say that your little escapade has played right into my
hands. I'm sure he'll come running when he finds out you are
gone. In the meantime why don't you just give me the Crystal
Materia. Don't worry, I'll take good care of it until he gets
here. I wouldn't want anything to happen to it." She
stepped back again and felt her back touch the bookcase
against the wall. "I
don't think so," she said. "What,
don't you trust me?" he said with a smile. "I assure
you I have every intention of seeing that Cloud takes
possession of it as soon as he arrives. It'll be the perfect
revenge, don't you think?" "I
don't know what you mean," she said suspiciously "Well,
it's just so ironic," Tarkin replied. "Here Cloud
has come all this way thinking he's going to bring back Aeris,
when the whole time he's just been my puppet. And his one
final act will be to sacrifice himself to bring back not Aeris
at all, but Sephiroth!" Tarkin
laughed again, and Tifa shrank back. She looked around, but he
was blocking the only exit. "It'll
never happen," she said angrily. "He'd never use the
Crystal Materia to bring back Sephiroth. You can't make him do
it. And even if you could, I'd destroy it first." She
suddenly lifted the materia up above her head, ready to smash
it to the floor, but he just laughed again. "I
don't think you'll do that," he said casually.
"Cloud will bring back Sephiroth, and you will hand over
that Materia. I'm afraid you have no choice." He
took a step toward her, and even as he did, the yellow orb in
his hand flared to life. "Where the hell did she run off to?" Cid exclaimed."I
don't know," Barret said slowly, but he had a sinking
feeling in the pit of his stomach. He looked over at Cloud,
who was staring off into space, a peculiar look on his face. "No,
she couldn't have," he said so softly that Barret barely
heard him. He turned to look at the others. "We've
got to go after her," he said sharply. "NOW!" Without
waiting he was off, running down the cavern to the tunnel at
the far end. The others were left with no choice but to pursue
him as best they could. He
reached the tunnel and plunged onward. Things had gone
terribly wrong, just as Aeris had predicted they might, if it
was indeed Aeris who had contacted him. He still couldn't
bring himself to believe it had not been her. But that was
unimportant now, he thought, shaking his head. He had bigger
problems right now, much bigger. He had to get to Tifa before
it was too late. He had to get to her before she did something
they would all regret. He wanted Aeris back, but not like
that! Didn't she understand that? And
Tarkin, how was he going to figure in this? According to Cait,
he was already here, could have been here for some time.
Suppose he was lying in wait for them and she ran into him? He
clenched his teeth at the thought of her confronting him
alone. He could kick himself for not taking the Crystal
Materia back from her, but who would have thought something
like this would happen? If he couldn't trust Tifa with it, he
couldn't trust anyone. The
tunnel sloped down sharply, but he didn't slow. If he could
just get there in time. He wasn't sure how much of a lead she
had, but it couldn't be that much. It couldn't have been more
than a few minutes from the time she left until it was
noticed. Still, he knew that he had to reach her as soon as
possible. He couldn't help thinking back to another time when
Aeris had run off, and what had resulted from that. The
ground dropped out from under him and he found himself
falling. The green light grew around him. Looking up he could
see some of the others falling as well, but he could not tell
if they were all there. Eventually he stopped falling and the
familiar background of Nibelheim faded in around him. It
always seems to come back to Nibelheim, he thought. He
looked around. Behind him he saw that the others had joined
him, but he only afforded them a glance. He was looking for
some hint to where Tifa had gone, and he was shortly rewarded
when he saw the green glow of the Shinra Mansion. But even as
he started towards it the Turks came around the corner of the
Nibelheim Inn to his left, followed closely by Lucrecia. Cloud
was not surprised at all. He had had a feeling they were going
to show up somewhere along the line. They were nothing if not
determined. He would have liked nothing more than to fight it
out once and for all, but right now he just didn't have the time.
Vincent
came up beside him, obviously thinking much the same thing. "You
go on," he said. "I'll handle this." "Not
by yourself," Cloud said quickly. "Red and Barret,
you're with me. The rest of you help Vincent." He
turned to look at the Turks. "Sorry
I can't stay and play, but I have more important things to
do." He
sprinted off towards the Mansion, not waiting to see, nor much
interested in, the Turks response. Red and Barret followed
closely behind. They entered the Mansion and followed the
light down into the cellar. A few moments later they entered
the library. The
first thing they noticed was the glowing circle of green light
in the center of the room. The second thing was Tifa She was
chained to the wall on the far side of the room. Cloud felt
tremendous relief. At
least she's alive! A
man in a black cloak stood next to her. Even though the man's
facial features, except for the glowing green eyes, were
striking different, the impression that he was looking at
Sephiroth was so strong that it was almost overpowering. Tifa
looked up at him with a peculiar expression on her face. "Let
her go, Tarkin," Cloud demanded. Tarkin
raised an eyebrow. "So
you know my name," he said thoughtfully. "It appears
my little spy has been indiscreet. But no matter. He did his
job and got you here safely." He
pointed to a small table near the glowing light. "There
is the Crystal Materia," he said. "Take it. I will
not interfere. Take it and finish what you came here
for." Cloud
looked at the table. The Crystal Materia was not five feet
away from him, much closer than Tarkin was. "No,"
Tifa said, and when she spoke it seemed the words came out
with great difficulty. "It's a trap." Tarkin
turned in surprise and glared at her. "Be
silent," he commanded. "Leave
her alone!" Cloud said angrily, and suddenly his sword
was balanced in his hands. "She
is unhurt," Tarkin said quickly. "Take the Materia.
Finish what you came here for." Cloud
stood unmoving for a moment. "Let
her go first," he said, finally. He pointed the sword
menacingly at Tarkin. Tarkin's
face darkened. "I
said, take the Materia," he said sharply. Yellow
light flared up in his hand, and Cloud suddenly felt an
overwhelming desire to do just as Tarkin had said. He
fought it, and for a long time he stood perfectly still, the
desires balanced. But the power of the materia was much
stronger than Cloud had thought. Slowly, and in spite of all
he could do, he found himself taking a step forward. Even
as he did so Tifa shook her head and then looked up, the
alertness back in her eyes. "Cloud,"
she shouted. "Cloud, be strong. He wants to force you to
use the materia to bring back Sephiroth. Fight it!" Cloud
stopped again, forcing himself with every fiber of his being
to remain still. Tarkin took a moment to glance over at her,
but he was too involved with trying to master Cloud to do
anything about her. He realized he had made a tactical error.
He could not control them both at the same time. He should
have killed her when he had the chance. No
time to worry about that now. Summoning every power of
concentration he had learned from his SOLDIER training, he
bent all his will toward Cloud. Cloud
fought, but again felt himself weakening. Tarkin was just too
strong. In slow motion he took yet another step forward and
now stood right beside the table. "No!"
Tifa shouted. She pulled desperately on the chains and tried
to strike out at Tarkin, but he was beyond her reach. She
turned to the others. "Help
him!" she cried. Red
and Barret had been watching the process, not sure of the best
course to follow, but Tifa's words galvanized them into
action. Barret was not sure whether she had meant to help him
mentally or physically, so he chose what came natural. He
raised his arm and opened up with his gun. Tarkin
stumbled backwards, dodging desperately out of the way. But he
could not avoid the blast of lightening launched from Red's
materia. Cloud
felt his mind clear. Instantly he leapt forward and swung his
sword. Tarkin
cried out in anguish. He backed away from them, holding his
arm as the yellow materia fell to the floor. He stood there
for a moment with his back to the wall, looking at them with
undisguised hatred. "Very
well," he said grimly. "I tried to make it easy for
you, but I see you are going to be less than cooperative. You
force me to destroy your friends and drag you myself into the
circle. So be it. Jenova rebirth!" Light
flashed around Tarkin. His body changed, shifted, grew larger
and monstrous. He towered over them. His arms grew long and
developed great gleaming claws. Another set of arms sprouted
out below them. His face elongated and formed a muzzle, long
sharp teeth protruding from it. Only the eyes remained the
same, the green glowing pits still filled with hatred. The
creature let out a roar that rung in their ears and then there
was a blast of green light. Cloud and his friends were thrown
roughly back against the wall. Cloud immediately sprang up and
forward, attacking viciously with his sword. Barret continued
to fire, getting up more slowly. Red quickly cast cure on all
of them. They had been caught off guard by the sudden attack,
and it put them at a disadvantage. Tarkin,
or the thing that had been Tarkin, seemed to realize this and
pressed his attack against them. In quick succession he cast
half a dozen strong attacking spells, at the same time
attacking ferociously with the claws on all his limbs. Cloud
found himself forced backward, and try as he might, Red could
not seem to catch up defensively. Tarkin seemed to be one step
ahead of him whenever he made a move. A
clawed hand flashed out, and Cloud went down, thrown roughly
back. He got up again slowly. Red cast cure on him again, but
knew that he could not keep it up much longer. The constant
casting of spells was exhausting him. There
was another green flash as Tarkin hit them with Ultima again.
They all went down one more time. Tarkin
stepped toward Red, who was closest to him, and raised his
claws. But as he did so he came into range of Tifa, who kicked
suddenly and sharply at his knee. He stumbled and his blow
went awry. Red got up and darted out of the way. Tarkin
turned and swung at Tifa with the back of a huge clawed hand.
She had no way to dodge. The hand hit her solidly and she
slumped to the ground. Cloud
saw red. He
reached down and pulled out a materia orb. He concentrated
fiercely on it until it flashed with red light. "Ultimate
end!" he shouted. Sudden
sparkling light appeared all around Cloud. Multicolored stars
flashed in and out of existence around him. Then he faded from
sight. The
room darkened. Tarkin looked up suddenly. The ground around
him seemed to bow downward. The room faded away into darkness.
There was a rushing sound, as if the wind from a hurricane
where whistling by him. Then a massive shape appeared out of
the darkness. He saw bright glowing eyes, and then the flash
of metal from a tremendous sword. He screamed in agony as he
felt the sword bite. The world swirled about him. Eleven
more times the massive figure appeared. Each time a different
one, each time with a different attack. Each one doing great
damage. Then
there was a pause. He heard a rushing sound. Then, out of the
darkness another pair of eyes. He could sense a tremendous
bulk hurtling toward him, more massive than any of the others.
The rushing sound grew until he thought a locomotive were
bearing down on him. He saw the form of a huge knight
glowering down at him from some great height. Another sword
came up, then came crashing down. He felt himself falling, and
then only darkness. The
multicolored lights flashed again, and then Cloud stood once
more in the library. He looked at the crumpled body of Tarkin
on the floor nearby. Tarkin moaned and opened his eyes,
looking at him slowly, still shocked from the attack. He no
longer looked in the least bit dangerous. "It's
over Tarkin," Cloud said simply. Tarkin
shook his head to clear it. He slowly stood up, though he
barely seemed to have the strength. He looked around. "You
think you have won," he said slowly, "but it is not
quite over yet." With
his remaining strength he lunged for the table and grabbed the
Crystal Materia. Before the others could stop him he scrambled
into the center of the circle of light. He turned and looked
at them triumphantly. "Stop!"
Cloud cried, but it was too late. "Nor
par tellemar
Sephiroth!" "It's going to be a pleasure to kick your butts," Cid remarked."If
you used your fists as much as your mouths you might stand a
chance," Rude said. "And
if you weren't for the fact that you have as many brain cells
as you have hair, you'd realized that you don't," Yuffie
quipped. "Enough
of this nonsense," Lucrecia said. "Destroy
them." The
Turks advanced, and Cid, Yuffie and Cait faced off against
them, while Vincent moved around them to reach Lucrecia. This
time they did not wait for the Turks to attack, but struck
first. They all felt they had to get this battle over with as
quickly as possible. The
Turks moved into their usual fight formation. Reno and Rude in
front, Elena in the back casting defensive spells. Neither Cid
nor the others in his party were particularly defensive
minded. They all pressed the attack, and any one of them would
cast cure or barrier depending on whether the situation
warranted it. Most of the time they attacked with their
weapons or cast offensive spells, even if it meant taking
damage themselves. This seemed to be the quickest way to
finish the battle. Cid
glanced over at Vincent and saw that although Lucrecia was
attacking him, he didn't seem to be fighting back. He didn't
know what Vincent had in mind, or even if he had anything in
mind, but he knew that was no way to win a fight. He felt more
urgently than ever that they had to beat the Turks as quickly
as possible. He
stepped back, pulled out a red materia and concentrated. "Judgment
Bolt," he said. Nearby
he heard Yuffie cry, "Tsunami." And
then Cait, "Tetra Disaster!" Multi
colored flashes of light appeared around all three of them.
Then the Turks were hit by a triple dose of summoning power.
In quick succession they were blasted by a dazzling bolt of
lightening, then pounded by a great wall of water, and finally
they were caught in the upheaval of the very earth around
them. When it was done they fell back, but they still stood. "Is
that the best you can do?" Elena questioned. "You
ain't seen nothing yet," Yuffie replied. A
short distance away Vincent stood his ground while Lucrecia
blasted him with spells. Instead of fighting back he continued
to try to reason with her. Their encounter in the cave earlier
had proven that he could get through to her, even if he could
not win her over. But this time she seemed intent on turning a
deaf ear to him. And as she continued to hit him with spells
he felt anger rising unbidden inside him. "Please,
Lucrecia, stop this. We are not enemies," he tried one
more time. She
hadn't answered him once, and this time was no exception. He
reeled back as fire flashed all around him. Suddenly he felt
his anger well up inside him uncontrollably. For a moment he
tried to hold it back, but once set in motion there was no
turning back this tidal wave of rage. It overwhelmed him and
he lost all sense of reason. With
a bestial howl his body suddenly transformed into that of a
huge winged demon. It towered up over Lucrecia, a dark
harbinger of death. It raised it arms, and huge flaming skulls
appeared and shot through the air, striking Lucrecia again and
again, until she was lost in the center of a blast of demonic
flame. The
blast got the attention of all the others, and they paused for
a moment in their own battle to look over. When the smoke
cleared they saw Lucrecia on the ground, looking up at Vincent
standing over her. "You'll
never stop me," she said, getting slowly to her feet.
"The only way to do it is to kill me, and you won't do
that. I swear to you I won't rest until Sephiroth is returned
to me." "What's
Sephiroth got to do with this?" Elena said. "That's
why Lucrecia wants the Crystal Materia, you dolts,"
Yuffie answered. "She wants to use it to bring back
Sephiroth." They
all looked at Lucrecia, who looked back angrily at the Turks. "What
are you waiting for," she said. "Finish them." "Wait,"
Reno said before the others could move. They looked at him. "I
see now that perhaps it might have been wiser to delve a
little more into the details of this assignment before we took
it, and yes I realize that isn't ordinarily Turk policy,"
he said, looking at the others. "But there are exceptions
to every rule. We all know what would have happened if
Sephiroth had been allowed to complete his little scheme. I
don't think I have any desire to give him a second chance at
it." "What
are you talking about?" Lucrecia questioned. "You're
working for me, now do as I say." He
looked at her sternly. "Not
anymore," he said simply. "It's time for another
Turk first. We quit." Lucrecia
just stared at them for a long time with her mouth open. Then
she turned to look at Vincent, and he could see defeat in her
eyes. "You
might as well just kill me now," she said slowly. "I
can't live without him." "I
think you can," he replied. "I think you are
stronger than you believe. Come with us. Cloud still needs our
help. There's still time to make things right." She
shook her head, but she did not object when he took her hand
and led her over to the others. "Now
let's go see what kind of trouble Cloud has gotten himself
in," he said. The light suddenly brightened around Tarkin until they had to shade their eyes and turn away. For a long moment it blazed, then slowly faded away. Even after the light was gone Cloud hesitated to lift his head, knowing what he would see but not wanting to believe it could happen. He thought somehow that maybe something had gone wrong, that it hadn't worked. That if he looked up there would be nothing there at all.But
then he heard the laughter. That chilling familiar laughter,
which confirmed without looking what he already knew but
longed so desperately to deny. He
looked up. Sephiroth stood in the circle of light, looking
from one to the other of them while still chuckling to
himself. His gaze drifted to Cloud. "I
get the impression you're not happy to see me again," he
said. He laughed again, and the sound went through Cloud like
a knife. "I
admit I had hoped I was rid of your ugly continence for
good," Cloud responded, attempting to sound casual.
"But it looks like it didn't work out that way.
Fortunately I see no reason why we can't quickly remedy that
situation. We bested you once, I guess we'll just have to do
it again." Sephiroth
laughed again. It was bad enough he had to be back, but did he
also have to be so damn cheerful, Cloud thought. "The
mouse might have killed the cat once, but I wouldn't lay odds
on it happening a second time," Sephiroth replied.
"Besides, I've learned a few things while I was
gone." He
raised his arms. There was a flash of light and a tremendous
explosion. The entire room shook and Cloud and his friends
were flung backwards. Cloud hit the wall hard behind him and
fell to the ground. "Shit,"
he heard Barret exclaim. Cloud
got slowly to his feet, his ears still ringing, and held his
sword in front of him. Even as he did so he heard someone say
something behind him. He turned to see Cid, Yuffie and Cait
enter the room, followed by the Turks, and finally Vincent and
Lucrecia. When she saw Sephiroth she stopped and her eyes grew
wide. "Sephiroth,"
she said softly. "My son." Sephiroth
turned his attention toward her. "You,
my mother?" he said dismissively. "You are not my
mother. Jenova was my mother." "No,"
Lucrecia said. "I am your mother. I was the one that bore
you." "You
were a vessal, that is all" he replied disdainfully.
"My mother was Jenova, it is her cells that gave me true
life, not yours. You are just like the others. You are all of
the race that stole this planet from my people. And now you
will all pay for it!" Sephiroth
raised his arms again and there was another thunderous blast.
Again they were all thrown to the ground. "This
is going to get tiresome real fast," Barret exclaimed. Cloud
pulled out the Ultima Materia. "Let's
finish this," he said grimly. Barret
and Vincent opened up with their weapons. Cid and Yuffie
closed in with spear and shuriken, while Cait attacked with
his materia. After Cloud blasted Sephiroth with the Ultima
materia he glanced over to see that even the Turks were
attacking Sephiroth. Only Lucrecia remained unmoving. Red
slipped around to the side of Sephiroth and came up beside
Tifa, quickly releasing her. As they ran back to the others
Red paused for a moment to pick something up. In
moments everyone was letting loose at Sephiroth with
everything they had, but it seemed he had grown stronger
somehow, for he was brushing off their attacks with little
difficulty. He was no longer laughing, but the condensending
smile remained on his face. He
launched his explosive attack twice more, and though Tifa and
Red cast cure and wall as soon as they rejoined the others,
the attack still did more damage than they could repair. Red
came up beside Cloud, and Cloud felt him press something into
his hand. He looked down to see what it was, and then at Red.
They said nothing but Cloud nodded in understanding. Sephiroth
launched his explosive attack again, and again they fell back.
They got slowly to their feet, all except Elena who remained
down. "We
can't take much more of this," Reno said, standing over
her. Sephiroth
advanced on them slowly, realizing as well as they did that he
was slowly overpowering them. As he advanced he suddenly
noticed something lying on the floor next to him. He stopped
for a moment and idly picked it up. Then he advanced again,
stepping into the circle of light. He had been toying with
them so far, but now he decided that playtime was over. He
concentrated on his summon spell, and opened his mouth to
utter the words. "Nor...."
He
stopped, and his mouth worked soundlessly for a moment. That
was not what he had meant to say! He looked at Cloud and
suddenly understood when he saw the yellow light blazing
through Cloud's hands. For
a long time neither one moved as they battled mind to mind.
Sephiroth knew he was stronger now, much stronger, and now
that he knew Cloud was trying to influence him, he knew this
failed excuse for a SOLDIER could not force him to do this.
Concentrating fiercely, he took one slow step forward. Tifa,
who was standing to Clouds right, suddenly reached out her
hand. While still concentrating on Sephiroth, Cloud slowly
reached over and took it. Sephiroth suddenly felt the pressure
on his mind increase. Tifa
reached out with her other hand, and Red took hold of it.
Slowly and without a word, the other came over. First Cid,
then Cait and Barret, and then Yuffie. Sephiroth
felt his mouth moving again and redoubled his efforts. Sweat
dripped from his brow, but no words came out. Yuffie
felt someone come up beside her, and turned to see Rude next
to her. Slowly he reached out and she took his hand. Then Reno
stepped beside him along with a now recovered Elena. Vincent
took her hand and looked silently at Lucrecia. Lucrecia
walked up next to Vincent, but she did not take his hand,
instead just looked at Sephiroth. He stared back at her,
concentration contorting his face, but for the first time they
saw a hint of fear in his eyes. "You
are my son," she said softly. "And I love you. But
you've been very bad." She
reached out and took Vincent's hand. "Nor.."
Sephiroth said again. He
shuddered as if he had been hit by a physical blow. His mouth
twisted and a strange gagging sound came out. "Nor
par tellemar..." his face contorted and turned red
with rage. His eyes grew wide and veins bulged on his
forehead. Finally the word came out in a gurgling croak; "Aeris."
The
light flared up, and once again they had to turn away. When
the light faded Cloud looked up immediately, eagerly. The
first thing he noticed were green eyes, but these did not glow
with the mark of SOLDIER, these were kind and tender,
surrounding by Aeris delicate features and long brown hair. "Aeris,"
he said softly, hardly believing it. She
smiled and stepped down out of the circle of light. "It's
good to see you again," she said, looking around at them
all. "I'll
be damned, we did it," Barret said. He turned to look at
Yuffie, who was still holding hands with him and Rude. They
all hastily dropped hands and looked away from each other. Cloud
and Tifa walked up to Aeris, still holding hands. Cloud turned
to. face the others and took Aeris hand with his free one,
smiles on all their faces. "Mission
accomplished," he said triumphantly. "Now let's go
home.!" AUTHORS NOTE: This officially ends the story. I would like to say first that I think Final Fantasy VII is not only the best RPG, but the best game ever, period. I have tried to remain true to the spirit of the characters in the original game, although I have to admit my favorite character was Tifa, and my bias toward her may have shown through some. I thought the original game took an even handed approach toward each of the girls, and I tried to maintain that throughout my story. I admit some people might find this unsatisfying, including myself to some extent, but in all fairness I didn't feel it was right for me to choose between the two, especially since it is pretty obvious which one I would have chosen. The truth of the matter is when I first started writing this story I wasn't sure whether the resurrection of Aeris would be successful. But when I thought of the plot twist of having Sephiroth exchanged for Aeris, I knew it was just too good to resist. I hope you enjoyed my story and thought it a fitting continuation of the original, and if you have any comments please feel free to email me at [email protected].
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