Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Where the lost ones go ❯ The evil that men do ( Chapter 12 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

12. The Evil That Men Do

Tifa blinked back the tears in her eyes as her hands gingerly ran down the while silk, watching herself in the mirror. It was beautiful.
Her wedding dress.
It was hard to believe, but her childhood dream was about to come true! She was getting married to a man she loved higher than life, and her wedding was fit for queen. A faint blush entered her face, as Tifa remembered that Rufus tended to call her his queen.
Glancing to her left, she saw Aeris absently correct a few folds on the dress with a sad look on her face. It had been a week now, and Sephiroth was still as cold and distant as ever.
Tifa glanced to her right, seeing Jessie correct the lower end of Tifa's veil with the same sad look on her face. And Cloud was still blind to the obvious.
Stepping down from the small stool, Tifa hoisted up the many layers of skirts and walked a few steps away to turn around and face the other two. "Alright, I know it's easy for me to say as the man I love isn't currently acting like a neanderthal, but this is stupid! Aeris, you need to knock some sense into Sephiroth's thick skull! It's his pride talking, and you know that! Jessie, you need to shake things up with Cloud! He takes you for granted, and uses you to sob over Aeris. You don't have to put up with that!"
Both Jessie and Aeris had sheepish looks, staring down at the floor.
Softening, Tifa managed to walk back and placed one arm around each of her friends. "I've never been more happy in my life, and I want you to experience this too! And it's so horrible to watch you all pine away in different corners!"
Aeris managed a faint smile, brushing away some imaginative dust from Tifa's dress. "You're a kind person, Tifa. You always were. But some things can't be repaired."
"Nonsense!" Tifa huffed, "Sephiroth loves you. Even when he's acting like idiot, his eyes follow you when you move. I never thought the great general could have puppy dog eyes, but when you're in the room he has!"
Shifting uneasily, Aeris cleared her throat. Not daring to hope. "Even so, he wont even talk to me..."
Tifa gesticulated faintly, "Then we'll sneak into his room when he's sleeping and tie him to the bed! That way he wont have a choice!"
Aeris blushed deeply at the mental image and laughed nervously. "If we did that, we wouldn't leave that room alive. Thanks, Tifa, but I'm afraid time is all I can rely on."
Shaking her head, Tifa took her hand and squeezed it gently. "You have to fight, Aeris. Don't give up without a fight!" Then turned to Jessie, who started visibly as she realised the attention had turned to her. "And that goes for you too, Missy!"
Jessie shook her head, eyes soft with resignation. "You don't understand... It's different with me and, uhm, well... A-and it's not like it's anything dramatic like... Oh, I cannot live without him! It's just... I mean... We're friends, I should be grateful for that."
Tifa took Jessie's hand as well, smiling carefully as she recognized the very thoughts she had once been struggling with herself. "You're in love with him, Jessie. I saw the look on your face from the day Cloud entered the 7'th Heaven and you were about to go out on the mission. Your eyes were shining even more brightly when you returned and I realised how much you liked him by the way your voice sounded when you were telling me about how he helped you under the mission."
Jessie gently pulled free and nervously wrung her hands as she walked over to pause by the door. "It doesn't matter what I feel. Cloud is in love with Aeris, and that is not going to change." How much easier it would have been if she could just have hated the flower girl, but Jessie found herself unable to create any hostile feelings against Aeris. No wonder Cloud couldn't let go, Aeris was basically perfect.
"I could try talking to him again," Aeris offered meekly, dreading what would come of it. Ever since that horrible scene when Sephiroth had returned, Cloud had been politely curt whenever Aeris was around. But still, mako eyes would rest on her whenever they could and Aeris could feel Cloud searching for some way to excuse her, desperately seeking some reason for this insanity that made her claim that she loved a being like Sephiroth.
Tifa cut a face, "I think distance is the best solution for you, Aeris. Cloud is not ready to listen."
"Gyah! Tifa, I'm gonna kill ya!" A voice suddenly thundered from within the changing room, and Yuffie came stomping out with the seamstress hanging on the needle and threads for dear life in fear of the dress falling apart with the sudden movements from the young ninja.
Turning to face her, Tifa gasped delighted at the sight. "Yuffie! What's wrong? You look beautiful!" Receiving an affirming nod from Aeris, who was also smiling brightly at the sight.
"Dammit!" Yuffie exclaimed, waving her arms frustrated. "This thing is making me look like a girl!"
Jessie smiled faintly as she heard Tifa and Aeris laugh at the proudly tomboy's statement, but her heart had grown heavy and she slipped out the door. The sun was shining outside, and she drew a deep breath. Her dreams were growing stranger by each night, and now a restlessness was burning in her blood. Like she was charged up with energy, and Jessie had a feeling that something horrible would happen if that power would be unleashed.

"This ain't fair!" Cid complained in a loud voice as he was tugging at his collar, feeling like the damn thing was doing it's best to strangle him. "I already done this part in my own weddin'! Why do I have'ta suffer twice?! It ain't fair! Ya can't make me do this!"
Rufus sighed patiently, watching his own reflection as the final touches were made on his specially made tux. "You're absolutely right, Highwind. I cannot make you wear that, nor force you to attend to the ceremony."
Cid's face lit up.
"However," Rufus added innocently, "I am positive that Tifa will be devastated that her friend wont do this for her."
Cid's face fell again, then he grumbled annoyed as he resigned himself to yet another cruel fate. "Ya would think that someone who's got monsters chasin' him would at least get to avoid these fancy straightjackets!"
Cloud sighed as a man slid of the jacket off him for the umpeenth time to adjust it. "We're in this together, Cid. We can't let Tifa down. This is her great day."
"Exactly!" Rufus agreed, turning to face them. "Which is why I even made sure that blockhead Strife appears and as decent as we can get him!"
Starting with offence, Cloud glared at him.
Rufus grinned in return, then inspected his reflection once again before facing the others. "So how do I look?"
"Obnoxiously rich," Cloud muttered, absently letting the tailor slip the jacket back on him again.
Cid made another valiant effort to loosen his collar, now by habit. "Yeah, like a billion gil bag, ShinRa!"
Chuckling, Rufus flicked back a lock of fiery hair. "Excellent!" Then he measured Cid, noticing how the pilot froze under the gaze. Cid's face were a challenge for Rufus to comment anything, and he would see just how far the Venus Gospel could go down the brat prince's throat.
"I guess it'll have to do," was Rufus final comment before turning to inspect Cloud.
Rufus sighed.
Cloud tensed, eyes flickering nervously. "What?"
Rufus gesticulated faintly, "I assume it's possible to increase the waistline of those pants? It appears that Tifa's measurements were from a year ago, and Strife here has been leading the good life lately. Not much exercising apparently. I don't want no guests being shot by Strife's buttons, ok?" And wandered off to changed out of the tux, a wicked grin on his face as he waited for the words to dawn on the blonde.
Involuntarily feeling an embarrassed fluster spreading over his face, Cloud tried to avoid to look at Cid. Then he realised what Rufus just had said, and he huffed with disbelief. "Did he just call me fat?" Knowing he was in no worse condition than a year ago, Cloud still had to check if he'd grown a beer gut overnight.
At that moment, Cid finally broke down and laughed out loud. There actually was a vain side to Cloud Strife? To think that Cid Highwind had seen it, and would live to tell about it!
Turning an even deeper shade of red, Cloud tried to straighten with dignity. "Oh, shut up," he muttered embarrassed.
And that, of course, only made the pilot laugh harder.
Cloud's eyes narrowed and he glared over. "You know you're going to have to shave, don't you?"
Cid stopped laughing. "Oh hell no!" His hand flew up to his rough chin, knowing the days of itching that always followed a clean shave. "This sucks..."
"Yeah..." Cloud agreed sullenly, discretely checking his sides for love handles.
Cid crossed his arms, a thoughtful frown on his face. "I wonder how he's gonna get Vince into one of these things..."
Halting his inspection, Cloud blinked surprised. "You know... now that you mention it... Not even Rufus ShinRa could manage that, could he?"

"You can feel it too, can't you?"
Chaos voice slithered through Vincent's mind like a slippery eel, and the former Turk tensed annoyed. He rarely replied to the demon's taunts and hints, but this time Chaos were right. He could feel something. A restlessness. A sense of danger on it's way. Was Cid in danger?
Wandering the streets in Midgar to burn off some pent up energy, Vincent tried to will away Chaos' presence and focus on what needed be done. He got as far as to remind himself to pick up some more ammo, when he turned a corner and froze in a somewhat fighting position.
Jessie gasped softly, taking a step back as the dark form of the Turk had come out of nowhere. And now crimson eyes were locked on her.
Vincent quickly recognized the girl as the one Cloud had brought with him, but her identity did nothing to calm him. There was something about her. Now that he was this close, Vincent could sense the incredible gathering of energy inside her.
"Such power!"
Chaos stirred inside Vincent, like a shark sensing blood in the water.
Jessie almost didn't dare to breathe, much less move. Her eyes were locked with the crimson gaze, and she could almost see the eyes behind Vincent's. Like a being eyeing her from within the pale man in front of her.
Vincent trembled as he forced Chaos silent, feeling the other demons stirring as well. "Go..."
"W-what?" Jessie wrapped her arms around herself in some instinctive movement of self-defence.
"Go!" Vincent exclaimed angrily, knowing this girl had a secret that she was hiding from them all. A secret that could very easily kill them.
Jessie started violently at his outburst, but her legs had no trouble obeying. Running towards her room, she never looked back.
But Vincent's eyes were locked on her retreating form, as were the gazes of the demons inside him as well. She was a dangerous one. Vincent was going to keep an eye on her...
"Retreating from battle again? Coward!"
Shaking his head briefly, Vincent lifted a hand to his temple. Be quiet, he thought tensely and closed his eyes.
"The real battles will begin soon! Maybe once you've lost everything again, you might see things the right way..."
Crimson eyes opened abruptly and an uneasy feeling spread through Vincent. What do you mean?
"Soon the sun and dusk will be all that we have, and blood will be spilled once more!"
The demon always relished in dropping small hints, speaking in riddles and taunting his uncertainty. The problem with Chaos, was that it really lived by it's name. It wasn't good, nor evil. It simply was. It followed no rules, no conscience. It could help or back stab, whatever it felt like at the moment it decided to act.
I am in no mood for your riddles, Vincent thought annoyed and glanced over at the item shop. He was supposed to buy ammo.
"Sun and dusk."
And suddenly it was clear.
"Rain and Dawn," Vincent whispered, an ice cold fear spreading through him. It was nothing that pointed towards anything that would lead him into believing they were in any danger. There was no reason for anyone to travel to the distant village of Wutai to find the woman living with Vincent Valentine, and their daughter. But then again, a lot of things weren't making sense. Why would anyone go after them? Vincent demanded an answer from the demon inside him.
"The rules of winning. Go after the weak link. You shouldn't have left them unguarded..."
Vincent felt sick.
In all probability, there was nothing wrong with Rain nor Dawn. Chaos loved to mess with Vincent's mind, and this was probably just some sick joke from the demon. But what if it wasn't? Could Vincent really take that chance?
And what harm could it do to check up on them? Bring them to Midgar, to danger and safety. He hadn't been there for Lucrecia, but he was not going to fail them!
Vincent glanced briefly up at the ShinRa tower, then turned to walk towards the city gates. No need to worry the others.
Chaos was probably lying.

Sephiroth knocked on the office door, waited and entered as he was then ordered to do.
Rufus glanced up from his papers, and Reeve swallowed nervously from where he stood beside him.
Sephiroth wondered briefly if Reeve would open the window first or merely jump straight through it if he pulled the Masamune and yelled; boo! Probably straight through. "You wanted to see me, Mr President?"
Putting his pen down, Rufus leaned back with a sigh. "Yeah, I got a favour to ask of you."
Sephiroth frowned. A favour? Nobody asked him to do favours. Was this some kind of trick? "What... would that be?"
"Reeve here has been gathering information for a while now, and it seems that we have a lead on the people who crashed my party and starting shooting the wrong people!" Rufus pushed a small file towards Sephiroth, "It appears that everything can be tracked back to Cosmo Canyon."
Sephiroth slowly gazed down, placing a few fingers on the file to turn it the right way for him to read. Names, dates and missing persons reports. "What does this have to do with me?"
Rufus placed his elbows on the armrests and lifted his hands to let his fingertips meet just under his chin while giving a smooth smile. "I was hoping you would take a small group of soldiers and head on out to Cosmo Canyon and have a talk with their leader there. See what you can discover. Use those great SOLDIER skills."
Raising an eyebrow, Sephiroth straightened to cross his arms. "Why me? Send some of your flunkies." And nodded abruptly towards Reeve, who made a very embarrassing yip. "Or him!"
Rufus gave a soft laugh, sighing with feigned mellowness. "I'm afraid Reeve is more of the intellectual kind than a general. He has his uses, I assure you, but this is a task I cannot hand to anyone less than the great General Sephiroth himself."
Still not convinced, Sephiroth merely sent the fiery haired man a dry look. "And why not go yourself?"
"Ah," Rufus got up and shrugged apologetically. "There is the small matter of planning my wedding. Tifa would KILL me if I were to venture off on some camping trip now. Besides, my words are nothing against your do-as-I-say-or-I'll-kill-you-myself attitude. Soldiers love that kind of thing from their general."
Sephiroth was unable to keep back an amused smile, the idea suddenly appeared to improve by the seconds. That would mean he would get away from Midgar for a little while. "There is only a minor problem..."
"And what is that?" Rufus asked nonchalantly, "I'm certain that it's nothing that cannot be solved."
Sephiroth smirked, "I'm no general longer, remember? Your father lifted me of that title when..." His smile faded and he glanced away, "When Nibelheim was burned."
Rufus waved a hand absently, "No problem at all. Most of the soldiers never got that silly memo anyway, and I'll have Reeve broadcast your re-instatement this instant!"
Reeve was still staring nervously at the silver haired man, and only blinked when his name was mentioned. Numbers and people, Reeve could handle, but crazed swordsmen that summons Meteors were a different matter!
Sephiroth was silent for a little while, considering, then nodded. "Deal. I'll do it."
And it was almost a relief to go through the regular routines again. The gathering of the soldiers, the smell of weapons and materia. Just like old times.
Sephiroth found it was easy to slip back into his role as a general again, letting years of practice do all the work while his mind were busy telling himself that he didn't have to tell anyone he was leaving for a few days. Especially not her!
Shaking off the thoughts, Sephiroth glanced up to see the group of 7 ShinRa soldiers in their places on the truck ready to transport them to the legendary Cosmo Canyon. He'd never been there himself, but had heard about that place from when he was a child. Everybody knew about Cosmo Canyon, and everybody dreamed of going there. They said that the secrets of the planet itself resided there, and it would appear that some sort of secret was indeed hidden in the legendary town. Even Jenova had whispered something about Cosmo Canyon in Sephiroth's sleep once, but with a clear taint of hatred towards the place.
"Ready to go, General!" The driver saluted formally, but his eyes revealed the thrill of being allowed to work with the great Sephiroth himself.
The silver haired man checked his materia a final time, before glancing back at Midgar a final time. Why did he feel like he was doing something wrong? Like he was sneaking way like some coward? Sephiroth shook his head and turned back to his awaiting troop. "Then let's go."

It took them four days before they finally could see the town called Cosmo Canyon in the horizon. Sephiroth was half asleep in the passenger seat, but the driver knew the general was eerily aware of his surroundings so it was no surprise when the silver haired man sat up seconds before the truck came to a halt outside the town.
The soldiers were all scrambling out of the truck, regaining feeling in cramped legs, while Sephiroth was already walking up the stairs.
The guard took a step towards him, his hands clutching a fighting stick like it was a lifeline holding him to the planet. "Uhm, ah, hal... Halt!"
Sephiroth smiled slightly amused, deciding to play along for a little while, and stopped a few stairs below the nervous guard. "I've come to talk to the leader of Cosmo Canyon. The soldiers are merely protection against beasts, we mean no harm."
The guard didn't quite look like he believed him. "Y-you're Sephiroth! You're dead. You died!"
Sephiroth considered this for a little while. Somehow: Yeah, but the woman I killed brought me back, didn't sound like something that would convince a nervous soul. "Er, yeah, it was all a, er, misunderstanding. This creature called Jenova took my form and wrecked a bit of havoc."
"Jenova! Yes, I've heard about that thing!" The guard exclaimed eagerly, then gathered himself into his strict appearence again. "Your identity is of no importance. No one is to enter Cosmo Canyon! By orders of the chief!"
Frowning, Sephiroth glanced over the guard's shoulder and saw the desolate town. "Is that so...? May I inquire as to the reason why?"
The guard blinked and looked a little puzzled. Clearly this was not something he'd thought to ask his superior when given the mission. "The, ah, reason is of no importance! No one is to enter Cosmo Canyon! By orders of the chief!"
Great, Sephiroth mused, a parrot guard. He sighed and glanced back at the soldiers watching him like a captive audience at some romance movie. Even better. The silver haired man gazed at the guard again, weighing his options.
He could force his way in, but it was risky. If this was indeed the location of the people who had attacked at Rufus' party, then that meant they were armed and ready to die for their cause. Just because the town looked deserted, did not mean it was necessarily so.
He could also retreat for now, and send a spy. Infiltrate the town, and hope to gain information that way.
"That's okay, Gai," a deep voice said and the guard jumped to attention.
Sephiroth straightened slightly himself, but couldn't help the slight start that went through him at the sight of the beast walking towards them.
He could barely remember the beast that had accompanied AVALANCHE in their mission against him, but this one was even bigger. Powerful muscles rippling under sleek, red fur as it walked. Deadly claws clicking against the rocks and yellow eyes gleaming with intelligence. Eyes that could pierce your soul.
Sephiroth wasn't aware of his nervous swallow or how his hand automatically went to rest on the hilt of the Masamune.
The beast halted in front of Sephiroth, as the guard backed up to give them privacy. "You're Sephiroth." The beast stated, and something reminding of anger flared underneath it's calm surface.
"I am," Sephiroth confirmed, unable to shake the nervous feeling. "But I am not the one who killed your kind."
An ear flickered and there was a glimpse of deadly fangs as the beast made something reminding of a wry grin. "Then who did?"
"Jenova," Sephiroth declared, feeling like a coward for not accepting the blame he should carry.
"Why are you here, Sephiroth?" The beast growled, it's fire-tipped tail swishing with suppressed anger.
Hesitating, Sephiroth kept a wary eye on it's every move. If that beast jumped at him, Sephiroth had to make damn sure to avoid it's claws, fangs and tail all at once. "It appears that people who have disappeared here for the last ten years has started to show up again, and trying to kill people."
The beast suddenly turned and walked away. "Leave this place. You have no business here."
Sephiroth took a step forward, but was quickly blocked by the eager guard. "Something is going on here, isn't it?! Why do they want Highwind's life? Why did they attack ShinRa?"
The beast halted briefly, and glanced back at him. "Leave and do not come back."
Sephiroth could only watch as the beast walked up some stairs and disappear behind a door, while the town was slowly filling up with people appearing out of nowhere. Slowly backing down the stairs, Sephiroth's eyes wandered and caught as much information as they could, before he turned to face the nervous ShinRa soldiers. "Alright... Let's head home and report. There's nothing we can do here without reinforcements..."

Vincent felt oddly nervous as the boat were approaching the beach, not sure what he was to expect. Chaos had fallen silent, and it's silence was taunting the former Turk even more than any words could have.
Jumping overboard, Vincent landed firmly in the soft sand and the waves washed softly by his legs.
"Please be careful, Sir," the old man who owned the boat declared silently.
Frowning, Vincent sent the man a look that told him clearly to explain what he meant by those words.
The old man swallowed hard under the crimson gaze and nervously pointed towards the direction of Wutai, "they say it's under attack from some other town, or something..."
Vincent started violently, gazing in the direction the man was pointing. Chaos had been telling the truth? "When did this happen? Why hasn't anyone been alerted? Who is responsible for the attack?"
Had anyone in AVALANCHE heard the stream of words, they would have been impressed with the old man for managing such a feat, but the old man was more concerned about getting away before he was attacked too. "Wutai is a warrior town. They're proud people, would never ask for help, no, Sir. Dunnow who's behind it, Sir. Just wanted to warn you."
Vincent gave a faint nod, then a jab of panic shot through him and soon he was sprinting up the beach.
He couldn't be too late! It wasn't possible!
Fate couldn't be THAT cruel!
Rain was a city girl. She knew how to take care of herself! And their daughter. If only she managed to stay alive until he got there...
No, Vincent's eyes narrowed as he continued his haste towards what he'd once thought of a safe haven, they were ok. They had to be ok.
He had no idea how long he'd been running, but soon he could hear the echoes of gun shots and explosions and fear dug in a little deeper. The demons inside him instantly began to fight to free themselves and take part in the carnage they could smell.
But Vincent was firmly focused. Nothing and no one would get in his way.
Without slowing down, Vincent pulled out Death Penalty and loaded it. Refusing to acknowledge the start that went through him at the sight of the thick smoke rising towards the sky from behind the hill where Wutai was.
Rain and Dawn was ok. They were unharmed. They weren't dead. He hadn't failed them.
Finally reaching the top of the hill, Vincent didn't stop to stare at the destruction that met him. He merely continued his reckless pace down the steep hill, ignoring the gun fire and screams. Three helicopters were hovering in the sky, letting off rounds of gun fire whenever they saw something move. Three huge monsters, like the ones who had tried to kill Cid, were swaying around the outskirt of Wutai. Several soldiers in their unknown uniforms were fighting against the Wutai warriors, and blood were making the streets slippery.
Vincent didn't stop once.
Firing at whatever tried to fire at him, or attack him in any way, the former Turk was merely set on reaching a house.
A house where he'd finally exhaled and stopped his wandering. A house where he'd held his daughter in his arms for the first time. A house where a dark haired woman would put her arms around him and merely hold him close when he woke up screaming from his nightmares. A house he'd started to call his home.
Vincent dodged a bullet and sent one in return, ignoring how the bridge exploded behind him, before turning a corner and comming to a halt.
The house... was no more.
A burning heap of shattered materials were all that was left, smoke slowly rising towards the sky.
Vincent glanced around, completely numb, seeing all the people dead and dying, then slowly sank to his knees.

Seto saw the small group of soldiers and the man known as Sephiroth talk briefly before gathering to leave.
The man had reeked of alien influence, yet his eyes seemed clear. Was it possible that a man could be connected to Jenova and not be under her influence?
The questions asked were bound to create even more rumours running around in Cosmo Canyon, and Seto briefly wished that Bugenhagen was there. He always knew how to deal with such things.
And Nanaki...
The great beast closed his eyes and allowed grief to wash over him once again. The son he'd only sensed and shed tears for a year ago. The proud warrior that fell to protect this planet.
Yellow eyes opened and Seto shut away his feelings again. If he didn't, then they would destroy him. If he halted for one moment and considered everything he'd lost, then it would take away his will to live.
So now, he merely focused on completing the task his mate, his son and old Bugenhagen had fought for.
Seto was the guardian of this place. A warrior of the planet.
A sound only his sensitive feline ear could pick up caught his attention and Seto raised his head to peer into the horizon. Three more of these foul smelling mutant-monsters were loose. This was the fifth attack this week.
Only this time, a small group of soldiers and a general was in their way.
Seto gave soft growl, his fire-tipped tail swishing with his thoughts.
Something was wrong. The planet was too quiet. The orders given to him were too strange.
Something was terribly wrong...

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