Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Where the lost ones go ❯ Do not stand at my grave and cry ( Chapter 29 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Sulphurya 
He put on an annoyed look, but knew he'd probably climb up on the table and shriek if she came any closer.
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Suspense / Romance / Hentai | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 09.25.2005 | Pages: 2 | Words: 6.4K | Visits: 269 | Status: Completed
He put on an annoyed look, but knew he'd probably climb up on the table and shriek if she came any closer.
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Suspense / Romance / Hentai | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 09.25.2005 | Pages: 2 | Words: 6.4K | Visits: 269 | Status: Completed
29. Do not stand at my grave and cry
Cid sat up and slowly rolled down the sleeve on his shirt. He was now forced to change the bandages on his shoulder two times each day, the wound refusing to close at all. Hojo never said anything, but the pilot had a sneaking suspicion that the scientist was about to suggest to Reeve that the only cure would be a bullet in Cid's brain. Some times, Cid would have accepted that cure. Like when the fevers were tearing at him, the pain never ending and sleep chased away by nightmares. And then there was the days when he would tell himself everything would be alright, almost sounding convincing at times too!
"I wont lie to you, Highwind. It's not looking good," Hojo muttered, tossing the final strap of tainted bandage into the trash can. "The virus has to be reversed within a month or so now, or it will start spreading again. If that happens, your body will be able to fight it for about a week, but after that it's all over."
Cid swallowed hard, clenching and unclenching his hands as he felt the soreness in his shoulder. "Gee, Doc, I don't know what I would've done without yer pep-talks! I mean, yer really an inspiration, man!"
Removing his glasses to wipe them, Hojo shook his head with a soft sigh. "You would prefer that I lie to you? Build your hopes up with false pretenses? Hide the facts and treat you like a child?"
The pilot got up and slowly picked up his jacket as well, hanging it over his uninjured arm. "Nah, I'm a big boy. I can take the facts." He walked over to the door, but paused to draw a shivering breath. "But... dying ain't something ya like to hear about, y'know? Even the smallest flicker of hope makes the mess of a shoulder a little easier to look at, Doc." Lost in the darkness spreading through him, Cid almost failed to hear the words that followed.
"I've never failed at anything I've set my mind to succeed in, and I do not intend on giving up on that antidote," Hojo declared silently, stubbornly staring at some of his notes with his back towards Cid. He had no idea why he'd just said that, knowing he'd flunk with flying collars in the subject of giving comfort. Still, after all this time, Cid Highwind had met the virus with enough courage to earn a flicker of approval from Hojo himself. It didn't feel right that the pilot would die after everything he'd been through, that his strength would be rewarded with death.
Cid blinked wide eyed in disbelief, staring at the scientist's dismissive back. It could very easily be the challenge that kept Hojo so stubbornly set on beating the virus, but Cid decided to allow himself a moment of thinking Hojo might find him worth saving. Without promising anything or giving any false images of the future, a fragile piece of hope was still delivered in those words. A short silence followed, then the pilot smiled faintly. "Thanks."
There was no reply, not that Cid was expecting one. A man could only receive so many surprises for a day and not keel over due to the shock and disbelief! He gave Hojo's back a slight nod and walked down the hall as he let himself grasp a tight hold of that hope.
It was strange wandering through these halls. A few months ago they had been flooded with soldiers and medical personnel, like busy ants on their march to wherever they were going, but as weeks had passed it had slowly dwindled down until the halls were almost empty. Rufus ShinRa's death was still casting it's shadow over Midgar, and it didn't look like it was ever going to pass. The soldiers had vowed their allegiance to ShinRa, and that was all that caused enough loyalty towards the widowed Tifa, keeping them from deserting. Morale was low, and no one could say anything to boost it. What was there to say, really?
Cid paused by a window, gazing down at the city of Midgar. There had been a time when he'd been carefree and happy, living with Shera in Rocket Town and basking in the good feeling after defeating the crazed Sephiroth. He'd been a hero back then. He missed those times...
Swallowing hard, the pilot turned away from the window and continued down the hall. Water materia, Jinrei and huge monsters meant nothing to Cid. He just wanted to live. Get rid of this damn virus gnawing away at him, and simply return to living his life! The sky seemed further away from him than ever, and the wall just kept closing in.
Shera spent hours helping the medical personnel, and he could see the horror hidden in her eyes after she'd seen the ShinRa soldiers turned into those creatures from the same virus he was carrying. It was tearing at her as well. Watching him slowly die as each day passed, unable to do anything about it. Shera was not used to being helpless, her unbreakable spirit always told her that things would work out if you just tried hard enough! The light in her eyes was slowly dying as well. Much like the light had died in Tifa's eyes.
Cid's eyes narrowed slightly as he saw Seto watching him from the other side of the hall, feeling a flicker of anger at the sight of his watcher. The cat had never forgiven him for leaving Midgar, and had made it clear that he was going to make sure the pilot did no such thing again.
Cid felt a little better as he passed by Seto, making sure he stepped on his tail.
Vincent let his eyes dwell on his daughter, letting the question hang unanswered for so long that it could almost appear that he hadn't heard it. The dark haired man had not looked at the flower girl once since she'd entered the room, giving no sign of being surprised at her reason for being there either.
Rain kept her eyes from moving over to Aeris as well, focusing on bandaging Vincent's upper arm. Once again he'd returned after a few days on some mission, ragged and wounded, but she didn't ask. She never did. Something told her that she wouldn't like the answer he would give her. At least his and Yuffie's attacks on Jinrei's scouts meant that at least something was done. Rain just didn't want to know how. Instead, she wondered how Vincent's skin could remain porcelain white after all the hours he spent out in the burning sun.
"Answer me, Vincent," Aeris demanded silently. Emerald green eyes were locked on the silent man, and she only felt a flicker of guilt for cornering him when he was injured but knew he would escape her questions otherwise. Shirtless, Vincent's torso bore witness to the fights he'd been seeking recently, but seemed oblivious to the pain as Rain was wrapping bandage around his torn flesh. He probably healed fast, like Sephiroth, Aeris mused.
Vincent remained silent and motionless until Rain finished, and only then did he get up to pull on his shirt. "I knew."
That alone confirmed what Aeris had suspected; Vincent had known about Lucrecia for some time. He'd known about her being alive, and not told anyone. "How long?"
"It doesn't matter," Vincent deadpanned, slowly buttoning up his black shirt.
Aeris took a step towards him, fighting against the uneasy feeling inside her. Vincent had been in love with Lucrecia, maybe he was still, so why wasn't he with her? "Sephiroth found her. Jenova lead him to her. Why is that, Vincent? Why would Jenova lead Sephiroth to his true mother, instead of claiming that title herself like she once did?"
Slender fingers paused in their work, and Vincent felt an uneasy knot in his stomach. "Who knows the reason behind Jenova's actions?" He forced himself to finish dressing and glanced over at Aeris. "Finding Lucrecia, I had to make the choice wether to tell Sephiroth or not."
Aeris frowned, her unease growing. "And you decided to not tell him. Why?"
"It wouldn't benefit anyone," Vincent said flatly, gazing over at his daughter again. He'd denied Lucrecia the chance to meet her child, as he knew the mother of Sephiroth had died back then in Nibelheim. Whatever that woman said, she was not Lucrecia. Lucrecia would never hurt and use people like that! But Vincent also knew he'd kill anyone trying to take his child from him. "You should stay away from her, Aeris."
Taking another step towards him, Aeris had to fight against the urge to shake him until her told her everything. "Why? She's not out to hurt Sephiroth, is she?"
Vincent frowned, feeling increasingly uncomfortable discussing this with Rain in the room. "Lucrecia puts her son above everything else." He then moved over to stand in front of Aeris, letting crimson eyes lock with emerald ones. "After being separated from him for so long, Lucrecia is not ready to let go of her son without a struggle."
"Neither am I," Aeris declared with deadly calm. "I'm not giving up on Sephiroth. Not ever." She shook her head slightly, tapping a finger to Vincent's chest. "If she thinks she can take him away from me, then Lucrecia is wrong."
Falling silent again for a little while, Vincent merely searched Aeris' eyes and finally he turned away. "I hope you're right."
Aeris tried a faint smile. "I know I am." She then backed up to the door, glancing over at Rain. "I'm sorry for the intrusion... Take care of our Vinnie, right?"
"I will," Rain replied with an equally faint smile. The door closed behind the flower girl and there was the uncomfortable silence that always appeared after Lucrecia's name came up. Both she and Vincent had made it an art to avoid talking about Sephiroth's birth mother, but lately the name just came up more often that anyone of them liked. They both also knew there would come a day when it was going to be impossible to ignore it anymore, and Rain was terrified of the outcome of that conversation. Swallowing down her discomfort, Rain kneeled down to pick up the blood stained shirt that Vincent had shed after entering the room a few hours ago.
"If Aeris comes between Lucrecia and Sephiroth, Lucrecia will kill her," Vincent stated absently, knowing he should have no attachment to the woman who looked like the one he'd loved so many years ago, but it wasn't that easy. His heart rarely agreed with his mind, but this time it was exceptionally stubborn.
Rain paused, clutching the shirt close against her chest. "What are you going to do?"
Vincent gazed over at her, his eyes tainted with pain and confusion. "I... don't know."
Hojo turned to walk over to the microscope, but froze when he saw Aeris in the door way. He put on an annoyed look, but knew he'd probably climb up on the table and shriek if she came any closer. Dammit, he hated her visits! He had duly informed her of that, but only received a cheerful laugh in return. Hojo really wanted to throw something at her then. "Sorry, Cetra, but I've already donated the day's nice guy act to the Cid Highwind foundation."
Smiling at his usual sour lines, Aeris wandered in to sit down on the stool the scientist used sometimes when leaning over his precious samples for hours. Was it her imagination, or did he flinch away when she entered the room? The thought made her smile widen, and she knew Sephiroth was the only one who claimed she had a mean streak in her. Aeris was just damn good at hiding it, and the silver haired man was the only she'd ever tickled into submission so he had no witnesses. "That's okay. I just came to ask you a few questions."
"Can't you see I'm busy?" Hojo snapped, but still crossed his arms and leaned against the table to stare at her with blatant hostility. "I'm not here for you amusement purposes, Cetra. I'm here to cure Highwind, and that's all!"
Aeris waved a dismissive hand. "You're always busy, Hojo." She then bit her lower lip nervously and had to draw a deep breath before summoning the courage. "What was Lucrecia like?"
Blinking, Hojo had been prepared for anything but that question. Aeris could have knocked him other with a feather. One heartbeat later, he gathered himself again and his eyes narrowed. "I don't see the relevance in that question."
"Do you know she's still alive?" Aeris asked silently, watching the scientist carefully.
This time Hojo was completely unable to hide his surprise and how much this piece of information shook him. He was completely numb struck for a while, a distant look in his flickering eyes, before turning his back towards the flower girl and placed his hands on the table to support himself. The Ancients had never told him Lucrecia was still alive! His mind was struggling to digest this piece of information and he was disgusted to find himself trembling. Lucrecia was alive!
Aeris gazed a little guiltily down at the floor. "I guess you didn't know then," she mumbled, fidgeting with the end of her braid. "I was just wondering what she was like..."
Cursing himself for being unable to return to his usual cold state, Hojo cleared his throat. "Stubborn, strong willed and hot tempered just like her son. A decent lab assistant, I suppose."
"No," Aeris cut him off gently, but firmly. "I want to know what kind of person she was like. I want you to tell me about her."
Hojo shook his head absently, clutching the hands resting on the table into tight fists. "She... She loved going on long trips by chocobo back. I abhor the damn creatures, but she always insisted I'd come along on those stupid rides..." And for a moment, he remembered the wild chases outside of Nibelheim. Lucrecia's laughter. Himself fighting with his chocobo, that he swore kept trying to kill him! Lucrecia teasing him when they got back. She was the only one who ever dared to tease him, making him smile against his will. She only laughed louder when he complained about being unable to sit for weeks! Hojo forced himself into the present, pushing away the memories fiercly and felt the anger well up inside him again. Anger was good. "How do you know that it's not some lie?"
Feeling a tug of pain inside her at the little tidbit of information he gave her, Aeris realised with a faint smile where Sephiroth had gotten his dislike for chocobo's from. "Sephiroth found her. Or, more precisely, Jenova lead him to her."
Jenova. Hojo snorted a bitter laughter, shaking his head again. "I guess that makes them one big, happy family. Good for them."
Aeris got up and walked over to stand beside him, only barely able to keep from placing a light hand on his shoulder. "You're his father, Hojo. You're his family too. If Lucrecia is under Jenova's influence, then..."
Hojo suddenly turned to face her, his odd golden-brown eyes locked with hers. "I know what you're trying to do, Cetra, but you might as well give up." He didn't let her voice her puzzled look, but narrowed his eyes slightly. "Some things are inexcusable. Some acts too horrible for any extenuation, nor should they be forgotten or forgiven."
Aeris realised with a start why it was so important for Hojo to make everyone hate him. He could not forgive himself for what he had done, so why should he ask for forgiveness of others. "Then why? Why did you do what you did?"
Hojo turned away, fury burning in his eyes. "Get out." He didn't move until she reluctantly obeyed and only then did he exhale wearily. Her question was the same that haunted him. Why had he done what he had? Only, it didn't really matter 'why'. He had done what he'd done, no matter the reason. That could never be changed.
The explosion nearly made Joy loose his balance, but he somehow managed to keep running. Everyone was running, and the security alert was blaring painfully loud as the intruder kept making his way into the core of their base. The blonde screamed for the soldiers to keep up with him, and Joy slammed open the door to the stairs leading up the the next level where their enemy was at the moment. If he broke through another level, then he would reach the labs and that was something Jinrei did not want happening. Already the monsters were howling restlessly, but it was the last resort to set them free withing the building as it would endanger every single soul and not just their enemy!
Once again the floor shook, and dust drizzled from the ceiling as they ran up the stairs. Joy felt the adrenaline pumping and was slightly satisfied that since he'd been banned from hunting down Sephiroth, Sephiroth had actually come to him! A second later, he was torn out of his thrill as a message was shouted over the communication system; Sephiroth had broken through the lines! Cursing, Joy came to a sudden halt and lifted a hand to signal his soldiers to do the same. For one brief moment, he merely listened to the shouting and gun fire, before he set off running again with a sharp command to his soldiers. He'd barely managed to push open the door before he froze at the sight of the silver haired general a few meters away.
Slowly gazing over, Sephiroth let the Masamune slide out from the limp body of a soldier and reptile eyes flared slightly with satisfaction at the sight of more bodies to slay. He gave a slight smirk, turning to face them as if he was unaware of the bodies strewn around him and the blood smeared over the walls.
Joy stared. He knew he was staring instead of charging with aim to kill, but his limbs simply refused to obey him. The soldiers was basically hiding behind him, but Joy was unable to yell at them as well. He kept staring, feeling the hair on his neck starting to rise. Reptile eyes was glowing with the colour of the Lifestream and there was sometimes a flicker of light, like wings that kept appearing and disappearing. No, Joy swallowed hard, remembering seeing something simular in Kalm. But wings and halos only made the sight more horrible, as Sephiroth was nothing like an angel at all. No angel could radiate such dreadful powers and malice. Ice cold angst was spreading through Joy, making the blonde experience real fear for the first time in his life. Suddenly he just knew, if he fought against Sephiroth; Joy would die.
The soldiers panicked as Joy turned and ploughed through them, making his escape down the stairs again with a thundering heart. They were all going to die! How could one man be the cause of such destruction? He pushed through the door and ran down the hall in the floor below Sephiroth's mayhem, halting by a panel in the wall while trembling uncontrollably. No wonder Jinrei was so obsessed with getting his hands on the creature called Jenova. If she could grant a human powers like this, her cells would make Soldier Girl undefeatable!
Joy started violently as the door he'd come through was thrown through the air and slammed against the wall, with a soldier crumbling to the floor from the impact after he'd been thrown against it. The blonde dared one brief look over, but returned to punching codes into the panel as he saw Sephiroth stepping into the hall. It was not possible that the silver haired man had now several wings and that the pure aura of latent powers made his hair dance like in a breeze! Joy punched in the final number and stumbled back to the door leading to the next level, numbly grasping for the door handle as he watched the doors opening. At least twelve door, six on each side, opened to release the monsters stored inside them. Then Joy opened the door and fled, hearing the monsters scream with fury and bloodlust.
Finally reaching the room he was aiming for, Joy leaned heavily against the door as he was heaving for air and stared wide eyed at the calm Jinrei cutting at yet another one of his creatures. "He's... he's unstoppable! We have to flee, sir! He's killing everyone and everything! I've never seen anything like it!"
Glancing puzzled back at the usually so calm Joy, Jinrei put down his scalpel. "That bad?" He appeared to think things over then sighed with a mixture of loss and envy. "Ah, the power of Jenova..."
"Sir, we have to...!" Joy urged, stumbling over to urge the scientist to hurry. "He's punched straight through our defences! The bullets miss him, and no sword can even get close to him! Even the laser defence was too slow to hit him! It's not possible for anyone to do the things Sephiroth did in front of my eyes!"
Jinrei smiled absently, repeating himself. "The power of Jenova..." Then the entire building shook at some explosion and Jinrei cleared his throat. "Yes, well, a hasty retreat might be a wise decision at this moment." He turned to pick up notes and disks. "Let's take the sea way, shall we? We'll go visit Soldier Girl!"
Joy hesitated, glancing at the door. "What about Lee?"
"It's Lee Sephiroth is after, isn't it?" Jinrei asked lightly, walking over to reveal a secret panel in the wall. "Give Sephiroth what he wants, and he'll leave us alone. We're not on his agenda. Yet."
Hesitating one heart beat, then Joy trotted over to Jinrei as the secret passage opened. He never liked Lee that much anyway.
Cloud heard the commotion like it was far away, but as voices called his name and someone was shaking him, he came to realise that the trouble was dangerously close. The drugs always kept him disoriented, but he forced his mind to work and managed to open his eyes. A couple of Jinrei soldiers had undone his restraints and one of them was shaking him frantically while shouting something non-understandable.
Barely raising a hand, Cloud tried to signal for the soldier to calm down if he wanted the words to make sense.
A minute later, the blonde had figured as much that the base was under attack from some horrible monster and that Jinrei had fled. Joy as well. It still didn't explain why they were trying to make him get up on his feet, and one actually came running with the Ultima sword. Cloud numbly accepted his sword, swaying as he struggled to keep his balance. It felt like sleepwalking. He was awake, but not, at the same time. Everything was hazy and he just wanted to close his eyes and go back to sleep. What the hell had they done to him in this place?
The entire building shook violently and again the soldiers pleaded for Cloud to do something! He'd defeated him once, so surely he could do it again? He had to save them!
Shaking his head, Cloud once again tried to will himself out of his numb state. "What...?" He focused on the soldier on his left side. "There was another man... Hawk... Where is he?"
In a trembling voice, the soldier explained that Hawk was held in the lab a few doors down the hall. Every soldier in the room, however objected desperately when Cloud made his weak legs carry him out of the room. The blonde man had no idea what was going on, but knew Yuffie would never forgive him for abandoning a Wutai ninja to certain death! And with whatever was causing the explosions and minor earth quakes, it was probably better to face it as a duo!
It was easy enough to get to the lab, as all the guards had fled or was milling around in panic, but Cloud flinched at the sight that met him. He briefly wondered if he too looked that ragged. Yanking out the tubes sticking into the dark haired man's arm, Cloud then tried to shake Hawk awake like he had been himself. It took a good ten minutes before the ninja was conscious enough to stand on his own two feet and another five minutes before he was able to walk.
Whatever was attacking the base, it was getting closer. "Think you're able to fight?" Cloud glanced over at the pale faced Hawk, who managed something between a shrug and a nod. Smiling faintly, Cloud hoisted his sword slightly before he pushed open the door to the hall and motioned for Hawk to follow. The two had barely taken a step out of the lab before the wall at the other end of the hall exploded and several Jinrei soldiers was flung through the air while others kept firing at whatever was steadily tearing through their base. A young man was standing behind the small group of soldiers still trying to stop the intruder, shouting orders with panic in his voice.
Hawk started violently, his grey eyes widened with shock. "Lee!"
Cloud barely had time to cry out an objection as Hawk ran forward, but could only watch as the Wutaian sprinted towards the last officer protecting the Jinrei base. Hawk had called a name, so that meant he knew him? The blonde was torn out of his musings as a Flare spell rammed the group of soldiers, and sent everyone flying. Having automatically raised his arm to shield his eyes against the bright light that followed, Cloud then slowly lowered it to stare in disbelief at the identity of the spell caster. It was like being tossed back in time, and he was once again staring at the deformed Sephiroth in the Northern Crater. Eyes glowing with the colour of the Lifestream, halos and several wings made the silver haired man appear like the deity he'd once claimed to be. But there was nothing benign about this god. Cloud forced his eyes over at where Hawk had landed, and started slightly to find him crawling towards the injured Lee lying on the ground. Sephiroth was watching them too. "Hawk, no! Get away from there!" Cloud screamed, seeing Sephiroth draw back his human hand and somehow recognized the words used to summon SuperNova.
Finally reaching Lee, Hawk sat up and gently touched the face of the other man. "Finally found you, little brother..." He then glanced over at the horrible creature glaring at them, knowing it really was no way to escape. Gazing down at the pale Lee, Hawk swallowed hard. "I know what you did... That you lead them to Wutai... You betrayed everyone, Lee. You killed our parents and everyone else." He fought against the tears that welled up, seeing the young man glare defiantly at him. "There is so much I want to ask you. But there is no time... The ghosts of Wutai will not give me peace before they are avenged... Goodbye, little brother, traitor and once my best friend..."
Cloud started violently as there was a glimmer of metal and Hawk rammed the knife into the fallen Jinrei officer, and would have run over if not frozen in his tracks by a furious yell.
"NO!" Sephiroth stomped his foot, unaware of how he'd returned to his human form, anger burning violently inside him. "Damn you, you little interfering maggot! How DARE you kill him? His life was mine to take! I've been hunting him for so long, and you just... kill him in front of me?" He was trembling with rage now, pulling out the Masamune.
This time, Cloud was able to move and ran over to stand between the outraged Sephiroth and the indifferent Hawk, Ultima sword raised just in case. "Back off, Sephiroth! Hawk is on our team!"
Sephiroth let out a harsh laugh, cutting the air with the Masamune. "Strife... I was kind of hoping you would be dead, but I guess it will make my day a little better if I get to kill you myself. You're always ruining my plans, aren't you?" He slowly got into a fighting stance. "I'm going to make sure you'll never interfere again!"
Fear made Cloud's heart thunder hard, as he knew he was in no shape to fight Sephiroth. "I thought we were on the same team now, Sephiroth. Or did you just pretend?"
Sephiroth took a step towards him, sneering. "I don't have to explain myself to you! Now, let your sword do the talking!" As Sephiroth charged, he knew Strife would have no chance of blocking the attack. The blonde was still suffering from the treatment he'd received in Jinrei's hands, but that only meant it would take less time for what would eventually happen! In his focus on slicing the annoying Strife into little bits, Sephiroth was completely unprepared for the floor collapsing.
Cloud lost balance and fell painfully on his back, the Ultima sword slipping from his grip. He automatically turned over on his side, curled up while covering his head with his arms as pieces of the ceiling fell as well. A few seconds later, he dared to gaze around and found Sephiroth gone. Blinking nervously, he scouted for Hawk, but found him gone as well. A huge gap was where a huge part of the floor had been and the blonde crawled over on all fours to peer down.
Sephiroth was hanging by the fingertips and he was panting hard as he was gazing down into the liquid magma flowing far below him. Jinrei had built his base on a frigging volcano? He cut a face of pain as his left shoulder was bleeding fiercly from where some debris had hit him, and he numbly shook his head to snap himself out of the shock. That was when he saw Cloud gazing down at him, and red anger returned. "You'd better run, Strife..."
Cloud swallowed hard, seeing Sephiroth's injured shoulder as well as the cut by his temple. He doubted even Sephiroth would be able to pull himself up in that condition. It was a heartbeat's hesitation before he reached out and took a hold of Sephiroth's wrists. "Hang on. I'll get you up."
There was only one things worse than being defeated by Strife, and that was having to be rescued by him! Sephiroth squirmed slightly, feeling the weariness in his limbs but refused to acknowledge it. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Strife. If I get up from here, I'm going to kill you! I swear, you pull me up and I will cut your damn head off!"
Feeling a chill running down his spine, Cloud forced himself not to release his grip on Sephiroth. "I hear you." He found a good foothold, then gathered himself before putting all his strength into pulling Sephiroth up and into safety. Luckily, instincts made the silver haired man help as he got half-way onto the solid ground again and soon they were both crawling away from the gap. A few minutes passed in them both catching their breaths and realising they were in safety. Well, at least Sephiroth was.
Holding out his hand, Sephiroth didn't glance over as a pile of rubble shook until the Masamune managed to break free and fly towards it's master's grip. Sword firmly back in hand, the silver haired man fought his way up on his feet again. His head was aching infernally, and his shoulder was now going numb. "I warned you," he growled down to the blonde, tightening his grip on the Masamune. "You should have let me fall."
Cloud managed a strained smile, not gazing up at him. "Maybe. But I'm one the kind who turn my back on someone who needs my help."
"I didn't need you help!" Sephiroth exclaimed furiously, slashing the air with Masamune. "I NEVER need YOUR help! You just love to play the frigging martyr, don't you? You love it when you can sacrifice yourself and be the nice guy! It's sickening! You're totally spineless!"
Clenching his jaw angrily, Cloud suddenly gazed up at the silver haired man. "I believe in people, Sephiroth." He shifted so he was kneeling in front of the infuriated General. "I may not believe in you, but I believe in Aeris. And she believes in you." Sticking out his chin, the blonde raised an eyebrow. "So go on. Prove me right, and show Aeris that she is wrong about you! Prove that her faith in you is completely unfounded!"
Sephiroth stared at Cloud with troubled look, feeling himself being torn at the mere mentioning of Aeris' name. He then shook his head slowly, feeling numb as he lifted the Masamune. "She can never be affected with what she's never to know."
Cloud saw the glimmer of light bouncing of the razor sharp edge of the Masamune as it came towards him, then everything went black.
Claws mere making clacking noises against the ground as the chocobo's were making steady progress out of the ruins. Rufus knew it was probably going to earn him an appointment with a chiropractor, but he kept trying to see everything at once. The scenery was all the entertainment there was as the brat prince had pretty much given up talking to the other man on the chocobo beside him. It kept giving him headaches! Just by asking him his name, it had ended up in a minor migraine.
"So, what's your name?"
"My name? Can't remember for the life of me! ...But you can call me Rufus!"
"You're called Rufus too?"
"I am?"
"You just said so!"
"I did? Can't remember for the life of me! Just call me Sephiroth then!"
"You're not Sephiroth!"
"I'm not? Huh. Strange. Are you sure?"
"Yes!"
"Oh. How about Rufus then?"
Rufus had then turned to merely calling him 'you there', and adding 'annoying as hell, little, senile imbecile' in his mind. It had been just as hopeless to make the old man explain how he'd managed to bring Rufus to the Lost City, or where the hell the Lost City was! Instead, he'd just conjured up a couple of chocobos and said it was time for them to leave. Rufus hadn't really objected to that. He was sick with longing to see Tifa again. She thought he was dead... He remembered too well when she'd been shot and was in a coma for days. If she was going through that, then every second spent away from her was hell!
"How long before we reach Midgar?" Rufus asked, only half hoping he'd receive an intelligent answer.
The old man stopped his humming and scratched his head underneath the huge hat. "Hard to say, really. Depends on weather, monsters and Jinrei's people."
Jinrei. That man was going to regret he'd ever been born! Rufus unknowingly clenched his grip on the reins. "That man is so dead I don't understand why he bothered to be born! I'm going to kill him so hard that his ancestors are going to feel it!"
"Things have changed since you was there, Rufus ShinRa. It's not going to be as easy as you think. Friends can easily become enemies and enemies your friends!" The old man urged the chocobo to increase it's pace, and soon they were crossing some mountain.
It was dark when they reached the ocean, and the old man suggested they rest for the night. Reluctantly obeying, Rufus stood gazing out over the barely visible ocean as the chocobos were being fed greens. Tifa was just across the ocean. He was almost tempted to start swimming.
"You should get some sleep, young man," the old man said as he tossed over a blanket to Rufus. "Morning will come soon enough."
Will it? Rufus thought, gazing numbly down at the blanket in his arms. "Why haven't you told anyone I'm still alive? Tifa thinks I'm dead!"
"No one hunts a dead man," was the only reply he got, followed by a loud snoring.
Rufus fought against a ridiculous urge to slap his rolled up blanket over the old man's head, but turned to stare out over the ocean again instead. The closer he got to Midgar, the more restless he got. Tomorrow he would hold Tifa in his arms again, making sure he'd never be separated from her and their child again like that! Rufus also wondered how Sephiroth was doing, as well as Aeris. He could only hope that the last months hadn't taken away Cid's high spirits, or that Hojo had turned him into a newt or something. Smiling faintly, Rufus hoped everyone could feel his spirit reaching out for them.
"I'm alive," he said silently over the never ending waves. "I'm alive and I'm coming home."
In the city of Midgar, far from the lone figure by the beach, Tifa turned in her sleep while a single tear ran down her cheek to disappear into her pillow.
Cid sat up and slowly rolled down the sleeve on his shirt. He was now forced to change the bandages on his shoulder two times each day, the wound refusing to close at all. Hojo never said anything, but the pilot had a sneaking suspicion that the scientist was about to suggest to Reeve that the only cure would be a bullet in Cid's brain. Some times, Cid would have accepted that cure. Like when the fevers were tearing at him, the pain never ending and sleep chased away by nightmares. And then there was the days when he would tell himself everything would be alright, almost sounding convincing at times too!
"I wont lie to you, Highwind. It's not looking good," Hojo muttered, tossing the final strap of tainted bandage into the trash can. "The virus has to be reversed within a month or so now, or it will start spreading again. If that happens, your body will be able to fight it for about a week, but after that it's all over."
Cid swallowed hard, clenching and unclenching his hands as he felt the soreness in his shoulder. "Gee, Doc, I don't know what I would've done without yer pep-talks! I mean, yer really an inspiration, man!"
Removing his glasses to wipe them, Hojo shook his head with a soft sigh. "You would prefer that I lie to you? Build your hopes up with false pretenses? Hide the facts and treat you like a child?"
The pilot got up and slowly picked up his jacket as well, hanging it over his uninjured arm. "Nah, I'm a big boy. I can take the facts." He walked over to the door, but paused to draw a shivering breath. "But... dying ain't something ya like to hear about, y'know? Even the smallest flicker of hope makes the mess of a shoulder a little easier to look at, Doc." Lost in the darkness spreading through him, Cid almost failed to hear the words that followed.
"I've never failed at anything I've set my mind to succeed in, and I do not intend on giving up on that antidote," Hojo declared silently, stubbornly staring at some of his notes with his back towards Cid. He had no idea why he'd just said that, knowing he'd flunk with flying collars in the subject of giving comfort. Still, after all this time, Cid Highwind had met the virus with enough courage to earn a flicker of approval from Hojo himself. It didn't feel right that the pilot would die after everything he'd been through, that his strength would be rewarded with death.
Cid blinked wide eyed in disbelief, staring at the scientist's dismissive back. It could very easily be the challenge that kept Hojo so stubbornly set on beating the virus, but Cid decided to allow himself a moment of thinking Hojo might find him worth saving. Without promising anything or giving any false images of the future, a fragile piece of hope was still delivered in those words. A short silence followed, then the pilot smiled faintly. "Thanks."
There was no reply, not that Cid was expecting one. A man could only receive so many surprises for a day and not keel over due to the shock and disbelief! He gave Hojo's back a slight nod and walked down the hall as he let himself grasp a tight hold of that hope.
It was strange wandering through these halls. A few months ago they had been flooded with soldiers and medical personnel, like busy ants on their march to wherever they were going, but as weeks had passed it had slowly dwindled down until the halls were almost empty. Rufus ShinRa's death was still casting it's shadow over Midgar, and it didn't look like it was ever going to pass. The soldiers had vowed their allegiance to ShinRa, and that was all that caused enough loyalty towards the widowed Tifa, keeping them from deserting. Morale was low, and no one could say anything to boost it. What was there to say, really?
Cid paused by a window, gazing down at the city of Midgar. There had been a time when he'd been carefree and happy, living with Shera in Rocket Town and basking in the good feeling after defeating the crazed Sephiroth. He'd been a hero back then. He missed those times...
Swallowing hard, the pilot turned away from the window and continued down the hall. Water materia, Jinrei and huge monsters meant nothing to Cid. He just wanted to live. Get rid of this damn virus gnawing away at him, and simply return to living his life! The sky seemed further away from him than ever, and the wall just kept closing in.
Shera spent hours helping the medical personnel, and he could see the horror hidden in her eyes after she'd seen the ShinRa soldiers turned into those creatures from the same virus he was carrying. It was tearing at her as well. Watching him slowly die as each day passed, unable to do anything about it. Shera was not used to being helpless, her unbreakable spirit always told her that things would work out if you just tried hard enough! The light in her eyes was slowly dying as well. Much like the light had died in Tifa's eyes.
Cid's eyes narrowed slightly as he saw Seto watching him from the other side of the hall, feeling a flicker of anger at the sight of his watcher. The cat had never forgiven him for leaving Midgar, and had made it clear that he was going to make sure the pilot did no such thing again.
Cid felt a little better as he passed by Seto, making sure he stepped on his tail.
Vincent let his eyes dwell on his daughter, letting the question hang unanswered for so long that it could almost appear that he hadn't heard it. The dark haired man had not looked at the flower girl once since she'd entered the room, giving no sign of being surprised at her reason for being there either.
Rain kept her eyes from moving over to Aeris as well, focusing on bandaging Vincent's upper arm. Once again he'd returned after a few days on some mission, ragged and wounded, but she didn't ask. She never did. Something told her that she wouldn't like the answer he would give her. At least his and Yuffie's attacks on Jinrei's scouts meant that at least something was done. Rain just didn't want to know how. Instead, she wondered how Vincent's skin could remain porcelain white after all the hours he spent out in the burning sun.
"Answer me, Vincent," Aeris demanded silently. Emerald green eyes were locked on the silent man, and she only felt a flicker of guilt for cornering him when he was injured but knew he would escape her questions otherwise. Shirtless, Vincent's torso bore witness to the fights he'd been seeking recently, but seemed oblivious to the pain as Rain was wrapping bandage around his torn flesh. He probably healed fast, like Sephiroth, Aeris mused.
Vincent remained silent and motionless until Rain finished, and only then did he get up to pull on his shirt. "I knew."
That alone confirmed what Aeris had suspected; Vincent had known about Lucrecia for some time. He'd known about her being alive, and not told anyone. "How long?"
"It doesn't matter," Vincent deadpanned, slowly buttoning up his black shirt.
Aeris took a step towards him, fighting against the uneasy feeling inside her. Vincent had been in love with Lucrecia, maybe he was still, so why wasn't he with her? "Sephiroth found her. Jenova lead him to her. Why is that, Vincent? Why would Jenova lead Sephiroth to his true mother, instead of claiming that title herself like she once did?"
Slender fingers paused in their work, and Vincent felt an uneasy knot in his stomach. "Who knows the reason behind Jenova's actions?" He forced himself to finish dressing and glanced over at Aeris. "Finding Lucrecia, I had to make the choice wether to tell Sephiroth or not."
Aeris frowned, her unease growing. "And you decided to not tell him. Why?"
"It wouldn't benefit anyone," Vincent said flatly, gazing over at his daughter again. He'd denied Lucrecia the chance to meet her child, as he knew the mother of Sephiroth had died back then in Nibelheim. Whatever that woman said, she was not Lucrecia. Lucrecia would never hurt and use people like that! But Vincent also knew he'd kill anyone trying to take his child from him. "You should stay away from her, Aeris."
Taking another step towards him, Aeris had to fight against the urge to shake him until her told her everything. "Why? She's not out to hurt Sephiroth, is she?"
Vincent frowned, feeling increasingly uncomfortable discussing this with Rain in the room. "Lucrecia puts her son above everything else." He then moved over to stand in front of Aeris, letting crimson eyes lock with emerald ones. "After being separated from him for so long, Lucrecia is not ready to let go of her son without a struggle."
"Neither am I," Aeris declared with deadly calm. "I'm not giving up on Sephiroth. Not ever." She shook her head slightly, tapping a finger to Vincent's chest. "If she thinks she can take him away from me, then Lucrecia is wrong."
Falling silent again for a little while, Vincent merely searched Aeris' eyes and finally he turned away. "I hope you're right."
Aeris tried a faint smile. "I know I am." She then backed up to the door, glancing over at Rain. "I'm sorry for the intrusion... Take care of our Vinnie, right?"
"I will," Rain replied with an equally faint smile. The door closed behind the flower girl and there was the uncomfortable silence that always appeared after Lucrecia's name came up. Both she and Vincent had made it an art to avoid talking about Sephiroth's birth mother, but lately the name just came up more often that anyone of them liked. They both also knew there would come a day when it was going to be impossible to ignore it anymore, and Rain was terrified of the outcome of that conversation. Swallowing down her discomfort, Rain kneeled down to pick up the blood stained shirt that Vincent had shed after entering the room a few hours ago.
"If Aeris comes between Lucrecia and Sephiroth, Lucrecia will kill her," Vincent stated absently, knowing he should have no attachment to the woman who looked like the one he'd loved so many years ago, but it wasn't that easy. His heart rarely agreed with his mind, but this time it was exceptionally stubborn.
Rain paused, clutching the shirt close against her chest. "What are you going to do?"
Vincent gazed over at her, his eyes tainted with pain and confusion. "I... don't know."
Hojo turned to walk over to the microscope, but froze when he saw Aeris in the door way. He put on an annoyed look, but knew he'd probably climb up on the table and shriek if she came any closer. Dammit, he hated her visits! He had duly informed her of that, but only received a cheerful laugh in return. Hojo really wanted to throw something at her then. "Sorry, Cetra, but I've already donated the day's nice guy act to the Cid Highwind foundation."
Smiling at his usual sour lines, Aeris wandered in to sit down on the stool the scientist used sometimes when leaning over his precious samples for hours. Was it her imagination, or did he flinch away when she entered the room? The thought made her smile widen, and she knew Sephiroth was the only one who claimed she had a mean streak in her. Aeris was just damn good at hiding it, and the silver haired man was the only she'd ever tickled into submission so he had no witnesses. "That's okay. I just came to ask you a few questions."
"Can't you see I'm busy?" Hojo snapped, but still crossed his arms and leaned against the table to stare at her with blatant hostility. "I'm not here for you amusement purposes, Cetra. I'm here to cure Highwind, and that's all!"
Aeris waved a dismissive hand. "You're always busy, Hojo." She then bit her lower lip nervously and had to draw a deep breath before summoning the courage. "What was Lucrecia like?"
Blinking, Hojo had been prepared for anything but that question. Aeris could have knocked him other with a feather. One heartbeat later, he gathered himself again and his eyes narrowed. "I don't see the relevance in that question."
"Do you know she's still alive?" Aeris asked silently, watching the scientist carefully.
This time Hojo was completely unable to hide his surprise and how much this piece of information shook him. He was completely numb struck for a while, a distant look in his flickering eyes, before turning his back towards the flower girl and placed his hands on the table to support himself. The Ancients had never told him Lucrecia was still alive! His mind was struggling to digest this piece of information and he was disgusted to find himself trembling. Lucrecia was alive!
Aeris gazed a little guiltily down at the floor. "I guess you didn't know then," she mumbled, fidgeting with the end of her braid. "I was just wondering what she was like..."
Cursing himself for being unable to return to his usual cold state, Hojo cleared his throat. "Stubborn, strong willed and hot tempered just like her son. A decent lab assistant, I suppose."
"No," Aeris cut him off gently, but firmly. "I want to know what kind of person she was like. I want you to tell me about her."
Hojo shook his head absently, clutching the hands resting on the table into tight fists. "She... She loved going on long trips by chocobo back. I abhor the damn creatures, but she always insisted I'd come along on those stupid rides..." And for a moment, he remembered the wild chases outside of Nibelheim. Lucrecia's laughter. Himself fighting with his chocobo, that he swore kept trying to kill him! Lucrecia teasing him when they got back. She was the only one who ever dared to tease him, making him smile against his will. She only laughed louder when he complained about being unable to sit for weeks! Hojo forced himself into the present, pushing away the memories fiercly and felt the anger well up inside him again. Anger was good. "How do you know that it's not some lie?"
Feeling a tug of pain inside her at the little tidbit of information he gave her, Aeris realised with a faint smile where Sephiroth had gotten his dislike for chocobo's from. "Sephiroth found her. Or, more precisely, Jenova lead him to her."
Jenova. Hojo snorted a bitter laughter, shaking his head again. "I guess that makes them one big, happy family. Good for them."
Aeris got up and walked over to stand beside him, only barely able to keep from placing a light hand on his shoulder. "You're his father, Hojo. You're his family too. If Lucrecia is under Jenova's influence, then..."
Hojo suddenly turned to face her, his odd golden-brown eyes locked with hers. "I know what you're trying to do, Cetra, but you might as well give up." He didn't let her voice her puzzled look, but narrowed his eyes slightly. "Some things are inexcusable. Some acts too horrible for any extenuation, nor should they be forgotten or forgiven."
Aeris realised with a start why it was so important for Hojo to make everyone hate him. He could not forgive himself for what he had done, so why should he ask for forgiveness of others. "Then why? Why did you do what you did?"
Hojo turned away, fury burning in his eyes. "Get out." He didn't move until she reluctantly obeyed and only then did he exhale wearily. Her question was the same that haunted him. Why had he done what he had? Only, it didn't really matter 'why'. He had done what he'd done, no matter the reason. That could never be changed.
The explosion nearly made Joy loose his balance, but he somehow managed to keep running. Everyone was running, and the security alert was blaring painfully loud as the intruder kept making his way into the core of their base. The blonde screamed for the soldiers to keep up with him, and Joy slammed open the door to the stairs leading up the the next level where their enemy was at the moment. If he broke through another level, then he would reach the labs and that was something Jinrei did not want happening. Already the monsters were howling restlessly, but it was the last resort to set them free withing the building as it would endanger every single soul and not just their enemy!
Once again the floor shook, and dust drizzled from the ceiling as they ran up the stairs. Joy felt the adrenaline pumping and was slightly satisfied that since he'd been banned from hunting down Sephiroth, Sephiroth had actually come to him! A second later, he was torn out of his thrill as a message was shouted over the communication system; Sephiroth had broken through the lines! Cursing, Joy came to a sudden halt and lifted a hand to signal his soldiers to do the same. For one brief moment, he merely listened to the shouting and gun fire, before he set off running again with a sharp command to his soldiers. He'd barely managed to push open the door before he froze at the sight of the silver haired general a few meters away.
Slowly gazing over, Sephiroth let the Masamune slide out from the limp body of a soldier and reptile eyes flared slightly with satisfaction at the sight of more bodies to slay. He gave a slight smirk, turning to face them as if he was unaware of the bodies strewn around him and the blood smeared over the walls.
Joy stared. He knew he was staring instead of charging with aim to kill, but his limbs simply refused to obey him. The soldiers was basically hiding behind him, but Joy was unable to yell at them as well. He kept staring, feeling the hair on his neck starting to rise. Reptile eyes was glowing with the colour of the Lifestream and there was sometimes a flicker of light, like wings that kept appearing and disappearing. No, Joy swallowed hard, remembering seeing something simular in Kalm. But wings and halos only made the sight more horrible, as Sephiroth was nothing like an angel at all. No angel could radiate such dreadful powers and malice. Ice cold angst was spreading through Joy, making the blonde experience real fear for the first time in his life. Suddenly he just knew, if he fought against Sephiroth; Joy would die.
The soldiers panicked as Joy turned and ploughed through them, making his escape down the stairs again with a thundering heart. They were all going to die! How could one man be the cause of such destruction? He pushed through the door and ran down the hall in the floor below Sephiroth's mayhem, halting by a panel in the wall while trembling uncontrollably. No wonder Jinrei was so obsessed with getting his hands on the creature called Jenova. If she could grant a human powers like this, her cells would make Soldier Girl undefeatable!
Joy started violently as the door he'd come through was thrown through the air and slammed against the wall, with a soldier crumbling to the floor from the impact after he'd been thrown against it. The blonde dared one brief look over, but returned to punching codes into the panel as he saw Sephiroth stepping into the hall. It was not possible that the silver haired man had now several wings and that the pure aura of latent powers made his hair dance like in a breeze! Joy punched in the final number and stumbled back to the door leading to the next level, numbly grasping for the door handle as he watched the doors opening. At least twelve door, six on each side, opened to release the monsters stored inside them. Then Joy opened the door and fled, hearing the monsters scream with fury and bloodlust.
Finally reaching the room he was aiming for, Joy leaned heavily against the door as he was heaving for air and stared wide eyed at the calm Jinrei cutting at yet another one of his creatures. "He's... he's unstoppable! We have to flee, sir! He's killing everyone and everything! I've never seen anything like it!"
Glancing puzzled back at the usually so calm Joy, Jinrei put down his scalpel. "That bad?" He appeared to think things over then sighed with a mixture of loss and envy. "Ah, the power of Jenova..."
"Sir, we have to...!" Joy urged, stumbling over to urge the scientist to hurry. "He's punched straight through our defences! The bullets miss him, and no sword can even get close to him! Even the laser defence was too slow to hit him! It's not possible for anyone to do the things Sephiroth did in front of my eyes!"
Jinrei smiled absently, repeating himself. "The power of Jenova..." Then the entire building shook at some explosion and Jinrei cleared his throat. "Yes, well, a hasty retreat might be a wise decision at this moment." He turned to pick up notes and disks. "Let's take the sea way, shall we? We'll go visit Soldier Girl!"
Joy hesitated, glancing at the door. "What about Lee?"
"It's Lee Sephiroth is after, isn't it?" Jinrei asked lightly, walking over to reveal a secret panel in the wall. "Give Sephiroth what he wants, and he'll leave us alone. We're not on his agenda. Yet."
Hesitating one heart beat, then Joy trotted over to Jinrei as the secret passage opened. He never liked Lee that much anyway.
Cloud heard the commotion like it was far away, but as voices called his name and someone was shaking him, he came to realise that the trouble was dangerously close. The drugs always kept him disoriented, but he forced his mind to work and managed to open his eyes. A couple of Jinrei soldiers had undone his restraints and one of them was shaking him frantically while shouting something non-understandable.
Barely raising a hand, Cloud tried to signal for the soldier to calm down if he wanted the words to make sense.
A minute later, the blonde had figured as much that the base was under attack from some horrible monster and that Jinrei had fled. Joy as well. It still didn't explain why they were trying to make him get up on his feet, and one actually came running with the Ultima sword. Cloud numbly accepted his sword, swaying as he struggled to keep his balance. It felt like sleepwalking. He was awake, but not, at the same time. Everything was hazy and he just wanted to close his eyes and go back to sleep. What the hell had they done to him in this place?
The entire building shook violently and again the soldiers pleaded for Cloud to do something! He'd defeated him once, so surely he could do it again? He had to save them!
Shaking his head, Cloud once again tried to will himself out of his numb state. "What...?" He focused on the soldier on his left side. "There was another man... Hawk... Where is he?"
In a trembling voice, the soldier explained that Hawk was held in the lab a few doors down the hall. Every soldier in the room, however objected desperately when Cloud made his weak legs carry him out of the room. The blonde man had no idea what was going on, but knew Yuffie would never forgive him for abandoning a Wutai ninja to certain death! And with whatever was causing the explosions and minor earth quakes, it was probably better to face it as a duo!
It was easy enough to get to the lab, as all the guards had fled or was milling around in panic, but Cloud flinched at the sight that met him. He briefly wondered if he too looked that ragged. Yanking out the tubes sticking into the dark haired man's arm, Cloud then tried to shake Hawk awake like he had been himself. It took a good ten minutes before the ninja was conscious enough to stand on his own two feet and another five minutes before he was able to walk.
Whatever was attacking the base, it was getting closer. "Think you're able to fight?" Cloud glanced over at the pale faced Hawk, who managed something between a shrug and a nod. Smiling faintly, Cloud hoisted his sword slightly before he pushed open the door to the hall and motioned for Hawk to follow. The two had barely taken a step out of the lab before the wall at the other end of the hall exploded and several Jinrei soldiers was flung through the air while others kept firing at whatever was steadily tearing through their base. A young man was standing behind the small group of soldiers still trying to stop the intruder, shouting orders with panic in his voice.
Hawk started violently, his grey eyes widened with shock. "Lee!"
Cloud barely had time to cry out an objection as Hawk ran forward, but could only watch as the Wutaian sprinted towards the last officer protecting the Jinrei base. Hawk had called a name, so that meant he knew him? The blonde was torn out of his musings as a Flare spell rammed the group of soldiers, and sent everyone flying. Having automatically raised his arm to shield his eyes against the bright light that followed, Cloud then slowly lowered it to stare in disbelief at the identity of the spell caster. It was like being tossed back in time, and he was once again staring at the deformed Sephiroth in the Northern Crater. Eyes glowing with the colour of the Lifestream, halos and several wings made the silver haired man appear like the deity he'd once claimed to be. But there was nothing benign about this god. Cloud forced his eyes over at where Hawk had landed, and started slightly to find him crawling towards the injured Lee lying on the ground. Sephiroth was watching them too. "Hawk, no! Get away from there!" Cloud screamed, seeing Sephiroth draw back his human hand and somehow recognized the words used to summon SuperNova.
Finally reaching Lee, Hawk sat up and gently touched the face of the other man. "Finally found you, little brother..." He then glanced over at the horrible creature glaring at them, knowing it really was no way to escape. Gazing down at the pale Lee, Hawk swallowed hard. "I know what you did... That you lead them to Wutai... You betrayed everyone, Lee. You killed our parents and everyone else." He fought against the tears that welled up, seeing the young man glare defiantly at him. "There is so much I want to ask you. But there is no time... The ghosts of Wutai will not give me peace before they are avenged... Goodbye, little brother, traitor and once my best friend..."
Cloud started violently as there was a glimmer of metal and Hawk rammed the knife into the fallen Jinrei officer, and would have run over if not frozen in his tracks by a furious yell.
"NO!" Sephiroth stomped his foot, unaware of how he'd returned to his human form, anger burning violently inside him. "Damn you, you little interfering maggot! How DARE you kill him? His life was mine to take! I've been hunting him for so long, and you just... kill him in front of me?" He was trembling with rage now, pulling out the Masamune.
This time, Cloud was able to move and ran over to stand between the outraged Sephiroth and the indifferent Hawk, Ultima sword raised just in case. "Back off, Sephiroth! Hawk is on our team!"
Sephiroth let out a harsh laugh, cutting the air with the Masamune. "Strife... I was kind of hoping you would be dead, but I guess it will make my day a little better if I get to kill you myself. You're always ruining my plans, aren't you?" He slowly got into a fighting stance. "I'm going to make sure you'll never interfere again!"
Fear made Cloud's heart thunder hard, as he knew he was in no shape to fight Sephiroth. "I thought we were on the same team now, Sephiroth. Or did you just pretend?"
Sephiroth took a step towards him, sneering. "I don't have to explain myself to you! Now, let your sword do the talking!" As Sephiroth charged, he knew Strife would have no chance of blocking the attack. The blonde was still suffering from the treatment he'd received in Jinrei's hands, but that only meant it would take less time for what would eventually happen! In his focus on slicing the annoying Strife into little bits, Sephiroth was completely unprepared for the floor collapsing.
Cloud lost balance and fell painfully on his back, the Ultima sword slipping from his grip. He automatically turned over on his side, curled up while covering his head with his arms as pieces of the ceiling fell as well. A few seconds later, he dared to gaze around and found Sephiroth gone. Blinking nervously, he scouted for Hawk, but found him gone as well. A huge gap was where a huge part of the floor had been and the blonde crawled over on all fours to peer down.
Sephiroth was hanging by the fingertips and he was panting hard as he was gazing down into the liquid magma flowing far below him. Jinrei had built his base on a frigging volcano? He cut a face of pain as his left shoulder was bleeding fiercly from where some debris had hit him, and he numbly shook his head to snap himself out of the shock. That was when he saw Cloud gazing down at him, and red anger returned. "You'd better run, Strife..."
Cloud swallowed hard, seeing Sephiroth's injured shoulder as well as the cut by his temple. He doubted even Sephiroth would be able to pull himself up in that condition. It was a heartbeat's hesitation before he reached out and took a hold of Sephiroth's wrists. "Hang on. I'll get you up."
There was only one things worse than being defeated by Strife, and that was having to be rescued by him! Sephiroth squirmed slightly, feeling the weariness in his limbs but refused to acknowledge it. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Strife. If I get up from here, I'm going to kill you! I swear, you pull me up and I will cut your damn head off!"
Feeling a chill running down his spine, Cloud forced himself not to release his grip on Sephiroth. "I hear you." He found a good foothold, then gathered himself before putting all his strength into pulling Sephiroth up and into safety. Luckily, instincts made the silver haired man help as he got half-way onto the solid ground again and soon they were both crawling away from the gap. A few minutes passed in them both catching their breaths and realising they were in safety. Well, at least Sephiroth was.
Holding out his hand, Sephiroth didn't glance over as a pile of rubble shook until the Masamune managed to break free and fly towards it's master's grip. Sword firmly back in hand, the silver haired man fought his way up on his feet again. His head was aching infernally, and his shoulder was now going numb. "I warned you," he growled down to the blonde, tightening his grip on the Masamune. "You should have let me fall."
Cloud managed a strained smile, not gazing up at him. "Maybe. But I'm one the kind who turn my back on someone who needs my help."
"I didn't need you help!" Sephiroth exclaimed furiously, slashing the air with Masamune. "I NEVER need YOUR help! You just love to play the frigging martyr, don't you? You love it when you can sacrifice yourself and be the nice guy! It's sickening! You're totally spineless!"
Clenching his jaw angrily, Cloud suddenly gazed up at the silver haired man. "I believe in people, Sephiroth." He shifted so he was kneeling in front of the infuriated General. "I may not believe in you, but I believe in Aeris. And she believes in you." Sticking out his chin, the blonde raised an eyebrow. "So go on. Prove me right, and show Aeris that she is wrong about you! Prove that her faith in you is completely unfounded!"
Sephiroth stared at Cloud with troubled look, feeling himself being torn at the mere mentioning of Aeris' name. He then shook his head slowly, feeling numb as he lifted the Masamune. "She can never be affected with what she's never to know."
Cloud saw the glimmer of light bouncing of the razor sharp edge of the Masamune as it came towards him, then everything went black.
Claws mere making clacking noises against the ground as the chocobo's were making steady progress out of the ruins. Rufus knew it was probably going to earn him an appointment with a chiropractor, but he kept trying to see everything at once. The scenery was all the entertainment there was as the brat prince had pretty much given up talking to the other man on the chocobo beside him. It kept giving him headaches! Just by asking him his name, it had ended up in a minor migraine.
"So, what's your name?"
"My name? Can't remember for the life of me! ...But you can call me Rufus!"
"You're called Rufus too?"
"I am?"
"You just said so!"
"I did? Can't remember for the life of me! Just call me Sephiroth then!"
"You're not Sephiroth!"
"I'm not? Huh. Strange. Are you sure?"
"Yes!"
"Oh. How about Rufus then?"
Rufus had then turned to merely calling him 'you there', and adding 'annoying as hell, little, senile imbecile' in his mind. It had been just as hopeless to make the old man explain how he'd managed to bring Rufus to the Lost City, or where the hell the Lost City was! Instead, he'd just conjured up a couple of chocobos and said it was time for them to leave. Rufus hadn't really objected to that. He was sick with longing to see Tifa again. She thought he was dead... He remembered too well when she'd been shot and was in a coma for days. If she was going through that, then every second spent away from her was hell!
"How long before we reach Midgar?" Rufus asked, only half hoping he'd receive an intelligent answer.
The old man stopped his humming and scratched his head underneath the huge hat. "Hard to say, really. Depends on weather, monsters and Jinrei's people."
Jinrei. That man was going to regret he'd ever been born! Rufus unknowingly clenched his grip on the reins. "That man is so dead I don't understand why he bothered to be born! I'm going to kill him so hard that his ancestors are going to feel it!"
"Things have changed since you was there, Rufus ShinRa. It's not going to be as easy as you think. Friends can easily become enemies and enemies your friends!" The old man urged the chocobo to increase it's pace, and soon they were crossing some mountain.
It was dark when they reached the ocean, and the old man suggested they rest for the night. Reluctantly obeying, Rufus stood gazing out over the barely visible ocean as the chocobos were being fed greens. Tifa was just across the ocean. He was almost tempted to start swimming.
"You should get some sleep, young man," the old man said as he tossed over a blanket to Rufus. "Morning will come soon enough."
Will it? Rufus thought, gazing numbly down at the blanket in his arms. "Why haven't you told anyone I'm still alive? Tifa thinks I'm dead!"
"No one hunts a dead man," was the only reply he got, followed by a loud snoring.
Rufus fought against a ridiculous urge to slap his rolled up blanket over the old man's head, but turned to stare out over the ocean again instead. The closer he got to Midgar, the more restless he got. Tomorrow he would hold Tifa in his arms again, making sure he'd never be separated from her and their child again like that! Rufus also wondered how Sephiroth was doing, as well as Aeris. He could only hope that the last months hadn't taken away Cid's high spirits, or that Hojo had turned him into a newt or something. Smiling faintly, Rufus hoped everyone could feel his spirit reaching out for them.
"I'm alive," he said silently over the never ending waves. "I'm alive and I'm coming home."
In the city of Midgar, far from the lone figure by the beach, Tifa turned in her sleep while a single tear ran down her cheek to disappear into her pillow.