CHAPTER VIII
THE NORTHERN CRATER
The Gaea’s cliffs stretched around him, white everywhere as snow flittered to the ground. The newly fallen flakes were soft beneath his feet, crunching softly and leaving tracks as he ascended the mountains. The tracks were not viable for long, as the snow filled the holes almost as quickly as they had been made.
Cloud didn’t know how long he had been scaling the mountains. He had lost track of time, his mind too numb to comprehend anything but the biting winds and the below zero temperature. His hands, sore and scratched, automatically reached for the next handhold above him. Occasionally his numb fingers refused to grip, and he had to focus on simply closing them round the icy stones and rocks embedded in the mountainside.
He had to get to Sephiroth. He had all the answers, and he would pay for his attempt upon Aeris’s life.
He found his mind wandering back to the ‘clone’ that had sacrificed himself upon the altar at the City of the Ancients, but before he could think of much-needed answers, he realised his handholds had run out.
Looking up, he saw he had finally reached the top of the cliffs. Gaining energy simply from that realisation, he hurried the last few steps to the peak.
The view was indescribable, with the snow falling gently around him and the softly glowing crater before him. Yet Cloud did not stay to admire the beauty of it. He stopped only for a few moments to catch his breath, and then continued into the crater.
Sephiroth was there, and Cloud had to get to him quickly.
It landed inside the small cave, setting Aeris to the ground. They were protected from the bitter wind, yet it was still freezing. The milky white snow was falling thick and fast, making it nearly impossible to carry on.
Aeris seemed to be getting worse, Chaos observed to itself. She had not sat up from where it had laid her. He walked over to her, hiding any signs of tiredness if he felt any.
“Do you want to stay here until the weather lets up?” It asked her. Aeris shook her head, slowly sitting up.
“We can’t,” she stated. “We have to get to Sephiroth before Cloud does.” She stood up, using all her energy to remain standing. “We can’t afford to stop and rest.”
Chaos nodded, knowing she was right. He walked up to the edge of the cave, glancing up. The wind was harsh and biting and the snowflakes cold, yet they had to go o. They simply had to.
Aeris ran a hand across her fevered brow. The Lifestream was in turmoil and there was nothing she could do except sit back and suffer the consequences. She couldn’t contact her mother amidst the misty voices. She had never felt so alone, and so unsure.
Chaos gently lifted her back into the air, and back out into the treacherous weather. The wind attacked them with full force, and snow fell onto Aeris’s exposed arms. The flakes were a slight relief to her, as it calmed her fever slightly, yet she knew it wouldn’t be long until numbness set into her body again. She glanced up at Chaos, wondering if it could feel the coldness through its thick leathery wings, and whether they’d drop from the sky if he should lose a grip on her due to numb fingers. Yet it seemed to be flying with no problems.
The mountains below them seemed to show no signs of anyone trekking up them. Aeris hoped they weren’t that far behind Cloud, and also that he had even survived the horrific journey.
Aeris didn’t want to think about that. She closed her eyes, letting the wind and the Chaos Beast guide them. She’d have the answers to her questions soon enough.
And there he was, clear as day, right in front of him. Cloud blinked and shook his head, certain he had not been there a few moments ago. The man had his sword unsheathed, yet Cloud did not draw his own.
“You came,” Sephiroth stated bluntly. “Fool. You will never win against me.”
“I have no intentions of fighting…” Cloud said, a touch of melancholy in his words. “I just want answers. Why did you try to kill Aeris? Who was that man who died in who place?”
Before Sephiroth could answer, if he had any intentions of doing so, they heard a shout from the distance. Looking up, they saw the Chaos Beast flying towards them, carrying what appeared to be Aeris in his claws.
The two landed a few feet away, Chaos transforming as soon as he had set Aeris down. The girl began running towards him, using what appeared to be all her energy to remain standing. Vincent ran after her as soon as he was able.
“Cloud!” Aeris yelled. “Cloud, listen to me!”
Cloud turned and studied Aeris as she stopped in front of him, and reached forward to put a hand on her shoulder.
“You’re sick,” he stated. Aeris’s condition was worsening still, and anyone around her could see it. “You shouldn’t be here!”
“Listen to us Cloud,” Vincent said as he met the two. “Give us the Black Materia.”
Cloud looked at them both, surprised. He had almost forgotten about the black orb he had been carrying. Did they not trust him with it? Did they think his sanity was so fragile that he would let it get into the wrong hands?
“It’s safe with me,” he reassured them. “Don’t worry about it.”
“Cloud,” Aeris said, almost frantically. “You must give it to us.”
“No. Come here.”
They turned to see Sephiroth, beckoning to Cloud with an evil gleam in his eye. He had sheathed his sword, and if any of them had thought about it, he would have been easy to defeat at that point.
But they didn’t think about it. Vincent and Aeris were looking at Cloud, who was slowly walking towards Sephiroth.
“Wake up,” Sephiroth called softly as Cloud neared him.
The blond haired man cried out in pain, and sunk to his knees, hands clutching at his hair and his temples so hard his knuckles were white.
“Give it to me.”
Aeris ran forward to assist Cloud at Sephiroth’s words, but Vincent held her back. They had saved her once; he didn’t want their efforts and the future Cloud’s death to be in vain should Sephiroth try again.
Cloud slowly got to his feet again, and continued walking towards Sephiroth. It looked at though he was being manipulated, and that he was fighting it. His steps were slow and unsure, and he would stop after two or three and clutch at his head again. Tears shone out in his mako blue eyes, though whether it was from pain or the knowledge that he was about to give Sephiroth the Black Materia, Vincent and Aeris didn’t know.
Cloud eventually reached Sephiroth, holding his hand out, the black orb glistening invitingly.
“NO!”
Aeris struggled free of Vincent’s grasp then, running to Cloud’s side. She needed to stop him. Sephiroth couldn’t get the Black Materia, he just couldn’t!
Sephiroth took it before Aeris could reach them, a wicked smile etched in his features.
Aeris fell to the ground as she saw that, her disappointment and fever weakening her to the point that she couldn’t remain standing.
Sephiroth had won. He had the Black Materia.
Aeris put her head into her hands, and cried, despair reigning over her. Nothing more could be done. Meteor would be summoned, and the Planet obliterated.
All she could do now was to sit back and watch the Planet her race had saved, be destroyed.