CHAPTER IX
DEJA VU
The instant Sephiroth took the Black Materia, the world went straight to hell.
That was the only Aeris could describe the scene before her. The planet’s cries, which had been mere whimpers before, turned into screams. The ground trembled with the fury of it, while the mako-enriched winds suddenly battered the small group with hurricane force.
In her fever, Aeris couldn’t tell what was going on; the images went too fast for comprehension. She felt herself being dragged towards a cliff face nearby, but was too weak to try to stop her momentum. Suddenly a heavy weight fell over her, covering her from the gale and holding her tight. Cloud. But where was—?
The crack of a gunshot made her turn her head. Vincent was fighting Sephiroth. How he managed to stand upright and still aim, Aeris didn’t know. He was shouting something, but the wind and the shots drowned out the sound.
Sephiroth ignored the bullets that raked his flesh, as well as the shaking ground and piercing wind. He stood perfectly still, clutching the Black Materia tightly, cradling it to his chest, smiling in ecstasy. With a casual air, he tossed the Masamune over the cliff face into the pit below. Eyes closed in relish, Sephiroth raised his arms…
…and changed.
Black cloth and skin and hair ripped apart, falling to the ground as the thing Aeris thought of as Sephiroth grew instead into a mockery of life. Limbs protruded in odd places around the monster’s red skin as it shireked in pleasure, growing to a height of twenty feet. Only the face remained the same, a smiling growth in the middle of its torso. Then her eyes blurred and her head sank to the ground.
Vincent stopped firing, putting his gun back in his holster. Jenova, he remembered. Sephiroth was just part of Jenova. Which means the real Sephiroth doesn’t have the black materia yet. There is still a chance. Vincent bowed his head, concentrating.
Cloud regarded the oozing life form with an almost clinical air. "Jenova," he said, dragging Aeris away from it. Placing her behind a nearby rock, he stood, bracing himself against the wind. Moving to stand in front the Jenova creature, he shouted, "You were never really Sephiroth, were you?"
It blinked, regarding the small man in front of it. Cloud had not yet drawn his sword; in fact, he made no effort to threaten the monster.
Cloud shouted again, "You just changed into Sephiroth to trick me!" It sounded like an accusation.
The creature paused for a moment, then rolled its shoulders in a boneless shrug. Disinterested, it started to turn away…
…and Chaos slammed into its side.
"Vincent!" Cloud shouted. His hand moved in a blur, removing the massive sword from his back in an instant. "Kill it! It’s not Sephiroth! It never was!" He jumped in to attack with the demon.
Aeris blinked, looking around. Had she passed out? She coughed, choking on the cold air. The spasm shook her like a leaf, and she nearly swooned. She was trying to get her eyes to focus when she heard a scream behind her.
Clutching at the rock so she wouldn’t blow away, she peered over it to watch the unfolding battle.
"What’s she doing here?" Heidigger yelled.
Tifa winced, though not from the man’s piggish voice. It was obvious that the Shin-Ra Chair of Intelligence had not bathed in quite some time. She quickly climbed the ramp into the Highwind, staying behind Rufus to block the worst of the stench.
"Tifa Lockheart will be our honored guest, Chairman," Rufus told the man quietly. "You have no problem with that, I assume?"
Heidigger opened mouth again to protest, but seeing the gleam in Rufus’ eye and the shotgun in his hand, decided not to press his luck.
"No sir," the bearded fat man gritted out. "But I cannot let you go with such a dangerous criminal without protection, Mr. President. Allow the Turks to escort both you and your…guest," he spat.
On cue, Reno and Rude flanked Tifa, who glanced at them but said nothing.
Rufus turned his head to the Turks, then shrugged. "Prepare for takeoff," he ordered Heidigger, then faced Tifa. Brushing his blonde hair aside, he said "Tifa, if you will please follow me…"
Following him, Tifa ignored Reno and Rude at her side, looking at the ground. Cloud was dead. Or he was going to die, depending on how one looked at it. Either way he was doomed. Cloud, I never told you…I’m sorry…she thought, eyes blurring with unshed tears.
She felt the guilt inside of her, crushing her from inside. What had she gotten herself into? Surrounded by Shin-Ra, running away from her friends, and from Sephiroth, the man who had killed her love. Why was she doing this?
Because you’re doing it for yourself, she realized. For the first time in your life, you’re being selfish. And if you don’t pull yourself out of this fit, then you’ll never see your friends again, and you’ll never have your revenge on Sephiroth.
Revenge. That was it. This time around, she wasn’t going to kill Sephiroth to save the world.
She was going to kill him for herself. For taking away her purpose in life.
Jenova was losing.
Aeris felt a surge of elation. Maybe it wasn’t all over yet. Cloud and Vincent, aware that this was their last chance to stop Meteor, attacked with abandon, ignored all injuries Jenova inflicted on them in return. Despite the monster’s best efforts, they were pushing it back, edging it towards the cliff.
A tentacle suddenly coiled around Cloud and picked him up bodily then slammed him to rocky ground. Aeris gasped, seeing that he could hardly get up. Ignoring her body’s protests, she channeled the energy of the planet into both Cloud and Vincent, healing their wounds. Such an expenditure of energy drove her to her knees. She crumpled to the ground into another coughing fit, and then darkness claimed her.
Cloud jumped up, and turned his head to thank Aeris. Seeing her on the ground, his fury rose and he redoubled his efforts against the thing that had been Sephiroth.
Chaos roared, standing toe to toe with the alien. Vincent struggled to hold on to his rage as he clawed, bit, and slashed the pulsing mass. But he was no closer to wrenching the Black Materia away from the monster’s clutches, which it protected against its body.
Cloud leaped into the monster, sword leading the way. It sank into the fleshy torso with a loud crunch, up to the hilt. Tightening his grip on his weapon, Cloud jumped up as high as he could, tearing a long gash in the monster’s side. Blood oozed from the ten foot long wound.
Jenova began to keen, a terrible wail that forced its opponents the cover their hears against it. Chaos folded its wings around its body to protect its sensitive ears against the sound. Cloud fell to the ground, feeling like his head was about to split. Screaming mindlessly, Jenova turned…
…and fell.
The sound of the scream drained away as they monster fell from the cliff, and soon they heard nothing but the wind. Cloud rose unsteadily to his feet. The ground had seemed to stop shaking, and the wind died down to what it was before. He glanced over to see Vincent had changed back from whatever he had turned into. Seeing the man stir, he turned and hurried over to Aeris’ side.
As he turned the unconscious girl over on her back, he realized that her skin was hot. So hot, in fact, that he even felt it through the numbness in his fingers. She’s sweating, he realized. She has a fever, though I have no idea why. Maybe Jenova? What could have done this?
"How is she?" he heard Vincent inquire behind him.
"Bad," Cloud answered, shaking his head. "Real bad." He stood to face the dark man in red. "What happened to her?"
"I do not know," Vincent answered, looking down the cliff where Jenova fell. He turned to face Cloud. "She has gotten worse as we journeyed here."
Cloud narrowed his eyes. "And how did you get here, Vincent? Nobody followed me up the cliff."
Vincent paused, unsure of how to proceed. Answers which lead to more questions, which would lead to questions he couldn’t answer. Cloud must not know his own destiny, he reminded himself. But he had already seen the Chaos form; Cloud was cunning enough to figure it out on his own. No harm in telling him that.
"I flew, carrying her," he answered, moving to kneel beside Aeris and resting a hand on her forehead.
"You flew? In that demon-thing form you just were?" Cloud demanded.
"Yes." The shorter the answers, the easier it should be.
"Is it a new form or something? I thought you changed into something else," Cloud eyed Vincent suspiciously.
"A new form. And she insisted on coming along," he said, anticipating the next question. He removed his cloak and wrapped Aeris in it. He felt naked without it, but better that he feel uncomfortable than for Aeris to die from the bitter cold. "Do you know what just happened to Sephiroth?" he asked, changing the topic. He already knew the answer.
The Mako eyes blinked, then regarded the cliff. "Sephiroth was never here. We never followed him at all. We’ve been manipulated from the start." Cloud retrieved his sword and seathed it. Clenching his jaw, he added, "Especially me."
Vincent gathered Aeris in his arms, careful not to scratch her with his metal claw. He looked at Cloud. "I didn’t hear Jenova strike bottom."
Cloud nodded. Looking off in the distance, he said, "That’s where he really is. I feel it. I know it. We have to go there and finish this."
Vincent followed Cloud’s gaze. The Center of the Northern Crater. He shook his head. He hated the feeling of déjà vu.
"Why Tifa, it’s almost like you’ve been here before," Rufus said mildly, behind her.
Tifa blinked, broken out of her reverie. Twirling around, she saw that she had outpaced Rufus on his way to the bridge. She hadn’t even noticed; she had done it out of habit. She saw him boring his eyes into her, analyzing her and her intentions. Her mind a whirlwind of confusion, she stammered out, "Well, it’s not like it’s hard to figure out which way to go."
Behind Rufus, both Reno and Rude arched on eyebrow.
Rufus smirked, "Then perhaps you can figure out your way towards the captain’s quarters?"
Looking at him, Tifa felt sick. She was sick and tired of these games, these political nuances, the veiled threats and insincere courtesies. Cloud was dead, and she was playing mind games with Rufus. A lump rising in her throat, she ignored him and strode straight toward the command chamber, leaving Rufus and the Turks to catch up with her.
Standing by the door, she waited for them to catch up. She refused to look at Rufus’ smug look of triumph on his face as they approached. Turning to the Turks, he said, "Wait outside the door. I wish to discuss matters with our guest in private."
Nodding, the two enforcers flanked the door as it slid open. Rufus walked inside, and Tifa was about to follow, when she heard Reno murmur, "So where’s your useless boyfriend now?"
Something inside of Tifa snapped with that snide remark. She lashed out blindly, not thinking, not feeling. Reno’s jaw snapped as her fist connected, but that wasn’t enough. She felt bones and flesh break and distend under her gloves, but that wasn’t enough. She hit him again and again, not stopping until Rude plunged a needle into her neck.
The last thing Tifa heard before losing conciousness was the sound of Rufus Shinra laughing.
"I wish you weren’t doing this."
Vincent regarded Cloud impassively, holding Aeris close. The feverish girl stirred slightly in his arms. "There is no where else to take her. And I think you will need help against Sephiroth."
Shaking his head stubbornly, Cloud turned and vaulted the next jump. The way had gotten more treacherous as they had progressed towards their destination. Sheer drops surrounded them on all sides, while the slipperly rocks and cold wind made jumping from cliff to cliff dangerous. Bizarre creatures watched from the shadows, driven into hiding by…something.
Tightening his grip on Aeris, Vincent leapt after Cloud, landing lightly on his feet next to him. "You’re putting Aeris in danger," Cloud admonished again.
"From Sephiroth or you?" Vincent snapped back. He had forgotten how Cloud used to be before he had told the rest of the group the truth of himself. Afterwards, Cloud had become more insightful, dutiful, and trustworthy. But now…
Vincent stared at a shocked Cloud for another beat for continuing on, hearing the other man hurry after him. He couldn’t think about that now. All that mattered was they reach the Northern Crater before Jenova did.
As Aeris shivered beneath his coat, he amended that thought. And protect Aeris
"Fascinating. So this is Tifa Lockheart."
Rufus turned his head slightly, away from the map. "I wouldn’t touch her if I were you, Hojo."
Hojo chuckled, raising his head away from the girl on the couch. "Merely observing, Mr. President. A most fascinating specimen."
The white suit shivered slightly at Hojo’s dismissive remark. After Tifa’s rather energetic outburst, he had brought her in to rest in the Command chamber. The damnable thing was Hojo had been in there when he wanted to be alone. He couldn’t trust him, not like his father had foolishly done. Hojo’s own creature had killed him. Rufus valued Hojo, as one would value a resource, but he must remember the man had no compunctions whatsoever. He was utterly amoral. Rufis strained to master himself as he continued. "She said she was looking for her friends, but reportedly they are headed towards the wastes."
Hojo raised a glass of wine to his lips as he considered. "They must be going towards the Northern Crater to stop my son. Foolish, of course, but since when has Avalanche shown signs of intelligence?" he asked.
"Never," answered Rufus, looking at the map on the far wall. His hand traced the location of the Northern Crater. "Neo Midgar…" he murmured.
The scientist set his wineglass down before hobbling over to stand next to the young President. Folding his hands behind his back, he said "Remember that this site contains more than Mako, Mr. President. It is also the site of WEAPON creation by the planet."
"I know that." Rufus turned to look over at Tifa. "We can beat anything the planet throws at us. In the meantime, Sephiroth poses an immediate threat. I intend to talk this girl into getting her friends to fight for us. That way, they’ll be cannon fodder for Sephiroth while we send in our forces." His eyes trailed down the girl’s beautiful face. Such a waste…
"And what about Meteor?" Hojo asked, keenly interested in how Rufus would deal with it. "Have you forgotten about it? Jenova and my son are undoubtedly putting it into action as we speak." His glasses flashed.
"Taken care of," said Rufus as he waved a hand dismissivly. "I’m not interested in some Ancient fairy tale. If it indeed comes to pass, we can use Shin-Ra No. 26 to blow it out of the sky."
Hojo grunted before moving away to sit down. "Never underestimate my son, Mr. President," he said as he leaned back in the chair.
Always so proud of your creations, aren’t you? Rufus thought viciously. He looked at the map again, but the lines were starting to blur. He had slept only rarely since his father had died, putting him in charge of the company. Administrating the world is a bitch. Rufus rubbed his temples. He was getting tired, but he needed to stay on top of things. There were too many things to worry about, like how Tifa knew the interior of the Highwind. Maybe those rebels had some blueprints or something to it, but it looked like she wasn’t aware of her surroundings…
…or maybe she was more dangerous than he thought.
He felt himself tingle with anticipation of the coming challenge. Both mental and physical. Such a challenge none other could give him.
He raised his own glass in salute to her before returning to business.
To the victor go the spoils, Cloud Strife.
Tifa struggled to remain perfectly still, to keep her breathing slow and steady. She had come out of the drug-induced sleep soon after being injected, using a technique Zangan had taught her. She had stayed in a trance, keeping limp and unresponsive in order to get some information. What Hojo had said horrified her, shocking her out of her grief. She had heard the note of pride in Hojo’s voice as he spoke of Sephiroth, and knew how he intended to betray the company in order to aid his son. He’s insane! I have to stop him from doing that! she thought frantically.
Last time, she, Cloud, and Vincent had barely arrived in time to stop him from energizing Sephiroth and destroying Midgar with the Sister Ray. But now that they were back in time, they had already altered everything. She didn’t know if the group Rufus had talked of was her friends or their past selves. She didn’t know if they would be able to get to Midgar to stop Hojo this time.
It’s up to me. If I don’t do it, no one will, she said in her mind. She owed to Cloud. She owed it her friends.
Only this time, she was all by herself.
They were following. The cancer was following, along with the other one, the flawed one, who could change but not know Jenova. Not know the joy of being with the One.
And they were bringing it. The Lifegiver, the one with The Planet. The Ancient.
Jenova extended another pseudopod to drag itself forward. It had to hurry. Normally it would have flown to its destination, as that was what had allow it to survived the fall, but now it had no energy left. Blood was draining rapidly from the hole in its body. It would die, but the One would have what it desired. Calamity from the Skies. This world would die, and Jenova would move on to the next life. So it goes. So it has always been.
Slowly, the malignant life form crawled towards the canyon that was its goal. The One is here. In the tree. The world will die. Meteor. One. Die. Death. Destroy.
The One is smiling now. He knows that it is here. Soon the creatures will pay.
Trembling, a tentacle extends with the Black Materia in its coil. The One reaches for it…
Die. Destroy. Death. Death. Death. Death…
They saw it happen from a distance.
Vincent knew they were too late. Sephiroth had it. Meteor would come.
"Sephiroth!" Cloud roared, bringing his sword from his back. He rushed forward.
Vincent ignored him. Cloud could go get himself killed. He could afford to; he was already dead. Vincent had no such luxury. He had to protect Aeris. He laid her to the ground, trying to make her comfortable. To come all this way to fail again, he thought bitterly. Perhaps…
"Aeris," he whispered gently, drying the sweat from her face before it froze. Ahead, he heard Cloud shout; what, he didn’t care. Maybe she would know what to do, how to stop this from happening, but she was so ill…
…and then Aeris started to scream.
"Sir!" Rude spoke over the intercom.
Pressing the button, Rufus snapped, "What is it? I’m busy!"
"A massive anomaly is occurring in the Northern Crater. The ship’s instruments are going berserk!"
Hojo smiled. "It begins."
"Whew!" panted Barret. "We made it! Again!"
"I hope I was not too much of a burden, Barret," Red spoke as he leapt from the big man’s back.
"Can you see anything down there?" Yuffie asked, trying to scan the crater.
Cid was in no condition to respond; climbing didn’t agree with him The small band had finally made it to the top of Gaea’s cliff, after climbing up the sheer mountainside. Having already known the way to go, they had managed to elude their past selves while beating them at the same time.
"No," answered Cait. "My scanners indicate a massive amount of energy in the center, however."
"They already must be at the center, then," said Red. "And by the number of bodies I see from here, Sephiroth must be there with them."
"Whose bodies?" Yuffie demanded to know. Then her eyes widened. "Oh yeah! Those spooky guys with numbers on them!"
"So we’re too late," muttered Barret in defeat. "Damn."
Then the ground started to shake. Everyone except Red was thrown to the ground as an earsplitting roar sounded from the crater.
"&#*%! It’s WEAPON!" shouted Cid.
"Aw no, don’t tell me we have to fight them again," groaned Yuffie to herself.
From different locations in the crater they saw the immense creatures climb from the planet that had birthed them. Then, as one, they screamed their fury, rocketing up in the sky in a multicolored rainbow before scattering to the different points across the world. As the passed overhead, the ground slowly turned solid again.
The group slowly rose from the ground, dusting themselves off as they pondered this new development. Cid was the first to speak.
"Well, what are we gonna do now? That means Sephiroth has the Black Materia now, right?"
"It did last time. We’re lucky we’re weren’t down there; the last time, we had to escape with Shin-Ra," said Barret. He grimaced at the memory.
"I wonder if they’re alright," Cait said, shoulders dropping. "They’re alone with Sephiroth down there now."
"Well, we better get out of here," chirped Yuffie. She moved to climb back down.
Barret seized her by the arm. "What the hell are you doing? You’re not abandonin’ the rest of us!" he shouted.
"I’d rather be outside the energy shield when Sephiroth puts it up, thank you!" Yuffie shouted back.
Barret blinked. Scratching his head with his gun arm, he said, "Oh yeah, that damn thing…"
"Well what are we gonna do!" Cid demanded. "Are we out or are we in?"
"I think are problems are more severe than that," Red spoke up.
The others looked at him. The lion-like animal was staring off into the distance where the WEAPONs had departed.
"What’s up?" asked Cait.
"Didn’t any of you notice?" Read glanced at them. "There were six WEAPONs."
"So?" shrilled Yuffie, waving her arms in the air. "What does that have to do with anything?"
Everyone else ignored the slight ninja. "But we only defeated three…" Barret slowly responded.
"…and Shin-Ra killed two others with the super gun," Cait finished for him.
"But what does that mean?" Cid asked Red.
The animal sighed. "I don’t know."
"Whatever!" shouted Yuffie. "So we miscounted the WEAPONs the first time. Maybe one was afraid of us or something! It’s not that big of a deal!"
"I don’t think so," Barret said grimly. "A big thing like that would be hard to miss."
"Not to mention that we would have heard of it attacking somewhere," Red pointed out. "I think this is a new development, one that our presence here has changed."
"Or it could just be part of this another dimension theory?" Cid offered. "Just something the planet did differently because we’re in a new dimension?"
"Not this again," groaned Yuffie.
"It’s possible," Red answered grudgingly. "We have no way to know for sure."
"But we can’t get stuck here," said Cait. "If Sephiroth is going to throw up that energy shield of his, how will we get out to stop the WEAPONs?"
"And Shin-Ra, too," said Barret. "They’re still causin’ no good."
"Wait! So we are gonna leave without Aeris, Cloud and Vincent? They might already be fighting down there!" Cid retorted.
Red closed his eyes. At least they weren’t demanding answers from him anymore. Because he didn’t have them. This was a situation beyond his experience.
All he knew for certain was they had to decide what to do, and quickly.