Tuesday, July 27, 2004

Chapter thirteen...
(As always, rated T for Teen, just like the game.)

Xenos stood among the mutilated corpses of those he killed on the third floor. A little winded after the massacre, he took a couple of deep breaths. Sheathing his masamune, he went over to the first specimen, Cloud, and glared at him furiously. A feeling of satisfaction formed at the sight of Cloud in his defenseless state of unconsciousness.

“Cloud Strife, of Nibelheim,” Jenova’s cacophonous voice echoed, interrupting his vindictive thoughts. “If memory serves, some of my cells are present within him, but they are dormant. As for these three, their genetic structures are identical to Sephiroth’s, and as such they are already cleansed. As for Tifa, she has no trace of the virus. Yet I sense that someone within the Lifestream has come into contact with her.”

“There is only one with enough spiritual energy to do so…the Centra girl. Tifa will lead us to her,” he said pensively. Straining his ears for sound, he could hear hasty footsteps making their way up the stairs and into the room. Without turning to acknowledge their presence, he spoke. “Good evening, gentlemen.”

“So, I take it that you’re Xenos, right?” Ryudo asked sardonically. “Care to explain why you did all of this?”

“Some may say I’ve lost my mind. But I’ve merely opened my eyes to the reality that your kind has been blind to for centuries. That reality is that only the strong will rise above the weak and rightfully inherit the Planet. This is how it should have been from the beginning.” X paused, whirling around to face the men standing before him. “But the Centra would have none of it. They tolerated mankind’s weaknesses. Now look what has become of them.”

“I’m sure this is not what the Ancients intended for the Planet,” Tidus said boldly.

“There is one who will decide the fate of this Planet, one whose wisdom surpasses that of the Ancients,” Xenos explained. “The Ancients are dead and gone, so what they intended for the Planet does not matter.”

A loud crash diverted their attention away from Sephiroth and towards the containment chambers at the far end of the room. Chamber number three, which previously housed Josie, had been smashed open, and she stood at the far end of the room. Another loud crash was heard, and chambers four and five were also broken, revealing Wing and Cross Blade, who were staring at them vacantly. The three advanced toward Ryudo and Tidus, swords drawn.

All at once, Josie stormed at Ryudo and dealt him a vicious blow with her masamune. He blocked just in time with his sword, yet the extreme force of her attack knocked his sword to the floor. Obviously pleased by this, she spun on her heels and attacked him again. He leapt out of the way and snatched his sword from the floor just in time to block another of her furious attacks. Tidus attempted to intervene, when Wing stopped him dead in his tracks. He and Tidus traded vicious blows with their mighty swords, Tidus being mostly on the receiving end of the onslaught.

While everyone had been distracted by the battle at hand, Cloud had broken free of his containment chamber. He had been conscious for a short while, but he had seen just about enough to understand the situation. Xenos was gone, and had taken Jenova with him. The transparent window of Tifa’s containment chamber was broken open as well, and she climbed out of her chamber, looking around the room as though in a daze. “What’s going on?” she asked Cloud.

“There’s no time to explain,” Cloud said hastily. “I have to find Xenos before he escapes.” With those words he grabbed his Buster sword from the floor and took off in the direction that Xenos had went.

Tifa, still perplexed by what was going on, looked around the room. In the distance, she could see Sakura sneaking over to the staircase to the next floor. One of the Sephiroth-like figures caught sight of her and unsheathed his sword, joining pursuit. By the time Sakura discovered that she was being followed, he was already a few meters away from her. She whipped out her staff, preparing to defend herself as he drew nearer.

“Do you have nothing better to do than pick on little girls?” a female voice inquired.

Cross Blade spun around and found himself face to face with Tifa. Provoked by her words, Cross Blade launched an assault on her, slashing and stabbing in a rush of irrepressible vehemence. Tifa dodged his wild slashes, bringing herself between him and Sakura.

“Sakura, you really should get going,” suggested Tifa. Sakura did as she was told, and Cross Blade charged at Tifa again. Tifa waited until he was within reach and performed a well-timed spin kick, knocking his masamune out of his hands. Unfazed, Cross Blade attempted to pummel her with his fists. She aimed a punch at his face, but he caught hold of her wrist mid-punch and slammed her to the ground. He grabbed his masamune to finish her off, when…

“The Fiery! Release and Dispel!” a voice shouted. A thick mist emanated from the direction of the stairway and quickly spread throughout the entire room. Seizing the opportunity, Tifa rolled out of the path of Cross Blade’s masamune and onto her feet. Straining her eyes to see, she realized that he was gone, vanished beyond the mist. She wandered around blindly until she bumped into Sakura.

“Aw, man! I must’ve pulled out The Cloudy instead!” Sakura said regretfully, pulling out another Clow card from her pocket. “The Windy! Release and Dispel!” As she chanted the words, a gentle breeze blew throughout the room, clearing the mist. Josie, Cross Blade and Wing were nowhere to be seen. A faint ring drew their attention to the elevator. As the doors closed, they caught a glimpse of Josie, her features silhouetted by her long hair.

“Did you stop the lockdown, Sakura?” asked Ryudo, limping over to her.

“Only temporarily,” Sakura explained. “We have about four minutes until the lockdown sequence begins again.”

“Damn it…Lucia…” Ryudo muttered bitterly, clenching his fist in anger. “Well, let’s get out of here.”

“You all should go. I have to find Cloud,” Tifa stated determinedly. Without waiting to hear their response, she dashed up the stairs leading to the next floor.

+++++++

Cloud had pursued Xenos up to the rooftop of the observatory, where the two had locked swords briefly. Xenos’ skill and strength in battle were appalling to even Cloud, and even so, he appeared as though he fought with extreme effortlessness, which made the fight all the more frustrating for Cloud. No matter how hard he tried, it was as though Xenos was always two steps ahead of him. The fight was over when Xenos nicked Cloud clean across the chest, a gaping wound marking the path of cold steel.

“Impossible…how is it that you can anticipate every move I make?” he inquired of Xenos.

The darkness of the night played on Xenos’ features, giving him an exact likeness to the late Sephiroth. The resemblance between the two, both in manner and appearance, was astonishing. At this time, three Sephiroth-like figures assembled around him. Cloud easily recognized two of the three as Josie and Wing.

“The answer lies within yourself,” Xenos said condescendingly. “It’s because you allow me to. You, like so many others, are inflicted with the so-called Jenova virus. As such, your body contains Jenova cells, and these cells link your thoughts directly to Jenova. These three you see around you no longer have a will of their own, and are nothing more than puppets, as you will become once again, to participate in the Reunion.”

Suddenly, a searing pain slithered up Cloud’s spine, numbing his entire body. Overwhelmed and blinded by the pain, he fell to his knees, clutching his head and writhing in agony. Everything and everyone around him bled into one, becoming an endless nothing. Somewhere beyond that void, a melodious voice hailed his name, a voice that could have only belonged to one person.

“Aeris…?”

Slowly and painfully, the world around him fell into place. He found himself sprawled on his back on the rooftop of the E.S.O, staring up at Tifa, whose concern was reflected in her eyes. “Are you okay?” she asked.

“I think so,” he replied unsurely. Forgetting the wound across his chest, he attempted to sit up, only to fall onto his back again with a groan of agony.

“Take it easy,” Tifa said, helping him up. “You’re hurt.”

Using his hefty Buster sword to support himself, Cloud rose to his feet and looked around. Xenos and the others were gone without a trace. He looked at Tifa once more. “I’ll be alright,” he said positively. “By any chance, did you see where Xenos ran off to?”

“You were alone when I found you up here. We have to leave before the lockdown sequence restarts. Ryudo and the others are waiting for us.”

Cloud concurred. “Yeah, let’s get out of here.”

(Well, that's all for now. I'm almost done with chapter fourteen, so it should be up soon. Let me take this opportunity to apologize for yesterday's post...sorry, I was just a bit pissed...oh, and to Sakura01, as much I miss the darkness that was once my site, I think I shall leave it like this. I don't really consider it as giving in. As someone once told me, the braver warrior is not always the one who charges into battle, but the one who is who is willing to stand down...)

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