Chapter Thirty-Seven: "That’s Him"

The Highwind’s crew was mostly asleep when they reached the Northern Crater at 4:19 a.m., and Cid was forced into rousing them all from bed. The Turks needed quite some coaxing to leave their rooms, even after their leader Tseng had joined Cid’s efforts. Eventually they had all assembled on the bridge. "Told you we made good time," said Daryl, taking a sip of her lukewarm coffee. "This thing’s damn deep, and there’s something inside. I can’t take you all the way down."

"As far as you can will be enough," replied Glenn.

"Damn right it will be."

Tifa felt her skin becoming covered in goosebumps as they descended, trying to peer through the darkness without much success; she could discern nothing more than a dark landscape and an even darker hole, into which they were sinking. She wrapped herself in her arms to quell her trembling. "Cloud’s in there," she whispered, swallowing the lump in her throat. "He wants us to find him."

Glenn cast her a brief glance, then moved to one of the Highwind’s monitors. "Take us down here," he said, pointing to a large flat area of rock on the southernmost edge. "There’s room for the ship, and it’ll be an easy escape if there’s trouble."

"You expectin’ trouble?" Reno asked in the middle of a yawn.

"Yes."

Tseng—who had slipped away and recently returned—set a heavy box on the floor with a clunking sound. He motioned for his Turks to come forward. "This is all we’ve got," he told them, handing out rounds of ammunition, "so make it count."

"That may not do any good against what we’re facing," Glenn said.

"Unless you’ve got a better idea, this is the best we have."

The ship landed, and the procession unloaded. "We’ll leave some of us half way down." Tseng was unconsciously taking command of the group as was only natural for him. "We’ve got radios, but they probably won’t be able to reach from the bottom of the crater to the ship. If we need to get out of here quickly, we’ll at least be able to relay a message through the second group to prepare the ship."

"Who’ll stay behind?" Tifa asked immediately.

"Two of my people will: Rude and Reno." He ignored their annoyed protest. "It might be a good idea if our other captain stayed as well, just in case."

"I guess that’s me," muttered Cid, blowing smoke. "I’ll stay with your guys."

Reno made a face, clearly dissatisfied, but already Sabin had begun to lead the way down the crater edge. He hurried to catch up and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Let’s just get down there," the man in the lead was saying as he fastened the Mithril Gloves over his hands. "We’ve got to figure out what happened to Holy before Lavos reaches Midgar."

They made their way slowly down the crater’s rough surface. The ground, now exposed as thick rock instead of the ice that once covered it, was warm even through the thick soles of Sabin’s boots. He cast his gaze into the crater itself; a pit of endless, impossible black. It almost seemed that there was a path leading down, beckoning them. They followed obediently with only the lights from their lanterns as guides, giving them only a few feet ahead of visible space. Sabin kept up the lead with Glenn just behind, then Tifa, Cid, and the Turks. After traveling for about an hour they came upon a small cave embedded in the wall of the rock.

"This looks like a good breaking point," mused Tseng. "Wait here." He moved inside to investigate, and a moment later he returned wearing a puzzled expression. In his arms was a baby chocobo of gold coloring. "This was in there," he said, and the bird warked happily at having been discovered. "I wonder how it got here…?"

Tifa stepped forward, and the chocobo squirmed in the man’s hold. He transferred the bird to her, and it chirped. "I don’t believe it," she said, patting the animal’s head. "It’s Nu, isn’t it?"

"Looks like it," Sabin replied, staring at the chocobo critically. "But that sure is strange. Think we should take it with us?"

"I can’t see a reason why not." She swept her hair to one side, allowing the bird to perch on her shoulder. "Maybe she’ll come in handy."

"Rude, Reno," said Tseng, bringing them back to the business at hand, "stay here with Mr. Highwind. Keep your radio on, and we’ll check in when we can."

"Yeah, sure," Reno muttered in reply. He dropped down heavily on his rear. "Don’t hurry on our account."

His leader shot him a stern look. "That’s enough. Keep an eye out." He took a quick survey of their situation, then turned to Glenn. "Shall we continue?"

Glenn nodded. As Cid lit a fresh cigarette the group continued down into the crater.

Nadia yawned and stretched, sore from having fallen asleep on the floor. Edgar’s blue suit jacket had been draped over her as a makeshift blanket. She folded it as she stood, and glanced about the small control room. Scarlet and Locke had both fallen asleep in chairs along the wall, and Edgar over his counsel. She giggled and laid his coat over him, and he sighed deeply in his sleep. "You poor guy," she murmured, smiling at how cute he looked. "It’s been hell, hasn’t it? But I’m proud of you."

A faint whining noise alerted her to another presence, and she raised her head to see Rufus standing by the window. Dark Nation was curled by his feet and watching her. She strode over. "Hey there, kitty," she cooed, knowing that it would annoy her step-brother. The panther nuzzled her hand and wagged its tail like a kitten. "You’re a pretty kitty, aren’t you? Yes you are. Such a nice kitty."

"Do you mind?" Rufus snorted, not bothering to look at her. His voice was cold and sharp.

Nadia gazed up at him, noticing the tension in his hands as he gripped the metal bar that ran parallel to the window. His jaw was also tight. "You really hate me, don’t you?" she asked softly.

"I just don’t need you slobbering all over my panther," he retorted a bit too defensively.

"Ya know, it’s not my fault your mother bailed on you."

His body stiffened with her comment, but he didn’t say anything as a response. Some silence passed between them before he spoke at all. "They’re still fighting out there."

I knew I shouldn’t have brought it up, she thought to herself, joining him at the window. But I had to say it, just once. "Have you been up all night?"

"I wanted to make sure nothing happened while the rest of you slept."

"Oh." Nadia turned her own eyes to the window. The Weapon and the Angel were still battling, twin dragons slashing and biting at each other viciously. They looked closer than before, but still a long ways off. She wondered vaguely how long they would fight before one killed the other.

Rufus moved from the window suddenly, snatching the pair of binoculars off a desk. "What is it?" Nadia asked as he returned, aiming the sights at something in the distance that she could only just barely see.

"That’s him." The President cursed, shoving the binoculars into Nadia’s stomach as he went to wake up the others. She took a look for herself. Several miles out was a domed figure covered in tiny spikes. She didn’t think it was that impressive until she realized how far away it was.

"It’s speeding up," her step-brother was saying as the other members of their group slowly awoke. "Look—it’s on the radar. Ahead of schedule. At this rate it’ll—" He gritted his teeth. "It’ll be here in ten minutes."

"Ten minutes?" Edgar repeated incredulously. He immediately shrugged off his fatigue. "Call down to Lucca—we’ve got to fire now. It takes the cannon several minutes to recharge, but we still might be able to get in three shots before it gets here."

Scarlet returned to her post at the window. "Will that be enough?"

"Let’s hope so."

"They’re powering up the cannon," reported Rufus. "But that thing’s over 10 miles in diameter—where should we aim?"

"This thing doesn’t have much of a moving radius…"

"I’ll aim," Locke volunteered, taking over the controls. "Believe me."

The two men exchanged glances, and Edgar nodded. "Alright, we trust you. Pick a good spot."

"Remember," Lucca’s voice came through the intercom, "the more you use up now the less you’ll have when he gets close."

"We know. Just keep it steady."

"It’s a cannon, not a ship."

"We’ve got 50% power," Rufus spoke up abruptly.

Edgar quickly focused on his own display. "We’ve got a 37% chance of direct contact."

"Don’t worry about that," Lokce assured. "I can hit it."

Nadia stayed at the window as the two men watched their percentages climb. Her focus was locked on the two battling dragons, both of which seemed oblivious to the approaching beast, their shill cries echoing across the barren rocks that surrounded Midgar. With any luck they would forget the city as well in their own struggles.

"That’s 70% capacity. High enough for me."

"I’ve got 40%."

"Good enough—Fire!"

Nadia gripped the window rail as the cannon fired, rocking the entire building—or so she imagined. The metal hummed beneath her fingers. She held her breath as the projectile shot towards its target, and her teeth ground into her bottom lip. Oh please, God…

It hit, sending out a shockwave of iridescent light so intense that she was forced to shield her eyes. The earth rumbled with the impact. It passed quickly, and everyone waited for the reports of the outcome.

The bottom of the cater was just as warm as the surface along the edge had been, and Sabin led the group cautiously across the uneven rocks. Several meters into the interior they came upon a wall, slightly bulging, that was cold and smooth to the touch. It was made of dozens of triangular shaped rocks that glistened in the light of their lamps. Sabin set his hand on it, and frowned. "It’s moving."

"It’s the Altma Weapon," Glenn said, moving ahead of him. "It was created with human sorcery, combining different aspects of animals. Those aren’t rocks: they’re scales."

Sabin pulled his hand back, a bit startled. "The wall is the Weapon?"

"It’s not a wall—it’s an arm." He continued around a corner to prove his point, indicating another wall that was smooth and hard as rock. "Claws," he explained. "But you can tell that there’s more beyond—not only the Weapon lies here." He kept going. "I think we’ve found one of the missing Host Beasts."

"Just a minute." Elena moved back to the crater wall and began to climb up, hoping to get a better view while the others studied it from below. Their lanterns gave light to the once shrouded area. When finally she got high enough to see, her eyes widened in surprise and confusion. "There’s two!" she called down to them. "One’s lying on top of the other. The bottom one is holding the top one’s mouth shut. You can see some light up there."

Glenn stood back for a moment, contemplating the meaning of what she’d said. "The Weapon tried to contain the Host Beast," he mused. "But the Host Beast is holding the Weapon’s mouth shut…"

"Well?" Tifa asked urgently. "Does this mean anything to you?"

"I think we’d better see for ourselves. Can the rest of you climb this?"

"Tifa and I could, I think," Sabin replied, looking to her for confirmation. She nodded. "With these gloves of ours."

"Good. Do you think you could carry Tseng?"

The Turk leader protested. "Now wait a minute—"

"Yeah, sure, if you can carry the girl."

Elena made a disconcerted face. "I’m not a girl."

"Enough, you guys," Tifa interrupted. "Let’s just do what we have to do, okay?" She put Nu in her backpack so that only its head stuck out. "Now, I’ve the chocobo. Stop arguing and start climbing." She brushed past them all and begun to climb using the scales of the Weapon’s arms as handholds. After exchanging glances the others followed.

Again the base rumbled with the cannon’s force, but this time something unexpected happened: the two battling monsters which had appeared oblivious now moved, and both dragons were caught in the path of the Mako projectile. The people in the control room stared, dumbfounded, as holes were burned in each of the creatures’ chests, and with twin cries they fell to the earth. The resounding impact of their crude landing shook the Shin-ra building’s very foundation with its magnitude.

"They’re both dead, aren’t they?" asked Locke hesitantly, as if expecting either to spring to life once more at any moment. "Did I get’em?"

At the window Nadia waited several frozen instants confirm. "Yes," she said at last. "They’re both dead." A wide grin lit her lips. "You got’em, Locke."

The treasure hunter leapt to his feet with a cheer, which Rufus quickly admonished him for. "That shot was meant for Lavos," he reminded them. "We’re down to 40% capacity and only one shot left for when he gets here."

"The first shot got him pretty good," said Scarlet. "We’ve been taking those things out one by one—when Lavos gets close we’ll kill it."

"We can’t afford to be so confident."

By now Lavos was plainly visible to all of them even without binoculars: at 10 miles in diameter its spiked bulk took up most of their view beyond the city. The speed at which it moved was amazing considering its size; within five minutes it would reach Midgar, and after that…

As the second defeated Host Beast lay dying on the barren earth, none in the control room saw the tiny flash of white light on its forehead, nor the spreading of a pair of long, elegant wings.

40% capacity and a 60% chance of direct contact: those were the numbers being depended on to destroy perhaps the most ruthless murderer known to the cosmos. It was frustrating and unfair, watching as it came closer. They could do nothing to stop their approaching fate. Four minutes passed, and somehow Lucca found a way to get their last defense running once more. Locke took aim for the center of the mass; he could see the faintest of scars scratched into Lavos’s thick hide from his first attempt. Now the creature filled his view—he couldn’t possibly miss. He pounded his fist on the button.

And nothing happened.

He pressed it again, and still nothing. In desperation he turned to Edgar. "What is this? What happened?"

"We’ve got problems," Lucca’s voice came through to them, barely audible through patches of buzzing static. "We’re losing power somewhere. I can go down there, but I’ll need back-up—most of the technicians and soldiers were evacuated."

The five exchanged glances. "I’m going down there," Rufus volunteered suddenly, taking off his jacket. He handed it roughly to Scarlet. "You can take over for me—make yourself useful for a change."

Her face tightened in anger. "Excuse me, sir, but—"

"No time for that." He unbuttoned his collar and cufflinks on his shirt, rolling up his sleeves. "Anyone else?"

Locke nodded, handing the President his shotgun. "I’ll come too. Nadia can take over."

"But I—"

"If anyone’d care to help," Lucca came again, "you’d better get down here now."

Edgar answered as Nadia slipped hesitantly into Locke’s seat. "Rufus and Locke are on their way. Where should they go?"

"To the Mako Reactor Two—that’s where the malfunction is, because that’s where the cannon is hooked up. I’ll meet you there."

The building lurched, and Rufus moved to the window to investigate. "Lavos stopped." His voice was dull, as he didn’t want to believe what was happening. "He’s…" He squinted to see. "He’s attacking the first reactor."

Locke was the first to realize what was happening. "That’s why Lavos came here—Midgar’s got more stored Mako than anywhere on Earth. Like one giant TV dinner."

"Then we’ve got to repair the cannon before he sucks us dry." The President checked to make sure his shotgun was loaded, then moved for the door. Locke quickly followed, and then Dark Nation. But Rufus stopped him. "Stay here," he instructed, scratching behind the panther’s ear. "Take care of Nadia." Without another word or backward glance he left.

Glenn’s group climbed up the Weapon’s massive arm, then crossed the arm of the Host Beast below it. The travel was clumsy but not all together difficult, and eventually they had reached the tip of Altma Weapon’s grueling mouth, which was being held against the Host’s chest. As Elena had said, its jaws had been trapped by its enemy’s thick fingers. Upon closer inspection they also found spaces in the teeth. They were hot and harsh to the touch. "It’s Angel power," Glenn said, his golden eyes narrowing in instinctual hatred. "But that would mean…an Angel is inside Altma’s mouth."

Tifa moved closer, and the tiny bird on her back began to chirp and struggle in her backpack. She freed it but held it close. "Nu and I must be thinking alike," she murmured, laying her hand against the incisors that were longer than she was tall. "There’s something familiar about this energy." She just barely touched it with her fingers and they tingled. To her the feeling wasn’t unpleasant or hurtful; it was warm and thick, and it twisted like silk about her hand. "Do you think Cloud’s in there, too, Nu? But why would the Host Beast trap him inside?"

The chocobo returned her gaze blankly, and she smiled. "I don’t know either. Glenn?"

"I am unsure myself," he admitted, unsheathing his sword. "But my sense tells me to release whatever is inside. Altma is hoping we will." He pointed to a large eye embedded in the creature’s skull several feet above their heads; it was open, watching them the best it could with its orange hue. They pulled back in alarm, and Elena nearly shrieked. "I’m going to try and free it," Glenn said with perfect composure. "The rest of you get back."

They did as they were told, and he plunged the Masamune into the Host Beast’s thumb. The blade began to glow, and bright light flashed—they couldn’t see what he had done, but a moment later he had sliced cleanly through the opposing digit. He repeated this process on the mirrored side. As soon as the grip was loosened the Altma Weapon lifted its head and opened its mouth, using its tongue to force out the shimmering green mass that had resided between its jaws. Then it relaxed, letting its head rest once more on the body of the silent Host. Its orange eye closed.

Tifa’s heart began to pound heavily in her chest as the mass of energy descended, landing perfectly on the chest of the Host some dozen meters away. Soon the light began to fold inward, revealing the glittering, undulating form of a man consumed by power. A pair of wings spread in gorgeous emerald display. She watched fearfully as the man’s features became easier to discern; the long, slim jaw, the sharp nose, and the tall, spiky hair. Its fleshless lips curled in a smile, and her pulse soared into her ears and throat, stopping time in that instant when she allowed her mind to recognize the face.

Cloud.

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