Chapter Thirty-Eight: "We’re Not Finished Yet!"

Lucca stayed in the lead, Rufus and Locke following her through corridors and along narrow gangplanks. "There’s a leak somewhere," she called over her shoulder as they went. "Or, that’s my guess. The system we have automatically shuts down if there are less than seven reactors working, and a leak shuts of the reactor. Since Lavos himself is destroying Reactor One there’s not much we can do about it. If we can get this one working, though, we might have enough power left for one last shot."

They kept going, up stairs and ladders, until finally reaching the center: one last gangplank, ten feet wide, led to a wall-mounted platform, on which the central Mako draining device was set. But they weren’t the first to reach it. Already something was there, covered in shadows as the interior lights were no longer functioning. All they could see was a large circular hump covered in spines that greatly resembled Lavos’s own. As they came closer they could hear a sound like a hungry animal gulping water at a stream. Once they’d crossed half the gangplank the form paused, and the feeding stopped. The mass of spines screeched as it turned on the metal. A pair of white orbs gleamed in the darkness.

Locke’s legs gave out beneath him suddenly, and he dropped with a clang onto the grating. He waved away any assistance, as he didn’t want anything to block his view of the monstrosity before him. Protruding from the round mass was the slender torso, arms, and head of a woman, surrounded in weaves of light-colored hair; like a strange, nightmareish centaur. Flecks of glowing Mako were still visible on her lips, and she wiped them away with the back of her hand. Her blazing white eyes met those of the man on the ground, paralyzing him.

He couldn’t turn his head or look away, so great was the power in her deep gaze. It looked in him, through him, read the confusion and fear in him like a page in an open book. All his secrets were bared to her, like tiny jewels on display, and all she had to do was pluck one free to send his entire world crumbling into dust. For those brief moments he felt as if his life belonged to her.

Celes snorted, scrubbing at the bits on her face, as streams of brilliant emerald swirled and mixed around the sphere that had all but devoured the lower half of her body. She turned back to the devise, and with the extra Mako light about they were able to see the gash that had been ripped in one of the wall-mounted pipes. She covered the hole with her mouth and went back to drinking.

"She’s eating the Mako," Lucca said in amazement, kneeling beside Locke. "Feeding on it, just like Lavos. Professor Hojo was right—she really was implanted with the spawn."

"She’s turning into a monster," Locke breathed. "Another Lavos."

Rufus stepped forward, the shotgun trained closely to his side. "I’ll try to hold her back," he said, his voice firm. There was no bravado or even courage in his tone: only determination. "Lucca, try to find a way to fix it."

Locke tried to stand, but he was unsuccessful. "Don’t kill her," he croaked.

"I won’t if she doesn’t make me." He hadn’t traveled more than three steps when a figure dropped out of the tubing above their heads, intercepting him. It was a being comprised of the same formless light as Hojo was, and Terra before that, but his color was a bright silver. The man’s lean and flawless face was one they knew all too well: Sephiroth.

"I won’t kill you all now," Sephiroth told them, his wide, pupil-less eyes narrowing as he grinned. "Soon Lavos will have devoured every living soul in this planet. I want you to know the feeling of your life being ripped away. Only then will you realize how futile your efforts have been."

Lucca jumped to her feet and moved in front of Rufus, facing the demon without fear. "Get out of our way, Sephiroth," she commanded, startling them all with the vehemence in her young voice. "If you’re not going to kill us, you might as well leave us alone."

He regarded her with smug amusement. "I’d rather see you suffer." He held his hand out, palm up, and slowly curled his fingers. Her glasses began to creak and then shattered, and she yelped in surprise. Rufus quickly pulled her back as Sephiroth laughed.

"Son of a…" Lucca scrubbed at her eyes, and when she tried to see was met only by blurred shadows. She removed the glasses, only to be met with an even more unrecognizable myriad. "Damn. Can’t see a thing."

"Then stand back." Rufus kept in front of her, raising his shot gun. He didn’t have the chance to fire. A blast of hot wind sent the pair sprawling across the gangway, the metal striking them hard and scraping their skin. Lucca tasted blood in her mouth. She pulled out her hand gun, but without her glasses she couldn’t spot anything to shoot. The President wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her back to where Locke was still half-propped up by his arms.

The treasure hunter was gazing fixedly at Celes.

"Cloud…Cloud can you hear me?" Tifa started forward, but Sabin took her arm to restrain her, nearly spilling Nu. "Please!" she called. "Talk to me!"

Cloud’s pure white eyes fastened on her face for a moment before he attacked. He covered the distance between them in a single bounding leap, arms outstretched in front of him as if intending to gouge her with his bare hands. Sabin pushed her out of the way and met his foe head on, hand to hand. With his boots braced in the yielding flesh of his animal perch he was able to withstand the force of the first impact. Cloud retreated several feet, silently taunting.

Tseng and Elena opened fire, catching him off guard. The bullets shredded holes in his perfect flesh with muffled explosions; he was thrown off the edge of the Altma Weapon’s body and disappeared from view.

Sabin moved to the edge, hoping to see—surly the Father of the Angels had not been so easily defeated? Cloud was on his back on the bottom of the crater, unmoving. He called back to the others, and quickly made their way down the curves and slopes with some help from Glenn’s float spell. Oddly enough, they reached the bottom before Cloud had recovered from the long fall.

Glenn instructed that they stay back while he crept forward, eyeing the Angel for any sign of movement. The emerald body had sustained many shots in its chest from which tiny rays of pure white light could be seen, pulsing like a heartbeat within his boneless ribs. Glenn frowned and touched the strangeness with his hand. Accompanied by that contact was a rush of power—a presence of something endless and clear, throbbing painfully in its imprisonment. He watched as Nu fluttered out of Tifa’s arms and waddled over to the resting demon. It nuzzled Cloud’ neck affectionately.

"I don’t get it," Tifa murmured, having followed him despite his warning. "What is that? Is it Holy?"

"Holy…" All at one Glenn began to understand: the light, the Weapon, the chocobo—it all made sense to him. "Holy is inside Cloud," he explained in a dull voice, watching the spell twist and shudder. "Cloud is the strongest of the Angels, and he’s sealed Holy within his own body." He stood. "He must have abandoned his Host Beast early on, and had himself locked within Altma’s body so that he’d have another source of power to feed on. Out of the Weapon, his own body is weak, and is being destroyed from the inside by Holy."

"But…how did Holy get inside Cloud?"

"Holy was Aeris’s prayer," Glenn continued. "Her hope, her faith, and her trust. It would only be fitting for her prayer to be focused in the center of her happiness: her Promised Land. But Cloud is her Promised Land, and though she may have cast the spell hoping to cure him, his power has provided Lavos the perfect situation. The only thing that can destroy Lavos is locked in the body of its strongest servant."

Nu was chirping, alerting Glenn once more to the prone man. "No wonder this chocobo likes you," he murmured, wondering if the man—if it was a man—could hear him. He grasped his sword in two hands. "You abandoned your Host prematurely on purpose, didn’t you? Had you matured fully, you could have become invincible. But now, you are weak. Forgive me for misjudging you. And for accepting your sacrifice." He raised the blade.

Tifa stared dumbly, startled by the scene that was unfolding before her. Ignoring Sabin’s warning she knocked Glenn away. "Leave him alone!" she shouted at him angrily. "You can’t —this isn’t his fault!"

Cloud slowly opened his eyes, regarding the woman with dull, uncomprehending sight. His hands twitched at his sides, then rose to explore curiously the holes in his chest. The light burned his fingers. A bit of concentration caused his shimmering flesh to stretch, overlapping the wounds and melting them away. He began to climb to his feet.

Glenn cursed. "Tifa, don’t you understand? Cloud cannot be saved now—he knows that. The only way to grant him peace is to kill him!"

"I…I can’t. And I won’t let you." She stood between Cloud and Glenn defensively. "I have to save him—this is all my fault. I don’t know how, but I’m the cause. I have to find a way to help him."

"Don’t be a fool—he’ll kill you!"

"No…" Tifa turned to face the Angel, her voice and eyes pleading. "Cloud, you recognize me, don’t you? Please, you have to remember who you are. You’re Cloud Strife." She moved closer. "And you’re my friend. I won’t let you die this way."

All the while Cloud continued to glare at her, indifferent and cold. At last some recognition showed in his face, though not the kind she’d been hoping to see. His eyes shone angrily. With one flap of his huge wings she was blown into Glenn, and both fell onto their backs under the strength of the wind. He then lifted his hand.

Tseng and Elena began to fire once more, but this time Cloud dodged, then ignored them. Sabin pressed his wrists together. "Earth beats wind," he muttered. "Wind beats water, water beats fire, fire beats earth." I hope he’s earth-based. He concentrated all his will into his hands, until they glowed a bright orange. The increase of power alerted Cloud’s attention, and he turned just as the fire exploded from his fingers. It surrounded the Angel and danced over his skin, burning trails of pain across the false flesh. Cloud spread his wings and retreated to several meters over their heads, using his own magic to douse the attack.

The Turks reloaded their weapons and Sabin tightened his gloves, pleased with the effects of his spell. Cloud was now hovering over them with his arms wrapped around his middle as if in pain. When Tifa saw this she turned to Glenn. "Please, don’t let him die," she pleaded. "I know you’re supposed to kill him, but there has to be some way."

Glenn inhaled through his teeth, wracking his brain for possibilities. He wanted to believe that there might have been a solution, but years of experience had taught him to carry no mercy for these creatures. His mind wandered back to Locke, who was in Midgar now, and he wondered if Lavos had yet reached them. What would become of those thousands of people if he hesitated here? Did they have time to look for another way?

Rufus muttered a curse, wiping blood from his forehead. He grimaced as he discovered the source—a shallow cut from his hair line to his left temple. It caused his head to throb, and though he was used to such pain it was hindering his concentration. Beside him, Lucca was bleeding from her nose and mouth. Her eyes were wide and searching even as he knew she could barely see. Both of them held tightly onto their firearms. "We have to get to that pipe," the President whispered, watching as Sephiroth turned his back on them disdainfully. "Can you see well enough to repair it?"

"I don’t think so," she admitted. "You might be able to, though, if you can get close enough. The stuff’s in my backpack."

He pursed his lips distastefully. "Could Cole?"

"If he’s up to it."

"I am," Locke said quickly, his eyes still trained on Celes’s mutated form. "If you can explain it, I’ll do it."

"Okay, this is what we’ll do," Rufus hissed, casting glances at the Angel and its mother. He reasoned that even if they were overhead it wouldn’t make a difference, but he couldn’t help it. "It’ll have to be quick because I can’t hold off Sephiroth for long. You and Lucca have to get to that pipe—I don’t care how you get the general out of there but do it and do it fast. I’ll do my best."

Lucca managed to find his arm, and she squeezed it tightly. "You can’t fight Sephiroth," she told him gravely. "He could kill you with his pinky, and he will."

"Don’t sound so concerned," he rejoined in a lighter tone. "At least that bastard Edgar was right about one thing: I’m too young to want to die. So just worry about the general."

She nodded, pulling off her backpack. She dug around inside for a moment, finally retrieving a wide metal path that was covered in several tiny devices. "Just put this over the hole if it’s big enough," she instructed, groping for Locke’s hand. "There should be a red and green button; press the green first, then red, and stand back. It’ll do the rest."

"Good thing it’s simple." He stuffed it into his coat pocket. "Ready?"

"Yeah." She unstrapped another handgun and gave it to him. "For good luck."

"Sure."

Rufus stood, leveling his rifle with one hand and aiming it at Sephiroth. He waited until his two accomplices had crawled to just behind the Angel before firing twice, each shot a direct hit to the back of his head. The silver matter exploded outward with the impact, and Sephiroth collapsed; the trio knew better than to think him defeated, however, and the President quickly reloaded.

Celes turned from her meal, glaring at the shotgun barrel that was now pressed against her neck. "Do it," Rufus snapped, his gaze shifting between his hostage and the silver body which was already beginning to assemble itself on the metal gangway. "Hurry."

Locke slapped the patch on and quickly pressed the buttons. The device sparked as it spurred to life. He pushed himself back as it buzzed and sputtered, beginning to repair the hole that had been gouged.

Nadia jumped as her computer began to beep loudly, and it was moment before she could find message it had printed across her screen. "The malfunction’s been repaired!" she cried excitedly. "They did it!"

"The power’s coming back," added Scarlet, annoyed by the girl’s enthusiasm. "We’re already at seven percent."

Edgar couldn’t help a grin from spreading across his face. "The best we’ll get is forty percent if we’re lucky. Fire when I saw so."

"Yes."

Celes scowled, reaching out to swipe the patch off her crude feeding trough, but Locke snatched her wrist and before the action could complete itself. "Celes, listen to me," he said strongly. "You’re being controlled—can’t you see what it’s doing to you? You’re not Lavos’s pawn, you are a general of SOLDIER and my friend."

She ripped her hand free of his grasp and struck him hard on the side of the head. He yelped in pain as his skull struck metal. He forced himself to stay conscious, however, determined to not let fate ruin him again. He wouldn’t lose her to this, to anything.

By now Sephiroth was back on his feet, and the President fired two more shots to his face. This time they absorbed into the undulating flesh and were gone. He retreated but Sephiroth followed, grabbing him roughly by the neck and flinging him into the tubular railing. "Son of the former President of Shin-ra," he mused aloud, chuckling deep within his chest. "I ordered your father’s death. You’ll die just like him—a whining, cowardly fool."

Rufus fought to gain his breath back, not succumbing to the Angel’s taunts. "We’ll see," he growled. He spun to face his enemy and smashed the handle of his gun into Sephiroth’s neck; a blow he hadn’t been prepared for. The Angel stumbled backwards only a step before regaining his balance. He returned to laughing at his prey.

Locke was still partitioning Celes, hoping for some response or recognition from her. "I saved your life," he said in a low voice, his eyes searching the depths of her white orbs desperately for a glimpse of something left that might have been human. "More than once, and you still put me through hell. I did everything to protect you—hell, I fell in love with you. I’ll admit that." He thought he might have seen the slightest waver in her at his words, but it passed quickly. "I gave up everything for you, even Rachael—what more do you want? There’s nothing left for me to give."

Sephiroth laughed at him mockingly. "It’s too late for that," he chided. "You had your chance for eternity and you gave it up."

To all of their surprise, Celes spoke then. Her voice was rough and distorted, as if her words were forged with great difficulty within her throat which was no longer human. "I want your life," she said plainly. "Your protection, your love mean nothing to me. Give me your life."

"We’ve got 30% and it’s not going higher."

"It’ll have to be enough. Fire!"

Lavos bellowed angrily as the cannon fired it’s full force into its spiked hide, scarring deep into the same wound Locke had created with his earlier shot. A thin waterfall of dark blood spilled over the lip of the hole, staining the animal’s back as it cascaded from spike to spike, seeping finally into the cracked earth. The injury was minor, however, when compared with the size of the creature itself, and it quickly returned to draining its own meal from the reactor.

"That probably the best we can do," said Scarlet. "We should get out of—"

"We’re not leaving," Edgar insisted. "Not until it’s dead, you hear me? We stay."

Sephiroth and Celes cocked their heads to listen to some unheard noise, giving their adversaries time to catch their breath in the unexpected silence. "It’s bleeding," Sephiroth murmured, a bit amazed. "How…odd." His flashing eyes landed on Locke. "You won’t be able to make another shot like that, though." He started toward the reactor’s core.

"Hold it!" Rufus swung his rifle like a bat, letting the wooden handle hit with a smack against the back of the Angel’s skull. "We’re not finished yet!"

Sephiroth swung one wing, nearly sweeping the President off the gangway with the slightest of efforts. But Rufus held on to the rail, knuckles whitening, and managed to keep from being thrown. He pulled himself onto the platform once more and took another swing. His enemy scowled in annoyance at his persistence. He knocked the mortal down again with a furious blast of wind, but still he was confronted. "You’re pretty foolish."

Rufus spat blood, despite the pain in his limbs remaining upright. "F—k you, ass hole," he muttered contemptuously.

Locke grimaced as the President again tumbled to the ground, but there was nothing he could do. Instead he focused on Celes. If words didn’t work, there had to be some other way. He reached out to her, and she recoiled a bit as his fingertips brushed against her arm. Suddenly the feeling rushed back into his legs, and he pulled himself to his feet with Lucca’s help. He touched her cheek and she pulled back even further. "Don’t be afraid," he told her quietly, twisting his fingers in her hair. She slapped his hand away, but he returned it. "You know me. I promised I’d save you, didn’t I?"

Celes’s face softened. "Locke?" She touched his face hesitantly. "You’re…" Her hand slid down, twisting around his throat. When he tried to draw another breath her grip tightened. "…still alive. I paid you back for saving my life, didn’t I? That was the only good you ever did me." She pressed her weight on him, forcing him onto his back on the metal. Both hands encircled his neck, and he thrashed violently to free himself without success. "Love?" she scoffed. "I gave you my love and you rejected me, so don’t think I care for your human sentimentality." She laughed, a surprisingly wicked sound that sent chills all through him. Her cold eyes burned his skin as the shadows began to lengthen, seeping into the corners of his sight.

Cloud attacked again, but between the Turks’ guns and Sabin’s fire they were able to hold him off. "There’s nothing I can do," Glenn told Tifa sternly. "If you want him back, do it yourself."

Tifa nodded, then paused as something brushed against her leg. She looked down to see the baby chocobo nuzzling her and, praying that her instincts were true, she scooped Nu into her arms. She ran to where Cloud could see her and shouted, "Cloud! You remember Nu, don’t you? You saved her life! You hatched her, and named her! You and Aeris!"

Cloud flinched at the name Aeris. It resounded painfully through what mind he had left just as Holy pulsed beneath his skin, so that no part of him was without anguish. He was being ripped apart. His body thirsted for the power he’d drawn from Altma that was no longer there; without it the burning purity within him was anxious for freedom and getting closer to achieving it. But he wouldn’t give himself up—all his purpose, his instinct, centered around keeping the Ancient’s prayer from coming true.

"Keep it up!" Elena called. "Whatever you’re doing, it’s working!"

Tifa swallowed hard, searching for something more to say. "Remember Aeris? She was our friend." And though it hurt she added, "You loved her, right? Sephiroth took her away—you can’t give in to him! Please, remember!"

"Aeris…" Cloud descended until his toes touched lightly upon the stone earth. "I remember Aeris. I loved her."

"Yes, I know." She bit her lip, feeling tears in her eyes. She wiped them swiftly away. "It’s going to be okay, Cloud. Just come back to us. We’ll get you all fixed up. Come back with me." She reached out her hand, and her four spectators held their breath in anxiety.

Cloud stared at the offering, and for a moment he almost took it. But as he outstretched his hand something in his stomach began to churn, spreading from some hidden center within him. If he gave in, if he surrendered to his memories, Holy would be free. Already it ripped and tore at his insides, and the thought of it overtaking him frightened him down to his very being. He didn’t want to die. He was too afraid to let go, because he knew that every time he buckled something terrible happened.

"I killed Aeris," Cloud said, his voice barely above a whisper of breath. His eyes skipped from Tifa’s to Sabin’s, for a few brief moments reading the man’s soul. Cloud’s own mind was filled with so many things, turbulent and conflicting. Holy was seeping into his brain, destroying things as it went. All the barriers were gone now, and desire and fear collided in a devastating confrontation that threw its shock wave to every one of his already tortured and exhausted limbs. He had to do something—now, while he still had the chance.

He charged. All his frustration and terror combined into one deep indefinable rage that echoed from his throat in the form of an agonizing cry. Rocks splintered beneath his feet as he ran like an enraged demon with his sight set on the one that had started it all. Tifa was too shocked to move. Nu slipped from her arms. Even as Cloud’s hands outstretched, fingers flexing in want of a sacrifice, she refused to believe that the blood he so craved was hers. Her trust in him was too great. She didn’t move, and instead closed her eyes. Cloud…I believe in you…

The next moment someone slammed into her, and her breath was knocked out as she was thrown to the ground. A heavy body covered hers, heaving with ragged breath. Tifa turned her head to the side, and gasped to see droplets of dark blood on the crater rocks. In fear she twisted to see the man above her. Her heart leapt into her throat as she met Sabin’s bright amber eyes.

Just when Tifa thought that he might collapse into her arms, or shudder and surrender to death’s touch, the sound of another man’s pained gasp reached her ears. Bewildered, she urged Sabin off of her, and they looked together.

Glenn, not Sabin, had taken the onslaught meant for her. The tips of ten glowing digits could be seen protruding from the caped man’s back as proof of the contact. Cloud seemed as stunned by the occurrence as the spectators, and he could only stare at the blood overflowing his victim’s lips. In this pause Glenn took his chance, raising the gleaming blade of the Masamune over his enemy. Before anyone could move or speak he drove the weapon down, piercing Cloud’s emerald chest. Immediately Holy burst forth from its prison, burning, biting, ripping at the poisoned flesh that had held it for so long. Cloud writhed and screamed, caught in the intense white agony. He and Glenn were thrown apart. Everyone else was blinded by the explosion, and they shielded their eyes as the heat covered them all.

To Chapter 39—you’re almost done!

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