Final Fantasy VII: Reborn Book Two: Past Ties
By Samuel Gayton
After five years, the fragile peace is shattered as the evil of Jenova
is released upon the Planet. As Sephiroth returns from the Lifestream,
bent on bringing about the Apocalypse and the rebirth of his mother, Cloud
travels to the City of the Ancients in search of the woman he lost so long
ago.
Is he prepared to give up his friends, and ultimately his life, for
the Planet he has sworn to protect?
Chapter 1: Slipping Away
"If I have to, Sephiroth, I will take you apart piece by piece." Cloud Strife
"Cloud will stop you. And if not, then Aeris will. You cannot win, Sephiroth." Vincent Valentine
"You deserve better than this." Tifa Lockheart
" I simply lied."Sephiroth
Chapter 5: Echoes Down the Corridor
“You could say we’ve both changed.” Yuffie Kisaragi.
“You’re right. It is far, far too late.” Sephiroth
Final Fantasy VII: Reborn Book Two: Past Ties By Samuel Gayton
Chapter One: Slipping Away
I know not what has happened these last few months. It seems I have
not slept, nor ate, nor even breathed since Cloud and the others left in
search of Aeris.
I feel hollow, like the shell of a man I once was. Empty and lifeless
as I fight the battle I cannot win against the Cancer that cannot be stopped.
Zanzer and the others try and keep alive the hope that has dwindled in
past weeks.
I, however, and far more skeptical.
There has been nothing from Sephiroth. Nothing. He just sits and
festers and waits for the bodies he has infected to grows in to hybrids.
The Cancer in my own body is starting to spread once more, and I
am starting to feel the will of Jenova pull at my conciousness. I am not
sure how long I have before I change. Certainly no more than a few months.
My only chance and my only prayer is that Cloud and the others return
soon.
If not, then many more will die.
Memoirs of Nicholas
Junon Medical Wing 23:21
Tifa woke from the nightmares to find they were true.
Her entire body was slowly turning a deep purple. Already veins were
beginning to pop out from her skin.
She felt a hand brush the sticky strands of hair from her swollen face.
Looking up, Tifa saw Cloud standing silently over the bed. She forced a
smile.
“You’re going now, aren’t you?” she whispered.
He nodded. “I’ll come back.” he said softly. “And I’ll save you, Tifa.”
There was a silence. “Cloud...”
“What?”
“I’m scared.” she whispered.
His face of stone cracked and he bent down to hold her as she cried.
“It’s all right, Tifa.”
She choked back tears and looked at him.
“Cloud, I might never see you again...”
He said nothing.
“Cloud, I... I...”
“Tifa, I have to go.” he said, starting to pull away.
Tifa cried out as Cloud left her and she sank away in to unconciousness.
-
Highwind Airship, Fort Condor Plains 11:28
Cid checked the roster once more before handing it over to Cloud.
They were all there: Cloud, Barrett, Nanaki, Yuffie, Reeve and himself.
Reno, Rude and Elena, along with their Elite squad of forty seven (including
Anthony).
The plan was simple. They would find the City of the Ancients, and
then locate Aeris’s body. Then they would go back with a tissue sample.
From this, Nicholas would be able to concoct a vaccine.
Cid muttered greetings to each of the men that boarded the ship. Reno
gave him a sheepish smile which soon faded when Cid only scowled back.
Cloud came up on deck to see the rest of the team already there. He
grinned.
“This brings back a few memories.” he said.
“Only there was a lot more people there last time.” muttered Reeve.
There was a brief, morbid, silence.
“Cid,” said Cloud quickly. “Are we ready to go?”
“Sure.” growled Cid.
“Oh no!” Yuffie wailed. “I feel sick already!”
-
Wutai Hive Room 11:34
Sephiroth saw them leave. The fools.
If his Jenova were stronger he would attack Fort Condor now, and crush
the last remaining pockets of humankind.
Instead, he would have to wait...
He did not know what they were planning and this alarmed him. The fact
that they had not told the civilians or the military meant that it was
something of major importance and that was troubling.
It was of no consequence.
Sephiroth would deal with them personally.
-
Highwind Airship 11:49
Yuffie shivered. It was raining. It was cold. And she was a thousand
feet up in the air.
Wonderful.
She pulled the blanket tighter around her and sniffed heavily. Elena
looked kindly at her and handed Yuffie a hankerchief.
“It’s cold, isn’t it?” she said, trying to stir up conversation.
Yuffie just nodded and blew hard.
Frowning, Elena tried again. “Yuffie, what’s the matter? Ever since...
well, for absolutely ages now you’ve been really down. Is there anything
you wanna talk about?”
Yuffie shook her head violently. “Uh-uh.”
Elena smiled. “You’re... you’re pregnant, aren’t you?” she said softly.
There was a moment of shocked surprise as Yuffie regarded her wth wide
eyed.
“How?” she stuttered out. “How did you know?”
Elena smiled. “You’ve not done a good job of hiding it, Yuffie.”
She gasped. “Does everyone know?”
“No.” Elena shook her head. “But why did you go on this mission? You’re
endangering the life of your child!”
Yuffie stared down at the floor. “I guess... I guess that I wanted
to do something. I want to make sure the world my kid lives in is safe.
And if we don’t succeed in this mission, then we’ll never be.”
“What?”
“Never be safe, I mean.”
“Who is the father? You don’t have to-”
“Reeve.” said Yuffie in a cold hatred that made her head swim. “Reeve
is the father.”
Elena looked surprised. “But you two aren’t-”
“No.” said Yuffie. “When he realised the baby was his...”
She trailed off and looked at Elena helplessly.
“He used you, didn’t he?” said Elena.
Yuffie nodded, her eyes full of tears.
“The bastard... the utter bastard.” hissed Elena, her eyes full of
contempt.
She put a comforting arm around Yuffie.
“Don’t worry, Yuffie. I’ll-”
Crack.
There was a wrenching sound and Elena went flying. She hit the bulkhead
and span across the room.
Crack.
Yuffie found herself on top off Barrett. He swore loudly and staggerred
to his feet.
“What the f-”
Crack.
Someone screamed and there was an explosion below deck.
Crack.
The hull split open, pierced by a foot-long claw that curled round
like a scythe.
Crack.
The claw moved sideways, tearing open the bulkhead and revealing a
massive rupture in the metal.
Cid swore as a Jenova hybrid he had never seen before started to slither
in to the ship. He sent the Highwind into a spiralling dive that crushed
the monster against the bulkhead, chopping it in half.
Several more creature’s began to crawl in as the dive straightened
out. Reno grabbed a machine gun off the rack and began peppering them with
bullets. Yet another hybrid screamed and fell to it’s death. Cloud cam
rushing in, his weapon in hand.
“What the hell’s happening?” he cried.
There was a shrill laugh as someone flipped in through the hole, sword
drawn.
“Oh, Sephiroth.” moaned Reno. “Now I have to kill you and these Jenova
of yours?”
-
Sephiroth ignored the snide comment.
Who was that? A Turk, he forgot the name. It did not matter.
He would kill him for that remark.
Then he saw Cloud. Dear Cloud, who had killed him so long ago...
“You haven’t changed.” he whispered.
Cloud stood there in horror as another two hybrids crawled through
the door and stood by Sephiroth’s side. Then he muttered “Galasitun Ice”.
Sephiroth was caught off guard. He lost concentration as the air around
him froze and then shattered in to meter-long shards of ice. He flipped
up in to the air and came down upon Cid, swiping furiously at his head.
Sephiroth almost laughed. The old man was nearing fifty, but his reactions
were incredible. In an eyeblink Cid was gone. Seemingly, out of nowhere
a fist landed down on his cheek like a ton of bricks.
Sephiroth span around and landed on the floor, stunned. The pain was
incredible. And Cid hadn’t even been wearing metal gloves.
He jumped up and swung his sword round in a wide arc. The two Jenova
were dead: shredded and frozen two pieces in Cloud’s devastating magic
attack.
A shuriken embedded itself in his leg and he cried out in pain. Yuffie
jumped behind him and slashed at him with her knife. He jumped back and
kicked the knife from her grasp in one fluid movement.
Sephiroth was impressed. The people who had beaten him five years ago
were just as deadly as he had remembered. Maybe even more so. Yuffie jumped
up and over his katana and was gone.
He soon became aware of another threat. Cloud was moving swiftly toward
him, a fire gleamed in his eyes.
Sephiroth summoned every flying Jenova he had to try and create some
sort of diversion: he was hopelessly outnumbered.
The ceiling collapsed and three hybrids fell amongst the party. Rude
swung his fist up in an uppercut while Reno retreated to the stairs and
started to pick off the Jenova one by one with a high powered shot gun.
There was a tearing of metal and the wall behind him bent inwards.
Another six Jenova ran past Sephiroth as Yuffie and Elena started flinging
magic wildly at the monsters. A hybrid screamed as it was decapitated by
Cloud’s sword, and in a second he had brought it down on Sephiroth’s Masamune.
With a quick block, Sephiroth span away, pulling the shuriken out of
his leg and throwing it full pelt at Cloud’s leg. This was to be a fair
battle.
The shuriken impacted against the thigh, causing veins and tissue to
split open.
Cloud did not even seem to notice. He carried on as if the injury was
of no hinderance what so ever.
In a quick spin, Sephiroth spun round with his blade and put his full
power in to the slice. There was an agonising wrench as his shoulder popped
loose. He forced back the excruciating pain and carried on. The unbearable
throbbing in his arm forced extra adrenaline in to his blood stream, making
him more powerful.
But he was not the only one injured. There was a sickening snap as
the vibration of the clash moved up Cloud’s arm and snapped his collar
bone. His neck bulged outward and he cried out in anger, but he kept going.
Sephiroth was absolutely amazed. He had expected Cloud to be a weak
opponent, but he found himself being driven back by the fury of the others
attacks. The other hybrids were losing the battle against the humans, too.
He ordered the Jenova to regroup and destroy as much machinery as they
could. Maybe he could crash the airship in to the ocean.
His mind was forced back by the offensive Cloud had pressed against
him. Sweeping his blade up and then down, Sephiroth hooked away Cloud’s
legs and sent him crashing to the floor. Slashing his katana down, Sephiroth
moved his sword to within inches of Cloud’s face before he got the biggest
surprise of his life.
-
Barrett Wallace had watched the fight from the safety of above before
deciding to intervene. Firing off an anti-tank round - the only thing he
could be sure would kill Sephiroth, he watched the high explosive rocket
toward the caped figure before realising one thing:
Cloud was next to Sephiroth.
“Cloud-” he bellowed. But before he could even finish his warning,
the round impoded on the floor just beneath the two men and the airship
was enveloped in a blinding explosion that shook the Highwind from bow
to stern.
When Barrett's eyesight returned, the Jenova were splattered across
the floor.
Sephiroth and Cloud were gone.
-
“I don’t care at the moment!” shouted Cid. “The Highwind’s gonna crash!”
The stunned atmosphere immeadiatly turned in to one of panic. Immeaditaly
fifty people ran for the escape pods.
“Wait! Wait!” screamed Cid. “There’s no time! Brace yourselves, we’re
going down...”
-
It was the end of the Highwind. Cid knew that much.
As he pulled himself off the floor, the tears finally came. Not just
for the ship, but for Shera. Shera, who put up with his stubborn attitude
for years. Shera, who waited silently as he spent more and more time flying.
He staggered to his feet and looked about him. Thick foliage sprouted
through the ruptures in the hull and dust lay thick in the air.
His attention turned to the people around him. Elena lay in a sprawled
heap over Reno. At least forty of the Elites lay stunned on the floor.
One lay twisted at an odd angle, unmoving.
It looked light outside. How long had he been out? No more than a few
hours...
There was a cough behind him and Reno woke.
“Heey...” he began when he saw Elena on top of him. “I could get used
to this...”
With a groan Elena came to. “Arrgh...” she moaned. “My head...”
“Hi, Elena.” said Reno with a suggestive look.
She groaned again. “Get a life, Reno.”
“Whatever you say, babe.”
She got up off the floor. “Where are we?” she asked Cid.
“Bone Village, I think.”
Then she remembered. “Oh god. Cloud...”
Cid nodded. “I know.”
“Who’s gonna kill Sephiroth now?” said Elena distraughtly.
Reno grinned. “I’ll have a go if you’ll give me a kiss...”
“Shut up, Reno. How hard did you get hit on the head?”
Reno said nothing.
Rude sniggered from behind them, but cried out in pain as he tried
to move his leg.
“Owww. I think it’s broken or something.” he whimpered.
Reno guffawed loudly. “Loser.”
“If my leg wasn’t busted I’d kick your ass for saying that.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”
Elena stamped her foot on the floor. This immature behaviour between
the two Turks got on her nerves a lot. For trained killers they were remarkably
childish.
“Stop it. This isn’t getting us anywhere!” she cried.
“But my leg...”
“I don’t want to hear it Rude. We have to find the others.”
She helped up a few of the Elites and asked them if they were all right.
Anthony rushed in, his face and nose straming blood.
“I have three men dead below deck and at least fifteen are wounded
seriously.” he reported. “Has anyone got any Cure materia?”
“Check the hold.” said someone. “all the materia’s down there.”
Yuffie appeared from above them. She flung some materia down on the
ground.
“Here.” she said.
Cid looked at her with surprise.
“You’d better give it back.” she added.
Cid let out a loud sigh. “Phew, Yuffie. I thought something was really
wrong with you for a minute.”
Yuffie shot him a look and jumped up to the rafters again.
Barrett came down the stairs limping heavily.
“Has anyone seen Cloud?”
Reno shook his head soberly. “I’m sorry, Barrett. It looks like him
and Sephiroth were killed.”
“No! You don’t understand! I fired the shot! It’s my fault that-”
“Easy, Barrett” said Reno. “You killed Sephiroth, didn’t you?”
“Aarrrrgh! Why does everyone go dying on me?” shouted Barrett. “Cloud,
Biggs, Wedge, Jessie. And Tifa, soon...”
Cid walked up to Barrett. “What are you talking about, Barrett?” he
said sharply. “Are you talking about giving up?”
“I jus... I jus don’t know how much I can take.” he answered.
But Cid’s face remained hard. “If you’re looking for sympathy, Barrett,
then join the club and take a good, long look around. We’ve all lost someone
dear to us, but we don’t give up. It’s part of living. It makes us stronger
and we fight on.”
Barrett was silent for a long while. “I’ve broked my hip or somethin’.”
“Then you stay here and guard the radio while we look for Aeris.” Cid
retorted. “Wait until they send a ship for us an’ then we’ll get the hell
out of here.”
“Yes, sir.”
Yuffie’s voice echoed down from the ceiling. “Looks like your the leader
of AVALANCHE agin, Cid.”
The man nodded and grimaced. “If it’s anthing like last time, then
it won’t be for long.”
-
Highwind wreckage 7:24
It took a long time to heal everyone and get the Elites organised.
It was almost 7:30 before they finally set off.
Six Elites had been killed, and another fifteen had been seriously
injured. Out of fifty, only twenty-three Elites escaped with minor injuries.
The rest, like Barrett, stayed behind to wait for the ship that would pick
them up in a weeks time.
Yuffie, Red XIII, Reeve, Elena, Rude and Reno travelled along with
Cid. Anthony led the Elites that followed on behind them
--
The first half an hour was easy.
After that, it had got progressively worse.
The attack from wild animals were, although easy, taking their toll.
The journey to Bone Village was furthur mired by the humid atmosphere.
Six Elites had to go back to the Highwind because their wounds began to
become infectious. The rest struggled on with sprained ankles and broken
wrists.
It soon became clear, even to Cid, that it might take a month before
they got to Bone Village, and maybe even another month before they got
to the Ancient City. Add on a week for finding Aeris, and then two months
for the way back, and you had a total of four months and maybe more.
He just hoped Fort Condor could hold out that long.
-
Fort Condor 2 weeks later
The two men sat in the science room overlooking the grassy plains of
the Planet. The sun slipped under the horizon, blending the pastel colours
of the sky in to vibrant reds, pinks and oranges.
“What have you found?”
“Something intriguing. Something that could change our whole perspective.”
“Go on.”
There was a pause as the man gathered his thoughts into speech. “How
did Sephiroth come back?”
“I have no idea. One assumes through the Lifestream, given that he
was there for five years.”
The other man nodded. “Yes, or course. But then again, he must have
come up through a rupture in the fabric of the Planet.”
The scientist sighed. “Tell me something I don’t already know.”
But his partner persisted. “A rupture in the Planet’s fabric. Can you
think of any such sites?”
“Well. the north crater would be one... and the others?”
“Mideel and Mount. Nibel.”
“Ah. Yes. Of coarse.”
“So the question is, why did Sephiroth not come back in one of those
places?”
“No idea again. Is there any point to this?”
“Yes there is a point. But you must persevere.” said the scientist
in annoyance. “Well, just finish soon.”
“We have already seen that Lifestream has a very destructive influence
on Jenova cells. Grissom has shown us that.”
“When?”
“When he summoned Lifestream to destroy the Jenova. Unfortunatly, this
also killed him in the process. But this proves my theory.”
“Theory?”
“That certain areas of the Planet in which Jenova has infested itself.
Junon was one of them. I believe the Mako Reactor at the Nibelheim Mountains,
where Grissom said he found his materia, is one also. And the North Crater
is another.”
“And what does this mean?”
The man took a deep breath. “It means that Sephiroth did not die five
years ago. Not the dying that we know. Instead, he went to one of the Jenova
infestations and stayed there for five years. It means he made... a tactical
retreat, if you will. He was nurtured and strengthened for five years,
and now he’s back stronger than ever.”
The other scientist gazed at him for a long time before speaking. “It
would make sense.” he said slowly. “It was not the Mako Reactor or the
city that turned the Junon harbour polluted. It was the slow corruption
of Jenova.”
“And Mount Nibel was used by Hojo and Gast because it was linked with
Jenova.”
“Exactly. And the North Crater was where Jenova landed on the Planet
all those aeons ago. Where it still fights with the Lifestream even now.”
“And Weapon were not actually asleep. They were very much alive and
fighting Jenova.”
“Also, the vortex’s that the hybrids use to move around suggest that
there is an energy of Jenova running throughout the Planet. A... a Jenova
Lifestream.”
The men looked out of window to face the coming night.
“Anthony?”
“Yes, Zanzer?”
“This changes everything.”
-
Two miles west of Highwind wreckage 5:11
Cloud woke up with Sephiroth’s Masamune inches from his face.
He cried out and rolled away, but the sword did not move. There was
no cruel laugh. No killing blow. Nothing.
Just a deep silence.
Cloud searched about quickly for Ultima Weapon and grabbed it with
his right hand. He flipped up and looked for Sephiroth for six long seconds
before he finally believed what he was seeing.
Sephiroth lay wounded on the floor, unconcious. Long burns streaked
across the side of his face and the rest of his body was peppered with
shrapnel. His sword lay a few metres away.
Cautiousley, Cloud kicked the sword away. It slid across the ground
and hit a tree to the left.
For the first time, Cloud tore his eyes away from the helpless Sephiroth
and glanced down at his own body. He was shocked at what he saw.
His flesh was raw and exposed, much of the skin had peeled off from
the heat of the shell. His left leg was charred and covered with fluid
filled blisters. Large cuts leaked alarming amounts of pus and his vision
was blurry.
He stumbled over to Sephiroth and sat down, the shock finally setting
in. He pulled out a Cure materia from his pocket and muttered some incantaions.
The reassuring magic flowed through his veins and he gasped out loud in
relief. Cloud saw the skin grow over his muscles again and the large cuts
heal over. His eyes cleared and his head stopped swimming.
Picking up his sword again, he sat up and placed the sharp tip on Sephiroth’s
temple.
“Goodbye... Sephiroth.” said Cloud.
He raised the sword above his head.
Sephiroth was awake and he sprung up. In a confused swipe Cloud hacked
away at his nemesis, but he was too late. With a roll, Sephiroth had moved
away from the blow and picked up his katana. He smiled and raised his blade,
but stopped when pain lanced up the side of his body.
Looking down at the state of his legs, arms and torso, he made a sweeping
motion with his fist and a vortex opened. As Sephiroth stepped through
it he stared venmously a the stunned Cloud.
“Well done, Cloud. You win this round. But the Planet will be mine
in the end. In the end, the injustice my mother has suffered for so long
will be put right.”
“If I have to, Sephiroth, I will take you and Jenova apart piece by
piece.”
“We shall see.”
-
Highwind wreckage 8:21
Cloud stumbled wearily on.
It had taken him a long time to find where he was and just what had
happened to him.
Once the anti-tank round had hit, him and Sephiroth had both jumped
clear, but been sucked out of the Highwind by the high speed winds. Somehow,
they had created a magic barrier which had saved both of their lives.
At least, that’s what he thought had happened.
A few hours ago he had tried to use the phone to contact someone, but
it was broken. Then he had seen the wreckage of the Highwind.
It had been at least a week since he had had anything to eat, and he
was desperatly hungry. Exhaustion tugged at his conciousness, but he refused
to give up, knowing that if he lay down to rest, he would never get up
again.
He walked slowly up to the seemingly deserted plane and went inside.
“Move, an’ I’ll blow yer brains out.” came a voice behind him.
Slowly, and with great surprise, Cloud turned around.
Barrett stood in a pair of baggy combat fatigues at the entrance to
the Highwind. His normally proud composure was haggard and withdrawn and
his leg was covered in a crude bandage. He kept his gun-arm unwavering
at Cloud for a full second before recognising him.
“Cloud? Cloud, what are yer doing?”
Cloud regarded him with a look of pure amusement. “What are you talking
about, Barrett?”
“I mean what are yer doing alive?” answered Barrett in a daze. “I...
we... we all thought you were dead!”
“We?” said Cloud. “You mean... you mean... everyone’s alive?”
“Just about, yeah! Couldn’t ya see the lights up in the control deck?
There’s about twenty injured Elites there!”
“I came in from the back.” said Cloud. “Meanwhile, can I have something
to eat? I’m totally starved.”
Barrett’s face softened and limped over to embrace Cloud in a crushing
bear-hug.
“I’m so sorry, Cloud. I never meant for yer to get hurt. An’, an’ when
I fired that gun I realised but it was too late-”
Cloud forced himself away from Barrett and shrugged casually.
“Hey. It doesn’t matter, Ok? After all, I’m still alive.” His face
became lined with worry. “Is evryone fine? No one got hurt, did they?”
“We lost six men in the crash, and another died a few days ago. It’s
still touch an’ go with another three or four. The rest of us have broken
bones an’ that sort of stuff.”
“Where are Cid and the others?”
“They went on with the mission. Left about two weeks ago, now, I should
think. I had to stay behind, dammit. Cid wouldn’t let me go.”
Cloud swore. He followed Barrett out of the hold and upstairs.
“I have to catch up with them.” he thought out loud.
Barrett laughed. “I doubt it. Not the way you look. Nah, there way
ahead of yer.”
“Cloud smiled. “But that problems already solved.”
“It is? How?”
Unclipping a bright materia orb from his belt, Cloud held up the shining
globe for Barrett to see.
“It’s some of Grissom’s materia. He gave it to me just before he died.
It’s teleportation materia. I can catch up with them in no time with this.”
“Great!” cried Barrett.
“Uh-huh. I guess I’ll set off soon.”
“Now way, Cloud! You look bad. Don’t you want a sleep and something
to eat?”
“Well, I guess so.” For the first time Cloud realised how tired it
was. It seemed like days since he had slept.
“Allright, then.” said Barrett. “Sit down here an’ I’ll fix you up
with some soup.”
Barrett turned to go away, but then paused and swung back around.
“Cloud?”
“Yeah?”
“Did I get him?”
“Who?”
“Sephiroth. Did I get Sephiroth?”
“No. You didn’t Barrett.”
“Damn.
“But he won’t bother us for a while.”
“Heh heh heh. Great.”
-
Wutai Hive Room 8:24
Sephiroth almost laughed when he heard Cloud’s words.
Almost.
He tried to chuckle but ended up coughing loudly and choking up some
blood on the floor of the Hive Room.
Instead he snarled. But he would sincerley love to see the look on
Cloud’s face when he saw Sephiroth well in just a few days.
The Jenova next to him grafted some skin on to the exposed tissue of
his arms and legs, then started to heal the cuts on his torso and head.
If only he could wipe out that Barrett here and now. But no. He would
have to go after Cid and the rest of AVALANCHE. He hadn’t a clue what their
mission was, but he knew it was important. Vital.
And therefore he would wipe them out. Every last one of them.