Chapter 3: The Cursed Village

"Beware of the one-winged Angel of Death! With his every step the dead raise! With his every breath the Planet dies!"

"You really like burning things."

Sephiroth did not say a thing - he didn't really have to. His face, red from the flames, expressed utter content.

"It's not the first time I set this place on fire," he admitted all of a sudden, not even looking at his strange companion. "At least this time I have a good reason."

Vincent, as usual, did not comment it in any way. He either was a good listener or things like burning down a town could not really impress him. Whatever it was, Sephiroth did not intend to complain. Being listened to - without a sword put to your throat or a gun pointed at your head - felt nice from time to time.

They stood like this for a long while, watching the flames, that were slowly consuming the mansion and its infected prisoners. The entire place had been turned into a grotesque funeral pyre.

"Is there any other way to destroy these creatures?" - Vincent asked, staring at one particularly stubborn individual. It tried to reach Sephiroth even with its limbs broken and the rest of the body partially burnt.

"Destroying their brains always works. Cutting off the head – not necessarily. And better be careful when they lose a limb or any other body part. If left alone for too long, it will… evolve… into something weird and annoying, so better do not carelessly leave anything behind."

Vincent nodded. Annoyed by growls of a crawling undead, he steadily took aim and silenced the pitiful creature for good with a shot between the eyes.

"Oh? That was a good one," Sephiroth commented, genuinely impressed. One part of him already started including Vincent's abilities in his future battle tactics, while the other part focused on thinking how to defeat him in case they'll become enemies one day. Living in constant paranoia for so long drastically changed his way of thinking.

But also had some good points, like a much better ability to detect enemies from afar. Vincent's senses must have been at least equally sharp, because he turned around at the same moment.

Something big was coming - a particularly large, strong and clumsy monster, that totally ignored every obstacle on its path.

"Is that…?"

"A Nibel dragon, yes." Sephiroth clenched his teeth in barely suppressed anger. Jenova was truly desperate to send such weird enemies after him. "I haven't seen a single one for years."

Being nothing more than a portable flamethrower, his most powerful weapon was nearly useless against this annoying beast. It wouldn't actually bother the former general, if the dragon wasn't infected. Or, more precisely – undead.

Sephiroth glanced at the standard SOLDIER sword in his hand, already knowing what will happen. Without Masamune he might be forced to kill the reptile with his bare hands, unless...

No, thinking so much during a fight will bring him no good, he should rather trust his instincts.

One powerful jump sent Sephiroth few meters above the dragon's head, and a swing in the air let him gain more speed. With Masamune he didn't have to 'dance' like this, but now he knew there won't be another chance. He had but one strike to end this unexpected fight.

He fell on the beast from above like an attacking falcon. The dragon roared terribly and lost its balance under Sephiroth's strike. The sword couldn't withstand the power of the blow. It shattered in the former general's face, leaving there few red lines that healed almost immediately.

For a disturbingly long moment they couldn't see anything through the curtain of flames, dust, and desperately waving wings.

"Tch." Sephiroth, already few steps back and with Cherub in his hand, frowned in silent frustration. The head was still attached to the dragon's neck, although barely, hanging on a strap of hard skin. Sephiroth got used to the fact that normal weapons usually shatter in his hands after few blows, so it wasn't anything surprising or unexpected for him. But it meant that he's going to waste too much time and energy on this persistent creature, maybe even enough for Jenova to reach him.

Seeing that his companion's 'all or nothing' move didn't work, Vincent decided to join this awkward ballet. He was far from saying that Lucrecia's son was defenseless, but he recklessly exposed himself to an enemy's attacks. As a Turk, trained to work in pairs and guard each other's backs, Vincent took action instinctively and tried to draw the dragon's attention to himself.

It worked for no longer than a second. The monster did not try to hide, who was its main target. Even that second was enough for Sephiroth to attack the beast from the right and put a bullet from Cherub in its head. The dragon still snapped its rotting jaws, targeting Sephiroth's leg, but ended up silenced for good by Vincent.

Both men landed safely on the ground and nodded to each other, pleased by the effects of this unexpected cooperation. Something important formed between them – a kind of trust characteristic only for brothers in arms. Vincent wondered if it wasn't happening too fast, because the boy resembled Lucrecia so much…

"Let's get out of here before more of them come." Sephiroth's voice cut the air, mercilessly like a silver knife, bringing the former Turk back to reality.

"Is there any way to make them lose your track?"

Sephiroth shrugged.

"There's a limit of distance from which they can detect me, so moving very fast in the opposite direction usually works."

"Running away then? I see." Vincent frowned, hearing strange noises in the distance. Probably another horde of monsters was on the way. "So… are you hunting or being hunted?"

"Both, I guess." Sephiroth answered so harshly, that Vincent did not even try to continue the topic. For him it was a quintessence of passive aggressiveness, but, after everything he had witnessed so far, the former Turk didn't really blame the kid.

"When did you sleep last time?" - he asked and checked his weapons. Keeping them in perfect condition will be crucial, if things continue like this. "Naps don't count."

The look Sephiroth gave him was hard to describe.

"I…" The silver-haired warrior clearly wanted to say something mean, so Vincent would mind his own business, but was shamelessly interrupted by another strange sound in the distance. "I think we wasted too much time."

Having no other choice, both men turned around and walked hastily the narrow path to the mountains. Something weird was coming after them, and they had no desire to check what it was.

The weather was nice and the road empty, so Zack let himself relax a bit. During the long, tiring journey from Nibelheim he was mostly talking to Cloud, sometimes even singing, because he sincerely believed that it could help his friend recover.

"Have I told you already how I met Sephiroth for the first time?" Zack chuckled awkwardly, cursing his own stupidity. "Yeah, I know. After all you've been through, this is probably the last thing you would like to hear about. Sorry, Cloud, I didn't mean anythi... Oh, shit!"

Zack turned right in the last possible moment. Something he took for a rotten corpse suddenly attacked the front wheel of the motorcycle. It was a miracle that they managed to safely get past the undead – and that Cloud didn't fall off during such a dangerous maneuver.

"Are you okay, Spiky?"

Cloud moaned something, clinging to his friend's back like a baby sloth. Few strange sounds and instincts of a newborn child were everything he could do now, but it still looked better than before.

This was the first – and, hopefully, last – encounter on the way. Two or three groups of infected creatures, humans and monsters alike, just passed them by, totally uninterested. It seemed that something was luring them to Nibelheim, a strange call they couldn't or didn't want to resist. Zack could easily guess what it was.

"Sephiroth," he murmured to himself, still not sure what to think of the former general's actions. Was he alive and well?

"Nah, what am I even worrying about? An entire army wouldn't be enough to take this guy down."

But, judging from what Zack had witnessed on the way, the infected formed something similar to an army. And it was an army that needed no rest nor supplies, while Sephiroth, despite his legendary strength, was just a single mortal.

Zack shook his head, angry at himself for overthinking things he couldn't truly fix or control. He had much more important matters to worry about – like a village that suddenly rose before his eyes in the middle of nowhere.

He didn't remember this place from any map he had studied before the departure to Nibelheim. But that was long ago and many things changed DRASTICALLY when he was sleeping inside the tank in that cursed laboratory.

"Looks like someone still lives here. Let's check it, Cloud."

Willingly or not, Sephiroth left all his Materia and inventory to the two fugitives. And it wasn't much, so Zack couldn't really waste any possibility to resupply far from the spying eyes of Shin-Ra.

The village resembled more a post apocalyptic camp than an idyllic settlement. Houses looked like devastated barns, squeezed together like a flock of terrified birds, and surrounded by multiple layers of barbed wire. Rags, old tires and other kinds of junk completed the picture of this fallen, nearly forgotten place.

Only a single girl, stuck to the fence like a caged animal, seemed to breathe in this motionless landscape.

"Hello!" Zack waved to her with his typical, friendly smile. "Sorry to interrupt, but can you tell me what's the name of this village? Or your name? I'm Zack, by the way. Zack Fair, from Gongaga. Nice to meet you!"

She glanced at the intruded with no real interest and didn't even bother to answer.

Feeling ignored, Zack laughed nervously and tried his luck with the others.

"Hello? Is there anybody here who can help? Or maybe I can help you with something?"

Again, no one answered, only few shadows moved hastily in the building on the other side of the barbed wire. Zack could swear he feels focused gazes crawling on his skin and was sure that some of the villagers were targeting him with guns or other weapons.

The girl was standing still in the same place, with her little fingers clenched on the fence.

"Even a simple 'Hi!' would be nice, you know? We haven't met anyone alive in miles…"

She didn't react to his words, only stared. Her empty gaze made Zack feel uncomfortable.

Something – no, everything! – is wrong with this village, he thought, but at loud said only:

"Listen, we're not here to stay or cause troubles, we're just passing by. We need gasoline. Water and food will also be appreciated. Do you know where I can find them?"

The girl said nothing, only stretched out her hand, showing Zack the way to the abandon gas station. He thanked her and decided to move out immediately to not bother the villagers anymore. He was about to leave, when the girl spoke up at last.

"Wait. She's going to sing."

"What?"

Zack slowly turned around, following the intense gaze of the little girl. Someone was coming - a woman in a dirty, ripped dress. Her dry hair was tangled like roadside bushes, her eyes were looking unconsciously forward. Was she infected? Probably not, judging from the way she was walking. For a moment Zack wished he could just smell the danger, like Sephiroth.

What a stupid thought! Focus, Zachary, focus!

But, if the woman was not infected, how did she survive in this place? Was she traveling alone? To where? Realizing that the poor creature might need help, Zack stepped forward…

The girl pulled his sleeve, forcing him to stay in place.

"Magdell went nuts when her husband got infected and ate their children," she said in a disturbingly flat voice. "Only she has survived. Now she's wandering from village to village. No one dares to harm her, because she sings."

"Sings?"

The girl nodded and pressed a finger to her lips, showing Zack to be quiet. Indeed, the woman called Magdell was mumbling something that could be taken for a melody.

"That's a new one." The girl tilted her head, clearly waiting for something. "And now the message."

As on a signal, the woman in rags started to howl with all her might:

"Beware of the one-winged Angel of Death! With his every step the dead raise! With his every breath the Planet dies!"

Zack swallowed painfully, feeling that he'd just exchanged one kind of hell for another, and expecting some serious troubles.

"The Avenger, the one-winged Angel of Death, is roaming through the land! With his every step the dead raise! They're crawling out from the soil and march forward! To devour, to annihilate all life, till the world ends!"

Aerith stood up, alarmed by the commotion at the entrance to the church. The flowers, touched by a wave of cold air, moved abruptly under her feet, looking like they were having a serious panic attack.

"Shush," the girl whispered, but it was not clear whom she's trying to calm down – the plants, the voices in her head or herself.

She froze for a moment, listening to the noises outside, trying to recognize the muffled voices. She was sure the Turks were out there, but none of them sounded like Tseng, who usually kept an eye on her. And they were fighting the infected, that were hanging around here from some time...

The situation in Midgar was getting worse with every passing day. No one believed the official news anymore, when a horde of infected gathered at the city gates. The military was keeping them at bay for now, but some of them somehow managed to slip through the defense and now were terrorizing the slums.

"So it's time to leave, huh?"

Aerith knew that day would come eventually, but it hurt anyway. She was supposed to wait here for Zack. He promised to come back and Aerith believed in him with all her heart.

One careful step, two steps, and then few more. Once she decided to step over the threshold and explore the unknown, there was no turning back.

Sadness and excitement were fighting within her ferociously, leaving no place for fear. The girl looked back one last time, bid farewell to her precious flowers, and left, hoping that she and Zack will find each other eventually, somewhere in this wild, infected world.

Zack suspected that an abandoned gas station would be already plundered, maybe even dismantled for scrap metal, but he managed to find most of the supplies he needed. It seemed that the infected couldn't care less for water or food, and not many travelers reached this place during the crisis.

For some unknown reason, Magdell chose to follow Zack all the way from the village. She didn't stop singing even for a minute. And she wasn't the only person who decided to show up here with no particular reason.

Someone landed heavily on the roof, making enough noise to alarm the entire neighborhood. Zack only sighed – after all he'd seen, it was really hard to surprise him today.

"The one-winged Angel of Death… Is she talking about you and your clones, Genesis?"

The decaying ex-SOLDIER chuckled bitterly at this suggestion.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but no. Willingly or not" - the red-haired First spread his arms in an overdramatic gesture – "Sephiroth stole the spotlight. Again."

"Wait… you're saying that all of this is Sephiroth's doing? So why he sent me to…" Zack stopped immediately, realizing that revealing such delicate matter to a possible enemy is not a good idea. "Then why he's acting like he tries to fix this mess?" – he corrected himself.

"You should ask him, not me."

Zack's eyes narrowed dangerously. He wasn't an idiot and didn't like to be treated like one, at least when they were dealing with an urgency.

"You know something important and you're waiting here for him," he guessed more than deduced. "Why?"

A soft chuckle from the roof irritated Zack even more.

"It may look like I'm following Sephiroth, but no. We only visited the same places. When I realized that Hollander lacks talent and knowledge to fix me, I tried to find someone to take his place. But Sephiroth has already annihilated half of the scientists' population on the Planet." Genesis shook his head. "He really should stop burning things out of frustration. It's unhealthy. And kind of childish."

"You're a fine one to talk!" Zack almost snorted, imagining Sephiroth's reaction to such words. In different circumstances he would even pay to see that! But it was not a good moment for such jokes. "Genesis, I'm not following Shin-Ra's orders anymore, so I have no duty or need to fight you… as long as you refrain from infecting people. So, as a sign of good will, you should at least tell me what you know."

"Oh?" The former First pursed his lips in a contemptuous grimace. "How honorable of you." The way he accented the word 'honorable' reminded Zack of Angeal. Genesis did that on purpose, no doubt. It supposed to hurt, and it did. "What do you want to know, Zack the Puppy?"

"What is Sephiroth's goal?"

"Isn't it obvious, my friend?" Genesis smiled, his wonderfully blue eyes were shining with amusement. "My soul, corrupted by vengeance, hath endured torment to find the end of the journey… in my own salvation and your eternal slumber."

"Hey, 'Loveless' is NOT an answer to anything!" Zack protested fiercely, clenching his fists. For once he tried to be serious and got only mockery in return.

"If you only knew…" Genesis chuckled and spread his wing, losing too many feathers in the process. The ones, which fell to the ground, were visibly damaged. Zack wondered how the man can still fly in such pitiful state.

Well, he could. Not as fast and elegant as before, but it didn't really matter with no one around to pursue him.

"So you're running away again?"

"I'm just tired of that woman's screams, that's all. My ears are bleeding because of her."

And he flew away, leaving frustrated Zack in this depressing, abandoned place.

With a heavy heart, Zack got back to his motorcycle and gently ran his hand through Cloud's spiky hair. Leaving those people without help to face the infected hordes did not seem very heroic to him.

Zack wanted to be a SOLDIER to become strong for those in troubles. Yet, even after being promoted to first class, he still felt powerless. He could do nothing for Angeal. He could not defeat Sephiroth in the reactor. And now he was going to abandon the people of that lone settlement for certain death… or something far worse.

But, honestly, did he have a choice? He could either continue his mission to save Cloud and Aerith or die here in a battle that was already lost.

Zack clenched his fist, determined to move forward. He won't fail his friends ever again.

"Hold on tight, Cloud. Will be going faster from now on. I hope you'll like it."

His motorcycle roared in response, like a wild beast, that had just been freed from a small cage.

Far behind, in the cloud of dust raised up by Zack's vehicle, Magdell continued her dark prophecies.

"Beware of the one-winged Angel of Death! With his every step the dead rise! With his every breath the Planet dies!"

Next chapter: Wandering Souls

Thanks for reading!