CHAPTER NINETEEN: NOLI MANERE IN MEMORIA

Cloud felt the wind rake his face, stirring up the black dust from the rotting land. In front of him, a column of white smoke snaked upwards, a cobra in the air gazing at him. He remembered all too well the cold, damp walls, the cramped corridors, the fetid atmosphere of that horrible place.

He let out a long sigh. The past kept calling him to make repeat visits to places he never wanted to come back to. It called to Tifa too… and Sephiroth. All they needed was Zack, his dear friend, now in the Radiant Garden, to complete this strange reunion.

"Come on!"

He put down his phone, and watched his companions appear one by one, emerging from the last of the winding paths leading to the Nibel Reactor.

A day and a half had passed since the attack which had laid the Highwind low. Amazingly enough, everyone abroad had survived the crash, suffering only minor injuries. Though the same couldn't be said of the airship. Thanks to some clever press statements given by Reeve, the public believed that they were enjoying an extended stay in a hospital in Junon. Cid quickly commandeered another airship, the Charlotte, and this time, they reached Nibelheim unmolested.

Not wishing to alert their enemies, AVALANCHE had made the harrowing hike up Mt. Nibel on foot, with Tifa to guide them once again. Cid remained behind with the Charlotte, ready to provide support if needed.

With some help from Bigieu, Vincent's secretary, they had found the location of Vincent's last message. But there was nothing to be seen; no dead bodies, no debris, no sign of a struggle at all. It was as if they had all been hallucinating. All that was left now was to visit the reactor itself; hopefully, Vincent would be somewhere inside.

The Nibel Reactor had been Hojo's house of horrors away from home. And it was eminently suited for the madman, a haphazard collection of pipes and metal plates, looking like some large, cancerous growth rather than a power station.

The main doors were left wide open. For a moment the mercenary wanted to laugh. It was as if someone had gotten the idea to air the place, to let the stink of evil come out of it. More likely, however, someone was expecting them, like the spider opening its parlour to the fly.

The members of his team entered the reactor in single file; the entrance would fit no more. Last to enter was the man he had once looked up to, the man whom he once considered a hero. Cloud stole a look at Sephiroth, wondering what were his thoughts and speculations at returning to the place where all the horrors had started, the core of the crisis. But he, the author of this evil, refused to give anything away, his face as unreadable as ever.

"Urkkk…. I think I'm getting sick," Yuffie complained.

"Shh." Tifa gingerly stepped ahead, switching on her torch. The beam could not go very far in the strange mist that blanketed the corridor. Apart from their footfalls, muted by the moss – covered floor, they could hear no other sound, not even the drip of water from a leaking pipe, or the chatter of a wild rat. Silence impressed itself upon their ears. The silence of the sepulchre.

They entered the catchment chamber, the place where raw Mako was siphoned up from holes drilled into the Planet's crust. A long catwalk ran across the room, leading to Hojo's private playpen. And beyond that…

"Watch your step," Tifa whispered, "The bridge is starting to fall apart." Her eyes met Sephiroth's briefly. He looked as if he'd never visited this place before. Had this man any feelings?

Aerith stopped at the edge of the catwalk, looking at the Lifestream, which lay a thousand feet below.

"The Lifestream's supposed to be calm, a place of rest for those who've returned to the Planet. Now it's angry and disturbed, like boiling water… as if someone's hurt it."

"It's never behaved like that, even when a Mako reactor's at full power," Red noted, squinting at the seething, flickering waters, "What does this mean?"

"I wish I knew, Red." The girl got up, dusting off her dress, "But for now, we must find Vincent. Perhaps he'll tell us more."

The door to the lab, like the front gates, was also left open. Cloud stepped in, wiping perspiration from his brow. He plucked at his shirt, peeling it away from his chest, and noticed that the Nibel Wolf brooch he wore was starting to rust.

The largest room in the reactor was in exactly the same state as they'd left it a year ago. Hundreds of isolation pods ringed a man-made terrace, leading up to the Jenova Chamber, the wretched creatures within guarding the Beast beyond.

"Search each of these pods," Cloud ordered, "Vincent may be inside one of them." He took out his own torch, and started peering inside each of the stasis chambers in turn. He frowned. They were all empty. Somebody had decided to give Hojo's pets a little fun in the sun.

His friends had come to a similar conclusion. Their hands reached for their weapons.

"I've found him! Come here!" Yuffie cried. The mercenary sprinted towards her, skittering to a stop in front of her pod. He peered through the glass window, and saw his friend floating helplessly in front of him.

"Vincent!"

He mashed the release button, but the pod refused to relinquish its inhabitant. But it could not resist a few good hits from the Ultima Weapon. Vincent tumbled out in a shower of viscous fluid.

Cloud retched at once. It was as if he was back in the glass prisons which he and Zack were confined in during their four years of torture in the Shinra mansion. Immersed every day in a bitter – sour, toxic soup laced with Jenova cells, his mind, body and soul were slowly mutated by Hojo's dark experiments, until he became only an empty shell filled with the evil of Sephiroth. Only by entering the Lifestream and experiencing its divine power was he truly restored to the person he once was.

"Vincent!" The man was barely responding to him, muttering a few inarticulate words. Tifa took out a hip flask, giving him a sip of brandy, then a long draught.

"… much worse … Disciples of Jenova … unholy alliance…" The mayor slid back into unconsciousness.

"Gather everybody together. We've got to get him back to Nibelheim. Then we can…" Cloud thrust Vincent into Tifa's arms, rushing up the terraces, throwing his hands on the door to darkness, ramming his body against it.

"Sephiroth! Sephiroth! Sephiroth!!"

He would not have time to worry about the silver – haired man, as the silence was suddenly shattered by the braying of a hundred wild creatures as they appeared out from the mists, swarming the crowded corridors, falling down from the ceiling.

The Mako monsters were upon them!

XXXXX

Sephiroth stood in the inner sanctum, staring down the long hallway. At its end was the stasis chamber where Jenova's remains had once slept. Six years ago, he had entered this room, fresh from the massacre of an entire town. Long had he dreamed of exterminating humanity, those lesser lifeforms who had sought time and again to deny his existence, but Jenova had shown him how to make that dream a reality, the path to ultimate power.

But where had all the power he had gained taken him? Cloud, a lowly foot soldier, a human being, had gained some unknown strength, prevailing over him at the very last moment. Aerith, whom he had considered an imposter, pretending to belong to the master race, had ruined his plans with a single prayer. In the end, he was a nobody. He was still an incomplete being.

Why was he still here, then? He was supposed to "atone" for his sins. He was supposed to fulfill his true destiny, a purpose known only to the Planet. What did that mean? All he knew was that he was under someone's control again, just like a puppet. All his life he had tried to shake off his strings, but the more he struggled, the more he was tied down.

Life held little meaning to Sephiroth; death had no value to him.

"You've come, Sephiroth. Broken, but still in one piece."

Three men stood in the distance. All of them were silver – haired, just like him. All of them were dressed in black cloaks, just like him. All of their faces were twisted into a sadistic grin, just like him.

The leader stepped forward, tossing his shoulder – length hair behind his back. "I believe you've met us before. But let's introduce ourselves again. I am Kadaj. This is Loz. And he is Yazoo."

"So that's what you call yourselves now?"

"We were once your puppets, empty shells to do your bidding. But we've changed a little bit, ever since your timely demise. We were lost, just like you. We had no hope, no reason to live. But Mother came to us with words of wisdom. She gave us the answer."

In unison, the threesome reached for a silver chain they wore on their necks, holding it up to the light. Hanging from each chain was a small globe of phosphorescent green fluid.

"The biggest fools commit the mistakes others make."

"Oh, no, no, no. It was a brilliant plan, but you gave up on it. Your death was just an unfortunate setback. You could've just used us to come back to this world. But you failed to take this chance. And now we have the chance to surpass you… once we kill you, that is."

The SOLDIER drew his sword. "Go ahead."

Kadaj laughed, waving his double – bladed katana, throwing his head back. "Wait for it!"

Sephiroth would not wait. He sprang forward, gliding through the air, the Masamune drawn back to strike. These fragments of his past life had finally manifested themselves in the material plane, and now he could defeat them in combat.

But these fragments eluded him still, vanishing below the surface of the cauldron. A hundred pairs of claws dragged him down in mid – flight. He came eye to eye with a grey – skinned humanoid with a shriveled, horse – shaped face, with spines for hair. This was the last he saw of it, as he sliced the Mako monster in two. Stabbing and swinging left and right, he disposed of the creatures clinging to his arms and legs. But the terrible trio had already vanished by then.

"We won't just remain in your memories."

XXXXX

Cloud took another step forward, winning a few inches of progress as he cut down one more of the ashen – faced terrors, pausing to wipe away the gooey, mud – like blood that landed on his face.

They trudged their way towards the exit, pushing back the tide of Mako monsters in front of them, holding back the ones snapping at their heels.

"Let's see what you have!" Yuffie threw her Conformer at one unlucky victim, activating her Mug command materia. The creature fell, and the large shuriken returned to her hands. Unfortunately, the humanoid carried nothing of value on it.

"You don't want to stay here, dear." Tifa grabbed Yuffie by the collar, dragging her in front, kicking away the spindly creature that had taken the ninja's place.

"Well, it was the thought that counted…"

Aerith raised her staff, the Tornado spell tossing the monsters back down the corridor, dumping them in an unceremonious heap. Cloud followed up with a running jump, dispatching them all with one stroke.

Mercifully, the main doors were still open. But their joy at reaching the exit was short – lived, as more of the screeching, honking horrors came up from the mountain path, surrounding them completely.

"Goodness, how many of them are there?" Tifa asked, grabbing one of the monsters by both arms, flinging it into a group charging towards her. "Go mess with someone else, ugly boys!"

"Where is the air support?" Cloud yelled into his phone.

"Look above you, kid!" The Charlotte had come at just the right time. The Mako creatures whined and squealed in pain as they were riddled with bullets. The airship's main gun opened up, blowing whole groups of them away. Soon enough, the monsters turned and fled, leaving them alone once again in the wasteland.

Two airmen climbed down the rope ladder, carrying a stretcher with them. Cloud strapped Vincent in it, and watched them haul him upwards. He turned, intent on returning to the reactor.

"Stay with Vincent. I'll go back in," Aerith offered. "Relax, he's not responsible for this," she insisted.

Aerith found the general walking slowly out from the Jenova chamber, covered from head to toe with the thick, vile ichor of the Mako monsters. She ran up to him, relieved that he had escaped unhurt. She touched his arms, and at once she saw the memories which had not yet passed beyond the thick walls blocking off his soul.

Sephiroth was living out his past in the present day. The stones he had thrown into the river in the distant past had built up downstream, coalescing together to form unrunnable rapids that were even now rocking his boat apart plank by plank. The three men he had met were but the first of the procession of people whom he had touched, for good or for ill, and now they would return to shape his own life.

He brushed away her hands, pointing towards the room of fate. "Why are you so eager to share what can't be shared? Do you really think you can understand what I went through, the reasons behind every single thing I've done? That you can somehow destroy the darkness in my heart, make everything all right again for me?"

The flower merchant rolled her eyes. This was the hardest sale she would ever have to make. She lowered her head a little, rubbing her chin.

"Yes, I do," she replied firmly. She stood on the tips of her toes, taking his hands again, drawing him closer, her eyes shining deep into his soul, showing him what was waiting for him at the very end, if only he would begin the long climb towards the light.

"You want some peace of mind. You want to face your past, to be free of your memories, but you don't know how to. You won't find the answer within yourself, because it's something you can't do with your own strength alone. You need to have faith in those who want to help you. You need friends. You need me."

"………."

"………."

"………."

"… Fine. Try me."

He left the reactor, his memories of that dreadful place set aside, so engrossed was he with wondering what would happen, now that he had invited the girl into his private life.

Aerith would not stop smiling the whole day…

Oh, how I hate work! It takes away my muse! It strips me of creativity, blocks my writing! So once I get any leave, I start getting back to this. Have to balance my time too, since I'm playing Crisis Core too. I have plans for the silver-haired men. It'll take more than a little fall of rain to kill them. Now I must work on the next chapter, before my leave ends. I've actually written material for future chapters, and they're very sweet, but I have to write something else first, to get to them!

I'm thinking of starting a blog and posting my story there too. It's a bit more flexible, and I'll have a few additional options available… I'll let you know, if I actually start venturing into the blogosphere… )