Cloud was more than happy to never wear a shirt for the rest of his days on Besaid. He was getting a bit of a sunburn, and he was pretty sure there were going to be some really strange looking tan lines, but between the breeze, the sun, and the rain it seemed silly to bother wearing a shirt. He wasn't going to swap his pants out for shorts though.
The mako running through his veins had warded off the early morning chill as he waited for Tidus to meet him. He wasn't hidden away or looming in front of the Aurochs tent nor was he guarding Yuna's hut. He was waiting patiently for Tidus on the steps of the temple; the fact that Yuna was inside looking through the records may have had something to do with the location. He'd been waiting for Tidus for almost an hour now, his sword resting on the marble steps beside him while Mateus hovered at the edge of his mind. The athlete had shown himself a few times already. Coming out of the tent and glancing around before heading over to Wakka's tent. When he exited he looked around again and caught Cloud's eye. The younger man had frowned and gone back into the Auroch's bright blue tent and so far he hadn't come back out.
Cloud was just beginning to sweat in the shade of the great temple when Tidus came out from the tent and began towards him. He looked sober. He looked clean too. The one thing that hadn't left him was the frown at seeing Cloud.
Cloud didn't speak as Tidus sat upon the steps beside him. He didn't do much else beside give him the slight nod of acknowledgment and continue looking up into the sky. Had any sky ever been so blue? Costa hadn't escaped the ravages of ShinRa, Cosmo Canyon hadn't had such a clear sky, nothing seemed this colorful in time past.
"So, you're from up north?" Tidus asked.
"Spent some time in Picon after Denzel and I lost our home. Met Yuna up in Zanarkand while we were trying to figure things out."
"I heard you guys went to the Thunder Plains," Tidus leaned forward on his elbows.
"Recording at the studio. Denzel was learning to cook traditional AlBhed."
They fell silent once more and Cloud was careful not to focus too much on Tidus. He could only just hear Yuna by the doorway of the temple and after a few moments she seemed ready to go back to the library within.
"She's talented," Tidus spoke up and Yuna's quiet retreat halted. "Really talented. I think if Sin hadn't been around she might have become famous for her voice a long time ago. Toured the world on her own, done everything she'd ever wanted. Sin and Yu Yevon took that away from her."
"I learned a long time ago that I can't do anything about the past or the men who decided how things would happen." If Sephiroth hadn't fallen into madness they might have been connected by more than just a company. If Hojo hadn't...if Hojo hadn't existed then their lives would have been far different.
"I do love her."
"It's not always enough. Love can only get you so far. Dedication can only do so much."
"So you've got both?" Tidus asked. It wasn't a demand or a sneer but an honest to goddess question.
"We'll find out. Might turn out to be ex-boy toy number four." Cloud decided that telling Tidus there was a chance of his own misery was the better plan. To admit he'd felt an otherworldly rush as he'd sworn his blade and his soul to her service would sound insane. If he told Tidus about the bond he shared with Yuna through Mateus and the electricity in his veins as they made love it would start a new fight.
"We should make a club," Tidus hung his head with a sigh. "Less Than Evil Exes: No Seymour's allowed."
"I'll get back to you on that," Cloud pushed himself to stand. He extended his hand to Tidus and waited for the athlete to take it. He didn't have to wait too long before he was pulling the other man up. "Go have dinner with the girl in Luca. We're still her guardians and Bahamut knows we'll be called for something."
"You make it really hard to dislike you." Tidus scratched the back of his head and shifted from side to side. "You're a real dick, but you're honest. And damn if you aren't seriously cool."
"People keep saying that," Cloud shook his head.
"Boy Toy number four," Yuna giggled as she came to join Cloud on the steps. He had pulled his sword up from the earth and set it into the harness. They would begin for Hera's Fall next. "You're much more than just a number Cloud."
"Primero Guard number two?" he asked as they began for the path behind the temple. A path not often travelled by the residents of Besaid for the dangers posed by fiends and wild beasts. "What is the Primero Guard?"
"You're my first and only Primero. If we were on a pilgrimage to fight Sin, then you would have been the one to take the form of the final aeon." Yuna looked over at him and found him unbothered by the revelation. Before, she'd not even considered calling one of her guardians Primero. She hadn't wanted to destroy their lives or the futures they might have had. It had been Khimari who had stepped forward to become the final aeon as he had nothing to lose but even he hadn't taken the title. "The strongest of the guardians, the one without family and who has sworn utmost loyalty to their summoner."
"Nice to know where I stand if our murder-suicide pact ever needs to come into play."
She looked over to see him smiling at her with the little smirk that almost wasn't there. Had they been in a safer place she'd have linked hands with him and rest her head upon his shoulder. They weren't in a safer place; they were on the Sun Path that wrapped around Hera's Fall and through the Besaid Jungle. Instead of taking his hand she pulled her gun and fired upon the fiends waiting just on the edge of the shadows while Cloud released an ice spell on the ones behind her. After so many hours hiking through Picon, the Necropolis, and Lohgrif Isle, these fiends were easy to get rid of.
They were however numerous. It was for this reason so few took the Sun Path around the island. Sea travel was much easier and even though the fiends could be much more dangerous in the deeps there were far fewer of them. The Sun Path led to every village on the island and even detoured to villages that had long since vanished because of Sin.
"We'll reach Tseng before Hera's Fall," Yuna stepped over a fallen log. Cloud slowed behind her and she turned to see what was wrong.
"I knew Tseng. Everyone thought he died when the temple caved in."
"Legend has it Tseng village was erected to keep watch over Hera's Fall."
"Or it's there because a hero fell." Cloud shoved the fallen log out of the path before rejoining Yuna in their walk. "I can remember him trying to get me to join the Turks and drop out of Soldier. He wasn't the friendliest person but he was smart. After everything went down he still tried to get me to join up with them. I wouldn't have guessed he ended up back here though."
"Hero's Fall...It sounds more ominous that way."
Tseng wasn't as colorful or as large as Besaid village. Most of the homes were more like small cabins and painted in a variety of navy blue, stunning white, or deep shadowy grey. The villagers dressed similarly but more in the style Cloud was getting used to here in Spira. A thick wall of stone and wood surrounded the village to keep the many fiends at bay; after their very short and eventful journey Cloud could understand why it was there. Besaid's was always open and warriors always patrolled but here in the depths of the jungle, the small village of Tseng didn't have that option.
"We're coming through to see if they need any sendings," Yuna explained as she made her way towards one of the brighter homes. "Remy!"
Cloud had assumed the lump on the porch was just a pile of dirty clothes or rubbish but a head popped out and Cloud almost stumbled to see a face very much like Reno's looking at him. The tattoos were different in shape but still that bright mako green and his hair just as crimson and wild.
"Yuna," the man lifted a hand in greeting. "Coming through for a sending?"
"I was hoping there wouldn't be anyone to send."
"Well, you're lucky this week." Remy sat upright and gestured to a group of small children. "The three of them took out a fiend themselves this week. Little bugger got in past the walls but it didn't do a lot of harm."
"They seem a little bit young," Cloud crossed his arms in front of him.
"You don't survive this part of Besaid long without knowing how to swing a sword of fling a spell." The redhead continued to speak with Yuna about sendings and any healing they needed in the village. Cloud for his part considered what it meant to be Spiran. Pacce had been much better with a sword than Denzel despite being two years younger and the Al Bhed children from the Thunder Plains had known exactly how to defend themselves against smaller fiends. Despite being so much more alive, or perhaps because it was so much more alive, Spira had far more danger roaming around. Paine had told him something like that back on the ship. That Yuna and Issaru had both been trained from a young age to fight and win their battles.
"Cloud, are you ready?"
"Yeah." He broke from his thoughts and began to follow her back out of the gate leading them to Hera's Fall. "They mention anything about Shemhazai?"
"It's a taboo name in Tseng," Yuna shook her head. "Remy did mention that there was something odd about the fiends by the Fall."
"Things aren't going to get worse once the sun goes down, are they?"
"That's what's odd. He said the fiends have stopped attacking at night. The ones on the other side of the village, closer to Besaid, are still active but not these ones."
"I don't suppose Carbuncle can sense anything?" Cloud asked as they ventured into a darker part of the forest.
"He's focusing on our status," Yuna spoke softer than last time.
"Why are you whispering?" Cloud whispered in return. He had not been whispering when he began to speak but something was softening his voice.
"I think this is what he meant." If Cloud hadn't had mako enhancements he might not have heard her.
She raised a hand and he saw her mouth a word to no avail. His brow raised up and she mimed something that was probably fire. No magic from here on out. The forest was still making sounds around them. The breeze through the leaves above and the crunch of of their boots in the gravel and rotting vegetation was sharp and clear. Birds were chirping in the branches and in the distance Cloud could hear a river flowing. The sounds grew in volume as the sun began to set and the shadows grew longer and darker.
Cloud reached for Mateus in the back of his mind and felt the aeon's displeasure with their location. He had to agree. With Belias and Mateus they'd been able to use magic to help. Cloud was too used to simply casting; the very thought of using materia seemed strange to him now. Not that either method would do any good. He'd never mastered wordless casting and apparently Yuna hadn't either.
Yuna tugged on Cloud's sleeve as they came upon Hera's Fall. It was a large chasm in the jungle, filled with overgrown vines and countless broken pillars from times long gone. There was a time Yuna wouldn't have even looked upon it with anything but fear. A time when she saw it not as a forgotten temple but as a land cursed by man's own folly. Now she saw it as something else. Cloud saw something else when he looked down at it. She could see it in his eyes and the way his shoulders tensed. She would never really know what he felt about this place nor would she know what it was to be used by another for such a sinister purpose. Lenne had piggy backed a few times and each had felt like a violation of her own form. Even though it had been with the best intent she didn't have control over herself.
She reached over and took hold of Cloud's hand. His grip tightened for just a moment before he began forward.
This was the second trip they'd made in which they were unable to speak to one another. The first time it had always been an option but in this they'd fallen prey to a spell of silence so powerful that it stretched through the jungle. Remy had mentioned it was growing in power as well. Actions spoke louder than words, but words articulated what actions couldn't. They explained the action and clarified the pain, the love, the confusion. Without words there could be no proud declarations of love. There could be no thoughts shared with the world. The soul would remain tight and trapped inside of a shell and unable to find another it could cleave to. To silence someone was to control them and deny their very existence.
Cloud led them to where the entrance should have been and was greeted by smooth stone. The temple it had been was different than he'd described it. The pyramid he'd told her of seemed strange to her, it wasn't fallen in and ruined, but it wasn't fully erect either. It was chunky and dismal in comparison to the temples of Spira. He tapped her shoulder and gestured to the structure, implying it should be bigger and even more blocky than it was now. He also pointed to where a door was supposed to be and ran his hands over stone that was once the doorway.
Yuna set her hand against it hoping it might recognize a high summoner. It did not. It just sat there.
She saw Cloud's shoulder shake just little as he silently laughed at her. Maybe she was a little too used to temples opening because she said so.
She took his hand and began walking alongside the giant structure. Every tempe had a back door. To escape, to sneak in, to deliver taboos, to veil secrets. She was a summoner, a priestess, and a treasure hunter. She would find a way inside!
Cloud didn't seem quite as eager to hunt for a back door but he did follow behind her and he did attack the fiends that came for them. It wasn't until she the sun was dipping lower into the sky that they found anything at all. A small and worn staircase nearly blended into the temple walls and if not for the shadows drifting just so, Yuna wouldn't have seen them leading high along the temple's walls.
If Cloud's voice was able to make sound she would have heard him make an unhappy sort of grunt as she began to climb the ancient stone. She would have ignored it even if she had heard and continued climbing up said stairs. His heavier footfalls were just behind her so in the end it didn't matter if he was displeased by her headlong ascent into the tomb. It was a very long climb and twice Yuna and Cloud were forced to find an alternate path in the stone. The climb was even more dangerous once the sun set. Flying fiends and clever shadows slowed them down and caused both to slip many times until finally they reached a door. The steps continued upwards but Yuna and Cloud were both tired and preferred a quiet alcove to rest in before climbing higher in the depth of the night.
The alcove was more of a storage room. Smaller than Yuna's hut in the village but larger than the room they'd shared on Paine's ship.
"For Holy's sake," Cloud grumbled. Both of them started in surprise as they found their voices had returned.
"The temple must be resistant to whatever spell is creating the silence." Yuna was excited and nervous about the discovery. Until she looked over at Cloud and saw a look of frustration on his face. "You're upset."
He almost told her that he was fine.
"I'd like to know what the plan is before you start climbing into tombs," he frowned.
"How was I supposed to tell you that there's a back door in every temple?" Yuna crossed her arms and looked at him in frustrated confusion. She had a little bit of a point but damnit if this wasn't a trend he was starting to see. She didn't go boldly into the wilds without a plan, she just didn't happen to share said plan with him. If he was honest he was just fine following along after her but something Tidus and Wakka had said made him concerned.
"I was talking about the climb. I saw the steps, same as you, but it's a little tricky to try and be your backup when I can't predict what you're about to do." Cloud took a breath and focused on where she leaned against the wall. "I keep thinking about what your friends have said about you going off on your own and getting into trouble alone. That's how I lost Aerith."
She was quiet for a moment before she sat down on the dusty floor. He'd told her enough about Aerith, he'd told her about their journey and her murder but he'd glossed over the fact that she'd run off on her own without telling anyone her plan. He told her how she'd haunted him for ages, always coming into his dreams or stealing his mind away whenever he had a happy memory of her or Zach. He'd been recovering from their death, he'd been okay, but she kept talking to him and bringing it all back.
"I haven't exactly been traveling with others recently." Yuna didn't have the flowery and floating voice Aerith had. It was touched with steel and while it was melodious, it wasn't the sing songy tone the flower girl used. "It's always been easier for me to keep an eye on everyone else instead of letting them know when I need help. I guess, even when I was with others, I didn't communicate well."
"What about Paine and Rikku?"
"Paine usually took lead," Yuna admitted. "Rikku watched our backs and kept an eye out for traps."
"If you want to lead, that's fine," Cloud crouched down in front of her and took one of her hands in his. She'd been fidgeting while she explained it to him and he understood why she was acting why she was. It was the need to have control over one's own life. "We're partners now. I need to know where you're taking us. Even if it's just pointing."
"Partners," Yuna smiled. "I never actually had a partner before you." She pulled him until he was sitting beside her. "Alright. From now on, we go over our plans together."
"Think we should build a fire?" He looked over at her and knew with her eyes he was probably little more than a shape. "Or are you scared of the boogie woman?"
"I think I'm going to cast a mighty guard over the door so we have a heads up," She frowned at him. "And don't tease. It's a really scary story when you're five."
Cloud felt her magic spread across the narrow doorway and seal them in while he took stock of the alcove she'd found. It wasn't big, and it must have served as a hideaway for others before. Broken pots and the remains of a cookfire were present and a few worn and ancient blankets were on the ground. Silly as it was, he looked for any clues or signs that someone from his time had come here. An old and faded scrap of metal or maybe some graffiti, anything would have been nice. Something besides Vincent and his absent memory. His friend was not the same and might never be after so many centuries alone.
A small glimmer in the back of the cave showed him that little sign he'd hoped for and broke a small part of him. He was certain Vincent would retreat as well once he saw the item. It didn't exactly mean she'd come through or that she'd even parted with it willingly but Tifa wasn't the kind of person who left her materia laying around. Phoenix wasn't exactly a common materia, nor was it rare, but something about this small and dimly glowing gemstone told him it belonged to his childhood friend.
"What is it?" Yuna leaned over his shoulder to look.
"It's materia. It shouldn't be around but it is." Very carefully he picked it up and felt the warmth and vague recognition coming from the being inside. "It's a summoning materia that belonged to my friend. I could never make the damn thing work for me."
"An aeon?" Yuna asked. She didn't reach for it but she did come around to take a closer look. "Belias doesn't know what it is."
"It's Phoenix. This one belonged to Tifa." He turned the sphere over looking for the small scratch she'd made a long time ago. It wasn't supposed to happen, Materia didn't scratch or get banged up or even allow engraving but this one had let Tifa etch her name into the solidified lifestream. "See?"
"I've never seen letters like those," Yuna admitted. "Mateus doesn't feel anything near so we should be able to light a fire. Will Phoenix..."
"I think it's staying inside of it's materia. Waiting for Tifa."
"It might have to wait with Vincent," Yuna frowned.
~!~
The materia Cloud had found the night before was in his pocket. She'd seen him slip the warm sphere inside as they prepared to set out and head further up the temple's hidden stairway. It was almost upsetting that he'd had such an easy time with his former lover. Then again, Cloud and Tifa had more than a single journey in their history. The two had grown up together and witnessed the destruction of their hometown, their dreams, and they'd tried to make something at the end. They'd been wise enough to see it for what it was too.
The climb to the top of the temple was much easier than addressing relationships and almost simple compared to their trek up to the first half. Fewer fiends had shown themselves, slightly stronger than usual, but the dreadfully cold wind seemed to be the biggest bother of all. The shrine atop the giant structure didn't lead them further inside but it did seem rather elaborate. Even after centuries of weather and wear and Sin it was almost decadent to look upon. Some of the inlay and gold had been worn away, some of the jewels snatched by daring locals or tourists, but in all it was something better suited to the grand temple of Bevelle than the deep jungles. Except it was too wild for Bevelle. It belonged in the jungle with it's deep green jade and rainbow of copper and bronze. The carmine and ochre of old paints on the roof depicted a faded scene of worship carried out by men and women, youths and elders, and it was all so raw and primal that Yuna knew Bevelle wouldn't, couldn't accept it as part of their world.
"This is something you can't find in a city," Cloud stood at the edge of the shrine looking out across the jungle. He blinked for a second at the sound of his voice before stepping back down onto the steps. He couldn't speak this time. "The view in a city is all grey and damp," he continued when he came back into the shrine.
"Tidus pushed for the apartment in Luca. Rin mentioned it would be a good investment for me." Yuna leaned against the alter and watched her guardian wander around. "I never liked the smell of the docks, and the blitzball stadium was too loud, so I found a place near Lord Lucas on the edge of the city."
"I actually used to own this big villa by the ocean before." Cloud had stopped wandering and came to rest beside her. "Tifa loved it because it was really close to everything. That's why she moved to Edge after everything went down. She liked being in the center of everything. Watching everything grow and change. I know it was important for Denzel and Marlene to go to school, nothing in the country could compare to the schools in Edge."
"I had a more rustic and religious education," Yuna smiled.
"I dropped out at fifteen and joined the army," Cloud gave her a crooked grin.
"We'll make sure Denzel learns everything he can. We don't have big schools for the public, most things are taught by parents or an elder or Yevon."
"You're doing a great job," Cloud leaned over to kiss her. "Besides, he's kind of a wanderer like us."
"I think Rook wanted to keep him," Yuna smiled against his skin.
"It's Dona's turn." He kissed her once more, quickly before pushing himself off of the alter and turning to inspect it. "It's written in a language I know but it's too faded to read clearly."
"The ceiling is showing some sort of funeral procession," Yuna pointed up. "A queen?"
She saw his face change when he looked up and her heart almost broke. Every time they came across a piece of his past it meant heartbreak or hope. Vincent had been both. Yuna looked up with him and began reading the scene depicted there. An image of fire and a female figure in the center of it looking untouched and pure was collected in the next panel by weeping figures. There was a journey of the mourners and their charge through desert, jungle, and swamp until they came here and set the woman to rest. Yuna looked behind them at the shrine and frowned. This was going to be a bit trickier to figure out than Cloud and Denzel's tomb had been. It didn't look remotely the same and when she looked around the alter for a release there was none to be found.
"Maybe it's inside the temple," she suggested to Cloud.
"So we're back to the beginning and trying to get in."
"If it was easy to get into Hera's Fall would have more visitors." She paused. "You and your friends were supposed to be something we called if the world was in more danger than we could stop alone. When Rikku and Paine and I found and fought Vegnagun it was nearly impossible to find, much less access. We're trying to hide the Zanar spheres because of the danger and power they hold."
"You think Tifa's release is purposefully hard to find."
"I do. Aerilon Palace was a fluke. A game made up by a little prince who knew he wouldn't be around to tell his own children." Cloud was watching the tiles below them and she could see his brow only just furrow in thought. She was noticing these moments more and more. Yuna was longing for the moments in the studio as he sat in the booth with that furrowed brow and listened to her song. If Tifa was here and she didn't remember the split between herself and Cloud then it was possible Yuna would never see him make that face again. Not in the way she was used to. She saw him pull his guard up around others and give them a different version of his emotions.
He took her hand and lifted it to kiss her knuckles.
"When we finish here, we're going to head back to the studio, let Tifa and Vincent catch up at Aerilon, and then we're going to find a jungle and just live there."
"Until we get bored," Yuna smiled. She was worrying over nothing.
"Until we get bored," he agreed.
Cloud was concerned by the state of affairs right now. After a bit of poking and prodding and then resigning themselves to being more or less stuck on either the top or bottom of the temple, a crack had opened in the shrine. Except the essence spilling out was not right. It was the kind of magic that he'd come to identify with FAYTH. It made Mateus start forming a thin shell of ice on his skin and Belias was starting to give Yuna an aura of warmth. Even Carbuncle was reacting to whatever was inside of the shrine atop the temple. Cloud could feel his energy lift, his strength increase, and his senses grow sharper as his voice began to fade. The fayth within the coffin was casting a spell of silence as Carbuncle did all he could to bolster them.
"Shemhazai," Yuna whispered softly as she lifted her gun. It was the last word he heard her say before the silence spread across the forest.
The awakening was a slow one. An achingly slow process that had both Yuna and Cloud watching the alter, the stairway, the jungle. Any place that might give the aeon cover. Too often had they watched one thing only to be attacked from another side. It was a blessing and curse when they saw a strange limb lift and grasp the edge of the stone. Bright red chitin covered a grey skinned creature and what could have been a hand was strangely shaped with wings.
Cloud readied his sword and Yuna stood to the side and just behind him. That first movement had been so slow but the full awakening happened incredibly quick. She was much like the other Aeons in size and somewhat like the high priestess Mateus but the crimson chitin and paint on her skin was for a warrior who fought in the front lines, not for decoration. Wide dark eyes blinked at them slowly before turning gold and those strange hands that hand pulled her out morphed and turned into grotesque crossbows. He had no doubt of their ability as her overly long fingers created a line of silken twine between them and a barb of her armor lifted to be fired.
She was a ranged fighter and Cloud had a chance. Yuna could take her down from the backlines if Cloud kept her occupied; in a battle of silence such a plan was near impossible to communicate and he hoped for the best when he shot forward to take Shemhazi's attention. He wasn't prepared for the aeon to kick him. One of her legs caught him in the chest and it was like being kicked by a mule. At least his closeness was forcing her to back away and move around while Yuna fired. He attempted to catch the next kick and though he held her for only a moment it was enough for Yuna to empty a clip into Shemhazai. This close he could see how right he was in his earlier comparison. She had hooves.
Cloud jumped when a figure in brown jolted past him and a bright sword glittered in his line of sight.
Yuna was no longer on the back lines and the sword she used looked a lot like Tidus'. Cloud caught one of the kicking legs with his blade while Yuna slashed at the opening left behind. They couldn't afford to keep trying to shoot Shemhazai and Cloud was really getting tired of not being able to talk to his summoner. Yuna attacked Shemhazai and the aeon changed tactics, firing at close range to drive them back. Cloud's sword came up and blocked a good deal of the barbs but one of them drove into his leg while another rammed itself into Yuna's shoulder. They didn't have time to use an item or the ability to cast.
He reached down to see if the barb would come loose and choked when he felt Shemhazai's heartbeat in it. Her heartbeat and the pain in his soul made his grip on his sword tighten and Yuna's hands came down over his to jerk the offensive thing from his flesh. He looked up at her and grimaced to see she still wore hers. The thing only sat under the skin of her shoulder and though it killed him Shemhazai was much more dedicated to that result than he was. As he reached up to pull the barb the rest of the way through Yuna's skin he braced himself for the pain he didn't feel. It only hurt if you tried to take it out yourself.
Hiding behind his great sword, Yuna gestured between them and down to the arrows before grabbing her blue blade once more.
He held his hand up to explain a plan but stopped to pull her closer and far from the assault Shemhazai loosed on them. This close he could feel the fever heat of Belias mending her shoulder and the hiss of Mateus' protection as said heat melted his frozen armor. A thick layer of ice was freezing over his wound to staunch the bleeding; neither he nor Yuna could summon the aeons but they were doing their best to help in what ways they could.
The hail of arrows stopped and Cloud gestured for Yuna to attack from one side while he came from the other. They had speed on their side and Shemhazai had a helluva blind spot.
The attack was a bit predictable and he was thankful to have an ally who had experience and strength on their side. Someone who was used to their opponent using tricks because she fought just as dirty as their foe. Shemhazai tried to step back only to find Cloud compensating while Yuna took that one step forward to attack her. This time they caught the archer between their blades. The first good hit they'd gotten since starting and Shemhazai was not pleased. She let a scream ripple through the forest, a warbling and alien sound that had once belonged to a woman that hadn't screamed out in centuries. The bolts came faster, her footsteps quickened and her kicks were stronger.
What he wouldn't give for a haste spell or just a good old fashioned poison spell.
Yuna had never been in such a troubling fight before. In every battle, even if her magic didn't do any damage, she could speak and heal and boost her companions. Not in this. She was tiring. Cloud was holding up fine with his enhancements and warrior nature but Yuna was not a physical fighter. She could fight when needed but not for long and this battle against Shemhazai was taking a long time. The aeon was faster than those she'd encountered throughout all her years as a summoner. It was almost like fighting Rikku or one of LeBlanc's goonettes if they were using a powerful haste spell and had their strength amped up. The only way to take Rikku out had been to go for her feet.
Yuna ducked behind Cloud and his blade to shift back into her gunner sphere and tried not to jump when she saw some new additions. That wasn't important. Making eye contact with Cloud, she gestured to her feet and lifted her gun. He didn't quite get it until Yuna ducked around his sword and fired at Shemhazai's hooves. The aeon stumbled once out of three shots but it was enough for Cloud to catch her and attack. Enough for Yuna to aim another bullet at Shemhazai's hands as the aeon attempted to catch itself. Just like taking down a thief or a spy. Yuna fired again and this time it was better. Shemhazai fell to the ground and as quickly as she could change spheres, the Aeon took a hit from both of their blades.
"enough." Her voice was hardly more than a whisper as the onslaught of the jungle's sound returned to them. "thatyouhave...conqueredme...despite...yourweakness...asummonerneverwas...strongenough."
"What do you know about the Old One?" Yuna asked her.
"hisgraceaskedfor...information. ifounditforhim." Shemhazai moved to sit upright and the carapace she wore shifted to reveal a very human face. A sheer veil covered what was left of her mouth and dark eyes watched them carefully. "ifiguredout...whathefeared. theOldOne...isashadow...ofpower. hisgrace...doesn'tshare."
"His grace is dead," Cloud frowned from where he stood beside Yuna. "We need to know what it is so we can stop it."
"theGolden. shorterthan...iexpected. can'tstopashadow...FAYTHserum...formyfailure...tofindakey."
"We've stopped a lot of things we weren't supposed to," Yuna knelt in front of Shemhazai. A spy for a mad king could be a terrible and wonderful thing. "Help us. Help us put you to rest, help us stop this being of darkness. Help our world continue to live and breathe."
"allwedo...isfight." Shemhazai leaned on one strange arm.
"Then fight beside us," Yuna frowned. "I've been afraid of you since I was a child. Show me there was a reason to fear you. Prove that you can't just be defeated by a depowered mage."
"clever. acleverwoman...andher...lover. Hashmal...wasmine. findhim...andiwill...answer."
~!~
"That's why I couldn't find her in the journal," Yuna spoke around her trail ration. Some kind of fruit and nut bar that was a lot better than anything Cloud had known during his days as a soldier. They were still sitting on top of the pyramid as the sun began to set and Cloud was alright with taking a rest after their victory. He'd healed his leg with a very strong Cura and was now enjoying the buzz of magic under his skin. Yuna was also glowing prettily from the heat of the jungle and magic. "Hashmal used to go by Fandaniel, he was responsible for all of the spies and one spy in particular was mentioned. Igeyorhm."
"So she gets sent to the vats because he doesn't like what she found out. Takes shooting the messenger a little too far."
"Well, a little more than that. Adremmelech had a bit of a crush on her and pushed for Hashmal to become an aeon so he could have her." Yuna frowned and shut the journal in an effort to push away some of the pain she felt. "Zanar seems to be laughing at his son's pain. He didn't know Iggy was already an aeon."
"So why here?" Cloud asked. "Out of all the places she could have been sent why here in the middle of the jungle?"
"Because the King of Spies is here with his court." Yuna looked up at the ceiling. "And the Maiden. I think Tifa was placed here first, then those chickens-"
"Turks," Cloud smiled at her disregard for the group.
"I think they might have gotten too close, or maybe they knew what was happening."
"We could ask Vincent," Cloud frowned. "It might take him a day or so, but I think he should be here when we find her."
"We still don't even know how to get in, waiting another day won't hurt." Yuna slipped the journal back into her bag and began to make sure there was enough space for them to camp out. "It feels strange, camping in the open like this."
"I have the feeling Belias won't let any fiends near you." Cloud leaned over and kissed her. The scent of flowers and warm skin was all around them with the multi layered scent of life. This was where the two of them belonged. In the wild.
"He let you get close," she teased. "Although, I think I like you a bit more than a fiend."
"Just a bit?"
"Kiss me again and I'll decide."
"I have to call Vincent first." He let his eyes drift shut as the weight of the pyramid descended on him once again. This place was such a terrible absorbent of emotions.
"Alright," Yuna leaned back from him to dig the commsphere out. "We should get a fire started if we're going to camp out here. It would probably give him a beacon to follow as well."
"Are you upset with me?" Cloud asked when she handed over the sphere.
"What?" The open confusion on her face made him relax just a bit. "Cloud, he's your friend and we might have found Tifa. Why would I be upset with you?"
"It's nothing." When she frowned at him he tried to turn away or speak again. The combination of two such opposite reactions resulted in a deep sigh and rubbing his eyes. "Tifa and Aerith, a few others, they tended to get upset whenever we were interrupted."
"We're sitting on top of a giant tomb. I don't think I could do more than a few victory kisses." Yuna took his hand in hers. "We need to bring Vincent here. He deserves to see her."
Cloud had always wondered if Vincent could fly as fast as an airship if pushed. It was close to dawn when he landed, the sound of flapping wings waking Cloud and his footsteps rousing Yuna a few moments later. Together the three of them watched the sun rise and broke their fast on the rations they'd purchased in Tseng. There were very few words exchanged and Cloud could feel Yuna trying not to be overtly affectionate as they went through their morning ritual. Cloud truly hoped Tifa might be able to bring Vincent out of his slump or at least back to the world. She'd done it once before. Although, a small part of his mind worried over the lingering guilt and darkness in his friend.
"We have one of two things waiting for us inside, bright lights, or complete darkness. Either way there's going to be fiends." Cloud hefted his sword onto his back. "I have a feeling that coffin leads all the way down into the temple."
"Belias can give us some light. Most temples have lamps, and an Aeon's flame doesn't need fuel the way a regular fire does." Yuna had her guns ready to go and was looking down into the crack of space Shemhazai's crypt gave.
"And if the lamps are damaged?" Vincent asked. His voice was less rough now than it had been last week when they snapped him out of his demonic form. Less rough but still so far from the smooth tones he'd held before.
"If the lamps are damaged, then he light a path for us along the walls." She smiled at him. "He's been curious to see what Shemhazai guards. He was never allowed to talk to her."
"One thing ShinRa never did," Cloud began to push on the massive stone lid. "Experiment on the handicapped."
"Indeed." Vincent stepped up to help while Yuna kept her gun trained on anything that might fly out. "I assume I will have to fly you two down."
"Most likely," Cloud grunted as the lid finally fell to the ground. It left cracks in the tiles surrounding to alter, made from something far heavier and denser than the rest. Locking whatever was within away from the rest of the world. He cast a fire spell down inside and was pleasantly surprised to see the floor wasn't too far down. Maybe about twenty or thirty feet. The glow it cast inside of the temple was mellow and soft and no sign of life or pyrefly moved inside of the room beneath them.
"Shall we?" Vincent offered his hand to Yuna before wrapping his arm around her waist. He didn't make the same off to Cloud but he was used to travel by cloak. It was familiar but changed over the centuries.
"Alright Belias," Yuna's voice was soft inside of the darkness. "Let's make it a little brighter in here."
Several sparks shot out from between Yuna's hands before settling atop massive plinths and fragmenting into yet more sparks that flew even further down. What Cloud had thought to be a room was merely the topmost platform and every spark that fell burned a brighter and brighter flame. Finally they fell no more. At least twenty floors down they'd stopped.
"So deep in the earth," Vincent spoke as he began to head down the stairs.
The building they walked through was at one point a very beautiful place. It was still a tomb. The story Yuna had spied above was told in further detail down here. A story of one large group worshipping effigies of Cloud and his friends before breaking into factions and fighting with one another. The story was told in such strange detail beneath their feet with every platform revealing another chapter and another kidnapping.
"Do you remember telling me of the strange fights that occurred within Tifa's bar?" Vincent asked as they read the image of one large mosaic. "Just before the fires there was a string of odd events."
"I guess neither of us figured them out in time," Cloud moved across the mosaic carefully. Yuna had a sphere out to record the moment. To take still images of the mosaic to reference later so they could piece together who had taken his life from him. "She's waiting for us."
"And Phoenix is waiting for her," Yuna spoke before Vincent could respond. "I can feel it, waiting to see her again."
"Her summon was always peculiar," Vincent almost chuckled. It would have been better to say his voice held a note of a laugh in it. "I wonder if the phoenix can weep..."
They needed to find Tifa alive. They simply had to. The look Vincent wore was not unlike the look she'd seen on Shuyin's face or that worn by Lord Zaon. A look of utter despair and pain that could easily turn to violence. Was it crueler for him to have met Cloud and been filled with the light of hope or worse to let him sit in the depths of the Necropolis wondering what had happened to his love? Yuna shook her head. She knew the answer to that because she had been in his place once. Refusing to accept that Tidus had merely been a dream or an echo of Shuyin. Except he was so much worse of now. Tidus was a mockup of memories of both men. An imprint of the experience people had with him. Tifa was not a memory. She was a living woman and she would be waiting for them down below.
"I think Shemhazai got pretty bored through the ages," Cloud frowned as they continued to walk through the barren temple. "Sitting down here all alone."
"Once we find Fandaniel she'll have a companion. I don't think her crystal is in here though. I have the feeling it's somewhere else on the temple. She was just guarding this place." Yuna was walking alongside him as both followed Vincent. "It's also possible something was keeping her here."
"This entire FAYTH project is beyond screwed up," Cloud scoffed as they came to the next platform. "What's it say Vincent?"
"She's dead."
The man in red was kneeling before a mosaic of a maiden surrounded by flames and an arrow through her heart. Yuna had seen an arrow like that in Zanar's palace as part of the family crest. The cult dedicated to Cloud had slain his best friend and Vincent's heart.
"No. That's impossible, an aeon doesn't react the way Phoenix is if their summoner has died." Yuna moved closer tot he man in red only to be pulled back by Cloud. Something dark was rising around Vincent as he began to change into the demon he'd been before. "Aeon's don't respond if-"
"Phoenix is no aeon," Vincent growled as he became the demon. "Aeon's are mortal creations. The Phoenix is undying." He walked to the edge of the platform and dove down to the depths where Tifa's body lay.
"We should hurry," Cloud started running for the stairs.
Yuna quickly took a picture of the tiled floor before smiling and running down to join them. They were so single minded sometimes. In all of their haste, they'd missed the Phoenix being born. The next floor too showed Tifa's heart as a phoenix and even if Cloud missed it, the materia was glowing in his pocket. It didn't matter if it was a manmade Aeon, an Aeon born of faith and belief, or one born from the undying spirit of the Lifestream, they never abandoned their chosen summoner. Phoenix knew she was alive, so she was alive.
Admitted. Yuna was unsure when she saw the crystal coffin at the deepest part of the temple. She was filled with pain and horror to see such an elaborately decorated skeleton resting within. Gold and gems, ancient decaying silks, and the strands of dark hair that strayed loose from beneath the headdress. At her heart was an empty socket just big enough to hold Phoenix.
"Cloud, let Vincent have her materia." Yuna set her hand on his shoulder and gave him a gentle push. By the winds of the Farplane and the currents of the Lifestream she prayed she was correct. Her guardian pulled the materia from his pocket, finally seeing the brightness it glowed with for himself but he wouldn't dare let himself hope.
"To see your mistress one last time," Vincent growled as he held the bright gem in front of him. It was so small in his grasp. "Is that why you glow? Did the aeon Shemhazai steal you away from her?"
For a moment Yuna wondered if he might keep it to remember Tifa by. He slipped it into the pendant that rest on Tifa's heart and very slowly a trickle of flame began to course over her skeleton. When Cloud rushed forward it was only to have Vincent shove him backwards into Yuna. The faint image of feathers was fluttering in the flames and it was only that which forced Yuna's hand to stay on Cloud when he tried to rush forward again. An aeon's flames were not like any that was man made.
"My love, my life, all going up in flames." His demonic visage knelt before the rapidly growing fire. "I shall remain here. In this place where the last of my soul..."
The feathers were swirling up into the air, gathering into the shape of the phoenix as something else began to form at it's heart. The flames of Belias grew in radiance as Phoenix swelled and the shape within the flames grew. It wasn't just shape. It was a specific shape and even though Yuna had never met or even seen Tifa as anything other than a divine relic and corpse she knew that was who rest in the middle.
"An Aeon knows when it's Summoner lives," Yuna smiled. "You should be ready to catch her."
He was. When the flames turned into fantastic plumage, the phoenix allowed it's prize to enter Vincent's waiting arms. No longer was it something cold and dead but a woman, a bride wearing all the ornamentation of a queen. She was beautiful and watching as Vincent returned to the man he'd once been was making Yuna cry. Even Cloud held a look of supreme joy and gratefulness as he watched his best friend be reborn. Tifa's chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm, fair skin all but glowing with the flames of the undying raptor. Phoenix dismissed itself, returning to rest inside of Tifa's very being until she called it to her side again.
"We should get her into the sun," Vincent's voice was soft and revenant. "She should spend her first moments of birth in the light. Not here in this place."
"Go. We'll catch up," Cloud nodded.
Yuna was looking over the crystal coffin when he spoke up again.
"You knew."
"I suspected. Aeons can be very attached to their summoners. There's hundreds of faithful who've become incarnations of an Aeon after death. They bind themselves to a summoner out of shared faith and sometimes leave if they find the heart to waver." Yuna smiled at him. "The Aeon itself doesn't care about dedication to Yevon, faith in the mission, anything at all. Just the heart and soul of it's chosen."
"Phoenix chose Tifa," Cloud understood. "It won't let her die because It can't die."
"That's what I was hoping. Seems like I was right too." Yuna began to head up the stairs with a little more bounce in her step than before.
"Yuna. What did your Aeons do?"
"I don't know. I had to kill them."
"You're a terrible liar."
"They did a great many things, but in the end, all they wanted was to rest. So I used the strength they gave me to put them to rest."
~!~
Vincent left Tifa's side only very briefly to rescue Cloud and Yuna from the depths of the temple. He thanked every possible aspect that might be listening that the sun was still up when he brought Tifa up into the jungle air. His burning heart, his valkyrie was laying before him dressed as an angel and he still bearing the face and wings of a devil. Yuna had known. Cloud's chosen mate and love had done such wonders for this world and for Cloud. Saved it nearly three times over and pulled Cloud from the confines of his own guilt. She'd not only known Tifa would awaken but she'd found the temple of those that had stolen her. A perversion of everything it had been before.
"Do we have anymore rations?" Cloud asked as he and Yuna started to reset their camp.
"Of course," Yuna laughed and handed him something wrapped in a leaf. "I think we should go to Leonis again. There might be something about Hera's Fall up there."
"You want to find Shemhazai's crystal," the blonde sighed.
"I do. I want to see if there's anything about Fandaniel as well."
A driving force of Spira. Should she wish it, she could become the next of the Zanar Dynasty. It ran in her blood.
"But," Yuna put her arms on Cloud's shoulders. "I also want to see if those tan lines are as silly as I think they are."
Vincent felt his lips begin to curl. Yunalesca et Fabula would not become the next Dynast Queen of Spira any more than she would become the leader of Yevon. Yuna Strife did sound somewhat strange though. Cloud et Fabula sounded marginally better. Vincent looked down at the woman who's heartbeat began to speed up. In the end it always came down to what the heart wanted and the mind was willingly to surrender. A small sound came from Tifa's throat and her fingers were beginning to twitch as long lashes fluttered on her cheeks.
"Vincent?"
"You're alive," he breathed. One hand extended and a finger grazed her cheek. The sound of Yuna and Cloud coming closer was second to the sound of Tifa's heartbeat.
"What happened?" Even after so long she didn't wish to lay prone but to rise and fight. He helped her sit upright and watched the confusion on her face as she took in her surroundings.
"That is a very long story," Vincent told her. "Centuries long."
"Someone kidnapped us," Cloud finished speaking for Vincent. He was kneeling down in front of Tifa while Yuna stood slightly behind him. "Some cult or something. It's been about..."
"Two thousand years," Yuna nodded.
"You're joking," Tifa shook her head. "Where are we?"
"The island of Besaid at the Temple of Hera." Yuna moved to kneel beside Cloud and Vincent could feel the shift in Tifa's muscles to see them beside each other. "Once known as the temple of the Ancients."
"The people who kidnapped us rebuilt it," Cloud explained. "To hide you."
"Are you the one who found Cloud?" Tifa asked on the other female on the dias.
"Oh! Yes, My name is Yuna. I found him while...well, its a long story."
"And we are rapidly running out of time to see the end." The blonde was frowning and Vincent knew that the calm they'd felt was gone. There was a great deal more at stake now than there had been when they pulled him from the depths of despair.
Yuna took over the conversation for them both to explain to Tifa what he already knew. It was the new information they'd both discovered that made him frown. The Old One that Zanar had feared was nothing he could remember learning of over the centuries. Nor could he recall having heard of a date for it's coming. Perhaps it was some remnant of Jenova or some virus or fiend that had escaped both his notice and that of all others.
"I wondered if it was Omega at first, or maybe Chaos, but Zanar's journal says he spoke with it while traveling Spira." Cloud was frowning and Yuna was worrying her lip as she flipped through the pages. "Neither of them are just hanging around.
"Is there a way to contact the lifestream?" Tifa asked. Vincent watched her frown deepen as Yuna explained that as well. The Farplane prevented any burdened soul from entering the Lifestream to avoid exactly what had ruined their world so many times. "I see."
"That's why we're going back to Leonis," Yuna pushed herself to stand upright. "By the time Rikku gets here we'll have spent a week on Besaid."
"Buddy says she can't run away again without the people rioting," Cloud shook his head. "We'll have to catch a boat to Luca. And then walk to Leonis or try to talk a Peacekeeper vessel into taking us on board."
Tifa watched as Cloud and Yuna planned out their trip back to Leonis She'd never heard him talk so much to one person unless he was drunk or...or in love. They made a handsome couple and just seeing them talk and move around each other was surprising because Cloud rarely let anyone so close to him. Tifa turned to look at Vincent and blushed when she saw him watching her. She hadn't seen him in ages though she knew it had been so much longer for him. Oceans had risen and empires had fallen as he walked this planet alone and unknowing if any of his friends had survived.
"You've changed your clothes," Tifa smiled at him. "I like it."
His crimson cloak was much different now than it had been before. There was a strange swirling design in the fabric and his terrible golden claw had been replaced with something slightly more demonic though much smoother in it's design. No longer did he wear the leather body suit but a pair of leather pants and a much looser and equally decorated black shirt.
"I only wish to have been there before they'd changed yours," He looked away from her.
"Vincent, it's not your fault." The veritable treasure trove that dripped off of her clothing and skin made this situation all the more surreal but this, assuring Vincent that it wasn't his fault, was familiar.
"We found you long dead in the depths. You are clad in the shroud of your own funeral and I could not even see you at the end."
"Dead?" Tifa must have shouted because Cloud and Yuna both stopped to look at her. "What do you mean I was dead?"
"Only a little dead," Yuna hurried to explain. "Phoenix must have forged a bond with you because as soon as we returned him to your side, you returned to Vincent's. To ours."
"Two thousand years is more than a little dead," Tifa frowned at the well meaning young woman. She had hefted her pack onto her shoulders and Cloud was checking to make sure his own was well adjusted.
"She's right though. You're alive and Phoenix doesn't seem to want to let you go." Cloud fixed Vincent with a look that Tifa wasn't meant to see. "You and Vincent are going to scope out Luca and adjust to the new world."
"Unless you want to explore some of the other cities," Yuna argued. "We'll decide what we're doing once we get there. I think Lulu might have some clothes that fit you until then."
~!~
Cloud could feel the grit and dust on his skin and see where it had settled on Yuna's. Cloud hoped not. There had been enough of a commotion when they got back to the village this afternoon. Two days to get to the top of the temple and two days back was a lot of filth and strange visitors meant a lot of wagging tongues. When she'd changed back into her gunner sphere earlier he'd been a little surprised to see her shirt had changed completely from what it had been. It had sleeves now, billowing things tucked into yellow, elbow length, leather gauntlets and the strange black design was replaced by a panel of lace with an image of a wolf. It was still backless and the neckline was low enough to show her collar bone, but seeing his mark on her did something silly and primal to his brain.
"You sure the priests aren't going to lose their mind?" Cloud asked as Yuna unbuckled the harness. Yuna's hut had been given over to Tifa and Vincent was presumably watching over her from the roof while the two of them retreated to the temple.
"Summoner's right," She smiled and kissed him. "Speaking of which, you have a duty to fulfill tonight Ser Guardian."
"Hm, Is it going to be messy?" It was always exciting to touch her skin with his bare hands. This shirt was much easier to get off of her than the last one too. Even in the heat her skin prickled and she shivered when he pushed it off of her shoulders to join his harness.
"At first. Otherwise it wouldn't be a bath."
"Well, if my lady commands it."