Chapter 18: The Summoning

"Mr. President…" said Scarlet, her eyes wide and trembling as she looked around the cavern. "I've got a bad feeling about this place…"

Rufus nodded in agreement. He was beginning to feel the same. When they entered the cavern it had been peaceful and serene. Now a sense of malevolence was beginning to grow deep within the cavern walls. Whatever it was that was moving in there… Weapon or otherwise… clearly did not want them in there any longer.

"Hmm… maybe we should go back to our ship now," he advised, turning to her. "We need to prepare for the inspection anyway." Scarlet nodded, thankful.

Scarlet and the president turned to go. Only Hojo remained where he was. The Shinra scientist continued to gaze around the cavern, his eyes occasionally straying to the network of branches that crisscrossed across the top of the cavern. There was nothing. Sighing in disappointment, he turned to follow the president.

Suddenly the cavern flashed white and four figures appeared in the middle of the chamber. It was Naruto, Tifa, Cloud, and Yuffie, returned to their actual location when Sephiroth's magically induced illusion ended. The three were staring in silence at Cloud, whose head was lowered and had his back to them. His shoulders had sagged. He did not seem to notice the change in location. Scarlet, recognising the party from the reports received from Heidegger and the Turks, glared at them.

"Hey!!! Where did you come from?" she shouted at them.

Tifa and Yuffie glanced anxiously at Cloud, who had not moved since Sephiroth's departure. The swordsman let out a soft sigh before slowly lifting his head. "…Don't know…" was all he said in reply. He turned to face those behind him. His face was weary, his eyes heavy. There was a strange isolation about him, like all the life and will to fight had been suddenly drained from him. The look startled the likes of Tifa and Yuffie, and even Rufus, who raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Cloud shook his head. The throbbing pain in his mind had deadened now, leaving just a tiny pulse echoing in his mind. But the voice was still there. Struggling to raise his eyes and meet the gazes of the others, Cloud spoke. "This place is going to get rough," he said. "Better leave things to me and get out of here while you still can!"

"Leave things to you?" said Rufus doubtfully. "Hmph… I don't know what you mean." His eyes narrowed and looked at Cloud. Cloud stared back at him, holding his gaze for only a brief moment, before he hurriedly turned away and looked at the floor.

"This is where the Reunion is happening," he answered. His lips began to tremble, and he fought to control them. "Where everything begins and ends."

"Cloud!!" shouted Tifa. Unable to watch this any longer, she started to run forward.

Then Tifa stopped as the sound of running feet echoed down the tunnel and Nanaki ran into the cavern. The hound was panting heavily, breathless after running all the way from the outside of the crater. He looked around warily at the inside of the cave. He saw Yuffie, the people from Shinra and, to his surprise, Tifa. Then he saw Naruto, and quickly remembered why he had come. He bounded over to Naruto. But Nanaki passed by the real Naruto on his way to Cloud.

"I'm here! I'm here to help you, Naruto!" the hound called, stopping by the cave door.

Naruto realised what was happening and went to move but for some reason he was stuck fast. He couldn't move. Even his face and eyes were frozen.

'Kyuu-chan! What's going on?' Naruto thought.

"I don't know. Some kind of paralysis that I don't know how to counter. I'll try my best. Hang on love!"

'Nanaki! That's not me! Jenova is tricking you! That's Cloud!' Naruto started to panic. For the first time since back in Midgar he felt powerless.

Slowly, steadily, Cloud raised his head. His head throbbed as he moved. Holding his head in both hands, he shook it gently. The pain was growing again. It was spreading from his mind to the back of his eyes—sharp jolts of pain that made his vision waver and darken. When he looked up he saw Nanaki. The air around him had blurred to hazy fuzz, leaving only the hound in clear view. Cloud took a few unsure steps. The pain returned, sharper than before—he was becoming impatient. The swordsman paused for a moment to shake his head once more, before walking the last few steps toward Nanaki.

"Thanks… Nanaki," said Cloud, his voice sounding strained and flat despite the vastness of the cavern. He looked up at Nanaki. The haze had spread around the hound. Now only his head was clear. Cloud blinked. "Where is the Black Materia?"

'No! Nanaki don't!!' Naruto screamed in his head.

"Cloud!!" yelled Tifa again.

Nanaki replied, "It's safe. I'm holding onto it." To prove to Cloud that he still had it, he tilted his head to the side, revealing the feathery clip he wore just behind his ears. In the clip's thick metal band was the Black Materia, resting soundly in its curved slot. The materia's black surface was dull, though a cloudy night blue was swirling inside it. Cloud's eyes widened a little as he saw it and he smiled a little. Then the smile disappeared as Cloud turned his eyes to the ground.

"I'll take it from here," he said, his voice a whisper. "Give me the… Black Materia."

"You can't hear my voice?" she said, shouting as loud as her voice would let her. But her words did not seem to reach Cloud and Nanaki. The sound of her voice died before it could reach him. Either that or Cloud had chosen to ignore it—to block it from his hearing. He was drifting away from her. Tifa very much wanted to run forward and grab him, to stop him from doing what he was doing, but she could not move. Whether by her will or not, she could not move. All she could do was watch. Unknown to her, Naruto was in the same predicament.

'Please Nanaki! Don't do it!' Naruto struggled againsed his unseen binds.

"Are you all right, Naruto?" asked Nanaki, craning his neck to look up at Cloud. The swordsman nodded slowly. Nanaki shifted nervously, his claws scratching the surface of the rock. Finally, he made up his mind. "Then… here you go. I was a little apprehensive holding this thing."

Tifa's eyes widened. "No, don't!!! Please stop, Cloud!"

'Cloud stop!!' Naruto yelled again but his body was still frozen. There was nothing he could do.

Cloud stepped up and took the Black Materia from Nanaki. The hound sighed with relief and shook out his mane, glad to have the burden of carrying the materia taken from him. Cloud stepped back, holding the materia close to his chest like he was cradling a dear child. He looked up. He had a sad, almost forlorn smile on his face.

"Thanks…… Leave the rest to me," he said. Even as he spoke an image of Sephiroth burned in the back of his mind. The long, silver lengths of hair that framed his face shimmered around a wide smile. Sephiroth's glowing eyes were wide and expectant, the pupils contracted into dots, eyeing the Black Materia impatiently.

Come on. The Black Materia.

The image faded. Holding the Black Materia firmly in his hands, Cloud slowly turned to face everyone in the cavern. Rufus and Scarlet were staring at him, their confusion plainly visible in their faces. Hojo was watching him curiously, his thoughts as unreadable as the rock. Yuffie, the proud ninja of Wutai, carefully avoided his gaze. Only Tifa and Naruto looked at him directly. Tifa stared at him, her eyes wide.

"Everyone, thanks for everything," Cloud began. He looked up and glanced around at everyone in the cavern. "And… I'm sorry." Taking a deep breath, he began to turn to each of his friends in turn. First, he turned to Yuffie. "…Sorry," he said. The ninja swallowed deeply. She could not bring herself to look at him. Cloud turned to Nanaki. "…Sorry," he said to the hound. He turned to Naruto. "…Sorry," Finally Cloud turned to look at Tifa, who was beginning to shake. His eyes softened as he looked upon her.

"Especially you, Tifa," he said. "I'm really sorry. You've been so good to me…… I don't know what to say…" He shook his head. "I never lived up to being 'Cloud'. Tifa…… Maybe one day you'll get to meet the real 'Cloud'."

Tifa could not take it any longer. Her legs buckled beneath her. She fell to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. Tears fell unrestrained down her cheeks, trickling off her chin to fall in puddles on the rocky floor. She covered her mouth with her hands, but it did nothing to stop her tears. She wanted to punch the ground so hard that it opened up to the planet's core, where she could give her sorrow to the planet. The sound of her mournful tears echoed throughout the cavern.

Then, over the sound of her tears, came the horrible sound of Hojo's triumphant laughter. "Ha, ha, ha…" the scientist laughed. His face was euphoric. Cloud turned to face him. "This is perfect!!! It means that my experiment was a complete success. What number were you?" Hojo looked down at Cloud's arm. His smile ceased. "Huh? Where is your tattoo?"

"Professor Hojo…" said Cloud hesitantly, walking up to the scientist. "I don't have a number. You didn't give me one because you said I was a failed experiment."

"What the--?" Hojo turned away. "You mean only a failure made it here?"

"Professor… please give me a number. Please, Professor…"

Professor Hojo turned back, his face fierce. "Shut up, miserable failure…"

Cloud sagged, his last sense of self shattering into pieces within his heart. He did not belong here either, it seemed. Suddenly his mind burned with Sephiroth's image and he felt himself being lifted up from the ground, carried by someone else's will. Despairingly Cloud looked up into the nest of branches above, searching for some shred of fellowship within the piercing light. The light was cold and hurt his eyes, but he refused to look away.

He was hovering now, floating in the middle of the cavern just beyond everyone's reach. Cloud glanced down long enough to see everyone staring up at him, startled and afraid. Cloud then closed his eyes and submitted to the force that was holding him. Instantly he shot upward, breaking through the lower canopy of branches and disappearing into the nest.

"Got it!!" cried out Kyuubi as Naruto was free. He sent chakra to his feet and tried to run up the mako slick walls but he slammed down on his back. He stared up in confusion before he understood. Chakra would not work againsed mako.

Nanaki, hearing the noise, looked over to see Naruto. He blinked and looked back at the other Naruto but all he saw was Cloud. He then bounded over to Naruto and asked, "What's going on?"

Naruto stared at Nanaki before saying, "Nanaki, Jenova cast an illusion on you to make you think that Cloud was me." The hounds eyes widened as he realised the fatal mistake he had made. He collapsed as the implications of what he had done washed over him. Naruto hugged Nanaki tightly saying that it was not his fault.

"Who… was that?" asked Rufus, looking up.

Hojo answered him. "…He's a Sephiroth clone I created after the real Sephiroth died five years ago. Jenova cells and Mako, with my knowledge and skills, have been combined with science and nature to bring him to life. …I'm not wild about the failure part, but the Jenova Reunion Theory has been proven." The professor came forward, his thin lips twisting into a smile. "You see, even if Jenova's body is dismembered, it will eventually become one again. That's what is meant by Jenova's Reunion.

"I have been waiting for the Reunion to start," he continued. "Five years have passed, and now the Clones have begun to return. I thought the clones would begin to gather at Midgar where Jenova is stored. But my predictions were not entirely correct. Jenova itself began to move away from the Shinra Building."

Up in the branches of the nest, Cloud sat upside down on a branch. His legs were drawn up to his chest, his forehead resting on his knees. He hugged his arms close to his chest, the Black Materia still in his hands. He held onto it tightly as he listened to what Professor Hojo was saying down below. As he listened he slowly uncurled himself and stood up, glancing down at the gathering below.

Professor Hojo was still talking. "But being the genius that I am, I soon figured it out. You see it was all Sephiroth's doing. Sephiroth is not just content to diffuse his will into the Lifestream; he wants to manipulate the Clones himself."

Cloud sat back down. 'Yes, that was how it got started,' he thought.

"I wondered where the clones were going, but I was never able to figure it out."

'I couldn't figure it out either.' Cloud leaned his head against the branch behind him.

"The one thing that I did know was that Sephiroth was at their final destination."

Cloud sighed heavily. 'I wasn't pursuing Sephiroth,' he thought to himself bitterly. 'I was being summoned by Sephiroth. All the anger and hatred I bore him made it impossible for me to forget him. That and what he gave me.'

Cloud swallowed hard and pushed himself to his feet. He looked around at the upturned nest. The branches wound around him, piercing through the light. They seemed to grow directly from the rock, pushing steadily downward. Cloud looked around… searching for Sephiroth.

'Sephiroth? Sephiroth? I'm here,' Cloud said with his mind, knowing Sephiroth would hear him, wherever he was. 'And I brought you the Black Materia. Show yourself to me. Where are you?'

A sudden feeling in the back of Cloud's mind made him turn around. Cloud turned to face the very centre of the nest. Here the branches grew thickest, winding down to a central point a little ways below him. Cloud looked up into the light, where the bottom of a crystal could just be seen poking through one of the upper canopies.

'Sephiroth… So we finally meet again.'

Cloud stepped up to the edge of the branch. The nest began to shake as he moved, the branches quivering perilously back and forth. The branches supporting the centre canopy snapped, releasing the crystal it held secreted within. The crystal slipped from its grasp, sliding down the few feet toward the bottom. Rocks and twigs tumbled from the nest toward the people below. Rufus and Scarlet ran from the cavern as the twigs fell, Scarlet screaming for her life.

Inside the crystal, a lone figure was sleeping. Though human in appearance, the body from the waist down had gone, dispersed into the Lifestream before the protective crystal could contain it. The torso above was bare, revealing the well-built chest, strong face, and long silver hair of Sephiroth. The swordsman's eyes were closed in sleep. However the spirit inside was all too awake as the will of Jenova manipulated his soul.

The disturbance of the nest caused a great disruption in the cavern. An earthquake began to rupture the walls around them. Small chunks of rock became dislodged from the wall, crumbling to the ground. The ground shook and a deep growling noise rumbled from within the wall.

Even as the rocks fell, Hojo looked up at the nest in delight. "Did you see it!! It's Sephiroth! So he IS here!" The scientist laughed heartily, his eyes burning almost feverishly. "This is perfect! Both Jenova's Reunion and Sephiroth's will! They won't be diffused into the Lifestream, but gathered here!" He laughed again.

"What are you so happy about, Professor?" Tifa barked, her eyes livid as she glared at the mad scientist. "You know what this means, don't you? Cloud has the Black Materia! Sephiroth is going to summon Meteor! Every single person is going to die!"

"Sephiroth does not want this to happen. At least, not the real him. The Jenova cells created a second persona that slowly took over the original. The turning point was at Nibelheim." Said Naruto who had listened in to what Hojo had said. Hojo simply looked at him and smiled. Tifa clenched her fists tightly. Didn't he care what happened to the planet—to the people that lived on it? She was about to smack that conceited smirk from Hojo's face when Rufus walked back into the cavern.

"What I say now is too little… too late……" he said. "We must evacuate. He looked around at Naruto and her friends. "I want you all to come with me," he told them. "There is still much more I want to hear."

The three companions hesitated. Despite how much danger they were in, with the cavern beginning to break apart around them, the last thing they wanted was to put their lives in the hands of the Shinra. They looked up. Cloud had stepped down from the branch and was now floating in midair in front of the crystal where Sephiroth slept. Nanaki ran forward, shouting over the roar of falling rock.

"Cloud, NO! Stop! Please!"

As they watched, Cloud began to float down away from the crystal. The young swordsman keeled over, holding his head tightly in his hands and moaning as though in pain. Suddenly he was pulled up again toward the side of the crystal.

"Cloud------!!" called Tifa.

It was no use. Cloud could not hear her. The unseen force that held him was pulling him toward the crystal. The sound of the cavern breaking apart and Tifa's voice was drowned out by the call of Sephiroth, demanding the Black Materia. Cloud shook his head, pushing all doubts aside, and moved toward the crystal. He held out the Black Materia as he pushed his hand toward the crystal.

The crystal's surface liquefied at Cloud's touch, becoming a water-like substance that allowed Cloud's hand to enter the crystal. He extended his hand and released the Black Materia to Sephiroth's corrupted will. As Cloud pulled his hand away the materia began to glow, emitting a dark black light that filled the crystal and cast an eerie light over Sephiroth's face and torn torso.

Sephiroth's face remained unmoving as the crystal began to vibrate with incalculable power. Bolts of lightning and swirls of dark cloud began to erupt from the materia's surface, filling the crystal with its powerful energy. As the crystal shook the nest shook with it, sending great tremors down the branches toward the cavern walls.

"He's summoning Meteor!" called Naruto.

Down below, the eye of Weapon snapped open as the ground began to shake and tremble violently. Naruto and the others fled for their lives as the ground began to burst from the inside, as though something large and powerful was trying to force its way out from deep beneath the planet's surface. The tremors caused the crystal to fall free of the nest, and it fell to the cracking ground. The abandoned nest then fell apart as the waves of mako flowing above crashed down into the cavern like a raging waterfall.

Outside, a great beam of light rose from the depths of the North Crater, bursting past the barriers and swirling wall and up into the night sky. The pillar of light expanded, shattering the mako wall and beginning to spread further across the outer crater. As it moved, the Shinra airship took flight, speeding away from the crater as fast as possible.

Inside the crater, a great being awoke and stepped out of the darkness. Giant in size and covered with a body of great dark blue amour, its yellow eyes flashed as it was brought from the darkness of sleep and into life. Lightning surged past its body as it rose swiftly from the crater, breaking free from the mako light and into the sky, where it vanished into the night.

A long, metallic arm rose from the icy depths. Long fingers, tipped with sharp claws, dug deep into the ice as a second creature climbed from the crater and onto the surface. It was another giant, with shoulders as massive as the inner crater, and emitting a red light from its face, presumably its eyes. As it clambered up from the ice and let its massive frame stand on the planet's surface, it raised its arms and roared.

On the airship above, Cait bounded over the deck toward Tifa and the others, who had gathered at the railing to see what was happening. They saw the two giants emerge from the ice, felt the fear that was brought with them as they broke through to the surface.

Suddenly the airship shuddered, and those on board toppled and fought for balance as the deck tilted from side to side. They turned to find that a third monster had risen from the crater's depths and was hovering alongside the airship. This one resembled a great metallic dragon that rivaled even Neo Bahamut in size and strength. It hovered beside the airship, a red-pink hole in the centre of its chest glowing like a beacon in the night.

The dragon looked down at the airship, which was meager in size compared to its great bulk. This knowledge was visible in the dragon's eyes, which were as red as fire. The monster roared, and all those on board the airship had to cover their ears to block out the noise. The hole in the dragon's chest began to pulse, and blue ripples of light began to swell in front of it. It was preparing to leave.

The crew of the airship rushed to turn the ship around, and were only halfway through a turn when the dragon surged forward. The shockwave created by the dragon's passing skimmed the side of the airship, causing it to rock precariously back and forth once more.

On deck, Tifa struggled to keep her balance as the deck rocked violently from port to starboard. The surging wind blew her hair in front of her face and fought to knock her over. She in turn fought to stay upright, fighting against the wind. Suddenly the airship rocked forward, knocking Tifa off her feet. She fell hard onto the wooden deck as Naruto ran up to her, too late to catch her but quick enough to stop her rolling off the deck. Tifa glanced up at him through eyes watery and bleary from the wind before her eyes rolled back and she passed out.

Naruto looked over the starboard side of the airship. The light around the North Crater gathered and exploded as four monsters burst forth from its depths, rising in waves of light into the sky. The first two rose first, exploding into the sky and flying at high speed away from the crater. Two new ones followed it, red and green, zipping through pillars of light into the distance.

As the light around the North Crater began to fade and the monsters disappeared over the horizon, the airship flew away, its passengers wondering what was going to happen next.

AN: This finishes the Second Book: Holy and Meteor. I'm going to be writing other Fan-Fiction at the same time as this one, but stay tuned for the Third Book: Rise of a Legend. Continue to Review please. I want to know what you think of the story so far. Also check out my third Fan-Fiction 'Cry of the Soul Swords'.