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Final Fantasy VII: Awakening	By : Saan Category: Final Fantasy VII > General Views: 844 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
- 9
Several minutes later the airship Highwind touched down before the haunted town of Nibelheim. A metal plank lowered to allow free passage of its travelers.

Yuffie looked around in a daze. "Do we have to go back there?"

Cloud took the small ninja's hand in his and smiled. He was born in that town but he could not argue her point of view. He was just as uneasy as she was.

The other passengers aboard the Highwind disembarked. The regular crews stayed onboard to make sure that the ship was properly maintained and ready to escape.

By reason of vote, everyone had decided the President stay behind as well. Reeve was not happy about the order to stay on the ship but he found himself to weak and grief-stricken, for any other action.

Cloud, Cait Sith, Yuffie, Cid and Vincent, chose a building to search. Just as the ex-SOLDIER had reported, Nibelheim did have the appearance of being rebuilt.

When all members of the party regrouped, no one was able to offer any clues to Sephiroth's whereabouts.

"We looked everywhere!" Cid pointed out.

"He wasn't in the inn,� said Yuffie as she readjusted her headband.

Vincent sat down on the bottom step of the water tower and crossed his legs. "I didn't find him either."

Cloud looked around the town. He was positive that Sephiroth was close by.

The toysaurus bounced around. The black and white cat readjusted the crown on his head and hummed to himself. Artificial Intelligence was good to have but it did not answer every question. "Boss, do you have any more ideas?"

Reeve sat with his hands folded underneath his chin. In case of trouble, the team had decided that he should stay in the airship. The President sat in the conference room and watched the outside from a tiny monitor suspended from the ceiling.

Leira's uncle sighed and glanced around. The missing general and the rebuilt town as well bothered him. "You bastards put so much money into your pet projects and test tube babies�you could have rebuilt Midgar for half the cost." He muttered. "Mako energy had its flaws but you kept using it and almost got us all killed."

Cloud raised his head quickly and ran to Cait Sith. "Reeve that's the one place we haven't looked into yet!"

The cat was confused. He patted Cloud's spiky hair. "I think you're having a bad reaction from the fumes in your hair care products."

The SOLDIER frowned. "The reactor on Mount Nibel! We haven't tried looking there!�

Reeve smiled. "That's a good idea!"

Vincent adjusted his cloak. "It's easy to give orders when you're not on the battlefield yourself." He muttered under his breath.

Cid hoped down from his perch and tapped the dead man with his halberd. "Easy there, Vince."

The little Ninja glanced around and set her eyes on the foreboding mountain in the background. "We have to go over there?! I can't believe we left the car behind. It's not fair!"

The team checked their weapons and began the long trek up the mountain. They decided that it would be safest to follow the road since it was flat and not far from their target.

Along the way, they faced a number of monsters but were able to make short work of them thanks to the materia they adorned. The trip had taken several hours and Cait Sith ended up giving Yuffie a piggyback ride on the way to the top.

Once at the foot of the reactor Cloud stopped. A strange thought had surfaced. "I think we should look in there first." He pointed to a metal door in the side of the black mountain.

Cid sidled up to the boy. "You sure, kid?"

Vincent was not about to wait. He approached the door and turned the handle slowly.

The interior was empty. The lighting was still poor but the group remembered the path from their first mission to stop Sephiroth. The reactors runoff pipes were even rustier than he remembered. Unlike the town, the Nibelheim reactor was left untouched.

"Where do we go from here, Reeve?" he asked as he turned to the Mog.

Reeve clenched his hands. He wanted to scream out 'how should I know' but he knew the ex-Turk would be looking for an argument. During Leira's ordeal, he had made his intentions known to Reeve from the start. Vincent had developed strong feelings for his niece. "Another freak." Reeve mumbled to himself.

"What was that, Boss?" asked the mechanical cat.

"I say we go down,� said the twenty four year old. Cloud and the others walked over some slats of rotten plywood and headed towards a rusted fold up ladder.

Cait Sith had traveled down first and was followed by Cloud.

"Anyone who starts singing about memories gets a knuckle sandwich ala Yuffie!" The little ninja remarked as she prepared to climb down the beaten white ladder. "Oh, and Cloud no looking up my shorts!"

The blond haired SOLDIER looked up at her and rolled his eyes.

"Kidding! Geez, it was just a joke lighten up!� she replied.

Cid tried his best to keep Vincent from going down after the little girl. "I told you a long time ago; don't let her get to you! She's just a kid. Let her gain a couple years than you can pound her all you want!� The grizzled pilot winked and descended the ladder.

The dead man in the scarlet cloak shrugged his shoulders and followed Cid and the others.

"Hey, what's that over there?" asked Yuffie as she pointed towards a smaller cave.

There was a light coming out of the crevice. An eerie glow reminded the group of a light emitted from a lantern.

From his hole in the Highwind, Reeve was beginning to sweat. "It might be him. Be careful."

The nineteen-year-old girl was getting nervous. "Wasn't there a materia monster somewhere down here�we beat him�but, don't you think there could have been more of them�?"

The team looked at their weapons and made sure that they had the proper materia gems equipped. Every one of them remembered the giant blue scorpion known as the Materia Keeper and his lightning and fire combination attack known as trine.

Vincent pushed ahead followed by Cid and Cloud. The three men were the strangest of the group. If anything were to go wrong, Cid needed to get Yuffie out and find another alternative to curing the Elite. Cait Sith was not concerned with emergencies or escapes. For many years, he had always considered his body expendable. He was one of several Cait Sith robots that could be deployed at will. "We're heading towards the light." Joked the cat.

Cid, Cloud and Vincent took a position on one side of the cave and began to edge forward.

Sitting on the ground was the white haired general himself. A green materia levitated above his head. Every time Sephiroth waved a gloved hand in the air, the little gem would follow. "Such a shame that I don't need to use this type of power anymore." He said softly. "Nor do I need sense materia to detect enemies." With those words, the tiny green orb ceased in its arc and flew at the pilot.

Cid was caught off guard as the materia collided with the side of his head knocking him unconscious.

"Reeve, we found him and he's not happy to see us." Said Cait Sith as the huge pink mog began to bounce around nervously.

Sephiroth got to his feet and floated a couple feet off the ground. He spun around to face Leira's saviors. "All this for one girl!"

Lieandra's uncle could not take it anymore. He darted out of the room and punched any crewmember that stood in his way. "I'm coming Leira�I'm coming."

Sephiroth's cold sarcasm was more than Cloud could tolerate. He stepped forward with his buster sword in hand. "She needs your help! Without you she might as well be dead!"

His former general broke from his levitation and flew at Cloud.

As quickly as he could, the blonde boy recited a small lightning spell that blasted its way outward and smothered his attacker.

Sephiroth was thrown head first into one of the walls of the dark cavern. He put his gloved hand to his forehead to check for blood. He looked at the little red splotch on his fingertip and smiled. "Did you ever think that it might be better if she died right now?!"

"I knew it!" yelled Vincent as he threw his left arm out to the side. "There's no sense in trying to be civil with him. We might as well just end this now!"

"I'm with the dead man!" chided Yuffie.

Cid began to regain consciousness. He put his arms bellow him and tried to clear his head. He tried to feel around for his spear but it was not close enough for him to grab. As he looked around for his weapon, he noticed a pair of shiny shoes in front of him. He glanced upward. There before him was Reeve. "What are you doing here? We told you stay up there with the others!"

Reeve took a deep breath. "I know. It's my fault things are going this way. I'm going to make it right." The President stepped over Cid and began the walk to Sephiroth.

The ex Shinra general pulled himself up into a standing position. Yuffie ran for him. She held the gigantic Shuriken behind her so she would be able to carry on a powerful slash. Sephiroth held out his hand and caught the little girl by the throat. Before she could ever land her attack, he tossed her into Vincent. The ex-Turk and the little ninja crashed into the nearest wall.

Vincent hit the hardest and ended up lying on his back with Yuffie sitting on his stomach.

"Yuffie! Vincent!" Cloud yelled.

"We're fine!" Vincent coughed as Yuffie tried to shake the cobwebs out of her head.

The ex-SOLDIER was fed up. He raised the sword high above his head and was just about to run for Sephiroth when someone yelled, "Stop!"

Cloud turned around to face Reeve. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm going to help." He said as he approached him. "This is just as much my fight as it is yours."

"This is rich!" chided Sephiroth. "Now the gang is all here!" A frozen ring began to form around his hand as he began to conjure up a cold spell.

"Sephiroth," Reeve's voice boomed, "don't you get it...don't you care? I thought you loved her!"

"What if I do?" Sephiroth's hand was still outstretched. "It never really mattered to you anyway did it, Reeve." With a flick of his wrist, the white haired man sent shards of ice flying past Reeve.

Leira's uncle wrapped his arms around himself as he tried to shake his fears away. It was becoming increasingly clear that this man was trying to harm him. Reeve swallowed hard as he tried to think of something to say that might save his own life. "She's going to die, you bastard! She needs you to live! I don't want to see her die...her death is going to be on your hands also, not just mine!"

Sephiroth was unmoved. Everyone's eyes stared at Reeve.

"No matter what I said or what my feelings towards you are, I can't believe the Great Sephiroth himself would carry grudges like this!" Reeve continued.

"I am after all only human!" the ex general chided as he blasted Reeve with a gust of wind.

Reeve backpedaled underneath the strength of the attack and landed flat on the ground. He pulled himself up into a sitting position and wrapped his fingers around his face. "I've failed you, Leira." He whispered to himself.

Sephiroth walked toward him hands glowing red orange with flames. "This will be a pleasure. The last of the Shinra execs..."

"No!" came a voice from the entrance of the cave. Leira had stumbled her way through and was now standing in-between Sephiroth and Reeve. "He's right...I need you."

Sephiroth blinked at the sight before him. There she was dressed in her Elite uniform. Her voice was so weak. She was so close he could feel her body pressed against him. He had not been this close to her since...he suddenly became aware of a strange pressure just above his belt. Leira had grabbed one of Vincent's pistols and was now holding it on Sephiroth.

She put her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, general." Her hair was covering her face. It was dampened with sweat. The trip from the Highwind to Mount Nibel had been a tough one for her. If she really meant anything to him, she had hoped that he would stop his attacks. If she had no meaning to him, Leira had no idea if she had the power to stand up against him. Sephiroth lowered his head. He gazed at her solemnly. "I'm sorry." He whispered to her.

Leira looked into his eyes and smiled weakly before suddenly blacking out. Sephiroth wrapped his arms around Leira and held her close to him. "I'll help you." He said quietly. "But only for her."

Reeve forced a smile as the others got to their feet.
- 7
- 8
- 9
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Final Fantasy VII: Awakening