Chapter 13: The Great Enemy
(This section will focus on Sephiroth as the speaker) After me and Loz safely managed to make it back to the Forgotten City without further chaos, we focused our next objective on caring for Young Brother Suufi, who had just been born shortly after I was rescued at the abandoned Nibelheim site. Even though Loz had saved my life, I still felt weak and too exhausted to continue fighting the enemy at the time. Rufus had set me up by using Vincent's powers and Perfect WEAPON, and the beast even managed to counter my meteor before it could even touch them. All of these things had happened, and I couldn't do a thing to prevent the Shinra revival. I had never felt so guilty. I wished I'd known that encounter was a setup so that none of these things would have happened; but it was too late. I sat down, sheathing my katana and sighed. Loz also sat to rest in the black water, helping Brother Suufi step down as well. Suufi asked "Big Brother, what's the matter?" I replied "Little Brother, Shinra is back, the entire kingdom is in danger... all because I was foolish enough to walk right into a trap. If I had simply escaped, none of this would have happened... My Brothers, I am terribly sorry. They brought back our worst enemies, all because of me... I made a mess that can't be cleaned up easily, did something that cannot be undone... I've failed Mother, the whole family..." Loz said "Big Brother, don't blame yourself for all of this. The things the enemy has done up to this point happened too fast for us to keep up with: they blocked SEPHIROVA's radar, spawned phantoms of themselves all over the kingdom, and it all happened so fast even our Queen was caught off guard. They pulled too many fast ones for JENOVA SOLDIER to keep up with. I was also set up, Sephiroth... I came here to the gang territory to get the Perfect Materia before the enemy could, and Vincent tricked me by making some kind of clone that looked just like you. He fooled me by making me think I was handing the materia to you, when I was actually passing it right over to the enemy... I tried to catch up to him to take it back, but he got away, and I couldn't do anything, either. Even my speed didn't stop him from escaping. The reason he was able to subdue you in the first place is all because he made off with the Perfect Materia--because he got away from me before I could stop him. The point is, Sephiroth... I screwed up too." I paused, then asked "But how did the enemy even know the Perfect Materia existed to begin with? It couldn't have been magic..." Loz seemed in deep thought as well. I said "If they really did interfere with SEPHIROVA's powers, it's possible they compromised her systems in some way. If that's true, we have to warn her so they don't steal anymore serious Intel." Loz cried "What?! But how is that even possible? She's the family Queen!" I shook my head and added "That may be so, but don't forget we're also dealing with a skilled and highly intelligent scientist. Given his life of science, research, and experimentation, there's no telling what he's capable of. He may not seem very tough, but his scientific potential is a serious threat to Mother's kingdom. He knows this, and that is why he acts so tough around us. He knows all the secrets of Mother's legacy, Reunion... everything in between. It's only natural he would be capable of such a thing. He's more dangerous than you might think, Brother." Loz seemed grim, and said "Uggh... you're right. We have to kill him. If we don't, he'll destroy us all before we get the chance." I nodded and continued "He's more frightening than anyone I've seen in my life, from the first time around to this one... even Cloud wasn't as disgusting as this guy is. At least Cloud can't do all of these horrific things with Mother's power; Rufus can. He may even be hiding some potential that surpasses Cloud's. I don't have anything to prove it yet, but as ugly as this has gotten, we can't rule anything out." Loz agreed "Right... no matter how scary he is though, he must be stopped. We can't let him wreak havoc across the kingdom. But what are we gonna do? We're running out of time!" I replied "I already told the Queen about contacting SAKUI, and she said she would be happy to do it. All that's left is for us to cover the rest of JENOVA SOLDIER until she comes back for the time being." Suufi said "I wanna help, too! I won't let them hurt anyone else, Big Brother!" Suufi got up and revealed a souba, looking ready to fight. I asked "Are you sure? The enemy is very dangerous, Little Brother. There's no telling what might happen." Suufi laughed and cried "Leave those maggots to me, Daddy! I'm stronger than I look." He smiled and his left eye turned red like Mother's. Loz happily said "Wow, he is a feisty one! I say we give him a shot, Big Brother." I decided "Very well, then. Suufi, I want you to infiltrate the enemy's territory and see what they're up to. Learn anything you can on Shinra and their plans, and cut down anything that comes your way. Do not enter Shinra HQ without authorization, understood?" He grumbled and said "Oh fine... but I'll do what I can." He bolted two black wings and flew off somewhere. Loz cried "What the..?! He has two black wings?! No one in the family had two before...?" I added "You're right, Brother. Even I only bear one, but our... or, this child has two." Loz wondered "What could that mean..?" I added "I'm afraid I know nothing, either... but if it means something important, we'll find out sooner or later." Loz said "We should get moving, now. We have enemies to fight, Big Brother." I said "No, you go, Brother... I'm afraid I can't for a while." Loz asked "What do you mean..?" I replied "I'm still too weak to fight them off for long... I have no choice but to rest until I fully recover. Leave me here, and help the others of JENOVA SOLDIER defeat Shinra until I'm better. If i push myself any further than this, I won't make it." Loz angrily cried "No, I'm not leaving you by yourself again! If they do a single experiment on you, you could die. I'm not going anywhere until you're able to defend yourself again!" I argued "But, you... the gang needs you! You must go, for them, and for Mother..." Tears welled up in Loz's eyes, and he said "No, I'm not moving from here! I swore an oath to protect you--on Mother! I can't leave you here..." Loz hurried over beside me, and was crying on my shoulder now. He went on "No more losses! I lost Mother, that's bad enough! I'm not losing anyone else..!" I gave up convincing him to go after Shinra. I could already see he wouldn't do it. I suddenly realized how devastated he was by Mother's sacrifice. There was no way he would rest until she came back on Reunion Day. How in the world is the guy going become JENOVA SOLDIER 1st Class? I would never be able to answer that question. If he couldn't accept sacrifice and continue his duties, it was a wonder if he could measure up to such high standards. And yet, he still wouldn't stop trying to achieve that goal. I mumbled "What is he thinking..?"
To be Continued...
(This section will focus on Sephiroth as the speaker) After me and Loz safely managed to make it back to the Forgotten City without further chaos, we focused our next objective on caring for Young Brother Suufi, who had just been born shortly after I was rescued at the abandoned Nibelheim site. Even though Loz had saved my life, I still felt weak and too exhausted to continue fighting the enemy at the time. Rufus had set me up by using Vincent's powers and Perfect WEAPON, and the beast even managed to counter my meteor before it could even touch them. All of these things had happened, and I couldn't do a thing to prevent the Shinra revival. I had never felt so guilty. I wished I'd known that encounter was a setup so that none of these things would have happened; but it was too late. I sat down, sheathing my katana and sighed. Loz also sat to rest in the black water, helping Brother Suufi step down as well. Suufi asked "Big Brother, what's the matter?" I replied "Little Brother, Shinra is back, the entire kingdom is in danger... all because I was foolish enough to walk right into a trap. If I had simply escaped, none of this would have happened... My Brothers, I am terribly sorry. They brought back our worst enemies, all because of me... I made a mess that can't be cleaned up easily, did something that cannot be undone... I've failed Mother, the whole family..." Loz said "Big Brother, don't blame yourself for all of this. The things the enemy has done up to this point happened too fast for us to keep up with: they blocked SEPHIROVA's radar, spawned phantoms of themselves all over the kingdom, and it all happened so fast even our Queen was caught off guard. They pulled too many fast ones for JENOVA SOLDIER to keep up with. I was also set up, Sephiroth... I came here to the gang territory to get the Perfect Materia before the enemy could, and Vincent tricked me by making some kind of clone that looked just like you. He fooled me by making me think I was handing the materia to you, when I was actually passing it right over to the enemy... I tried to catch up to him to take it back, but he got away, and I couldn't do anything, either. Even my speed didn't stop him from escaping. The reason he was able to subdue you in the first place is all because he made off with the Perfect Materia--because he got away from me before I could stop him. The point is, Sephiroth... I screwed up too." I paused, then asked "But how did the enemy even know the Perfect Materia existed to begin with? It couldn't have been magic..." Loz seemed in deep thought as well. I said "If they really did interfere with SEPHIROVA's powers, it's possible they compromised her systems in some way. If that's true, we have to warn her so they don't steal anymore serious Intel." Loz cried "What?! But how is that even possible? She's the family Queen!" I shook my head and added "That may be so, but don't forget we're also dealing with a skilled and highly intelligent scientist. Given his life of science, research, and experimentation, there's no telling what he's capable of. He may not seem very tough, but his scientific potential is a serious threat to Mother's kingdom. He knows this, and that is why he acts so tough around us. He knows all the secrets of Mother's legacy, Reunion... everything in between. It's only natural he would be capable of such a thing. He's more dangerous than you might think, Brother." Loz seemed grim, and said "Uggh... you're right. We have to kill him. If we don't, he'll destroy us all before we get the chance." I nodded and continued "He's more frightening than anyone I've seen in my life, from the first time around to this one... even Cloud wasn't as disgusting as this guy is. At least Cloud can't do all of these horrific things with Mother's power; Rufus can. He may even be hiding some potential that surpasses Cloud's. I don't have anything to prove it yet, but as ugly as this has gotten, we can't rule anything out." Loz agreed "Right... no matter how scary he is though, he must be stopped. We can't let him wreak havoc across the kingdom. But what are we gonna do? We're running out of time!" I replied "I already told the Queen about contacting SAKUI, and she said she would be happy to do it. All that's left is for us to cover the rest of JENOVA SOLDIER until she comes back for the time being." Suufi said "I wanna help, too! I won't let them hurt anyone else, Big Brother!" Suufi got up and revealed a souba, looking ready to fight. I asked "Are you sure? The enemy is very dangerous, Little Brother. There's no telling what might happen." Suufi laughed and cried "Leave those maggots to me, Daddy! I'm stronger than I look." He smiled and his left eye turned red like Mother's. Loz happily said "Wow, he is a feisty one! I say we give him a shot, Big Brother." I decided "Very well, then. Suufi, I want you to infiltrate the enemy's territory and see what they're up to. Learn anything you can on Shinra and their plans, and cut down anything that comes your way. Do not enter Shinra HQ without authorization, understood?" He grumbled and said "Oh fine... but I'll do what I can." He bolted two black wings and flew off somewhere. Loz cried "What the..?! He has two black wings?! No one in the family had two before...?" I added "You're right, Brother. Even I only bear one, but our... or, this child has two." Loz wondered "What could that mean..?" I added "I'm afraid I know nothing, either... but if it means something important, we'll find out sooner or later." Loz said "We should get moving, now. We have enemies to fight, Big Brother." I said "No, you go, Brother... I'm afraid I can't for a while." Loz asked "What do you mean..?" I replied "I'm still too weak to fight them off for long... I have no choice but to rest until I fully recover. Leave me here, and help the others of JENOVA SOLDIER defeat Shinra until I'm better. If i push myself any further than this, I won't make it." Loz angrily cried "No, I'm not leaving you by yourself again! If they do a single experiment on you, you could die. I'm not going anywhere until you're able to defend yourself again!" I argued "But, you... the gang needs you! You must go, for them, and for Mother..." Tears welled up in Loz's eyes, and he said "No, I'm not moving from here! I swore an oath to protect you--on Mother! I can't leave you here..." Loz hurried over beside me, and was crying on my shoulder now. He went on "No more losses! I lost Mother, that's bad enough! I'm not losing anyone else..!" I gave up convincing him to go after Shinra. I could already see he wouldn't do it. I suddenly realized how devastated he was by Mother's sacrifice. There was no way he would rest until she came back on Reunion Day. How in the world is the guy going become JENOVA SOLDIER 1st Class? I would never be able to answer that question. If he couldn't accept sacrifice and continue his duties, it was a wonder if he could measure up to such high standards. And yet, he still wouldn't stop trying to achieve that goal. I mumbled "What is he thinking..?"
To be Continued...
