Chapter 6: Smoke& Mirrors
(This section will focus on Loz as the speaker) Sister SEPHIROVA had been guiding me for hours, trying to find the real Rufus Shinra and Vincent Valentine. But every one we found so far were only phantoms, and vanished after taking one hit. I groaned, and cried "Urrgh, this is gonna take forever! We'll never find the real ones like this! Sister, listen to me: you must find a way to tell the difference between a fake and the real enemies! If you don't, they'll get ahead of us and we'll be too late to stop them!" She sighed but didn't speak. I knew she was nervous. After a moment of silence, I continued "I know this isn't looking good, but you're the only one with the power to see past these. You have to try, Sister. Even if they do seem exactly the same." SEPHIROVA replied "Ok, I'll try my best, but do you notice any difference between the phantoms and the real enemy?" I answered "Not even a little... no purple stuff surrounding them or anything. They even talk as if they're real!" Sister said "Just as I thought... I'm having trouble tapping into them myself. I'm almost certain these phantoms of our enemy are Vincent's creations. He has great skill for this sort of thing which would come as no surprise here. Every time I try to scan them, I get a fuzzy signal... like something is blocking me." I added "If that's true, we're in big trouble! Does he have an endless supply of these? I've been finding so many of them..." SEPHIROVA replied "I can't say yet... we don't have enough intel on the enemy yet to know the extent of their potential. Rufus may even have some responsibility for blocking me like this for all we know. We can't waste anymore time on this, though. I need you to set a course for the Forgotten City to get the Perfect Materia before the enemy does. If that falls into enemy hands, it will be catastrophic." Confused, I asked "The Perfect Materia..?" Sister added "Yes, Loz. The Perfect Materia houses the power of a very powerful beast, which was named Perfect WEAPON during the WEAPON experiments at JENOVA Foundation, led by Rufus himself at the time. Mother ruled the kingdom then, and had JENOVA SOLDIER focus on capturing Ultima and Omega WEAPON to create it. After the new beast was defeated, it took the form of the Perfect Materia." I said "That's right... but Perfect WEAPON is so formidable he could destroy JENOVA Kingdom itself 20 times over before sleeping to recharge!" SEPHIROVA agreed "Exactly. That is why we have no choice but to secure it and keep it away from the enemy profiles. I'll send the rest of JENOVA SOLDIER to track down the enemy. I want you to focus on securing the Perfect Materia." I said "That won't be a problem, Sister. I'll make sure they don't even see it." Then I speeded off, changing my route to reach the Forgotten City. I wondered how they even planned to catch Sephiroth. They were no match for him, so how could they even hope to try? I didn't know what was going on, but things were clearly getting hairy at a frightening pace now. Rufus was a scientific genius, and Vincent was skilled at creating phantoms to trick us. He even managed to get his clones past Sister's tracking system and intelligence network! I never even thought that would be possible. I didn't want this to get any worse than it already was. And if it did, the whole kingdom could be in real danger.
Later, in the Forgotten City...
I managed to get to the depths of the gang hideout before the enemy did. I searched the area carefully, hoping I beat them to this. I stopped, locking my gaze on a shiny golden materia that rested near the back underneath one of the trees, and rushed to pick it up. I took it into my hand, and said "Yes! I got it before the enemy did! Now all I have to do is give it to Sister and keep it safe until I meet up with her." I heard something fly behind me and land carefully, and turned around to see who it was. I had armed by dual hound, expecting to see Vincent again, but I quickly lowered my arm and said "Sephiroth? What are you doing here?" Sephiroth replied "I just came to act as backup, in case the enemy made it here before us. They might be able to beat you, but they don't stand a chance against me. I had to make sure that materia did not fall into their hands. I know you were supposed to be in charge of this job, so do forgive me, Brother. I assure you a lack of faith in your ability had nothing to do with my reasons." I nodded and agreed "It's ok, I understand. Vincent's spawning clones all over the kingdom, and we can't take any chances the real Vincent or Rufus would happen to show here." Sephiroth smiled at me and said "Precisely. The situation is getting ugly as we speak, and as JENOVA SOLDIER 1st Class, I am especially expected to keep it from escalating any further. If I may, Loz... how about I bring the Perfect Materia to Sister? This way the enemy can't pursue you and make off with it if you were ambushed." I answered "Of course you can! You're Mother's oldest son and one of the strongest family members. I have no reason to argue. Sister will be very pleased." I handed the materia to Sephiroth, and he smiled at me. I heard a man's voice say "Hahaha, all too easy." I cried "Wh-wha..?! What's going on?!" I began to panic and got ready to attack. I watched as a shadowy form took shape, and Vincent appeared from it. He laughed and said "You really are a dumb kid. Your stupidity has served us well." He took the materia from Sephiroth, and I watched as what looked like Big Brother faded into nothing. Vincent cackled and took off without another word. I panicked "No... no! What have I done?!! I'll be in so much trouble if I don't get it back!" I chased after him with all the speed I could muster. All I could think about was getting back the materia before he could get away. If he used that power he had to breach dimensions, there would be no catching up to him. I cried "Get back here, you fiend! I won't let you get away!" I was at my full momentum now, but Vincent was still nowhere in sight. I was the fastest in JENOVA SOLDIER, and even this scoundrel was beating me in this contest of speed. I groaned "Urrgh..! Curse it all!" Now I was outside the Forgotten City, and quickly boarded my motorbike. I slammed the gas, making a hasty turn and speeding through the outside. I drove and drove, but Vincent was nowhere in sight. I slammed the brakes and started crying "What have I done..? Now everyone's in danger..." There was nothing more I could do except inform Sister SEPHIROVA about it. I knew I'd be in big trouble for failing this mission, but there was no choice. I said "Sister, I'm really sorry... they tricked me, and I handed the materia right to them..." SEPHIROVA answered "It was Vincent's trickery again, wasn't it?" I said "It was... he made an illusion of Big Brother, and used it to get the Perfect Materia from me... and I was stupid enough to fall right into his plan. I'm really sorry, Sister..! If you have to give me a death sentence for this then its ok... just protect the rest of Mother's children and find a way to stop the beast if they let it roam free, please..." SEPHIROVA appeared in front of me and said "Loz, it isn't your fault. You are not to blame for what occurred in there. I understand why you feel so bad and a lot of regret, but don't blame yourself for it. There's still too much we don't know or understand about the enemy, and this is why we haven't been able to know look-alikes from the real thing. Even my tracking system has been acting strange since the phantoms began to pop up."Mirrorsed "But still..! Now the whole family is in danger..." SEPHIROVA drew closer to me and said "Loz, listen to me. Perfect WEAPON may be the most powerful beast in JENOVA Kingdom, but that doesn't mean he's invincible. If the enemy sets him loose, we still have JENOVA SOLDIER to bring it down. We aren't powerless, even against the most powerful foe. There's no time for regrets, Brother." My tears slowed. SEPHIROVA continued "Our only choice now is to defeat the beast or take the materia from the enemy if the chance arises; whichever comes first. But most of all, we have to focus on keeping them from Sephiroth and prevent another Shinra-JENOVA War. If summoning Perfect WEAPON is part of their plan for taking Sephiroth hostage, it would be no surprise. Without an exceptionally strong materia, they're no match for him and they know that. It's no wonder they went materia scouting..." I asked "What about the Black Materia hoard..? They didn't get those, did they?" SEPHIROVA giggled and said "No, those are still secure. But worry about that later. We have to mount an even stronger resistance as a precaution. If they let Perfect WEAPON run amok, disaster is certain to strike. That beast's nature is very roguish: he'll destroy anything he finds without discrimination, and you know what that means." My tears stopped, and I added "Right, I'll go after them and keep the family safe. But I don't stand a chance against that thing by myself if I run into him..." SEPHIROVA added "I know he's scary, but don't give in! The family depends on a JENOVA SOLDIER like you for protection. Just do the best you can, Loz." Then she vanished, and I slammed the gas on my motorbike, talking off and hoping to see what Vincent and Rufus planned to do next. With that materia in their hands, they really can defeat Sephiroth! I had to do something, even if I was no match for the beast. If I didn't try, I'm failing Mother's legacy. I was not about to do that.
To be Continued...
(This section will focus on Loz as the speaker) Sister SEPHIROVA had been guiding me for hours, trying to find the real Rufus Shinra and Vincent Valentine. But every one we found so far were only phantoms, and vanished after taking one hit. I groaned, and cried "Urrgh, this is gonna take forever! We'll never find the real ones like this! Sister, listen to me: you must find a way to tell the difference between a fake and the real enemies! If you don't, they'll get ahead of us and we'll be too late to stop them!" She sighed but didn't speak. I knew she was nervous. After a moment of silence, I continued "I know this isn't looking good, but you're the only one with the power to see past these. You have to try, Sister. Even if they do seem exactly the same." SEPHIROVA replied "Ok, I'll try my best, but do you notice any difference between the phantoms and the real enemy?" I answered "Not even a little... no purple stuff surrounding them or anything. They even talk as if they're real!" Sister said "Just as I thought... I'm having trouble tapping into them myself. I'm almost certain these phantoms of our enemy are Vincent's creations. He has great skill for this sort of thing which would come as no surprise here. Every time I try to scan them, I get a fuzzy signal... like something is blocking me." I added "If that's true, we're in big trouble! Does he have an endless supply of these? I've been finding so many of them..." SEPHIROVA replied "I can't say yet... we don't have enough intel on the enemy yet to know the extent of their potential. Rufus may even have some responsibility for blocking me like this for all we know. We can't waste anymore time on this, though. I need you to set a course for the Forgotten City to get the Perfect Materia before the enemy does. If that falls into enemy hands, it will be catastrophic." Confused, I asked "The Perfect Materia..?" Sister added "Yes, Loz. The Perfect Materia houses the power of a very powerful beast, which was named Perfect WEAPON during the WEAPON experiments at JENOVA Foundation, led by Rufus himself at the time. Mother ruled the kingdom then, and had JENOVA SOLDIER focus on capturing Ultima and Omega WEAPON to create it. After the new beast was defeated, it took the form of the Perfect Materia." I said "That's right... but Perfect WEAPON is so formidable he could destroy JENOVA Kingdom itself 20 times over before sleeping to recharge!" SEPHIROVA agreed "Exactly. That is why we have no choice but to secure it and keep it away from the enemy profiles. I'll send the rest of JENOVA SOLDIER to track down the enemy. I want you to focus on securing the Perfect Materia." I said "That won't be a problem, Sister. I'll make sure they don't even see it." Then I speeded off, changing my route to reach the Forgotten City. I wondered how they even planned to catch Sephiroth. They were no match for him, so how could they even hope to try? I didn't know what was going on, but things were clearly getting hairy at a frightening pace now. Rufus was a scientific genius, and Vincent was skilled at creating phantoms to trick us. He even managed to get his clones past Sister's tracking system and intelligence network! I never even thought that would be possible. I didn't want this to get any worse than it already was. And if it did, the whole kingdom could be in real danger.
Later, in the Forgotten City...
I managed to get to the depths of the gang hideout before the enemy did. I searched the area carefully, hoping I beat them to this. I stopped, locking my gaze on a shiny golden materia that rested near the back underneath one of the trees, and rushed to pick it up. I took it into my hand, and said "Yes! I got it before the enemy did! Now all I have to do is give it to Sister and keep it safe until I meet up with her." I heard something fly behind me and land carefully, and turned around to see who it was. I had armed by dual hound, expecting to see Vincent again, but I quickly lowered my arm and said "Sephiroth? What are you doing here?" Sephiroth replied "I just came to act as backup, in case the enemy made it here before us. They might be able to beat you, but they don't stand a chance against me. I had to make sure that materia did not fall into their hands. I know you were supposed to be in charge of this job, so do forgive me, Brother. I assure you a lack of faith in your ability had nothing to do with my reasons." I nodded and agreed "It's ok, I understand. Vincent's spawning clones all over the kingdom, and we can't take any chances the real Vincent or Rufus would happen to show here." Sephiroth smiled at me and said "Precisely. The situation is getting ugly as we speak, and as JENOVA SOLDIER 1st Class, I am especially expected to keep it from escalating any further. If I may, Loz... how about I bring the Perfect Materia to Sister? This way the enemy can't pursue you and make off with it if you were ambushed." I answered "Of course you can! You're Mother's oldest son and one of the strongest family members. I have no reason to argue. Sister will be very pleased." I handed the materia to Sephiroth, and he smiled at me. I heard a man's voice say "Hahaha, all too easy." I cried "Wh-wha..?! What's going on?!" I began to panic and got ready to attack. I watched as a shadowy form took shape, and Vincent appeared from it. He laughed and said "You really are a dumb kid. Your stupidity has served us well." He took the materia from Sephiroth, and I watched as what looked like Big Brother faded into nothing. Vincent cackled and took off without another word. I panicked "No... no! What have I done?!! I'll be in so much trouble if I don't get it back!" I chased after him with all the speed I could muster. All I could think about was getting back the materia before he could get away. If he used that power he had to breach dimensions, there would be no catching up to him. I cried "Get back here, you fiend! I won't let you get away!" I was at my full momentum now, but Vincent was still nowhere in sight. I was the fastest in JENOVA SOLDIER, and even this scoundrel was beating me in this contest of speed. I groaned "Urrgh..! Curse it all!" Now I was outside the Forgotten City, and quickly boarded my motorbike. I slammed the gas, making a hasty turn and speeding through the outside. I drove and drove, but Vincent was nowhere in sight. I slammed the brakes and started crying "What have I done..? Now everyone's in danger..." There was nothing more I could do except inform Sister SEPHIROVA about it. I knew I'd be in big trouble for failing this mission, but there was no choice. I said "Sister, I'm really sorry... they tricked me, and I handed the materia right to them..." SEPHIROVA answered "It was Vincent's trickery again, wasn't it?" I said "It was... he made an illusion of Big Brother, and used it to get the Perfect Materia from me... and I was stupid enough to fall right into his plan. I'm really sorry, Sister..! If you have to give me a death sentence for this then its ok... just protect the rest of Mother's children and find a way to stop the beast if they let it roam free, please..." SEPHIROVA appeared in front of me and said "Loz, it isn't your fault. You are not to blame for what occurred in there. I understand why you feel so bad and a lot of regret, but don't blame yourself for it. There's still too much we don't know or understand about the enemy, and this is why we haven't been able to know look-alikes from the real thing. Even my tracking system has been acting strange since the phantoms began to pop up."Mirrorsed "But still..! Now the whole family is in danger..." SEPHIROVA drew closer to me and said "Loz, listen to me. Perfect WEAPON may be the most powerful beast in JENOVA Kingdom, but that doesn't mean he's invincible. If the enemy sets him loose, we still have JENOVA SOLDIER to bring it down. We aren't powerless, even against the most powerful foe. There's no time for regrets, Brother." My tears slowed. SEPHIROVA continued "Our only choice now is to defeat the beast or take the materia from the enemy if the chance arises; whichever comes first. But most of all, we have to focus on keeping them from Sephiroth and prevent another Shinra-JENOVA War. If summoning Perfect WEAPON is part of their plan for taking Sephiroth hostage, it would be no surprise. Without an exceptionally strong materia, they're no match for him and they know that. It's no wonder they went materia scouting..." I asked "What about the Black Materia hoard..? They didn't get those, did they?" SEPHIROVA giggled and said "No, those are still secure. But worry about that later. We have to mount an even stronger resistance as a precaution. If they let Perfect WEAPON run amok, disaster is certain to strike. That beast's nature is very roguish: he'll destroy anything he finds without discrimination, and you know what that means." My tears stopped, and I added "Right, I'll go after them and keep the family safe. But I don't stand a chance against that thing by myself if I run into him..." SEPHIROVA added "I know he's scary, but don't give in! The family depends on a JENOVA SOLDIER like you for protection. Just do the best you can, Loz." Then she vanished, and I slammed the gas on my motorbike, talking off and hoping to see what Vincent and Rufus planned to do next. With that materia in their hands, they really can defeat Sephiroth! I had to do something, even if I was no match for the beast. If I didn't try, I'm failing Mother's legacy. I was not about to do that.
To be Continued...
