Merging Journeys

Disclaimer: Heh, you've been waiting quite a while, right? I'm sorry for all of you out there that have to wait forever for me to write out another chapter to this monster. I hate being able to write well, but not being able to write quickly! AGHH! Anyway, FF7 and its characters don't belong to me (and they never will) and they can't be used without the permission of their creators for reasons dealing with money.
Started: January 9, 1999
Finished: April 27, 2000 (ARRRRGHHH! That took FOREVER! I'm sorry! A friggin' year!!)

"How could we lose him?!?" demanded Rufus Shinra of his comrades. His blue Mako eyes blazed as they stood on the 50th floor.

Cloud Strife shook his head, looking around but remaining stationary. "He came this way, that's for sure," he replied. "Rufus, are there any secret passages here, like what Tseng showed, that lead up or down the building?"

Rufus frowned angrily, seething visibly. "I really don't know. . . This is all wracking my brain as it is. A stupid clone of me going around . . . taking my company . . . turning me into a freak. . ."

"For once, Rufus," Tifa Lockheart murmured as she glanced down a corridor, "you and Cloud have something in common." She pointed down the hall she had been looking down. "Let's go this way. It's better than nothing at this point."

They ran down the hallway together, tense as they went along. Shinra guards could still be around, and there was no way of knowing if the Hojo-clone would release monsters upon them. All of this was incredibly strange, and frightening to think about. There was no doubt these events would linger and create nightmares in nights to come.

*If* they lived long enough to sleep again.

The two stared at each other for a long moment, surprise and shock dawning in both of their eyes. Vincent could only stare at the man that the world thought was dead, something in his heart lifting while his stomach dropped. Sephiroth was unable to look away from the red eyes that glittered with the same emotions he was certain were glittering in his own. He recognized this man. He was. . . AVALANCHE was the only thing that came to mind. What was his name?

"Sephiroth. . ." To his credit, Vincent didn't turn heel and run away, but instead frowned slightly and narrowed his eyes noticeably. "It . . . can't be."

Sephiroth's face remained flat, although his eyes betrayed him, and he spoke neutrally. "An AVALANCHE member," he murmured. "So . . . are you hoping to finish what you tried to do before?"

Vincent lowered his gaze, eyeing the long sword at Sephiroth's belt. "You were the one Masamune was going to. . .," he whispered, a tinge of awe to his voice. "I should have known." He avoided Sephiroth's question. ". . . How can you still be alive?"

It surprised him that this man, one of the few that had proven to be a threat to him when he was insane, was now acting so unbelievably calm in his presence. Either he wasn't human, or had some hidden agenda no one knew about. "I never died," he replied. It seemed odd not to reach for Masamune; if anything, he wanted its comforting weight in his hand right now. It would definitely help this awkward situation.

The awkwardness, however, dissolved when voices echoed through the halls. "Vincent!! Vincent, where are you!?" Then, "C'mon, Vincent! Don't tell me you went ahead and got yourself *eaten* now!!"

Sephiroth frowned. "Your companions approach," he stated, cold aqua eyes boring into his.

". . . Don't fight us, Sephiroth," Vincent said, thoughts and worries racing through his mind suddenly. If the others were to find out about Sephiroth, they would lose it. Especially Cloud. And probably even Tifa and Rufus. "We have an even bigger problem than you right now."

A silver eyebrow rose slowly, then a snort could be heard from the taller, and physically older, man. "Even bigger than me? Is that right?" There was a tone of disbelief in there, but more sarcasm than anything. A brief silence fell between the two, then the ex-SOLDIER spoke again. "It's Hojo, isn't it?"

"How did you know?"

The deadly glare that could wilt flowers appeared on the man's face. "I think I would know the bastard that locked me up down here."

Just then, Yuffie turned the corner and saw Vincent's red cape. "Oh, Vin--" Her eyes went beyond Vincent and caught the top of Sephiroth's head. "AIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!"

Vincent spun instinctively, his hand coming up and clamping down on Yuffie's mouth. "Be quiet!" he hissed, his red eyes glowing softly. "Did you forget we're in the Shinra Building still??"

Tseng came running into view, apparently startled by Yuffie's scream. "Yuffie-- Vincent--" He gasped outloud when he saw Sephiroth standing there, looking on at them coldly. "Holy--!!"

Aeris, standing right next to him, allowed her jaw to drop. "Oh, great Cetra. . .," she whispered. "He's. . . No wonder I never heard of him entering the Lifestream. . ." She snapped out of her surprise and gripped Tseng's arm tightly. "Don't do anything stupid, Tseng! The Cetra would have allowed Sephiroth to die if he weren't here for a reason. He's probably needed to fight Ruvus and Cero."

"Sephiroth. . ." Tseng swallowed hard and glanced at Aeris, who nodded at him. Vincent frowned worriedly at him, his eyes clearly showing that he was afraid of what they might do to each other.

Sephiroth allowed his eyes to avert from Vincent and the teenage ninja to the black-haired man that looked at his cautiously. His silver brow shot up as he recognized him. "You. . . That Turk from the temple," he remarked. "You're not dead?"

". . . I'm not a Turk anymore," Tseng managed, frowning deeply at the tall ex-SOLDIER. "Sephiroth, I am the last Cetra on the Planet now."

Now, if seeing Vincent had surprised Sephiroth, hearing that completely blew him away. "Cetra?! You??"

"Damn, damn, damn," Barret Wallace cursed, looking through the hangar for some sort of shelter. He found their sanctuary in the form of a pile of doldrums. Grabbing hold of his comrades, he took off for the doldrums.

"Kya ha ha!!" laughed the clone of Scarlet Cassidi, directing the Proud Clod Omega's vision towards them. "Not so fast!" From the robot's left forearm came a hail of bullets, apparently coming from some sort of built-in machine gun.

"*(@&#%(*&%# !!!!" Cid Highwind broke away from Barret, followed by Reeve. The men all took off in different directions, trying desperately to escape the gunfire.

"What do we do, what do we do??" wailed Cait Sith, clutching Reeve with all his might. Despite being a tiny artificial lifeform, the cat was frightened beyond belief.

Reeve continued to run, looking for some other way to escape. "I don't know, I don't know!!" he screamed in reply, diving back into the elevator and pressing against one side. He had no weapon to use against these robots, except for his Materia, and he wasn't sure that would be enough. Then. . . "The Legacy Materia!" He grasped it, concentrating as hard as he could.

Nothing.

"@*%& !!" he cursed, staring at the rainbow-colored Materia. "Why isn't it doing anything?" Cait Sith wailed again at the sound of thunderous steps. The two Proud Clods were moving around in the hangar.

Barret fired as he ran, looking for some sort of weakness on the huge metallic beings. "Gya ha ha ha. . .!" Heidegger's clone cornered him, the huge giant blocking all escape routes. "I've got you now, gya ha!!" From the chest piece came bullets and missiles, blowing up around Barret.

The black man, not one to give up easily, coughed and glared through the rising smoke. "Oh, HELL NO!" he bellowed, raising his trusty Missing Score. "Catastrophe!!" He let out a long, destructive barrage of bullets, somehow managing to force the Proud Clod Alpha to take a step back. That one step was all he needed to take escape the corner he was trapped in, running back to the doldrums and taking cover behind them.

Cid was pitted against Scarlet's Proud Clod, unable to move fast enough to get away from her but managing to escape her laser and gunfire attacks. "You @*%(#@* bitchin' @*($@$*^@%*@#$% !!" he panted, having dropped his cigarette and ran with his Venus Gospel still strapped to his back. "You are so @*%(#*@# DEAD!!"

Scarlet could only laugh maniacally as she messed with the pilot. She released a golden beam that struck Cid, earning gasps from Reeve, Barret, and Cait Sith alike as a pyramid-like structure enveloped him.

"Shit!" Barret yelled. "It's dat Pyramid thing dat Turk uses!!"

Reeve, unable to allow Cid to be taken out through a Pyramid attack, ran from his cover and raised his Shinra Alpha bangle. "Ice 3!"

Surprisingly, the spell had a strong effect on Scarlet's robot, knocking it backwards and into the far wall. 'A weakness!' thought the former executive, racing across the hangar towards Cid. Unfortunately, Heidegger noticed his desperate dash towards Cid and fired upon him, pinning Reeve in the left leg and sending him tumbling to the ground, yelling in agony. Cait Sith went flying as well, megaphone and all, and landed far away from his creator.

"Dammit!" Reeve hissed through the pain, eyes watering at he noticed there were three points of entry on his shin. Blood gushed from the wounds in rivers. "Cait . . . get to the pyramid and take it out!" The cat unsteadily got to its feet, staring at him in horror. "*Hurry!!*"

"R-- right!" Cait Sith stammered, tying his megaphone to his cape and running on all fours towards Cid's frozen form. He raced in the direction of the Proud Clod Alpha, which was slowly lumbering his way.

"Keep goin', cat!!" Barret yelled, climbing up on the doldrums. "I've got yo' back!!" He raised his own bangle, an Adaman Bangle, and watched the one red Summon Materia in it flash. "Diamond Dust!"

Shiva came to life at the call, opening her icy eyes and blowing an ice storm out upon the two robots. Scarlet let out a screech and cursed as her Proud Clod reacted badly to the summon, crashing back into the wall. Heidegger's, on the other hand, was barely damaged and continued towards Cid. But the summon had provided Cait enough time to make it to the pyramid that trapped the pilot. Striking it with his HP Shout, Cait Sith watched the pyramid dissolved before grabbing hold of Cid's leg and holding on as the man ran for dear life.

"Get to cover!" Barret shouted, waving Cid over. He cursed again, however, when he saw Reeve was still on the ground. "Reeve!!"

Reeve was concentrating on the Restore Materia he had in his bangle when he heard Barret's call. He looked over, horror filling his eyes when he finally became aware of how bad his situation really was with the Proud Clod Alpha so close. No words came to his lips as he laid there in shock, staring at the hulking machine before him.

It was Cait Sith who came to his rescue. "Anger of the Land!" he squeaked, calling up Titan from his Materia. The Summon brought forth the giant, who lifted a slab of the ground underneath them and smashed it into Heidegger's robot.

"Damn you! Take this, AVALANCHE dogs!!" Heidegger roared from within the metallic being, aiming his machine guns at the doldrums and firing.

The doldrums, filled with oil, exploded upon contact with the bullets, sending Barret flying through the air and trapping Cid and Cait Sith in the fire. Barret smashed into the ground painfully, eyes falling shut as unconsciousness took him. Cid cursed and pulled Cait Sith onto his shoulder, looking desperately for an escape route.

"Oh, God, have mercy. . .," was all Reeve could muster as he watched in horror.

Sephiroth got over his initial reaction and frowned dangerously at the three. "I have every right to kill you where you stand; you did fight me in the past."

"We all prefer that you don't," Vincent said coldly. "We need to stop this madness before it gets any worse."

"Worse??" Yuffie suddenly blurted out, eyes wide with horror. "How can things get worse, Vincent?!? Sephiroth's still alive, and he's gonna kill us all if that damn clone doesn't first!!"

"Clone?" repeated Sephiroth, his face twisting with anger. "What clone?"

Tseng glanced at Vincent, who nodded grimly for him to go ahead. "Hojo and the Vice President of this new Shinra, Andrew Veraldei, have created a clone called Cero -- Project Ultimatum. He's made up of DNA from you, Cloud Strife, and Rufus Shinra. There may be even more that we don't know about."

"A mixed clone?" hissed Sephiroth. ". . . . Damn."

"We could use your assistance, Sephiroth," Vincent pressed. "In fact, we *require* your assistance. Cero is as skilled with swords as you and Cloud combined; it took him and Rufus to even slightly slow him down."

". . . . Rufus? The Shinra boy's still alive?"

"Yes. . ."

Sephiroth frowned and crossed his arms, Masamune still clutched in his left hand. The four -- three seeable, the fourth not -- looked on uncomfortably as he thought. Aeris, growing fed up within moments, abruptly took Tseng's hand and willed herself into visibility. She stepped forward as her three companions stared in horror. "Sephiroth! You *better* help us; you owe a lot of people for what you did, including me!!"

The silver-haired man's Mako eyes snapped on her in alarm, widening considerably. "The Ancient!?" he practically shouted. "But-- I killed you!!"

Aeris frowned up at him and firmed her chin. "No kidding!" she replied. "I'm still a little mad about that!" Sephiroth just continued to stare at her. After studying the look on his face for a moment, Aeris burst out laughing. "I never thought I'd see something like this in my life! Vincent, he's as bad as you!!"

Vincent, Yuffie, and Tseng just looked at her incredulously.

No monsters or guards. The fact didn't rest well in Rufus' stomach.

They had stopped at a crossroads on the floor, assessing the directions that the four paths led to. Cloud had wanted to go one way, while Rufus tried to give reasons why they shouldn't. There was nothing there. There were defense mechanisms set up. As the two argued, Tifa walked down one corridor to explore. Neither of the two young men had taken notice of her walking away.

Then they heard her scream.

"Cloud!! Rufus!!!!"

Simultaneously, the two snapped from their argument. "Tifa!!" With Cloud leading, the two ran down the corridor, turning the corner together.

"Surprise." Ruvus smirked at them as he held Tifa, pointing a gun at her head. "So nice to see you two again. Especially you, Rufus." He went on before either of the two could draw their weapons. "Make one move and she dies."

Frustrated, the two young men released their weapons and kept them on their backs. "What are you doing, Ruvus!?" demanded Cloud, glaring at the clone. "Let her go!"

Ruvus chuckled lightly for a moment, his eyes slitting into something truly sinister. "If you want her back . . . meet me in the cafeteria." He then proceeded to move backwards down the hall, all the while dragging the struggling Tifa.

As soon as the two turned the corner, Rufus and Cloud both ran down the corridor. However, the only thing greeting them at the corner . . . was a dead end.

"No! Where'd they go!?" Cloud yelled, looking around frantically.

"It must be another secret passage," Rufus murmured, stepping up to the wall. Cloud watched as he searched the wall, then pushed a small, well-hidden block. The wall hissed and slid away. "This is how he's been avoiding us until now. . ."

"Dammit. . ." Cloud looked at Rufus for a moment. "Your clone's a freakin' master at this eluding thing."

Rufus was already starting into the passage. "I'm not sure whether to agree or take that as a compliment," he remarked as the wall shut closed behind them.

The fires were growing into a burning prison with high walls and no exits. Cid couldn't run in any direction -- couldn't see anything clearly past the haze the fire created. He shook his head and reached into his pocket, pulling out a familiar, yellow Skill Materia. He inserted it into his bangle, an Aurora Armlet, and raised his arm. "Enemy Skill: Aqualung!"

Bubbles rose and burst around him, momentarily weakening the blazing inferno. He let out a string of curses and ran right through the wall of fire, Cait Sith wailing loudly from his perch on his shoulder. Cid fell to one knee as soon as he had cleared the fire, loosely grasping his Venus Gospel and panting heavily.

"GYA HA!" roared Heidegger's clone, directing his Proud Clod right in front of Cid. "You're mine, Highwind!!"

"Oh, shit. . .," mumbled the pilot, trying vainly to rise from his position. His other leg would not cooperate, leaving him writhing on the hangar floor.

"NO!"

Cid shot his head up again, looking for the source of the voice. His blue eyes found Reeve's struggling figure, dragging his bad leg behind him as he came towards the two. "Reeve! @(%&#, Reeve, get outta here before you're @$^@($*& killed!"

"That'd be a good idea!" piped Cait Sith. "But I'd prefer to stay alive myself!"

Reeve rasped for breath, sweat lingering on his brow from the physical strain the bullets and nearby flames had on him. "Let's end this now. . .," he declared, barely loud enough for Cid to catch. His Shinra Alpha bangle flared with the power of the Legacy Materia.

"Reeve, you little traitor, it's only fitting that you die first," came Heidegger's voice from the huge machine. With that said, a gigantic foot came up off the ground, preparing to drive down on the AVALANCHE spy.

The foot raced down at an alarming rate.

But Reeve, under a sudden, tranquil trance, simply raised his hand and allowed red tendrils of energy to explode at his feet.

"Spectral Judgment."

. . . . And the light of a thousand suns, compressed into a single beam of golden devastation, shot forward and engulfed the huge machine, forcing in backwards with such force that it spiraled out of control and into the far wall.

A huge explosion rocked the hangar following that.

"What . . . the. . . hell?"

Rufus stumbled and fell backwards into Cloud, cursing loudly and trying to regain his footing. "What is that?!" demanded the ex-President, turning to look at his companion with fiercely glowing blue eyes.

"Why are you asking me?" Cloud demanded in return, placing his arms on the sides of the narrow passage to brace himself. Several seconds later, the shaking finally stopped. ". . . I think it's over."

"Was it an earthquake?"

Cloud smiled wryly at his look-alike. "Knowing Shinra Incorporated, somehow I doubt that." With that said, he continued walking down the passageway.

Rufus frowned and narrowed his gaze. "What's *that* supposed to mean!?" he called, hurrying after the younger man.

He slammed the door to his car and assessed the intimidating form of the Shinra Building with shimmering green eyes. His two companions came to stand at his side, silently looking up at the dark building as well. It was the tallest of the three that ended the silence . . . for once. "Should we go?"

Reno Drannor smirked easily, resting his electrical nightstick on his shoulder. ". . . . Yeah. We'll take out all of AVALANCHE today."

Little did the three Turks know that they were walking right into Hell.

Cid finally got over his shock and launched himself at the ex-executive, who crumpled to the floor in excruciating pain upon finishing his newly-discovered Limit Break. "Damn, Reeve!" gasped the pilot, clapping the man on the shoulder a bit roughly. "That was something. . ."

Reeve fought against a spasm of pain and nodded, concentrating as hard as he could on the Restore Materia he had. Within moments, a greenish haze covered the bearded man, his wounds closing up magically. Weakened, Reeve could only lay where he had fallen as he awaited one of his companions to speak.

It was Cait Sith that spoke up, alarm evident in his voice. "Eeep! We forgot all about someone!!"

"Kya ha ha. . . The feline's correct," came Scarlet's voice, booming through the hangar. "I never thought that you AVALANCHE bastards would manage to destroy my beautiful Proud Clod Alpha. . ." There was a dramatic pause as the huge blue gear revealed machine guns and other types of weapons. "Well, just for that, I'll make sure your deaths are extremely painful and gory!"

Cid cursed and tried to stand up, but tumbled forward. His leg had frozen under him once again.

The three AVALANCHE members could only wait for the hail of gunfire.

Rufus blinked as he and Cloud reached the end of the passageway, stepping into the very place the Shinra clone had told them to meet. The cafeteria.

"Delayed by the earthquake, hmm?"

The two snapped their eyes onto the owner of the chilling voice, gazing upon the smirking Ruvus. He held a shotgun similar to that Rufus had used on top of the Shinra Building, gripping it loosely in one hand. The clone mocked his original's very style of fighting posture. Behind the white-clad young man lay Tifa, unconscious and crumpled into a limp heap.

"Glad to see you two," Ruvus drawled, running a hand through his perfectly-placed bangs.

"Give Tifa back, you damn clone!" Rufus growled, reaching back to pull free Ragnarok.

A dark chuckle erupted from the other man, sharp blue eyes boldly staring back into Mako blue ones. "Trying to threaten in a situation where you hold no control?" he queried, amused by the very thought. "How stupid has Hojo's experiments made you?"

Rufus forced back the urge to dash forward and impale the man, gritting his teeth angrily. "You're not completely in control of this situation," he reminded, glaring.

"Now . . . that's where you're wrong."

The two young blondes tensed as they watched Ruvus reach into his pocket, pulling out an object that Cloud knew all too well. He paled and allowed his jaw to drop, his left arm twitching nervously at the sight of the item the President of Shinra Incorporated clutched in his left hand. Everything about the item screamed with corruption, threatening to consume or destroy anything it touched. It could very well destroy the planet around them.

. . . . And now, the evil clone of Rufus Shinra held that Materia.

. . . . The Black Materia.

. . . Now. . . You all must hate me for taking forever with this chapter, right? At least I didn't give up on it, though. I know of some writers that have just completely given up on stories because they had no interest in it anymore. Well, I'll be honest right now: I've been losing my inspiration for this story since the beginning of the year 2000, but I'll put all my heart into finishing "Merging Journeys" and "Rufus and Cloud." These two stories have lasted so long and . . . well, people want the endings. ^_^ RaC shouldn't take too long; I'll hopefully be done with it before school gets out on June 17.

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