A Touching Reunion

The upper labs were a mess, blocked by piles of debris. Due to Red XIII's agility and Barret's strength, however, they were able to move through it speedily.

"Nice job!" Barret said enthusiastically, holding out his hand to the beast. Red looked at him impatiently, finally slapping him on the arm with his flaming tail before walking off.

"Shit—what the hell Red!?" Barret complained, rubbing his burned arm. As they worked their way to the elevator. As they entered, Cloud noticed a small black feather flying through the air and falling to the floor. Cloud looked at it, disquieted as they rode to the sixty-eighth floor.

The next floor was a mass of cameras and tubes, built around a structure in the center. The heroes looked at it, their mouths agape.

"Hell is this place?" Barret asked.

"Hojo's treasure. Shinra's dark secret," Red responded.

"What I wouldn't give to burn it all down… but we need to get to the roof," Barret said, almost unnerved himself. Cloud saw a huge capsule, with a vaguely humanoid creature inside. It was vaguely feminine, but horrifically disfigured and oddly almost ... alien. Above it read the inscription "Jenova."

"Jenova," Aerith said, her eyes narrowing. Cloud rubbed his head, as the pounding resumed, an acute migraine. He had visions ... Sephiroth descending from the sky to approach Jenova ... telling her "Mother ... Together we will reclaim the world." And then Tifa, mourning over her father ... "I'm sick of this! I'm sick of all of this!" Then picking up the katana lying on the floor and climbing the stairs.

"Cloud?" Tifa asked. But unbelievably, impossibly, Sephiroth was there, at the center of it all. Cloud walked towards him slowly.

"Tell me. Is it really you?" Cloud asked, fingering the hilt of his blade, as the migraine spiked.

"Don't deny me. Embrace me, fuckpuppet," Sephiroth said, his voice low and seductive. It confused Cloud, but he shook his head. This bastard was a murderer. He drew his sword, running swiftly towards Sephiroth.

"Cloud!" Aerith cried out.

With a single swing of the Masamune, Sephiroth cleaved the bridge in two. Cloud leapt, swinging his thick blade, only to be blocked easily by Sephiroth. His hero smirked, knowing gravity would do its job, and that he only had the time for a few words.

"A touching reunion," he said simply, as Cloud plunged into the depths of the central core. Meanwhile Hojo watched on the cameras, spellbound.

"Very, very good! And thus is the hypothesis proven correct! I can only hope you will continue not to disappoint ... but ... you may need some assistance," Hojo said frowning. He packed a small bag, leaving through a shortcut exit to the bowels of the lab.