Crossed Fates

Chapter fourteen: What onces was shall be again.

Zell scratched his head as he looked up at the skyscraper. "You think she's in there somewhere?"

"Looks like the only place left."

"Okay then. Let's go!" He bounded up to the entrance. "It's dark and scary inside." He said in an impression of Selphie. He poked his head in and shouted "Hello in there!"

"Stop playing around Zell." Squall said. Cloud walked to the wall behind the reception desk and flicked the light switch to on. The back up generator whined, then kicked in. Dim light flooded the room. The computer beeped and Cloud glanced at the screen.

He bit his lip and Zell guessed that he wasn't really into the technical stuff. "Can I take a look at that?" He offered his help indirectly.

"Sure, if you can understand it."

He sat at the desk and stared at the blinking screen. He tapped on a few keys and a password screen popped up. "Aah here we go." He looked up at his spiky headed co-hort. "Any ideas on what this could be?"

"Sephiroth?"

"INCORRECT RESPONSE. PLEASE TRY AGAIN."

"Promised Land?"

"INCORRECT RESPONSE. PLEASE TRY AGAIN."

"Hojo?"

"INCORRECT RESPONSE. PLEASE TRY AGAIN."

"Black Materia?"

"INCORRECT RESPONSE. PLEASE TRY AGAIN."

"I can't think of anything else."

Zell leant forward and rested his chin in his hand. He absently tapped "H O T D O G."

"WELCOME TO THE SHINRA COMPUTER SYSTEMS, RECEPTIONIST EIGHT."

"You've got to be kidding me!" He said. "Oh well, we're in anyway." He set about re-routing the power from outside input to places that needed it. The light above them suddenly grew brighter. The elevators pinged and a map appeared on the screen. "According to this, only one of these elevators is safe. Although all the lights are on not all the power doors will open. We'll have to force some of them. Also, there are a lot of powerful monsters in some levels. Looks like the security system is down, can't get any pictures from the cameras. There's no sign of Karly or whoever she came to find. Do you think she might not have arrived yet?"

"It's possible." Cloud said.

At that point Squall looked up. At the top of the stairs stood a young woman with her arms folded across her chest. She gave him a smile and he tapped Zell on the shoulder. "What?"

"Look up Zell."

"Huh? How long have you been standing there?"

"Five or ten minutes. Long enough to watch you."

"You feeling any better?"

"Not really Zell, I'm still feeling a little mortal."

Cloud and the others walked up the stairs towards her. "Who are you looking for here Karly?"

"A friend of yours."

He thought for a second. "Who?"

"Reeve? You remember him don't you?"

"Reeve! The ShinRa spy? Sorry, I didn't mean to say that. He was alright in the end, I guess."

"He's in here somewhere. Problem is, I can't identify which floor I've got to check out each one in turn."

"That'll take ages!" Zell moaned.

"Maybe not." Cloud said. "If we split up again it'll only take half an age."

"Good idea." Karly said, "If we split up so that there is one GF user and one magic user it'll save the spells that Squall and Zell have stocked. We don't know if they can draw from the monsters so that would be the best course of action."

"Who's going with who?"

"I'll go with Cloud, if that's okay. I want to ask him some more questions about this world." Zell was thinking about Tifa and what she'd said. She reminded him so much of Rinoa, he didn't like to see her sad. He was determined to sort the pair of them out.

"I'm fine with it."

"I guess that means you and I are together Squall." He shrugged.

"If one group starts at the top and the other starts at the bottom, we can meet in the middle."

"Sure, we'll start down here, you gonna start upstairs?" Cloud asked. Squall nodded.

"Come on then Squall."

They took the one remaining working lift up to the top floor.

As the door opened, they could smell the metallic tang of blood in the air. Although the body of the president was gone, death hung all around them. "There's no one here."

"Downstairs then."


"Cloud, what's up between you and Tifa?"

"Tifa?"

"Yeah, pretty martial artist? Dark hair, brown eyes, short skirt and long legs?"

"What?"

"Don't worry, I'm not after her or something."

"Why, what's wrong with her?"

"Nothing, I've already got a girl waiting for me when I get back." He looked down at his gloves, pretending to check that they were strapped on tight enough. He half smiled at the thought of the new SeeD, he loved her more than his hotdogs. "Well, you haven't answered my question. I'm not gonna say anything, and I'll be out of here soon so just get it off your chest."

"She's... We grew up in the same village. I always loved her from afar... I left to join SOLDIER, didn't see her for five years. I couldn't remember my real life. I thought I'd found my true love when I found Aeris, but the more I think about it, about her, the more I wonder if I ever did love her. I took on my friend's personality, that friend happened to have dated Aeris and they were like the perfect match. Aeris would have been a friend or a sister to the real Cloud Strife, but nothing more."

"And your feelings for Tifa."

"I love her. I always have and I always will. I just haven't found the courage to tell her that."

From somewhere unseen a monster appeared and attacked them. As Zell delivered an attack to the monster he shouted back to Cloud: "Look man, you're both pining after each other. If you don't do something about it you're gonna regret it." He jumped back and allowed Cloud to slash at it.

"Maybe."

"Maybe? There's no maybe about it!"

"Whatever."

"Stop it. You sound like Squall doing that."

Cloud cast Ultima as Zell called Bahmut. After several rounds of this, the monster countered with 'Golden Beam'. The two men winced as the searing heat surrounded them.

Zell unleashed Dolphin Blow and several other limit attacks, which Cloud followed with Omnislash. "You know, that's just like one of Squall's."

"And yours are the spitting image of Tifa's."

"I'll take that as a compliment. But, she could probably beat me up."

Cloud laughed. "She could probably take us all on and still come out of it without even so much as a broken nail."

"Yeah! Will you talk to her before she tests out that theory on me?"


Karly and Squall had searched five floors by this time. "Did you find out anything interesting in the Lifestream?"

"Things that I'd forgotten or tried to forget."

"No clues?"

He glanced at her. "No, I'd rather keep them private."

"Okay, I won't pry." She looked up where various vines had grown up to a room on the level above that they hadn't been able to reach, the door had buckled and they hadn't been able to force it. A gaping hole in the ceiling provided access. "I'm going to take a look up there."

"Will you be okay?"

"I was climbing trees when I was three years old, I can do it. And besides, you can catch me if I fall."

He nodded. "I don't have much choice, do I?"

"Nope, I've got a very strong will." She unbuckled the belt which held her katana and offered it to him. "Can you hold this?"

"What happened to the Masamune?"

"It's very similar to the one that Sephiroth used to kill Aeris, I didn't want to hurt Cloud's feelings so I swapped it." She began to climb the vines. "Besides, I can use more than just swords. I'm okay at fist fights, guns, staffs and stuff, great at air weapons, most ones you can think of. I can even use a gunblade."

He was taken aback a little. "Gunblades?"

She looked back down. "Gunblades Squall. That thing in the sheath that you're wearing?" She peered into the room. "Shit!" She cried out as a beam of hot white light narrowly missed her head. She ducked back down and lost her footing. She kept hold and hung there for a moment by one hand. In that moment she reminded him of someone. She swung back towards the thicker of the vines and scrambled down it. "We should run right about now."

"Why?"

A stench began to fill the air, somewhere between the smell of rotting flesh and something extremely sickening. Red vines snaked out from the hole in the roof. They dropped onto the floor in front of them, continuing to grow and grow. As Squall drew his gunblade, one lashed out and wrapped around the blade of the Lion Heart. He tossed the katana to Karly and she drew it immediately, cutting the vegetation from his gunblade. "So do you want to ask why again?"

Slowly, the mass of vegetable matter began to grow. It screeched and from it's dark surface emerged faces, and each visage was locked in a soundless scream. One massive eye opened from a stalk and rolled around to look at them. Squall swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat. It cracked a vine like a whip at them. "Well Karly?"

"Well what?"

"Do we stand and fight or avoid this thing?"

She smiled and cast aura on him. He shrugged and launced into Renzokuken. She called out 'Sense' and gasped. "Holy shit Squall! This thing's got upwards of a million health points."

"It's just going to be a little more of a challenge then." She cast double, followed by haste, shell and protect. Squall continued to use his Renzokuken until it ran out, then he threw Ultima at it.

She held up a tiny red orb. "I summon the power of the knights of the round!" She shouted. The room turned black and King Arthur's knights came to aid the two warriors. Arthur rounded off their efforts with a strike from the mighty Excalibur.

"What was that?"

"A summon attack from this world. Rather strong, don't you think?"

He nodded. "Using materia, it seems simpler than the guardian forces." Shiva gave him a mental kick. "But I still wouldn't give up the GFs."

"Aura!" She shouted again. The golden light covered both of them. The monster lashed out and caught Squall on the shoulder. It's barbs dug into the leather of his jacket. They scratched his skin and the monster's poison sank into his flesh. He winced and she threw him a remedy. He swallowed the contents of the bottle. The creature tried to pull Squall towards itself. He shrugged the coat off and the creature tossed it aside. As he tried the Lion Heart attack, he was knocked backwards. He landed on his feet and used a hi-potion. "You alright over there?"

"I'm fine."

"Okay then." She drew a gunblade from nowhere, the likes of which he had never seen before. She held it in her right hand and in her left a circular object appeared. It almost looked like the 'Shooting Star' that had belonged to Rinoa. The wings were larger and made of some sort of black coloured metal. The ring they were based on was narrow enough to hold in her hand. It was around the same size as the Shooting Star. She closed her eyes and crossed her wrists above her heart, still holding the weapons. She whispered two words that he did not hear: "Love's honour." She threw the air weapon, named the Dark Star, high into the air. The monster watched the weapon as it soared, then stopped and hovered. It was still watching it as Karly launched her gunblade attack. She plunged the gunblade up to the hilt into the monsters core and pulled the trigger. She withdrew as the monster howled in pain and moved back to her original position. The Dark Star bore down into the thing before them. She motioned it to return and it flew straight to her hand. She returned the weapons to wherever they had come from.

The monster cast some form of cure on itself and regained half it's health. Squall sighed and Karly shook her head in disbelief.


And so the battle had continued for an hour or more. Now Squall was clutching at a gash on the left hand side of his chest and Karly was trying to stem the flow of blood from a shoulder wound, they were both struggling to stay standing. There was only one chance left. Karly threw her final watcher's limit break at the creature, "HEAVEN'S LIGHT, HELL'S FLAMES." An unearthly light filled the room, searing the surface of everything, Squall was protected by a shield around Karly and himself that she had created. Then the ground below the creature split apart and white hot sparks flew out. Ruby and amber flames rose from the crack and engulfed the monster. "Squall, attack now before it can regenerate!"

As exhaustion was fighting to overcome him, he held his gunblade out straight and looked right down the blade. "Darkened Heart." He whispered. His eyes flashed and for a second they were Greiver's. He threw himself into the attack. His first strike was for his mother, Raine. A downward slash for the rain that had been the tears from her eyes, the rain that had been her name and the inspiration for his. The second was for Zell, the blow flying up for that was the way Zell had bought him when he was in the depths of despair. Then came Selphie, Irvine and Quistis as the third, fourth and fifth. For they had kept him there, pulling him this way and that, as were his strikes, for they had stopped him from falling again. Then came Cid and Edea, those who had raised him, and knew him better even than the strike that followed, his father Laguna to take him to the eighth attack. Upwards for those he cherished and down for the final one. Ellone followed as he jumped and slashed. He landed behind the monster and struck for Seifer. Dishonourable and in the back as had been his style. Ultimecia came after him. Squall stood before the monster once again. The last but one strike threw the creature high in the air, that for the light hearted Rinoa, who had given him wings. The final strike was for the one who had suffered the pain of loosing so much that he had gained in life, the last strike was for him, for the Squall Leonhart whose heart had darkened with this pain. It drove the beast down to the ground.

He had used the last of his strength. He couldn't have attacked again if he'd wanted to. Dropping to one knee he stared upwards in wonder.

What ever the thing that faced them was, it was still standing. Karly, overcome by her anger and a haste spell ran at it before it could summon the power to heal itself held up a yellow orb then ran at it, performing Quadra Cut. Her katana was buried deep within the vile form as it died. The explosion of it's disappearance was incredibly violent, throwing her high into the air. She was flung backwards, and fell against Squall. Suddenly the stench had gone. "We did it." She mumbled then laughed. "We did it Squall!" They were both lying flat out on the floor. "Are you okay?"

"I'm exhausted."

"Same here." He looked down into her emerald eyes for just a moment too long. There was something deeply familiar about the young looking woman, not from when he had seen her at various points throughout his life. He could not remember why though. She rolled over onto her side to look at him. "I can hardly move, I want to stay like this until morning." She whispered with her eyes closed. He murmured in agreement. "Oh yeah." She kissed him gently on the cheek. "Thanks for catching me." He blinked in surprise.

"Huh?"

"You caught me. When it exploded, I sort of fell on you."

"Oh." He bit his lip. "You're welcome, I guess."

"Thank you." She looked into the ice-cold blue eyes and watched them soften a little. He moved closer to her, then their lips touched. A gentle kiss at first that grew more and more passionate. His arms snaked around her waist and she reached around his shoulders. The warmth of his body filled a hole in her heart, and he hadn't realised how much he needed the physical contact of a kiss or an embrace. Neither of them were sure who broke off the kiss first.

He buried his head into her shoulder and tightened his embrace. She stroked his hair gently, then touched one hand to her cheek. It came away wet with tears. Then it dawned on her that she wasn't the only one.

Squall's shoulders shook slightly, so softly you'd hardly notice. "Squall?"

He answered with a sigh.

"What is this?"

"I don't know."

"Can I rationalise it as two people who've both seen too much pain comforting each other?"

"That sounds like as good an excuse as any."

"I just want to stay like this until morning."

"Okay." He mumbled, already half asleep.

Authors notes.

Now now girls, calm down and don't try and kill me. This is a really important part of the story line. You'll find out more as I go along on this twisting (or should that be twisted?) road towards my final chapter. Any responses? Email nicola.wilcox@talk21.com and I'll chat back.