Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Counterfeit God; Part I ❯ Chapter 13
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Shiratori-Strife Inc 
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Drama / Adventure / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 10.08.2006 | Pages: 3 | Words: 2.5K | Visits: 172 | Status: Completed
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Drama / Adventure / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 10.08.2006 | Pages: 3 | Words: 2.5K | Visits: 172 | Status: Completed
13
---
Sighing heavily as the obnoxiously loud knock came again, Morghann slammed her book closed and marched towards the door, looking more irritated than relaxed. She opened it calmly enough, but the sight before her made her freeze up. Cid’s warnings about keeping to herself while she was alone hadn’t been enough. This man claiming to work for God had obviously been able to sense her connection to the Lifestream. Her blood ran cold. That’s what Vincent had been warning Sirius about. Not that it mattered now; it was already too late, so it seemed.
“What do you want?” Her sapphire eyes focused on his staff for a moment before returning to his crude face. Nobunaga Eko merely smirked, motioning the two men who had accompanied him forward to grab her arms.
“Let me go!”
“Let me first tell you that, if you give up the evil that consumes you, God will have mercy,”
“What the hell are you talking about?!”
“You shall see in due time, my child!” The grips on her arms were tight enough, hard enough, to bruise. Squirming and struggling, she fought against them the entire way into town. The villagers had already been informed apparently and were all gathering around a large circular stone thing in the center of the square. Judging by the bench in the center of it, Morghann knew she was in for serious trouble.
Was that what had happened to Shera? Was that why she was missing? She’d been tortured because of her refusal to join him and obey him?
“Now,” He waited until she was shackled to the bench and could not move before he started his speech. “I’ve been searching for you for a very long time, my dear. I have always known that God would lead you to me in Rocket Town. I will give you a chance to relinquish your power unto me, or you will face the Lord’s wrath.”
“I will not help you destroy this world. I will not help you kill people out of some sick and twisted revenge scheme. I will not give you anything of myself!”
“Ah, I see,” He looked towards the two men that had accompanied him and then smiled as he lifted his hands. “Eventually she will see her mistake. Eventually she will feel God’s Punishment,” He tilted his staff until it pointed threateningly at her stomach. “You will feel his anger as that child dies inside of you, consumed by the darkness that has already consumed you. If, in two days time, you have not forsaken evil, you will be judged by fire,”
He wanted her to attack him, to lash out with the power of the Lifestream. She knew that, but he was threatening her child’s life! Morghann glared at him, her sapphire eyes hardening to a flat blue. Her fingers tingled as she reached for the Lifestream but, it refused her call for power. Her eyes closed. Thank you…
He wouldn’t get what he wanted out of her, but she desperately prayed that someone would get to her before her time was up. Reno…help us!
---
“So what exactly are we doing?”
Cloud glanced at Reno over his shoulder and motioned him to be quiet. “Rufus needed a favor,”
“And you accepted it? I thought you were through with that?”
“Let’s just say that we have a mutual agreement on this one. You remember Nobunaga Eko?”
“Yeah, I remember that bastard, yo!” Reno spat at the ground as they moved further into the Shinra hangar. The helicopter was just ahead of them and it was obvious now why Cloud had insisted that Reno accompany him on whatever mission this was; he needed a pilot.
Two hours later, however, while they were flying over the ocean that separated the East and West Continents, Reno started to doubt this mission. “We’re going to Rocket Town?”
“Yes,”
“Why?”
Cloud continued to stare out through the window. “Two days ago, Rufus called me for a favor. Nobunaga Eko is alive. I don’t know who this scientist is, but I know he’s trouble. Vincent warned us about him as well, but he wouldn’t go into detail.”
“Good old Vincent, ever so cryptic,” But Reno’s mood turned suddenly sour. “That son of a bitch is in Rocket Town?! If that’s true, why the hell did Cid leave Morghann alone when he was around?!”
“She can’t risk flying. Reno, who is he?”
Reno hesitated while he silently fumed over the whole ordeal. “He was the bastard that killed her family because of their connection to the Lifestream.”
The look Cloud gave him wasn’t one Reno had cared to see. “She’s in danger, isn’t she?”
“Yes,”
---
On the ground I lay
Motionless in pain
I can see my life
Flashing before my eyes
Did I fall asleep?
Is this all a dream?
Wake me up!
I’m living a nightmare
I will not die
(I will not die)
I will survive!
Two days without food and water was taking its toll and it was taking it quick. Morghann was so weak it was almost impossible to move. Eko’s constant torture wasn’t helping either.
What was worse, her baby hadn’t moved since noon the day before. No kicks, no turns, nothing. Morghann was fearing the worst, but the Lifestream still refused her the energy she needed to put an end to her misery. It wouldn’t let her kill this bastard and die in peace. Even still, the torture wasn’t as bad as everything else. Late last night, Eko had shown her what had happened to Shera, and it was amazing the woman was even still alive. Eko obviously didn’t like that she hadn’t died yet; his frustration had been apparent. Shera’s will to live was too strong for Eko’s evil to counteract. Even his “God” couldn’t kill her.
But she was miserable. Her body was in such horrible shape…
Morghann turned her thoughts away from the sight as she looked towards the building where Shera was being held. How much longer could the woman hold on while she waited for Cid to come and rescue her? How long could she wait for Reno to come and save her? Tears streamed down her face suddenly. Was it already too late?
Reno…I can’t feel the baby…!
“Your time is up, Sinner Against God,”
---
On this bed I lay
Losing everything
I can see my life
Passing me by
Was it all too much?
Or just not enough?
Wake me up!
I’m living a nightmare!
I will not die
(I will not die)
I will survive!
The light was torture enough to her eyes. After having endured eight days of scorching sunlight, followed by weeks in total darkness, and now the artificial night of this cramped, humid, and stuffy old bedroom, her eyes were taking a beating. Shera shivered though she couldn’t feel the cold coming in from the open windows. Too much had happened to her body during the last several weeks that she couldn’t feel it anymore. She wasn’t paralyzed, but she was no longer in control.
Her body had endured too much, and she’d seen the results. Since then, her will to live had been shaken greatly. Cid wouldn’t want her anymore. Not with a body beyond repair. But when she’d seen Morghann…she’d had a little hope. Morghann’s defiance had been encouraging to say the least. But after two days of the same continued torture, it seemed as if that hope was dwindling.
What was taking them so long to be rescued? Did Cid and Reno not know? Did they not care?
Cid, maybe, because she hadn’t really been too sure about his feelings towards her, but Reno? With Morghann so heavily pregnant? No, Reno cared too much to just leave her sitting out there in the cold with no food or water…
“I won’t die…” She rasped, hardly recognizing her own voice. “I will survive…”
---
I will not die!
I’ll wait here for you
I feel alive
When you’re beside me
I will not die
I’ll wait here for you
In my time of Dying…!
I will not die
I’ll wait here for you
I will not die
When you’re beside me!
I will not die
I’ll wait here for you
In my time of Dying…!
“Quickly!” Tseng ordered as he motioned Reno and Cloud towards him. “Keep low and keep quiet,”
Reno slid to a stop by him, a wild, predatory look in his eyes. He could see the altar in the center of the square and he could see Morghann, hunched over and near death in the center of it.
Immediately, Tseng and Cloud pressed him into the ground. “Quiet!” Tseng hissed. “We have to wait until Elena has Shera…”
“She’s dying!”
“Reno,” Cloud inched forward, feeling the anger rising in him. Sirius hadn’t taken the news well, and if they didn’t get Morghann home alive, he could only imagine what would happen. The two were like sisters and if something happened to the other…one of them would lose it completely.
“Is that him?” Cloud suddenly asked, turning his head towards Tseng the slightest little bit.
“Yeah, that’s Eko,” Tseng reached for his radio. “Elena, have you secured Shera yet?”
“Yeah, but she’s not doing so good. I’m getting her to the copter as quickly as I can. You had better move in fast, Morghann isn’t going to last much longer. Something’s up. The villagers are gone, Tseng…They’ve all left,”
“Move in!” Tseng ordered.
---
“Can you hear me, Morghann Matthews?” Kneeling down in front of her, Eko smirked. “My plans have changed. As you were hoping, your friends have arrived. Not that it matters, I’ve already come too far to let them stop me now. Having your power would have been a great big step towards my ultimate goal, but, as you can see, that’s not happening this time around. But I have a better idea for your power anyway. Ah, they’re coming,”
“R-RENO!”
Eko merely smiled. “Let us pray to God that your lover will reach you in time,” Lifting his staff, he pointed it at the far end of the circular altar where it shot upwards in a straight angle towards a pot of oil. His staff glowed and the oil poured down the shaft and filled the arches and ridges that circled around her until it stopped just inside the circle where she sat. “You’re losing strength. The Lifestream won’t help you this time. You’re near death…I imagine the heat of the flames will knock you unconscious long before they actually touch your skin. Good luck to you, Morghann. I look forward to stealing your strength at a later date.” He took a step back and smirked. “It’s such a pity about that baby. He would have made such a lovely addition to my little collection,”
Morghann whimpered, but her strength was already gone. Before the flames even started racing towards her, she was gone.
---
“MORGHANN!” Reno ignored the flames that were surrounding her and jumped into the circle, breaking the shackles that held her as quickly and as carefully as he could. “Morghann, talk to me! Morghann!”
“Reno, quickly!” Tseng urged as Cloud doused the flames and made a quick sweep in search of Eko.
“The Materia and Mako he gathered is gone,” Elena announced as she returned from the helicopter where she’d left Shera. “She’s in bad shape,” Her lip quivered as she glanced at Morghann and then suddenly froze. “Reno, she’s bleeding!”
“We have to go, now!” Cloud hauled Reno to his feet and nudged him forward. It didn’t take much to get Reno to understand that if they didn’t hurry, he’d lose both his lover and his child before either of them even knew each other. Once they were all safely on board, Cloud gave the town one last fleeting look in hopes of spotting their enemy.
But Eko was already gone.
---
Reno paced back and forth in the lobby, losing his mind, fretting over everything, snapping at everyone. Two hours. Morghann had been in the ER for two hours and there was still no word. Was she all right? Was the baby ok? Would either of them live?
Thinking about that made him stop, and when he stopped he saw the blood on his clothes…and fought the urge to be violently sick. He almost didn’t make it to the garbage can in time.
“Hey!” Sirius had just arrived with the others and, much to Cloud’s surprise, she ignored his presence completely for the time being and went straight to Reno. “Take off the jacket, Reno,”
When he complied, Sirius threw the soiled, bloodied thing away and touched his shoulder. “Reno, tell me what’s going on?”
“I don’t know what’s going on!” He was crying, but not crying really. “She…she looked so bad…I thought she’d be ok but…she started bleeding…It was everywhere…”
“Reno, is she in surgery? Are they taking the baby?”
“I don’t know! No one will tell me anything!” Covering his face in his hands, Reno wept as if it was all he could do. And it probably was.
“Cloud?” Sirius looked up at him, her face pale. “Cloud, they shouldn’t be taking this long!”
---
End Chapter
---
Sighing heavily as the obnoxiously loud knock came again, Morghann slammed her book closed and marched towards the door, looking more irritated than relaxed. She opened it calmly enough, but the sight before her made her freeze up. Cid’s warnings about keeping to herself while she was alone hadn’t been enough. This man claiming to work for God had obviously been able to sense her connection to the Lifestream. Her blood ran cold. That’s what Vincent had been warning Sirius about. Not that it mattered now; it was already too late, so it seemed.
“What do you want?” Her sapphire eyes focused on his staff for a moment before returning to his crude face. Nobunaga Eko merely smirked, motioning the two men who had accompanied him forward to grab her arms.
“Let me go!”
“Let me first tell you that, if you give up the evil that consumes you, God will have mercy,”
“What the hell are you talking about?!”
“You shall see in due time, my child!” The grips on her arms were tight enough, hard enough, to bruise. Squirming and struggling, she fought against them the entire way into town. The villagers had already been informed apparently and were all gathering around a large circular stone thing in the center of the square. Judging by the bench in the center of it, Morghann knew she was in for serious trouble.
Was that what had happened to Shera? Was that why she was missing? She’d been tortured because of her refusal to join him and obey him?
“Now,” He waited until she was shackled to the bench and could not move before he started his speech. “I’ve been searching for you for a very long time, my dear. I have always known that God would lead you to me in Rocket Town. I will give you a chance to relinquish your power unto me, or you will face the Lord’s wrath.”
“I will not help you destroy this world. I will not help you kill people out of some sick and twisted revenge scheme. I will not give you anything of myself!”
“Ah, I see,” He looked towards the two men that had accompanied him and then smiled as he lifted his hands. “Eventually she will see her mistake. Eventually she will feel God’s Punishment,” He tilted his staff until it pointed threateningly at her stomach. “You will feel his anger as that child dies inside of you, consumed by the darkness that has already consumed you. If, in two days time, you have not forsaken evil, you will be judged by fire,”
He wanted her to attack him, to lash out with the power of the Lifestream. She knew that, but he was threatening her child’s life! Morghann glared at him, her sapphire eyes hardening to a flat blue. Her fingers tingled as she reached for the Lifestream but, it refused her call for power. Her eyes closed. Thank you…
He wouldn’t get what he wanted out of her, but she desperately prayed that someone would get to her before her time was up. Reno…help us!
---
“So what exactly are we doing?”
Cloud glanced at Reno over his shoulder and motioned him to be quiet. “Rufus needed a favor,”
“And you accepted it? I thought you were through with that?”
“Let’s just say that we have a mutual agreement on this one. You remember Nobunaga Eko?”
“Yeah, I remember that bastard, yo!” Reno spat at the ground as they moved further into the Shinra hangar. The helicopter was just ahead of them and it was obvious now why Cloud had insisted that Reno accompany him on whatever mission this was; he needed a pilot.
Two hours later, however, while they were flying over the ocean that separated the East and West Continents, Reno started to doubt this mission. “We’re going to Rocket Town?”
“Yes,”
“Why?”
Cloud continued to stare out through the window. “Two days ago, Rufus called me for a favor. Nobunaga Eko is alive. I don’t know who this scientist is, but I know he’s trouble. Vincent warned us about him as well, but he wouldn’t go into detail.”
“Good old Vincent, ever so cryptic,” But Reno’s mood turned suddenly sour. “That son of a bitch is in Rocket Town?! If that’s true, why the hell did Cid leave Morghann alone when he was around?!”
“She can’t risk flying. Reno, who is he?”
Reno hesitated while he silently fumed over the whole ordeal. “He was the bastard that killed her family because of their connection to the Lifestream.”
The look Cloud gave him wasn’t one Reno had cared to see. “She’s in danger, isn’t she?”
“Yes,”
---
On the ground I lay
Motionless in pain
I can see my life
Flashing before my eyes
Did I fall asleep?
Is this all a dream?
Wake me up!
I’m living a nightmare
I will not die
(I will not die)
I will survive!
Two days without food and water was taking its toll and it was taking it quick. Morghann was so weak it was almost impossible to move. Eko’s constant torture wasn’t helping either.
What was worse, her baby hadn’t moved since noon the day before. No kicks, no turns, nothing. Morghann was fearing the worst, but the Lifestream still refused her the energy she needed to put an end to her misery. It wouldn’t let her kill this bastard and die in peace. Even still, the torture wasn’t as bad as everything else. Late last night, Eko had shown her what had happened to Shera, and it was amazing the woman was even still alive. Eko obviously didn’t like that she hadn’t died yet; his frustration had been apparent. Shera’s will to live was too strong for Eko’s evil to counteract. Even his “God” couldn’t kill her.
But she was miserable. Her body was in such horrible shape…
Morghann turned her thoughts away from the sight as she looked towards the building where Shera was being held. How much longer could the woman hold on while she waited for Cid to come and rescue her? How long could she wait for Reno to come and save her? Tears streamed down her face suddenly. Was it already too late?
Reno…I can’t feel the baby…!
“Your time is up, Sinner Against God,”
---
On this bed I lay
Losing everything
I can see my life
Passing me by
Was it all too much?
Or just not enough?
Wake me up!
I’m living a nightmare!
I will not die
(I will not die)
I will survive!
The light was torture enough to her eyes. After having endured eight days of scorching sunlight, followed by weeks in total darkness, and now the artificial night of this cramped, humid, and stuffy old bedroom, her eyes were taking a beating. Shera shivered though she couldn’t feel the cold coming in from the open windows. Too much had happened to her body during the last several weeks that she couldn’t feel it anymore. She wasn’t paralyzed, but she was no longer in control.
Her body had endured too much, and she’d seen the results. Since then, her will to live had been shaken greatly. Cid wouldn’t want her anymore. Not with a body beyond repair. But when she’d seen Morghann…she’d had a little hope. Morghann’s defiance had been encouraging to say the least. But after two days of the same continued torture, it seemed as if that hope was dwindling.
What was taking them so long to be rescued? Did Cid and Reno not know? Did they not care?
Cid, maybe, because she hadn’t really been too sure about his feelings towards her, but Reno? With Morghann so heavily pregnant? No, Reno cared too much to just leave her sitting out there in the cold with no food or water…
“I won’t die…” She rasped, hardly recognizing her own voice. “I will survive…”
---
I will not die!
I’ll wait here for you
I feel alive
When you’re beside me
I will not die
I’ll wait here for you
In my time of Dying…!
I will not die
I’ll wait here for you
I will not die
When you’re beside me!
I will not die
I’ll wait here for you
In my time of Dying…!
“Quickly!” Tseng ordered as he motioned Reno and Cloud towards him. “Keep low and keep quiet,”
Reno slid to a stop by him, a wild, predatory look in his eyes. He could see the altar in the center of the square and he could see Morghann, hunched over and near death in the center of it.
Immediately, Tseng and Cloud pressed him into the ground. “Quiet!” Tseng hissed. “We have to wait until Elena has Shera…”
“She’s dying!”
“Reno,” Cloud inched forward, feeling the anger rising in him. Sirius hadn’t taken the news well, and if they didn’t get Morghann home alive, he could only imagine what would happen. The two were like sisters and if something happened to the other…one of them would lose it completely.
“Is that him?” Cloud suddenly asked, turning his head towards Tseng the slightest little bit.
“Yeah, that’s Eko,” Tseng reached for his radio. “Elena, have you secured Shera yet?”
“Yeah, but she’s not doing so good. I’m getting her to the copter as quickly as I can. You had better move in fast, Morghann isn’t going to last much longer. Something’s up. The villagers are gone, Tseng…They’ve all left,”
“Move in!” Tseng ordered.
---
“Can you hear me, Morghann Matthews?” Kneeling down in front of her, Eko smirked. “My plans have changed. As you were hoping, your friends have arrived. Not that it matters, I’ve already come too far to let them stop me now. Having your power would have been a great big step towards my ultimate goal, but, as you can see, that’s not happening this time around. But I have a better idea for your power anyway. Ah, they’re coming,”
“R-RENO!”
Eko merely smiled. “Let us pray to God that your lover will reach you in time,” Lifting his staff, he pointed it at the far end of the circular altar where it shot upwards in a straight angle towards a pot of oil. His staff glowed and the oil poured down the shaft and filled the arches and ridges that circled around her until it stopped just inside the circle where she sat. “You’re losing strength. The Lifestream won’t help you this time. You’re near death…I imagine the heat of the flames will knock you unconscious long before they actually touch your skin. Good luck to you, Morghann. I look forward to stealing your strength at a later date.” He took a step back and smirked. “It’s such a pity about that baby. He would have made such a lovely addition to my little collection,”
Morghann whimpered, but her strength was already gone. Before the flames even started racing towards her, she was gone.
---
“MORGHANN!” Reno ignored the flames that were surrounding her and jumped into the circle, breaking the shackles that held her as quickly and as carefully as he could. “Morghann, talk to me! Morghann!”
“Reno, quickly!” Tseng urged as Cloud doused the flames and made a quick sweep in search of Eko.
“The Materia and Mako he gathered is gone,” Elena announced as she returned from the helicopter where she’d left Shera. “She’s in bad shape,” Her lip quivered as she glanced at Morghann and then suddenly froze. “Reno, she’s bleeding!”
“We have to go, now!” Cloud hauled Reno to his feet and nudged him forward. It didn’t take much to get Reno to understand that if they didn’t hurry, he’d lose both his lover and his child before either of them even knew each other. Once they were all safely on board, Cloud gave the town one last fleeting look in hopes of spotting their enemy.
But Eko was already gone.
---
Reno paced back and forth in the lobby, losing his mind, fretting over everything, snapping at everyone. Two hours. Morghann had been in the ER for two hours and there was still no word. Was she all right? Was the baby ok? Would either of them live?
Thinking about that made him stop, and when he stopped he saw the blood on his clothes…and fought the urge to be violently sick. He almost didn’t make it to the garbage can in time.
“Hey!” Sirius had just arrived with the others and, much to Cloud’s surprise, she ignored his presence completely for the time being and went straight to Reno. “Take off the jacket, Reno,”
When he complied, Sirius threw the soiled, bloodied thing away and touched his shoulder. “Reno, tell me what’s going on?”
“I don’t know what’s going on!” He was crying, but not crying really. “She…she looked so bad…I thought she’d be ok but…she started bleeding…It was everywhere…”
“Reno, is she in surgery? Are they taking the baby?”
“I don’t know! No one will tell me anything!” Covering his face in his hands, Reno wept as if it was all he could do. And it probably was.
“Cloud?” Sirius looked up at him, her face pale. “Cloud, they shouldn’t be taking this long!”
---
End Chapter