Final Fantasy VII: Lifestream - Book 3: Pursuit

THIRTY-NINE

The first section of the cave seemed to be a small storage area, with a few stacks of wooden crates, metal beams along the ceiling, and what looked like a power generator of some kind set against the left wall. In front of it was a large hole with a ladder leading down. In the dim light, even I couldn't see what lay at the bottom. But I figured it must've been a deeper passageway. Cloud, Aerith, and Yuffie all peered into the dark with me while Grandfather hovered nearby.

"Spooky..." Yuffie shivered.

"Seems a little cold, too," Aerith added uneasily.

Grandfather chuckled. "Yes, and for a very good reason, as you will soon see. Down the ladder now, we still have far to go."

Looking down, I saw a wide rock ledge not too far away at the base of the ladder. While Cloud and the others starting climbing down and Grandfather floated carefully after them, I sprang past them in a single quick jump to the ledge before turning around to watch them descend. Having four legs can be advantageous, after all.

"Show off!" Yuffie quipped.

"Perhaps," I admitted, giving her a wide grin that showed plenty of teeth. "But no less than you, I'm certain."

Aerith giggled. "He's got a point, you know."

"Yeah, yeah..." Yuffie grumbled.

Another ladder went still deeper, to another ledge, and on we went for several minutes, slowly making our way further down more ledges that were set in a staggered formation across from one another as they descended further and further. At last, after perhaps fifteen minutes or so, we finally reached the bottom. It was darker down here, and the air felt heavier as well, filled with the scent of death. Although I smelled it much more than the others, we could all sense it.

A nearby opening lead into another, larger set of caves. I suspected we were far underground now, the winding passageways lit only by the faint glow of a luminescent moss that grew here and there on the walls. An eerie mist hung in the air, pale green but a different and fouler hue than the lifestream. Its icy chill went right through my fur and into my very bones. The others looked no more comfortable than I as we made our way slowly forward through the tunnels.

We hadn't gone far when some of the mist swirled together to form a pair of spectral, shrouded humanoid figures wielding spears. Undead warriors of some kind, bound to this place for reasons I did not know. I growled and launched myself at them as Cloud, Aerith, and Yuffie all attacked as well. The spirits fought back, deftly thrusting and spinning their spears, and their cold touch seemed to take some of the life from me when one of their weapons grazed my shoulder. I felt almost numb, but then a warm, soothing breeze washed over me.

"Stay strong, Red!" Aerith urged.

I nodded as her healing wind restored me. "I intend to."

Then she struck both spectres with a blast of lightning magic while Yuffie sliced them with her shuriken and Cloud cut through them with mighty swings of his two swords. I did likewise with my claws, adding a lightning spell of my own for good measure, and soon the spirits had been dispatched, vanishing into the mist with angry shrieks. Once they were gone, Grandfather moved up to rejoin us from where he had been waiting out the battle at safe distance. He guided us onward, and when we came to another connecting tunnel, he paused.

"Those were spirits of the Gi tribe," Grandfather explained. "They, like all the others bound in this cave, were killed in battle. One battle in particular, that is. One that few know was ever fought."

"Which battle?" I wondered.

He chuckled. "We'd best keep moving."

I didn't budge, however. "Grandfather, please. Tell me."