The Story of Victoria Strife

Chapter 11: The Lure of Darkness

The mansion's eerie silence was shattered by the groan of creaking wood as Cloud stirred on the floor. His head pounded, a dull throb pulsing behind his eyes as he blinked away the fog in his mind. The sleeping gas had worn off, leaving his limbs heavy and his movements sluggish.

"Everyone... awake?" he muttered, pushing himself up to a sitting position, his voice rough. He glanced around the room, seeing his teammates slowly regaining consciousness, still sprawled across the floor where they'd fallen.

Tifa was the next to sit up, rubbing her temples as she winced. "What the hell was that?" she asked, her voice tinged with concern as she scanned the room, counting heads. "Everyone okay?"

Barret grunted from a corner, pulling himself to his feet with a groggy shake of his head. "Gas," he muttered, flexing his arms as if testing his strength. "Caught us off guard."

Reeve was the last to rise, his brow furrowed with frustration. "We should've been more prepared," he said, his voice quiet but firm. "Someone attacked us. And Victoria—" His voice faltered as he realized she wasn't there.

Cloud's stomach sank as he suddenly remembered the library, the confrontation, and the last moments before everything went dark. "Victoria," he whispered urgently, rising to his feet. "She's gone. He took her."

"He?" Tifa's eyes widened. "Sephiroth?"

Cloud nodded grimly, his jaw tight. "He was here. I should've sensed it sooner."

Before anyone could respond, there was a sharp knock on the mansion door. Everyone tensed immediately, hands reaching for weapons as they exchanged wary glances.

"I'll get it," Barret grunted, moving toward the door with his gun arm raised, ready for a fight.

As the heavy door creaked open, the sight on the other side wasn't what any of them expected. Three figures stood in the doorway, their silver hair gleaming in the dim light, their expressions calm but unreadable. Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo—the remnants—stood in a triangular formation, their posture relaxed yet charged with a dangerous energy.

Barret's grip on his gun tightened. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Cloud stepped forward, his hand instinctively moving to the hilt of his sword, his eyes narrowing as he met Kadaj's gaze. "What do you want?"

Kadaj raised his hands slightly in a gesture of peace, his tone unexpectedly calm. "We're not here to fight, Cloud. Not this time."

Tifa moved to Cloud's side, her brow furrowed in suspicion. "Then why are you here?"

Kadaj took a step forward, his eyes shifting to meet each member of Avalanche as if carefully gauging their reactions. "We're here because of Victoria."

Yazoo, standing just behind Kadaj, spoke next, his voice smooth and almost too calm. "She's in more danger than you realize. Sephiroth isn't the only one after her."

The tension in the room spiked, Cloud's grip tightening on his sword as the mention of Sephiroth's name stirred the ever-present anger inside him. "What do you mean?"

Kadaj's expression turned serious, and he glanced over at Loz, who stepped forward, his voice low and gravelly. "Victoria's power... it's not just from Shinra. It's something else, something older. And Deepground—they're after it, too."

Reeve stepped forward, his eyes narrowing with a mix of curiosity and wariness. "Deepground? Are you saying they're involved?"

Kadaj nodded. "Deepground, Genesis, Shinra, and Sephiroth—they're all tied together in this. And they all want the same thing: Victoria."