Ka-tet - Todash Midgar

Cloud walked on with his head hanging low. The darkness was all around them now, they could feel its presence more clearly than before.

Roland stopped walking and looked around. "Something sent us here, and I think I might know what did. I have a feeling that this is the doing of Flagg."

Alucard tossed a stick. "What makes you say that?"

"I mentioned earlier that I've gone todash before. I was sent by an ancient magical artifact we referred to as 'the grapefruit'. It was a pink crystal ball, forged along with twelve other colored glass balls by the wizard Maerlyn himself. They would come to be known as "Maerlyn's Rainbow" in many legends. They each had the power to see things, be it past, present, or future. Unfortunately, the power of these crystal balls caused great madness and addiction in those who used them."

The gunslinger took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I was affected as well, and the ball would send my weakening mind and body todash quite frequently. Based on what we have experienced so far, I would say that we are without a doubt in the same state. But the grapefruit that plagued me is nothing compared to what sent us here, if my fears are indeed true."

Link held up his hands. "If it's just another part of the Rainbow, then what makes it so much worse?"

"Because," said Roland as he took out a cigarette. "Black Thirteen is the most powerful and sinister of them all."

Three pairs of boots clacked against the hard dirt of the road. The air around their owners tightened and warped. The char-tet were miles ahead of the ka-tet, far past the town of Calla Brynn Sturgis. Randall Flagg, wearing jeans and a denim jacket with a bloodied smiley face attached to it, walked in the middle. The King of Evil on his left, the One Winged Angel on his right.

"Why do we have to walk, we could easily open a portal at any time," grumbled Ganondorf. Flagg stopped walking, placed a hand on his shoulder, and gave his wide creepy smile.

"The White's fools are too close for us to risk detection. You continue to underestimate your adversary's powers, even if he is just a boy. He's bested you many times, and he's even more powerful now than he was before. Being with the gunslinger has given him the Touch, and if we open a portal or so much as cast a curse at this distance, he'll pick up on it."

Flagg sent a small charge of electricity through his hand into Ganondorf's shoulder. The King of Evil made a small groan of pain and tensed under the burn. Flagg stopped and withdrew his hand.

"So we walk, king. Hee hee hee!" Flagg jumped and clicked his heels, tittering as he started a slow near-skip down the road.

Back in Todash Midgar, the ka-tet stood in the ruins leading up to the abandoned church. Cloud had suggested that they pay it a visit, maybe try to see if they could actually take his materia stash back with them.

As they approached the church, Link began to hear a faint noise. It sounded like humming, but as they got closer, it became singing. The rest of the ka-tet heard it too by the time they arrived at the great wooden doors.

"Something's changed. You guys hear that…singing?" said Cloud. The others nodded and when Cloud opened the door, they understood everything.

In the middle of Cloud's flower garden lie the rose, the same one that Tifa had ordered the ex-Turks to defend not even three hours prior. The voices multiplied as they walked towards the rose. Ten became twenty, twenty became two hundred, and two hundred became two thousand. They gaped in awe it the beauty of the rose, their eyes bulging with pure admiration as the rose unfolded its pedals and revealed the bright ball of light at its center.

"The sun of this world. No, of all worlds…" the gunslinger whispered, unaware that he was thinking aloud. They kneeled in a circle around the rose and sat silently, appreciating the divine power before them. The rose was the deepest red any of them had ever seen, with a small splash of purple on one of the pedals.

Alucard forcibly turned his head away so he could speak, "This rose is…clearly important to our cause. But we have to get out of here, I've been sensing something evil since we appeared and I don't want to lead it here."

Roland knew the rose was connected to the Tower. The more he thought about it, the more he became hooked on the idea that this rose was the Tower. An avatar of it for this world, this level. If the rose met an ill fate, surely the Tower would suffer.

Roland rose to his knees, wincing as they cracked like gunshots, and made circle motions with his hand. "Alucard is right. This rose must never be harmed, but we need to leave. Grab your material Cloud so we can leave."

Cloud was tempted to correct Roland's mispronunciation when a few gunshots from outside the church stopped him. The ka-tet quickly moved to the doors; the rose folded its pedals. Reno and Rude stood opposite two ShinRa First Class SOLDIERs in the dirt.

"We have authorization from President Sayre to search this property, step aside traitors," said the first one.

"Yeah, just be thankful we aren't arresting you for treason," said the second, cracking his knuckles.

Reno and Rude turned and looked at each other silently. A moment passed, then they began to bellow laughter. Reno pointed a finger at the first SOLDIER. "You call us traitors? Your "president" killed the rightful owner of the ShinRa company, you know, Rufus Shinra."

Rude cracked his neck. "Beat it, before I beat your faces in so bad that your own mothers won't recognize you."

The first SOLDIER clicked open the first clasp holding his rifle to his back. "Even if you kill us, they'll be wondering why two SOLDIERS went missing suddenly. They'll send a strike team out here within two hours and then even the infamous Turks will have their hands full."

Reno looked around him and shrugged. "SOLDIERs go missing all the time, what with the rebels stepping their game up lately. Do you really think your commander cares about a little chickenshit scout like you? Make my day, kiddo." Reno drew his stun baton and waved his arm out in a taunt.

The two SOLDIERs rushed in, crossing through each other's paths. Reno caught the bayonet of SOLDIER One's rifle, casting it aside with a parry. He threw his hand out above his foe's head, causing the enemy to look up for a possible attack. The deception hit hard, and Reno's kidney punch hit even harder. The goon hit the dust and took a face full of stun rod. He screamed out, "RIVERS, HELP ME!" as Reno rained blows upon him.

Rude was engaged in close-quarters melee combat with SOLDIER Rivers. Rivers landed a right cross on Rude, sending the ex-Turk's glasses skittering across the dirt. Rude took another pair out of his sports coat pocket, put them on, and grappled Rivers. Rude threw his weight, bringing them down to the dust. Rude got in full mount and punched Rivers' nose until blood covered his knuckles. With the scout dazed, he twisted his arm up and dropped: Rude had him in an arm bar. The scout wailed until he ran out of breath, falling unconscious.

"Glad they're on our side," said Alucard. "They seem to know what we're doing, so at least we know this place is safe."

"For now." Roland drew one of his revolvers, twirled it around a few times, and dropped it back in his holster. All around them, the air began to feel heavy.

Link groaned. "What's happening? Augh, my head hurts!" A terrible nosie silenced the dull roar of the rose's choir and replaced it with out-of-tune chimes louder than a Metallica concert.

The gunslinger shouted as loud as he could so the others could hear him, "THESE ARE THE CHIMES! EVERYBODY GRAB HANDS, LINK HOLD ONTO NANAKI!"

They did as they were told just before the whole world seemed to tear apart. The world became nothing but black, and the chimes ceased.