I don't own FFVII, the characters or settings so thanks to all the wonderful people at Square Enix for their wonderful creations that capture our imaginations and keep us crawling back for more even after the final cut scene has played.
This is my first attempt at a fan fic, reviews would be wonderful and all critiques are welcome. Enjoy!
Oblivion's Beginning
Two weeks had passed since their epic battle in the crater and Sephiroth's destruction and still he had nightmares. The evil that was that abomination still infected his mind and the blue eyed blonde feared that voice would forever haunt him; calling to him in his sleep or in moments like this when all the world was silent. The night breeze woke him from his reverie sending a chill along his spine. He looked up just in time to see a shooting star, a rather bright one at that. A sign of hope, perhaps good luck? He gave a rueful smile at the thought before closing his eyes once more and letting sleep take him. He was camping on the outskirts of the ruined city headed to no man's land or wherever his feet might carry him. The others had gone their own ways, a few invitations to join them but it just wasn't his style. Maybe someday.
Miles away that shooting star actually made it to the surface of the planet but it would leave no crater. Instead there was only a bright flash of light and left behind a man. He stirred slowly as his whole body ached from some exhaustion that he couldn't remember or even fathom. His clothes, if he'd had any, were gone but that wasn't the only thing missing. Green tinted eyes glanced about hopefully, but even as his surroundings came into focus he couldn't place where he was. The grasslands seemed to go on forever and there was nothing indicative of society or people as far as he could see. Nothing, except the exquisite blade that lay beside him. Even in the fleeting moonlight the blade shimmered, calling out to him with an unseen pull. He reached for it and started to stand as dexterous fingers curled around the blade's hilt. The stranger was quite a sight to see; long silver hair blowing in the breeze as he studied the weapon. However, questions still remained. Who was he? Where was he? And what the hell had happened to leave him in this condition? He couldn't remember anything.
"Well then, I suppose there's only one thing to do," he spoke to the night sky as he shouldered the blade and started walking, determination set upon flawless features. He had to find his answers; his soul would never rest without them.
A year had passed since that night and he was still not any closer to finding his answers. Dressed now in casual pants with heavy boots and a sleeveless shirt he carried the blade across his back and tired his long hair out of his eyes with a simple strap of leather. Rumors abounded, whispers sprang up whenever he entered a town but he'd yet to find out that could give him any information. He shouldn't be too surprised though, they were all small villages with no more than a couple hundred people in each; he'd be surprised if any of them had ever been a few miles from their homes. Time had proven to him that while his mind could not remember, his body hadn't forgotten how to protect himself and he'd proven the victor in a number of encounters with would be killers; everything from bandits to creatures that fascinated him in their strangeness. Were they natural? Did someone create them? It was becoming more frequent that his travels produced more questions than they answered.
In the morning, he'd set out again but tonight he camped in the grassy fields.
The mountains were approaching quickly and by afternoon tomorrow he wagered he'd reach the foot of them or at least get very close. Sleep came quickly as it always did, but it was never restful. The nightmares came soon; violent fleeting images of battles he couldn't recall. Shouts and screams of anguish and pain turned to anger as the images faded to a single face. It was the visage of a boy in his early twenties with hair the color of the sun and eyes that burned with blue fire. Who was he? He never found out for the boy never got to speak. The same creature always tore him away; lashed at his limbs until he was nothing more than a bloody ruin. Then came the cackling laughter, cold...shrill and it pierced through his dreams to wake him every time. He sat up panting in a sweat whispering the one word that always lingered afterwards. "Jenova..."
Morning came as always and he was once more on his way. By noon as expected, his footsteps carried him to the crest of the next hill he found one more, small town nestled in the valley by the mountains. One more ray of hope, one more trip into the unknown to search. "Maybe this time...maybe," came the whispered prayer as he headed down. The town seemed quiet enough at first, though he couldn't tell what it's livelihood might be. Off in the distance he heard the shouts of children playing as he approached and as he got closer the sounds of combat. It was not the ringing of steel but the clashing of fists as a young woman called out commands to her pupils, four youngsters who were gathering around practicing their unarmed combat. "Most interesting." Perhaps it was these few spoken words that drew her attention from them upon him, perhaps it was merely her warrior's senses but she turned to face him and the carefree look of joy faded from her face replaced by sorrow, hatred and fear.
"No! It cannot be...he's, he's dead!" The shock lasted only a moment before she turned to bolt into the town, herding the children in front of her. "Barret! Barret, where the hell are you?" Her screams and sudden retreat were lost to him in their meaning but she obviously recognized him, or at least thought she did so there was no option left but to follow her, though at a conservative distance using all caution.
He hadn't gotten far when the dark haired female returned, this time with a companion; a large dark skinned man who appeared to have some sort of firearm mounted on his arm. It was difficult to say who was angrier as they approached but the shots fired in his direction cleared that up quickly. He jumped out of the way diving into a roll and pulled the blade as he came up. "I have no quarrel with you, but I promise I will not hesitate to defend myself if you persist in this attack."
"I'll send you back to hell you fucking bastard!" Cried Barret as another volley of shots was fired. Some he managed to deflect with the blade, others required some rather fancy footwork to avoid, but his trouble had only just begun. As the shots subsided he turned to find himself faced with the female who landed a rather painful punch to his abdomen and aimed one at his jaw, which he managed to duck. Wonderful, now he had a fight on two fronts. Retreating with a back handspring he called upon the magic in the stones he'd found to hasten himself, he was going to need the speed to keep dodging them both. Just in time for her next onslaught he met her flurry of kicks with rapid blocks with the flat of his blade and forearms, pivoting to sweep her off her feet before rolling out of the way of a launched grenade whose shockwave left both fighters momentarily stunned.
"Godamnit, Tifa! Stay the hell out of my way, I'm trying to kill him, not you!" Tifa, so that was her name, he'd remember that if they all survived. She rushed at him with another round of impressive punches and kicks, all which landed against cold steel rather than hard flesh. Finally an opening, and he took advantage of it, slamming a boot into her abdomen and slashing across her face with that great blade. Her head would've been cut in half had he not used the flat of the blade, instead she lay stunned and possibly unconscious as he raced for Barret. Halfway there he disappeared, leaving the man cursing furiously and firing harmlessly in the air, only to reappear behind him setting that keen blade on his shoulder against his throat.
"Do you yield?" Calm, but stern. He was tired of their little game though he had to admit they'd given him the best fight he could remember.
"To you? You gotta be fucking kidding me, never! We killed you once, you son of a bitch, you'd better believe we'll not rest until we do it for good this time!" Now that was promising, if rather disappointing. Finally he'd found someone that could answer his questions, but it would appear they were going to be rather difficult to persuade.
"So you would rather die than answer a few simple questions? That doesn't seem like a very smart thing to do. Let's try this again. Answer my questions and I shall leave you and your friend be. Now, why did you attack me?"
"What? You gotta be kidding? Why did we attack you? Are you out of your fucking mind? Quit screwing around, Sephiroth, we both know you're going to kill us both anyway." Sephiroth, hmm that was a word that was almost familiar. A name, now he had a name. Well it was a good start anyway even if it had stirred up more questions.
"Unlikely that I would be foolish enough to kill the only ones I've found that can help me. You know who I am or at least, you know who you think I am...that's hopeful." He pulled the blade away from Barret's neck and sheathed it. "Sephiroth, yes, I like the sound of that."
Barret just turned, dumbstruck. Had he just heard what he thought he heard? More importantly, had Sephiroth just ended this fight leaving them both alive?
Something was wrong, dreadfully wrong and boy did he ever have a bad feeling about this, though he wasn't going to get to muse over it long; he heard Tifa's groans as she started to come to and raced over to make sure she was all right. "Tifa, hey Tifa...are you all right?" He knelt by her side, keeping an eye on their opponent as he helped her to sit up.
"Yeah," she said, rubbing her cheek from where she'd been hit. A thin line of blood ran across it and it was already turning a dark purple from the impact. "I think so, anyway. Did you get him? Is he dead or did he run away again?"
"Neither. You ain't going to believe this but he's still standing right over there. Something's wrong, really wrong. I don't think he remembers jack shit about what happened."
"You're kidding me, oh Barret please tell me this is some kind of sick joke? How could he not remember?"
"I don't know, but sure as this world I don't think he does. Hell, he even asked me why we attacked him and sounded sincere. Look, he's still standing there waiting patiently on us when we both know damned well he could've vaporized us. I'm telling you, something ain't right." He helped her to her feet and gestured towards Sephiroth, who was standing arms crossed over his chest waiting somewhat patiently, though rather lost in thought.
"I don't think we should be telling him anything Barret, at least not until we've found and told Cloud. He's going to be livid." This was all nice and lovely, watching them have their little discussion but it wasn't getting him anywhere. He waited for another moment and then started towards the town. If they knew who he was, someone else in there surely had to. However, it was not meant to be just yet as the pair once more bolted after him, skidding to a stop right in his path.
"Just stop right there, ain't no way in hell we're letting you into Nibelhelm."
He just rolled his eyes in exasperation, "Haven't we already done this? I mean really as much as I enjoy a good fight, it only gets in the way of what I truly seek."
"And just what exactly is that, Sephiroth? World destruction? Revenge?" For someone who had just rather unceremoniously gotten her ass kicked she wasn't afraid of him in the least.
"Answers my dear Tifa, wasn't it? That is what he called you, yes?" gesturing towards Barret as he spoke. She looked a bit shocked, unsure if he remembered her name because of their previous encounters or if it was because Barret had spoken it. He head was still a bit fuzzy and she couldn't recall if in the battle it had come up.
"What sort of answers?"
"The only sort that make any difference to me and you've already been kind enough to answer one. I don't imagine you can know how very frustrating it is to not know one's own name."
"Not know one's own name," she repeated softly under her breath. That was beyond astounding and surely Barret matched the surprise apparent on her face.
"You really don't remember what happened?" She almost wanted to believe him, but considering their past that was difficult to say the least, if not impossible.
"Would I bother to be trudging about the countryside asking such questions and making a perfect fool of myself in doing so if I could remember? Honestly." This conversation was starting to get tedious very quickly. He was beginning to regret not killing them, but then if he did, who would answer his questions?
"No, I suppose not..." By this time, Barret had stormed off seething into town to collect Marlene. If Tifa wanted to stay there and converse with the maniac so be it, but he was having none of it. He was going to find Cloud and they were going to finish this, once and for all...again. "Look, I...don't know about this but you'd better get out of here while you still can. Barret is going to find Cloud, I'm sure of it and then all hell will break loose and I'm not sure I trust you either. Memory or no..." She left it at that, heading off in a jog towards the town, she wasn't going to let him go alone, they'd been friends and partners far too long for that.
Well, so much for getting all his answers. He didn't follow them into the village that would just provoke another fight and it wouldn't be worth it. He'd gotten a name, several in fact and that was more than enough to rekindle his hope. He turned his steps away from the town now, his thoughts wandering towards the battle. They had killed him? But how could that be if he was still alive now or maybe they'd only thought they had. The question still remained though of why they had fought in the first place and what in the world could he have done that would've provoked such reactions. He didn't exactly feel very evil and from what he'd seen of them, they didn't seem it either. Then again, neither was he very inclined towards anything that could be called good.
Just a distance to the south of the trio in a cave long forgotten, something awoke. A force, an energy, a being that couldn't stand to be defeated. Her puppet had been defeated and now she needed another. Her mind and existence searched the world for a spirit, a body to corrupt who could destroy from the inside those that had defeated her before and only one stood out. Aeris, yes...she would do nicely. Soon screams of complete agony filled the cave as the creature rebuilt her body piece by piece infusing her with the maddening life force known as Jenova.
Greenish blue eyes opened weakly as a pale, delicate hand reached up to brush away brown strands. Pain still radiated throughout her body but it was now a dull ache rather than stabbing pain. She made it to her feet slowly and unsteadily. It felt strange and yet wonderful to be alive again, now to find the ones that could help her destroy the world. What fitting and ironic justice it would be to have the heroes suddenly become the villains, even if unwittingly. Clothes she conjured up, something simple and yet elegant, to last until she decided or required something more.
Making her way out of the cave, Aeris started her trek over the mountains. It was going to be rough, especially until more of her powers returned fully with her strength. The chill wind at the peaks whipped at her flesh and sent her hair flying into impossible knots. Luckily they weren't very tall or vast mountains or she might have found her demise there.
Two days and night she walked north until her feet ached and her stomach rumbled. Finally the lights and rooftops of Nibelhelm came into view. A sense of relief washed over her as she felt the ground change from the soft grass to the hard stone of the paved roads. Onlookers were chattering excitedly about another newcomer, another stranger, to town. She caught mention of a silver haired man and a fight. She couldn't help but smile at the words, so he had already been here. Clever boy. She grabbed a stranger with tears in her eyes and sobbed a plea for him to help her find her friends.
Soon she was directed to a house where she was told she could find Tifa. With trembling hands she knocked on the door and burst into sobs throwing herself onto the woman who answered.
"Aeris?" Stunned to say the least, the longhaired brunette wrapped her arms around her long lost friend and shed tears of joy.
"Oh Tifa, I'm so glad I found you. I was so afraid he'd find me first. Please help me, I don't want to die again." The performance was masterful and easily bought. Tifa ushered her friend into the house and sat her down for a hot meal.
"We'll get you a warm bath and clean clothes. When you're all done you'll have to sit and tell Barret and I everything." She stroked Aeris' hair as she thought; should she tell her? She came to the conclusion it would be for the best. "Aeris, is it Sephiroth you're afraid of? Is he hunting you? We need to know because he was here, searching for something but he said it was his memories he was searching for."
She burst into sobs again shaking her head furiously as she clenched her fists. "No, no no no! He's looking for me, he wants to kill me Tifa and he's already tried once. I ran and ran and hid in a cave. Jenova brought him back to life to destroy the world but the ancients pooled their knowledge and used all their remaining energy to send me back to stop him. They said that I would know how when the time came but Tifa, oh god I'm so scared. I still remember what that blade felt like going through me – it was so horrible!"
"Shh…it'll be okay, I promise we won't let that lying son of a bitch hurt you." She held her tightly as the tears seemed never-ending. "You know, Cloud's going to be so happy to see you. Maybe now you can break him out of his funk."
"Cloud? He's here?" That sounded perhaps a bit too hopeful, but either it was appropriate or Tifa didn't notice.
"No, he's not here here, but after Sephiroth's appearance and attack, we were going to go find him. He left not long after, well…you know. He was so sad and depressed-he said he just wanted to be alone."
"I will help you find him, I have to. I want so badly to see him again." The night continued pretty much the same. Aeris got the bath she needed so badly and when Barret arrived, she repeated her story for him with fewer tears this time. It was even easier to convince him of Sephiroth's villainy and by the time she finally got to rest, they had planned to leave first thing in the morning to go search for Cloud. She was pleased; so far all the pieces were falling into place quite neatly.
The spiky haired blonde awoke that night from an all too familiar dream. Once more he watched Sephiroth plunge that mighty blade through Aeris' chest. Once more he was but a few steps away and he couldn't save her. "Why now? I don't understand." He whispered to himself as he sat up, running fingers through his hair. "I haven't had that dream in months, maybe more so why does it come back to me now?" He huffed, rather annoyed with himself. "Good going Cloud, now you're talking to yourself. Soon they'll be locking you up like a crazy person. Grr…" He was doing it again, but this time he was not only talking to himself but also lecturing and arguing with himself. Maybe he really was going nuts.
The whole town was oblivious to his continued presence in Nibelhelm. He had returned that night, sneaking up to the reactor, which was ruined. He had spent many hours poking around before he headed back and he was about to leave the little town when he caught sight of the mansion. It called to him like a siren singing to a sailor. Before he knew it, he had made his way down into the crypts and library below it. There remained the font of knowledge that had started it all; he knowledge that had angered and infuriated him, awakening the essence of Jenova to whom he had almost lost his soul. Now, once more he put his blade aside and picked up a book, reading of events hidden and forgotten.
He was so absorbed that he didn't notice his hunger until it became pain. How long had he been reading? How long had he been down there? When did he last eat? More questions he didn't know the answer to, but now he was beginning to get an idea of who he had been. As he pulled some dried rations from his pack and wetted his throat, which had become unbelievably parched, he opened another book. More stories filled his mind, this time they weren't so bad. A decorated hero, a courageous fighter who had helped turn the tide of many battles. It seemed impossible that the hero, villain and now this lost soul could all be one and the same, but he had to accept that they were.
His history where Lucrecia and Hojo were concerned was far from pretty; in fact, it was painful. But now with the taint gone, he no longer hated the world and those in it. These books imparted one divine answer to his questions. He had reached the end of his search. This place had shown him that he had been many things, but what was he now? The answer? Anything and anyone he wanted to be. The world was his to explore and for the first time in his life his destiny was his to shape as he willed it. Not Shin-Ra, not Jenova. Just him. That was all the answer he would ever need, and yet something still troubled him. The dreams about Jenova. She would be back and this time she wouldn't go quietly. Now, Sephiroth came to the most disturbing realization. He had to find those that had once been his enemies, those that had slain him, and he had to help them destroy the entity known as Jenova. "I am no hero anymore, but I will not let them, any of them, ruin what could possibly be my last chance at a real life." The promise was made to himself with only musty old books as his witnesses.
Morning found the trio packed up and prepared for a long trip. Barret bid farewell to his daughter and soon they were back to walking much to Aeris' chagrin. The rest and food had done her well so she was no longer as pale and some sheen had been restored to her hair. "I feel kinda silly asking this now, but do we even know where to start looking for Cloud or are we going to have to search everywhere, literally?"
Tifa sighed and Barret muttered something about the dam spiky headed one always being lost. "Well, we know he has a house in that resort town, but there's no guarantee that he's there. We just figured that it would be a good place to start." She concluded with a sigh as she kicked at rocks idly. "Cloud probably doesn't want to be found, but that doesn't mean we can't spoil his plans and find him anyway."
It seemed like they had been walking for weeks, but it had only been a few days before they reached Rocket Town. They had been hoping to enlist the aid of Cid, if for nothing else than a means of transportation. While their old friend was happy to see them, the news they brought was both wonderful and terrible. Tifa, Barret and Cid must have spent hours arguing about getting Cid to loan them the Highwind or to come along himself. Aeris, meanwhile, was sitting at the kitchen table complimenting Shera on her lovely tea. It was going to be another very long night. Eventually they all retired, some more agitated than others.
"Cid? May I ask you something?"
"Damn it, Shera. Not now. Not with all this nonsense going on. I told you for the hundredth time; I ain't ready for no kids." Boy was he ever huffy but she just laughed and shook her head.
"No, no. It's not about that. I wondered why didn't you want to go with them? I know ho much you love it. All the flying, the action and the excitement. Besides they're your friends and they need you." Now he was in a worse mood. That damn woman was right and there was nothing he could do about it.
"Damn it, woman. It's not that, it's just complicated. And I don't want them busting up my ship; you know how destructive they are."
"Cid, if you're worried about me, you don't have to. I'll be just fine. Just like always."
"I told you it was complicated and don't you go getting no damn fool idea that I'm staying for the likes of you. Hell, I'd love to get away from you and this house for a while. All that horrible nagging about a baby…humph." She just giggled at his outburst, this was one of the many reasons she loved him dearly.
"Well fine then. If you're going to stay anyway you might as well help me pick out colors for the baby's room."
"There's not going to be any baby! You're not even pregnant!" He paused a moment in his outburst to think on that as his stomach turned. "You're not, are you?" Never did a man with such bravado and confidence look so damn terrified.
"No, not yet but we can fix that since you don't have anywhere else to go." Now that was a truly horrible, evil smile that only a woman plotting against her husband could make.
"Gahh…No! Damn it all! Fine. I'll go, but don't you dare think this is because of you." He rolled over to sleep then as she placed a kiss to the back of his neck.
"I love you."
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever, just go to sleep." He loved her dearly and she knew it. Beneath that gruff exterior he was just afraid to lose her and everything else he cared about. But everything would be all right now that he was going with them. She felt it.
Morning found Cid loading up the Highwind and getting his crew together. After all, he couldn't run it all by himself and his friends, while he adored them, were pretty useless when it came to the inner workings of a complex airship. Tifa and Barret were ecstatic that he decided to join them, so much that Tifa kissed his cheek and Barret locked him in a bear hug. Aeris and Shera giggled at the new outburst by Cid who threatened to call the whole thing off until Shera waggled a little pink baby outfit his way. He froze and his mood turned a hundred and eighty degrees. He was now yelling at them to get out of his way since he was busy getting them ready to shove off.
Shera waved to her husband as they lifted off, blowing him a kiss as she whispered to herself. "I hope he'll forgive me for not telling him." She placed a hand over her belly and rubbed it tenderly. "Daddy will be safe and he'll be a hero again sweetheart. Someone you can always be proud of." With that she turned and went back into her house as if it were a normal day.
Aboard he ship, Cid was barking more orders. "Where the hell are we going? You guys didn't even bother telling me, you bums." So far, so good; everyone seemed to be falling back into their roles nicely.
"We're going to start at Costa Del Sol. Cloud has a place there and while I'm sure it's not going to be that easy to find him, there might be some clues as to where he went from there. Anywhere it's the only lead we have." Cid grumbled, but nodded and set their course-to the beach resort it was.
What would have normally taken weeks by food, only took three days by air and it probably would've taken even less than that if they hadn't run into some very strange creatures. The whole crew was equally surprised and shocked when large, green reptiles whose flesh was barely clinging to their bones set upon the ship. Sharp claws ripped at the ship and they spit some sort of acidic substance that was melting the hull. They had to scramble to wash it off before it brought hem down and rendered the ship permanently grounded. The creatures itself was quite weak and it only took a couple of blasts to kill it, but the damage it dealt was massive. The ran into four of them total along the way.
"It's started," whispered Aeris to the others in horror. "Jenova is gaining strength and these poor mutated creatures are proof of it. We're going to see even stranger things soon."
"Ah hell! As if Sephiroth showing up ain't bad enough, now we got these disgusting things to deal with." Barret let out his usual tirade which included bitching, groaning and griping about the new zombie monsters that were popping up.
Landing at Costa del Sol was easier than they expected in its peak season. There was no one around, the place seemed to be a ghost town.
"Let's split up in pair. We can cover more area that way." Aeris suggested, giving a weak smile to Cid.
"All right, but everyone please be careful. We'll meet back here in two hours.
I really don't like the looks of this place. Not at all." Tifa motioned for Barret to come along with her as she headed straight for Cloud's. To this day, she still couldn't figure out why he'd bought the place unless he'd planned to settle down there with Aeris but that had been ruined when she'd been killed. Then again, Cloud settle down? Impossible! It would just have to remain one of life's mysteries. The place looked like it had been abandoned just recently. There was little dust on the floors and counters. There were even drinks still sitting on the bar. What she found most curious was the lack of signs of a struggle or a fight. "It's like everyone just disappeared into thin air."
"Yeah. Gives me the creeps. Let's check out that house of his and get the hell out of here. The sooner we're in the air the better I'm going to feel." Tifa could only nod in agreement to that as they headed up the stone steps to the house. The door wasn't locked; then again nothing in this town was ever locked. She pushed it open and moved in slowly, peeking in curiously and cautiously before stepping inside. Everything was silent, eerily silent.
The only sounds that filled the air were their own footsteps. Both were holding their breath, and when the door suddenly slammed shut behind them, it was impossible to tell who jumped higher; though Barret most certainly screamed louder. Tifa balled up her fists and turned in circles looking for danger, which smacked her right in the face, literally. Suddenly the room was filled with ghosts; translucent forms that vaguely resembled humans.
"Son of a bitch, when did it get so cold in here?" He exclaimed as she cursed, now shivering from the hit. Barret caught his first glimpse of a ghost and started firing around the room recklessly. Bullets went everywhere, through the ghosts to gig into the wood furniture and shattering vases and lamps around the room. Tifa flung herself to the ground, not to escape the ghosts but to avoid getting hit by friendly fire. "Die you evil sons of bitches! Eat bullets, lead, anything! Just die!"
"Barret!" She screamed from her position on the floor. "Stop shooting! You're not even hitting anything but the house." Her pleading wasn't dong much good. Meanwhile the ghosts had surrounded them and were clawing at them with ethereal hands that passed through their armor to send cold pain through their body. It felt as if their blood was being frozen in their veins. She managed to get to her knees, her hands moving in arcane gestures as she called out for fire to bombard the spirits. Flames exploded into the room snuffing out the ghosts who perished in a hail of keening wails that threatened to deafen them for good. On the bright side, the fire was warming them up, but they were also burning the house. The wood was so dry that it caught fire instantly and soon flames were jumping from building to building.
"Good work, Tifa. Now we're trapped and I don't know about you but I ain't go no water to put this tout." He was now firing at the door and shuttered windows trying to make them an exit.
"I wish I did, Barret. I wish I did." She was out of ideas, and it was getting way too hot for comfort in there.
Across town, Aeris and Cid were finding equally deserted areas. The shops were abandoned with the merchandise still there. Restaurants had food starting to spoil left out and people's homes still had laundry out to dry.
"I wonder what could make people leave everything so quickly?" She asked while picking at some of the dying flowers at a stand.
"I don't' think they left. We've got company." He tapped her on the shoulder as he pulled his pear set for battle. When Aeris turned she gasped in horror. They were being set upon by the walking dead. People that were little more than skeletons and walking corpses whose flesh was rotting off their bones advanced on the due. The stench was as bad as the sight and it took all they had to keep their lunches down.
"A plague. He must have spread a terrible plague. We have to stop them Cid or we'll end up like them." She didn't have a weapon on her, but it didn't take long to find something to serve as a makeshift staff.
"I don't care what they are; they're too damn ugly to let go on living. Come on, let's crack some skulls." With a twirl of his spear and a cry of battle he rushed forward impaling the first two on his spear and swinging them deftly into one of their comrades. Aeris wasn't idle, she put her back to Cid's, holding her own as she batted away skeletal claws, crushing bones under the blunt force of her staff. It seemed like forever before the endless stream of undead began to slow and soon they were leaning heavily on their weapons for support and panting for breath.
"Damn, I really don't want to do that again." He started to pick off a severed skeletal arm from his spear when it jumped to life causing him to yelp. It managed to scratch his forearm before he flung it to the ground and started grinding it to dust beneath the heel of his boot. "Son of a bitch. Stupid thing actually stings."
"You okay, Cid?" She asked as she kicked the remains away from her.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. It's just a scratch." He took her hand and led her out of the bone yard back towards the town square. "Hey, you smell smoke?"
"Smoke? No, but I see fire. Oh my God, the town...it's burning! Tifa and Barret are in there!" She ran towards the building, planning to rush in and rescue them only to be yanked back by the gruff blonde.
"Just leave this to me." He raised his hands in a summoning and out of thin air materialized a beautiful woman with long, flowing hair and blue tinted skin. Once ordered to attack she showered the building with thousands of ice shards that put out the fires, leaving only charred stone and smoke. It was with great relief that he dismissed Shiva once he noticed his friends come stumbling out choking on the thick smoke. "Now, anyone want to get the hell out of here?"
There were no arguments as hey quickly boarded the Highwind, tattered and beaten. "So did anyone find out anything that could help us find Cloud? The house looked like it hadn't been touched since he bought it. Well, until Barret shot it up."
"Oh shut up, he's just lucky I didn't use the grenades. Besides, at least 'I' didn't try to burn it down." Tifa huffed and looked hopefully to Aeris.
"Sorry. All we found were rotting, walking bodies. It looks like we have to start from scratch."
"Well if we're going to start from scratch then we should start where it all began the first time."
"Midgar," mouthed Barret, Tifa and Aeris in unison as Cid gave the order to his pilot. They all looked across the sea towards Junon harbor. They were looking towards their future and watching the memories of their past. Right now things were looking awfully bleak.
"Bloody Hell!" Exclaimed the dark figure as he pulled tufts of brown, pungent fur from the joints in his mechanical arm. It was rare for him to speak, let alone curse but the damned creature that had attack him deserved no less than his complete ire. The edge of his red cape was snatched up and used to wipe off the grime from his pistol as he kicked the ugly beast once last time in frustration. It had scratched the hell out of him, clawing deep grooves in his chest that he was too exhausted to heal and just like some damned cat, they stung like hell. Never mind having ruined his clothes and that fact that he was still bleeding. "I wonder now if coming here was such a good idea. Probably not." And now he was talking to himself, surely that could not be a good sigh.
With a sigh, he holstered the gun and turned to proceed through the twisted metal that rose out of the ground in some macabre tribute to the fallen city of Midgar, but he didn't get far. Not a dozen steps and he heard a soft growling behind him and when he turned, he found to his utter horror and dismay that the animal he'd just killed wasn't dead at all. "Oh fuck..." He had just enough time to dive out of the way as the large animal that resembled something of a cross between a grizzly bear and a giant boar with wicked tusks and coarse fur that was almost as dangerous as the rest of it, lunged at him. It was three times his size and probably weighed near a half ton. Coming up in a crouch he pulled his pistol and fired rapidly at the beast that'd turned quickly and was now charging him. This day, Vincent Valentine had been lucky. When the dust cleared, the creature fell once more at his feet, inches from skewering him with tusks that were easily as long as his arm. He jumped to his feet and reloaded the pistol, then fired a full clip into its head to make sure it didn't get up.
"Let's try this again," once more he headed off into the ruins, this time scaling the wicked metal that was sharp enough at points to rip him to shreds should his step falter and he slip. Eventually though he found what he was looking for, a place to camp for the evening so he could rest up and heal himself in the morning. A small campfire was built and he relaxed against what used to be a large building. He didn't close his eyes, not yet. Sleep wasn't that easy to come by, not after the information he'd learned, not after what he'd set out to do. He just hoped he wasn't too late.
Some distance away, a younger man sat atop the ruins of one of the support towers that had held the upper levels of the city. Now it served as a look out where he could monitor the scattering of people below. The area was anything but safe. Ever since the destruction of Midgar, the creatures had ruled the area and while he thought the destruction of meteor and Sephiroth's death would bring an end to the mutated monsters that had roamed the wilds for as far as he could remember, it hadn't. They'd gotten worse, more dangerous and somewhere deep down he knew it was his fault. It was always his fault. He'd not been fast enough, strong enough, smart enough to see what had always been right in front of him and it had cost him dearly. This was his penance, keeping these people safe. However, that was easier said than done when they went and did stupid things like lighting fires away from the makeshift village. That was just asking for trouble. Cursing to himself, he stood and stretched a bit before picking up that massive sword and sheathing it across his back. Soon he was picking his way down the rubble and heading off into the distance to go make sure the owner of that fire wasn't being scouted for a midnight snack by something.
Sleep had finally come to the dark haired loner, but it was short lived when he woke to the sounds of metal crunching and scraping against each other behind him. His eyes opened a bit and a slow smirk crossed his face. "It took you long enough. I was beginning to wonder if you were even going to bother showing up."
The blonde just stared, his blue eyes wide with shock. Of all the people and things he'd expected to find out here in the middle of nowhere, Vincent wasn't one of them. "I...thought you..." It took him a few seconds to compose himself, and in the meanwhile he finished making his way down the hillside to take a seat near his friend. "I didn't expect to see you here."
"Obviously, and yet here I am. You don't look like you're doing too badly."
"I think I'm doing better than you by the looks of things. Would you like some help with that? " He held out his hand, offering a small bottle which was pulsing with magical energies.
"Thank you," he took the bottle without protest or question, swallowing it quickly though even the dour and serious man could not hide the grimace as he did so. That stuff always did and forever would taste awful.
"Welcome. Um...not to sound ungrateful for the visit, but what are you doing here? You never leave that cave unless it's something important." He ran a hand through untamed locks as he waited for an answer.
"You know, Cloud, if I were anyone else I would be insulted. It's nice to see you too, but you're right, there is a reason I'm here and it is very important. Something's brewing, something big and you're not going to like it," he paused there, gauging the younger man's reactions up to that point. So far not bad, now for the worst part. "Sephiroth isn't dead."
He didn't say anything at first as it took a few moments for the shock to wear off and for his words to sink in. "What?" As Vincent predicted, he flew off the handle, rising up and drawing his sword as if the silver haired demon himself was going to come out at that very moment to face him. "What the hell do you mean that bastard is still alive? He can't be! Do you hear me? He just fucking can't be! I killed him, with my own two hands, I killed him!"
"Cloud, sit down and calm down or I'm never going to be able to get to the important part of this story," not that his request was likely, at least not right away but after a few more minutes of arguing and tantrums, Cloud obliged, albeit grudgingly.
"Fine. So what the hell is going on?"
"Very well. I don't know if Sephiroth is our main concern or not because Jenova is also reborn. I'm not sure exactly how, but from what little I have been able to piece together, he's alive for the same reason you aren't dead."
He looked awfully confused and shook his head, "I don't follow you. What do you mean?"
"I mean, that you didn't survive falling into the life stream. You did die, at least that's the theory."
"Okay, now you've lost me. If I died, how the hell am I sitting here now?"
"Because of Jenova."
"Jenova? What the hell?"
"In SOLDIER, you were subjected to tests that infused you with cells from Jenova, so was Sephiroth. When you were both killed, him in a number of ways and you from falling into the life stream, you died. However, the life stream is a pure force of nature. It is the opposite of Jenova, and therefore your bodies were polluted and had to be purified. You could not become part of the natural order until that was done. "
"I'm still not sure that makes sense."
"Basically, the life stream dissolved your bodies, but it couldn't dissolve the genetic structure because of the Jenova cells, so your bodies were remade and you ended up back here. For all purposes, you're almost immortal."
He just stared at him blankly. "Huh?"
"Each time you die, a little more of the corrupt cells in your body will be extinguished and you will be reborn each time until finally no more is left in your body and the life stream can finally absorb you into itself. " Once again, Cloud didn't say anything, but he no longer looked so confused. "Haven't you noticed that you haven't aged a bit? "
"Well, yes, but...I thought that it was just because of the Mako or the Jenova cells, whatever you want to call it. I thought it was normal and would eventually wear off."
"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you but no, it won't be wearing off. "
"So, we have to do this all over again. Kill Sephiroth before he can destroy the world. How many times are we going to have to kill him before the bastard stays dead?"
"Honestly, I've no idea. I'm not sure he's the enemy though. Jenova is, always was. If she's joined with him again, then we're going to have an even tougher fight on our hands. She'd had time to plot her revenge Cloud. It's going to get nasty and I think all these strange mutated creatures are her doing. I don't know how, but if I didn't know better...I'd say she's gotten stronger."
"Then if she's not already joined with Sephiroth, we need to find him and kill him before she can. I will see that bastard dead before my time is over, so help me."
"Well, that's all well and good, but you can't exactly do that sitting here and sulking in these iron ruins, now can you?"
"No, I can't. But where do we start?"
"That is a good question, a very good question. Let's sleep on it and decide in the morning. I don't know about you but I'm exhausted mentally, physically and spiritually." Cloud merely nodded to that and decided to sit watch over his friend. He wouldn't be able to sleep, not after that little story; especially not with the dreams he'd been having. It was actually only a few hours until dawn, but those few hours had turned into eternity for him.