Final Fantasy VII: Resurrections
A Fanfic by SJO and Moiranne Rose
Note: Neither I nor Moiranne Rose own any of the Final Fantasy characters from any of the Final Fantasy game, including the main franchise games, Crisis Core, and the movie "Advent Children." This takes place five years after the original game and three years after Advent Children. Moiranne and I have not played "Dirge of Cerberus," so some of the details, especially about Vincent, may not be exactly right. I really would like to thank Moiranne for her help with this fic and to Lt. Commander Richie for providing useful information that also helped guide the story.
Chapter 1: Cemeteries of Midgar
Somewhere out in the field, just outside of Midgar, it was eerily quiet. Even the beasts of the area were silent and still. They could tell that something powerful was coming.
Quite unexpectedly, out of the ground something started bubbling up. It appeared to be green water, but it wasn't. Anyone who came close to it would know it wasn't water at all. It had a strange, iridescent hum coming from it. It didn't feel wet but tingly, like electricity or magic. Yet, it was moving and flowing like water. It started as a small trickle, but it slowly became a puddle, and then a whole lake. And this lake was flowing uphill, as though it had a particular destination. This was a strange marvel rarely witnessed on the earth's surface. It was called the Lifestream.
Then, a marvel happened that had never been seen before. As the Lifestream continued to flow uphill to some unknown destination, something that looked like a human hand rose out of its waves. The hand reached out and grabbed a rock. The tide ebbed over the hand a few times and then abandoned it and its owner.
The owner of the hand was a woman, and she opened her eyes.
--
He opened his eyes. His hand was still stretched out in front of him.
Cloud sighed and sat up in his bed. Immediately, his head throbbed with pain! He grabbed both sides of his head and rubbed vigorously. Then, he just sat there and breathed, thinking about the dream. It's not possible, is it? People in the Lifestream can't really come out. They're too busy giving life to the planet. They're probably all merged together, their personalities lost. But . . . she's different. He remembered how three years ago, she came to him, helped him, healed him, SAVED him. He knew that she will always be there, and yet, at the same time, she was still so far away. Now, she won't abandon his imagination. She was haunting his every thought, living in his head, her voice always in his ears.
"Why?"
His only answer seemed to come back to him in a memory of a mysterious whisper that she breathed on the gondola ride at Golden Saucer:
"Cloud, I'm searching for you. I want to meet you."
"But I'm right here."
"I know but what I mean is . . . I want to meet you."
He just didn't know what to say. He didn't understand what she was trying to tell him. To him, she was just a girl who wouldn't leave him alone. She begged him into a bodyguard, and she pushed him into a date. He felt nothing for her. Then, at the Temple of the Ancients, he felt closer to her, and Cait Sith predicted they were perfect for each other. Oh, if only he could predict more specifically what would happen.
Just a day or two later, she was dead. Cloud buried her in the waters of the Forgotten City, and from then on he had an emptiness in his soul, which he could only fill with grief. For two years, he felt inadequate because of his regret. Then she forgave him for watching her die, not even trying to save her. Now another grief overtook the void--loneliness. Many of his friends are always there, especially Tifa. Cloud came to a realization three years ago that he was never alone, but he still felt lonely. Maybe it was because he kept thinking of what he lost.
He never granted her wish. She never could meet him now, really, unless . . .
Cloud shook his head again. "It's just a dream," he told himself. He's still got a whole day ahead of him. So, he got up and got ready, then headed out to Tifa's place to pick up his deliveries.
As soon as he walked out, he could tell something was different. Cloud couldn't explain why, but he suddenly felt good. There seemed to be a sweet smell in the air, and everything looked brighter. It couldn't be real. This city was still very polluted, under a gray sky. The town is in shambles, still falling apart! Yet riding his motorcycle around town, Cloud could just tell that something was almost cheerful about this town. It was almost . . . hopeful.
He wasn't the only one who felt good. When Tifa was giving him the daily orders to deliver, she was smiling, and humming! He didn't think he ever heard her hum, not even in Nibelheim. "What are you so cheerful about?" he asked.
She shrugged. "I don't know. I just have this feeling that something wonderful is going to happen."
"Like what?"
Once they were free, she threw her hands up. "Don't ask me. It's just intuition, I guess."
As Cloud rode around town, he saw couples walking hand in hand down the sidewalks, and they waved at him! No one ever waves at him. He just nodded back. He saw children laughing and playing, and they called him by name. That didn't surprise him quite as much. Ever since the Geostigma breakout, Cloud had been kinda popular around the kids.
It was strange feeling suspicious about a good vibe, but Cloud couldn't help but feel suspicious. He circled the bike around the new Shinra headquarters and examined the windows. He saw the Turks, particularly Reno and Rude, whispering to each other. Then, Reno pointed to Cloud, and they walked off. So, they were up to something!
He rode his bike to the outskirts of the city and parked at the overlook, next to where he stuck the Buster Sword, his memorial to another fallen friend. The grass out on the plains looked . . . greener than usual. He remembered when he first saw Kadaj and his brothers; this place was like a wasteland! How is it that it looks so lush now?
Suddenly, a brilliant light surrounded him. He shielded his eyes and looked up. It was the sun! The sun came out! The sun never comes out over Midgar! "What's going on?" he whispered.
--
At the end of the day, he came back to the church building to think, and it happened. He knew this wouldn't last. That feeling came over him again, like a sweet darkness over his soul. No, not now, not now. Today had been a decent day, for once. He didn't need it ruined like this.
"Cloud?"
He looked to the doorway and saw her, a silhouette of her dress and her long hair. "It's a shadow, nothing more," he told himself. "Don't let it get to you."
"How are you, Cloud? Can I talk to you?"
He turned away from the shadow. "No. Why do you do this? Why do you keep haunting me?"
"I'm still searching for you, Cloud."
"You can't meet me. It's too late. So leave me alone!"
"Cloud, please, don't be angry."
"Go away, Aerith! I know you're not real!"
"You don't know. You don't understand."
"Enough! Stop it!" Cloud reached into the wall, a special hiding place he made himself. It seemed there was always only one way to make these visions end.
"Cloud . . . we're still friends, aren't we?"
"STOP IT!" Cloud came closer to the silhouette and struck at it with his sword.
He heard a sudden gasp. The shadow backed up into the light, and he could see that it was more than a shadow. It had color and skin. She was shuddering and cradling her arm. Blood was dripping from where the sword had hit her. Her right arm fell down to her side and picked up a rod. Her hand rubbed the green materia in the handle, and she was surrounded by a faint glow. "Cure," she whispered. Cloud watched as the wound closed up, as though he was watching it being made in rewind. He looked at his blade and at the floor, and he could still see blood.
"Aerith? You're alive?"
"That's right."
"Are . . . are you real?"
"See for yourself." She stretched out her hand. He held it. It felt solid enough. He gasped, and he very slowly raised the hand to his cheek. It felt so soft! Cloud sighed in pleasure. But then, he looked down on her in concern.
"Can you . . . stay?"
Aerith took her hand away and looked off to the distance. "I . . . don't know"
"It's impossible! You were in the Lifestream! How can this be happening?"
"Well . . . to tell you the truth, I think . . . I think something is wrong. Something . . . doesn't feel right."
"Anything I can do?"
Aerith suddenly shrugged and smiled. "Let's not worry about it now. Why don't we go see everyone? Tifa, how's Tifa's doing? And Marlene and Cid and Barret, and . . . everybody?"
"Aerith . . . come on. Let's go to Tifa's. I'm sure she'll be glad to see you."
--
"Yo! Tifa! You here?"
The long haired, female warrior ran down the steps as fast as she was able. She could not believe her ears, and when she reached the bar, to her amazement they were all there, waiting for her. "Biggs? Wedge? Jessie?"
"Sorry we're late," Jessie said.
She looked at the three of them, absolutely amazed and speechless.
"You OK, Tifa?" Biggs asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Uh . . . uh . . ."
"So, where's Barret?" Wedge asked. "Does he have our next mission ready?"
"Barret? Uh, he . . . he lives in Corel now."
"What's he doing in Corel?" Wedge asked.
"Managing the oil field out there."
"Oil field?" Jessie asked. "What about Shinra? What about Mako? What about the planet?"
There's been a lot of changes," Tifa explained. "Shinra doesn't use Mako energy anymore. AVALANCHE isn't needed."
"What? You broke AVALANCHE up and didn't tell us?" Biggs yelled
"You could have at least given us a severance!" Wedge added
Tifa gulped. "Well, the thing is . . . you're supposed to be dead."
"Dead?" they all said together.
"Don't you remember? The pillar falling?"
"I do . . . kinda remember that," Wedge said quietly.
"Yeah. I remember I thought I was a goner," Biggs nodded.
"But just after, we found ourselves outside of Midgar," Jessie said. "So we figured it just threw us a long distance and somehow we survived."
"Uh . . . that happened five years ago," Tifa replied.
"Five years? More like five minutes ago!" Biggs yelled.
"No, it was!"
"Does Cloud know?" Wedge asked.
"Of course, Cloud knows. Cloud survived!"
"Speaking of," Jessie said nodding toward the door. Cloud was standing in the doorway. Tifa looked in his direction, only to be more amazed.
"Hey Cloud, what's shaking?" Wedge said. "Ooh, who's that pretty girl you got with ya?"
"Does she have a sister?" Biggs chuckled.
Tifa walked up to him slowly. Cloud was standing there, smiling, and someone else familiar was standing next to him. "Aerith?" Tifa whispered.
"Hi, Tifa," she replied.
Jessie suddenly ran up to them. "Wow, Cloud. That looks really nice on you."
He gave her a confused look. "What?"
"The smile."
Cloud gave an embarrassed laugh and looked up at the bar. "I see it's contagious."
"I can't . . . this is . . ." Tifa looked away and shook her head. Then she laughed. "Well, I guess there's no sense in trying to figure it out! I had a feeling something wonderful was going to happen today, but I never would have expected this! I tell you what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna call the whole gang–Barret, Vincent, Cid, Yuffie, Red XIII, even Cait Sith, and we're going to throw the biggest party Midgar's ever seen!" She grabbed her phone and started dialing a number. "And they better not say no. It's not every day that four people come back from the dead!" She listened as the phone rang on the other end and then picked up. "Hello, Barret? You'll never guess who's here!"
--
The slums were filled with bright, colorful lights and cheerful music. Everybody from the old gang made it on the airship. Barret brought Marlene and her real father Dyne, and Cid had his wife Shera on his arm. Apparently, AVALANCHE wasn't the only group that was blessed with returning loved ones. Parents walked hand in hand with children, some Tifa noticed, who were victims of Geostigma before Aerith healed the plague. Other couples were holding each other extraordinarily close, as though they had been apart for a long time.
"How's this for a reunion?" Cloud thought aloud with a laugh.
Tifa prepared all sorts of food and drinks and gave them all out for free. Everyone was laughing, talking, and crying happy tears. Then, there was dancing. There was only one person who did not look like he was enjoying himself at all. Vincent stood alone and stared coldly at everyone. He never smiled, never said a word. Barret also seemed rather distant. Even though he was smiling and laughing like everyone else, there was clearly something on his mind.
Cloud was the most energetic of anyone. He took Aerith by both of her hands and spun her all around the square. Cloud never remembered ever smiling that big. He wouldn't stop laughing, even to the point of tears. Aerith was also smiling very big, but somehow he wasn't sure if she was as happy as he was. Then he spun her more slowly and pulled her close, looking deeply into her green eyes. He wanted to whisper one more time in her ear, "Can you stay?" But before he could–
"Stop!" The music suddenly ceased. Everyone turned toward the voice. An old man with a white beard and a bald head, wearing blue robes and somehow hovering, came before them. Cloud remembered him, but he remembered him as a cheerful, wise man, a man who laughed after every word he spoke, even with his dying breath. Now, the old man's face was full of panic and despair.
"Grandpa, you too!" Red XIII started romping toward the man, Bugenhagen, but he held his hand up to stop the creature's frolicking.
"Nanaki, no."
"What is it, Grandfather?"
Bugenhagen floated out in front of everyone. "Why are you celebrating? Why are you dancing? Why are you so happy?"
"Why shouldn't we be?" Cloud spoke up. "Our friends and loved ones that used to be in the Lifestream are back with us again."
"Foolish boy, do you not realize? This is not a night of joy. This is a time for weeping! This night is full of woe!" A lot of Midgar citizens booed and jeered at this statement.
"What'chu talkin' 'bout, old man?" Cid yelled.
"If this is happening, it comes not only to the good and righteous, but it comes also to the evil and degraded. Light is followed by darkness. Resurrection is followed by doom."
"How do you know?" Tifa asked.
"There has been a change in the flow of the Lifestream. That is what's causing this. The Lifestream is flowing in reverse! You know what that means."
"It's killin' the planet!" Barret realized.
"No, it's not!" Yuffie interjected. "I've been out there. The forest outside Junon is thriving more than usual."
"Where the Lifestream flows it gives the places it passes fresh, new vitality. But it will not last," Bugenhagen explained. "The life of the planet will gradually deplete and turn the land into endless desert. But that's not the worst thing!"
"What could be worse?" Tifa asked.
"This is the result of very strong, dark, evil magic. Somewhere, there is an ancient spell in effect that is absorbing the Lifestream! It is restoring life to one who was lost to the Lifestream. This spell will not only give one back life but make him indefinitely stronger than he was when alive." Bugenhagen turned to Aerith. "Could you not feel it? Even when you were in the Lifestream, could you not feel it pulling at you?"
Aerith suddenly looked pale. "I . . . I . . ." She shook her head and strained herself to remember.
"Sephiroth?" Cloud asked.
"Perhaps," Bugenhagen answered gravely with a nod. "Or perhaps something even more evil."
"How could he work such magic?"
"Incredible, boy! After all you know about Sephiroth, how can you ask such a question? His power can never be underestimated. But he is not the only one."
"But if it's absorbing the Lifestream, why are we here?" Aerith asked.
Bugenhagen looked very hard at Aerith. "Because we somehow found a way to resist the spell. We escaped."
"So, if we found the strength to resist it, then we might be able to stop it," Aerith whispered.
"And how do we do that?" Cloud asked.
"Follow the Lifestream. Follow the voice of the planet." Aerith closed her eyes and looked as though she was concentrating really hard. "It's calling for us."
--
"Reeve, I've been hearing a lot of noise out there. What's going on? . . . What?! A party? In the slums? . . . Well, you're right; at least it's not a riot. But what have they got to celebrate? . . . Oh come on! Be serious for once! . . . You got proof? . . . Show me proof, and then we'll talk." Rufus Shinra hung up the phone in frustration, not knowing that proof was standing right behind him.
"And you call yourself a president."
Rufus quickly wheeled around, amazed to see a very fat man behind him. "Father?"
The fat man laughed and started lighting a cigar. "Hello, Rufus. You look . . . pitiful."
"I look a sight better than you did when I last saw you . . . with Sephiroth's sword in your back!"
"Don't badmouth Sephiroth. I have reason to believe that Sephiroth brought me back."
"What do you mean?"
"Don't tell me you haven't seen it!"
"Seen what?"
"Out the window." He pulled the curtain of a large window and pointed to the river of green energy floating on the plain. "Pure Mako energy, flowing freely, no longer in the earth. It's there, for the taking! It can fuel Midgar for centuries! Don't tell me you haven't considered this glorious opportunity!"
"We don't use Mako anymore. We even tore down most of the reactors."
"What? You fool!" The man slapped him across the face.
"But Father, it was killing the planet. Because of our efforts, Sephiroth summoned Weapon! He nearly destroyed the planet!"
"I knew you wouldn't be fit for this job if you're making such mamby-pamby decisions. You send the Turks to investigate and harvest that energy, or I will!"
Rufus sighed uncomfortably as he looked back at the Lifestream.
--
The heroes all gathered at Tifa's Seventh Heaven, in the room downstairs where they used to have their AVALANCHE meetings.
"So, let's get this straight," Barret said. "Sephiroth's back, again, and he's manipulating the Lifestream?"
"He's bringing the dead back to life," Red XIII observed.
"No!" Aerith said suddenly. "He can't be given credit for that. I . . . I knew something was wrong. I remember I suddenly felt cold. I was trying to turn around, and I ended up breaking away. Still, it was my choice!"
"Well, I don't remember anything like that," Biggs said. "You, Wedge?"
"Uh-uhh," he replied, shaking his head.
"Well, obviously, it's not the same for everybody," Cid said shaking his head.
"So, what do we do?" Barret asked.
"Just like Aerith said, we gotta follow the Lifestream, see where it's going," Yuffie said. "Luckily, we can do that from a bird's eye view."
"What?" Wedge said.
"You know, in Shera, the airship!"
"Airship?" Jessie said.
"Isn't that right, Cid?"
"Oh!" the old man said. "Uh, sure, we could. It would make things a lot quicker, wouldn't it?"
"Shera?" Biggs said. "What is this all about?"
Barret smiled. "You guys should have been here five years ago. We had us an adventure! We went all around this continent in every which way! We climbed mountains, we flew, we went underwater, and we rode on chocobos. We fought all kinda of monsters, too!"
"Whoa, sounds like fun!" Jessie said.
"No way are we missing that again!" Wedge said.
"Yeah, count us in!" Biggs said.
"WOOOO!" Barret yelled as he pumped his fist and his gun in the air. "AVALANCHE IS BACK! AIN'T NO STOPPIN' THIS TRAIN WE'RE ON!"
"Wait," Jessie said, hushing him down. "Cloud, are you coming?"
"Am I coming?" he replied. "We're talking about stopping Sephiroth! Of course I'm coming!"
"What about you, Grandpa?" Red XIII asked.
For the first time that evening, Bugenhagen cracked a smile. "Hoo hoo! Nanaki, I'm afraid I'm still too frail. I will only hinder you."
"But didn't you say that you have enough strength to fight Sephiroth if you resisted his spell?"
"As long as I stay out of the Lifestream, the spell will be weakened. That is the same for all who avoided the spell. She is the one we must count on," he said nodding over to Aerith. "No, I believe I will go back to Cosmo Canyon and watch in my observatory."
"Then I will go, in your stead, Grandpa," Red XIII said bravely.
"If you're going, Red, I'll go!" Cait asserted as he hopped on the wastrel's back.
"Well, there's no way I'm gonna miss it!" Yuffie said with a back flip. "This ninja's gotta see some action!"
"What about you, Vincent?" Tifa asked. "You coming?"
Vincent was still standing alone, still looking very serious. He glanced over at Aerith for a moment, and his lip curled into a snarl. Then, he very quietly said his first and only word of the evening. "Yes."
"Yeah! The whole gang's together!" Barret cheered. "Just like old times."
"Well, we better get some sleep," Tifa said. "Best we start this adventure with our HP at its peak. I'll get you guys each a bed." But Cloud was already taking the lift out of the basement. Tifa followed him. "Hey, what's up?"
"Uh, make sure you get together some good supplies, Phoenix Downs, Hi Potions, Ethers, all that stuff," Cloud reminded her.
"Me? Aren't you the one who usually holds onto the gil?"
"I got something I need to take care of."
"I'll come with you."
"It's . . . kinda a secret."
"I can keep a secret. I just need to find someone to watch over Denzel and the others. Hey, have you seen Sakika?"
Cloud shook his head.
"She probably went to the church building. She was talking about watering the flowers. I just wish she wouldn't sneak off like that."
"I guess you might as well come with me then," Cloud said in resignation.
"Don't worry, Tifa. I'll watch over things," Aerith said as she came up.
"You sure?" Tifa asked.
Aerith just smiled. "It's the least I can do."
"Come on," Cloud gestured. Tifa eagerly followed him. Aerith watched as they drove off on Cloud's motorcycle. Then something caught her eye. It was only there for a flash, but Aerith was sure she saw something fly across the sky. She gasped. Could it be--?
"You've got to be kidding!"
"I wish I were, Reno," Rufus replied, "but those were Father's orders. You could ask him yourself, you know."
"But it's been like, 'We use Mako, we don't use Mako. We use Mako, we don't use Mako.' When are we going to make up our stupid minds?!"
"Didn't you tell him of our resolve to return the planet to the way it's supposed to be?" Elena asked.
"Of course I did, but he's stubborn. You remember how stubborn he is," Rufus answered.
The door of the conference room opened up suddenly, and Reeve came in. "Oh, am I interrupting something?"
"Reeve, Reeve, you're not going to believe this," Reno said. "The Lifestream is on the surface!"
"Yeah, I heard."
"What?!" all the Turks said at once.
"Didn't you guys go to the slums tonight? There was a big celebration down there because a lot of folks who were dead were coming back to life. The Cetra girl is one of them."
"The Ancient," a voice whispered as another figure slipped into the room. "That's not much of a surprise."
"TSENG!" everyone said at once.
The man stepped foreword and bowed his head.
"I was hoping we would have someone from this phenomenon on our side," Rufus said.
"Good to have you back!" Elena said.
"So," Reno said, coming toward him, "where've you been? What happened?"
"Nothing to tell," Tseng said softly.
"Awwwe, come on! Spill the beans!"
"That's enough, Reno," Rude said softly. "Reeve, go on."
"Well, there's already a rumor going around that Sephiroth or something's behind it. We're going to check it out in the morning."
"What, 'we?'" Reno said. "Did you hear something different?"
"Uh, I mean Cloud and everybody. And I'm not really going, just through Cait Sith."
"Why do you still use that puppet?" Elena asked. "It's not like they don't know the truth!"
"Yeah, I know, but it's still useful. They've taken a liking to me this way."
"Actually, it could be useful," Rufus thought aloud. "Father doesn't know about Reeve's covert project. With him there to keep tabs on their position, we could strategically set this mission up for failure."
"You mean, you want them to beat us?!" Reno asked in disbelief. "Sheesh! What is this world coming to?"
"President Shinra, do you think we should go to the North Crater?" Elena asked.
Reno shuddered. "Don't talk about that place! Just hearing about it gives me the willies."
"Well, if Sephiroth's really behind it—"
"What are we gonna find down there if we went, huh? More bits of Jenova? I doubt it. I bet it's more likely we'd run into three certain silver-haired guys."
"The Kadaj brothers are dead," Rude reminded him.
"Hey, if Tseng and the old president are alive, who's gonna count them out?"
Tseng spoke up, "It's the Promised Land, isn't it?"
"Well . . . yeah," Elena answered uncertainly
"I think we should go down there."
"And what do you think we'll find?" Reno asked.
"The Promise Land is said to be rich with Mako energy, remember?"
"Yeah, but what's that got to do with anything?"
"Materia, Reno! That's what we'd find, rare materia."
The Turks stuttered and looked at each other.
"If you're not going, I am."
"No!" Elena ran to his side. "I'm not letting you go alone, not again! We're Turks, and we stick together! Right guys?"
Rude nodded, but Reno just started into Tseng's poker-face. "Just what are you up to?" Reno asked.
"Never mind," Rufus answered for Tseng. "I'm sure you know what you're doing, Tseng, and I am concerned of that area anyway. All of you head up to the North Crater in the morning. I'll have Reeve call you to let you know what Cloud and the others are doing."
--
"NOOOOO!" Cloud stepped back into the patch flowers and pulled his hair.
"What's the matter?" Tifa asked.
"My sword! It's gone!" He pointed to a hole in the wall that had an empty sword holder.
"I thought you didn't go anywhere without your sword."
"My connection to Sephiroth never really disappeared, even after I was healed of Geostigma. Didn't I tell you what he said last time?"
"Of course. I'm sure you'd never forget." They said Sephiroth's ominous final words together, "I will never be a memory."
Cloud nodded. "Since I fell for his spell, I fear that my darkness will take over my light, and it might get out of control, like it did for him. So I locked my sword away, and I take it out only for emergencies." He hit his fist on the wall. "I never told anyone where I put it! Who would steal it?"
"I know who took the sword," a small voice answered.
Cloud turned around and saw a girl peeking out from behind a pew, looking innocently up at him and clutching a moogle doll. Tifa saw her too. "There you are, Saki! Now, why did you come here without telling us?"
"Everybody was gone. Sorry."
Cloud looked down at her and said gently, "Saki, who took my sword?"
"An angel," Saki replied in a voice filled with awe.
Cloud scoffed and shook his head. "Sakika, this isn't something to joke about!"
"It's true! He was just here! I came here to water the flowers, and I saw an angel trampling over them. He had two big wings! I told him to get off of the flowers, and he said he was sorry, but he didn't get off them. He opened up the wall, and he took out the sword! He raised it high over his head, like this!" She demonstrated.
"Well, why didn't you stop him?" Tifa asked.
"How can I stop an angel? And anyway, he said you owed him a sword, and he really needed one. Then he flew away, right out of that hole in the roof."
"Cloud, look, by your feet," Tifa said pointing.
Cloud looked down and saw right by his shoe two feathers. He picked them up and looked at them closely. One was white, and one was black.
"What does it mean?"
Cloud shook his head. "I don't know." Who would say Cloud owed him a sword? Did anyone ever give him a sword, anyone except–?
Tifa giggled. "Do you think it might really be an angel? A guardian angel, maybe?"
"If it is, he's not doing a good job. How am I going to fight Sephiroth without my sword?" He snapped his fingers. "Wait! The Buster Sword! It's still outside. Come on!" He hopped back on his motorcycle and zoomed to the outskirts of Midgar, but the Buster Sword wasn't there. "I don't get it! I put it right here! It was here this morning!"
"Cloud, another feather!" Tifa pointed at the ground. Cloud reached down and picked it up. There was just a white one this time. "He must have taken that one, too!"
"Why would he need it if he got the other one?" He leaned on the handlebars of his bike. "I think whoever did this doesn't want me to fight."
"Don't think that! You're just gonna have to get you a new sword, and I'm sure Yuffie would loan you some of her materia."
"You're right. I guess that's what I gotta do."
"In the meantime, I'll go to the items section and get our supplies."
So, Cloud visited the weapons shop. "Ah, Cloud!" the proprietor greeted. "Long time, no see."
"I need a sword," Cloud said curtly. "Best you got. It's, uh, kinda an emergency."
"Oh, what happened to your old sword? I thought you were famous for–"
"Never mind that! Just show me what you have."
"OK." He pulled out a large blade from behind the counter. "This one is the finest and latest developments in Shinra weapon technology. It packs quite a wallop. Contains five materia slots, two sets connected. The name of this blade is Oblivion."
Cloud looked it over very closely and examined its stats. "It looks great. How much?"
"Oh, the going price is 20,000 gil."
"Alright. Just a moment, I'll–" He opened up his account but was surprised to see it nearly all gone! "What the--? Is Tifa going crazy with the supplies?"
"Is there a problem?"
"Uh . . ." Cloud forced a smile, "would you be willing to haggle?"
"You know me better than that, Cloud, sticker price only!"
"Right. OK. Well then, what do have that's 5,000 gil or under?"
"Hmmm." The proprietor put the handsome blade under the counter and pulled out a narrow blade. "Well, this one new on the market. It's lightweight and designed aerodynamically for speedy access. It only has two materia slots, but it is still a fine blade. Its name is Maranatha."
"Maranatha?"
"It means, 'Savior, come quickly.'"
"Well, that's . . . appropriate, I guess. How much?"
"Since it for you, Cloud, I'll let you have it for 500 gil."
Cloud inspected the sword carefully. The stats were nowhere near as good as Oblivion, or either of the swords that were stolen from him, but it was still decent. He had swords in his possession that were worse. It looked rather nice, too, sparkling in the light. "It'll do."
"Excellent choice, Cloud."
"I hope so," he muttered as he handed the proprietor his money.
The sword didn't feel right in his hand as he was walking. Well, there was only one way to test it. He went outside and practiced some sword moves. He started simple, just moving it up and down or side to side; then he tried more advanced moves, crouching down, spinning around, leaping through the air. He had to admit, he liked that "whooshing" sound it was making every time he cut through the air, and the more he played with it, the more he got used to it. He ended with his victory pose, spinning the blade above his head. He brought the blade down to sheath it, and he saw the reflection of his gleaming eyes in the sparkling, silver blade. That's when he knew for sure that he liked this sword.
--
At midnight, Vincent went alone to the outskirts of Midgar. He wanted to see the phenomenon for himself. He had to climb down into the plain to see it clearly, but there it was, shimmering in the moonlight. His thoughts drifted back to a time that seemed forever ago when everything was completely different, before the nightmare began, before he became a Turk, even before he met Lucretia.
He was visiting Cosmo Canyon to see an old friend. Vincent actually wanted to visit for a long time, but then he heard that something terrible had happened. The young man was sitting alone in a room in a wooden chair, just staring off into space. His brown hair and beard were long and tangled, and his fingernails were also long. There was no expression on his face. It was strange to Vincent at the time. The two of them were just a few years apart, but now the other man looked at least twenty years older.
"Noam?" Vincent said as he walked cautiously over to the man. The man made no greeting; he didn't even look toward the voice. Vincent worked a smile. "Hi Noam! You remember me? It's me, Vincent Valentine."
He still made no response.
"We lived in the same town. You used to help me study grammar, remember?" Vincent counted off on his fingers as he methodically recited, "Am, is, are, was, were, be, been, being, have, has, had." Vincent chuckled a little, but the man still didn't move. "We were friends. Don't you remember at all? You were . . . like a big brother to me."
Still nothing.
Vincent sat down and looked at the once young man closely, examining the vacant facial expression. "I've wanted to come see you, to hear about all you've learned. Then I heard what happened. I couldn't believe it. It just didn't sound like you. You were always the 'better safe than sorry' kinda guy. I know this may sound selfish, but . . . can you tell me what it was like? Because I've always wondered."
He still made no movement.
"Is there nothing you can say? Can it even be put into words? Please, I must know."
The man still didn't look up, but his lips started to move, and he said in a weak, tired voice, "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously."
"What?"
At that, Noam for the first time lifted his head and looked straight at Vincent. "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously!" he repeated clearly, with an expression begging for Vincent to understand.
"I don't understand."
"Don't be offended," a female voice said behind him. A nurse was coming in with a tray of food. "Ever since we've found him, that's all he's been able to say. We think it's a side effect. People who've been exposed to that much Mako have been known to babble like that."
Vincent rose. "Will he ever be the same again?"
"Who's to say?"
He never was.
And those five words, the last words Vincent's best friend ever uttered had haunted him ever since. Even in his thirty year sleep, Vincent wrestled with the riddle, trying to figure it out. He never believed it was from Mako poisoning. That wasn't like Noam at all. Noam valued words more than anyone Vincent ever knew and always gave a great deal of thought before speaking. No, Noam was trying to tell him something, some secret he found hidden away that he thought Vincent might find. And now that secret was more important than ever, for more than one reason.
Vincent stared at the Lifestream, glistening in the moonlight. "I'll find it now."
--
Late that night, the proprietor of the weapon store was preparing to lock up when he felt a draft behind him. "I'm sorry, we're clos–oh." He turned his head and could barely see a tall figure standing in the shadows.
"Did he buy it?" a cold voice asked.
The proprietor turned and faced the visitor. "Yes. He bought it."
The figure nodded. "Excellent."
"He wasn't satisfied, though."
"Of course not, but that's beside the point."
"Why?"
"That does not concern you."
"But . . . but isn't this Cloud Strife we're talking about, the great hero? He saved my daughter from Geostigma! He saved Midgar from being destroyed again! He deserves much better than that piece of scrap metal!"
The figure came forward and grabbed him by the neck. "I told you not to question me, old man." The stranger tightened his grip and lifted the storekeeper off the ground. The proprietor still couldn't see the stranger's face, but he was too busy trying to gasp for air to think about it. Just as the storekeeper started fearing for his life, the stranger pushed him down. Then he tossed down a bag of gil. "There's the difference, as promised. Have a good evening." He turned on his heel and walked out the back of the store.
The proprietor took the bag with a shaky hand, opened the sack, and counted up the money. He still couldn't believe that man was who he claimed to be. "How does a dead man get a hold of this much money?"