Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or Advent Children.
Author's Note: Although the Weapons explode, I'm altering it to wherever Cloud and gang slayed the Weapons is where their bodies rest. Slightly AU.
Updated: 1/28/2017. Corrected spelling and grammatical issues. Touched up the story cause it needed it. I LOVE Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV's design for Diamond so I'm drawing inspiration from it.
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Chapter 1
Geostigma / Cure
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Everybody knew Aeris - the kind woman, the flower girl, the healer. Even in the face of danger, of Shinra and Sephiroth, she stood strong and steady like the Planet she died for. Cloud spent jobless days, and nightmare filled nights in her church. Miraculously surviving the destruction, he kept up with the repairs except for the hole in the roof where they escaped from Reno all those years ago. Those sleepless nights when memories intermix and the pain from the Geostigma kept him awake, Cloud would look up at the stars, and think of Aeris. Her beautiful smile, and how he wished she was still here.
Even with all other uncertainties in the world, he knew he would always love her.
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On the northern shores of Edge lies the great Diamond Weapon. The Planet begins its slow trek in reabsorbing the mako-created creature, but it would be centuries before the corpse dissolves completely. Its gray color dulled beneath the sun's rays, armor heavily damaged and cracked from the Mako Canon's bullet taking out the core. No one dared approach Diamond. People feared it would wake to bring another calamity while others simply wanted to forget their near deaths of Meteor. Nobody bothered the gravesite, leaving it and its brethren as monuments of human greed.
Not everyone agreed in such sentiment. Three men approach Diamond, each with matching silver hair and almost matching black leather outfits. Yazoo quietly snickers at the bloomed flowers outlining the beast.
"How the mighty fall," he comments, brushing away stray silver hair from his face.
"How are we gonna get it up and runnin' again?" inquires Loz, shaking his head as no ideas came to mind so he pouts.
"Patience, brother," Kadaj grins at Loz. He steps up to Diamond, and touches its skeletal arm. The grin spreads wider as he imagines the Weapon marching upon the northern shores, shaking the continent with each step, and every human knowing they would die by its hand. Those massive shoulder jaws opening, and expelling pure mako energy to destroy the enemies of the Planet. Kadaj wanted to see it in person. He wanted to feel the thrum of energy echoing across as the humans die and return to the Lifestream on this dying planet. "Mother's plan will not fail us. We will find her, and resurrect Sephiroth with Big Brother's help."
"And these dead things are gonna help us?"
"Oh Loz," Yazoo interjects, "we'll use them like toy soldiers. They just need batteries."
"So what's gonna power that thing?" Loz points at Diamond.
"The Heir."
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For three months every Friday morning, Rufus Shinra receives reports on three unidentified men lurking in Weapon locations. He wouldn't verbally agree, but Rufus is thankful that only AVALANCHE knows the location of Emerald. Only he and his Turks knew the resting place of Sapphire as they had carefully moved the body from Junon waters. Maybe now they can compromise on those secrets. Rufus felt his stomach turn like acid dissolving another layer of his stomach. Nothing good was going to come out of this; nothing ever did where Remnants, Sephiroth and Jenova are concern.
Rude informs the President that Cloud arrived, and Reno is escorting him into Healen Lodge, and to the office. Tseng and Elena are MIA, and the Turks were not taking any chances of an assassination or kidnapping happening. Rude and Reno are the only employees at the site; the others in Edge handling company business and continuing operations.
Security doors unlock themselves when Reno slides his card, and Cloud enters the office. The former SOLDIER gives the President the courtesy of not staring the blue-grey bruises staining his skin. Rufus notes Cloud looks paler with dark circles under his eyes. The two had taken medical exams a year and a half ago when the Geostigma epidemic broke out; the difference between them is staggering, but the end results would be the same.
Rufus is confined to a wheelchair, a soft blanket draped over his form to keep him warm, and bandages concealing his left eye and neck. To those who didn't know the ginger, they would say it's amazing he's lived this long with Stage 4 Geostigma. To those who do, they would say his stubbornness is the only reason he lives. Most would've succumb to the inevitable death early on.
Cloud cautiously approaches Rufus, his mako green eyes bright in the dim room. Rude takes Rufus' blanket and drapes it gently over the man before opening the blinds allowing natural sunlight into the room. Cloud feels his skin itch when the light hits him, but he doesn't say a word. Instead, he chooses to study the photographs on the desk.
Crisp monochrome photos showcasing various angles of Diamond, Ruby and Ultimate Weapon. Some are old with the edges worn. Cait Sith took them no doubt with Moogle's artificial eyes acting as the camera.
Some are Cloud standing on top of Ultimate Weapon, his sumptuous Ultima sword piercing the red orb of the dragon as it lies outside Cosmo Canyon. There are some far shots of Bahamut ZERO fighting the Weapon. He remembers the rush of power as he stood on ZERO's left shoulder, combining their abilities to overcome Ultimate. It was one of the last times he felt truly alive, and not a puppet of Jenova or Hojo.
Ruby's decapitated head lies in the desert of Gold Saucer. The body lies yards away, its Godzilla structure already sinking into soft areas of sinking sand. Vincent casually leaning against the head; his golden claw stain black. It was absurd the way the former Turk took off by himself after AVALANCHE finished battle strategies. Cloud and Vincent knew out of all the companions, they were the ones who were able to take down the respective Weapons without fear of their friends dying.
Diamond has the most photos with some showing Highwind patrolling the sky. The hole in its chest now a pool of pure mako as it slowly decomposes. It's easy to spot from the rooftops of Edge, but nobody would go near it. Cloud himself had walked the expanse of Diamond, and he still feared its corpse.
There are no photos of Emerald or Sapphire. Emerald's grave purposely kept from Cait Sith to not disclose it to Shinra, but now he may not be so sure. At each location are three men suspiciously akin to Sephiroth. They're touching and studying the Weapons. Nanaki hadn't reported any strangers investigating Ultimate. Rufus can see the same look on Cloud's face of discomfort at the realization.
"Remnants of Sephiroth," Rufus explains. "They were just sighted at Diamond, and that's why I called you."
"The Weapons are dead, what use would they have with corpses?" Cloud inquires.
"Shits and giggles for all we know. The Remnants escaped Northern Crater four months ago. Thankfully they haven't been terrorizing people, but I would feel better if they did. We knew what we were up against with Sephiroth and Jenova. We know almost nothing about these three."
"We don't need another Reunion." Even as he said it, Cloud felt a hand brush against his mind, eerily similar to Sephiroth and Jenova did before they tried to control him. "Maybe they're harmless-" Rufus chokes out a low laugh at the comment. "I'm a delivery guy now. What do you expect me to do?" What was Rufus' angle?
"Tseng and Elena are missing," Reno unwillingly confesses. Cloud turns to face the second-in-command Turk. Fatigue in evident in his posture. "We know what we are. Those three are Sephiroth's."
"Call me when they become a problem," says Cloud, and he shuffles past Reno, leaving the complex.
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Updated: 1/28/2017
