It was storming that day. The terrorist group known only as Comet stole the final remains of Jenova from a top secret Shinra laboratory. The Turks were in pursuit, and even asked for Cloud's aid. Comet was pulling out all the stops to get the remains to wherever it was they wanted it to go. Decoys, armored vehicles, even using Materia against them. By sheer luck, Cloud and company remained on the tail of the right vehicle. They got to an airport and quickly baton passed the remains to Comet members in an airship. Luckily, Cid was on the ball opening the Shera's docking bay doors so they could drive right in and continue pursuing.
The airship was headed straight for Meteor's Crater, where Sephiroth's sword remained as a reminder of the past. They landed and pursued into the depths where they found an entire temple had been built in secret. Once at its gates a horde of Comet agents came out to fight. When they'd cut down some, more would show up out of the blue. The Turks caught up and also began to fight the agents eventually making a kill circle with Cloud's group trying to take them all out.
"Cloud, you've got to stop whatever they're doing. I've got a plan to get you through the flesh wall." Rude spoke while fighting by Cloud.
"I'm all ears." Cloud grunted as he blocked some attacks before retaliating.
"Tuck into a ball for a minute." Rude commented, and before Cloud could say anything he was soaring through the air over the horde and in through the front doors of the temple.
Cloud looked at them for a minute, and Tifa nodded while punching out an agent. He then rushed toward the altar where several members were using machinery to redirect a small bit of the Life Stream at Sephiroth's sword… which had Jenova's remains at its foot. Bright light enveloped the two objects, which made Cloud charge and cut down the members. He swung at the light… and his sword stopped dead. Gates closed off the Life Stream from the temple once more… and the glow began to fade. A being now stood before him, stopping his using Sephiroth's Masamune. She had long silver hair, pale skin, and was completely naked… but her eyes were distinctive… Jenova had been reborn.
"That golden spiked hair… you must be… Cloud… Sephiroth has told me an awful lot about you." she spoke softly with a grin at Cloud.
She touched the upper part of Masamune, and with a slight nudge made a shockwave send Cloud flying into a pillar. The others made their way in and could only stare in horror at her. The only person not shaking was Reeve, but he was still nervous. Jenova walked down the steps of the altar letting her long hair trail on the ground behind her. The grin on her face hadn't faded.
"My, my… this world has certainly healed a lot in the time since my death… let's fix that, shall we?" Jenova chuckled staring at them.
"Jenova…" Vincent muttered slowly cocking his gun, and then fired several times only for Jenova to move at insane speed palm striking his stomach sending him flying initiating a fight with all of them.
Jenova was called a demon for a reason. No one could keep up with her, and she hit almost three times as hard as any normal person should. Even Tifa couldn't land any hits on her and she was arguably the fastest of them. She continued to knock them all around and back flipped over Reno's baton into backward cartwheels gaining distance as the others tried to gather their bearings.
"I'm having quite a lot of fun… but there's a nasty draft in here. So I want… you… you… and you to accompany me." Jenova laughed slashing the ground sending dark purple sludge at them hitting Tifa, Cid, and Reeve in the face.
Immediately they began walking to Jenova. Their eyes had turned red and black veins highlighted near the edges of them.
"Something tells me they aren't on our side anymore…" Yuffie groaned standing up.
"Tifa. What are you doing?" Cloud asked, but she remained silent with a dead stare as a cloud of darkness made them vanish.
A month passed and nothing was heard from them, or Jenova. Comet had all but gone silent. Cloud went to the abandoned church, where he felt closest to Aerith when he needed to talk his mind. Usually he'd just air out his concerns, but this time was different. He decided he'd try to reach out to her, and receive an answer.
"Aerith. I know you've been watching. I… I don't know what to do. Tifa, Cid, and Reeve have been brainwashed and I don't even know where to begin looking for them. Jenova is more powerful than Sephiroth could ever hope to be… I don't think we can take her. Please… is there something, anything, you can do?" Cloud prayed on his knees.
It was completely silent at first, but then Cloud could hear a piano nearby. He followed the sound slowly coming to a woodland area. There he found a sparkling deep blue lake. The piano sound was coming from under the water, or at least it sounded like it. Cloud didn't know why, but he felt the urge to go in. He took a deep breath and began to walk into the water. It wasn't cold at all, but felt warm. He reached the center, and all of a sudden he was pulled down… but he could breathe. He touched the bottom of the lake, and then he surfaced out into a completely white room with the bottom of the lake acting as its floor. There Cloud saw Aerith playing the piano he'd been hearing.
"Aerith…" Cloud spoke, and Aerith smiled at him.
"I think that this place is much better for talking, isn't it?" Aerith asked walking to him extending a hand to help him up.
"You heard me then." Cloud smiled and Aerith sat down at the pure white table that was there prompting him to sit as well.
"I've spoken with a lot of people since I died. There really isn't much to do in the afterlife while you wait to be reborn. I've asked around, seen if there isn't something we can't do, and some of my fellow Ancients came up with a plan." Aerith told him.
"A plan? Will it work?" Cloud asked.
"Sadly there's a catch, Cloud. The only viable plan would take at least a week to set in motion, and after that it would be up to those involved to see it through." Aerith nodded.
"Even though we're on the clock to stop Jenova and whatever she's planning. So what do you and the other spirits have in mind?" Cloud asked.
"We'll awaken the original guardians of the world, the Eidolons. Of course, they're so old and likely won't have the same morals we do, so we'll have to reset them to their birth forms before releasing them to the world." Aerith explained.
"Birth forms? You can do that?" Cloud asked.
"We won't know until we try, and it's better than waiting for her to call Meteor." Aerith smiled.
"So what do we do then?" Cloud asked.
"Be prepared to find those the Eidolons bond with. Like Materia, they require a catalyst with which to unleash their power." Aerith told him.
"So they're like Summon Materia?" Cloud asked confused.
"The Materia only contains shadows of who the Eidolons once were, and were left behind by those who were once bonded to them. When the new ones reach maturity they will look very different from their last incarnations." Aerith explained.
"How will I know who they are?" Cloud asked.
"They'll bear a marking on their skin that will make them stick out like sore thumbs. It may require some searching, but I know you can do it. There will be six Eidolons in total." Aerith explained.
"Last question… will these Eidolons be a match for Jenova?" Cloud asked nervously.
"If you properly raise them." Aerith responded, and when Cloud resurfaced from the lake Vincent and Yuffie were standing there.
"Have a nice swim?" Yuffie asked.
"I have a plan for Jenova." Cloud told them.
"Hope it's good. Jenova brought the Golden Saucer to the ground about an hour ago claiming it as her base for the time being." Vincent explained.
"It'll take a while to explain… so let's gather everyone so nobody's left out of the loop." Cloud told them.
Just as Aerith had said, a week after that meeting a giant sigil appeared in the sky over the world. From it, six massive energy spheres appeared that fired curving beams down to the surface. The Eidolons had arrived… now all Cloud and company had to do was find their catalysts. Naturally, that was going to be easier said than done. Shinra immediately set their information network to action as Cloud's group took the Shera to begin searching on their own. It was very slow at first, because only Cid really knew how to fly an airship.
End Chapter 01