CHAPTER 1
Visions and Their Meanings
I sat there, looking up at the run down church. The door was off its hinges, kicked in from the outside, the furniture inside was all broken, and there was a large hole on the roof. The flowers that once grew inside the church were long gone. I wasn't sure why I was here. I had had another vision, and it led me to this pathetic little church in a place no one lived in anymore. I sighed. I had been having visions ever since I was little. It had been twelve years since they first began. I had gone to talk with the doctor of my town, but the doctor said I was perfectly healthy. I shook his head. It made no since at all to me. I tried to remember all of what I had seen.
I remembered the ground rushing up to meet me, and than falling through a roof, somewhere in Midgar. I had landed in something soft, but my body still ached. Then there was that voice, whispering in my ear about something that happened in the past. About scraping my knees back then, and how I didn't have a scratch now. I had opened my eyes to see a young woman leaning over me, saying how the flowers had cushioned my fall. And that was it. There was nothing more. Sighing, I pushed myself to my feet, and stretched. Walking down the deserted street, I decided that as long as I was here, I might as well have a look around. Turning to the right, I saw some small buildings, all run down and abandoned. The signs showed that they had once been shops, but the paint was so faded, I couldn't tell which had sold what. To the left of the cluster was a drain tunnel. Curious, I climbed in, and found that it opened up to a room, not the sewers. There was a musty blanket, covered in dust over the years. There was a shelf with what might have been trophies. There was a lump under the blanket. At first I didn't do anything. The lump didn't move, and I highly doubted someone was still left living in this place. Easing back the covers slowly, I than bolted out of there, a hand clapped to my mouth. Inside there had been a skeleton, but that had not been what creped me out. Whoever it was, they had stayed there, and lived in there till recently. The corpse of the man was rotting away, but there was still skin. It had been all dried up, and the grossest color I had ever seen. There were still some organs, which hung out from the skeleton. The rats had been gnawing on the organs, and walking in and out of the nose and eyes of the skeleton. Looking back at the drainpipe, I pulled a face, and almost vomited.
"Damn, that was the sickest thing I have ever seen!" The thing had even been more disgusting than when I had cut open that cat, and that dog, and that horse, and….
I had done a lot of crazy and disgusting stuff when I was young…. younger. I had always been cutting things open to see what was inside, and picking fights with kids that were twice I age. My mother would scold me badly for picking fights before she died. Once I had opened up a firework to see what was inside, and all the adults had yelled me for doing it. They said I could have killed them all, and some wondered if I was stupid as to do that. But I wasn't stupid, just misunderstood. That's the way I liked to think about it. I had been kicked out of my hometown, Kalm, when I started having visions. That was what decided it. They had considered me a madman, and a bad role model for the children.
Whatever, I thought. I don't need them, of that town. Walking away from the drainpipe, I headed to an opening to the right of the cluster of shops. There was sunlight poring in, or what there was for a sun. Nowadays, the sun barely ever showed, and when it did, it wasn't all that bright. Still, to see sunlight in the Sector Seven Slums was a strange and wondrous sight. Walking into the pathetic ray of sunlight, I found myself that what had once been a beautiful two-story house. There were dead bushes and plants all around me, where there had once been plants and flowers. The house wasn't as run down as the other buildings, but it was still bad. Walking in, I noticed that the kitchen didn't have a spec of dust anywhere to be seen. I heard footsteps, and looked to see an old woman walking down the set of stairs. She stopped halfway down, and stared at me. Her hair was completely gray, and she wore a green dress with a white apron covering it. There were slight wrinkles beneath her eyes. I judged her to be in her early fifties.
"Who are you?" she demanded. "What are you doing here?" She was down the stairs now, and stood at the opposite side of the room. I tried to sound soothing.
"My name is Titus. I came here because I had a vision of falling through the roof to that church, and meeting a young woman. She had long brown hair, tied up in a braid, and big, green eyes. She was wearing pink and red. Do you know her?" Tears started welling up in the woman's eyes. Oh lord. Here comes the water works. I helped the old woman into a chair at the table, and poured her a cup of tea. "Here." She took it gratefully, but did not drink it. I sat opposite of her. Long minutes went by in silence. Finally she spoke, not looking up.
"The woman that you spoke of, her name was Aeris. She was my adopted daughter. When you spoke of falling through a roof, I knew right away that you seen what had happened to someone through their own eyes. A young man, around your age I think, fell through the roof of that church. That is why there is a hole in the ceiling. He landed in a bed of flowers, and my daughter met him there. They went off to Wall Mart, and didn't come back for a while. When they did, they brought some friends with them, and left a little girl in my hands. Than, a stuffed cat came to me, and told me that my daughter was dead. A man named with a long sword had killed her. That was the last that heard from that young man too. He never came back, and neither did any of his friends. True, they came back to save Midgar, but I wasn't here. The little girl went back with her dad, and I was left here alone. I thought that maybe he would come back, and that we could weep for my Aeris together, but he didn't, and it has been twelve years since then."
"You are talking of Cloud. I remember him. He came to Kalm twelve years ago. I'm sorry about your daughter, but I want to know why I am having visions of Cloud's past. I've had them ever since the planet was saved from the meteor. Do you know why I may be having them?" She looked up at me.
"Yes, I think, maybe. Cloud was a clone of the man that killed my daughter. The one who came to tell me of the death of my daughter also spoke of how Cloud is a clone to that same man who had killed her. He also spoke of a madman named HOJO, who made those clones. He linked Cloud to all the others, perhaps you are connected to those clones as well." I didn't say anything. "Come, you can spend the night here, but I suggest you leave in the morning. There is nothing left here for anyone."
That night I lay flat on the bed, gazing up at the ceiling. I couldn't sleep. What if she had said was true? What if I really was a clone, just like Cloud? Finally, I fell into an uncomfortable sleep.
I was somewhere in the mountains. I wasn't sure where, but I knew I had been here before, or at least Cloud had. There was something in the distance, growing larger by the second. I realized what it was almost immediately. There was no mistaking it, it was a reactor. The Shinra had used reactors to suck the very life out of the planet. There had been three in all, not including the eight in Midgar. It was large, and round, made out of some strong metal. There was a long set of stairs leading up to the reactor. I began to climb those stairs, not paying much mind to where it was I was going. Before I knew it, I was in a room full of red tanks. Tubes connected to the tanks came up through the bottom of the room. I felt sweat start beading down my forehead as I approached one of the tanks. I peered inside, and jumped back at what I saw. There was some kind of strange monster in there. The tank's door snapped open, and out fell that horrid creature. It began to wiggle and twist in a pool of green fluid that had spilled from the tank. I knew what that fluid was too. It was the life source of the planet, the thing that the Shinra had craved to have. Then, the being stood up, and its body began to change. It became shorter; the blue-green scales forming itself to white, and than to flesh. The eyes became wider, and the skin beneath the eyes started to form into a narrow nose. Spiky, blonde hair began to sprout from its head, one hair at a time. The body became more shapely. I gasped. Before me stood a man where there had been a creature from the very depths of the underworld. I knew who it was.
"You!" I said in astonishment. Cloud didn't do anything or show any emotion. "Tell me! Why am I having visions from your past? Why is it I feel the hurt, and the emotions you did?" Cloud still did not say anything. "Are you going to answer me!" He turned his head so that he was looking to his left, head bent slightly down. I looked too, afraid of what I might see. I stared. There lay a young girl, younger than me by years, perhaps five or six. She lay, propped up against a one of those red tanks. At first I thought that the brighter red on the tank and floor was just where the metal had rusted, but to my disgust, I realized it had come from the girl. Across her stomach I saw a long slash, and blood pouring from the wound. The image flashed. A few seconds later it began flashing like crazy, as if it was a memory that was trying to hold on. Then, it was gone. I looked back to Cloud. He was still looking where the girl had vanished, as if waiting for her to come back. Then Cloud looked at me; his eyes showing no emotion. "Who was that?"
"That was Tifa, a friend of mine a long time ago. Sephiroth almost killed her, the bastard. Just like when he had killed Aeris."
"Can you please tell me why you are showing me this? All of these visions, it makes no sense."
"I guess it's about time someone told you." He walked up the set of stairs between the row of tanks, and into a room. Following, I found him in a peculiar room. It glowed a strange blue, with small spots of red everywhere. There hung from the ceiling tubes and wires. I could see where they had broken off. Cloud stood in front of those tubes and wires, as if longing for whatever it was that had been there. He spoke without turning to him.
"Here was where Jenova had been held until Sephiroth took her away. Do you know about her?" I felt like he did, even though I was sure I had never even seen the alien. But before I could say anything, Cloud started to talk again, laughing quietly to himself. I did not like that silent, insane laugh. "What am I saying! Of course you have! You are similar to me, Titus. We are both clones to the greatest swordsman that ever lived. But you were special; you were made to surpass Jenova, to surpass Sephiroth, and even me! But your powers are still too weak…." He began muttering to himself. I strained my ears to hear what he was saying, but it was no use. Cloud turned to face me, a grin on his face that made me shrink back. "I could dispose of you here and now, but I think I would prefer to fight you at your strongest, just to prove that you are indeed a failure!" He began to laugh hysterically. I shook my head, and ran back out of the reactor, Cloud's laugh following me all the way.
CHAPTER 2 The Search of a Scientific LunaticI awoke, sweating. The curtains of my window were pulled back, and what sunlight shined here poured in. taking deep breaths, I tried to calm my pounding heart. In my mind I went over what happened in my dream.
Was it a dream? Or was it something more?
Pushing it out of my mind, I got up and got dressed. There was no point in worrying about it. It was a dream, nothing more. But it had seemed so real. How could I have dreamed something like that? If it had been more than just a dream, did that mean that I was like Cloud, a clone of the great Sephiroth? I shuddered at the thought. True, I had always liked hearing stories about him, but I wouldn't want to be like him.
I walked down the stairs to find a breakfast laid out for me on the table. Sitting down, I tried to keep myself under control. I hadn't eaten in two days, and I was next to starving. Mrs. Gainsborough put down a plate of bacon, and gave me a smile.
"You must be starving, why don't you dig in?' I did just that. Within seven minutes I had eaten at least three pieces of toast, four eggs, and fifteen pieces of bacon. Leaning back in my chair, I patted my belly gratefully.
"Thanks, I needed that." She sat down opposite me.
"So have you decided what you're going to do?" she asked. I thought about this for a second.
"I think I'm gonna find that HOJO guy you were talking about. I had a strange dream last night, but I'm not sure if it really was a dream." Reluctantly, I told her of all that had happened as soon as I fell asleep. When I was done, she nodded her head.
"That has to be Cloud. It sounds just like him, but I don't remember him acting like that. HOJO and Sephiroth were obsessed with power, and destroying, and fighting, but not Cloud. He always was protecting people, and avoiding fights if he could."
"It would have to be him," I said. "He...even told me I was a clone of Sephiroth, but I'm not sure if I believe that part."
"You should," she said simply. "Cloud never lied unless it was necessary. I don't believe that part of him changed, if he told you about what happened to Tifa, or Sephiroth, or Jenova."
"What is Jenova anyway? All I know about it is that it was an alien lifeform that crashed to Earth a long time ago."
"I don't know much about it either. You'd have to talk to HOJO, he's the one who studied it."
"Yeah, I guess I don't have a choice if I want to find out more about these visions, and more about Jenova." Getting up, I went back upstairs to collect what little belongings I had. Putting on my belt that held my pistol holder, I stuck his pistol in it. Looking around the room, I realized that this must have been where Aeris had slept once. There were a few things on the burrow; a pink handled brush, some ribbons. Turning away, I walked out of the room, closing the door behind me. Downstairs Mrs. Gainsborough stood waiting with a small, bulging pack. She handed it to me.
"Here," she said. "There's a blanket and food in there." She also handed me a small pouch tied at the top with string. "And here's something that might help you along your way. The first place to look for HOJO would probably be in the city, Turpentine."
"Thank you," I said. Walking out the door, I headed for Turpentine.
A few hours later, I was on my way. I decided that it would be best to stay away from Kalm, seeing as how I had been kicked out. The people there had been frightened more than angry. I had done weird things, things that they didn't like, or approve of. No one had taken pity on me when my parents died when he was eleven; twelve years ago. Now that I thought of it, a lot of things happened after Cloud and his friends had stopped Meteor. Ever since than, I started pulling pranks, cutting things open to see what was inside, picking fights, other things like that. Smiling, I decided to stop anyway; just to see how boring the town was without me.
Walking in I realized that there weren't as many people on the streets as there use to be. There were no kids running around, and barely any adults. All the adults I did see were going, ducking behind things at the smallest sound, and hurrying into houses. Only one person didn't seem affected. He stood off to the left, in front of the inn. The old man didn't look familiar. Shrugging, I walked over to him. The man didn't move away, just stood there, watching me.
"Uh, hi," I said, trying to sound cheerful. "I've never seen you around here before." The man didn't say anything. I decided to pass on the simple talk. "Can you tell me what's going on? There use to be kids out, and more adults." The old man shook his head sadly.
"They…. Are too afraid to come out," he said in a deep, brass voice.
"How come? It wasn't like this when I was here. It was only about four days ago."
"He has come. He threatens us; he keeps us in this town. Too many people are afraid he may harm their children if we don't do as he obeys."
"Who is this guy?"
"His name is Ramadan; he cam two days ago, and proclaimed himself the owner of this town. The people didn't like it, but he killed one of the children, with a single swipe of his sword. He than captured all of the children before we could blink, and said if we didn't do he says, they all die." A tear welled up in his right eye. "He took my granddaughter, the only part of my family left."
"What does he want with this town? It's pretty small, and the people here aren't wealthy."
"He said he was looking for a young man with strange colored eyes." I looked away. My eyes were one of the weirdest things about me. They were a dull red. People found it strange and terrifying that my eyes were like that, and that I had brown hair. Brushing down my bangs so that they partly cover my eyes, I turned back to the old man, but he was gone. I looked around for him, but he was nowhere insight.
Why didn't someone tell him I was in Midgar?
Trying not to think about the dead child, I went to a house I knew. Knocking on the door, I waited for old Mrs. Remington to answer. There were hurried footsteps inside, and a second later a woman had opened the door. She had long, gray hair in a bun, with smooth cheeks, and sharp eyes. I was surprised. This wasn't Mrs. Remington.
"What is it?" she asked in a creaky voice that seemed to have lost all pride it might once have had. "Are you a messenger for that devil!"
"Uh, no," I said. "But, where is Mrs. Remington? She was here only four days ago."
"Don't play games with me, boy!" she said in a warning voice. "I may be old, but I'm not stupid. I've lived in this here house for the last twelve years."
"Twelve years?" She nodded. "But, than you must be Ms. Trenton. But she-I mean you, died twelve years ago!"
"What in frick's blazes are you talking about!" Her eyes went wide as she saw my eyes. "You- you're that boy! Titus! But, how-he died twelve years ago!"
"What!" She dragged me inside the house, and sat me down at the kitchen table. She sat next to me, looking into my face.
"It really is you! But, how? You disappeared so long ago. Maybe you should tell me something about what the hell you think you're doing here." So, it old her everything there was to tell. About my world, my visions, being kicked out, and about Cloud. What harm could it do? When I was done, she didn't do anything, just sat there, staring at me in disbelief. "I believe you. There is no way even you could make up a story like that." For some reason I had a feeling that she didn't really believe, at least not entirely. "I've always heard about something people call the Chronicles. The word really means records, archives, history. There's a myth that says that there are alternate realities. Ones where different things might have happened had we made a different choice. And changing something in one world might also change something in all of the other worlds. In your world, I'm dead and you are alive, but in this world you are dead, and I am alive."
"Oh, I see. But how did I get here? It wasn't like this when I left a few days back. I'm confused." I really was. I couldn't remember anything strange happening, besides my dream, if that is what it was.
"Well, that's the thing, you could be switching between worlds and not even know it. Haven't you ever done something with someone, but when you talked to them about it, they said they had no idea what you're talking about? Or thought about doing something, but decided not to, and you got in trouble anyway?" The second one rang a bell. Once, when I was twelve, I was going to pull a prank on old Mr. Cracker, or Crackpot as I called him, but decided to tease Alison Bette instead. After I had sent her crying home, Mr. Crackpot and some other adults came over to me and punished me for pulling a prank him.
"Yeah," I said, kind of transfixed. "A lot, especially when pulling pranks. So does this happen to everyone?" She shook her head.
"Only some. It happens only to those who play a large part in something. I've even heard of some people changing worlds by will to help change events to their own liking, but it doesn't last long. The Chronicles slide people in and out so fast sometimes that people don't even notice."
"But what does this have to do with me? I mean, you said that this happens to others, so it's nothing to worry about." She sighed.
"You weren't listening well, were you? It happens only to those who play an important role. You've got a hard time ahead of you yet. You best make good use of the time you have in other worlds. I don't know how long you can stay here. I think it depends on the person."
"Alright, but while I am here, who is this guy that has everyone so frightened?" She shivered.
"His name is HOJO, a scientist. He was the one who had held the alien, Jenova, and was the one responsible for almost giving Sephiroth the power he needed."
"HOJO, eh? Listen, if you tell me where he is, I'll get rid of him." Her eyes began to well up with tears.
"Thank you! You really are a good boy, Titus. He is living in the mayor's house." I nodded and got up to leave.
"I'll be back if I can." I walked out the door, and down the street, climbing some stairs to the largest house, which could only be the mayor's house. Every person who dared to come, out avoided looking at that house, or walking anywhere neat it if they could. Without bothering to knock on the door, I slammed it open. "Alright HOJO, come on out. It's time to put an end to this."
"I was wondering when you would come." I turned around to see an old, man, bent from age. His long hair was pulled back, and he wore glasses that threatened to slip off of his bold nose.
"HOJO, I presume." He nodded, and began to laugh, head bobbing up and down. He stopped laughing after a few moments, and when he did, it was relief to my ears. "Are you always that annoying?" I knew right away that I shouldn't have said that. He began laughing again, worse than before. Sticking my fingers in my ears, I tried to unsuccessfully drown him out by grinding my teeth. Once the stopped I removed my fingers, and stared at him questioningly. Yup, this dude is frigen insane. Shrugging, I took up talking again. "I've been looking for you. I want to know something. It's about Sephiroth and Cloud, and the alien life form, Jenova. I want to know what connection there is between them and me." HOJO didn't say anything at first, but then hobbled into a room to my right, and after a moment, I followed. It was a messy little living room, with a couch and a chair that looked as if they had come from the dump, and that was where they should go back. He gestured for me to sit down, but I refused politely as I could, trying not to show my impatience. HOJO just shrugged, and sat down on the couch.
"So, you want to know about the connection you have, do you?" I nodded curtly. "Alright. I suppose that it began some twelve years back, right after Cloud and his friends defeated Sephiroth, and saved the planet from both him and Meteor. Cloud came back to Midgar with Tifa and Barret, seeking a simple life. But with the Shinra gone, the people felt no need to stay there any longer. One by one, the people of Midgar moved away, looking for a brighter and more prospering life. Cloud and his friends stayed, at least for a while, with Mrs. Gainsborough. But, something was wrong with Cloud."
"How so?" He looked at me with puzzlement, and what might have been worry, in his eyes.
"It's hard to say. He stopped talking so much, and started losing his appetite. He drifted away from us, and soon enough he wasn't eating or talking at all. Cloud stayed in his room most of the time, and always seemed to be tired and angry, as if he felt that the whole world was against him. One day he finally cracked when he came downstairs and Tifa asked him if he was finally going to grow up. Cloud began shouting about it being none of her business, and to just leave him alone. He began throwing things around the house, smashing dishes, tossing chairs against the wall, not even bothering to watch them shatter. Tifa ran out of the house, and went in search of Barret and his daughter who had gone for a walk. The three of them came home that night to find Cloud gone, and the house a mess. The only thing that they could find gone was his sword. The three of them went looking the next day, taking their possessions with them, never to come back."
"Did they find him?" HOJO shook his head slowly.
"Nope. They were never seen or heard of again in Midgar. I don't know where they are now."
"What happened to Cloud? Where did he go?"
"Well, he showed up about a month later at this very town. You probably don't remember him. You were so little, and he stayed hidden the entire time. He stayed there for a about a week, and decided to cross the marsh."
"But why did I start getting these visions? I can actually feel what others were feeling; their sorrow and joy, their pleasure and anger, their pain."
"Well, you see, when Cloud came he did something, but I am not even sure. The thing is that Cloud is indeed a clone to Sephiroth, and about ten years ago, he destroyed his clones."
"Wasn't there a lot of clones though?"
"Yeah, but there were five new ones named Kadaj, Loz, Yazoo, Rods, and Kaddish. Or he thought there were five. In fact there were seven, and you were one of those that got lucky."
"Who was the other?"
"Their name was KIB-MOT."
"KIB-MOT? What kind of name is that?" HOJO nodded his head.
"It stood for something; an experiment she was. She had both Sephiroth's and Ancient genes. KIB-MOT stands for 'KID INTELLIGANCE AND BATTLE MODE TESTING.'"
"Ok. So what's with the name?"
"Kid was three when we began testing her, and when Cloud started to go after the Kadaj and the others. You were five I believe. Anyways, Kid was talented. She was smart, smarter than me, smarter than any other person I had met or heard of. She also became quite skilled in the use of combat, when we tried to teach her a little. We figured that part of that came from her father."
"Who's her father?" I asked hesitantly. Somehow I knew that I wouldn't like the answer. I could only guess that it was some mad scientist or something like that, but the answer that I got was beyond any I could have thought of.
"Sephiroth," said HOJO. He seemed calm as he said it. I just sat there for a few moments, mouth hanging open, staring at him.
"No way! Sephiroth's child died long ago. Everyone knows that."
"No, she almost died. Kid suffered from a great and terrible disease, yes. And now, I am happy to say, she just may be the one to bring this world into the Dark Ages."
- 12 -