I do not own Final Fantasy 7 or any of the characters in Final Fantasy 7 or content from said game, my own characters are my own design and I own them, so ask if you want to use them at all.
(A/N the first part of this chapter starts in a characters PVO, because the planet of FF7 has no name, in this it will be called Earth 3)
The Never ending battle of light and Darkness
Vol. 1 – the JENOVA crisis.
Chapter 1 – the job.
It has been 500 years since the great war of light was finished, the present has long since forgotten such times, as a master of the martial arts I am bound to train my daughter in law's children.
She is a sweet woman, but little did I know she was a descendant of Slyther, nor the fact that she was partly an Angel who had Reaper blood, she is a woman of many things, the most important is a mother to my grandchildren, I love them so... but they are somewhat of a problem.
Their training has been fruitful, but they take little heed in my direct orders and wisdom, oblivious of the responsibility of their bloodline and unheeding of my warnings, so I must send them each on tasks of great danger, like the start of all adventures it begins with an act of disobedience and recklessness.
Normal PVO
Two teenagers sat in the kitchen arguing while eating their breakfast, "bro, you are so reckless, I mean that guy clearly had a gun and you still fought him" the younger female said, "sis, he was robbing a bank, not mugging somebody... I didn't get hurt" the older boy said.
"And that man's guide dog?" the girl asked, "that Holy fireball was a little off target and hit the dogs paw...not a big deal" the boy said, "it dragged that poor man down the stairs as it yelped in pain" the girl said, the two stopped arguing as an old man came into the room.
"Morning kids, I'm going to watch my soaps" the man said, "sure thing grandpa" the boy said, the grandfather of the two sat down and turned on the TV.
"Good morning, and before we begin the scheduled programme we go to a story that sounds like it's out of fantasy..." the TV said, "kids!..." the grandfather shouted as both teens cringed, the two children were taken to the dojo and kneeled on a mat while their grandfather stood in front of them.
"I am most disappointed in both of you, Luke, you know better to not use your angelic powers in public, as the older brother you should be showing some form of dignity and respect for my orders" the old man said in a commanding voice.
"But grandfather, Laura was the one to jump in head first" Luke said, "there is no excuse for also using your powers outside, regardless of who acted first" the old man said, "yes grandfather" Luke said while tilting his head, "it appears you both need outside training, Laura. I am sending you to train with your cousin in London, Luke, I am sending you to Earth 3, there appears to be some form of crisis and I think the experience will do some good.
"Yes grandfather" Luke said while bowing his head, the day continued as normal, the children's grandfather talked with their parents and the day passed into tomorrow.
5 people stood on a hill out of anyone's reach. Luke was stood in the middle in a red shirt that had a light weight chain mail woven in to its fabric with a leather gauntlet on his right arm, blue jeans and brown boots with buckles on them, a fingerless glove on his left hand and a blue undershirt.
"Luke, take this, it has been in our family for generations, use it wisely, it has 4 more cores before the magic is lost forever" a much older man with brown hair and green eyes said as he handed Luke a sword with a brass handle and a gun trigger.
(A/N It is the trigger blade, in short, it uses a magical coin and power core to ignite the blade in different elements)
"Thanks dad" Luke said as he slid the blade down a scabbard on his back, "it's a long journey, I placed some medical equipment in your pack in case you get hurt, don't do anything reckless and push yourself too far." A woman with brown hair and blue eyes said, "thanks mum" Luke said before backing away from the group.
"Luke, don't die on me" Laura said, Luke silently laughed as his mother began to move her hands, her palms glowed as a large symbol appeared on the floor beneath his feet, a stone appeared in front of Luke and he grasped it in his hand. "This stone shall teleport you back when your training is done and you want to return." His mother said as she continued to weave the spell.
In a flash of light Luke disappeared as his family looked at the spot where he once stood.
Earth 3 – Midgar – sector 7 slums
An old woodshed stood in the trash as a flash of light shone from the inside, Luke looked at his surroundings and noticed a dead corpse next to him, he fearfully grinned and searched for a door, as it opened he jumped out, he looked at the shed to see the corpse was gone.
Luke noticed the corpse on his back and threw it back into the shed before closing the door, a dead hand still lingered on his shoulder, Luke grabbed the hand and threw it back in the shed before closing the door and holding it shut with an oil drum, "ok, that was the second most creepiest thing I've seen" Luke said as he stared off into the distance.
Luke looked around at his surroundings and noticed metal plates that covered the sky, "whoa, so this is Earth 3, amazing" Luke said as he stared at the Midgar plates in amazement. A dark skinned man with black hair looked at him surprised to see someone who wasn't in battered or run down clothing, "hey" the man said, Luke turned to look at him and soon noticed the metal appendage on his right arm.
He stared for a couple of minutes at the giant gun, "what, you got something about my arm?" the man asked, "no, it's just, I've never seen someone with a mechanical arm before" Luke said, the man evilly stared at him for a moment as he clenched his fist, "I mean, I though it wasn't even possible, like a limb being replaced on demand" Luke said.
"You think I got this for kicks!" the man shouted in a rough voice while picking Luke up with his left hand by the collar, before Luke could say anything, both of them noticed 5 armoured men barge into a house, they dragged a man outside and one of the armoured men placed his boot on the man's back, "you're under arrest for crimes against Shinra" the armoured man standing on him said.
Luke jumped off Barret and stormed towards the 5 armoured men, "what the hell do you think your doing?!" the man asked, "hey, dick wads, you, the ones who cower behind guns, what gives you the right to barge in and arrest someone like that?!" Luke yelled as the armoured men turned to look at him, "and who are you?" one of the armoured men asked.
Barret ran up to him "he's my wife's nephew" he said hoping the armoured men would buy the obvious lie, "I'm a person who hates oppression of a sadistic dictator" Luke shouted as they readied their guns to fire at him, "not now" Barret whispered to Luke, Luke blunted Barret's words and scowled.
"You, the one with the gun at an innocent's head, I'm talking to you, or are you filled with so much bullshit to be unable to hear me?!" Luke shouted as the armoured man with his gun at the civilian's head turned the nose at Luke, "he didn't mean it, he hasn't had his medication today" Barret stated as the guards gave Luke a questioning look.
"You mean, he's crazy?" one of the guards asked, "hell no, I'm just a guy with 3 swords, that likes to speak his mind and kick the shit out of cowards like you" Luke said before Barret grabbed the back of his collar and dragged him off, the man looked over his shoulder he dragged Luke off to see the guard had bought his lie.
"Hey, let me go, this isn't right, what their doing is wrong" Luke shouted as he was dragged away, the man turned a corner and made sure both of them could not be seen or heard, "hell I know that, you have a sense of justice, I like that in a person" the man said, "thanks, but I should be using that same sense to kick ass, I was taught to use my skills for good not hide in the shadows" Luke argued back.
"I know, but you'll blow our cover acting like a hero" the man said, "our??" Luke asked, "come with me, I'll explain on the way when no one can hear us" the man said, "You got a name??" Luke asked, "Barret Wallace, you?" the man said, "Luke Naferous" Luke said as the two of them walked through an alleyway, they continued on walking as Barret explained what he was and what Avalanche did.
"I see, well I'll help" Luke said, "Ok, what can you do??" Barret asked, "I have weaponry skills in different sword fighting styles and I can wield magic." Luke said, "You've got Materia??" Barret asked, "What's that??" Luke asked, "Ok, you don't know what Materia is and yet you say you can wield magic" Barret said while stifling a laugh.
"See that barrel?" Luke asked, "Yeah?" Luke lifted his right hand and a white fireball appeared in his palm, the ball shot out of his glove and swerved towards the barrel, directly hitting the barrel while avoiding any obstacles. "Shit!" Barret said as he watched the barrel's remains smoulder.
"You just did that with no Materia" he stated, "ok, and what is Materia" Luke said as the two continued to walk as Barret explained what it was and how it worked, they reached a bar and Luke read the sign as he entered, "7th Heaven??" he said puzzled at the choice of name.
He looked around and noticed a woman with long black hair talking to a man with blond spiky hair, Barret motioned for Luke to sit down and he obediently did, as he sat down he removed the trigger blade from his back and pulled its mechanical trigger, nothing but a tiny spark flew out, he sighed and placed it on the table.
"We got a new recruit" Barret said as he sat on a bar stool, "who?" the black haired girl asked, "see the kid over there, he literally mouthed off to 5 Shinra guards and can use magic without Materia" Barret said as the woman placed a glass in front of him, the two people looked at him before looking back at Barret.
"He blew a barrel up with a white fireball" Barret stated, "hmm, Barret, it'll cost 1,500 gil for the next mission" the blond and spiky haired man said, "1,500 GIL!" Barret yelled, "Barret please, if it gets him to help us it's enough, I just finished convincing him to stay for another job" the black haired woman said.
Luke overheard their conversation and reached into his bag, he pulled out a red jewel and looked at it for a second.
Flashback
Two kids were playing in the sand dunes at the beach, both with brown hair and green eyes, the boy was digging at a dune and saw something red poking out of the surface, he dug around the red area till a red jewel rolled out of the dune and in to his small hand, the kid smiled and ran towards his family.
"Mummy, look at was I found" the child said as he showed his mother the red stone, she smiled at him and hugged him, "well done Luke, you found some buried treasure, keep it as a souvenir so you can one day look back at it and remember where you found it" she said as she placed it in her purse, "I'll hold on to it till we get home, you go play with your sister." She said before kissing him on the head.
"Ok, mummy" Luke said before running off.
End flashback
He smirked as he grasped the jewel and stood up, "how much do you think you'll get out of this" Luke asked, "...I'm not about to take a jewel off a kid, no matter how valuable it is." The blond haired man said, "I'm not a kid, I'm 16" Luke said while gritting his teeth. "but, that money's for Marlene's schoolin…" Barret stated.
"Take it or leave it Barret" the blond haired man said, "fine…1,500 gil it is" Barret said as both men shook hands, Cloud smirked as Barret walked over to a table and sat down, Luke picked up his trigger blade from his table and went to the table Barret was at.
Luke sat down and placed the Trigger blade in front of him, he placed the jewel in front of Barret, "here, a kid'seducation is more important than a childhood trinket, both your child and your organization need funding." Luke said, "Are you sure?" Barret asked uncertain at what he was being offered, "I found it when I was 6 and it's been collecting dust since then" Luke said as he removed the red coin from the handle of his trigger blade.
"Ok, people like you are hard to come by, whatever you want is on me" Barret said, "I would like an orange juice, fizzy if possible" Luke said, Barret nodded and the black haired woman walked into the back of the bar to look for his request, "so what's so special about that sword??" Barret asked.
"It infuses magic into the coin and then the result is expelled through the blade, this red one, means fire, so the blade is engulfed in a blaze" Luke said as he unhooked a small cover to reveal a ball like tanker on the inside of the handle, he removed it and placed it on the table.
"What's that?" Barret asked, "The magic core, it's what sends magic to the coin, but I'm running out, and they haven't been made for centuries." Luke said, "looks about the same size as magic Materia…" Barret said, "Magic… as in Materia produces magic?? Do you have any?" Luke asked and Barret removed a small green sphere from his pocket.
Luke placed it in the power core slot and closed the cover, he pulled the trigger and the blade hummed and engulfed in fire, "wow, I haven't even added a coin and it's already on fire…it's not as powerful but with a coin it could be much more" Luke said before releasing the trigger and opening the cover, "keep it, after what you gave me, it's the least I can do in return" Barret said.
"Thanks, I wonder…" Luke said as he placed the cover back on and placed a light blue coin over it, he pulled the trigger and the blade covered itself in a blue ghost like flame, the blade was cold but yet if touched would send a burning pain down whatever cut it made.
Luke released the trigger and removed the coin, he then added the flame coin to the handle and sheathed the blade on his back, "so, what's that Merc's problem anyway?" Luke asked, "that Merc is Cloud Strife, he's an old friend of Tifa's, she's the woman you saw, I already told them your name so you don't have to introduce yourself" Barret said as Tifa came to the table and placed a glass in front of Luke.
"Thank you Tifa" Luke said politely before picking the glass up and downing it in one, the day passed as Barret told Luke of their plans and each person went to get some rest. As morning came Barret introduced Luke to the other members of Avalanche, using fake ID's each member boarded a train and waited as it set off to the first reactor.
(A/N I had to use the original opening from FF7, it wouldn't be right without it, I know this isn't the opening but it just has to be there)
Upper level - streets
A flower girl in a pink dress with a red jacket looked at stray strands of Mako that were coming out of an exhaust vent, she smiled and walked out of the alleyway to the busy streets as the sound of a train could be heard in the distance.
The train the members of Avalanche here in raced toward Mako reactor one, the train came to a screeching halt, Jessie and Biggs jumped out of the train and knocked out the guards before Barret jumped out with Luke and Cloud, "C'mon newcomers, Follow me" Barret shouted before running through a door at the other end of the platform with the others leaving Cloud and Luke on their own.
The two walked down the platform, before they made it to the door that Barret had ran down two guard came out of another door and ran towards them, "think you can take this many?" Luke asked as Cloud ran at one of them, Luke smirked and drew both his normal long swords, Cloud sliced the guard and killed him in one stroke as Luke stabbed the other guard in the heart, the two bodies fell to the floor and both Cloud and Luke ran to where Barret was heading.
"Nice move's Cloud" Luke said while running, Cloud smirked and the two entered the doorway Barret had used and climbed some stairs into the reactor, Biggs noticed the two enter, "WOW! You used to be in SOLDIER all right! ...Not everyday ya find one in
a group like Avalanche." Biggs said, "SOLDIER? Aren't they the enemy? What's he doing with us in Avalanche?" Jessie asked.
Luke paid close attention to the events that were happening when he notice Biggs' choice of words, "Biggs said he was in SOLDIER, but now he's not and he's on our side" he stated, Barret walked into the room and looked at them all, "The hell you're doin'!? I thought I told you never to move in a group! Our target's the North Mako Reactor. We'll meet on the bridge in front of it." Barret said before moving towards Cloud and Luke.
"EX-SOLDIER, huh? Don't trust ya!" Barret stated as Jessie opened a gate, Biggs, Wedge and Jessie all moved on ahead while Barret, Cloud and Luke waited some time before they moved towards the reactor, 10 minutes passed before they reached the bridge and entered the reactor, "Yo! This your first time in a reactor?" Barret asked Cloud.
"No. After all, I did work for Shinra, y'know." Cloud said in an annoyed tone, "The planet's full of Mako energy. People here use it everyday. It's the life blood of this planet. But Shinra keeps suckin' the blood out with these weird machines." Barret said, "I'm not here for a lecture. Let's just hurry." Cloud said before sighing.
"You know, it would be nice if you listened, I find this interesting" Luke said as a beeping noise was heard, the group found Jessie as she finished deciphering a door lock, Luke, Cloud and Barret entered an elevator and took it down to enter the bowels of the reactor, "Little by little the reactor'll drain out all the life. And that'll be that." Barret said in a depressing tone.
"No wonder the life energy around here seems thin" Luke though to himself, "It's not my problem." Cloud said as the elevator continued to descend, "let me guess your only concern is getting caught, you mercs are all the same, greedy and a heart as cold as ice" Luke said as the elevator finished its decent and the door opened.
The group went down some stairs and began to approach the main controls of the reactor, "When we blow this place, this ain't gonna be nothin' more than a hunka junk. Cloud, you set the bomb." Barret said, "Shouldn't you or the kid do it" Cloud said, Luke once again gritted his teeth at Cloud's nickname for Luke.
"I trust him more than I trust you…hell I trust a fly more than you" Barret said, "fine" Cloud muttered as he headed to the controls, he stopped for a moment and refocused his eyes, "Cloud, what's up" Luke asked, Cloud shook his head for a second, " nothing, just a headache" Cloud then walked to the controls and planted a bomb, as he walked back to the group alarms began to go off inside the reactor and a robotic machine that looked like a scorpion came out.
It began to attack the group, Barret shot several bullets in to its thick armour while Luke and Cloud tried to strike at its armoured surface, Cloud's Buster sword glowed a ghost like blue for a second before he jumped into the air and came down with a mighty force, the power of the impact shattered the Guard Scorpion's armour, Luke watched every position and motions of that overhead strike as his angelic powers memorised the same motions.
Luke smirked as he placed one long sword over his shoulder and the tip of his other long sword near the ground, Luke ran at the Guard Scorpion and the blade began to skim the floor with its tip, sparks shot from the floor, as Luke came in range he dragged the sword across the floor and jumped as he vertically struck upwards, the force of the blade threw the robot into the air.
As he aerially aligned himself with the Guard Scorpion he continually sliced the circuitry of the robot's interior, as he finished his 4th strike he vertically struck the robot at the same time as sheathing his left hand sword and removing the Trigger Blade from his back, sending it to the ground.
Luke brought the Trigger Blade overhead and pulled the trigger as the blade engulfed in a powerful red blaze of fire and heat, Luke brought the sword vertically downwards in a similar way to Cloud, the blade vertically cut through the centre of the Guard Scorpion's front.
Luke jumped away from the scorpion as its circuits began to fry and sparks shot from its body, the robot crashed to the floor and Cloud looked at the robot, "was that my attack?" he asked, "well technically it was a vertical slash through the enemy but I used it for a finisher, now come on, we got to get out of here" Luke said as he ran out of the room.
Cloud and Barret followed as they made their way out of the reactor, Cloud spotter Jessie and noticed her leg was stuck under some debris, Cloud helped her get her leg free and they both followed Luke and Barret, the group entered a heavily armoured room as explosions were heard all around them.
As the noise dimmed Luke tried to open the door but found that it had been welded shut, Jessie planted some explosives, "ok, everyone get back", the door blew open and everyone got out of the room, the remains of the reactor were scattered about the ground, "All right, now let's get out of here. Rendezvous at Sector 8 Station! Split up and get on the train!" Barret said before walking off.
"H, hey!" Cloud shouted, "If it's about your money, save it 'til we're back at the hideout." Barret said as he continued to walk off, Luke noticed a near by building, he ran towards it, jumped on to the fire escape, Luke used the fire escape to reach the building's roof and made his way from there to the train.
Cloud shook his head and ran through the streets, he accidentally bumped into a girl with a pink dress and red coat, "sorry, do you know what happened?" the girl asked, "Nothing… hey, listen... …………Don't see many flowers around here." Cloud stated, "Oh, these? Do you like them? They're only a gil...?" she stated, "I'll take one" Cloud said as he got a gil out of his pocket.
"Oh, thank you," she picked out a flower from her basket "Here you are," she said while handing Cloud the flower, Cloud took the flower and ran towards the train station, as he got to a bridge over the railway several guards ambushed him, by instinct cloud jumped off the bridge as the train came out of the tunnel and Cloud landed gracefully on the roof.
Meanwhile the rest of Avalanche were in one of the train cars, "Cloud never came." Wedge said in a depressed tone, "Cloud…… Wonder if he was killed?" Biggs said with an equal amount of depression, "No way!!" Barret yelled, "He's too skilled to up and die on us, even if he was ambushed he'd still survive" Luke said as he continued to lean against the side of a crate.
"Cloud…" Jessie said, "Say, do you think Cloud's…… Going to fight to the end for Avalanche!?" "Biggs asked, The hell would I know!? Do I look like a mind reader? Humph!! If y'all weren't such screw-ups…" Barret shouted, "Barret! What about our money...?" Biggs asked before Barret slammed his mechanical arm on a crate.
"Uh, nothin' ...sorry." Biggs said, the train door swung open and Cloud swung inside just before the train entered the tunnel to the lower sectors of Midgar, "Cloud" everyone except for Barret and Luke shouted, "Look's like I'm a little late" Cloud said, "You damn right, you're late!! Come waltzin' in here makin' a big scene!" Barret yelled, "and I though I was a show off" Luke added.
"It's no big deal. Just what I always do." Cloud said as he leaned against the train wall, "Shit! Havin' everyone worried like that you don't give a damn 'bout no one but yourself!" Barret yelled, "look, everyone's here, can we just stop yelling before someone finds us" Luke said, Barret grumbled as he entered the next car and scared some people out of the car he entered.
"Last train out of Sector 8 Station. Last stop is Sector 7, Train Graveyard. Expected time of arrival is 12:23AM, Midgar Standard Time..." the group heard over the train speaker system, Barret looked out of a window at the ground and Luke walked over to look out the window as well.
"There's the surface… if those damn plates weren't in the way we would also be able to see the sky" Barret said, "a floating city, that's unsettling" Luke said as he looked at the plates, "The upper world…a city on a plate… It's 'cuz of that #$&#' pizza', that people underneath are sufferin'! And the city below is full of polluted air. On topa that, the Reactor keeps drainin' up all the energy." Barret explained.
"So why doesn't everyone move to the upper plate?" Luke asked, "Dunno. Probably 'cuz they ain't got no money. Or, maybe… 'Cuz they love their land, no matter how polluted it gets." Barret said, "I think it's because of money, I don't see any reason for people wanting to live in the slums" Luke said as he looked at sectors 6, 7 and 8.
The train entered the sector 7 stop and the group got off, "Yo!! Get over here, all'ya!! This mission was a success. But don't get lazy now. The hard part's still to come! Don't y'all be scared of that explosion! 'Cause the next one's gonna be bigger than that! Meet back at the
hideout!! Move out!" Barret said before leaving the platform.
"Papa!" Luke heard as he entered the 7th Heaven, Luke entered and saw a little girl on Barret's sholder, "you must be Marlene, it's a pleasue to meet you" Luke said, "Marlene! Aren't you going to say anything to Cloud? Welcome, Cloud. Looks like everything went well. Did you fight with Barret?" Tifa said, "Yeah, I brought you this" Cloud said as he handed her the flower he bought.
"Thank you, Cloud. It smells wonderful. Maybe I should fill the store with flowers." Tifa said as Barret walked over to a pinball table, "Get in here, fools!! We're startin' the meetin'!!" Barret said as he pressed a button and the pinball table descended into the floor with Barret, the table came back up and everyone else used it in turn.
"Yo, Cloud! There's somethin' I wanna ask ya. Was there anyone from SOLDIER fighting us today?" Barret asked, "none, I'm positive" Cloud replied, "so what we were fighting was the grunts, that don't see us as a big enough threat for any serious units" Luke said as he leaned against a wall.
"If there was anyone from SOLDIER, nether of you would be standing here right now" Cloud said, "oh, you think your so strong, well you work for Avalanche now so don't go crawling back to Shinra" Barret said, just as Tifa left the elevator Cloud got on it, "Shut up! I don't care about either Shinra or SOLDIER! But don't get me wrong! I don't care about AVALANCHE or the Planet for that matter!" Cloud said as he activated the elevator.
As Cloud got off the elevator and walked to the door Tifa had used the elevator to chase after him, "Listen, Cloud. I'm asking you. Please join us." Tifa asked as she grabbed his arm to stop him, "Sorry Tifa" Cloud said, "The Planet is dying. Slowly but surely it's dying. Someone has to do something." Tifa said still holding his arm.
"So let Barret and his buddies do something about it. It's got nothin' to do with me." Cloud said as he grasped the door handle, "So! You're really leaving!? You're just going to walk right out ignoring your childhood friend!?" Tifa said feeling rejected, "What……? ……Sorry." Cloud said as he released the door handle.
"……You forgot the promise, too." Tifa asked, "promise?" Cloud asked, "So you DID forget. Remember…… Cloud. It was seven years ago…" Tifa said, Cloud released his grip on the door handle as his memories began to recall, he looked at Tifa for a second before looking at the ground and closing his eyes.
"You remember now, don't you…our promise?" Tifa asked, "I'm not a hero and I'm not famous. I can't keep……the promise." Cloud said, "But you got your childhood dream, didn't you? You joined SOLDIER. So come on! You've got to keep your promise……" Tifa said.
Before Cloud could speak Barret and Luke entered the room via the elevator, "Wait a sec big-time SOLDIER! A promise is a promise! Here!!" Barret said as he handed Cloud the money, "ok, I'm in, but I want 3000 gil for the next mission and I need a word with our young friend here" Cloud said as he pointed to Luke.
Before he protested Cloud dragged Luke to his rented room on the second floor, Cloud locked the door and looked around at the room Luke had been granted to sleep in, "ok, first, how on earth were you able to copy and use my manoeuvre by just seeing it once?" Cloud asked in an angry tone.
"My family has had that ability for generations, and any sword wielder can pick up on skills if they have a keen eye" Luke explained as he kept half the truth to himself, "and how is it you stayed in the same place in the air for over 20 seconds" Cloud continued to asked, "using the air's support by controlling it's magical properties" Luke answered.
"Something you've learned?" Cloud asked, "Yes…" Luke stopped as he realised his mistake, "so, it's not your family who inherited magic but more they learned it" Cloud stated triumphantly, "so you caught me, what now?" Luke asked, "Can you teach that magic? And can I learn it?" Cloud asked.
"All life forms have the ability to use and wield magic and the elements, but how they do so is a different matter" Luke said, "you mean like Materia" Cloud asked, "yes, the magic I use is more potent but takes far more discipline to control, if you want to learn such magic, you will have to learn to quiet your mind." Luke said.
"Ok, I want to learn" Cloud stated, Luke smirked and sat on the floor with his legs crossed, "ok, first you need to learn the basics, we do this by creating a flame, now sit" Luke said, Cloud sat in the same fashion, "close your eyes and breath slowly through your nose" Luke said as he had already begun to do the same.
Cloud followed suit as his mind began to fill with thoughts, "clear your mind of all thoughts, lose yourself" Luke said, Cloud began to expel his thoughts from his mind, as his last thought left he began to lose his grip on reality, he could feel a current running through him, similar to the feeling when he would cast magic with Materia.
Cloud knew that he had removed all of his Materia and yet he had the same feeling, "can you feel a current running through your body like an unknown presence?…" Luke asked, Cloud nodded and Luke smirked as he continued to keep his eyes shut, "now grasp that flow and move your hands together but don't join them" Luke said, Cloud did so and took control of the current, as he did it began to struggle out of his grip.
"Now motion the current between your hands while thinking of the element of fire" Luke said, Cloud followed and several sparks appeared in between his hands before a small flame lit the room, "open your eyes" Luke said, Cloud did so and looked in between his hands at the flame he created.
Seconds later the flame disappeared and Cloud smirked, "you have just learned how to control your magical energy, there are skills that come to you in time, the ability to glide through the air and use magic to run faster" Luke said, "you mean like the ability to know your surroundings?" Cloud asked, Luke simply smirked.
"Thanks kid" Cloud said as he turned to leave, Luke shook his head and drew his Trigger Blade silently, Cloud stopped for a second as Luke brought the sword overhead and pulled the trigger, in a flash of light Cloud pulled his Buster Sword and blocked the attack, "impressive, you learn quickly" Luke said, "thanks" Cloud said, "oh and one more thing, my name is Luke, not kid" Luke said as he pulled his sword off Cloud's.
End of Chapter