Guardian of Gaia

Chapter 4

I rubbed Night's head while she rested her head on my lap. We were sitting out on the porch of the bar, waiting for Cid to get here. My other hand gentle fiddled with Night's name tag, which was attached to the collar around her neck. All of us were going since Cid was picking up everyone except for Vincent and Tifa. Tifa was going to stay to help get the room ready and to watch the kids.

"Cid will be here in ten minutes." Cloud said as he came out, shutting the door behind him.

I nodded and stood up, feeling somewhat awkward. I was wearing a pair of jeans Tifa let me borrow and a pair of her shoes...but I was wearing one of Cloud's shirts. It was one of those zip up ones that he wore right now and it was slightly big on me.

I felt strange, but I couldn't really complain. Tifa was going to get me clothes tomorrow since we were gonna need some for Lucrecia.

And maybe Sephiroth if we found him...or he found us.

We walked to the square where the Shera landed safely out of people's way. I looked up at the flying vehicle with awe, having not realized how huge it was. "Yo, spiky!" A big man with a metal hand and arm shouted, waving down at Cloud. I recognized him as Barret. Big guy with a metal arm, very rare to see one of those guys.

Well, except for Dyne, but he was dead.

Cloud nodded at him and led me and Night inside. We walked up to the deck, where I saw Barret, Cait Sith, Red XIII, Yuffie and Cid. "Who ya got there, Cloud?" Cid asked, looking at me.

I introduced myself, swallowing down my fear of having everyone's eyes on me. No wonder I was such an anti-social person. I explained everything in detail. I really didn't expect anyone to believe me.

"Cloud, ya can't be serious, right?!" Barret asked Cloud with an expression of surprise. "Sephiroth tried to destroy the planet! He killed Aerith!"

"It wasn't him." I said firmly.

"We watched him, kid. He murdered that sweet girl right in front of our fucking eyes!" Cid snapped.

"It wasn't him." I said again.

"If I may speak," Red XIII came forward. "She is right. Sephiroth isn't the one who tried to destroy the planet, or the one who killed Aerith. It was Jenova all this time. I saw his eyes...it wasn't him at all. Jenova controlled his mind to fight with us. Did you forget, all of you? His body is still at the Northern Crater."

I was actually surprised by Red's words. And he did have a point and he was right. Sephiroth's body is, and should still be, in the Northern Crater. They defeated Jenova who had been controlling his mind and took on his appearance. I never believed Sephiroth had been behind anything. It was all Jenova's fault.

"Once we wake up Lucrecia...we will go find her son." Cloud spoke.

The others all exchanged looks and sighed. "I suppose so." Cid said, not liking the idea. He started up the Shera and went off, causing me to fall flat on my ass.

I groaned softly and put my head between my knees. I was never a big fan of heights. I could hear Yuffie groaning as well. Looks like she hasn't gotten over her sickness of flying either. Red came to sit beside me, looking at Night. Night stared at him and then laid her head in my lap, getting comfortable.

"Thanks for...saying that." I said to Red.

"It's not a problem. I find it hard to believe you came from another dimension, but you know so much about us..." He said.

"I know. It was a lot for me to take in when I first came here just days ago. And now I have this..." I looked at my bandaged arm.

"It will be healed." Red said, nodding.

I went silent, closing my eyes to relax myself. It was at least a half hour before we arrived at the Crystal Cave and Cid landed the Shera to the grass. We all exited the Shera and I looked to the cave. My legs worked by themselves as I walked into the cave slowly, Night following right after me. I saw a man sitting there, seeming to be staring at the woman in the crystal.

"Vincent." I whispered.

That seemed to catch his attention. The raven-haired man stood up and turned to me, his dark red eyes locking onto my form. "Who are you?" he asked in that deep voice of his.

"My name is Shell...and I need to explain something to you." I said. It took me about the same amount of time for me to explain everything to Vincent. I was starting to get sick and tired of explaining everything. Vincent listened to me closely and didn't ask questions until I was done.

Vincent looked back to Lucrecia and I couldn't help but feel saddened. It seemed like Vincent's sadness had passed onto me while I explained things to him. I approached Lucrecia, placing my hands on the crystal that she was in. I then pressed my forehead against it, letting the cool surface sooth my forehead. "Lucrecia...I don't know if you can hear me...your son...he needs you. We're going to get him...he needs his mother."

A single tear ran down my cheek and fell onto the crystal. Without warning, the crystal began to glow. I stepped back, surprised and watched as the crystal glowed even brighter, causing me to shield my good eye with my arms. I squinted to try and see what was going on, but it was difficult to see it.

As the glow subsided, I saw Lucrecia and she seemed to be...floating almost. Her hair was flowing slightly along with her and god, for a woman of 60-years old, she looked absolutely beautiful. I could see where Sephiroth got his looks from. As the glow completely subsided, Lucrecia landed silently on the smooth, cave floor.

And without warning, she fell forward.

I gasped and hurried forward, catching her with my already weak arms. Her hands held onto me and I could feel her shaking. "It's okay...I got you." I said softly and helped her stand up properly. She was slightly taller than me, probably by a few inches. Lucrecia looked down at me with those brown eyes of hers. "Hello." I said softly, managing a smile.

She smiled down at me, her hands on my shoulders. She then looked up over my head and I heard her gasp and watched as her eyes widen. "Vin...cent?"

"Lucrecia..."

Lucrecia let go of my shoulders and I turned to see her slowly walk towards Vincent. Vincent remained still as a statue, watching her. She reached up, her hands slowly cupping his face. I saw her shoulders shake a bit and then she wrapped her arms tightly around him, hugging him tightly. Vincent seemed to stiffen up a bit, before he looked to relax and his arms went around her.

I couldn't help but smile. This was the reunion that I bet Vincent had been waiting for.

Vincent and Lucrecia didn't part for a long time. After they did, I stepped forward and decided to tell her everything, like I had to the others. Lucrecia listened and seemed awfully surprised when I mentioned her son. "My son...is he...?"

"I don't know for sure...we're going to the Northern Crater after this." I replied.

"Why the Northern Crater?" She asked.

I was silent for a long moment before I spoke. "Because his body may still be there."

0000000000000000000

"Here." Cloud handed me a small backpack and a cell phone. "Just in case we get separated. But just so that doesn't happen, don't wander off."

I nodded and looked into the backpack. I saw several round, colorful orbs. Materia. I kept the White Materia back at the bar, not wanting to lose it, or have it shatter. Lucrecia and Vincent decided to stay on the Shera, while the rest of us descended into the Northern Crater. I could see and feel how gloomy this place was. Cloud was in front, then Barret, then Night and I, then Red, Yuffie and Cid. We all walked in a line, not wanting to step off a cliff, or anything.

I could hear the sound of growls in the distance and an occasional roar. We walked to a more open area that had cliffs all around. "Be careful, everyone." Cloud said.

I walked close to a cliff, looking around the large, dark and open area. It was hard to see what was around us except for our flashlights. I furrowed my eyebrows when I felt a rumble underneath my feet. "Guys, did you feel-?"

Before I could finish, the ground crumbled underneath me and I fell. I rolled and tumbled down the steep cliff, yelping when something cut into my side. I continued to roll and tumble until I rolled right into a dark cave and yelped again when my left arm collided into something. I slowly rolled to a stop and I clutched my arm, whimpering. My flashlight blinked and flickered on me, being the only source of light in the darkness.

God, I hurt so bad.

I slowly sat up, pulling the backpack off my back. I rummaged around, looking for a Restore Materia. I found it and lifted up my shirt, seeing the gash that rested there. It was deep and was bleeding steadily. I shakily pressed my hand against my side and the Materia against it, muttering Cure. A bright,warm and green glow engulfed my side and the pain began to vanish. After a few seconds, I pulled it away and looked at the gash, which seemed to be closed...for now.

I put my shirt down and focused on healing my throbbing arm next. After that was healed up, I put the Materia back in my backpack and put it on my back. I stood up and grabbed up my flashlight. The cave seemed nothing more than a covered walkway. I followed the walkway, grunting as I climbed over rocks. I saw light coming from above and walked out of the cave like walkway, seeing the sky above me. I turned my flashlight off and put it in my bag. I looked around, seeing nothing but walkways of rocks and rocks.

I recognized this place.

I remember playing the Whirlwind Maze part of the game...

This was it.

I was almost at the place where Sephiroth's body was kept in that crystal structure. I really hope his body was there...maybe...maybe there was a chance I could bring him back. I walked along the pathway towards my destination. I didn't know how long I had been walking, but as soon as I came to another long bridge, I knew just how close I was.

I walked along the path, soon coming to the area that the Weapons had woken up at. I looked around, not seeing any crystal structure. Maybe he wasn't here..

As I glanced more in the corner, my good eye locked on what looked like something sticking out of the ground. I walked over slowly and gasped when I saw the long, thin katana sticking out of the ground. But where...

Was it's wielder?

I looked behind Masamune, hoping to find it's master. I moved branches out of the way and nearly had a heart attack when I saw a person sitting there, hunched over and head down. Long, silvery hair cascaded down his back and bangs framed his face. His black coat rustled whenever there was wind. Sephiroth wasn't in a crystal structure...but the structure of the area itself must've been keeping him here...

One thing that irked me was that he wasn't wearing clothes in the Final Fantasy VII game, but now he is...did he somehow get out? I wondered if he was even alive.

I slowly approached the motionless form and knelt down, careful not to let my legs touch his own. I slowly reached forward, moving two fingers against the silver-haired man's neck to try and find his pulse.

To my surprise, there was a pulse.

Maybe he was just sleeping. Like a...really deep sleep. I sighed and took my hand away. How was I supposed to carry Sephiroth and that damn katana of his?

I got up and went over to Masamune, my fingers brushing against the soft side of the silver blade. It was smooth and cool. I was about to reach up and grasp the handle of it when it suddenly flew right out of the ground and into the sky, way out of the crater. I could hear a thud in the way distance...like it stabbed itself into something.

Well...that was entirely new.