YAYཀཀ I'm so happyཀ Not really. School's coming, which means less frequent updates. Sorry it took so long for this one to come out!
Ukari-chan- Wow, you reviewed that chapter late. . I'm glad to hear that you found the Wall Market chapter funny.
Rebellious- I'm not trying to make it brother/sister. From my perspective, he's cocky and Raye's immature. . I hope I'm not leading you down the wrong direction...
Also, I'm getting a lot of hits for this story, which makes me happy. I also have a lot of faves and alerts. Now I'm really happy. But could you please review as well? It lets me know about improvements that need to be made or just if you liked the chapter. This keeps my imagination fueled. .
-NOTE- If you know about the Cloud and Sephiroth at Mt. Nibel story, the dream sequence isnt necessary to read. Probably OOC... I don't know...
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Wedge fell from the support beam... Jessie and Biggs died on the stairs...
The Plate collapsed... I escaped... We went to the Shinra building... the President was killed...
We had to escape Midgar...
... Sephiroth...
... and the crisis of the Planet... and Cloud...
We were in... SOLDIER... we went to... Nibelheim... the reactor in... Mt. Nibel...
...Sephiroth's strength is unreal. He is far stronger in reality then any story you might have heard about him... Jenova... is Sephiroth's mother...
We saw Tifa there as our guide... it was... our hometown...Sephiroth and I went to see the reactor...in Mt. Nibel... We went to the reactor... but Tifa couldn't come inside...
There was... Jenova inside... and monsters made from Mako...And it's Hojo of Shinra that produced those monsters... Mutated living organisms produced by Mako energy... That's what those monster's really were... Sephiroth... went nuts...
...Damn, Shinraཀ The more I hear, the more I hate 'emཀ
……who would have ever thought the Mako Reactor held a secret like that...
That would seem to explain the increase in the number of monsters recently...
We returned to Nibelheim... Sephiroth confined himself at the inn... Then he just disappeared... We found him inside the biggest building in Nibelheim... The villagers used to call it Shinra mansion...
...I went after him into the basement... He was reading a book about some kind of organism... an Ancient... named Jenova... He called me a traitor and went rambling on... It was something like... '... race. They would migrate in... settle the Planet, then move on… At the end of their hard journey... find the Promised Land and ...happiness. But... those who stopped their migrations built shelters and elected to lead an easier life... They took... that which the Cetra and the planet had made... without giving back to the Planet! Those are your ancestors.'
... He said that the Planet was sacrificing the true Cetra... while the rest of our 'ancestors' hid..
..he claimed he was 'produced' by the Jenova project...
... He...
...Sephiroth...destroyed everything...
The entire town was ablaze... and he returned to the Mako reactor at Mt. Nibel...
... he killed Tifa's father... and attacked Tifa... he went through a door in the back to... Jenova.
... He said that Jenova... His mother... would rule the Planet... I tried to stop him... but I couldnt...
……and that's the end of my story.
Aint there more?
... I don't remember... but... I want to find out what happened...the truth... about Sephiroth... Jenova... everything...
Lets just get some sleep...
...Cloud
...and...Sephiroth...
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Raye had to blink a few times to focus her eyes before she realized that she was staring at the wooden night stand beside the bed. On it, she noticed a slip of paper with untidy handwriting next to the lamp, but she didn't feel like reading it. The room was empty, she realized as she looked around.There were six beds, three on each side, and they all looked messy and slept-in.With a lot of effort, Raye sat up on the bed and a thin blanket fell from her shoulders.
"Ow...," she muttered to the empty room and hugged herself.
There was a pain that shot through all her unused muscles, it was the kind that gave her an intense wake-up call. I must have overworked myself...
She looked down at theblue-green woven bedding and blanket that surrounded her body untidilySlowly, she removed it from her lap and tossed it to the end of the single bed.It landed with a soft swish, then fell over the edge and onto the floor.Raye sighedand decided not to pick it up. She rubbed her arms to try and stop the dull, pounding pain in her muscles.
This is what I get for sitting on my butt all my life... My body isn't used to this...
She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, while wincing, and proceeded to examine at the rug on the floor. It was a soft red with green embroidered leaves along the edges.
I have the same one in my room... At home...
Without meaning to, a tear fell from her eye and onto her bare lap. She hastily wiped her eyes, but the flood wouldn't be stopped. She leaned on her elbows and covered her face, which she felt getting warmer. Soft steps were heard coming up the stairs at the far end of the room.
"Oh, you're awake! Good morning!" came Tifa's voice.
Raye looked up at Tifa. She was coming toward her, looking rested and refreshed. Like nothing life-threatening had happened the day before.
"What's wrong, Raye?" she walked over faster, picking up the blanket along the way. Tifa sat next to her and put an arm around her.
"Tell me...?"
Raye sniffed. "I'm so useless that my muscles hurt from training with Cloud yesterday. I... want to go home...," she muttered into Tifa's shoulder.
"You'll get better," Tifa soothed and smoothed Raye's messy hair back. "Maybe you'll go home soon. This is going to be dangerous. I'll tell you about it later, okay?"
Raye removed herself from Tifa's shoulder, embarrassed that she was crying again. "I... I think I know already."
"Whats that?"
Raye wiped her cheeks and wouldn't look Tifa in the eye. "I didnt sleep comfortably... I was awake half the time... I heard about Sephiroth... and Nibelheim..."
Tifa stood, grabbed Raye's hand, and pulled her to her feet. "Let's get your mind off of that. Let's get some breakfast, okay?"
Raye nodded slightly and allowed Tifa to lead her downstairs, where most of AVALANCHE was eating breakfast at a long wooden table. The table was lined with different plates of food, many cups and well-rested AVALANCHE members. Aeris, Cloud, and Barret sat at the table in silence, and Red XIII rested quietly in the corner, his head on his paws. Upon seeing them, Raye had an urge to go back upstairs and sulk in bed. Sensing this, Tifa's grip tightened and they touched down on the ground floor.
"Look who's finally up," Aeris commented with a smile.
Raye stared at the floor, her face flushing, and wished she was elsewhere.
"Eat something," Tifa said, giving her a push toward the table. "We're leaving Kalm later today, and you'll need your strength."
Raye didn't reply to Tifa. She walked over to the only empty seat beside Cloud and sat down without taking a plate.
"Do your muscles hurt?" he asked before taking a bite of bread.
"Yeah," she whispered to her lap as quietly as she could.
"You shouldn't have went straight to sleep after doing all that last night," he said with no sympathy.
Raye didnt have the energy to fight with him, even though he seemed like he was asking for it.
"I know."
He took no notice of her backing down, and only continued to eat.After several minutes of silence among them, Tifa broke it.
"So, Raye. How was your conditioning with Cloud last night?" she asked cheerfully.
"Fine. Oh, and I need to go to a weapons shop today. There's no way that I could possibly survive using Cloud's blade," she murmured.
She glared sideways at Cloud, who either took no notice, or didn't care. She sighed deeply, feeling a headache coming on, and finally ate.
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"Weren't you going somewhere today," Cloud asked as he entered the main bedrooms and looked at Raye. She tore her gaze away from the ceiling to give him a questioning glance.
"Huh?"
He rolled his eyes and jerked his thumbbehind him, toward the stairs. "We're all leaving in a couple of hours. You didnt go to the weapons shop, did you?"
Her heart jumped, and she sat up quickly.
Right, I'm so stupid, I forgot! I ate, and then went up here to rest.
"Sorry, I lost track of time."
She hurried to get up and run past himdown the stairs.She left the inn without a word to anyone and stopped outside the door. As soon as she stepped out, she sensed the 'sleepiness' of the small town. It wasn't bustling with cheerful, laughing peoplelike Arainiel was.The people seemed friendly enough, but they were quiet as they walked along the cobblestoned streets.
"Waiting for something?"
She turned back towards the door where Cloud stood.
"Not you," she growled.
"So," he smiled and walked to her. "You don't need my help, Useless?"
Raye narrowed her eyes at him, "You're so mean to me!"
Once again, he rolled his blue eyes at her and shook his head. "Grow up, would you, Princess?"
Her anger rose up in her and she shouted, "What, you're going to make me!"
He snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. "Not interested."
"Argh! Then go away!"
"I have a choice of sitting at the inn, watching Barret get fatter, or you, trying to pick out a weapon.."
Before her anger could reach its peak, Raye walked away so she wouldn't strangle him. She didnt dare look behind her, but she knew that he was following. Fuming, she walked to the other end of the cobblestone square, and up stone steps to a row of three stores. She walked into the first, where an old, bearded man greeted her.
"Can I help you, young lady?" he asked with a strange look. "Are you in the right place? This is a weapons shop, you know."
Her eyebrow twitched and she gave a nervous laugh.
"Yeah, I know. I'll just look around," she laughed in an attempt to vent some steam.
"Allow me to help you!"
The small, balding man jumped down from behind the counter and hobbled over to her. He was only half her size, but twice her strength as she soon realized. He picked up the heaviest of the weapons that were hung on the walls and gave them to her as he rambled his sales pitch.
"Sorry!" Raye squealed as she dropped a heavy axe onto the floor. "I don't think you have what I'm looking for..."
Cloud let out a laugh from behind her and she pressed her heel into the toes of his boot. "Do you have anything lighter?"
"Lighter, eh?"
He walked behind the counter and returned in a few minutes with a blade that was thin, and curved slightly. Raye took it in her hands and found it to be a manageable weight. As far as she could tell, it was a pretty good sword.
"What's the price?"
The small man grinned strangely before answering with a decisive, "Eight hundred gil."
"Wow, that's it?" Raye couldn't mask her surprise.
"I don't think so," Cloud stepped in, looking serious.
"What now?" Raye sighed.
"You do know you're being cheated, right?"
Raye looked at the sword in her hands, then the tiny old man, then back at Cloud.
"You're not serious."
"You're not going to spend money on this crap. Nothing is worth only eight hundred gil. Not weapons or armor," he acted as though he was explaining this to a small child.
"This is an old man! He's not going to cheat me!"
Angrily, she walked toward the counter and placed the blade and sheath on it.
"Where did you get the gil?" Cloud asked.
"When we were fighting some monsters, I picked it up. I think it was in the sewers," she grumbled and counted the money in her hand.
"Don't buy it. People have died from faulty, cheap weaponry."
She narrowed her eyes and glared daggers at him. "I don't need you to tell me what to do."
He folded his arms and returned her glare. "I bet you're used to giving the orders, huh?"
As soon as the payment was complete, she grabbed the sword from the counter and faced him with fuming anger.
"Why are you such a jerk to me?"
"You're a princess, you don't belong here with us. We're about to get into a big battle for the truth and the Planet. Do you really think you're going to make it? Even with our help, you cant do much. You're soft, and scared all the time. You're going home as soon as you can. Babysitting you is the last thing we need," he finished, with cold words.
She hit him. Hard. With the end of the sheath. In the abdomen. He doubled over in pain, and she walked out calmly.
"Where's Cloud?"
"He'll be coming soon enough," Raye growled as she and AVALANCHE stood before the inn.
"Well, you'll be needing this," Tifa said and handed a small black phone to Raye. "It's a PHS. It'll make sure all of us are in contact if we need each other."
Tifa smiled warmly at Raye, and Raye felt better.
"Thanks," Raye smiled too
"Yo, Cloud! Let's get a move on!" Barret shouted at an upcoming Cloud. He didnt look at all likr he was pleased. Raye felt a fight coming on, but didnt care. She turned her back to him and fumed silently.
"Yo, c'mon let's go!" Barret was getting impatient so he left the town, taking Red XIII with him.
"Are we ready to go?" Aeris asked Cloud.
"Yeah," he said softly and received his PHS.
He passed by the girls, giving Raye a gentle tap in the back of the head along the way. She put her hand to the injury, and glared at his back. But, having no choice, she followed him with Tifa and Aeris beside her. With a strange feeling of regret, she turned her back on Kalm and left for the next town.
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GAH! I hate this chapter! Please review though... Ill have to take a break or I'll kill the rest o the story... CRITIQUE ME PLEASE!