A few revelations, a couple more characters, a few cliffhangers and twists, mystery, and SquareEnix/SquareSoft promoted to godhood.
Not really a major chapter then.
Enjoy Chapter 11! We're nearing the end of the story, but I'm sorry to say it could be a long time until the last chapter. All depends on how my schedule plays out, but I'm due to go on holiday in a week, when I won't be able to update.
Only two or so more chapters left. Maybe more, maybe less.
If you're wondering about the setting towards the end, it comes from the underrated Final Fantasy II.
Aeris looked around, marvelling at the height and architecture of the impressive buildings. The streets were bigger and wider than anything she'd seen in Midgar: they seemed a slightly brighter shade of grey, and in much better condition. She could see what looked like a sky, though it just didn't hold the kind of fear a true sky had. Awe-inspiring golden arches crossed over from the dizzyingly high tops of the buildings.
Trying desperately to hold onto something familiar, she looked down at the materia she'd created. It was a whole sea of stars in one glassy ball.
"You must be Aeris" a fairly friendly voice spoke behind her. She turned.
"More people know me than I know them" Aeris complained light-heartedly, turning to see a man in grey. His face and shoulders were covered in a grey hood/drape, with a lone line cut in to peer out of. He was wearing white gloves and a gothic looking strap of metal around his wrist. A series of belts and straps were wrapped around his centre, around skirt-like plain white cloth. Two white boots were visible beneath the robe. His face was concealed behind the grey cloth.
"Forgive the hood" he bowed his head seemingly apologetically, "Mine is a well known face. This accessory is common in the East, so it serves as an effective disguise"
"Who are you?" Aeris tilted her head.
"I'll tell you later. For now you must come with me: I am taking a great risk in being here. I will answer your questions when we are in a less" he looked around at the crowd, "public setting" he concluded.
"I've got a lot of questions" she warned, only half joking
"I don't doubt it. But first, could you put the materia away? It is not widely recognized here, people may mistake it for a l'Cie crystal"
Aeris slipped the sphere into a pocket, a few seconds after yet again trying to tap into it. For some reason she couldn't achieve much with it: it was like Holy in that respect. Which was odd, because it was nothing like any of those materia. It wasn't like any materia she'd seen actually: it wasn't even a constant colour. There was just one parallel, niggling at the back of her mind, but she just couldn't put her finger on it.
She followed the mystery caped figure through winding streets, across roads that got gradually thinner each alley he turned into. It was a few minutes until they were out of the crowd, but he continued on, cautious.
He knew about materia, and he knew who she was. That was enough for Aeris: she just wondered who he was. The ever-present man? Another Minwu like friend? Or someone else from her world?
After what felt like hours, the caped man sidestepped into a dreary building in the slums of the impressive city. The walls were a dull bronze, and it was illuminated by 'natural' light through a crack in the wall.
"At last" he murmured, seemingly relieved. He pulled the grey drape over his head, taking it off to reveal black hair and a strange shoulder plate, outlined in a blue light and with a tall spike coming out from the centre.
"Ask" he spoke to Aeris, revelling in being able to breath in fresh air.
"How do you know me?" Aeris quickly said
"Because I do. Next"
"That's not-" Aeris stopped as the black haired man raised his eyebrows, intimidating rather than threatening. "Fine" she pouted a little, "Who are you?"
"An interesting question. Well, firstly" the man stuck out his arm, touching Aeris' chin. Then, like an icy breath, his fingers moved through her flesh, leaving no trace, barely feeling as if they were solid.
"I am not fully here" the man admitted, "I was told to help you. My wishes are not my own any more. My physical form is encased in crystal elsewhere, but through the aid of one you know I have been able to create this manifestation for a short time"
"What should I call you?"
"An easy enough answer. My name's Raines"
"Raines…" Aeris mused, "Everyone seems to like storms" she closed her eyes, in almost contemplation of the oddity. She knew a Cloud, then here there was Snow, Lightning, and now Raines.
Shaking it off, she thought of a new question.
"What am I doing here?"
"In this world?" he seemed surprised, "I've been told you should know by now. You have to reawaken Pulse. Ragnarok exists only to destroy life, to harm worlds. It should have been focused on Cocoon, but somehow it turned on Pulse for a few seconds and by some extreme power took the consciousness of the world. As a Cetra, I understand you should have the ability to speak to the world, but here you cannot"
Aeris nodded, slightly surprised by the depth of this Raines' knowledge.
"That aspect of knowledge which allows it to communicate through some stream-"
"Lifestream" Aeris cut in, wondering why the man seemed to be an expert in some areas, but knew little in others.
"Lifestream" Raines mused, "That was what I was told. The stream sensitive part of the world was taken away by Ragnarok, to your world. That loss is killing Pulse, and by extension Cocoon. My master is happy to let it run its course, but I have enough will to do what I must to stop him"
"Your master?"
"A fal'Cie with many heads. Primarch, for now, of Cocoon" Raines replied.
Aeris paused for a moment: a fal'Cie with many heads. She just about knew what a fal'Cie was. But something with many heads? It had to also have many faces. The Many-Faced One the Amok had mentioned? Her eyes widened. It seemed possible. Well, in any case, she'd be weary of that fal'Cie, just in case.
"How do you know what materia is?"
"Because I do" was the unhelpful reply, again. "I was told" Raines swept the grey cape he wore backwards
"By who?" Aeris tilted her head
"There is a man in every world. Every one of his bodies does not know it is one of the many. They are all completely different, no link at all, except for one small thing. They only become aware of the other worlds when they sleep and dream of your Lifestream, but that is not the key" Raines gestured with his gloved hands, trying to make the point.
"Are you talking about the ever-present man?" Aeris frowned
"Yes. It was he who allowed me to create this ghost, and it was he who told me of you" Raines frowned for a moment at something else. He looked up, gesturing with a white glove for Aeris to stay still.
A moment or so passed, Raines muttering under his breath.
Without warning, his neck snapped back into place, staring at Aeris. She flinched a little at the new coldness in his eyes.
"I have to do something" he seemed almost reluctant, "Again it is something I have no desire to do, and yet it appears to be my only choice."
Without warning, Raines took out a blade from within his bulky cloak and thrust it at Aeris, the almost invisibly thin edge piercing through her skin, nicking two ribs as it past towards, into, and out of her heart.
Serene as before, Aeris fell to her knees, green eyes staring up at Raines with an expression of sadness and betrayal in her eyes.
"Forgive me" he bowed his head.
Aeris was surprised to see a lone tear on his cheek, but she was unable to keep her gaze on Raines' face for any longer. With a last breath, she fell forwards, eyes closing as she fell to the floor.
X
"Damn ShinRa" Barret cursed, firing his gun arm up at the figure in the sky as it shot passed the Corel reactor
"It's not ShinRa this time" Tifa corrected, sprinting along the railroad towards the reactor.
"They made the things. Shoulda destroyed `em when we had the chance" Barret muttered, steadying his aim with his other arm.
"'Ain't not getting offa this train we're on' didn't you say?" Cloud said, almost amused, as they carried on moving across the railroad tracks.
"Shut it, Spiky."
Vanille chuckled at the bickering trio. Red had stayed at Cosmo Canyon, but when the Shera had reached Corel they'd been joined by an old friend who lived there. Now they were running across the railroad to get to the reactor, while Barret shot at the Fang lookalike.
Yuffie, Vincent and Cid were staying on the airship, in case they needed a quick getaway. Though Vanille was sure Yuffie was just searching the airship to look for materia, and Vincent was there to stop her. Cid never left the Shera much, in fact, now more than before, he seemed almost glued to the console.
"They never leave Corel alone" Barret muttered, shooting towards the flying figure.
"You're not hitting it" Tifa rolled her eyes as Barret's furious shots fell far, far short of the Fang figure in the sky.
Barret swore, lowering his arm to focus on running across the tracks. A few steps and jumps over gaps later, they were on rock. The lifeless stone ground seemed almost forbidding. Cloud helped Tifa, who in turn pulled Cloud up, onto a brick bridge holding up the train track. Vanille followed Barret up and around a small set of steps, before the four continued a few more steps along the tracks until they reached the Mako reactor.
Vanille stumbled slightly as she caught sight of the huge, imposing structure. Sheets of grey metal were held up by scaffolding, forming a tower, illuminated only by the waves of Lifestream pulsing out of it and into the Fang creature. A red logo was visible high up on the circular creation, but it was gradually peeling away, edges ashen as the Lifestream seared through it.
Vanille looked back down, away from the dizzying reactor. Barret had sprinted into the reactor, but Cloud and Tifa were standing outside it, waiting to see if the flying Fang would come into range of their sword/fists.
Vanille gasped as Barret popped out of the top of the reactor. The man with the gun-arm shot out, screaming in anger, from the high point atop the reactor. Almost animalistic, 'Fang's' gaze snapped away from the sky, locking eyes with Barret. With a grunt, she span around, staring to flee Corel.
As the creature turned, the Lifestream flow out of the ground began to ebb, the blinding green light dimming. Cloud, Tifa, Barret and Vanille all experienced a moment's relief, before focusing on the real problem: 'Fang' was escaping, and she seemed to be able to start up the reactors by merely being there.
The hum of engines suddenly began and reached a crescendo, as the Shera descended dangerously low. Vanille hopped on board, followed by Cloud and Tifa. Barret signalled for the airship to go, leaving him there.
The Shera shot through the air, darting towards 'Fang'. Everyone had gathered on the bridge, staring through the glass window. Cid kept a tight grip on the controls, Yuffie dangled from the ceiling, Vincent stood near the window staring over the world, Cloud sat near the back, Tifa sat beside him, and Vanille was sitting cross-legged in front of the glass. The clouds parted as the Shera glided through the sky. The streamlined, orange glowing Fang lookalike was seemingly miles ahead.
The Lifestream was now staying firmly in the ground: it seemed it could only be drawn when 'Fang' was near a Mako reactor.
Vanille tilted her head, frowning at the centre of the window. A large clear bit of plastic had been moulded into the crack she and Vincent had cause when they'd flown out of it as Ragnarok and Chaos. It seemed the engineers at Cosmo Canyon had cut out a square larger than the crack out of the window, and put a plastic tile into the gap. She just hoped it would hold.
"Costa Del Sol" Vincent knelt down next to Vanille, pointing at a city a fair distance away on the ground, just visible through the clouds.
Cid swore loudly, pulling an extra lever down and giving the Shera a burst of speed.
"What is it now?" Yuffie fell down from the ceiling
"The thing's heading for Midgar" Cid sounded as if he was cursing. "We've got about an hour until it gets there"
"I can see why that would be bad" Cloud remarked from the back of the bridge
"What?" Yuffie turned to him, "What?" she turned around to face the window, "Will someone tell me what's going on?"
"It's taken power from Mako reactors" Vincent spoke slowly, "First at Nibelheim, not at Corel. Its presence restarts the reactors, violently taking Lifestream out from the ground. It has moved in a line from Nibelheim to Corel, and now its destination is Midgar: where there are eight reactors"
"Didn't they get shut down?" Tifa frowned
"It's not like ShinRa to not have a back-up plan. The other reactors were all shut down, and the Midgar ones were drained. But that doesn't seem to matter to this creature: perhaps it simply uses the weakened state of the Planet to draw out Mako. With one reactor it did much damage to Corel: but with eight, then most of the surrounding area will be obliterated"
"That includes Edge" Cid interjected. "One hour" he finished, swerving the airship to follow 'Fang'.
Vanille didn't know where or what Edge was, but it was evidently a city of some importance to everyone here.
"Dammit" Cid muttered, angry, from his console. He lifted up a spear from the side of his seat, preparing himself for whatever battles would come. "There's something we gotta do"
"Huh?" Vanille tilted her head, skipping closer.
Cid closed his eyes, angry at something. Then he looked straight at Vanille.
"I'll explain later" he said, knuckles going white as he gripped the spear.
Then, without a moment's warning, he thrust the spear forwards, moving straight through Vanille. She gasped as the tip pierced her skin, looking down, curious despite the situation at the large metal handle sticking into her heart.
Seemingly regretful, Cid moved his spear back, watching Vanille fall, unimpaired to her knees.
A gunshot rang out. Vanille turned to see Vincent, seeming to be literally aflame, with his weapon raised. She tried to make the last turn to look at Cid, but she was unable to complete the motion, and settled to lie on the floor of the Shera.
One hour from the destruction of Edge, aboard an airship controlled by a pilot who was quite possibly shot, Vanille closed her eyes, as if drifting off to sleep by the sound of the engines.
She didn't expect to wake up.
X
The grass was soft, that was her first thought, and it smelled fresh. Almost like a normal town. Apart from the stink of alcohol.
Aeris opened her eyes, laying just in front of a stone building with a sign just above the door. The brown wood had three letters of white paint roughly drawn on: pub.
She blinked. Raines had just killed her, and this wasn't exactly what she expected afterlife in the Lifestream to be like. After all, she'd been there once before.
"Come on in!" a rowdy voice called. She got to her feet, to see a muscular man with little hair, and a perpetually drunken grin, wearing purple and red. It was a man she knew.
Only slightly trusting, she walked into the pub, checking to make sure she still had the materia.
The man lead her to a bare table with three stools around by one wall of the dingy pub. On one stool, Vanille sat. Aeris took the one next to her, and on the other side of the table the familiar man sat.
"Sorry for the unwelcome means of travel" he gave a throaty chuckle, "You're in Machanon, town on the road to heaven. When travel's being scanned by Minwu, dying is the easiest way to get here."
"Ever-present man?" Vanille tilted her head.
"Not nearly so grand. I'm his incarnation in this world-the overall ever-present form is elsewhere, fleeing Minwu." He raised an empty glass mug. "Hey, waiter, one more beer!"
"I don't understand" Aeris frowned, watching as a waiter refilled the not-ever-present man's mug.
"Me neither" he hiccupped. "The real ever-present man killed you and manipulated the Lifestream just a little so you'd end up in this version of the afterlife. Here I, one of his bodies, can give you the full story. He's, or should that be I've, given up on the damn rules by now" he took a swig from the glass. "Let me tell you what is apparently my story"
The man's mug slammed onto the table as he began.
"An original form is/was apparently quite a pioneer in his world. I guess we all share that trait, if I say so myself. He invented the airship by means of a special stone, and when he was done with all he could in that world, he moved on. For the first and only time, he brought the four Crystals together, using their combined influence to summon opposing Fiends and create a large enough ripple in the cycle of the Lifestream for the then-gods of the Lifestream to take notice. They offered a reward for my work: and you know the rest. I chose to become aware of every one of my forms."
"So…what's this got to do with anything?" Vanille tilted her head.
"I need to be sure you're up to speed. I have a body in each world, with just one minor link. It lets me know what's going on, and I think you deserve to know. It starts in your world, Vanille, centuries ago. Fang became Ragnarok, the being who hates life. It took the consciousness of Gran Pulse by some fluke, and separated itself from its main body, as Fang was made to revert. That was the first time I really over-stepped the line"
"You!" Vanille gasped, amazed, "You made Fang become human again?"
"Of course. I wasn't going to let Cocoon die. But the Ragnarok element fled, transforming into the only available form: Fang. That's what I was told at least. Then it switched worlds, to yours, Aeris. The Cetra and the Lifestream gods, like good old Minwu, slowed it down, but as the Cetra died, the walls of Lifestream weakened. GeoStigma was the last straw: as the infection rate increased, the Lifestream became corrupted enough for Ragnarok, looking like Fang, to break into your world."
"If you don't mind me asking" Aeris said, "How can Gran Pulse's soul go from my world back to Gran Pulse?"
"Easy. They're connected by an invisible cord, they're one and the same after all. They can't influence each other directly, though on a subconscious level it's still trying to help you. It sent the Amok to talk to you after all. Anyway, Vanille just has to separate the consciousness of Gran Pulse from the cloying Ragnarok, and it should return. Then you, as a Cetra, should be able to speak to the world and reawaken the slumbering Pulse."
The man panted for a few moments, sipping his beer.
"That reminds me" he spoke again, slamming his drink so hard onto the table a few drops came splashing out of the mug, "Aeris, give Vanille the materia you made. It takes a l'Cie to use the damn thing, so stop trying"
"You know about the materia? What it does?" Aeris's eyes widened, taking the sphere out of a pocket
"Know about it? My dear, I'm not even fully ever-present right now, I was just told all about it, and I can feel the Lifestream warping around it. Give it to a l'Cie, they actually have a use for it"
"What does it do?" Vanille asked, hand outstretched as Aeris lifted the materia slowly
"Ask Vincent" was all the man said.
Aeris dropped the materia into Vanille's palm. The effect was more dramatic than she thought: a ripple of golden light emanated from where she touched the materia, and several white sparks jumped into the air. The wave of golden energy continued to flow around Vanille's hand, up her wrist and arm, covering her whole body in a matter of seconds. The wave dimmed a little, leaving a sheen of golden dust, before that too faded.
"What happened?" Vanille looked over herself, shaking as if more dust would fall off. Then she looked at her palm: there was no materia.
"You absorbed the materia" the ever-present man's body nodded, as if watching an experiment. "That's what I thought. It's meant for you, should give you an edge"
"But .if Raines killed me to bring me here" Aeris began, "How am I meant to get back?"
Vanille turned, frowning slightly at Aeris, before the man spoke.
"Simple. We'll just put you back there: you should know Aeris, you had already died, but my alter-ego took you out of the Lifestream and put you in Gran Pulse. I'll just do the same"
"Wait a second" Vanille murmured slowly, facing Aeris, "Raines killed you?"
"You've figured it out" the man sighed, "Too much to be put down to coincidence huh? I did say, one minor link. A joke of the gods perhaps, maybe Tetsuya, that's what the main me thinks"
"What is it?" Aeris tilted her head.
Before anyone could answer, someone new burst into the pub.
"Always with the ladies" the newcomer rolled his eyes, sighing, "There are more people in the village Cid, they look like they were part of the rebellion"
"Good" the ever-present man's body, now named as Cid, nodded. "Could you leave us for a moment?"
The informer looked from Cid, to Vanille, to Cid, to Aeris, and then to Vanille's clothing.
"Fine, but the rebels will be coming in here soon. Don't start anything" he put an emphasis on the last word before turning and leaving the pub.
"Cid?" Aeris gasped, hearing his name.
"Originally of the Lufaine, now in every world, yes that's me. The main ever-present me can only control his own bodies. Cid Highwind and Cid Raines, and me, just Cid. If you meet someone called Cid, that's the ever-present man, we're not too hard to find. Now things are about to get complicated, Minwu before he became a god is about to come into this pub. Believe me I was surprised when I was told he became a god. But I don't want him to see you, or he'll remember you being here when he is a god, and that'll negate the whole point of this meeting"
"But-" Vanille began.
"Forget it, ask someone else later. You have to go" Cid waved a hand, creating portals of Lifestream behind the two. He looked at his hand, somewhat amazed.
The Lifestream drew the two people into it. Aeris was taken back to Cocoon, with the need to return to Gran Pulse to find some way to talk to the Planet. While Vanille was taken back to the Shera, with less than an hour to save Midgar and Edge, all the while hoping that Vincent hadn't killed Cid.