Serah's POV

"Hey, how you doing back there?" I ask Cloud after slowing down to walk next to him.

"Fine."

"You're such a chatterbox aren't you?" I tease. "I thought you wouldn't like Snow."

"I don't like Snow." He answers bluntly. "But I guess he's not doing anything different to me."

"You missing home?" I ask.

"To be honest, I've been so fixated on Claire that I've pushed it to the back of my mind. But if I don't get back there to stop Sephiroth soon, then there won't be a world to go back to."

"We'll fix it. Both of our worlds. I promise." Serah smiles.

"Hey, he called her Claire. What is it you three aren't tellin' me?" Snow shouts from the distance.

"..For the love of god.." Cloud sighs. "His ears are as big as his mouth."

"So, what gives?" My hero asks, ignoring my silent gestures to leave it. "Wait a minute, are you two a thing?"

"Snow.." I say softly; shaking my head as Cloud stomps past us, nearly knocking Snow to the ground with his shoulder despite being half the size. "He's not one for talking."

"So someone managed to thaw that frozen heart of your sisters. Go figure it would be someone even colder." Snow says.

"Come on, before he kills one of you." Noel laughs.

"Him? I doubt it."

"I've seen him fight. He'd kill the three of us before we got anywhere near him. Might be best to keep on his good side." Noel tells him.

Snow eventually drops his questions, and the three of us follow Cloud, who's now just a speck in the distance. I know he didn't like talking about things, but maybe if he did, he'd feel better. We quickly catch him up, but it soon becomes clear that it's because the blonde had stopped. He's stood on top of a giant tree stump, looking down into a natural tunnel. The two boys push me forward, knowing I was much more capable of dealing with the blonde. Chickens.

"Hey, whats up?" I ask with an upbeat tone.

"Something's coming." He says, placing a finger on his lips and glaring at Snow.

Noel points to something approaching in the distance, and at first I don't see it, despite it's huge size. When my eyes eventually work out its silhouette, I was convinced it was made from the forest itself. At first I thought it was a type of Fal'cie, but there was nothing mechanical about this four legged creature, which stomps through the deep valley below us. It's muscles seemed to be made of roots, with tree stumps for shoulder blades and a grassy mane.

"Hey! Furball! Over here!" Snow shouts as he waves his hand. I can almost feel Cloud's blood boiling, just from standing next to him. "Hey, big guy. We need to get though this valley. Mind givin' us a lift?"

"I don't think it heard you." I tell Snow as I strategically place myself between him and Cloud, who's growling like an angry dog.

"No answer. Guess I'll take that as a yes." My hero replies as he walks to the edge.

"It'll swallow you whole!" Noel protests.

"If we're lucky.." Cloud mutters.

To my horror, Snow jumps onto the beast's back and begins jumping up and down like a little kid. Amazingly, the monster seems to like it, and with an annoyed huff, Cloud leaps down too. After the voice of reason gives us the nod, me and Noel jump down onto it's leaf covered back. I just get my balance when the creature begins to move, knocking my onto my butt. At least it was comfy. Cloud takes half a step towards me, but his boot retreats back to let Snow come and pull me back to my feet.

The valley was covered by a leafy canopy, but what light manages to make it through, shines on the crystals that are imbedded into the branches, making them sparkle like diamonds. Small tracks lead off from the valley, but there was no way of getting down without getting crushed by the monster.

"What if there's an artifact down there?" I ask, pointing to the small passageways.

"There's no way to get down there." Noel says.

"Maybe not for us.." Cloud says with a devilish grin as he snatches Mog out of the air. "Time for you to become useful."

"Kupo! Serah, help Mog!" The poor little moogle begs.

"Good luck, Mog." I smile, feeling slightly cruel.

Cloud launches Mog down the passageway and watches for a while. Eventually he floats back to us with a look of disgust plastered across his face and empty hands.

"Well, it was worth a shot." Cloud laughs.

"Hey, look. There's the flan!" Noel points.

"Then this is our stop. Looks like we can jump onto that tree stump over there. Let's go." Cloud orders.

Lightning's POV

My sabatons sink into the black sand, leaving their mark until the icy water of the tide washes them away. I sprint towards Caius, who's smug grin waits patiently for my blade. Just as I reach him, the guardian rips his sword from the shore, kicking sand at my face as he does. I squint my eyes, not willing to ever fully remove him from my sight, and thrust my sword at the man, hoping it's narrow blade will find a way through his defenses.

"Do you not grow tired of this meaningless charade?" Caius asks with a disinterested tone as catches the tip of my sword with his hand and pulls it towards his chest. "You are fighting against the inevitable."

"I'm just getting warmed up." I growl.

"Good. Then perhaps it won't be you're blonde friend who does what needs to be done."

"You leave him out of this."

"It is too late.. Like you, I can send whispers down the timeline. I have spoken to myself and explained what needs to be done. One way or another, he will die.. And so will your Goddess."

"Not while I still have a heartbeat." I growl as I pull my weapon free and flick it into it's gun mode, opening fire on the man.

"Very well.."

I fire three shots as I hop back, but they do little more than spark off the face of his blade before finding their way into the water. He goes on the offensive, cleaving his sword through the air, but I roll under it and drag my own down his torso. Caius staggers back slightly, grinning to himself as he heals the wound that oozed blood down his deep purple suit.

"Impressive." He compliments.

"That's just a taste of what's to come." I huff.

"You know as well as I do that you cannot stop me. If I kill you, I shall find the sleeping Goddess and end this eternal torment. And if you kill me then you will have killed the Goddess yourself." He explains, pointing to his glowing pink chest.

"I don't need to kill you. Just hold you off long enough for Cloud to fix the timeline."

Caius sends waves of chaos towards me, forcing me to brace for impact. The waves of energy hit me, throwing my body across the sand. I roll out of my tumble, but the purple haired man grips me by the throat before I have chance to regain my bearings.

"Do you not see it? Do you not see his death? Dying in the brittle hope that you would one day be together. How tragic.."

"I won't.. loose.. anyone else." I choke as flashes of a vision cloud my eyes. It was of Caius and Cloud fighting in Oerba. The image was only brief, but it was enough to see Cloud burst through the wall of a building, presumably by Caius' hand.

"Hmph. You no nothing of loss." He growls, squeezing tighter as he lifts me off the ground.

I attempt to grip his own throat, but his reach and height has me at his mercy. I silently call for Odin, and my faithful companion is there in a second. Caius drops me just in time to turn and block Odin's monstrous, serrated blade, and I waste no time in joining in on the attack. With two of us, I thought that this would be an easy victory, but every time I make it harder for him, he seems to just get stronger. Was he really just toying with me? If so, why?

"Odin! High and low!" I bark.

Odin instantly acts on my command, slashing straight for his neck as I duck and go for his knees. Just as our blades are about to cut him into three pieces, he vanishes, leaving nothing behind but wisps of deep purple smoke.

Barret's POV

"Oh, I've got some news." The stuffed cat blurts out.

"Yeah, what?! That you a spy?" I bark.

"Yeah.. I've already told you I was. Both gya ha ha and kya ha ha are up to something. Wanna eavesdrop?"

"Now then... We're facing to issues. One, destroy meteor. Two, remove the barrier around the north cave and defeat Sephiroth. Any ideas?" We hear that smug son of a bitch Rufus ask.

"Gya ha ha! The first problem is already solved. Meteor will soon be smashed to bits. We're collecting huge materia from each region." Heidegger tells him.

"What?"

"Huge materia is a special type of high density materia made through a special compression process in mako reactors. The energy extracted from is is 330 times the strength of normal materia. Kya ha ha! How about that!?" Scarlet cackles. "We will gather all of the huge materia together and ram it into meteor."

"You're going to ram meteor? Do you think we have the technology to do that?"

"Yes, but first thing's first. We need to collect the rest of the huge materia. We've already got the materia from Nibelheim. All that's left are Corel and Fort Condor. I've already dispatched troops to Corel."

"Corel!? What else can they do to Corel!?" I roar. "We gotta stop 'em!"

"I.. I can't.." Tifa says softly. "I'm loosing my mind without Cloud.. I need to know what happened to him."

"What are you going to do?" Nanaki asks.

"I'm going to go look for him. I'm really sorry.. But I need to know where he is.. I know he's still alive.. I know."

"Tifa.. The chances-" I begin.

"I have to try!" She shouts before running from the bridge.

"Phone." Vincent says in my ear, scaring the shit out of me.

"Will you stop doing that!" I growl, taking the phone from my pocket and handing it to the moody man.

"My apologies.." He nods before following Tifa through the doors.

"Great! Just what the hell am I gonna stare at now that jugs is gone?" Cid huffs as he parks his ass down next to the ship's wheel.

A couple of minutes pass before Vincent returns, and I'm disappointed to see he had come back alone. So Tifa had left. Would this be the end for our little group now that Cloud had gone?

"Right! We all goin' to Corel and kickin' some Shinra ass!" I bark. "Besides, when Cloud get's back, I wanna show him the huge materia."

"So what are you saying, Barret? Even though you're always knocking him, you really want Cloud to return?" The cat asks.

"I ain't sayin' nothin' 'bout nothin'." So just.. Shut your face!" I growl at the cat, refusing to acknowledge that we need the spiky haired jerk back here. "Every group's gotta have a leader. An' that's me! Or at least I wanna be... But I ain't cut out to be no leader. That's why he's doin' it." I say, pointing to Cid, who's nodding off.

"zzzz... Hmm? Wha? What's goin' on?" The pilot huffs.

"We're all doomed..." Nanaki shakes his head before leaving the room.

Cloud's POV

We continue to follow the flan through the ever thickening jungle. The roots and branches we were using as paths become more and more treacherous as they climbed and dipped around the rest of the environment. Snow's incessant chatting behind me is starting to really grate on me, but I'm positive that we've not got far to go.

"Hey, don't you think if you put a wig and a dress on him, he'd kinda look like Light?" I hear Snow ask.

Noel and Serah burst into laughter, which is quickly silenced when I turn around and glare at them. The three of them look like children who have just done something naughty and where awaiting punishment. Yet it was still Serah; the smallest of the bunch who stood in front of the other two while Snow and Noel cowered behind. I smile to myself at her inherited bravery and decide to mess with Snow. Pacing up to the man, the other two step aside until I'm looking up at the man, who's looking like he's about to cry.

"I look good in a dress and wig for your information. You got a problem with that?" I say in a cold voice as I try my best to keep a straight face.

"I, er.. No.. Sir.." He says sheepishly.

I turn around, just as my face cracks a smile and I give Serah a wink. She has no idea what I was on about, but she seemed to enjoy me teasing her colossal fiancee. I return to the front, happy that I'd achieved my goal of silencing Snow for five minutes and track the Flans movements.

"There." I say, pointing to a ring of flan that are circling a crystal object. "The artifact."

I use my enemy skill materia to cast trine, wiping out all of the flan within seconds and adding to the fear I'd built up in Snow. The moogle grabs the artifact and hands it to Serah, as me and Noel have a quick scout to find a new way back to the gate. The hunter works out a way back to the gate, and after telling the pinkette and the idiot our plan, the four of us set off back to the gate. I don't say anything, but the thought of Snow joining us on this seemingly endless journey had me disheartened. The route Noel took us back to the gate was a much harder climb, but we reached the gate in less than ten minutes.

"We have to do this. We can't afford to fail. If we don't find a way to defeat that flan.." Serah begins as we reach the gate.

"Hey, don't get too wound up now. People start to make mistakes when they stress out too much." Snow tells her.

"Yeah, maybe you're right."

"Okay, let's do this!" Snow cheers, slamming his fists together in excitement.

"You wanna try, be my guest." Noel says, causing me to look at him with confusion.

"What do you mean?" Serah asks, beating me to it.

"For every road, there's a different gate. If you try to use a gate that's meant for someone else, well..." Noel says in perfect timing, just as Snow hits an invisible field around the gate. "See?"

"Does this mean Snow can't come with us?" Serah asks, and I can see her heart sink and her trademark smile fall.

"Yep. He says." The hunter says.

"Guess I drew the short straw." Snow huffs.

"And don't you do anything foolish behind our backs, like trying to take that Flan on single handed." Noel warns.

"Yeah, you behave yourself, or else. You got it? I'm serious, Snow." Serah adds, taking his hands in hers.

"I'll be good." He promises.

"Let's go." I say, ushering them into the gate as I pull out a red orb from my pocket.

"You take care of her for me.." Snow says as the other two disappear into the gate.

"I will." I nod. "Here. Make sure Serah has a fiance to come back to." I add, handing the brute the phoenix materia.

"What's this?" He asks.

"For when you decide to do something stupid." I grin before walking through the gate.

As soon as I'm spat out of the gate, a shiver runs down my spine and I draw my weapon. Serah and Noel, who are in front of me do the same and stop in their tracks. I stay silent and take in the cold surroundings of the structure we were in. Unlike where we had just came from, there was nothing natural about this place. It was a dark, but futuristic corridor that was lit up with dim lights that where built into the steel walls. The passageway was short, and opened up into a large chamber after a set of steps. The round room seemed empty, but as I reached the top step, I knew I wasn't alone.

"Who dares?..." A demonic voive echos. "Explain this intrusion."

"Maybe we should head back.." Serah says. I can hear the bow shaking in her hands.

"Travelers of the Void beyond. What are you seeking in this bloodstained place of war?" The sourceless voice asks, but I keep walking into the center of the chamber.

"Who said that?" Serah says, beginning to panic.

"That guy!" Noel shouts, pointing to a mass of energy that formed above us.

"My domain exists outside the march of ages. It is unseen and unknown, beyond life and death. Until the day the bell of the Goddess tolls, this realm welcomes not the living. Begone from here. You bring naught but calamity." It orders. "My halls already play host to Omens of time shattering misfortune."

"An omen of misfortune? Something that doesn't belong here?" Serah asks, standing so close to me that her shoulder rests on my arm.

"Then let's make a deal." I offer.

"Begone, I say! Heed my words or face judgment at my hands!"

"Come and try.." I growl.

"Cloud.."Serah and Noel say in unison.

"You want that thing gone. Give it to us and we'll leave this place." I shout up to the energy.

"Take it, and leave this place!" It roars as something sparkling drops from it's dark mass. "The day of reckoning has not yet come."

Noel runs to catch the artifact, but I turn back to the steps. I had no idea what was speaking, and I didn't care. Claire wasn't here, and it seemed obvious that the 'omen' it was referring to was an artifact. The hunter quickly retreats back to me and Serah, who are already heading back up the steps to the gate.

"Job well done, I guess." Noel sighs. "Did you really have to annoy the scary voice though?"

"I promise you, I'm the scariest thing in this room." I remind him.

"Come on, Snow will be waiting." Serah smiles.

"I hope he's still okay back there. But I bet he won't be waiting by the gate for us." The hunter says with annoyance in his tone.

"No, I suppose not. He's just like my sister. Always charging ahead." The pinkette says proudly.

"Charging ahead into an early grave.." Noel mutters. "He acts like he's everyone's boss, just marches ahead, and never thinks of how much danger he's putting himself in. Idiots like that, they're all the same."

"Noel, I hope you don't get yourself killed." Serah begins to compare him to Snow. "After all, you've risked your life a lot of times. To help me, I mean."

"I'm not like Snow." Noel says as if he's just been deeply insulted. "He just took off and left you alone."

"Noel.." I say softly, drawing both of their attention again.

"You can't possible be on Snow's side?"

"No, Snow's an idiot.. But I do understand what he's doing. The same thing I am.. I know what being separated from the one I love to 'save the world' feels like.. I'm amazed he's stayed so.."

"Cheerful?" Serah guesses.

"I was going to say annoying.. but I suppose cheerful fits." I tease her. "Come on, back through the gate."

A/N: Sorry for the delay, not had a lot of free time this week. Just like to start with saying thanks to Strife4Life for the suggestion of Snow making a comparison between Cloud and Light, can't believe I never thought of it myself lol. I'm really missing poor Lightning, and as I dashed your hopes with my slightly misleading title for the last chapter, I thought she deserved a bit of a mention. Half of me wishes I could skip to the end so I can have another Caius fight and they can finally see each other at least haha.

Thanks for reading!

Wolf