Chapter 50: Leaving the City of the Ancients, heading toward Icicle Village/Inn and watched some videos about Aeris real parents

As Cloud and his friends/companions left the seashell house and stepped out onto the uneven bony scales path, all of them halted in their tracks on the path to look around the city for any sign of Sephiroth (while the sun slowly began to rise somewhere on the distant horizon, over the mountains and pushing the shadowy night away for the dawn of a new day).

"Sephiroth…" said Tifa in a hard/angry tone of voice as she continue looking around the city for Sephiroth with the others. "I wonder which way he went off to?"

Right after Tifa say those words, both Cloud and Angelina (who's standing a little far behind the rest of their friends/companions) suddenly closed their eyes and raised their hands to clutch their heads in agony when they both felt the same painful throbbing in the back of their heads. In both Cloud and Angelina mind's eye, they could see Sephiroth walking down a different bony scales path to their left toward the cliffs with his sword in his left hand before he vanished.

"Ugh…" groaned both Cloud and Angelina.

"Cloud, Angie!" said Tifa in a worried tone of voice to both Cloud and Angelina.

"Cloud, Angelina!" said Laina, worried as well.

"Get a hold of yourselves, both of you!" said Cid sharply.

Both Cloud and Angelina heard their voices through the throbbing pain in their heads and just as suddenly as the pain comes, it fade away. Both Cloud and Angelina then shook their heads, lowered their hands and opened their eyes to glance at the rest of their friends/companions (who had worry looks on their faces).

"Hmmm… Just now, Sephiroth said to us both…" Cloud began saying to them.

"He told us to… "Head North"… "Past the Snow Fields"…" finished Angelina.

"He said that?" said Kunsel.

"Yeah." said both Cloud and Angelina.

"Let's go then." said Barret.

XXXX

3 days and 2 nights after Cloud, Angelina and the rest of their friends/companions leave the City of the Ancients (and fought/killed some Bandersnatch and Jumping monsters along the way), they finally arrived at a remote snowy/icy village known as the Icicle Inn which was built in between 2 tall and snowy mountains in the middle of the snowy fields (built for travellers who's heading North for journeys/expeditions into the "Great Glacier" and beyond the unknown mountains). Chilling cold winds and almost thigh-high drifts of pure white snow had slowed their journey considerably and causing them to frequently stop to warm themselves up to avoid getting frozen and died in the freezing, bitter cold.

Cloud, Angelina and the rest of their friends/companions sighed in relieved (except for Laina, Kunsel and Vincent) as they went through the entrance, entered the village and they spotted the inn immediately (which stands between a small house and a semi-large house on the east side of the village). Barret, Tifa, Red XIII, Yuffie, Selwyn, Cid, Cait Sith, Nina and Carter immediately headed straight for the inn and went into it for some warmth, food and drinks, except for Cloud, Angelina, Laina, Kunsel and Vincent. After Barret, Tifa and the others went into the inn, both Cloud and Angelina decided to head toward the Item shop standing between the Weapon and Accessory shop to their right to buy some X-potions, Ethers, Somas and some warm coats (for themselves and their friends/companions to wear to avoid the freezing cold) on the west side of the village with Vincent following behind them to help out while both Laina and Kunsel decided to head toward the small house on the left side of the inn (due to curious feelings in their minds/hearts) and they open the door and went into the house.

Once both Laina and Kunsel are inside the house, they look around the place and saw that the room is filled with dozens of machines with many different-coloured buttons and glass screens on them against the wall (which had several flashing red lights attached on the wall) to their left, a long rectangular wooden table with a single book lying on it and a wooden chair near it in front of them (with an old blue-coloured carpet under the table on the dusty floor) and a staircase to their right which leads down to a basement room. After both Laina and Kunsel are done looking around the room, they turned to their left to approach one of the machines (which stands between 2 other machines) and Laina pressed a random blue button on the middle machine. After Laina pressed the random blue button, the middle machine turns on and they saw that there's 3 video diary/logs on the glass screen of the machine with the titles "The Original Crisis", "What is Weapon?" and "Confidential" below the 3 video diary/logs.

"Videos about "The Original Crisis", "What Is Weapon" and "Confidential"?" said Laina as she glance at the 3 video diary/logs on the glass screen of the machine.

"Why don't you play the videos and we both watched it?" said Kunsel. "The videos could have important/useful informations to us."

Laina turn her head to glance at Kunsel for a few seconds and she nodded in agreement to him before she turn to glance back at the machine's glass screen, pressed the "Play" button on the machine to watch "The Original Crisis" video first. Both Laina and Kunsel watched as the glass screen turn black for a second before it shows the same room which they're now standing in (while the entire scenery around the room in the video is slightly green in colour). A man (who had his back to them) with short black hair, wearing a white lab coat and long brown-coloured trousers is busy adjusting with the middle machine in front of him (which caused the camera attached against the ceiling to move up and down) while a woman with long brown-coloured hair, wearing a long-sleeve red-coloured dress stands behind the man and watched him do something to the machine. After the man is done adjusting the middle machine, he turned around, walked toward the woman, halted in his tracks in front of her, lifted his head to glance up at the camera hanging on the wall and he nodded in satisfaction before he turned around to glance at the machine which he had just walked away from a few seconds ago.

"Camera's ready!" said the black-haired scientist man before he turned away from the machine to glance at the long, brown-haired woman next to him. "Then, Ifalna, please tell us about the "Cetra"."

"That brown-haired woman in the video knows about "Cetra", like Aeris?" thought Laina to herself. "Don't tell me that she's…" Laina stops her train of thoughts to resumed watching the video.

The woman nodded to the scientist before she began speaking. "2000 years ago, our ancestors, the "Cetra", heard the cries of the Planet. The first ones to discover the Planet's wound were the "Cetra" at the "Knowlespole"."

"Tell us, Ifalna…" the scientist asked Ifalna. "Where is the land called "Knowlespole"?"

"Knowlespole refers to this area." answered Ifalna. "The Cetra then began a Planet-reading."

"Ifalna, what exactly does this Planet-reading entail?" the scientist asked Ifalna the second time.

"… I can't explain it very well, but it's like having a direct conversation with the Planet…" answered Ifalna as she turned to look away from the scientist. "It said to me that something fell from the sky and creating a large wound on the Planet. Thousands of Cetra gathered together, trying to healed the Planet… But, due to the severity of the large wound, it was only able to healed itself, over many years."

"Do the Ancients, or rather, the Cetra, have special powers to healed the Planet?" the scientist asked Ifalna the third time.

Ifalna shake her head when she heard what the scientist just said. "No, it's not that kind of power. The life force of all living things on this Planet becomes the energy. The Cetra desperately tried to cultivate the land so as not to diminish the needed energy…"

"Hmmm, even here so close to the North Cave, the snow never melts and the cold blizzard never diminish." said the scientist as he raised his left hand and placed his left hand under his chin in deep pondering. "Is that because the planet's energy is gathered here to healed its injury?"

"Yes." said Ifalna as she lowered her head to glance down at the floor. "The amount of energy that was needed to healed the Planet's injury slowly withered away the land… then the Planet itself… The Planet tried to persuade the Cetra to leave the Knowlespole immediately, but…" Ifalna ceased her talking and lapsed into silence.

"Ifalna… let's take a break." said the scientist to Ifalna when he noticed that she had stop talking.

Ifalna lifted her head, turn around to glance at the scientist and shake her head. "I'm all right…" said Ifalna in a reassuring tone of voice to the scientist before she resumed talking/telling him about the Cetra. "When the Cetra… were preparing to leave Knowlespole and part with the land they loved…" Ifalna turn away from the scientist. "That's when it appeared! It took on the forms of… our… our deceased mothers and… brothers. Showing us specters/memories of their pasts."

"Who is this "person" that appeared before the Cetra at the North Cave?" the scientist asked Ifalna the fourth time. "I haven't any idea."

"That's when the one who injured the Planet… or the "Crisis from the sky", as we call him, came." said Ifalna before she lowered her head and covered her face with both of her hands. "He first approach the Cetra as a friend before he deceives them and finally… gave them the virus."

Ifalna lowered her hands from her face and lifted her head. "The Cetra were attacked by the virus which he gave to them and went mad… transforming into dangerous monsters/beasts." said Ifalna before she kneel down to the floor and the scientist quickly approach and stand behind her kneeling form worriedly. "Then, just like what he had done to the Cetra who live at Knowlespole, he approached several other Cetra clans scattered throughout the Planet… and infecting them with… the same virus…"

Ifalna lapsed into silence and didn't say anymore words.

"You don't look well… Let's call it a day." said the scientist to Ifalna before he turned around, walked toward the middle machine, pressed some buttons on it and both Laina and Kunsel watched as the video diary/log title "The Original Crisis" ceased playing and faded to black.

After both Laina and Kunsel watched the first video diary/log on the machine, Laina then pressed the "Play" button for the next video with the title "What Is Weapon?" written on it and soon the video began playing and showing them both the same room with the scientist (who's busy adjusting with the middle machine again) and the long, brown-haired woman named Ifalna (who's standing in the far left corner of the room near the long rectangular table, watching the scientist as he adjusted the middle machine). After the scientist is done in adjusting the middle machine, he turned around, walked away from the machine before he halted in his tracks to glance at Ifalna.

"Ifalna, can you comment to me on the things called "Weapon"?" the scientist asked Ifalna.

"Yes, Professor Gast." answered Ifalna with a small nod of her head to the scientist named Gast.

"So his name is Professor Gast, huh?" thought Laina to herself. "That name sounds familiar to me, for some reason. Where have I heard it…" Laina slightly widened her eyes in surprise/shock when she suddenly remembers where she heard the name of Professor Gast before. "That's the name of the scientist which Sephiroth spoke out from 1 of the books he's reading in the old office room next to the underground laboratory under Shinra mansion before he gone mad."

"Hey, Laina. What's wrong?" said Kunsel in a worry tone of voice when he saw the slightly surprise/shock look on her face.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing, Kunsel." said Laina hastily to Kunsel before she resumed watching the video, which make Kunsel raised his eyebrow in suspicion of her before he shrugged his shoulders and resumed watching the video with her.

Ifalna walked to the middle of the room before she halted in her tracks and turned to glance at Professor Gast (who raised and placed his right hand under his chin in deep pondering). "The one the professor mistook for a Cetra… was actually an evil creature named "Jenova". That is the "Crisis from the sky". The Planet knew that it had to destroy the "Crisis from the sky"… You see, as long as Jenova exists, the Planet will never be able to fully healed itself."

"Back then, "Weapon" was a kind of strong weapon that the Planet produced of it's own will?" Professor Gast asked Ifalna.

"Yes, but… There is no record of Weapon ever being used." answered Ifalna with a shake of her head. "A small number of the surviving Cetra gathered together and managed to defeat Jenova before confining her away. The Planet did produced Weapon… but it was no longer necessary to use it."

Professor Gast lowered his right hand and shrugged his shoulders. "So, Weapon no longer exists on this Planet?" said Professor Gast.

Ifalna shake her head at his words. "Weapon cannot vanish… It remains asleep somewhere on this Planet. Even though Jenova is confined, she could come back to life at some time… The Planet has not fully healed itself yet. It is still watching Jenova."

"So… where is Weapon now?" Professor Gast asked Ifalna the second time.

Ifalna turned to look away from him and shake her head. "I don't know… I can't hear the voice of the Planet clearly…" answered Ifalna. "Times… have changed. The Planet… is probably watching this situation silently and closely."

After Ifalna is done talking, she raised her hands to rubbed/covered her face. When Professor Gast saw Ifalna raised her hands to rubbed/covered her face, he turned around to look away from her, bend his knees and shake his head for a few seconds before he turned back to glance at her.

"…Thank you, Ifalna, that will be all for today…" said Professor Gast to Ifalna before he turned away from her, walked toward the middle machine, pressed some buttons on it and both Laina and Kunsel watched as the video diary/log title "What is weapon?" ceased playing and faded to black.

After both Laina and Kunsel watch the second video diary/log on the machine, Laina pressed the "Play" button for the next video/log title "Confidential. Daughter's Record: 10 days after birth" and soon the video began playing and they saw and hear nothing but darkness and silence on the video for a few seconds before they heard Ifalna's voice.

"What are you doing, Profes… I mean, honey?" Ifalna's voice asked her husband, Professor Gast.

"Oh, I'm thinking of taping it on video, Ifalna." answered Professor Gast's voice. "But, the video's not working right…"

"What are you going to tape, honey?" said Ifalna's voice. "Is there still something that I haven't mentioned to you?"

"No, that's not it, Ifalna." said Professor Gast's voice. "I'm going to record my beautiful daughter. And when she's asleep, her face… looks like an angel. First, we have to figure out a name for her. We can take the video later!" Professor Gast's voice lapsed into silence for a few seconds (probably thinking about what name to give to his daughter).

"I've already decided! If it's a girl, then her name shall be Aeris. That's that!" said Ifalna's voice to Professor Gast, sounding quite happy.

"I knew it. Those 2 are indeed Aeris's real parents." thought Laina sadly to herself.

"You are SO selfish!" snapped Professor Gast's voice lightly to Ifalna. "But I've to admit, Aeris is quite a good name! Hee hee… it's a good name, considering that it came out of that forgetful head of yours!"

"Right!?" said Ifalna's voice. "Oh, the video tape…"

The third video stop playing and Laina pressed the "Play" button for the next and last video diary/log title "Confidential. Daughter's Record: 20 days after birth" and soon both Laina and Kunsel watched as the last video started playing and showing them both yet the same room with Professor Gast (who's busy adjusting with the middle machine once again) and his wife Ifalna, who approach Professor Gast before she halted in her tracks next to his right.

"Video again?" said Ifalna as she glance at her husband with a light scowling look on her face. "You just got through taping!"

"… Please don't say it that way, Ifalna." said Professor Gast as he turned to glance at Ifalna with an apologetic look on his face. "It's our lovely daughter, both yours… and mine! Don't you want to capture her childhood on videotape?"

"If you keep doting on her like that, she won't grow up to be strong…" said Ifalna. "Aeris is different from the other childrens. I wonder what kind of dangers awaited her…?"

"Never say that, Ifalna!" said Professor Gast as he turned to look away from her. "I will protect both you and Aeris no matter what!" Professor Gast stop talking for a few seconds and turned back to glance at Ifalna. "Both you and Aeris are my precious treasures. I'll never let the 2 of you go!"

"I feel so much better/relieved now, darling." said Ifalna in a very happy/relieved tone of voice to Professor Gast. "If I haven't met you, I…"

Ifalna lapsed into silence at the same time Professor Gast approach her and pull her in for a hug. Ifalna gasped lightly at his sudden sweet action before a smile spread across her face and she raised her hands and hugged him back. A few seconds later, both of them broke apart from their hugging, glance at each other with love/adoration on both their faces and just as they were about to kiss, an abrupt knock on the door of their house interrupted their sweet moment.

"Who could that—I was just about to…" grumbled Professor Gast as he turned away from Ifalna to glance at the door, annoyed at the sudden interruption. "Damn!" Professor Gast cursed out as he raised both of his hands to clutch his head in an annoyed/anger attitude while Ifalna covered her face with her hands in dismay/disappointment. Professor Gast then lowered his hands down to his sides and turned back to glance at Ifalna. "How dare they intrude on our "sweet and private time" together!" said Professor Gast to Ifalna.

"I'll send them away, darling." said Ifalna to Professor Gast, who nodded his head in agreement to her and she nodded back to him. "Yes, at once! Who the devil?"

After Ifalna's done talking to Professor Gast, she walked away from him, walked up the short steps toward the front door and opened the door to see who is it (while a gust of cold blizzard wind blow into the house after Ifalna open the door).

"It, it's them!" said Ifalna in a slightly loud and fearful tone of voice to Professor Gast when she saw whoever it is standing outside their house before she quickly turned around, run away from the door and hide behind Professor Gast's back.

Right after Ifalna run away from the front door and hide behind her husband, 2 Shinra infantrymen armed with assault rifles in their hands came charging into the room before they both stop/stands on either sides of both Professor Gast and Ifalna. And following behind the 2 infantrymen is none other than Hojo himself.

Both Laina and Kunsel's face instantly turn dark with pure anger/hatred when they saw Hojo appeared in the video diary/log.

"Heh, heh, heh…" Hojo chuckled as he walked toward both Professor Gast and Ifalna and halted in his tracks in front of them. "I've been searching far and wide for you, Ifalna… or should I say, Cetra! And also, long time no see, Professor Gast!"

"Hojo… How did you know where to find us?" demanded Professor Gast.

"Believe me, Professor Gast. I had to turn over a stone or two to find you." said Hojo as he turn to look away from Professor Gast (who lowered and shake his head at Hojo). "2 years I've waited… That's how long and how much I wanted this new sample for my experiment… Ha, ha, ha, ha." Hojo lapsed into silence and turn back to glance at both Professor Gast (who shake his head some more) and Ifalna (who covered her face with her hands in worry/fear).

"… New sample for your experiment? You don't mean my daughter, Aeris!?" said Professor Gast in a loud and shocked tone of voice to Hojo before he angrily grabbed the collar of Hojo's lab coat tightly in his hands. The 2 infantrymen immediately raised and pointed their assault rifles at Professor Gast, which froze him and Hojo immediately swatted Professor Gast hands away from his collar.

"Hmmm, Aeris? What a nice name for your daughter… Ha, ha ha, ha." said Hojo in a mocking tone of voice to Professor Gast before he began chuckling to himself.

"That's it!" said Professor Gast as he lowered his head to stared down at the floor. "I'm severing all ties with the Shinra. Hojo, please leave."

Right after Professor Gast say those words to Hojo, Ifalna suddenly run out from behind her husband toward Hojo and kneel down on the floor in front of him.

"Ifalna!" said Professor Gast in a shocked tone of voice when he saw Ifalna kneeling down in front of Hojo (who glance away from Professor Gast to glance at her).

"Please, Aeris had nothing to do with this!" pleaded Ifalna. "All you want is me, right? Just take me instead!"

Hojo ponders about Ifalna's words for a few seconds then slowly shook his head at her. "I'll need all of you for my experiments." said Hojo to Ifalna (which make the worry/fear look on her face deepen even more) before he turn away from her to glance at Professor Gast. "You understand, don't you, Professor Gast? Together, we can change the future of the Planet!"

Professor Gast ignored Hojo's words, glance away from him and kneel down next to Ifalna. "Don't you worry about a thing, Ifalna. I'll take care of this!" said Professor Gast to Ifalna in a reassuring tone of voice.

"Please don't put up any resistance or fight against us, Professor Gast. I don't want any harm to come to my precious samples." said Hojo to Professor Gast before he turn to his right, lifted his head to glance up at the wall and noticed the camera hanging on the wall. "Mmmm? What a strange-looking camera. Guard! Destroy that camera!"

The infantryman standing on Hojo's right immediately turned to his right, raised and pointed his assault rifle at the camera, shot a single bullet at the camera to destroy it and causing both Laina and Kunsel unable to see what's going on in the video diary/log but they were able to hear what's happening.

"Be careful with her. Ha, ha, ha, ha…" said Hojo in a happy tone of voice before he began laughing.

Both Laina and Kunsel then heard the sound of Professor Gast punching Hojo (which make them smirk a little).

"Wh… What are you doing, Professor!?" said Hojo in a shocked tone of voice.

"Ifalna! Take Aeris and get out of here now!" Professor Gast told Ifalna.

Both Laina and Kunsel heard the sound of more struggling between both Professor Gast and Hojo before the sound of a gunshot suddenly rang out and they both heard (and gasped) Professor Gast as he groaned in pain before he fell down to the floor.

"Eyaaaaaah… Darling…!" screamed Ifalna's voice when she saw her husband got shot before he fell down to the floor.

"Such a pity, Professor Gast." said Hojo's voice to Professor Gast before he began speaking to one of the 2 infantrymen with him. "Oh, and uh… don't forget the child!"

"Understood, Professor Hojo!" replied one of the 2 infantrymen voice.

"Hmmm, video diary/logs? The Ancients… Weapon!?" said Hojo's voice a few seconds later and both Laina and Kunsel gasped again when they heard that Hojo had found and see the video diary/logs in the machine.

"Heh, heh, heh, heh… a huge mountain of knowledge and treasure!" said Hojo's voice in a very happy tone of voice. "Thank you, Professor Gast… Ha, ha, ha, ha."

The last video diary/log stop playing and Laina pressed the "Stop" button and turn off the middle machine before she turn to glance at Kunsel with sadness/despair (for Aeris and her real parents) on her face. Kunsel glance at her with the same sadness/despair look on his face for them as well.

"Poor Professor Gast and Ifalna, Aeris's real parents… And poor Aeris for not able to see all this videos about them before she…" said Laina in a sad tone of voice before the sadness/despair look on her face got replaced by a look of anger/hatred. "Damn you, Hojo! Just when I thought that I couldn't hate the bastard even more…"

"… Some more of his heinous crimes came out and make you hate him even more." said Kunsel in a dark tone of voice.

"Yes, exactly, Kunsel." said Laina with a quick nod of her head. "The next time I see that bastard, I'll beat him or kill him terribly with my bare hands or my Geneva saber."

Both Laina and Kunsel then lapsed into silence for a few minutes inside the room before they finally turned around and left the house to joined up with Cloud, Angelina and the rest of their friends/companions.