Final Fantasy VII: Beyond Apocalypse
Volume 4: Wars of Wu Tai
PREFACE
The Opening to the "Book of the Ancients":
Long, long ago, all was right within the universe. Everything was in its place, and the light reigned over the dark, keeping peace and preventing turmoil. But through some kind of intervention in the eternal destiny, a being of enormous power was able to rise up and attack the light by attacking End. Because End had more of the light than the dark, the light suffered more, and the dark attacked it in its weak state.
Finally, when the battles between the two raged fiercely, End had no choice but to be split, and the result was the two Great Forces. Their constant battle over the universe caused turmoil to erupt and the universe was not well. The dark consumed parts of the universe, while other areas were so wholy consumed by the light that there was not enough balance and whole galaxies were destroyed.
You, oh Cetra, will spawn the One who can bring events to balance again, the Protector. Who this Protector will be you shall not know until he or she comes. But be ready to lose all for the sake of the balance.
The Triad will converge and meet at one point, the ends driven by the same force, and the Triad will exist as one, though not equally. And the dark will attempt to destroy you by means of the First Dark Pawn, but it will be thwarted, or balance shall be restored in favor of the dark and the Event will not happen.
Now, there will be these positions in the Event: The Protector and the Pawn, the two Triads, the Guardian and the Crusaders on the other side, and the Abomination. The Abomination will be a shade, and must not be allowed to carry out its mission, or the Event will not happen.
SOMEWHERE...
Voices. Voices, all around, so many of them, all talking at the same time. It was impossible to work them out. All crowding in, closing in, jumbling together in a great heap that did not fit together at all, much like the storyline of Final Fantasy VIII.
"I'm a but I cannot what a you no by now let's all woe is no! and don't besides I..." was what it sounded like. Impossible to understand.
"Don't freak out."
"Who?! Who's there?"
"You know me."
"It's... you."
"Yes. But not as you knew me. I've come a long way. Everyone calls me 'The Protector' or 'The savior' now. It's wierd."
"It makes sense."
"I'll take that as a compliment, even though you're reffering to the wrong actions of mine. I've still got much, much more important things to do."
"This place is so wierd. I don't understand it."
"You'll get used to it. But don't worry, you won't be here for long. You'll go."
"But then I won't be me."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course. Everyone who comes here leaves as something else... right?"
"Not everyone. Maybe once in a billion years, someone won't because of our will."
"Our?"
"Myself and the others on the top. We don't even leave at all."
"I don't understand."
"You don't need to. You need to understand other things. You have a disease that needs curing."
"What is it?"
"It's called the Consumption. That's the only name there has ever been for it."
"What does it do?"
"It destroys its victims mentally. It's the reason you're here, actually."
"I remember!"
"Do you?"
"Yes... I'm sorry."
"That's okay. I can never be with my true love anyway, and it's not you. I have something more important to do."
"What?"
"Whip you into shape. Hehe."
AVALANCHE HQ
The buggy pulled slowly into the driveway next to the tall, silver AVALANCHE HQ; the way it sort of slid into position and mellowly stopped mimiced the depression of its passengers. Tifa, Elena, Barret, and Vincent all leapt out of the vehicle and began to trudge back to the HQ.
The search for Cloud and Aeris had been going on for a week now, still with no results. The Highwind had been doing most of it, of course, schouring the whole Midgar Continent for a trace of the two of them, but nothing had come up. No one understood.
No one except Tifa. She knew what was wrong. Cloud had gone completely insane, and where he was now was the most untracable thing she new. She went along with the motions of searching for him, but inside she was empty. She rarely spoke, rarely ate, and barely slept, and if anyone asked her to do more of the aforementioned activities, she would tell them she was too busy searching for Cloud. They gave up on her, because they could see there was no healing her until they found him.
And the effect that Tifa's depression had on Elena was enormous. Everyone expected her to be sullen and emotional during this time, but instead, she grew snappy and irritable. She was as astonished at herself as everyone else, but she knew the reason: She was jealous of Tifa. Jealous that Tifa loved Cloud so much that she could not eat, speak, or sleep if she knew he was in danger. Why didn't SHE have these problems? Of course she missed Cloud, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't be as depressed about it as Tifa. It made her start to wonder about her affections for him. Was this real? Or was it some stupid crush, like a teenage girl getting all up tight over an actor?
Time dragged on. Reeve was trying to make plans to create a city at the sight of the Forgotten Capitol, but his heart wasn't in it. Red XIII spend much of his time meditating, as did Kura. Barret would spend the time that he wasn't searching for Cloud sitting idly, wishing like hell that there was something he could do and feeling helpless. Cid did pretty much the same thing, only he would get angry and yell a lot. Even Vincent was affected by the absence of Cloud, Vincent who everyone had always assumed didn't care very much about how complete the team was. Instead of sitting quietly amongst the rest of the group, he would now sit quietly on top of the roof, or the Highwind, or wherever no one else was around.
It was unbelievable how badly AVALANCHE fell apart without Cloud. He had always been their leader, and they had always trusted him. But they had never realized just how much they depended on him.
Meanwhile, Keer Ashroth was taking over the world.
SHINRA HQ
Ashroth had been dreaming more. The dreams were beginning to get wierder and wierder. Every time, Sephiroth would be there, saying "Ultima" over and over again. Refferences to Meteo and Satruna, whatever Satruna was, were also frequent. And soon, Sephiroth stopped calling him Keer. It wasn't Ashroth that he switched to, but Ultima. For some reason, Ashroth was now being referred to as Ultima.
There was only one connection he could make- his blade. The Ultima Weapon. It called him every now and then. What was this? Was he somehow connected to Ultima? What exactly was Ultima? It was a Materia, sure, but it was beginning to seem like there was something more to it. For some reason or other, Sephiroth was reffering to him as "Ultima."
But right now, Keer Ashroth had other matters to attend to. AVALANCHE had become quite a problem over the time that he'd been in command of Shinra, and he intended to be rid of them now that he didn't have to worry about the construction of Midgar 2. He had already ordered that measures be taken to eliminate AVALANCHE.
Back at Junon, the Shinra Secret Fleet was strapped by giant cables to an old toy that Rufus Shinra had left behind, and being turned around to face a new direction: North. To be more precise, exactly toward AVALANCHE HQ.
Admiral Kalakran walked into the large control room of the Sister Ray.
"Prepare to fire," he ordered. He was going to enjoy this immensely. Cid Highwind was up there, and soon the admiral would finally get his revenge on that son of a bitch. Not to mention the ex-Turk who had made him look like a fool.
"Yes sir!" the technicians replied, each pulling one of the tremendous levers that warmed the weapon up.
"Finally, it's time to blow AVALANCHE away," Kalakran said maliciously.
"That was really lame sounding," whispered one of the technicians to another.
AVALANCHE HQ
Everyone was about to hit the sack after a long, hard day of Cloud and Aeris-searching. They were just spending a little time in the living room talking things over and making plans for the next day when the alarm began to sound.
"I'll go check it out," said Reeve. "You guys stay here."
He ran off to the control room, while the others began to equip their weapons and armor. If the MeteoCult was making another attack- or Shinra themselves this time- they had better be ready.
Soon, Reeve came charging back into the room.
"Everybody out on the deck!" he yelled. "Come on!"
Nobody understood, but they all followed him upstairs to the deck. They all stood out on it, looking into the sky, and soon they could see a gigantic yellow ball of energy screaming towards them out of the sky.
Everyone yelled, gasped, cursed, or did whatever fit their personality most, but Reeve just sad their calmly.
The members of AVALANCHE, each thinking they were about to die, covered their faces with their arms and braced for the impact. But nothing came. Soon, they let their guards down to see the great blast veering above the base and flying on behind it.
"Wha-?"
Reeve burst out laughing. "Oh boy oh boy, those Shinra are really funny..." he jeered gleefully.
"What the hell just happened?" Barret demanded.
Reeve shushed Barret with a finger on his lips. "Turn around," he said.
Everyone turned around to see the blast sailing on towards the North Crater. But it didn't quite make it- instead, it slammed into the high ground near the crater, making a gigantic impact and completely blowing away Gaea's Cliff.
"Why the hell would they wanna destroy the cliff when they coulda toasted us?" Cid asked in bafflement.
"Care to explain, Reeve?" asked Red.
"Sure," said Reeve. We've got a pretty large Mako Shield protecting this base. If you'll remember, the Sister Ray is a Mako weapon. Shinra just accidentally made it a lot easier to travel up north."
Everyone proccessed this in their brains for a bit, then burst into histerical laughter.
JUNON
"Did we get them?" Kalakran asked eagerly.
"Umm... well..."
Kalakran suddenly turned to the head technician and looked at him with an icy stare. "Don't you dare tell me that you missed," he raged.
"Our aim was perfect sir," the technician squirmed.
"Then what the hell went wrong?!"
"I don't know," the technician wimpered. "It just... sort of... well, this sounds crazy, but it bounced off their base and hit Gaea's Cliff."
"Mako shield," Kalakran muttered. "I should have known. Ashroth never should have hired that ass Majorik."
"I'm sorry, sir," the technician apolagized.
"Oh shut up!" yelled Kalakran. He wished he had the imposing authority of Ashroth, but for some reason, people just weren't so afraid of him.
"Back to the drawing board," he muttered.
SOMEWHERE...
"What do you know about Ultima?"
"It's a Materia. And there's an Ultima Weapon which it was designed for."
"You're Ultima."
"What?!"
"You are."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"What do you think it means?"
"Uhh... I'm a Materia?"
"*laughing* you were always dense. No, it means that Ultima is your Cosmocon."
"What's a Cosmocon?"
"A Cosmic Element."
"You're not making sense."
"Ever heard of Dark Matter?"
"Yes... it's just a theory."
"To you, yes. But it's very real. And there are three elements that make it up, Ultima, Meteo, and Satruna."
"Meteo?!"
"Yes."
"Wait... if Ultima and Meteo are Materia, doesn't that mean that there's a Materia called 'Satruna' too?"
"My goodness, aren't you a quick one."
"I've never heard of it."
"It's not of your world. Neither is Ultima, actually. The Ancients brought it here. Meteo is the one that's native to the Planet."
"So... how can a Cosmocon be mine?"
"It was meant for you since time began."
"What the hell?"
"You're a Companion of Order."
"Please, try to make things clear, okay?"
"I'm a Sage, I'm supposed to speak in ways that you can't understand."
"Well... go against the rules."
"I'll do a little of that. You have to find Meteo and Satruna."
"What? Wait, don't tell me. There are two others that are pre-destined for the Meteo and Satruna Cosmocons, right?"
"You're catching on."
"Allright... so who are they."
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"No. I didn't pick them out. The universe did. I may have power, but I certainly can't make the universe's descisions for it."
"Then how am I supposed to find them?"
"Don't look for them. You'll find them. They'll come to you. Just do what you must, and they'll come to you."
"How will I know it's them?"
"Well... you're Ultima, right?"
"Apparently so."
"So... whatever it is that makes you Ultima, probably makes the others Meteo and Satruna, right?"
"Oh... I think I get it. So I've found one of them, haven't I?"
"Yes."
"I better tell him."
"Don't. I will when the time's right."
"Okay. One more question."
"Shoot."
"How can I find Satruna if Satruna doesn't come from this planet?"
' "Ultima doesn't, and you're Ultima."
"So Satruna is here, on this planet?"
"It would seem that way, wouldn't it."
"Is it a Materia?"
"Of course."
"How powerful is it?"
"Just as powerful as Ultima and Meteo."
"Who has it?!"
"Someone who shouldn't. In fact, if you aren't around at the right time, it might be used for some pretty awful stuff."
"Well then we'd better get this curing of yours on its way, hadn't we?"
"I thought you'd never realize that."
WU TAI
The Tiny Bronco touched down on the desert area around the city of Wu Tai, landing with a bit of a bump but no serious problems.
"Told you I could do it," Yuffie jeered at a sullen Hanshi, who had been depressed for theo whole journey because his younger companion had refused to let him fly the craft. He'd been hoping she'd crash and blow them both to kingdom come so that he would be right all along, but unfortunately both of them were in very good health.
Yuffie jumped cheerily out of the seat as waves of Taian "Je So", the specialized military soldiers of the Tai Setsu (The palace of Wu Tai), came out to escort her to see her father.
"Great," Yuffie mumbled as she saw the Je So approaching. "Looks like the welcoming comitee is coming out."
"Oh boy," Hanshi said sarcastically, who apparently had not so great memories of the Je So as well.
The troops approached the two young Tains and their leader, a tall man in dark red armor, walked up to meet them. He bowed before Yuffie.
"Your arrival has brought much joy to your father, Princess," he intoned.
"Shut up, you robotic pest," Yuffie retorted. "You don't have to talk all mystical just because you're the leader of the Je So. Tell me what your name is."
The leader shrugged, stood up with a slouch, and said, "Name's Yurika. Let's go see pops, shall we?"
"That's more like it," said Yuffie. "C'mon Hanshi."
"Yeah," Hanshi said strangely. "Let's go see pops, Yurika."
Yurika turned and looked at Hanshi. "I don't know what you're doing here, Han Chi, but I suggest you keep a low profile."
"It's hard for a good looking guy like me to keep a low profile," Hanshi shrugged.
Yuffie wasn't sure why Yurika was cautioning Hanshi, but decided it was just because he was an outlaw.
"Hanshi's with me, Yurika," said Yuffie. "You better not pick on him."
"Yes, m'am," Yurika said.
Yuffie silently congradulated herself. She had succeeded in humbling both Yurika and Hanshi with a single sentence. What a master she was at humbling people!
They headed off in the direction of the Tai Setsu.
Jinn stood in a silence and serenity of his private chamber, quietly praying to Kotu (or Ko Tu, to be accurate to Taian mythology), the Taian god he worshipped. Ever since he was a boy, Jinn had been fascinated with the way Kotu acted in the mythology of Old Wu Tai, constantly challenging Le Ya Than (the real name of Leviathan, before easterners changed it), the ruler of Wu Tai, and Da Him Tet (the Taian name for Bahamut), ruler of the gods themselves, and yet always managing to get away with it by blaming it on a lesser god. Most found this dispicable, and indeed, the things that Kotu did in Taian mythology were sometimes of the most horrible nature. He was the god of greed, afterall. The worship of him was forbidden by Taian law, but there would always been cults devoted to him. In fact, Kotu even resided in a Materia, though few knew of its existance. The effects of the summon attack it caused were quite devastating- similar to Hades, but instead of just the grim reaper, hordes of devils would spring forth led by Kotu astride his great silver dragon, his fancy black headress glowing where the symbols inscribed on it were being used to call up the magic, and each of the little monsters would attack the enemy with extreme power and causing all kinds of deadly statuses. Jinn had seen the magic take effect before, and had been captivated by its devestating effects. Even the legendary holy Knights of the Round materia could not match up to this. Only the Black Materia had surpassing attack power.
The problem was that although Jinn had the Kotu Materia, he couldn't use it to do anything great because it was so hard on the magical reserves of a spellcaster. It could only be cast three times without the use of a magic-enhancing chemical such as Ether, and that was for the most powerful of magic users, something Jinn was not.
That was why he must have Meteo. To carry out the legendary quest of Kotu, to throw down the house of Tai and end the worship of Leviathan, he must have this magic.
"Soon, master," he whispered to the Kotu Materia that sat on a pedestal in front of him. "Soon, I will deliver to you what you have always wanted: Worship from all of Wu Tai. And then, when I have done this thing for you, I pray you will provide me with what I need to extract vengeance upon those who destroyed my life."
TAI SETSU
Yuffie and Hanshi were lead into a tremendous, lavishly decorated hall with a sizable throne at the end of the room. Upon the throne sat Saiu Kisaragi, holder of the throne and descendant of the house of Tai.
"Yuffie!" he exclaimed as he saw the two of them enter. He stood up from his throne, his body still strong despite his fifty-some years of rulership. "It brings me great joy to see you once again. Your efforts have brought me back to my senses and helped me return Wu Tai to what it used to be- a proud, strong nation of great warriors. The one thing my life has lacked since then is your presence."
"Sup, dad," said Yuffie.
It was then that Yuffie's father laid eyes on Hanshi.
"What are you doing with that slimeball?!" he exclaimed. "He was banished from here years ago!"
"Why?" asked Yuffie. "He's my friend. If you kick him out, I'll leave immediately and go back to my friends up north."
"AVALANCHE, you mean? It's made me very proud that you are part of the protectors of the planet, Ye Fe," Saiu said with a distant expression, accidentally lapsing into his daughter's real name. He soon returned to the present. "But that Hanshi... he is a disgrace to us all. It pains me to see him with you."
"I love you too, pops," said Hanshi. "Broken up any lovers lately?"
Saiu's nostrils flaired at that comment. "Get him out!" he ordered to the Je So that stood near the throne. They started toward Hanshi, but Yuffie jumped in front of him.
"First, I'd like to know exactly why you're doing this," she said sternly.
"It is a personal matter between the two of us," Saiu argued.
"I'll tell her, then," said Hanshi. "Seven years ago, I was nineteen and working as a member of the Je So in the palace. Your dad saw a maid he took a liking to, and fucked her a couple of times. Problem was, I'd already been falling in love with her for a while, and when she told me she was pregnant with his kid, I stormed in here and challenged him. So we had a big bad scary fight, and I lost, so he kicked me out of the kingdom. He was going to kill me, but Saiku begged him not to, so he just banished me instead. End of story."
Saiu looked rather uncomfortable. "There's a lot more to it than that," he squirmed, ashamed at his actions being so blatantly laid out before his daughter. "That acount was not entirely accurate."
"Sure," Hanshi rolled his eyes. "If YOU'd been telling the story, it would have been a lot more explicit."
Saiu's eyes flared up with anger at that. "You shall not mock me directly, scoundrel!" he yelled in rage.
"Shut up, dad," Yuffie said, full of her own anger. "Tell me the truth. Is Hanshi's story true or false?"
Saiu looked at his daughter for a moment; his shoulders slumped.
"It's true," he finally sighed. "I really loved her..."
"Sounds to me like you just wanted some action," Yuffie scolded.
"That's not true," said Saiu.
"Doesn't matter," said Hanshi. "She already loved me, and you forced her into it by using the authority of your position."
Yuffie made a mental note that Hanshi did indeed know how to talk like a sophisticated human being, just never tried to unless it was really serious.
"Allright," Saiu surrendured. "I did. It was wrong of me. I'm sorry. But I banished you because of your treasonous words and actions, not because Saiku loved you. That's the honest truth."
"Don't you think he maybe had a right to act like that?" Yuffie asked, arms folded across her chest.
Strangely, Saiu smiled at the sight. "I'm getting very old," he muttered. "You know you're getting too old when your daughter scolds you like your mother would."
"And your ex-bodyguard," Hanshi put in.
"Bodyguard?" Yuffie asked.
"That's what I did," Hanshi nodded.
Yuffie looked at her father, her expression even more of a stormcloud. "Did Hanshi happen to do anything useful as a bodyguard, father?" she asked.
"Well..." Saiu looked uncomfortable.
"I saved his ass more times than Cloud dumps buckets of gel on his head every morning," Hanshi said sarcastically. "Without me, there wouldn't be any more Saiu Kisaragi, and there wouldn't be any more house of Tai, either. I was a pretty damn good Je So, actually. Not bad for a former criminal, is it?"
"No," Saiu sighed, "It's not. I admit he saved my life. Maybe... maybe it was a little rash of me to banish him."
"I'd say it probably was," said Yuffie.
"Wow, this conversation has gone really off course," said Hanshi. "We came here to talk about the MeteoCult."
Yuffie looked surprised. "You don't want to finish this?"
"It is finished," Hanshi shrugged. "I've waited years to hear him say what he just said. Now it's over and done with."
"You don't even want your position back?" asked Yuffie.
"Nope," said Hanshi. "I'm much happier as a member of AVALANCHE."
"HE's in AVALANCHE?!" exclaimed Saiu.
"What, you thought I'd curl up and die just because I couldn't be a Je So anymore?" Hanshi looked a little amused.
Saiu smiled a little. "I suppose you always did rise to the top wherever you were," he conceded.
"Sure do," Hanshi agreed.
"Well," Saiu said. "I think we ought to move on from all that."
"For now," Yuffie said menacingly.
"What was it that you came here for?" Saiu asked, obviously trying to move the conversation on.
"It's about the MeteoCult," said Yuffie. "We've discovered that Meteo actually exists."
Saiu burst out laughing. "You must be joking," he scoffed. "That myth? And an eastern one, too. Bah."
"Bah my ass," Hanshi retorted rudely. "This is serious, old man."
"Well it's impossible to take it that way," said Saiu. "The MeteoCult is a group of foolish fanatics who don't have a chance to overthrow Wu Tai. We're far stronger now than we used to be, and this Meteo is just plain ridiculous."
"Will you think it's ridiculous when your precious Tai Setsu is being smashed to pieces by explosive meteorites?" Hanshi raged.
"Won't happen," Saiu shrugged.
"Dad, we know that Meteo exists, and if you go to war with the MeteoCult, it'll be released," Yuffie argued.
"And how exactly do you know this?" Saiu asked stubbornly.
So Yuffie explained how Kura had come to them and Cloud had made the discovery that weapons named after a certain Materia had special slots for them.
"So you're basing this on the dream of a former cultist?" Saiu retorted. "That's even stupider than I thought it would be. Former AVALANCHE members appearing in dreams? You're trying to make me refrain from defending my kingdom because of a few obscure dreams."
"Man, you haven't gotten any smarter since I left," Hanshi rolled his eyes.
"And you haven't gotten any less rash," Saiu countered.
"Everybody shut up," Yuffie ordered. "Dad, will you or will you not believe me? Will you not fight the MeteoCult?"
"I will," Saiu said sternly. "And it's because of you. If you hadn't changed me, I would never have the guts to go to war."
"Fine," said Yuffie. "I'll have to make sure it doesn't happen myself. Come on Hanshi, I assume you want to help."
"Wait a second-" Saiu protested.
"What are we gonna do?" Hanshi asked eagerly, loving Yuffie's flippance with her father.
"I'm gonna go kill that Jinn dude so he can't go to war with dad," Yuffie shrugged, and walked outside.
Hanshi grinned hugely. He turned to Saiu, silently mouthed the words "I love your daughter more every time I hear her talk!", and give him the middle finger with both hands, then turned and went after Yuffie. He was so proud of himself- he'd just scored major points with Yuffie.
Saiu was left silently raging and trying to find a way to stop his daughter from going. Much as he insisted on going to war, he couldn't bear the thought of Yuffie going by herself, let alone with Hanshi. He had to do something. He turned to one of the Je So who stood by his throne.
"Put me through to AVALANCHE HQ," he ordered. If anyone could stop Yuffie, it would be Cloud Strife.
SOMEWHERE...
"I don't understand... why do you keep talking about my 'position'? What is this, a game?"
"Astonishingly close. You're not alowed to cheat in it, and there's a winning team... but the prize is so huge it's a little tough to classify it as a game."
"What is the prize?"
"Your side wins."
"Usually there's a trophy or something."
"How does the universe sound as a trophy?"
"What do you mean, I'll get the universe for my own if my team wins?"
"In a sense."
"How come you never say anything clearly?"
"You haven't figured it out yet? It's how communication is here. You can't be clear because everything is so blurry. We're just a couple of conciousnesses floating around in a multitude of others like us."
"Yeah, sometimes I have to try hard to hear what you're saying..."
"You'll get used to it. Eventually you learn to tune into only what you want, and then comes eternal bliss. It's almost like you're getting a sneak preview. Maybe one person in thousands of billions of years gets that chance. You're incredibly lucky."
"But also have the burden of who owns the universe on my shoulders."
"Not exactly. In the most physical sense, you and two others do. But it's really much deeper than that. Anyway, we're off topic. There's a position you have to know about. It's called 'The Abomination' or 'The Extra'."
"What does it do?"
"Basically, it tries to disrupt the whole process. Nobody knows how, why, or when. Not even Sephiroth."
"Why would Sephiroth know?"
"He's remarkably familiar with abominations."
"Do we know who's in the Abomination Position?"
"No, but I have a guess."
"Who?"
"Well... I think I can tell you that. He's-"
"YOU!"
"What the?! What's going on?!"
"I don't know... someone's yelling at you."
"PLEASE... YOU'VE GOT TO DELIVER A MESSAGE WHEN YOU GO BACK..."
"Who are you?"
"He's returning... he can't tell you."
"PLEASE! TELL MY BROTHER THAT IT WAS ASHROTH!"
"What?!"
"TELL MY BROTHER ASHROTH KILLED ME! TELL... TE-"
"What the hell...?"
"No good... he's returned. He'll never speak again."
"Damn, this is so wierd."
"I know... it's tough for all of us."
"At least you know what's going on."
"That makes it tougher. You're only one of the many things I have to tend to... I don't even know who Satruna is yet. YOU still have to find him before I can figure it out."
"I'll do my best. When do I leave?"
"After we talk about relationships."
"Relationships?"
"Someone's waiting for you, and I want to make sure you don't dissapoint that someone when you come back."
"Is this neccessary?"
"No, I'm doing it partly because I think it'll do a world of good for you, and partly because I love to treat you like a little kid."
"I think this power is going to your head."
"I don't have a head."
"Good point. But whatever."
AVALANCHE HQ
Barret walked sullenly through the hallways, hands in pockets, his mind deep in thoughts, trying to find some way to get everything back on course. Why did he feel so helpless? Wasn't there anything he could do? Wasn't there anything AVALANCHE could do? It was time to end this mess and get things moving, whether Cloud was there or not. There was no other action to be taken.
Barret happened to be walking by the gymnasium. He could hear methodical yells coming from inside. He knew who it was- he'd heard Tifa punching bags before, and she always yelled that way when she hit. He had asked her about it once, and she had told him that Zangan had taught her that breathing out just the right way as you punched could double your power. He didn't really get it, but then, he didn't get a lot of things.
On a whim, he walked to the gym doors and looked through the windows in them. He couldn't see her too well, but she was, as he'd expected, furiously smashing a punching back with a variety of exotic kicks and punches. But he'd never seen her go about it with such angry passion. Was she okay?
He was a little worried that she might be overreacting too much to Cloud's dissapearance, and decided to make sure she was okay. He opened the door and walked in. He approached her, the floor creaking under him, and came up right behind her. She still didn't know he was there, she was concentrating so hard. She was hitting the bag so hard that it would have smacked her in the face on its way back if she didn't keep hitting it. She was sweating profucely, too. Barret wondered how long she'd been doing this.
"Yo, Tifa?" he said a little hesitantly.
Startled, she stopped in mid-kick to face him, then promptly got knocked over by the bag flying back at her.
"Sorry," Barret apolagized, offering a hand and helping her up.
"What?" she asked, as though on the defensive.
"Tifa... I ain't never seen you like this. You okay?"
Tifa didn't say anything for a bit.
"Well?"
"No," she finally got out. "I'm not. I'm empty." She slumped to the floor.
"Whadaya mean?" Barret asked.
"Cloud... he's gone crazy," she admitted, her eyes beginning to tear up.
"What? He's just lost, Tifa... we'll find 'em."
"No... we won't. He's gone crazy. He's probaby dead by now." Tears were beginning to run down her cheeks.
"Why?" Barret asked, getting worried.
"Just... before he left. He... thought that he made it into SOLDIER."
Barret smacked himself in the forehead. "Geez, spikey ass lost himself AGAIN?!"
"Uh huh," said Tifa.
"Tifa," Barret said, trying to organize his thoughts. "You pulled 'em out of it last time, you can do it again. We just gotta find 'em. He's gotta be alive still. Cloud don't just die."
"He is dead," said Tifa.
"What? What makes ya think that?"
"I had a dream last night," she said, bursting into open tears right now. "It was so much like the ones Cloud had... Aeris told me... he was with her." She put her face in her hands.
Barret knelt down. He had no idea what to do. If only he understood people and was good with them, like Red XIII, or Reeve. But he had to say something.
"Tifa... it ain't the end of the world," he said. That didn't help.
"It is," she said. "It is for me. He's gone. And he's with Aeris. They're MEANT to be together, dammit! It's all fate or something! They're so happy together. It was probably written in the stars or something lame like that."
Barret scratched his head, desperately trying to think of something comforting to say. There was nothing. He wasn't a comforter. The only thing he could do was just try to get her to move on.
"Okay," he said. "But Tifa... try ta move past it. Do ya think Cloud woulda wanted ya to just curl up and die?"
"It doesn't matter," she argued. "Cloud isn't here."
"But fight for what Cloud fought for," Barret encouraged her. "Tifa... you know I said this before, but I'm gonna say it again. There just ain't no gettin off this train."
He paused for a moment. "And come ta think of it," he mused, "I never realized how real that is. There really ain't no gettin off it. After all that crap we did... we're still here fightin' Shinra and Sephiroth. Tifa, if anythin around here is destined, it's us fightin as AVALANCHE. If Cloud ain't here, that sucks. But we gotta do somethin until we find him. We're so used ta lettin' Cloud make out descisions for us, and never takin' things inta our own hands. But we gotta learn to do that. Cloud just ain't here, and if we keep sittin around mopin about it, Shinra's gonna win. And then what would Cloud 'a died for?"
Barret was astonished at himself. Did he just say that?
Barret wasn't quite sure, but he thought he might have seen Tifa almost smile.
"You're right, you know," she said. "I don't want to move on without Cloud. Cloud means everything to me. But I guess... he just means more to Aeris. Someday maybe I'll get over Cloud. Afterall... I'm not the one destined to be with him, right?"
"That's the stuff, girl," Barret grinned.
"Thanks, Barret," she said. "Let's rally everyone together. Remember who our replacement leader is?"
Barret grinned. "Time to pay ol' Cid back fer callin me Berry so many times," he said maliciously. Tifa and Barret walked out of the gym together. Barret turned around to look back at the punching bag, which was still rocking just a tad from Tifa's onslaught. He had done a pretty good job of leaving that punching bag behind. The bag was kind of like the search for Cloud. Tifa kept going at it, but never got any real results. It took some real initiative to get her to leave it behind. Hey... he wasn't bad at this analogy stuff. Barret, the public speaker. No! Barret, the famous author! He liked the way that sounded.
He turned from the gym and took a big gulp of air. AVALANCHE would never quite be the same again... but for now, it was a back on friggin track.
WU TAI
"I don't know what to do," said Yuffie, turning to her companion, who was lounging on a wing of the Tiny Bronco and strumming his guitar, which he'd brought along. "I don't know where the MeteoCult is."
"I could probably help you find out," said Hanshi.
"Will you please?" asked Yuffie.
"I don't know," said Hanshi. "You kind of treated me like a baby back there."
Yuffie's face grew red. "Well... well..." she blubbered.
"Hmm... let's see, I think you've got to do something to make up for it," said Hanshi.
"What do I have to do?" Yuffie asked apprehensively.
"Hmm..." Hanshi stroked his chin as though in deep thought. "Well, I'll give you three options. One, swim to the moon, two, buy the Lifestream, or three, give me a big, slobbery kiss." He grinned impishly at her.
She looked at him with a cold expression.
"I need a kiss," he said innocently, spreading his hands to emphasize. "You hurt my feelings pretty bad. Of course, you could also give the alternatives a try, if you want."
Yuffie crossed her arms. "Hmm..." she said. "I guess I'll just go ask someone where Kul'Rann Jinn lives. He's a pretty wealthy man, so someone ought to know." She turned and began to walk toward the city.
"Hey, wait!" called Hanshi. "Oh, man, I just overplayed my hand big time," he muttered, and jumped off the plane, running after her.
AVALANCHE HQ
Everyone was gathered in the War Room, ready to hear what Tifa had to say. She'd called the meeting and said it was about what to do next, so everyone hurried to join her. They were hoping she'd thought of a great way to find Cloud and Aeris.
Tifa sat at the head seat where Cloud used to.
"Allright," she said. "I'm no good at this kind of stuff... I won't be up here for long."
"Doest that mean ya know where Cloud is?" Cid asked hopefully.
"No," Tifa shook her head. "I'm afraid not. Actually... well... Cloud is in the Lifestream. He and Aeris are very happy together there." They could tell it took her a lot of effort to say with a straight face, and all were solemn.
"How... how do you know?" Elena asked, close to tears herself.
"I... I had a dream like the one Cloud had described to us last night," said Tifa. "I was in the Lifestream, and Aeris was there, and she told me that Cloud was with her. It was so real- I swear I could feel the Lifestream around me and hear her talking. I even pinched myself- I actually thought, this has to be like the dream Cloud had, I better test it. And I did. And it was so real..."
"So... Cloud's not coming back, eh?" Red said sadly. "I don't know why, but I got my hopes up. I had always thought... somehow... that I knew he'd return."
"Gonna miss having Aeris gone again, too," said Reeve.
"I never liked the guy," said Reno, "But it's funny, now that he's not comin' back, I actually... kind of miss him."
"We all miss Cloud," said Tifa. "And we all miss Aeris. But we can't dwell on that. We're moving on."
Everyone looked at her in surprise. This was not the Tifa that had been with them for the past few weeks.
"I know it's wierd that I've just suddenly broken out of my depression," she said. "But Barret helped me realize this. If we just mope around looking for Cloud, we'll go nowhere. I want to find him, but I know he's lost to me. He's lost to all of us. But no matter what happens, we have to keep fighting for our cause. So bury the memory of Cloud. That's what I'm doing. Don't try to forget him, just try to put all your other thoughts on top of it, so it won't hinder you. And every now and then, you can dig it up again when you're not doing work, look at it for a while, and then put it away again. That's what I'll do."
Everyone just sort of instinctively clapped, even Vincent.
"So," she said, "We need a new leader. And you all know what happens when we need a new leader."
Everyone burst out laughing except Cid, who slumped in his seat. "Doh, fuck it, I was afraid ya were gonna say that," he muttered.
Tifa moved from Cloud's old seat and gestured for Cid to take it. He shrugged, forced himself up, and moved over to the head of the table.
"What's our next move, boss?" asked Reeve.
"Well," Cid mused. "As I understand it, there's all that shit happenin' in Wu Tai. Hanshi 'an Yuffie are over there by themselves. I'm thinkin, we should get our asses over there and give 'em a hand so no Meteo gets into no cult's hands, right?"
"You tell 'em, boss!" Tifa laughed. It was settled. The great machine AVALANCHE was missing a pretty important part, but it was working smoothly again.
WU TAI, THAT EVENING
Yuffie and Hanshi crept along the fences of the Jinn Setsu, Kul'Rann Jinn's enormous mansion. He was bound to be in there somewhere. If he wasn't, at least they could have a fun time breaking and entering.
Both were trained ninjas, and knew the art of espionage well. They both knew the fence would have an alarm, but had an easy way to get around that. They quickly constructed a miniature catapult, placed a rock in it, and set it down near the fence. They tied a strong cord to the stick holding the catapult down, and lightly spread the cord out all the way around the mansion. Hanshi gave the cord a sharp tug once they were there, sending the rock flying over the fence and setting off the alarm. The guards all began to rush to the place where the rock had fallen, and the two warriors took their chance to leap over the fence. They got down on their stomachs and began to crawl toward the mansion with great speed. When they got close to the actual house, it was time for the serious stealth to begin. Yuffie took out her conformer and hurled it toward a tree with a rope attatched. It swirled around and buried itself in the trunk right at the base. Yuffie and Hanshi slunk along the rope to the tree, ready to take their enemies on.
Two guards came out of the night, shining their flashlights and talking to eachother about what the hell could be going on. Yuffie and Hanshi could see that they were wearing dark samurai armor- a rarity in modern Wu Tai, and definately the sign that this was where the MeteoCult was centered.
Yuffie ran back a ways with the cord, but Hanshi ran out the other direction, making sure his feet hit the grass as loud as possible, and the guards' attention was diverted. They pulled their swords and charged him, but were outrun by Yuffie coming behind them with the cord around the tree knocking them to the ground with it. She ran on. They began to get up, but Hanshi punched them each in the face as they struggled to their feet, knocking them out. Three more guards started running toward the area; Hanshi turned as if to run from them, and they didn't see the cord that closelined them as they pursued.
The next two came from the opposite direction, and the process was repeated. The guards were one by one quickly and silently taken out, until every one of them had been incapacitated by the flying wire without ever having a chance to even yell.
Now to stop the guys at the searchlights. Hanshi took out a sniper rifle, and Yuffie turned her Conformer around to reveal glass that had been attatched to it. They headed for the nearest spotlight. Hanshi crouched just out of its sight and aimed his cross-hairs. Yuffie stood in the path of the light and when it passed over her, reflected the light with the mirror on her Conformer into the eyes of the guards at the light. That was when Hanshi silently dropped them all. They went around the mansion repeating the process until the guards at the spotlight were completely dropped.
The last thing to worry about was the inevitable motion sensors that would be close to the house. But that was all taken care of as well.
They cautiously approached the mansion, and when they were close enough, each took out a pair of night vision binoculars. They quickly located the well-hidden devices and cast quiet ice spells on them, freezing them over and blocking their sensors. It was a warm night, so they'd have to be quick, but they got close just fine.
They approached the walls of the mansion, and looked up to the highest room, resting on the top of the whole complex, which was traditionally where the master of the home stayed. Hopefully, Kul'Rann Jinn would be sleeping in his chamber and they could kill him quickly and silently.
Yuffie attatched a new piece of cord to the Conformer and hurled it up toward the roof. It caught hold, and she began to climb. Hanshi followed.
They reached the roof and silenty crept toward the window of the chamber. Inside, Kul'Rann was sleeping serenely on a low bed in the middle of the room.
"Damn big dude," Hanshi whispered. Yuffie nodded. She was a termite compared to this guy.
They slowly opened the window and crept in. Hanshi took out a small poisoned dagger and approached the snoozing Kul'Rann Jinn. He deftly raised the knife over the sleeping body's throat and sent it zooming down, piercing the skin. He heard a click as the knife went in, and the floor underneath he and Yuffie was gone.
The two ninjas landed on a large, soft cusion on the middle of a gigantic hall. They exchanged a worried glance, then slowly rose to their feet. At the front of the room, far ahead, Kul'Rann Jinn sat imposingly on a large throne similar to the one Yuffie's father had sat on. Obcene tapestries of the acts of Kotu littered the walls.
"Assassins," Jinn jeered. "They're always so predictable." He got up off his throne and walked down toward them. The real Jinn was just as big as the fake had been, and more imposing. He had a long black beard that came to a sharp point, deep, piercing eyes, and a build like a pro weight lifter.
"So glad you could join me," he said cordially. "I believe that it's the princess, Ye Fe Kisaragi, and that exciled Je So member, Han Chi Komuto."
"You're damn right, buddy, and you were a fool to let us live!"
"On the contrary," Jinn smirked. "I'll have a lot of fun with you two. Especially you, miss Kisaragi. What if the king's beautiful daughter was raped by the leader of the MeteoCult?"
"You pervert," Hanshi said in disgust. "Geez, no wonder you got all these Kotu pics up on the walls."
"It was one of Kotu's many wishes," Jinn shrugged. "'I wish for nothing more than for myself to be reigning god of Wu Tai, my followers to sit upon the throne, and the daughters of the house of Tai to be ravaged by those who serve me.' I must comply with my master's wishes."
Yuffie leapt forward. "I don't think so!" she exclaimed, for lack of anything brilliant to say.
Hanshi jumped forward, too.
"Wait, Hanshi," she ordered. "I'm going to take this guy out myself. It's my family he's trying to destroy."
Jinn grinned hugely. "My, you are a stupid girl," he said. "Come and get it."
Yuffie made a flying leap at Jinn's head, her foot outstretched, but the huge man grabbed it in one hand and tossed her back onto the large pillow as though she were a stick.
"Umm... maybe you better give him a try, Hanshi," said Yuffie.
Hanshi sighed, and took a battle stance. He cautiously approached Jinn, drawing his katana half way towards the giant man.
"You were a Je So, were you not? You should be a decent challenge," Jinn said.
"I'm sort of going for more than decent," Hanshi said, "But I guess it'll have to do."
He waited for Jinn to make the first move. The two of them slowly inched closer, each trying to predict what the other would do. But Hanshi never would have predicted what Jinn did- he attacked so fast it was impossible to forsee.
Jinn leapt forward, arm oustretched, and took a strong hold the arm that was holding the katana; Hanshi went for a snapkick to Jinn's groin, but his leg was blocked by Jinn's own. Jinn then shot his leg forward, slamming it into Hanshi's stomach and knocking him back. Jinn also took hold of the katana as Hanshi fell back, and then tossed it behind them.
"We'll be fighting without that," Jinn said.
"Whatever you say," Hanshi croked, his stomach still burning. He leapt forward with a high kick, but Jinn grabbed it as it was still flying and pulled it further past his head, tossing Hanshi behind him and onto the ground.
"Geez, this guy's using Yuta Mo Kata," Hanshi muttered.
"What's that?" Yuffie asked, trying to find a good place to join the fight.
"It's an ancient style that supposedly doesn't exist anymore," Hanshi explained. "It's all about reversing the effects of your opponent's attacks. If you're good at it, it makes you almost invincible in hand to hand combat."
"The boy knows what he's talking about," Jinn grinned. He then leapt at Yuffie totally unexpectedly and tossed her over his head, slamming her painfully on the ground. Hanshi ran to her side, but she stood up, strong as ever.
"You two are beginning to bore me," Jinn said, "And that's a very bad thing for you. I think I'm going to have to end this now."
"Be ready," Hanshi warned. But no amount of preparing could ready anyone for the next manuever. Jinn leapt into the air, landed behind Hanshi, fell backward onto his hands, and reached his feet up, then clamped them together on Hanshi's neck, knocking him out in an instant. Yuffie aimed a kick between his legs, but he did the same to her before she could reach. Jinn got to his feet again.
"Too easy," he muttered.
TAI SETSU
"Are the troops mobilized?" Saiu asked as his generals stood before him.
"Yes, sir," they intoned in unison, bowing.
"Excellent," Saiu nodded. "Proceed with the plan of engagement. You are free to change the plans as you feel neccessary once the battle has begun. March when ready."
The generals went to disperse their units. The war with the MeteoCult would soon begin.
SHINRA HQ
"Is the fleet approaching Wu Tai?" Ashroth asked over his intercom.
"Yes, sir," replied General Argad. "We have everything ready. The war will probably begin within the hour."
"Good," said Ashroth. He flipped his intercom off.
"If that idiot can't get rid of AVALANCHE for me, I'll ring his little neck," Ashroth muttered, and went back to paperwork. The war with Wu Tai would soon begin.
CORE OF THE PLANET
The molten lava began to bubble and move. The Planet was becoming nervous. An ancient artifact began to rise. As it did, the core began to shake more violently. Rocks began to be broken up. Tremors began to rise upward, slowly moving towards the surface... the release of Meteo would soon begin if the war was not stopped.
WU TAI
The Highwind touched down at the airfield next to the Tiny Bronco. AVALANCHE disembarked and walked were met by the Je So, then led to the Tai Setsu, where they met with Saiu Kisaragi.
"Thank you all for coming here," Saiu said. "It's ironic that you came of your own wish- I called you soon after you left to ask for your help."
"Whadaya need?" Cid asked, standing at the head of the group. It was always strange how Cid just sort of went with being the leader even though he complained when they wanted to put him in the position.
"My daughter and that freak Hanshi have done something stupid," Saiu explained. "I can't stop her from doing these things anymore. They're trying to assasinate Kul'Rann Jinn, who leads the MeteoCult! They say that I musn't go to war, because it'll unleash Meteo."
"They're damn right, ya moron!" Cid exclaimed. The Je So raised their weapons to defend their king from the rude words, but Saiu motioned for them to calm down.
"I simply do not believe in Meteo," he said. "But whatever the case, my daughter and Hanshi have been captured. Jinn is holding them for ransom- he also says he will kill them if we pull out forces out of the battle."
"Oh, that's just some great shit you got yourself in," Cid rolled his eyes.
"We must rescue them," said Kura. "I know much about Jinn's mansion as a former cultist."
"You were-?" Saiu began.
"Don't worry, Kura is on our side now," Tifa explained quickly.
"Good," Saiu said, still seeming a bit suspicious. "Well, what I need to ask is that you help me get them out. I feel like you're the only ones who could do it. That place is guarded so heavily... but you did beat Sephiroth. Can you do it?"
"We gotta try," Barret urged Cid.
"I say we go for it," said Elena.
Everyone agreed.
"Allright, we'll do it, Mr. Emperor," Cid nodded.
Everyone reboarded the Highwind in preparation for the attack on Jinn's mansion.
THE MANSION
Yuffie awoke on a flat surface with a dark cieling above her and a dank smell in the air. She sat up and looked around. Hanshi was sitting in the corner, and he had looked up to see that she was awake.
"Yo," said Hanshi. "I guess we're stuck here for now."
Yuffie shook the dizziness out of her head. "Wow, I can't believe we just did all that crap."
"It was kind of dumb, wasn't it?" Hanshi asked. "It's funny how niether of us really think about anything before we start doing it."
"Yeah," Yuffie nodded. "It is. What do we do? I don't wanna just sit around."
"That's basically all we can do," said Hanshi. I've already looked for ways out of this little block of space, but there's nothing. Not a single loose nail, secret door, air vent, nothing. As far as I can tell, we're gonna die here."
"Great," said Yuffie. "Dead like rats in a cage. I hate it when I'm stupid."
"Me too," said Hanshi.
"Hey!"
Hanshi grinned at her. "Have you ever had mustard on bananas? It's not bad," he said.
She laughed. There was no predicting what Hanshi would say. For some reason, she loved that about him. Just loved it.
"You're just wierd," she said. She stood up and walked to the door. The bars were close together, but she could see outside into a hallway with more cells like this one. Most of them were vacant, though. She turned back to Hanshi.
"There's gotta at least be something to pass the time," she sighed.
"Well... I could still kinda go for that kiss," Hanshi ventured.
She laughed, then stopped. She came over and sat on his lap.
"Why not?" she said, and kissed him.
The Highwind came to a stop overtop of the mansion and began to hover there. The stealthy approach wouldn't get AVALANCHE anywhere, so they weren't very discreet about letting their enemies know they were there- the roaring of the engines was enough to alert the whole area.
Machine guns from the Highwind began to rain bullets down at the guards below, and soon, all the members of AVALANCHE were parachuting down toward the roof of the mansion.
When the landed, they were met with a few soldiers running up the stairs leading to the roof to stop them, but a couple well placed spells took them out with easy. They charged down the stairs and broke into a wide hall with soldiers hiding behind the furniture, machine guns blazing. They leapt back behind the wall.
"Do your stuff there, Devonan," Cid ordered. Devonan raised his hands. At a pause in the firing, Cid leapt out and yelled "Ice 3!" The enhanced spells quickly covered all the guards in frost.
AVALANCHE, guided by Kura, quickly proceeded downward until they hit the prison area.
"Me an' Kura'll go get 'em," Cid instructed. "You guys stay here an' hold off the guards with spells!"
Cid and Kura ran through the prison complex, and finally came upon Yuffie and Hanshi's cell. The two Taian's didn't notice they were there. They were too busy making out.
Cid burst out laughing, and Kura chuckled a little. Yuffie and Hanshi jumped a mile, then whirled to face the rude interuption.
"We were gonna bust you guys out, but I see you'd rather just stay camped out," Cid jeered.
"Okay, enough with the funny stuff, get us out!" Hanshi said impatiently, mad that after he finally got some action with Yuffie, it had to be ended so abruptly.
"I don't know, Cid," said Kura. "Do you not think they might rather stay and make love? Perhaps they'd be mad if we let them out."
"Yeah, I'm not sure what to do," said Cid.
"Hey, quit talkin', these guys are comin down here in shitloads!" Barret yelled at them.
"Oh, right," said Cid. "Kura, melt the lock."
Kura cast a quick fire spell, and the two Tains thankfully burst out of their cell.
"There's too many of them in this direction!" Tifa said. "We have to go out another way!"
"But there ain't no other exit!" Cid protested.
"That's why we make one," said Kura. He turned to the wall and aimed his hand at it, then unleashed a flying comet that burst through. They ran to the hole, and the Highwind pilots swung the ship around and dangled a rope toward them. One by one, the AVALANCHE members climbed to the ship, covered from the surrounding guards by the Highwind's machine guns. Finally, the ship pulled up.
Everyone gathered on the deck.
"Sir!" called one of the crew to Cid. "We just got a message from Kisaragi! The war has started, and he's looking for some assistance!"
"Let's go!" Yuffie urged Cid.
"Allright," Cid said dubiously, "But if my baby gets damaged, I'm gonna have ta do somethin that someone won't like... dunno what it'll be though."
Everyone ran to the deck as the ship turned toward the battlefield. The MeteoCult forces were beginning to close in on Wu Tai. But as the ship drew closer, something else appeared on the horizon too.
"Damn!" Cid yelled. "It's the Shinra fleet! They'll make this a short battle for the cultists if we don't do somethin about that fleet."
"Well, you said yourself this thing can run circles around normal airships," Elena pointed out. "Use it."
"Yeah," said Reeve. "Show us what the new Highwind's really got."
"Fine, you wanna see it, you'll see it," Cid agreed, and took the helm.
The Highwind began to approach the Shinra fleet.
"Arm me some missiles," Cid ordered. "Watch this! I'll nail those Shinra slowpokes from so far they won't even be able ta fire back.
Soon, three missiles had launched from the Highwind and blazed across the skies, directly colliding with three of Shinra's airships and sending them crashing into the sea.
"Woo-hoo!" Cid exalted. "Let's see 'em try ta handle the Highwind!"
Three more missiles screamed out, and three more planes were dropped.
"Look!" Reno suddenly exclaimed, looking over the edge of the deck. Everyone ran to see what was up.
The earth below was quaking as the two forces collided. Cracks began to open up, and Lifestream would gush out of them periodically.
"This is real bad," Barret muttered. "Do ya think that's maybe... the Planet releasin' Meteo?"
"It better not be," Tifa said. "Or all this is for nothing."
"We can't let those Shinras get to the battle," Reeve pointed out. "They'll really make things intense."
"I'm doin' my best, but we ain't got unlimited missiles," Cid said helplessly. "The next three are the last ones!"
"But there's still tons of Shinra airships," Elena's shoulders sunk.
"We must help the ground troops," Vincent said. "The release of Meteo is inevitable now. Someone must be there to stop Kul'Rann Jinn from getting it."
"Land us, Cid," Tifa ordered.
"Hey, I thought I was the leader," Cid said, a little dissapointed.
"Well I'm an angry woman," Tifa countered.
"Okay, okay, point taken," Cid conceded. "Let's see if we can get that Meteo first."
The Highwind flew down close the quaking ground, and the AVALANCHE members except Cid all dropped down.
"Careful, guys," Tifa instructed. "The ground's not really stable around here."
The blasts were beginning to get bigger. The ground was shaking violently now, and it was hard to navigate the terrain.
"Where the hell will Meteo be?" Barret yelled.
"I dunno!" a few people shouted back.
"Oh, shit!" Barret exclaimed, pointing into the sky.
There, blazing through the heavens, was Sepheros.
"I knew he wouldn't leave us alone forever," Red XIII said dissapointedly.
Sepheros began to spin around in the air, and as he did, green Ultima energy began to form around him. As he gained speed, Ultimas began to shoot out from behind him wherever he flew. They erupted everywhere, taking hundreds of the lives of the desperately struggling Tain soldiers.
The Shinra fleet was now entering the fray, and blazing away at the Taians with their machine guns. Things were looking very bad.
Then, suddenly, the quaking became its worst yet, and a huge geiser of Lifestream erupted from the ground, then subsided. A giant pillar of stone rose from the place where the Lifestream had come up, and there on top of it was a shining green light that could be seen clearly against the night sky.
"Meteo!" Red exclaimed. "It really exists!"
Out of the sky, a great silver dragon came zooming down at the top of the pillar. On top of it was a hideous, giant man with a strange headress and carrying a staff of skulls. And on the head of the dragon stood Kull'Rann Jinn. He leapt from his place onto the top of the pillar and grabbed up Meteo.
"Finally!" he yelled. "This is it! This is what I have been yearning for for so long! METEO!"
From above the pillar, a great orange light appeared in the sky, and out of it came hundreds of falling miniature meteors, all heading right toward AVALANCHE.
"I have a promise to keep, AVALANCHE," Jinn jeered. "And I'm going to keep it right now!"
The members of AVALANCHE turned and ran as the hail began to fall at the, but the shaking ground tripped them up as did the explosions caused by the meteorites. Jinn leapt down from the pillar and stood on a high rock above the companions.
"One more Meteo, and you're all gone!" he exulted. He raised the Materia high, preparing to cast it again.
Tifa slumped to the ground. "We've failed," she said. "Cloud died for nothing."
"Hey, don't say that," Barret knelt down beside her. "Remember, you're past Cloud now."
Tifa nodded. "You're right. All there is right now is Meteo. Why if he were to jump into the picture right this instant, I wouldn't even notice!"
No sooner had she gotten that sentance out than the ground opened up between the companions and Jinn, gushing Lifestream forth, and then a great green tendril of it came shooting up, curled around a figure all too familiar. It set him down on the ground, where he arose and looked around in startled surprise.
"CLOUD!!" Tifa yelled in disbelief. She charged at him, and when she reached him, burried her face in his shoulder and held him tightly, crying like a little girl.
"Tifa!" he exclaimed. "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!"
"Don't be, Cloud, you're back!" she cried. "Oh, you're back!"
"I love you," he told her.
"You're back," she told him.
"How sweet!" Jinn yelled from his place. "The reunion just before I finish charging up my Meteo. Have fun in hell, brats!"
The meteorites began to fall again. The members of AVALANCHE didn't know whether to run or gawk at Cloud's presence. But Cloud did know what to do.
Turning around from Tifa, who was still buried in his shoulder, he raised his hand to the oncoming meteorites and shouted, "Ultima!"
The colision of Ultima and Meteor created a huge reaction that created enough of a barrier between AVALANCHE and Jinn for them to escape.
"Let's go, guys!" Cloud shouted.
Cid brought the Highwind back down to meet them, and everyone shuffled on board. Jinn ran after them, charging a Meteo, but by the time he was ready to cast it, the Highwind was already blasting off.
The war had come to a stop. Both sides had pulled back due to the massive eruptions, and the battlefield was a decimated Lifestream lake.
But none of that mattered to Tifa. She was still buried in Cloud's shoulder. She never wanted to be strong again. She just wanted to sit like this forever, forever with Cloud. Someday, maybe she wouldn't have to be strong anymore, and she could do that. For now, she had to just pretend while she used his chest to drown out the rest of the world. Everything was more perfect than it had ever been.
NIBELHEIM MOUNTAINS
Sepheros returned to his lair overflowing with rage. How could his enemies be able to take their stupid rules this far? Cloud Strife was back, back even though Sepheros had killed him personally. He'd watched the little bastard sink to the ground and die with his own eyes, and on the other side of the world from where he re-surfaced! Was there any way to kill him? Any at all? Sepheros was beginning to doubt it.
He understood so much of what was going to happen, and resented it so strongly. Of any of those involved in the Event, the it was Sepheros who knew the most about what would happen there- except that Sepheros was Sephiroth, so Sephiroth knew just as much as Sepheros. Being someone else and yourself at the same time could be very confusing.
He was beginning to realize, however, that he probably really couldn't kill Cloud. Cloud just might even be invincible now. But there was always a way to manipulate things. It was the Lifestream that had returned Cloud to the Planet in his full human form, so if only there was a way to skip the Lifestream... could it be done? Was there any way at all to destroy a soul instead of simply sending them to the Lifestream? Yes... as a matter of fact there was.
Sephiroth knew the first of his Three already, and knew everything about him- and thus, so did Sepheros. And Sepheros knew that if Supreme General Keer Ashroth of Shinra Incorporated ever looked at a person, their soul would be instantly obliterated. They would never return to the Planet, never be reborn. It was the ultimate destruction.
It was the only way to kill Cloud Strife. Why'd he been bothering with Aeris clones all this time when such a simple method stood before him? He blazed into the sky. It was time to visit the general. Good thing he himself didn't have a soul.
AVALANCHE HQ
Cloud and everyone else were gathered around in a warm circle in the large living room that the group used to party in every night before Cloud's dissapearance. They'd been too sullen to party then, but now that their fearless leader was back, it was definately time for celebration again.
It had taken some work, but they'd finally managed to pry Tifa off his shoulder so everyone else could have a chance to see him again. She still sat next to him, her head blissfully resting on his shoulder, but at least she wasn't choking him anymore.
The sphere of exuberance was indisputably present in everyone in the room- even Elena, who was watching Cloud in the arms of another woman again, and even Reno, who had hated Cloud before. Cloud and Tifa weren't the only new couple, either- Yuffie was happily planted on Hanshi's lap, much to Barret's rather loud dissaproval.
"So here I was, out in the field with Aeris," Cloud was recounting the tale of his demise, "And she said, 'I'm going to blindfold you.'"
Numerous whoops and jeers could be heard, along with fervent laughter, even from Cloud.
"I wasn't quite myself that night, so I actually agreed," he chuckled. "So she blindfolds me, and says, 'This might hurt a little.'" More laughter, again from Cloud as well as his teammates. "And then," he continued, now roaring with laughter, "The next thing I knew, I had that giant toothpick Sepheros carries around coming out my stomach."
It took about five minutes for everyone to get over that. It wouldn't have been so funny on any other night, but anything and everything was worth laughing about until your sides ached tonight.
"So," Cloud continued, "That's how I was sent to the Lifestream. The thing is, I wasn't supposed to be in love with Aeris anymore. She's just a good friend now. The real me is in love with this swan on my shoulder-" Tifa giggled a little at that, but didn't move- "But apparently, this thing where I took on Zack's memories went deeper than that. In a way, I had half become him- taken on his personality as well as his memories. That was the only reason why I ever really liked Aeris- I mean, she's not even my type-" More uproarious laughter- "But here's the real trick. When I got to the Lifestream, the REAL Aeris talked to me. Apparently, she's some kind of head cheese down there. Apparently if you do great things in life, you become part of the top level of the Lifestream when you move on, and you stay there forever, sort of keeping charge of things. She called herself a "Sage", so let's call these people "Lifestream Sages". Apparently they're also the medium by which the Planet and the Cetra could communicate."
"Aeris told you all this?" Elena asked.
"Right," Cloud nodded. "The real Aeris. The Aeris that helped Sepheros get me killed was an extremely well made clone that Sepheros created. I don't know how he did it or where he got the DNA, and niether does the real Aeris. But she had much more important things to tell me anyway."
"Like?"
"Well..." Cloud scratched his chin, wondering where to begin. "She told me about 'the consumption' first, which is apparently the disease that was making me take on Zack's memories. What she says is that someone, somewhere throughout the events that lead to my coming to Midgar when Tifa found me by the train station, there was someone who knew about what was going to happen later and actually purposely injected it into me. But it's not a normal virus. It has a lot to do with Mako, and you can't just give it to anyone. I don't know exactly how it works myself, actually."
"What else did she tell you?" asked Red.
"Now's where it gets interesting," said Cloud. "Apparently, we're all working towards some gigantic Event, and we didn't even know it. I have no idea what it is because it's really hard to talk about things in a totally clear fashion when you're in the Lifestream and she couldn't figure out how to explain it to me, but she said I was better off not knowing for now anyway. But what she did explain was that there are two sets of three companions who have to duke it out at this Event. They're kind of like paralells of eachother... well, there are these things called 'Cosmocons'. They're the elements that make up most of the universe. Ultima and Meteo are both two Cosmocons, and the other one is something called Satruna- which, apparently, there is a Materia for somewhere on the Planet."
"Sounds like we better find that," Vincent commented.
"Definately. Anyway, what she told me is that each person in one group of three has one Cosmocon that was destined for them since time began," Cloud continued. "Apparently, I'm Ultima. And she said I'm not supposed to tell, but I'm going to be a naughty little boy. Kura, you're Meteo."
"I see," Kura said seriously. "I need to reflect on this for a while."
"So who's Saturnoo or whatever it's called?" Cid asked, only half awake of course.
"You are," said Cloud.
"What?!"
"Just kidding," Cloud grinned.
Cid sat back with relief. "Don't scare me like that, spike-ass!" he laughed.
"The truth is, I don't know, who Satruna is," Cloud admitted. "In fact, Aeris doesn't even know, and she's the one who's supposed to lead the three of us."
"I hope it's me," said Hanshi. "I think I'd be a good Cosmocon."
Cloud laughed. "I'm sure you'd make an excellent Cosmocon, Hanshi," he said. "The universe would be a very amusing place if a large portion of it was made of Hanshi. Anyway, back to what Aeris said. The other thing she told me is that the enemy team is going to have three people with Cosmocons too, and the people with the same ones will each battle. And the winning side apparently influences the universe in a major way."
"Are you sure ya wasn't just lyin' in a ditch smokin' doobies?" Barret asked suspiciously.
"Hmm... actually, Barret, I think that's probably what I was doing. Anyway, the last major thing she told me was that the only enemy team member she knows is Ashroth- and apparently, he's Ultima too."
"Yeah, whup that guy's ass, Cloud!" Yuffie hooted.
"Better start weight lifting, Cloud," Reeve grinned. "That guy is like a tank."
"Tell me about it," Cloud agreed.
"Here's what I don't get," Red mused. "Whatever this is, it's basing the outcome of the universe on the actions of six people in a fight. How can the fate of the universe depend on something so insignifigant?"
"I asked that question of Aeris, too, and didn't get much of an answer," Cloud nodded. "All she said is that's really only what's happening on the most physical level. A lot more will be going on than we can ever understand. We're really just pawns in a struggle between two greater forces. But she also said it's possible that things could go wrong, and that Sephiroth will probably try to cheat."
"Cheat?" Red asked in puzzlement.
"Yeah, that one had me kinda baffled too," Cloud nodded. "But apparently, there are rules between Aeris and Sephiroth that aren't supposed to be broken for the way this thing can unfold. Sephiroth's been trying to cheat by killing me through Sepheros, and he thought he'd succeeded, too. But Aeris apparently has the power to send people back from the Lifestream as people."
"So that's everything?" Yuffie asked dissapointedly.
"Well," said Cloud, "There was a little bit more. But it's for someone special to hear."
Tifa smiled from her cozy spot.
"Okay," Yuffie giggled.
Suddenly, Hanshi leapt up in the air, completely dumping Yuffie off his laugh and onto the floor, and shouted, "PAAARRRTAAAAYYYY!!!!"
That evening, when everyone had gone sleepily to bed, Tifa walked out on the balcony. She was not at all tired from having partied late into the evening. She was far too happy to be tired. Far too happy.
"I knew I'd find you here," said a voice she knew she'd find here.
"Ditto," she said softly to Cloud. He walked to the railing of the deck and joined her there.
"It's so great to be back," he said. "And this time, I promise never to forget again."
"You better not," Tifa smiled. "Or I'll beat it back into your head."
"They tell me you didn't do so good while I was gone," Cloud changed the subject.
"I was just trying to figure out how best to party now that you were gone," she grinned back.
They leaned in for a little kiss, but it turned into a big kiss, and then a bigger one. On a starry, romantic evening like this, when the world was troubled by many matters of tremendous concequence, these two didn't have a care in the world. Sepheros didn't matter, Shinra didn't matter, and stupid Events that were destined to happen since the beginning of time didn't matter. Cloud and Tifa were all that mattered on that night. Just the two of them.
"HiiiiiiiEEEEE!!!" yelled Hanshi in a mock retarded voice. "I'm HANSHI!!"
Cloud and Tifa burst out laughing, and threw deck chairs at Hanshi while he scurried across the roof to avoid them.
AVALANCHE was AVALANCHE again.