"What do you mean she's gone?" Cloud asked horrified.
"Aeris isn't in her room…" Tifa trailed.
Cloud looked at the floor stunned.
"She's gone..?…But why?" Cloud asked worriedly.
"We don't know…" Red XIII answered.
"Did she run away…? Why would she run away from m-…us?" Cloud asked.
"It's possible, she ran away…she was really depressed last night…" said Vincent.
Cloud's eyes widened.
Aeris? Depressed? She was always a cheerful person…even when I was depressed, she would smile and make all the pain go away…
Cloud smiled at the thought of Aeris' smile...
"Vincent…why was she depressed?" Cloud asked slowly.
"I'd rather not say…that's up to her." Vincent replied.
Cloud sat back and let it all sink in…
"I have to go find her…I won't forgive myself if anything happens to her ....I will NEVER forgive myself…" vowed Cloud.
******************************************************************************************
That night…
Who are you?
What?
Cloud woke up eyes wide.
"We have to go to the City of the Ancients…Sephiroth has Aeris…" Cloud said softly.
Everyone gasped.
"We have to save her!" yelled Barret.
"Cid how's the ship?"
"Ready to go…just waiting for your command." reported Cid.
"Let's move out!" Cloud commanded.
Everyone headed out the door.
************************************************************************
Aeris gazed at her surroundings. She wasn't at Costa del Sol anymore. Where was the beach, the water…where was Cloud…?
Cloud…Cloud?
She was tied to the wall in chains.
She heard footsteps from behind her…
The figure laughed sinisterly.
It could only be…
Sephiroth!
Shining silver hair shone in the moonlight as Sephiroth laughed hysterically.
"Yes little Ancient…you are going to be the little leading lady in my little plot..." Sephiroth laughed.
Aeris' eyes widened.
"Wha…What are …you going to do with me?" she stammered.
Sephiroth gestured his hands as a gush of wind raced through his hair…in his hand, was a little tiny object.
Aeris gasped.
************************************************************************
"Can't this thing go any faster? Aeris is in DANGER!" Cloud shouted to Cid.
"We are already going at maximum speed. If we go any faster, we could overload the engines." Cid replied.
Cloud gripped the railing of the Highwind…
He felt a hand touch his shoulder.
He turned around to see Tifa looking at him.
"Are you alright?" she asked worriedly.
"How could I be alright when I know she's in danger…Sephiroth took Everything away from me. Nibelheim, my mother, Zack, the townspeople…EVERYTHING!" Cloud closed his eyes and winced in pain as the memories flooded in…
Tifa laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"I'm not going to let him take Aeris away too…"Cloud whispered as he looked off into the coming sunset.
************************************************************************
The object was a sphere shaped stone, which glowed as if it was lit from within. It was a dark black in colour. It was the Black Materia.
"You…You're going to summon Meteor?!?!?!" Aeris gasped.
"Of course not! That's the hard way…there's another use to this Materia anyhow. And with your help…I WILL BE THE MOST POWERFUL BEING IN THE UNIVERSE!" Sephiroth laughed.
"What makes you think I would help you?" Aeris retorted.
"You really think you could defeat me? A little weak, pathetic Cetra against a Top Ranking Soldier?" Sephiroth snickered.
Aeris' eyes widened. Fear struck her heart.
Cloud Help me!
"Wha..What…are you going to do with me..?" Aeris stammered.
"Many millennia ago, the Cetra were a plentiful tribe. One day a powerful wizard came with the Black Materia. He summoned Meteor." Sephiroth explained. "However, the Cetra discovered his plan and destroyed him. However, in destroying the wizard, the Cetra believed that the Black Materia's powers consisted of only summoning Meteor…"
Aeris listened closely.
"…They were wrong. The materia had an alternate purpose. If the wielder of the Materia used the alternate powers there would be different results…"
"What…is the alternate power?" Aeris asked, her voice quavering.
"…The alternate power is Infinite energy to the Wielder. I would be Invincible, a god if you will…"
Aeris gasped in fear.
"Wha…What do you need me for?"Aeris asked.
"In order for the Materia to activate, there must be a powerful source of Holy energy. And you the last Cetra have plenty of Holy energy. Therefore…I don't need to harm the little planet I'm going to conquer…"
Aeris' eyes widened.
"After I drain all your energy my little Cetra I will be a GOD having all the Cetra knowledge and souls of the Lifestream at my disposal. And you with no energy left in your body…YOU will die!"
With those words Sephiroth pulled another object. It was golden band.
"This is the Energy Disperser. It will drain your energy slowly and painfully…and transfer the energy to me! And then you will die and the world will be MINE!" Sephiroth laughed like a madman as he placed the Energy Disperser on Aeris' head.
'My friends will come!" Aeris cried.
She had faith in her friends.
Would Cloud come for me???
Would he even care?
She hung her head down. Maybe he wouldn't care that she was in trouble. It would take off a load off his back. The burden of taking care of the Cetra. She was a weak fighter so they wouldn't miss her…
And now she was going to die…