'Did I make the right decision?' thought Cloud Strife. 'I mean, I know I
got Aeris back, and heaven knows I love her, and I got one of my best
friends back. But can I really beat Sephiroth and all the evil of the
world all over again?'
"Well, I guess we better get going," said Cloud to Aeris and Zack as he
finished his breakfast. "Are you both ready?"
"Uh-huh," said Aeris.
Zack looked up with oatmeal dripping from his chin. "Huh? Oh, sure. One sec." He wiped his chin off with his sleeve and stood up. "Let's go!" The three packed up their camp and headed out. Cloud didn't know where he was going to look, so he decided to consult Bugenhagen.
Bugenhagen took an ancient book off of his shelf and opened it. The cover read 'History of the World.' "Ah, here it is." "There what is?" asked Cloud. "Well, certainly a history book would tell of ancient rulers of the world." "Oh, ya." "Here's one, Celespion. He's a six legged centaur, you know, half man, half horse who was incredibly powerful during the Age of Monsters. He almost took over the world, but then." "He disappeared without a trace." "Yes. how'd you know?" "I figured that Sapphire probably sealed him up at the height of his power."
"Ah, I see. He is assumed to have ruled from the East Continent, near now- a-days Kalm and the Chocobo Farm. Well, here's you likely second evil. an evil king who ruled in the Medieval times. His name is Kramo. He was reported to supposedly have some amazing power, but the book doesn't say what. His castle was near modern day Bone Village." "Must be the Forgotten Capital. He probably just rebuilt an old Centra ruin." "Well, that is all I can tell you. Good luck." Cloud then walked to the camp fire in the middle of town, where he found Aeris and Zack sitting about ten feet apart. Cloud reported all that Bugenhagen had told him to them. "Then I guess it's off to the East Continent, huh?" questioned Zack. "No, we need to talk to someone first. Then to the East Continent," said Cloud.
"Ok, boss. Whatever you say," replied Zack sarcastically. Cloud sighed and walked out of Cosmo Canyon with Aeris at his side and Zack not far behind. Together, they traveled to Rocket Town where Cloud and Aeris walked into a house near the back of town while Zack went to a bar. Cloud knocked on the door. When no one answered, he entered. He took a step in and was met with a lance to his neck. "Cloud!" said Cid in surprise. "Terribly sorry, never know who you can trust these days." "I understand Cid. Can I come in?" answered Cloud. "Sure." "Can my friend come in too?" "Who would that be?" asked Cid. Cloud stepped aside. "Aeris! You're alive!" The two stepped inside.
"Who's at the door, honey?" asked a voice from the side room. "Cloud. and Aeris, dear," responded Cid. "Oh!" exclaimed Cloud. "Who's that?" "That's Shera, you remember her, right?" "Ah yes, the girl you said you'd never marry and the girl you ordered and bossed around constantly. That girl?" "You got it." Cid and Cloud chuckled. "People change Cloud. I mean, look at Aeris, dead, alive, that's a bigger change if you ask me." "This is true," said Cloud. "But now I'm afraid, it's down to business."
"What do you have in mind, Cloud?" "Well, me, Aeris, and Zack are going on perhaps the biggest adventure of all time and." "You want the Highwind." "Exactly." "No." "What?" "You can't have the Highwind. It's mine." "Cid." "I will however come along and fly it for you to where ever you need to go." "Seriously?" "Of course. I'm not one to miss out on adventure. But you aren't going to take anyone else along?"
"I don't want to involve unnecessary people." "Unnecessary! We traveled to the ends of the earth for you. We did everything you asked and more. We were and still are your best friends and always will be. Unnecessary." "You're right." "Of course I'm right. And that's why like it or not, I'm picking up every last person who traveled with us on our last adventure. Unnecessary." "Ok Cid, you win. Let's go!"
Cid was more than happy to get back into action and fly his beloved airship again. He was even happier to be able to see all of his old partners again. First he stopped in Wutai to pick up Yuffie. Next, he got Red XIII at Cosmo Canyon followed by Cait Sith at Midgar. Then he found Vincent and Tifa at Nibelheim. Finally, he picked up the illustrious Barret at New Corel. Finally the whole group was assembled and Cloud spoke to them.
"Everyone, it's great to see you again. I want to thank you for abandoning your lives to come with us. Two people will be travelling with us that I want you to meet. First," said Cloud, putting his arm around Zack, "This is Zack." "Nice to meet you Zack," said Red XIII. "Ya, you all too," replied Zack. "The next person, you all knew, but I thought I'd reintroduce her," said Cloud. As he looked at his friends, they looked confused. Cloud disappeared into the shadows for a second and then reappeared with a person next to him. She stood back in the shadow while Cloud said, "Everyone, may I present. Aeris!" She stepped forward revealing her beautiful figure to the group. Cloud was awestruck every time he saw her. "Well, now that we're ready, here's the deal." "What deal?" asked Yuffie. "I don't remember any deal." "You don't have to be here," replied Cloud. "No, no. The deal's good."
"Ok, moving on. Aeris and Zack were kept separate from the rest of the lifestream by an all powerful being named Sapphire. At this point, Sapphire entrusted to me a belt that held Zack, Aeris, and every evil imaginable. I had to make a choice, and I chose love. and Zack. But any ways, all the evil was released into the world and now we must defeat it." "What kind of evil?" questioned Vincent. "Evil that is no worse than all the evil we've seen." "Good, I was worried it might be another Sephiroth-like something or another." "Sephiroth is back," mumbled Cloud. "What?!" shouted the group simultaneously.
"Sephiroth, as well as a much stronger version of Jenova was on the belt that held Aeris and Zack. Ultima, Ruby, Emerald, and Sapphire were also on the belt. They are also now free." "I thought that this Sapphire was a good guy," said Tifa. "He was, but I released his evil." "Why did you do that Cloud?" asked Cait Sith. "For love," said Cloud, staring into Aeris' eyes. "I told him he's a moron," said Zack to Cait Sith. "I'd probably agree with that, judging by the circumstances," responded Cait Sith. "Hey, hey!" shouted Cloud. "Enough. Moron or not, I need all of your help to defeat the evils of the world. They're all very powerful." "We'll do it," said Barret.
"Thanks guys," said Cloud. "Since there are so many of us, we'll split up and each group will take on specific enemies. Here's how I split it up." Cloud pulled out a list and showed it to the group. It read as such: Cloud, Aeris, Zack Sephiroth, Jenova Barret, Tifa Sapphire, Emerald Cid, Vincent Ruby, Ultima Red XIII, Yuffie Kramo, Celespion "Is that understood?" asked Cloud. When no one replied, he said, "Good. Keep in touch, if anything goes wrong, you have PHS. Keep me informed. Good Luck!" With that, each group went its separate ways and began what would undoubtedly be their most difficult adventure ever.
First, Red XIII and Yuffie traveled to East Continent. They arrived at the pass between Kalm and the Chocobo ranch. They wandered the paths and came up with nothing. They sat down to rest at the base of a sloped cliff side. Had they continued to stay alert, they may have noticed the figure lurking in the shadows. Before they could blink, a monster sprung from the mountainside. Yuffie and Red XIII jumped to their feet as the centaur reared up and let out a blood-curdling roar. Celespion charged the two warriors, swinging his mighty arms and kicking the two to the ground. He reared up over Red XIII as to crush him, but suddenly, a flash ripped through his underside and he froze. He dropped to the ground as Yuffie stood holding the Conformer, her deadly boomerang. Celespion attempted to lift his head, but Red XIII smashed it back down with a powerful slash. Suddenly, Celespion's body glowed blue, and a flash of light erupted in the air. When the light dimmed, a small gem floated in the air where the body had been. Yuffie picked it up, and they traveled on to the Forgotten Capital.
When they arrived, a bolt of lighting nearly struck Red XIII. He jumped, and then saw a man standing in a tower a hundred yards away. A vibrant green glow surrounded him and his eyes were lit with the same glow. He wore a bright gold crown adorned with many bright gems. "Yuffie!" said Red XIII. "Those gems are material orbs!" "Ooooohh, material. I want it," responded Yuffie. Yuffie threw the Conformer but as it neared the king, the swirling mist intensified and a powerful wind stopped and then flung the Conformer back at Yuffie. She hit the dirt just as the deadly blade whizzed by her head and it jammed into a rock. "Foolish girl! Do you dare to challenge Kramo the great?" he taunted. "No, she doesn't, but I do," said Red XIII.
Red's eyes burned a crimson red. He crouched as every muscle in his body tightened and a red glow engulfed him. He charged forward as earth shot up and ice fell from the sky as Kramo commanded. He dashed around obstacles and as he neared, Kramo blasted a focused and powerful stream of flame directly into Red XIII. At the same moment, Red XIII lunged at Kramo. Kramo laughed in victory, but as he did, a crimson streak flew by him. He stopped laughing as he grasped his neck, while Red XIII stood behind him. He changed into yet another gem. Yuffie and Red XIII returned to the Highwind. In the conference room, they found the tarnished belt that Cloud had spoken of. They discovered that the two gems that they had collected fit into the first two slots on the belt. Had they been paying more attention, they may have noticed that the belt recovered some of its former luster.
Meanwhile, near Cosmo Canyon, another battle raged on. Cid and Vincent were battling against the Ultima Weapon. Ultima was using attacks and abilities that neither of them had ever seen before. Ultima unleashed a powerful blast of energy from the cannons on his chest. The blast hit Vincent and sent him flying back into a crumpled heap. Cid screamed like a madman as he charged blindly at Ultima. Cid leapt up and slashed the beast across his leg. Ultima roared in pain as he charged for another blast. Cid knew what was coming just as Ultima finished charging. However, just before he released the beam, his chest erupted in explosion. The stored energy imploded, and Cid looked back to see Vincent standing majestically with his sniper rifle at his shoulder. He thrust his hand in victory as he walked back towards Cid. Ultima fell backwards and faded into a blue mist. The two found a mysterious white gem and decided to keep it. They collected the gem and flew towards the Gold Saucer.
Vincent spotted Ruby as they flew by. They jumped from the Highwind and parachuted about two hundred yards from Ruby. "Let's finish this the easy way," said Vincent, as he shouldered the rifle. However, as he placed his finger on the trigger, a red tentacle sprung from the ground and smacked the gun far out of reach. Cid sliced clean through the tentacle with his lance. He then raised his hand into the air as Ruby reared up in pain. He shouted "Die you son of &*!#@" as he thrust his hand downward. Ruby had just enough time to see what was coming before the hundreds of bombs hit him from all directions. He was instantly vaporized when the bombs hit. When the dust cleared, they found another odd gem. They took it back to the Highwind. They set their two gems on the table and went to rest up. Yuffie entered the room later and put the gems in the belt muttering about her having to do everything. The belt now appeared only slightly tarnished and was beginning to recover its once beautiful shine.
At the same time, Barret and Tifa were in the bottom of the ocean battling the vicious creature, Emerald. During the first part of the battle the Underwater Materia had been destroyed, leaving the duo with only limited time to defeat their powerful foe. Emerald attacked with an expanded cache of skills that began to overwhelm the experienced fighters. Barret had been reduced to a fraction of his former fighting power as the Missing Score began to malfunction. Attempting to use only his strength and limited magical abilities against Emerald, he was managing to inflict a legitimate amount of damage to him. Tifa pounded on Emerald with her powerful Premium Heart gloves. Emerald was taking damage, but not quickly enough for the two to win the battle. In a fit of rage, Emerald stuck with a tentacle and sent Tifa flying. She smashed hard into a rock about a hundred feet away and was out cold. Barret began to panic, for even with his strength, he by himself was no match for the Emerald Weapon. Emerald cast spell upon spell attempting to finish Barret, but Barret managed to evade almost every attack.
Finally, Emerald cast a mighty thundaga attack. Barret had waited for that moment as he raised the Missing Score into the air. As the lightning struck the weapon, it began to smoke like never before. It began to smoke like a hippie at Woodstock. The power quickly built up in the gun. Suddenly a huge light appeared in the end of the barrel. The light grew larger and larger until it lifted Barret himself from the ground. He attempted to aim the blast at the Emerald Weapon, an apparently unnecessary gesture as the blast went off and completely eradicated any speck of existence for a half a mile in front of him. The only thing left after the blast cleared was a green gem that neither sunk nor rose in the ocean. Barret recovered the gem, grabbed Tifa, and swam to the surface. Resting for a moment, Barret gave Tifa a recovery item and she soon awoke. He explained what had happened as they called the Highwind to take them to the North Continent.
As the ship flew over the glacier, a blue figure, about the size of a large man, dashed in front of the ship with unimaginable speed. He put his hand forward and despite the full thrust of the ship, it failed to move even an inch. Sapphire called out to the inhabitants of the ship. "Barret, Tifa, you are the ones destined to face me in battle. Come forth and prepare yourselves for the fight of your life!" As the two emerged from the ship, Sapphire again spoke. "It is impossible to think that you two weaklings are destined to defeat me in this battle. I am the most powerful being in the universe and as such have full rights to change the future as I see fit. You will not win here today. Cloud has made a fatal error." Sapphire immediately transported the two and himself to the Glacier itself and the battle began.
Drawing his long sword, Sapphire was an imposing figure. Barret immediately fired upon him with his gun-arm, but Sapphire took the blast head on and emerged unharmed. Firing again, Sapphire charged passed the shot and swung his fist full strength into Barret, sending him sailing through the air. Appearing instantly in front of Barret, Sapphire punted him high into the air. Again disappearing and reappearing above Barret, he sent him sprawling towards the planet with a smashing attack. Barret drilled into the ground, creating a small crater and a trench where he dragged. He lay motionless, barely breathing on the icy terrain.
Tifa, seeing that Barret was down and Sapphire was out of reach decided to cast a magical spell. She cast Ultima and as the orb swirled around Emerald, he thrust his hands outward, destroying any trace of the attack. He suddenly stood just in front of Tifa and spoke with a quiet confidence. "You can see that you can never win this fight. Look at your friend, he is struggling to hold on to life. How could you ever expect to defeat me?" Tifa quickly shot back "you could never understand what drives us to fight." He sheathed his sword, thinking its use unnecessary. He landed punch after punch on Tifa, her not returning one to speak of. He pummeled her into a cliff's side that shattered upon her impact. He grabbed her weak body and tossed her into the air. Appearing far above her, he fired a firaga attack that sent her crashing to the ground in a similar manner of Barret and stopping just a few feet from him. "Don't you see?" he taunted. "You're no match for me. I am the most powerful being of all time!"
The two warriors lay near to each other. Tifa slowly rose, stumbling to her feet. "You'll never understand why we fight." Barret also fought up, struggling to speak. "We aren't fighting for ourselves and we aren't fighting alone." Yuffie ran from the Highwind. "You'll never defeat us, we just won't stay down." Red XIII followed behind Yuffie. "We fight with a purpose not our own." Cait Sith waddled out as well. "We may not appear strong, but we have the greatest power of all." Vincent proudly emerged as well. "Don't you see, you fight for honor, we fight to win." Cid stormed out behind Vincent. "No monster can stand between us and our goals. We don't just fight to win, we fight for each other." Tifa spoke again, backed by all of her friends. "We're ready to fight. Barret filled in "you'd better be ready, because our strength is far beyond yours."
"Ha. Don't make me laugh. I put you down before without even a fraction of my power. How do you expect to beat me now? All of you together don't stand a chance!" exclaimed Emerald. "You misunderstand. We're not all going to fight, just me and Barret vs. you." explained Tifa. "Then you're bigger fools than I thought. Prepare yourselves to become part of the Lifestream!" yelled Emerald.
Emerald charged at Barret just as he had before and prepared to strike him. The group behind them cheered for Barret and as Emerald swung, Barret dropped to the ground and Emerald's face was met with a mighty kick from Tifa. He stumbled backwards and Barret fired his weapon at Emerald. The blast hit and shattered the golden armor on Emerald's chest. Emerald jumped up as Tifa ran at Barret. He dashed towards them and as Barret threw Tifa upward, Emerald punched at Barret. Barret blocked the punch with the Missing Score and Tifa completed her kick as she planted her foot in the side of Emerald's head. The group again cheered in delight at the display. Emerald regained his composure and glared at Tifa and Barret. His body began to glow bright blue and emanate rings of blue light. The azure ripples in the air shook the ground and the planet itself seemed to react to Emerald's anger. He rose his hands above his head and his power seemed to grow tenfold.
Barret and Tifa stood; they were prepared for anything, for as a team they proved that they were more than a match for Sapphire. Tifa leapt onto Barret's shoulders and the two prepared a limit attack of their own. Barret gun began to smoke and glow brightly as he charged towards Sapphire. As he got near, Tifa leapt off of Barret's shoulders as the man himself slid underneath Emerald's legs. Tifa did multiple backward flips, striking Sapphire with her powerful kicks each time. The final kick caught him fully in the chin and lifted him completely off the ground as he flew backward parallel to the Glacier. Barret crouched underneath his flying body as the pressure in the Missing Score came to its peak and exploded. The blast carried Sapphire high into the sky where it exploded in a brilliant display of fireworks. A small blue dot fell from the sky and Barret caught the blue gem before it ever reached the ground. Emerald's voice was heard from the sky. "Well done my friends, Cloud was right in trusting you. He is at the North Crater. Go to him and take the belt. He will need your help. I wish you luck, I know you will succeed."
The team entered the Highwind and went into the conference room. The belt rested on the table. Barret and Tifa picked it up and returned the blue and green gems to their locations. The belt now glowed bright gold and to ignore the energy it gave off would be foolish. The team had the tools that they needed to defeat Sephiroth. The Highwind lifted off majestically and began its flight towards the crater.
Elsewhere, Cloud, Aeris, and Zack were preparing to fight the battle that would forever determine the fate of the world and the universe itself. As they climbed the hillside of the crater, not even Zack was speaking. All thoughts were on Sephiroth and Jenova. As the three climbed over the ridge, they all had to look on in awe at the beauty before them. A green glow emerged from the area in the center and a swirling blue mist came from the hole. However, the serenity was quickly broken as Cloud swung himself up and said, "Let's go."
Zack looked up with oatmeal dripping from his chin. "Huh? Oh, sure. One sec." He wiped his chin off with his sleeve and stood up. "Let's go!" The three packed up their camp and headed out. Cloud didn't know where he was going to look, so he decided to consult Bugenhagen.
Bugenhagen took an ancient book off of his shelf and opened it. The cover read 'History of the World.' "Ah, here it is." "There what is?" asked Cloud. "Well, certainly a history book would tell of ancient rulers of the world." "Oh, ya." "Here's one, Celespion. He's a six legged centaur, you know, half man, half horse who was incredibly powerful during the Age of Monsters. He almost took over the world, but then." "He disappeared without a trace." "Yes. how'd you know?" "I figured that Sapphire probably sealed him up at the height of his power."
"Ah, I see. He is assumed to have ruled from the East Continent, near now- a-days Kalm and the Chocobo Farm. Well, here's you likely second evil. an evil king who ruled in the Medieval times. His name is Kramo. He was reported to supposedly have some amazing power, but the book doesn't say what. His castle was near modern day Bone Village." "Must be the Forgotten Capital. He probably just rebuilt an old Centra ruin." "Well, that is all I can tell you. Good luck." Cloud then walked to the camp fire in the middle of town, where he found Aeris and Zack sitting about ten feet apart. Cloud reported all that Bugenhagen had told him to them. "Then I guess it's off to the East Continent, huh?" questioned Zack. "No, we need to talk to someone first. Then to the East Continent," said Cloud.
"Ok, boss. Whatever you say," replied Zack sarcastically. Cloud sighed and walked out of Cosmo Canyon with Aeris at his side and Zack not far behind. Together, they traveled to Rocket Town where Cloud and Aeris walked into a house near the back of town while Zack went to a bar. Cloud knocked on the door. When no one answered, he entered. He took a step in and was met with a lance to his neck. "Cloud!" said Cid in surprise. "Terribly sorry, never know who you can trust these days." "I understand Cid. Can I come in?" answered Cloud. "Sure." "Can my friend come in too?" "Who would that be?" asked Cid. Cloud stepped aside. "Aeris! You're alive!" The two stepped inside.
"Who's at the door, honey?" asked a voice from the side room. "Cloud. and Aeris, dear," responded Cid. "Oh!" exclaimed Cloud. "Who's that?" "That's Shera, you remember her, right?" "Ah yes, the girl you said you'd never marry and the girl you ordered and bossed around constantly. That girl?" "You got it." Cid and Cloud chuckled. "People change Cloud. I mean, look at Aeris, dead, alive, that's a bigger change if you ask me." "This is true," said Cloud. "But now I'm afraid, it's down to business."
"What do you have in mind, Cloud?" "Well, me, Aeris, and Zack are going on perhaps the biggest adventure of all time and." "You want the Highwind." "Exactly." "No." "What?" "You can't have the Highwind. It's mine." "Cid." "I will however come along and fly it for you to where ever you need to go." "Seriously?" "Of course. I'm not one to miss out on adventure. But you aren't going to take anyone else along?"
"I don't want to involve unnecessary people." "Unnecessary! We traveled to the ends of the earth for you. We did everything you asked and more. We were and still are your best friends and always will be. Unnecessary." "You're right." "Of course I'm right. And that's why like it or not, I'm picking up every last person who traveled with us on our last adventure. Unnecessary." "Ok Cid, you win. Let's go!"
Cid was more than happy to get back into action and fly his beloved airship again. He was even happier to be able to see all of his old partners again. First he stopped in Wutai to pick up Yuffie. Next, he got Red XIII at Cosmo Canyon followed by Cait Sith at Midgar. Then he found Vincent and Tifa at Nibelheim. Finally, he picked up the illustrious Barret at New Corel. Finally the whole group was assembled and Cloud spoke to them.
"Everyone, it's great to see you again. I want to thank you for abandoning your lives to come with us. Two people will be travelling with us that I want you to meet. First," said Cloud, putting his arm around Zack, "This is Zack." "Nice to meet you Zack," said Red XIII. "Ya, you all too," replied Zack. "The next person, you all knew, but I thought I'd reintroduce her," said Cloud. As he looked at his friends, they looked confused. Cloud disappeared into the shadows for a second and then reappeared with a person next to him. She stood back in the shadow while Cloud said, "Everyone, may I present. Aeris!" She stepped forward revealing her beautiful figure to the group. Cloud was awestruck every time he saw her. "Well, now that we're ready, here's the deal." "What deal?" asked Yuffie. "I don't remember any deal." "You don't have to be here," replied Cloud. "No, no. The deal's good."
"Ok, moving on. Aeris and Zack were kept separate from the rest of the lifestream by an all powerful being named Sapphire. At this point, Sapphire entrusted to me a belt that held Zack, Aeris, and every evil imaginable. I had to make a choice, and I chose love. and Zack. But any ways, all the evil was released into the world and now we must defeat it." "What kind of evil?" questioned Vincent. "Evil that is no worse than all the evil we've seen." "Good, I was worried it might be another Sephiroth-like something or another." "Sephiroth is back," mumbled Cloud. "What?!" shouted the group simultaneously.
"Sephiroth, as well as a much stronger version of Jenova was on the belt that held Aeris and Zack. Ultima, Ruby, Emerald, and Sapphire were also on the belt. They are also now free." "I thought that this Sapphire was a good guy," said Tifa. "He was, but I released his evil." "Why did you do that Cloud?" asked Cait Sith. "For love," said Cloud, staring into Aeris' eyes. "I told him he's a moron," said Zack to Cait Sith. "I'd probably agree with that, judging by the circumstances," responded Cait Sith. "Hey, hey!" shouted Cloud. "Enough. Moron or not, I need all of your help to defeat the evils of the world. They're all very powerful." "We'll do it," said Barret.
"Thanks guys," said Cloud. "Since there are so many of us, we'll split up and each group will take on specific enemies. Here's how I split it up." Cloud pulled out a list and showed it to the group. It read as such: Cloud, Aeris, Zack Sephiroth, Jenova Barret, Tifa Sapphire, Emerald Cid, Vincent Ruby, Ultima Red XIII, Yuffie Kramo, Celespion "Is that understood?" asked Cloud. When no one replied, he said, "Good. Keep in touch, if anything goes wrong, you have PHS. Keep me informed. Good Luck!" With that, each group went its separate ways and began what would undoubtedly be their most difficult adventure ever.
First, Red XIII and Yuffie traveled to East Continent. They arrived at the pass between Kalm and the Chocobo ranch. They wandered the paths and came up with nothing. They sat down to rest at the base of a sloped cliff side. Had they continued to stay alert, they may have noticed the figure lurking in the shadows. Before they could blink, a monster sprung from the mountainside. Yuffie and Red XIII jumped to their feet as the centaur reared up and let out a blood-curdling roar. Celespion charged the two warriors, swinging his mighty arms and kicking the two to the ground. He reared up over Red XIII as to crush him, but suddenly, a flash ripped through his underside and he froze. He dropped to the ground as Yuffie stood holding the Conformer, her deadly boomerang. Celespion attempted to lift his head, but Red XIII smashed it back down with a powerful slash. Suddenly, Celespion's body glowed blue, and a flash of light erupted in the air. When the light dimmed, a small gem floated in the air where the body had been. Yuffie picked it up, and they traveled on to the Forgotten Capital.
When they arrived, a bolt of lighting nearly struck Red XIII. He jumped, and then saw a man standing in a tower a hundred yards away. A vibrant green glow surrounded him and his eyes were lit with the same glow. He wore a bright gold crown adorned with many bright gems. "Yuffie!" said Red XIII. "Those gems are material orbs!" "Ooooohh, material. I want it," responded Yuffie. Yuffie threw the Conformer but as it neared the king, the swirling mist intensified and a powerful wind stopped and then flung the Conformer back at Yuffie. She hit the dirt just as the deadly blade whizzed by her head and it jammed into a rock. "Foolish girl! Do you dare to challenge Kramo the great?" he taunted. "No, she doesn't, but I do," said Red XIII.
Red's eyes burned a crimson red. He crouched as every muscle in his body tightened and a red glow engulfed him. He charged forward as earth shot up and ice fell from the sky as Kramo commanded. He dashed around obstacles and as he neared, Kramo blasted a focused and powerful stream of flame directly into Red XIII. At the same moment, Red XIII lunged at Kramo. Kramo laughed in victory, but as he did, a crimson streak flew by him. He stopped laughing as he grasped his neck, while Red XIII stood behind him. He changed into yet another gem. Yuffie and Red XIII returned to the Highwind. In the conference room, they found the tarnished belt that Cloud had spoken of. They discovered that the two gems that they had collected fit into the first two slots on the belt. Had they been paying more attention, they may have noticed that the belt recovered some of its former luster.
Meanwhile, near Cosmo Canyon, another battle raged on. Cid and Vincent were battling against the Ultima Weapon. Ultima was using attacks and abilities that neither of them had ever seen before. Ultima unleashed a powerful blast of energy from the cannons on his chest. The blast hit Vincent and sent him flying back into a crumpled heap. Cid screamed like a madman as he charged blindly at Ultima. Cid leapt up and slashed the beast across his leg. Ultima roared in pain as he charged for another blast. Cid knew what was coming just as Ultima finished charging. However, just before he released the beam, his chest erupted in explosion. The stored energy imploded, and Cid looked back to see Vincent standing majestically with his sniper rifle at his shoulder. He thrust his hand in victory as he walked back towards Cid. Ultima fell backwards and faded into a blue mist. The two found a mysterious white gem and decided to keep it. They collected the gem and flew towards the Gold Saucer.
Vincent spotted Ruby as they flew by. They jumped from the Highwind and parachuted about two hundred yards from Ruby. "Let's finish this the easy way," said Vincent, as he shouldered the rifle. However, as he placed his finger on the trigger, a red tentacle sprung from the ground and smacked the gun far out of reach. Cid sliced clean through the tentacle with his lance. He then raised his hand into the air as Ruby reared up in pain. He shouted "Die you son of &*!#@" as he thrust his hand downward. Ruby had just enough time to see what was coming before the hundreds of bombs hit him from all directions. He was instantly vaporized when the bombs hit. When the dust cleared, they found another odd gem. They took it back to the Highwind. They set their two gems on the table and went to rest up. Yuffie entered the room later and put the gems in the belt muttering about her having to do everything. The belt now appeared only slightly tarnished and was beginning to recover its once beautiful shine.
At the same time, Barret and Tifa were in the bottom of the ocean battling the vicious creature, Emerald. During the first part of the battle the Underwater Materia had been destroyed, leaving the duo with only limited time to defeat their powerful foe. Emerald attacked with an expanded cache of skills that began to overwhelm the experienced fighters. Barret had been reduced to a fraction of his former fighting power as the Missing Score began to malfunction. Attempting to use only his strength and limited magical abilities against Emerald, he was managing to inflict a legitimate amount of damage to him. Tifa pounded on Emerald with her powerful Premium Heart gloves. Emerald was taking damage, but not quickly enough for the two to win the battle. In a fit of rage, Emerald stuck with a tentacle and sent Tifa flying. She smashed hard into a rock about a hundred feet away and was out cold. Barret began to panic, for even with his strength, he by himself was no match for the Emerald Weapon. Emerald cast spell upon spell attempting to finish Barret, but Barret managed to evade almost every attack.
Finally, Emerald cast a mighty thundaga attack. Barret had waited for that moment as he raised the Missing Score into the air. As the lightning struck the weapon, it began to smoke like never before. It began to smoke like a hippie at Woodstock. The power quickly built up in the gun. Suddenly a huge light appeared in the end of the barrel. The light grew larger and larger until it lifted Barret himself from the ground. He attempted to aim the blast at the Emerald Weapon, an apparently unnecessary gesture as the blast went off and completely eradicated any speck of existence for a half a mile in front of him. The only thing left after the blast cleared was a green gem that neither sunk nor rose in the ocean. Barret recovered the gem, grabbed Tifa, and swam to the surface. Resting for a moment, Barret gave Tifa a recovery item and she soon awoke. He explained what had happened as they called the Highwind to take them to the North Continent.
As the ship flew over the glacier, a blue figure, about the size of a large man, dashed in front of the ship with unimaginable speed. He put his hand forward and despite the full thrust of the ship, it failed to move even an inch. Sapphire called out to the inhabitants of the ship. "Barret, Tifa, you are the ones destined to face me in battle. Come forth and prepare yourselves for the fight of your life!" As the two emerged from the ship, Sapphire again spoke. "It is impossible to think that you two weaklings are destined to defeat me in this battle. I am the most powerful being in the universe and as such have full rights to change the future as I see fit. You will not win here today. Cloud has made a fatal error." Sapphire immediately transported the two and himself to the Glacier itself and the battle began.
Drawing his long sword, Sapphire was an imposing figure. Barret immediately fired upon him with his gun-arm, but Sapphire took the blast head on and emerged unharmed. Firing again, Sapphire charged passed the shot and swung his fist full strength into Barret, sending him sailing through the air. Appearing instantly in front of Barret, Sapphire punted him high into the air. Again disappearing and reappearing above Barret, he sent him sprawling towards the planet with a smashing attack. Barret drilled into the ground, creating a small crater and a trench where he dragged. He lay motionless, barely breathing on the icy terrain.
Tifa, seeing that Barret was down and Sapphire was out of reach decided to cast a magical spell. She cast Ultima and as the orb swirled around Emerald, he thrust his hands outward, destroying any trace of the attack. He suddenly stood just in front of Tifa and spoke with a quiet confidence. "You can see that you can never win this fight. Look at your friend, he is struggling to hold on to life. How could you ever expect to defeat me?" Tifa quickly shot back "you could never understand what drives us to fight." He sheathed his sword, thinking its use unnecessary. He landed punch after punch on Tifa, her not returning one to speak of. He pummeled her into a cliff's side that shattered upon her impact. He grabbed her weak body and tossed her into the air. Appearing far above her, he fired a firaga attack that sent her crashing to the ground in a similar manner of Barret and stopping just a few feet from him. "Don't you see?" he taunted. "You're no match for me. I am the most powerful being of all time!"
The two warriors lay near to each other. Tifa slowly rose, stumbling to her feet. "You'll never understand why we fight." Barret also fought up, struggling to speak. "We aren't fighting for ourselves and we aren't fighting alone." Yuffie ran from the Highwind. "You'll never defeat us, we just won't stay down." Red XIII followed behind Yuffie. "We fight with a purpose not our own." Cait Sith waddled out as well. "We may not appear strong, but we have the greatest power of all." Vincent proudly emerged as well. "Don't you see, you fight for honor, we fight to win." Cid stormed out behind Vincent. "No monster can stand between us and our goals. We don't just fight to win, we fight for each other." Tifa spoke again, backed by all of her friends. "We're ready to fight. Barret filled in "you'd better be ready, because our strength is far beyond yours."
"Ha. Don't make me laugh. I put you down before without even a fraction of my power. How do you expect to beat me now? All of you together don't stand a chance!" exclaimed Emerald. "You misunderstand. We're not all going to fight, just me and Barret vs. you." explained Tifa. "Then you're bigger fools than I thought. Prepare yourselves to become part of the Lifestream!" yelled Emerald.
Emerald charged at Barret just as he had before and prepared to strike him. The group behind them cheered for Barret and as Emerald swung, Barret dropped to the ground and Emerald's face was met with a mighty kick from Tifa. He stumbled backwards and Barret fired his weapon at Emerald. The blast hit and shattered the golden armor on Emerald's chest. Emerald jumped up as Tifa ran at Barret. He dashed towards them and as Barret threw Tifa upward, Emerald punched at Barret. Barret blocked the punch with the Missing Score and Tifa completed her kick as she planted her foot in the side of Emerald's head. The group again cheered in delight at the display. Emerald regained his composure and glared at Tifa and Barret. His body began to glow bright blue and emanate rings of blue light. The azure ripples in the air shook the ground and the planet itself seemed to react to Emerald's anger. He rose his hands above his head and his power seemed to grow tenfold.
Barret and Tifa stood; they were prepared for anything, for as a team they proved that they were more than a match for Sapphire. Tifa leapt onto Barret's shoulders and the two prepared a limit attack of their own. Barret gun began to smoke and glow brightly as he charged towards Sapphire. As he got near, Tifa leapt off of Barret's shoulders as the man himself slid underneath Emerald's legs. Tifa did multiple backward flips, striking Sapphire with her powerful kicks each time. The final kick caught him fully in the chin and lifted him completely off the ground as he flew backward parallel to the Glacier. Barret crouched underneath his flying body as the pressure in the Missing Score came to its peak and exploded. The blast carried Sapphire high into the sky where it exploded in a brilliant display of fireworks. A small blue dot fell from the sky and Barret caught the blue gem before it ever reached the ground. Emerald's voice was heard from the sky. "Well done my friends, Cloud was right in trusting you. He is at the North Crater. Go to him and take the belt. He will need your help. I wish you luck, I know you will succeed."
The team entered the Highwind and went into the conference room. The belt rested on the table. Barret and Tifa picked it up and returned the blue and green gems to their locations. The belt now glowed bright gold and to ignore the energy it gave off would be foolish. The team had the tools that they needed to defeat Sephiroth. The Highwind lifted off majestically and began its flight towards the crater.
Elsewhere, Cloud, Aeris, and Zack were preparing to fight the battle that would forever determine the fate of the world and the universe itself. As they climbed the hillside of the crater, not even Zack was speaking. All thoughts were on Sephiroth and Jenova. As the three climbed over the ridge, they all had to look on in awe at the beauty before them. A green glow emerged from the area in the center and a swirling blue mist came from the hole. However, the serenity was quickly broken as Cloud swung himself up and said, "Let's go."