(Author's Note: Hello…yes you're probably getting annoyed by this message but Rueh, my friend, is revising the first 18 chapters…so if you want go back and re-read…it looks like it will be better than the first time you read it…but this might take awhile because of her own stories and upcoming vacation…oh well…enjoy chapter 22!)

Disclaimer: FF7 and Squaresoft are not mine. Rueh belongs to Rueh. Dete is mine.

Chapter 22

Lessons in Materia and Flying

                                    -3 Weeks Later-

Vincent began to teach them the art of manipulating materia. Rueh did better than any of them.

"How come you're so good at this?" Cloud asked.

"My mind's so complicated it's easy," Rueh stated simply and with a shrug. Cloud stared at her dumbstruck. "Well…go jump off the cliff over there," Rueh said.

"Why?" Cloud asked with a confused look.

"To make you quit staring at me," she snapped. Cloud walked away. "Hey look! It's Red!" Rueh exclaimed. Red froze and his eye went wide. He started to back away slowly.

"Awww…poor Red. Rueh go do something…you're scaring him," Vincent looked from one to the other.

"Fine," Rueh huffed and walked to the edge of the cliff. Dete walked up to stand beside her. "Look at the birds," Rueh said dreamily.

"What about them?" Dete asked warily.

"I wonder what it's like to fly," Rueh said more to herself than to Dete. Dete was quiet. "I mean Sephiroth can fly…so that means I can too," Rueh kept talking to herself.

"Rueh…normal people can't fly," Dete said.

"So? Everyone always says that I'm not normal," Rueh huffed. Before Dete could stop her Rueh jumped into the air. She only had air below her. "Look at me!" she exclaimed. Rueh was floating in mid-air and was flapping her arms like wings. "I can ffflllllyyyyyyy…" Rueh started to fall.

"RUEH!" Dete yelled. Rueh was laughing as she fell.

"What's going on?" Vincent asked quickly going to where Dete stood.

"She's trying to fly but it's not working," Dete sighed.

"My gosh! She's always causing a problem or getting herself hurt," he shook his head.

"Actually she's not. She's just happy go lucky. That's why," Dete shook her head too.

"Whatever. We'd better get down there and see if she's hurt," Vincent sighed. When they got to the bottom of the cliff they found Rueh…hovering an inch above the ground.

"See! I can fly. This is all I can do right now but I can fly," Rueh stated proudly.

"She's defiantly NOT normal," Red said.

"How long did it take you to figure that out?" Rueh asked.

"Come on Rueh," Dete said shaking her head slowly. They walked back up to where the others were waiting.

"Let's call it a day," Vincent sighed.

"But I'm not tired," Rueh whined. Vincent groaned and rubbed his face.

"Then stay here. I'm going back to Rocket Town," he snapped.

"Okay," she shrugged.

"With all the chocobos."

"Nuh-huh. I ain't walking back.'

"Then I guess you're coming back with us."

Rueh grumbled to herself.

                                    ****

                                    -3 Days Later-

Everyone had by now mastered materia.

"That's strange. I haven't seen Rueh at all lately," Zack looked around.

"Oh well. I don't really care. Try casting Shiva again," Vincent said.

"You're mean," Dete told him.

"Oh that's right you're her friend," he said. Dete made a face at him. Zack began to cast Shiva.

                                    ****

Rueh sat on top of a hill. She laughed softly to herself as she watched, unnoticed, her friends practicing. Someone was casting Shiva. Rueh stood and cast her own summon.

                                    ****

"Who cast Knights of Round?" Vincent asked. No one answered. They were watching Shiva get beat up by the other summon. "Who cast that?" he asked again.

"None of us," Yuffie said.

"Then who?" Red asked.

Zack sniffed. "M-m-m-y-y…S-s-s-shiv-v-va-a-a…"

Everyone looked around. Dete looked at a hill. No one was there.

"Hey. Who cast Knights of Round?" Rueh asked from behind her.

"I wouldn't know…you wasn't it?" Dete wasn't surprised.

"Of course."

"Hey Rueh," Tifa said.

"Hey," Rueh said.

'Where'd you come from?" Cloud asked.

"The sky," Rueh said.

"What do you mean?" Red asked.

"I flew," Rueh said with a shrug.

"You flew," Vincent repeated dully.

"That's what I said. Hey! Did you know that there's a small island in the middle of the ocean?" Rueh exclaimed.

"Yeah…" Cid said slowly.

"Well. Look what I found there," Rueh held up a red orb.

"That's Knights of Round," Vincent raised an eyebrow.

"Nnoooooooooooo…I thought it was Bahamut," Rueh said sarcastically.

"Cast it again," Barret said.

"But normal people can't," Rueh pointed out.

"Rueh…you're not normal," Cloud admitted.

"Nice of you to finally notice." Rueh cast it again.

"It takes 250 MP to do that. You've done it twice now. That's…"Vincent started.

"Rueh for you," Dete finished with a sigh.

"Do it again," Red said.

"I don't wanna," Rueh whined.

"Don't push her," Dete warned.

"Yeah. I still have that lightning materia," Rueh said pulling it out of her pocket.

"I agree," Red backed away from her.

"That's enough for today then," Vincent sighed.

                                    ****

"Hojo didn't hold up his end of the deal."

"Oh well. Who needs him? You can dispose of them easily," Jenova said.

"Yes mother…they will be a threat to us no more soon," Sephiroth sneered.

                                    ****