The air was cold around the lake in the Forgotten Capital. It didn't help that Cloud was soaking wet either. It had taken him well over an hour to find the White Materia within the Ancient City. It was a long swim to the bottom due to the unexplainable rise of the water, but he managed to find it and return safely. The SOLDIER uniform he wore was waterproof but he was still human and could feel every draft that swept through the small capital.
Cloud careened Aeris' head in his hand as he focused all his energy into the White Materia. The spell just didn't seem to have an effect. Tifa, shivering and crying, clung to Barret tightly as the young blonde haired man worked. Barret just looked at the ground, upset. Cid had already walked off, puffing on a cigarette indifferently. "God damn it! Just fucking work!"
Just as the words left his mouth, bright crimson gushed out of Aeris' stomach. Tifa gasped, along with Barret, who took a short step forward. Cloud froze, he wasn't quite sure what to do. Was she alive, or had the spell only triggered blood flow from her original wound? Barret knelt down and grabbed the small girl's wrist. He looked up with a chuckle and patted Cloud on the back "Nice job spike head. We just gotta clear this wound up before she bleeds to death!"
"I have a Cure materia here but it's only at level two. Let me try it out," Tifa moved around Barret's large frame and focused her energy into the spell. A tentacle of green seemed to rise up from the ground and consume Aeris' body for a brief two seconds as the spell did its' job. The blood stopped flowing as the green rays disappeared, but the actual wound persisted to stay. Cloud quickly doused an X-Potion over the unconscious girl's body. The wound healed up lightly, leaving only a small scratch where once a gaping sword wound had been inflicted.
"She finally came around? Excellent work, now lets get her butt out of here before she freezes to death, eh," Cid tossed his cigarette to the side and pulled off his flight jacket. It was cold but he had been in worse conditions than this before. Cloud wrapped the smoke saturated jacket around the pink clad girl and zipped it up to her chin. She was soaked thoroughly from her long rest in the strange lake. The odd waters had kept her body in perfect condition. He figured it was just something to do with the sacred ground of the City of the Ancients. Barret stopped Cloud as he was about to lift her off the ground and did it himself.
"Your tired, just work on getting yo' spiky ass back to the airship." Barret cradled the smaller body in his arms as Cloud nodded reluctantly. Barret's dark eyes sensed a feeling of insecurity in Cloud's. This is going to be hard for the kid to deal with, Barret thought to himself.
The walk back was more atrocious than the walk to the Ancient City. The snow was already almost a foot high within the hour and a half they had been gone. They all knew that danger lurked in blizzards, keeping a close eye in every direction they could. The stinging of the crystal wind was almost too much to bear as they trekked over ice fields and deep snow embankments, but the venturing would be worth it once they got to the ship.
"Something's not right," Cloud interrupted as they were nearing the silver airship about thirty yards away. He slowly unsheathed his huge Buster Sword from the magnetic strip on his back. The dark metal of the giant blade gleamed against the snowy field below. I sense more than five people here…something like…nine. You guys hurry and get Aeris back to the ship."
"What?" Cid turned. Just as he laid eyes on Cloud, several pockets of snow burst up and sprayed everywhere. Four giant wolves, three times the size of Nanaki, crashed to the ground behind them.
"Go! Now," Cloud shouted as he veered his blade and ran at the first snow wolf. Cid and Barret both made a break for it, Cid guarding Barret with his Venus Gospel Spear. Tifa leapt right into the brawl with Cloud. As soon as he saw her out of the corner of his eye he was infuriated. He wanted her out of harms way. "I thought I told you to run!"
"I'm not leaving you out here alone, I don't know what I'd do if I lost you!" Tifa shouted back as she concentrated on a Fire Three spell. The entire area seemed to melt instantly. The flames seemed to dodge both of them but burnt the four Bandersnatch wolves that were moving in. Cloud followed up the brilliant display of magic with several combinations of expert sword maneuvers. His wide blade left gaping lacerations on the furry skin of the hungry beasts. Two went to the ground quickly in a screaming mass of spewing blood and gnashing teeth, but the other two were still unharmed it seemed. Cloud shook his head and pulled a small green orb from his pocket.
"Flare," he whispered softly. He and Tifa instantly bolted for the ship. They didn't even turn to watch as a concentrated ball of superheated energy exploded and incinerated the wolves. The blast of heat rushed into the ship as the docking ramp slowly closed. Cloud and Tifa exasperatedly sunk to the wet, rubber floor to catch they're breath. The rest of the team was already on the above floor tending to Aeris. Tifa rolled over and hugged Cloud tightly. He wasn't exactly sure how to react so he put his arm around her. "Was what you said earlier true?"
"Yes…" Tifa wiped a small chunk of snow off of Clouds chest and got up. "Lets go see Aeris. Maybe she's awake now."
"...Yeah…Lets go see her…"
Meanwhile, deep within the caverns of Gaia's Cliff, life was stirring. Massive chunks of materia laid everywhere amongst the debris of the collapsed cave. Though the darkness was thick inside the remains of the, once great, crater, the gentle glow of mako was everywhere. The green and blue of the shimmering crystals left little uncovered, but in a dark corner of the wreckage two glowing, green eyes flickered open. The tiny amount of light, magnified through the crystal it was contained in, lit that portion of the cave just enough to reveal a human being. The materia slowly began to crack as the man stirred. After several minutes of trying to break out of the diamond like prison, he finally grew annoyed and cast a Destruct spell around him. The shield of magic quickly shattered most of the hard crystal off of his body. As his head was freed from the mold he gasped desperately for air. The chill of the air greeted his bare skin for the first time in five years. Gentle gusts bellowed through the caverns making eerily groaning echoes of they're travels as the long haired man finished picking all of the shards off of his body.
"I'm alive…but how did I end up here? So cold…" The black fighting pants he wore, and the tall boots on his feet were all that was there to protect him from the dangerously cold temperature. Otherwise, there was nothing but his sword on the ground. He knelt down to free it from the cold crystal and attached it's black sheath to his hip. "I guess I should find a way out of here…"
The tall man climbed swiftly through the masses of rocks and material only to find more of it ahead of him. Several minutes passed by as he steadily walked through the winding tunnels and debris. He didn't seem discouraged as he made his way into more and more catacombs. The cold of the air was his guide. "I suppose I'll just head towards the colder gusts of wind. Surely they are blowing from the outside."
Over a half hour passed by and the temperature had dropped by at least twenty degrees. He had been digging around in a mass of gravelly materia debris for most of that time until he leapt up onto a ledge about fifteen feet above him. A heavy gale of freezing wind greeted him. This must be the source of all those cold breezes, he thought to himself. As he opened his eyes from the stinging snow and ice he was relieved to see a distant light. He quickened his pace down the long corridor of ice and snow until he was stopped by an odd sense of movement. His hand instantly reached for the handle of his Masamune katana… The instant the movement of his hand reached the black handle eight giant wolves leapt out of the debris and landed around him in ambush formation. "…Damn…"
The first three wolves leapt at him for the kill from his back. Quickly he leapt into the air and kicked the nearest in the face with the heel of his boot. The curved blade of his sword followed through and severed the creature's head off in one slice. The other two landed within inches from him, leaving just enough time for him to decapitate them. The true attack came when the remaining five infuriated wolves rushed him at once. The stinking gray fur seemed to surround him instantly. Several claws thrashed at his flesh leaving a few ripped wounds. He slashed the nearest wolf across the shoulder, taking off its leg, and with several lightening quick combinations, slaughtered the last four. They didn't even have enough time to see they're wounds before they were dead. "That wasn't too bad…"
The Highwind III glided softly through the air. It was so high that the clouds were right beneath it. Cloud and Tifa were silently sitting on the bottom level of the large ship, gazing endlessly through the floor window. Every once in awhile the clouds would part, allowing just enough time to see the beautiful landscape below. The ship was on a cruise control route to Rocket Town. The scenery from the City of the Ancients to Cid's hometown was absolutely fabulous, and the two were thoroughly enjoying the trip. It had been awhile since they were able to just sit down and talk, and laugh, and just have a good time.
"I hope Aeris comes out of this okay. We did after all bring her back from the dead. Imagine the psychological complications that could occur," Tifa leaned against Cloud as she starred into the clouds below them. Cloud put his arm around her shoulder. It felt so good to touch her…and be touched by her. He had never realized his desperate attraction to her so vividly.
"I'm sure she'll be okay. I don't think we should tell her that she was dead though. It might mess her up a little." Cloud stroked Tifa's long dark hair with his left hand. "I'm giving her two days to recover before we head into Midgar. I hope nothing has happened there yet. It's been a month since we've heard anything from anyone there."
"What do you plan on doing about it if Shinra really has got that place running again," Tifa asked quietly. Cloud paused for a few minutes.
"We're going to bust in there, find that bastard Rufus and force him to step down." Cloud put the point plain and bold. Tifa shrugged, but agreed. Cloud gazed down at her as she nestled her head into his abdomen. She was so…cute, he thought to himself.
"Cloud, if you could do anything right now, what would it be?"
"Go back in time…" he muttered. It wasn't the answer she had hoped for but it sufficed long enough to keep her attention.
"What would you do…or change?" she asked tiredly. There was a long pause as he thought about his reply. For a second, Tifa didn't think he was going to answer her.
"I would make sure Sephiroth didn't go to Nibelheim. So…none of this would have ever happened." Cloud sighed. She felt his body tense up at the SOLDIER's name. That always happened, she thought to herself. She could always tell when Cloud was thinking about Sephiroth. His body would tense up, or he would start to sweat. Cloud knew in particular what Sephiroth was capable of. She did too, but she didn't really remember much from that night at the reactor. He had cut her so quickly and hard that she went out like a light. Cloud however…he would never forget the feel of that katana blade, buried in his chest, slowly lifting him off the ground. Cloud would never forget that moment…Sephiroth.
"Kill him, you mean?" Tifa opened her eyes and looked up at him, innocently held in his arms.
"No…I'd save him. He didn't used to be a bad guy. He was a very likeable and respectable person. People thought he was arrogant because he was so quite, or because he had such high standards from his men. It was those qualities that made him the best, and he truly was the best, at everything he ever did. He was much better than I am or could ever be. I honestly don't even know how I managed to kill him." Cloud paused. Tifa was shocked that he was actually able to calmly talk about his nemesis. Usually he went off the wall about how much he hated him, but for a change he was telling what Sephiroth was like before he went mad. "Hmm…it's kinda weird now that I think about it. He could have snapped my neck in about a hundred ways with his pinky, but for some reason it was like he let me throw him over the edge."
"Maybe he forgot his skills and stuff after he went crazy…you think?" Tifa didn't really know what to say. It did seem kind of odd what Cloud was talking about.
"I don't know. If I could go back though, I would tell him the truth about what his mother. Who am I kidding though? I didn't even know what Jenova was back then- He was cut off sharply by Barret's baritone voice from above the hangar.
"Gitcho asses up here. We got Aeris in a bed now."
_______________________________________________________________________________________
The feral wind bit at his skin like thousands of tiny piranha, but he kept on track through the frozen field of snow. It was so cold, he thought to himself, almost as cold as death…but why had that thought occurred to him? He brushed the strange feeling off and moved onward. He had walked for probably ten miles through eight feet of snow, but the snow was so frozen that he had been able to walk right over top of it. Now his travels had led him in the direction of a giant skeleton in the distance. "That must be old Bone Village. I haven't been there since I was like nine years old."
He walked over the slippery, dry snow, getting closer and closer to the excavation site. Several huge skeletons loomed over the village, even visible from the distance he was at. The villagers had made the giant bones into houses over the years. No one really left or moved into the village, so there was no need to actually build homes. Everyone just worked together, digging day in and day out, blowing up layers of rock. Some of the most amazing findings in history had been dug up by the people of Bone Village. The tired, battered man was almost to the back entrance of the small town when he saw his first human being in what seemed like eternity. He quickened his pace and was walking through the back entrance within minutes.
"Dude, you're the great Sephiroth!" A teenage kid in a green shirt and blue, tattered shorts instantly recognized him. He hadn't expected to be so quickly recognized as the kid ran up to him and gazed. "I knew you weren't dead for the past few years! Shinra is a bunch of liars man!"
"So they said I was dead," Sephiroth asked, casually resting his hand on the butt of his sword. The kid nodded, staring intently at the curved sword at his side. His dark brown hair rustled in the breeze as the much taller man gazed around. The chill reminded him that he was still shirtless. "Do you know where I could get a shirt at?"
"Sure man! Follow me!" The kid turned on a heel and quickly walked over to the ledge and climbed down a ladder. Sephiroth simply leapt off the ledge and met him at the bottom. The kid was once again amazed. It was kind of nice to have such a devout fan…
The people in the village all stopped what they were doing and stared at him as he followed the kid. Many people had shocked looks on they're faces and many instantly ran to get a pen and paper. Before he knew it, the whole village was crowded around him asking questions, marveling, and just itching for an autograph. This all brought back fond memories of working with Shinra.
"Are you really the real Sephiroth?" Asked one villager.
"In the flesh." He answered.
"Where have you been all these years?" Asked another villager. He smiled slightly before he answered.
"I decided to leave Shinra for a little while and move into the mountains. But my vehicle broke down about fifty miles back and I had to walk to this town. I've been taking a vacation in the mountains for the past few years…"
"The whole world thought you were dead! Shinra posted an obituary in the Shinra News stating that you had been killed in action!" Several villagers got autographs as he slowly made his way to the house near the entrance of the town. The kid who was guiding him was frantically pushing people out of the way so he could get through. Eventually he pulled him into the house and shut the door. People pounded on the door for a few minutes before giving up and heading back to there digs, or otherwise talk about what just happened.
"Bobby, what the hell's going on?" An elder man in his late fifties walked into the room. He stared at the silver haired swordsman in his doorway curiously before recognizing him. "By golly your one o' them Shinra boys…Seraph! One o' them real high ranked fellas aren't ya not?"
"Yes sir. I'm Sephiroth. I left Shinra awhile back to live in the mountains, but-" Sephiroth was cutoff short.
"Oh, you don't have to tell me your business on why you left em'. Celebrities are publicized enough as it is. I know you prolly have had to tell that story a million times to everyone and your prolly sick o' it by now." The older man patted him on the back and guided him into the next room. "So what is it Bobby an' I can help ye with?"
"Well, I really need a shirt. And…maybe you could tell me when the next ship to Midgar will be coming in?" Sephiroth rubbed the back of his, still numb, neck. His muscles were tired from the strenuous walk down the mountain. A few bloody claw scratches could still be seen on his chest and arms. The wounds had frozen before his mako abilities could heal them thoroughly. The elder man noticed them and nodded.
"Looks like you been through hell n' back. Go on back and take a shower and clean them wounds up. I'll get you a shirt in just a minute." The elder man smiled and patted him on the back. He was shocked at how frozen his skin was.
"Thank you sir." Sephiroth bowed slightly as the man left them room to fetch him a shirt. The boy led him to the bathroom in the back and showed him where everything was at. Sephiroth closed the door after he left and turned on the shower. As he stripped down, the heat of the water soothed his nearly frozen body. The only thing he could think about though was getting back to Shinra. He was eager to start over again with his life, but he wasn't sure how to approach Shinra after all of these years. His thoughts were interrupted as the door cracked open and the man laid a shirt on the sink.
"Still no sign of consciousness," Cloud asked as he entered the sleeping quarters that had been set for Aeris. Barret had been keeping a close eye on her for the past couple of hours, but there really was nothing to see. The sleeping beauty was as silent as ever. Her heartbeat was excellent, but she was far from reality.
Cloud brushed his bright blonde hair back with one hand. The spikes were gradually becoming longer and silkier as he went without a haircut. This pleased him, but the sight of his good friend in a deep coma was his deepest concern at the moment. "What if she never wakes up?"
"We'll just have to take care of her until she does…" Tifa turned and walked out the door. Her beautiful trail of silky brown hair followed her in a ponytail. Cloud shook his head and sighed. "I'm gonna go get a little shut eye. If anything happens come and tell me, alright?"
"You got it spike…" Barret careened back in his chair and closed his eyes after the younger man left the room. He felt a certain need to care for the girl next to him. He didn't want to leave her side because of what she had done for him so long ago. If Aeris hadn't taken care of Marlene for him…God only knows where he would be right now. She was such a kind person and thought not even twice about risking her life to save his daughter's. "You're a true hero of mine Aeris, for what you did… I ain't gonna let nothin' happen to ya eitha'."
Barret stretched out and rested his head on the wall behind him. I wonder what Marlene is up to right about now, he thought to himself in silent remorse. He hated leaving her but when trouble came knocking he couldn't just sit back and watch. Things needed to get done. He had based his sole purpose in life on that philosophy. If you want things done right, you gotta do it yer damn self. He wasn't alone though he remembered. Cloud and Tifa…and Cid, they were all capable of saving the world if the crisis came. Maybe he just needed a piece of the action. Things were so boring in Corel anyway. He had helped rebuild it, but when the job was done, what else is there for a fighting man to do? Hunt? Fish the day away? Oh well, he thought to himself. I still gots Marlene to look after. This eased his plagued storm of thoughts for only a brief few seconds before he realized that it would be a while before he would get to see her. I hint of moisture glazed his eyes as he whispered to himself, "Man, I've done gone and let my daughter's childhood nearly pass me by. What the hell have I been doing all these years?"
Cid sat in his pilot seat cozily as the ship drifted towards home. As his cigarette burned down, he watched the smoke haze before him. It was a beautiful night, he thought to himself. The clouds were right at level with the ship's altitude, creating an image of heaven within the frame of the windshield. It was rare that he just went out to see the sky. It was absolutely fascinating for him to watch the small world from the big blue, open sky. His dreams of exploring space had subsided with the death of Shinra, but his eagerness to be the first to do it still haunted him in his incapability. Maybe I'll get up there one of these days and explore everything…just maybe, he thought to himself. Along they're journey to kill Sephiroth, he had gotten a small taste of what it was like in space. He had managed to be the first man in space, but would he be the first man to explore it?
The ship had grown very quiet since everyone had settled in. The low hum of the mako engines soothed the nervousness that was abound, but Cloud was still restless in his bunk. He had laid out his Buster Sword and armor, and begun tediously cleaning them. He thought about everything he had just witnessed as he buffed them to perfection. He had grown so agitated with his thoughts that he punched the table. His agitation was ceased as he heard a marble-like clank ring out in the dimly lit room. The White Materia had fallen out of his armor slot and rested itself on the floor, glowing its usual blue glow. His eyes softened and his mood smoothened. All the stress that had built up over the past few hours suddenly vanished. That cool blue light was all it took to calm him… "I've got to think of a plan to take out Shinra…"