Cloud, and the others travelled in the buggy for a while, soon out of sight of Cosmo Canyon, until they arrived at another town along the road, before several large mountains – it was the town of Nibelheim itself.
To their great surprise, especially Cloud and Tifa's, Nibelheim looked exactly as Cloud and Tifa had described it before Sephiroth had burnt it all down.
In fact, as they stared in shock and disbelief at the town, Nibelheim looked as though it was never even destroyed in the first place.
Tifa's beautiful brown eyes widened in shock and disbelief as she took a few stunned, shaky steps back from the town, looking horrified.
"What!? Impossible! Nibelheim was burnt down, right? The houses, the market, and even the well is here! What's going on, Cloud? They were destroyed! I saw it with my own eyes!" shouted Tifa, shocked and surprised.
"I thought so too, I know. I'll never forget that day for as long as I live," said Cloud, quietly.
"Then why is it all here? My house is still here too," said Tifa, pointing to the house that she lived in while she was living at Nibelheim in her childhood.
"I wonder what's going on here…" said Red XIII, thoughtfully and curiously.
"This is very strange," said Aeris, nodding in agreement.
"Hey, you been lying to us, Cloud!?" shouted Barret.
"No! I'm not lying! I can still remember the intense heat of the flames. The sheer, unbearable pain I felt deep within my heart…" said Cloud, shuddering.
"But I thought you said that Sephiroth torched this whole place to cinders. So why is it still here?" asked Yuffie, bewildered, frowning in puzzlement.
Red XIII, however, seemed to understand everything.
"It's actually quite simple and logical when you think about it. Shinra didn't want anyone to know that their world-famous general (Sephiroth) had gone insane and burned down a town. If people knew he was responsible for this, more and more people would have turned against Shinra in fear. Also, it might have caused information concerning the Jenova Project to be leaked. So they rebuilt Nibelheim and covered the whole incident up. And with their power and money, they could do that quite easily. You read the newspaper, they said that there was an accident in the Reactor and that Sephiroth was killed. And as we all know, that was a lie. Simply a cover-up," explained Red XIII.
Tifa clenched her fists angrily, and snarled viciously.
"Those bastards! How dare they! It happened! All these people…all these lives! My parents lived and died here…their lives, their memories, their existence! A few million Gil is all it takes to erase everything! Are…are you okay, Cloud?" asked Tifa, turning to Cloud, concerned, but she was still clearly very angry about Nibelheim.
"Yeah, I guess. But it's alright, Tifa. No matter what happens, we know the truth," replied Cloud, reassuringly.
"Are you upset? About finally being here after all this time?" asked Tifa, worried and concerned.
"A little. We have other things to do now, but we'll deal with Shinra, it's a promise. But at the moment, I plan to make Sephiroth pay dearly for everything he took from me," replied Cloud, determined.
"You're not the only one," said Tifa, sternly.
"What?" said Cloud, surprised, staring at Tifa.
"You're not the only one who's lost a lot because of Sephiroth. Nibelheim was my hometown too. And I don't have to remind you about what he did to my father and me and..." said Tifa, but she stopped speaking suddenly.
"And who?" asked Cloud, curiously.
"Never mind. Let's go," replied Tifa, quickly, and she walked along Nibelheim before Cloud could reply.
"Look, let's just find out if Sephiroth is here," said Aeris.
Cloud shrugged and followed Tifa, while the others followed closely behind.
Cloud and the others walked along the fully rebuilt town of Nibelheim. On the way there though, they noticed several men in black capes, their hoods covering their faces and their capes covering their skin, but somehow Cloud pictured them to be ghostly white, rotting away, and there was a large, blood-red number imprinted on each of the black capes like a tattoo.
Somehow, the black caped men didn't seem to be human at all. Cloud, and the others turned away from them, unnerved by the strange figures, and walked further along Nibelheim.
Tifa was still staring around Nibelheim in horror.
"I can see the top of the Shinra Mansion itself, and...the well, Cloud. It's the same well," said Tifa, nervously, shaking.
"It can't be the same well, Tifa. As much as we want it all not to have happened, Sephiroth burnt Nibelheim to the ground five years ago. You remember it, I remember it," said Cloud, taking her hand and squeezing it gently.
Tifa looked up at him and smiled. Cloud continued.
"It looks a lot like the old Nibelheim, yeah, but we know it can't be. So I want to see what's going on. I thought everyone who was here in the town except Zangan and that Shinra soldier were dead. Though I didn't check the whole town before I went after Sephiroth, and I don't remember what happened to the town afterwards," said Cloud.
But Tifa still continued to stare at the rebuilt town of Nibelheim in horror, as she looked around at it.
"Cloud, it's the same truck by the same gate," whispered Tifa, nervously.
"It can't be. Come on, let's go look around. Anyone else want to come?" asked Cloud.
"No way, not me. This place gives me the creeps," said Yuffie, shivering.
"I'll go," said Barret, determinedly, stepping forwards, but Cloud held out a hand in front of him to stop him.
"You need to stay here, Barret. In case anything happens in there, we'll need a leader out here. That would be you," said Cloud, sternly.
Barret nodded grimly, and made no further argument.
But, after Cloud and Tifa looked around the town, they still had no idea what had happened, since the townspeople seemed to be completely refusing to say anything about the incident, and Cloud and Tifa had never seen them before, so they must have been actors hired by Shinra to help with the cover-up.
Aeris was staring at Tifa in concern though, starting to get really worried. Usually Tifa was pretty easy-going, but now she seemed on the edge of hysteria.
Aeris then noticed that the expression on Cloud's face was a mixture of terror and grim determination.
"One of those strange black cloaked figures said…that Sephiroth is in the Shinra Mansion," said Cloud, grimly, shocking everyone.
"He's here? What should we do now? Should we all go in the mansion?" asked Tifa.
"No, this is going to be between me and him. You guys just stay out here," said Cloud.
But as Cloud started towards the door, Tifa immediately rushed around him and planted herself firmly in his path.
"Do you think you're the only one who has a score to settle with him!? Nibelheim was my hometown too, you know!! And he killed my father!!" snapped Tifa, angrily.
Cloud seemed taken aback, but no less stubborn.
"I know I'm not the only one who wants revenge, but let's face it. Tifa, I..." began Cloud, but then he quickly stopped talking, and avoided her puzzled gaze.
Then after a moment, he spoke again.
"He's too dangerous. I've been trained in SOLDIER, like he has. I know him better," said Cloud.
Aeris grinned in amusement as she saw the uncertain look on Cloud's face, and instantly knew that hadn't been what he was going to say before he hesitated.
"And do you think that I'm just some kind of amateur? Hey, I studied with Zangan, remember? And not only that, I..." began Tifa, but she also quickly stopped talking, then after a moment's hesitation, she spoke again. Aeris also had realised what she was about to say before she hesitated.
"Zangan also said that I was one of his best students," said Tifa, quickly, avoiding Cloud's gaze.
"And before you even try it, Cloud, we're all going in there too," said Aeris.
"Why should you?" asked Cloud, getting annoyed.
"Why shouldn't we?" said Aeris, evenly, meeting his gaze.
"Alright, fine. Follow me," said Cloud, frustrated.
Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Aeris, Red XIII, Yuffie and Cait Sith all entered the mansion, hoping to find Sephiroth, and yet hoping to stay alive in the process.
Cloud looked around, and saw the mansion was exactly the same as ever, if a little older and dustier, and very quiet and silent. Unnervingly so.
"God, this mansion is even creeper than that town out there," muttered Yuffie.
They all went up the creaky stairs in the hall, and they entered the closest room to the left of the stairs, with a locked safe in the room.
"Hey, Cloud. Look at this," said Red XIII.
"What did you find, Red XIII?" asked Cloud.
"A piece of paper," replied Red XIII.
"A piece of paper? How that going to help us against Sephiroth?" asked Cait Sith, sceptically.
"It says that there is a man locked in the basement, and the key is locked in this safe. Go on, read it," said Red XIII.
Cloud grabbed the piece of paper from the top of the safe, and he quietly read it out loud for everyone else to hear.
"I must get rid of all those that stand in the way of my research. Even that one from the Turks. I scientifically altered him, and put him to sleep in the basement. If you want to find him, then search the area. But...this is merely a game I thought of. It is not necessary to participate if you don't want to," said Cloud, reading the words on the paper.
Underneath the writing were the safe codes, and a name signed at the bottom of the paper. The name was Hojo.
"We don't have time for this," said Cloud, thrusting the piece of paper aside.
"Cloud, are you really willing to let another person's life be ripped apart by Hojo, just because you don't think you have the time?" asked Aeris.
"She's got a point, Cloud. And after all this time we've been looking for Sephiroth, don't you think maybe he's allowed us to find him now? Maybe he's waiting for us," said Tifa.
"Maybe he's laid a trap for us, and this is it. Maybe he and Hojo are in this together…no, that can't be…he absolutely hates and despises Hojo…I guess you guys are right, we shouldn't just let this go, but still…" said Cloud, uncertainly.
"Looks like we need a combination," said Aeris, looking closely at the safe.
"How about I blast it open?" asked Barret.
"Do it, Barret," replied Cloud, nodding.
Barret fired a round of bullets at the safe with his gun-arm, but had no luck. The safe did not open at all, although there were some big dents in it.
"Damn, I guess the guy in the basement's got to wait until we get a grenade or something," said Barret.
"No need! I've found the combination," said Cait Sith, picking up the sheet of paper.
"Where did you find it?" asked Cloud.
"I looked at the sheet again. It says where all the combos are. I had to solve some riddles though," said Cait Sith.
"I have a bad feeling about this," said Cloud, feeling uneasy, sensing something strange around due to his Mako enhanced senses he received from SOLDIER, but he took the sheet of paper anyway, and put his hand on the safe's lock.
He quickly entered the safe codes, 36, 10, 59 and 97. The safe opened, and out of it came (to Cloud's astonishment) a red Materia, and also the key to the basement of the mansion.
But before Cloud could pick either of these items up, a big monster suddenly appeared behind them. It had yellow eyes, and its skin was half orange, half purple. This monster was called the Lost Number and it was very strong. Cloud and the others had no choice but to attack it.
Green light suddenly burst from the floor at the Lost Number's feet as some bolts of lightning appeared out of nowhere and struck Yuffie, shocking her and leaving her with marks across her body as she shrieked in pain.
Red light suddenly burst from the ground at Yuffie's feet, as she very quickly ran up to the Lost Number before it could react to stop her, and she slashed it hard with a powerful blow using her shuriken, leaving a large, bloody wound straight across the Lost Number's side.
The Lost Number shrieked in pain and rage, as it quickly raised his huge fist, and counter-attacking, it punched Yuffie hard in the face, sending her flying backwards into a wall. Yuffie fell to the floor, and slowly got back up again, bruised and battered and her nose was bleeding.
Green light quickly burst from the ground at Yuffie's feet as she grasped a Materia equipped to her Shuriken, which glowed a bright green at once, and immediately, some magical energy appeared out of nowhere, and fully healed her all of her injuries and bruises.
Green light burst from the ground at Tifa's feet as some bolts of lightning appeared out of nowhere and struck the Lost Number, stunning and dazing it for a while, but it quickly recovered.
The Lost Number raised its large fist, and punched Cloud hard in the face, sending him flying backwards into a wall, and leaving him with bruises and a bloody nose, as he fell to the floor and slowly got back up again, bruised and injured.
Green light burst from the ground at Yuffie's feet a ball of ice with sharp icicles on the end of it appeared out of nowhere and struck the Lost Number hard, leaving it with many scratches and marks.
Green light burst from the ground at Tifa's feet as some bolts of lightning appeared out of nowhere and struck the Lost Number, stunning and dazing it for a long while, and leaving it with many marks across its huge body.
Red light suddenly burst from the ground at Cloud's feet as he swung his sword, and he fired a green beam of energy from the end of his sword, straight at the Lost Number, hitting it hard and exploding, leaving the Lost Number with many bloody wounds and scorch marks.
The Lost Number shrieked in great agony, and fell to the floor, barely able to even move at all, let alone get back up, as it was clearly badly injured by Cloud's attack.
Green light burst from the ground at Yuffie's feet as she a wall of fire appeared around the Lost Number, closed around it and vanished, leaving the Lost Number with many burns and marks across its huge, already badly wounded body.
Green light burst from the ground at Tifa's feet as some bolts of lightning appeared out of nowhere, and struck the Lost Number, dazing and stunning it, as well as leaving it with many marks across its body, and very nearly finishing it off.
Suddenly, though, the Lost Number transformed. Its skin became completely orange and red, its monstrous face became brown, and the Lost Number was a bit shorter than before but was now much tougher and its transformation had fully healed its previous wounds, injuries, marks and burns.
Green light suddenly burst from the ground at the Lost Number's feet, as some bolts of lightning appeared out of nowhere, and struck Yuffie hard, causing her to stumble backwards onto the floor and left her with many painful marks and bruises, badly injuring her.
Yuffie quickly got up as green light burst from the ground at her feet as a wall of fire appeared around the Lost Number, closed around it and vanished, leaving the Lost Number with many burns and marks across its body.
Green light suddenly burst from the ground at the Lost Number's feet as some bolts of lightning appeared out of nowhere and struck Tifa hard, causing her to stumble backwards onto the floor, and also leaving her with several painful marks and bruises, injuring her.
Green light burst from the ground at Cloud's feet as he quickly grasped a Materia equipped to his sword, and immediately a circle of magical energy suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and fully healed himself, Tifa, and Yuffie, and all of their injuries and bruises.
Red light suddenly burst from the ground at Yuffie's feet, as she very quickly ran up to the Lost Number before it could react, and she slashed at it hard, straight through the middle of it, with a powerful blow using her shuriken, leaving a huge, bloody wound across the Lost Number's side. The Lost Number shrieked in agony and fell to the floor, barely alive.
Red light then suddenly burst from the ground at Tifa's feet, as she ran up to the Lost Number, and she punched it around several times with powerful blows, knocking the Lost Number around a lot, and leaving it with many injuries and bruises across its body.
Then Tifa suddenly performed a somersault, and kicked the Lost Number hard in mid-somersault with both her legs, sending it flying backwards into a wall.
Tifa then quickly did a handstand and spun around several times very quickly, hitting the Lost Number hard with her legs, breaking its huge ribs and breaking its skull, killing it instantly, as it fell with a loud crash to the floor, lifeless.
Watching in amazement at Tifa's skills, Cloud snapped out of his trance as soon as the Lost Number was defeated, and glanced at the floor, remembering the items that lay there. Cloud quickly grabbed the key, and examined the Summoning Materia in his hands.
Cloud and the others all stared in amazement at the red Summoning Materia. Summon Materia were extremely rare, far more so than green Materia that summoned up Magic, and each Summon Materia was unique to the other, for they each summoned up a different, powerful creature to aid its user.
Still staring transfixed and amazed at the red Summon Materia, Cloud knew that Summon Materia were extremely rare, and were said to be scattered throughout the whole Planet itself, and was amazed that Hojo had this one in his procession, and kept it for who knows how long in this safe instead of keeping it for his own devices, but nevertheless, Cloud welcomed the site of any Summon Materia, as Cloud knew they might well come in handy against Sephiroth. Cloud examined it closely, and read the name that shone on Materia in golden letters.
"It's Odin summon," said Cloud, still staring at it in awe.
"WOW…that's a Summon Materia!! GIMME, GIMME!!" shouted Yuffie, urgently, as she quickly lunged for the glowing red Materia in Cloud's hands.
Cloud quickly pocketed it though, and Yuffie fell to the floor.
"OW!!" said Yuffie, soon getting back up again, and found that the Summon Materia was no longer in Cloud's hands.
"Sorry, Yuffie. But this is the most powerful Materia we have so far. I think it would be safer if I kept an close eye on it myself," said Cloud.
"FINE!" snapped Yuffie, clearly frustrated as she glared angrily at Cloud, who simply just ignored her in response.
Cloud and the others went down to the basement, using some stairs at the end of another room, on their way to free the man trapped inside the basement.
But Cloud seriously doubted that someone trapped in a basement for a seemingly long time would still be alive in there right now…