Chapter 5: A New Discovery
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, just the obviously made up characters.
A tall blonde man was walking to his room to get some rest when he felt a sharp pain through his body. He clutched his chest and fell to his knees. A scream was torn from his lips.
"Mr. Strife!" a man exclaimed. It was his second-in-command. "Pierce, help me take Mr. Strife to the infirmary!"
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"Don't forget to bundle up," Valeria cautioned. "Hypothermia is common in people that leave with too much confidence."
"Sis, it's okay. Don't worry about us," Melody reassured. "The planet blessed our land so it's beautiful and warm. It's not like the extremes."
"I was wondering why it was so warm during the tour!" Yuffie exclaimed. "You know when we saw the fountain, what did you mean by powerful materia?"
Melody paused and thought for a moment before answering. "What's the strongest summon materia you have?"
"Knights of the Round," both girls replied at the same time.
"Really?" Cleo asked as if it was a weak one. "Our strongest is Bahamut X."
"Correction, the strongest one that we can use is Bahamut X. The ultimate strongest is Uriah. That's the materia that this town is named after," Valeria informed.
"Wasn't it used during the war?" Melody asked.
"Yes, it was," a man's voice said. They turned around and saw Maximus. "Are you about to leave?"
"Yes, we are," Maverick replied.
"Before you leave, I want to give these heroines two of the new summon materia. They are Serenity, the Siren; and Wrath, the ghost of a warlord. Both are more powerful than the Knights of the Round and they have just been born of the two mastered ones. Also, here is map. Leon just recently got it."
"Is that where he was going?" Cleo asked. "I saw him leave early."
"Us too," Melody commented.
"Yes. He found the nomadic village of the...animals. They will depart from their current location when Cloud heals so you must hurry."
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"Chief, Suzuka has detected Cetra outside our village again," the chief's attendant informed. The chief nodded.
"Welcome them in. The Iliad would not venture into this area," the old beast nodded. The attendant bowed and left.
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"Is that it?" Melody asked.
"Most likely," Maverick replied. He reached into his Eskimo-like fur jacket and pulled out a pair of binoculars. He looked at the town. "The planet blessed this town also. The fierce wind doesn't seem to be striking the fire that's in the center of the town."
"May I take a look?" Tifa asked politely. He looked back at her.
"I'm not that much older than you, you know," he stated. "You don't have to be so formal." He held out the binoculars towards her. She looked through them at the village.
"How old are you anyway?" she asked.
"Twenty-six," he replied.
"You are? You're four years older than us?" Melody asked. He nodded. Tifa gasped and dropped the binoculars.
"What's wrong, Tifa?" Yuffie asked. Tifa was silent with shock.
"I thought he was extinct!" Tifa managed to gasp out.
"A lot of humans think that. We've been trying to track down their village for decades, from what I'm told," Maverick stated. "We used to live with them, and we taught them the language of the humans and things like that. They were something like a human's pet parrots. They left for some unknown reason; that page was torn out of the book I was reading on them."
"If that's what happened, how did Nanaki end up in Cosmo Canyon?" Tifa asked.
"I don't know it could have been a coup d'état or some other kind of a schism. What is it doing outside?" Maverick asked. Yuffie picked the binoculars up and looked through it.
"I don't know about you, but I don't see anything that looks like Nanaki," she said. She lowered the binoculars. "It looks really cozy." Maverick turned his head to the left.
"What was that sound?" he asked.
"Don't worry, Cetra male. I am not a threat to you," a very deep human-sounding voice said. A flame-colored beast revealed itself. It did something like smile. "You are very alert, just like our patient. You are here to get him, correct?"
"Yes. Is he completely nursed?" Tifa asked.
"Nursed of his wounds, yes, but he seems as if he is in a deep sleep. He woke briefly once and started screaming in agony while clutching his chest. It seemed almost as if he was suffering because of some inner pain or torture."
"Is he poisoned with mako again?" Yuffie asked.
"Our doctor doesn't think so. She thinks that only the Cetra could cure him of whatever malady he has. We were about to go to the Cetra person or people here before, but they were already gone."
"That must have been Leon," Melody said.
"It's very windy here. You should take your chocobos to our village. You could see your friend."
The beast led the four people to the town. Each tent inside the village had markings on both sides of the door. They stopped in front of one. Maverick ran his hand over the words.
"It's the village doctor. This must be her name right here." He gestured to the other side.
"You are correct. Your friend is in here." The beast left.
"Is that the language of the Ancients, well, Cetra?" Yuffie asked. Maverick nodded his head.
"Let's go inside."
It was larger on the inside than on the outside. It was like a large laboratory with a curtain covering the corner. Several oil lamps dimly lit the room.
"Are you here for the blonde man?" a female voice asked. A female beast came from behind the four people.
"Yes we are. Is he behind that curtain?" Tifa asked.
"Yes, he is." The four people walked to the curtain and opened it. Cloud lay on a mat on the ground and he was covered with a white sheet. He was sweating as if he was having a nightmare. He mumbled something.
"Is he okay?" Tifa asked.
"He has been like that...what!" As the doctor spoke, Cloud sat up and yelled. His mako eyes glowed in the darkness of the tent. Cloud said one word that shocked everyone.
"Jenova."
A/N: I was in the process of moving so it took a while for me to update this story. Thanks to all who reviewed and don't forget to review!