Disclaimer: If it sounds unfamiliar before you read this story, I made it up. I might have taken names of things, but I use them differently. Read and enjoy.
Chapter 7: The Golden Rune
"Where are they?" Yuffie asked.
"Lifestream," Melody said simply. Maverick and Tifa walked in.
"Let's take him. I think I know what will cure him, but we have to take them to Uriah," Maverick said. He nodded to Melody who turned to Cloud. She snapped her fingers and Cloud floated above the ground on a golden cloud.
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"Here it is The Golden Rune," a pleasantly smiling woman said, handing Maverick a book.
"The who?" Yuffie asked.
"The Golden Rune is one the most powerful materia. It supposedly has extreme healing magic capabilities," Maverick answered.
"What do you mean, 'supposedly'?" Yuffie asked.
"'Extreme'?" Tifa asked at the same time.
"The Golden Rune is a legend," Maverick addressed to Yuffie first, then Tifa, "and can resurrect humans."
"Wow, it sounds priceless," Yuffie commented. Maverick smirked.
"Not just anyone could use it; they have to be a descendant of the Lemii, a nearly extinct race."
"Nearly?" Tifa asked.
"Yes, there is no full-bloods left. We do know of, however, a half blood. She can sense its power, and it drives her mad sometimes. The Golden Rune may be resourceful, but you get a brand of vengeance for using it."
"That's a rather nasty name." Maverick nodded absently. He opened the large, dusty green book to the first page.
It showed a picture of a woman with wings. She was very beautiful, but appeared powerful. Her small eyes glared with a holy light and she held one arm in the air. Her wings were a dark color. A gold light burst forth from her hand.
"What are the Lemii?" Tifa asked.
"Archangels," Yuffie stated. Tifa looked at her in surprise. "They are in Wutanese Mythology as well. They are beautiful beings that were born from the stars. They are second, just below Leviathan."
"If you look at the picture, she's wearing a flowing robe. It is said that anyone who looks at the marks of vengeance will be cursed," Maverick explained.
"Oh..." Tifa remarked.
"You two could go and look around the city. I have a few things to do." Maverick said, looking at his watch. He picked up the book and walked out of a door.
"Hi Tifa, Yuffie," a voice behind them stated. They turned around. Adrienne and Valeria were with a woman.
The woman was about as tall as Cid was. Her dark skin seemed to be golden in color, which contrasted with her bluish-silver hair with length that rivaled the length of Tifa's hair. She had sharp, clear-blue eyes that show she was not an Ancient. She was wearing a loose, long, white robe that had a slit on one side that reached her thigh. She was also wearing sandals.
"Hello," the woman had a deep voice that sounded almost musical.
"This is Pearl. Pearl, this is Tifa Lockheart and this is Yuffie Kisaragi, but you already knew that, didn't you?" Valeria asked.
"Did she hear about us or something?" Yuffie asked.
"No," Pearl's voice echoed. Tifa looked around suspiciously. "You are very smart, Miss Lockheart. I am telepathic, as you think." Tifa heard soft laughter. "I don't read thoughts often, so you should not worry."
"What are you?" Tifa asked.
"Huh?" Yuffie asked. "That's a weird question."
"It was only you that heard me, I can target minds. Don't tell Yuffie though," Pearl stated. Tifa smiled and Pearl winked at her. "I am a half- Cetra, half-Sparxian."
"A who?" Yuffie asked. Pearl looked as though she understood.
"You must not know about the other side of the world." Tifa closed her eyes suddenly and saw a sphere. "Midgar was right here." A white dot flashed on a large landmass. "You are right here." The sphere rotated to the northern continent and a dot flashed at the very center. "I come from the desert country, out here." The sphere turned and a gold island flashed. Tifa's eyes opened.
"Is something wrong Tifa?" Yuffie asked. Tifa shook her head.
"What is it like on the other side?" Tifa asked.
"So different, yet so similar. People where I am from have long life, we might even be considered immortal."
"So how old are you?" Yuffie asked.
"Oh, about 2000 years old or so. I am known as the Healing Sage."
"Let's go to the lab, I want to show you something," Valeria commented. She led the way to the lab.
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"These are blood sample photographs of the blood we are researching." Everyone was sitting down as Valeria stood next to a computer. "Here is Cetra blood." Everyone saw bright red disks. "And human blood. As you can see, there is little difference. On the other hand, here is Jenova1's blood." Everyone saw white disks. "The cause is unknown. Jenova2's blood." Everyone saw bright red disks with a dark red band. "Cause is again unknown. We have a contaminated car in Sector Alpha 3 of the research department, department 709."
"It's blood is different from any living creature's," Melody mused to herself. "Could it be that it's undead?" The presentation ended.
"Well..." Tifa started. But then she shook her head as if dismissing the idea.
"No, share your ideas," Pearl said.
"A long time ago, when it was just Cloud, Barret, and myself, we saw Jenova inside a tank in the Shinra Base. She had no head." Yuffie made a sound of disgust.
"Do you know the story of Jenova?" Pearl asked. Tifa and Yuffie shook their heads.
Long, long ago, the Ancients separated into two parts with separate beliefs. One group consisted of the believers of holy, the ones that this city represents. The other was the ones who worship the Black Materia, followers of death, and the demon overlords amongst other things. Eventually, a beautiful priestess took over the black materia followers. Her name was Evanesce, a word that means to vanish. She had a twin, one who excelled in the dark arts. Her name was Moloch.
She practiced black magic none of the others would even dare try. Evanesce thought she should stop while she was still lucky. Moloch did not heed her elder sister's warnings, and her luck vanished. She had symptoms that even I, as the healing sage, would have thought was death. She lived, however, by feeding off of souls that wandered the Planet, those condemned to live a life on the earth as damned souls. She was feared when living, even more feared after her pronounced death.
She was killed by concentrating Lifestream to form dark weapons instantaneously. With this magic, she could kill anyone just by raising her arm. One weapon, now known as the Scythe of Death, refused to listen and beheaded its creator. She now became known as Jenova, Messenger of Death, the wise, undead One.
"She's an Ancient?" Tifa asked.
"Yes. An extremely dangerous one at that," Pearl said.
"What happened to Evanesce?" Yuffie asked.
"Another smart one," Pearl thought to Melody and Valeria. They both laughed. "She's right there." Yuffie and Tifa gasped as they noticed the outline of a person.
"Whoa! I didn't see her," Melody said, voicing exactly what they were thinking. Tifa felt a smile under the hood.
"It is the Cloak of Mists," a low, calm voice stated. She stood up and lowered her hood. The woman was beautiful. She had long dark hair and an innocent yet wise face. Her eyes and lips were the color of red wine. She was deathly pale and looked as calm as her voice was. She had a pair of earrings in each ear. Three were garnet studs, but one of the ones on her right earlobe was an inch long, crimson, spike-looking gem. "I am called Evanesce after all."
"You are also an Ancient?" Yuffie asked.
"More or less," Evanesce drawled.
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"Mr. Strife?" a woman asked. Peter opened his eyes and saw a blurry face.
"Aya?" he asked softly. He thought he recognized the short blonde hair.
"Excuse me?" the woman asked. Peter's eyes snapped into focus and he shook his head. It was Denicia, his head torture master/ warden/ nurse.
"Nothing, nothing at all."
"Are you alright? Your men are worried about you."
"Yes I am." Peter thought to his dream and shook his head. He felt like he was drowning in a bright green liquid, and some blue eyes not unlike his own mako blue eyes burned through him.
"Are you sure?" Denicia asked. Suddenly she started to scream in agony. Peter watched with horror as Denicia had two holes burned into her body by some kind of blue laser.
"Peter, stop it," a soft voice said. Peter recognized the voice immediately. The sounds of Denicia's own torture vanished.
"Aya?" he asked softly.
"Stop it, Peter. You're hurting our baby. Let's meet at our secret place."
"Okay," Peter thought. He closed his eyes and waited for the cold wind that would lead him to his love.
A/N: It will be difficult to post because I have hard teachers at school that overloads me with homework. If there is a long delay, it's because of Ms. Johnwitch.