Disclaimer: FVII does not belong to me. Please do not sue.
Betaed by renangel
A Little Shift in Space
Chapter 5
Bard Linn
Cloud sighed as the group traveled over yet another flat plain. They'd been besieged by several monster attacks over the last few days, ever since they had met up with the Turks. Except for one attack that had invaded their camp, Cloud hadn't participated in any of them. 'How am I supposed to get any practice if they keep shoving me out of the way?' The others were worried because these monsters had been stronger than normal for the region.
On top of that, Cloud had noticed there seemed to be two types of strategies used by the monsters. The first was to flat out slaughter them, which wasn't unusual. It was the second that bothered him. These monsters seemed intent on driving them somewhere. Cloud's only comfort was that if he had noticed, then Zack and Sephiroth most certainly had.
Cloud really needed to stop dwelling on stuff like that. It was bad luck.
Right on cue, monsters erupted from the ground leaving long fissures in their wake. Glowing mako glimmered in the long tunnels. The group was quickly surrounded and everyone leapt into action. Despite the group's numbers and talent, the monsters continued to advance. Cloud soon found himself surrounded as even more monsters poured into the scene. He drew his blade and quickly readied a fire spell.
Cloud, like many other untried fighters, considered himself invincible. He had better reasons than most, for sure. He had better training and the advantage of his unique spell casting ability. He never stopped to consider his disadvantages. He had little practice fighting multiple foes and even less with fighting in a group. His present real battle experiences numbered two: the Swartz assassination attempt two years ago and the camp monster attack. His spell casting abilities were magnificent, but his ability to keep battling allies out of range wasn't.
Also, unlike the others he couldn't just charge a spell. He had to actually cast it with the appropriate mental words. Cloud had once explained the difference to Zack. Charging materia was like running a CD player, whereas casting the spell was like performing a song. It was of utmost importance that he didn't loose his concentration. However, when one of the monsters got through his guard and managed to wound him that's exactly what happened. The resulting power surge temporarily parallelized him. The monsters quickly seized the blond and tossed him down a fisher to the Lifestream bellow.
SHIFT IN SPACE
Cloud opened his eyes in surprise. Everything was green…really, really green.
Better pick some place you find familiar. The surroundings shimmered and transformed into the familiar picture of Aeris' garden. The figure standing before Cloud was also a familiar but very twisted sight. "You're me!"
Cloud Strife nodded with a faint smile on his face. Cloud felt extremely saddened watching his counterpart. He had gone through so much and it had scared him terribly. "We needed to talk to someone and you're the only proper candidate."
"We?"
Strife nodded. "I couldn't bring three people across dimensions on my own."
"So we were brought here for a reason. I thought so."
"It requires quite a bit of history to understand everything that's going on. This will be a little strange."
And suddenly Cloud wasn't Cloud anymore. He was Escalavar, leader of the Cetra, the space bearing people who went from planet to planet in order to heal wounds caused by those living there. They were the chosen of God to set right the evils caused by the heathens of the world.
(Is this guy for real?)
"You have just heard Galaden's report. All in favor of moving?"
A unanimous "aye" sounded throughout the magnificent room. "The people here have been properly trained in our beliefs," another council member put in. "We must move on to others who need us."
"There is one part of Galaden's report that worries me," Vaylen spoke up. Escalavar ground his teeth. Vaylen was his worst opposition in the council. "It mentions the loss of corporeal forms."
"It is of no consequence. Very few of the people there are experiencing such high evolution and the harm caused by the others is inexcusable," Escalavar waved the protest aside. "Begin preparations for the transfer."
SHIFT IN SPACE
Cloud found himself wrenched free of the memory only to fall into another…
SHIFT IN SPACE
'Damn those blasted Cetra!' Michael thought as he struggled through the hidden passages. This was hard enough when they weren't at war. Whatever the Cetra were doing was messing with the land formations and causing many of the tunnels to collapse. It didn't matter though, the Champion thought angrily. He would reach Gaia. It was imperative. Another scream echoed in his mind as Shiva cried for her son. The ice sorceress had lost her entire family to the Cetra. 'Damn them to Hell!'
He finally reached the secret door and pushed the complicated pattern to open it. Michael fell through the door and landed in an untidy heap. He slowly stood and approached the dais on which the one he had sworn his allegiance sat. The Champions were a select group of humans and creatures of the Fae who served the spirit of their planet, Gaia. Every member saw something different when they entered these underground rooms known as the Sacred Places so they could contact Gaia. Michael always saw a queen sitting upon her throne carved from a living tree. Shiva had seen an ice sculpture, Marissa, a glowing light.
He knelt wearily at the base of the throne. Gaia didn't care for such attitude but he didn't have the energy to stand. "My lady the war goes poorly. We have lost the north and Shiva has fallen." Fallen might have been the wrong word. As had so many of the Champions Shiva had used far too much power for her mortal form to hold and had transformed into a creature of pure energy.
"She will not be captured without a fight," Gaia sighed. She placed a gentle hand on Michael's head. "I have begun a project. Soon you will have a new weapon to fight with. Children of my body guided by my hand. Hopefully they will prove our world too difficult a target and the Cetra will leave. You must return. They advance on Kam."
SHIFT IN SPACE
'Okay, I'm staring to understand how a ball feels,' Cloud thought as he was plunged into another life.
SHIFT IN SPACE
Orthela smiled as she entered the main council chamber. Everything was ready. This would be the major break-through of her life, no doubt about it. This would allow her to sit on the council, a place that women weren't allowed. After all, they couldn't accomplish what they wanted if they didn't have her abilities and knowledge. She dismissed the smile and bowed to the council. "My Lords, all is prepared. We await your presence."
Escalavar smiled at her. "Thank you Orthela for your hard work. Would it be difficult to add a few more to the gathering?"
Orthela nearly started with surprise but controlled her expression. "No my Lord."
"Good," the council leader gestured. From the shadows came Council Member Vaylen and several other Cetra, about fifteen total. "Vaylen and his supporters were caught smuggling out the sick and wounded to Gaian camps. As they have been hampering our efforts it seemed appropriate that they actually help for once."
"You're a fool Escalavar. The people here don't need us. The planet itself has rejected us. I won't stand by and let our people die because of your foolishness! The Gaians can heal them. I've seen it!" Vaylen shouted.
"Don't speak such foolishness. Are we not the Healers of Heaven? The Gaians are misguided people."
"You'll only bring your own doom!"
"Guards! Gag him!" Escalavar ordered. "Lead the prisoners to the fourth camber. We will join you shortly."
The fourth camber wasn't a pretty sight. Many wounded and sick were gathered there waiting the hope they had been promised. Orthela made the last minute changes to accommodate the new 'volunteers' and then stood before the crowd. "Children of the Stars, you have waited long for this day. Your injuries and illnesses are incurable by our abilities but it is to you the most important task falls. With your help we will create a new force for the war: the Lifestream!"
"With the Lifestream we will be gable to conquer this entire planet and exorcise the demon Gaia that holds it hostage. We will save the misguided souls of the humans and wipe out the foul beasts that rage over the land. This will require the energy of your deaths which you have all freely volunteered. I thank you from the bottom of my heart and promise you, oblivion does not await you. You will remain united in the Lifestream and be joined by the humans and Cetra who fall in the following days of the war. Let us begin!"
The cavern began to glow brightly. The council members and Orthela quickly backed away as the spell began. Only a few minutes later all of the bodies had vanished. In their place lay a very pale green liquid. "It's not very big," Escalavar observed coldly.
"My Lord, the spell is continuous. Every life that dies will add to the Lifestream's strength and increase its volume. Its color should deepen as well."
"In that case we should test it," Escalavar smirked and made a gesture. A spear sang in the air and suddenly Orthela was staring down at the wood in her stomach. "Don't worry. Oblivion does not wait for you."
"BASTARD!"
SHIFT IN SPACE
Gabriel frowned as she stared at the reports in front of her. This was not good, not good at all. "Gab, Mike just got back from the east. Better hurry, I don't know how he's staying."
"Thanks Val," Gabriel responded to the other woman. She quickly gathered up her papers and went off through the complex fortress. 'Even here won't be safe much longer,' she thought sadly. As if things weren't complicated enough, the new weapon of the Cetra was beyond anything that they had ever seen. Vaylen was dead for certain. A few of his supporters had fled to their side after his execution. 'And they can't go back. If they do they'll be killed.' Lifestream indeed. More like DEATHstream. "Michael!"
"I don't have time for you Gabriel. We've got to move the west front up and moving. The Cetra have withdrawn. We have to strike now."
"CHAMPION." Michael stopped abruptly at his title. "You aren't looking at the big picture. The last of Vaylen's supporters arrived yesterday. He's dead. They sacrificed him, as many of his supporters as they could find, the wounded and the injured two moons ago to create a new weapon." Now she had his complete attention. "They call it the Lifestream. It's made up of the souls of those who have died."
"That doesn't seem so terrible."
"You haven't heard the worst of it. It's corrupting the land, changing it. The Fae are becoming ill. They're loosing their minds. The elves have already been pushed back beyond the veil. The dragons and griffins are out of control. It's mutilating regular animals and plants, turning them into monsters. It's also destroyed two of the Sacred Places."
"Gaia?"
Gabriel shook her head. "I'm not a Champion. I don't know. There's more though. It's stopping the Inheritance."
Inheritance was the Gain's greatest gift. Only a small percentage of people were naturally born with special abilities but all could participate in Inheritance. The process allowed the dying to pass on their knowledge and abilities onto a younger non-gifted Gaian. That alone had allowed them to continue fighting when so many of their skilled mages and warriors had died since their skills and abilities were passed down. "How?"
"It's sealing the knowledge within itself. Michael, you have to go to Gaia. We don't know what to do. I can't. The only other Champions here are gravely injured. They can't make the trip. The Sacred Place near Askervon is still safe. Hurry."
"I will."
SHIFT IN SPACE
"I love it when things go exactly as planned," Escalavar gloated aloud. Orthela's Lifestream had done everything he could have asked. And it knew its master. "Only a few hundred left. A far cry from the several million when we got here." It was time to start the finial attack.
"My Lord!"
"Yes?"
"Preparations are complete. We are ready to proceed."
"Good." Time to take the bitch down. "Goodbye Gaia. You won't be missed."
SHIFT IN SPACE
"You can't be serious. Michael there has to be something we can do! We can't give up!"
"We have to survive first Gabriel. I want everyone to split up into groups of a hundred and spread out. I want you to each take ten or so Cetra refuges with you. The should be able to help you avoid both the Lifestream and the army. Don't split up families though. More likely than not you'll be living with these people for the rest of your life. Can I count on you to get that done?"
Gabriel froze. "What will you be doing?"
"Defending Gaia as long as possible. She's going to try to make the Cetra believe you are all still here. Hopefully they won't look for you and you'll survive."
"You'll die!"
"I know."
"You can't. Michael I -" love you.
"I know."
Gabriel shook with anger. "YOU KNEW? Then why didn't you SAY anything?"
"The odds of us living out the war were never great. But I'm a Champion, Gabriel. My life belongs to the planet first." He held her carefully. "Sometimes love doesn't conquer all."
"It's not fair."
"Life rarely is."
"I'll take care of it. But you better wait for me."
"I will."
SHIFT IN SPACE
"That's it. There aren't any Champions left." The group of teens huddled around the fire sadly. They numbered thirteen, nine boys and four girls and were the latest group to receive Inheritance. The last group who ever would because of the Cetra. A short time ago they had to seal Gaia's weapons into the earth as they had become mindless creatures of destruction without her guidance. Now they could only wait.
"There has to be something we can do."
"Maybe. I know a summoning spell. We couldn't use it before because of Gaia but now that she's gone…"
"Let's try it. Nothing else for us to do."
"What do we need?"
"Not much just intent," the one who had volunteered said. "It takes a lot of power. I'll need your help. And we need to assign whatever we get a purpose."
"That's easy," the eldest drawled. "Destroy the Cetra completely."
SHIFT IN SPACE
Escalavar's many times great grandson, Galadin, stared out the window in anger. "I can't believe the humans managed to summon that thing."
"The crisis of the stars: Jenova," his wife, Maral sighed. "This might not have happened if we hadn't killed all of them."
"It's not our fault. They made that choice centuries ago."
"But we pay the price. Because of their war we can't even escape. Our ships have been destroyed. The Cetra will no longer walk amongst the stars. We are a dying people, Love."
"I know." Galadin held her closer. "I just wish I could do something."
"The knowledge of how to seal such a creature is beyond us. It remains trapped in the Lifestream." Maral closed her eyes. Every Cetra could communicate with their fallen kindred within the glowing green stream. However those native to the planet remained silent to them. At least the Weapons remained sealed in the earth shortly after Gaia's death.
"Oh Escalavar, why did you have to be such a fool."
End Chapter 5
I'm sure you are all going 'what the hell?' right about now. I cut the chapter off here because it was 7 pages long which is rather long for this story. Explanations will be given next chapter. 5 originally started off as a rather long conversation 'this is the background, this is your quest' type between Strife and Cloud which was confusing to write, confusing to read and all together not satisfying so I took the basic ideas and did a complete rewrite. I you have questions please drop a line and I'll answer them next chapter. (Within the story itself or in notes at the end.)
Responses:
Vampire-angel-of-sorrow: Rubber duck projectiles? Hmm. Bears thinking about. Actually Zack did hear about Aeris (which upset him and Cloud since they are both close to her as you saw in Time). She'll be showing up occasionally actually.
Cloudy fan: Yup, Cloud's going to get to fight quite a bit more as the story progresses. This is the 'quest' arc, ie they have a job to complete. The first was more set up and background while the last is a bit of quest with lots of character development.
Rei: yes, finials are cruel. As for your question (which I love since it means you are thinking about the story) it's a bit complicated of an answer and it deals with how I view summons. If you go back to Time you'll notice Cloud doesn't absorb red materia, he only 'copies' the information. The reason for that is the red materia deal with forces outside of the caster because the summons are actually spirits. The mp spent pulls the summons to you. Regular spells simply convert the energy into the desired energy form: healing, fire, ice ect. If you notice Cloud uses several regular spells. However, because it's a different world the song and dance (figuratively) you have to do to get the summons is different.
…: hope you like this one two.
-Linn stares at her inbox and abruptly faints. Clouds out and sighs.- Hi everyone, I'm here to finish the reviews since Yersi Fanel broke Linn.
Yersi Fanel: Thanks for your response! Linn's collapsed on the ground right now from your 4 for Time and 3 for Space. She'll gladly let you host the Little trilogy, just let her know how you want to do it. (She can send you the files or you can just pull them from FF net). In fact this chapter is posted because of you. Six isn't typed yet so there will be a slightly longer delay between chapters (especially since there's a finial on Wends). Linn has never been requested to be archived before so she's in shock. She's also astounded by you sin your first language is Spanish (she jumped back to your profile. She does that with all of her signed reviews) since she couldn't read a story in her second languages.
-Cloud nudges Linn who still isn't moving- Right. Let me get the water and get her started back up…