Well, I appreciate all the reviews I've gotten from you guys. Just remember that your review doesn't have to say "I love your story". Feel free to post criticism. Although try to be a little specific. Telling me I've got a rough writing style for example doesn't tell me much. And here is the story...
"Hey, is Cloud gonna be alright? I mean... what happened down there, Cid? You gotta tell me!" Tifa looked into his eyes deeply, and Cid just couldn't ignore it. She had a right to know, but still... Things weren't looking good. In fact, they were looking really, really bad.
"I honestly don't know how to tell you this, Tifa. I really don't... but, you know, he's back. You know it. You didn't even have to ask me. There is only one person on the Planet stronger than Cloud that we know. You know it and I know it." Cid nodded, inhaling a little bit more of his cigarette. His dirty blonde hair was spiked straight up, as usual. It gave him a cool, collected look.
"So... it's true then." Tears filled her eyes. Seven years ago, Sephiroth destroyed her hometown. He set it ablaze with his awesome power. One month ago, she, Cloud, and Avalanche defeated Sephiroth. Aeris and Holy destroyed the Meteor that Sephiroth summoned, and... the Planet was saved.
The tears openly fell down her face, each one sparkling light. Why... why was she crying? Was it because Sephiroth was back? The destroyer of her life? Or was it because Cloud was hurt? She couldn't even decipher her own emotions. Maybe it was a little bit of both.
"Yea, I know it hurts... I hate seeing you cry. Damn, man. The other thing I don't know how to tell you is that Vincent..." He paused. He really just couldn't say it outloud. But Tifa understood what he was trying to say. Vincent was dead.
"Sephiroth took another life, didn't he... damn him..." She hit the table almost as hard as she could, but held back at the last second. It made no sense. Those who fought for the Planet died in cold blood. What was it all for?
"It was a gun wound. Either someone took his gun and shot him, or he killed himself. I say the latter since I doubt anyone could take his gun from him. It was a gift from Lucrecia." Cid sighed. So much bad news. He'd have to make this announcement again later, but he had to talk Tifa alone about it first. He knew her too well.
"Why would he kill himself?" Tifa glared at Cid. Unbelievable.
"Dunno. I wish I had some answers, really." Cid shrugged, and leaned back in his chair. Memories. Cloud sat at that chair everytime they had a meeting.
"You... you really don't know anything. You know absolutely nothing! There's no way he would just kill himself! Sephiroth did it. I know he did. He kills everyone who gets in his way... I bet this is another one of his fucking tricks, and you fell for it... you're just too stupid to see it!" Tifa stormed out of the room, tears still trickling down her face. Denial.
"Haha, Sephiroth. Blamed for things you didn't even do. It was coincidence that we met. Unlucky that we tried to stop you. Next time will be different, though." Cid lit another cigar. Smoking, a habit he just couldn't let go of.
Cid grabbed the speaker. "The meeting starts now." It was time to do some explaining. It would only take a minute for everyone to be in the meeting room, asking a million questions. Several minutes passed, and they arrived. Red, Barret, Yuffie, and Reeve. He didn't expect Tifa to come.
"As you know, Avalanche just gotten a little smaller. Cloud is pretty hurt, but Tifa's looking after him. The thing is," Cid scratched his head for a moment. "Sephiroth is back." Yuffie gasped. She knew Sephiroth's power better than anyone there. She alone watched the dark master destroy her hometown and turn it into a tourist attraction. Sephiroth destroyed her life, and turned Wutai... into dust.
Back then, she was just a little girl. Yuffie had changed a lot since then. She was small, yet agile. With short brown hair, a green tank-top, and some grey shorts, she definitely looked like a cute teenage girl. Yet her skill with the shruiken took away any notions of innocense.
"And... Vincent is dead." Barret looked down into the ground. He was a large, black man who knew just as much suffering as everyone else. He lost his wife, his best friend, his hometown, and an arm to Shinra. A machine gun now replaced his arm with a strike of vengeance.
"I don't believe it... where is he?" Yuffie looked around. "Tell me where he is!"
"Look, there are other things we need to discuss. It can wait."
"Sephiroth killed him, didn't he? Didn't he? It was him, wasn't it? I... he must have some kind of personal grudge against me. He just has to take everything from me, doesn't he? I fucking swe-"
"Sephiroth did not kill him." Cid looked at her calmly, trying to relieve the tension from the room. "I think Vincent wanted to leave us, but I do not rejoice in the least at his absence. It was a gun wound from his own gun. He was a loyal friend, and we all have our memories, and I of course wish he was still here..." Cid sighed. "We can't save the whole fuckin' world, just pieces of it, you know?"
"But..."
"We have to keep going. It is not our destiny; we chose to come here. No one is here against their will. So you chose to keep going. There's no turning back now."
"I can't say I believe you Cid. I just know it was Sephiroth. He was there, wasn't he? Who's to say he didn't take the gun and make it look like suicide? Why are you giving him the benefit of the doubt after all the things he's done? He took Vinny's life, I just know he did..." For a moment, you could see a tear coming out of Yuffie's eye, but she quickly wiped it away.
Barret spoke up. "Listen, Yuffie, I know you want to blame Sephiroth for this, but I was there, ok? What does he have to hide?" Barret laid his hand on the desk with a smack. "Nothing. Why is he going to make it look like suicide? To avoid lawyers? He's the strongest man in the world. He does what he wants and has no reason to hide it."
Yuffie gazed back at him with silence. After a moment, she spoke again. "Maybe he didn't kill him... but I just know he had something to do with Vincent's death."
"Listen, we can discuss Sephiroth's crimes some other time. We have bigger problems. Red, please explain."
Red calmly rose his head. "The Planet still cries." Red XIII... the thirteen was his scar. It would always remind him that he was a specimen of Professor Hojo. His real name was Nanaki, but everyone called him Red because it was short for his specimen name. He was a huge red dog-like creature, yet wasn't related to dogs in the least. He was the only known survivor of a unique species. His incredible intelligence spoke for itself with a lifespan of more than 600 years.
"It's getting louder..." Barret raised his head in curiosity. "That's really bad, isn't it? Why would it be getting louder? We stopped the threats of the Planet. Midgar is no longer functioning."
Reeve nodded. "It's because of some news that Cloud was going to share with you as soon as-" He held his tongue and tried to decide on how to word it.
"...Vincent arrived. However, Cloud is unfortunately unable to speak now, so I will tell you instead." He lowered his brown eyes, thinking about what he was about to say. He looked really different now that he was out of Shinra. He dressed more casually, jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. Before, he always wore a suit. His brown hair was combed back and his beard now shaved. A completely different look.
"Actually, I will start with the reason I am here. I was thrown out of Shinra very forcefully after I disagreed with Heidegger and Scarlet. Hojo had gone insane and was about to destroy the entire city of Midgar just to fire the cannon again. As you all know, he was trying to give Sephiroth energy and make him stronger. The result, however, would have overheated the cannon and destroyed everyone below the Plate. However, the fire would not spread above the Plate..." He paused.
Barret growled in discontent."Damn, all they think about it their own safety, eh?"
"Don't interrupt, jackass," Cid replied, grinning.
"Shinra didn't care at all to stop Hojo; they only wanted to kill you. Conversely, I wanted to save Midgar. There were too many innocent lives at stake. As a result of this, I cannot spy for you anymore. Fortunately, I was able to get one last piece of information before I packed my bags.. The reason the Planet's cry is getting louder is because the Plate has been moved to the Northern Continent." Reeve paused again, thinking about what he was about to say. He was a very articulate man, always knowing exactly what he was going to say before he said it.
"Shinra is getting mako from the most abundant source on the Earth; the Northern Crater. This is energy used to save the Planet and they have decided to plunder it. You might say... they are raping the Planet."
"How could they move something so fuckin' big!? You'd need a damn flyin' fortress to move that thing." Cid could hardly believe it. The Plate was moved... the upper Plate of Midgar. The pinnacle of Midgar. Impossible. It was too massive to be moved an inch.
"They moved it with a new prototype ship named Schala. Shinra has a quite a few things under development that are hidden from the world. The Schala would be one of them. It's approximately three times the size of the Highwind."
Barret looked disgruntled, voicing his opinion. "How could you hide something that big? It would take decades to construct something like that! Even with Shinra's funds..." Red suddenly looked very tense.
"Junon. It has been under development for quite some time. You never completely explored it. It's the largest military base on the Planet, how could you? The project was a move Shinra made very quietly. No one seemed to know of it until the city was moved. Shinra's lack of an airship has been shortlived." Reeve sat down again, having revealed all the information that he had. "It seems Scarlet learned from Rufus' mistake."
Cid agreed with Reeve. "Well, as long as they aren't trying to steal one of my fucking planes, it's cool." He gave a hearty laugh, remembering that Shinra stole at least three of his masterpieces.
"Can't say I'd be sad if they stole the Highwind again," Yuffie replied, rolling her eyes.
Cid glared at her for a moment. "Watch your tongue, kid, or we might have to throw you overboard." Yuffie started to reply, but held back that time.
Red still looked very tense when he finally opened his mouth to say something. "You say that the Plate has been moved to the Northern Crater. I think I can presume that they would begin building a new city to increase their revenue, correct? If so, what is this new city going to be called?"
"Ceron," Reeve replied passively.
"And... how many reactors?"
"One, so far. Obviously, they haven't had time to build very many. They left the rest of Midgar behind. The new land has much more potential.. The one reactor they put there is much more powerful and efficient than all the earlier models combined. If they get as little as three reactors in Ceron, the entire Planet will fall apart. Literally." Reeve sighed, his throat becoming sore.
"But Shinra isn't that stupid. They may not care about the destruction of the Planet, but they aren't going to do something like destroy it." Cid grimaced at the thought. Everything they had worked for could still all go to waste in the blink of an eye.
"They will take as much energy from the Planet as they can without destroying it. What Shinra does not understand is that the Planet is already dying. They are acting as a catalyst." Red looked upon the party coldly. "I said it when meteor came, and I'll say it again... forget about the few casualties we shall cause. Forget the people. We've got to worry about the entire Planet!"
Barret spoke up. "While I agree that winning is more important than casualties... ya gotta remember this: If we can't save the people, then what's the point of fighting? We can't just do things like we used to."
"Blowing up the reactor is definitely not an option." Reeve spoke the words very bitterly and for good reason. He was once the head of Urban Development in Midgar. Unfortunately, Reeve was kicked out for caring about the people and the city. Destroying things was something he was against from the start.
"Well, then, what the fuck do you suppose we should do to Ceron? Ask nicely? Good idea, kids, Shinra will set up an appointment with you in a few months." Cid folded his arms and lit another cigarrette.
Reeve rose his head irritably. "Thank you for stating the obvious. Yes, we know diplomacy and terrorism are both ineffective from prior experiences. There is one thing we haven't tried yet, though. We've never had the man power to declare war. Until now, that is. Diplomacy has not worked with Shinra, but that does not mean it will not work with anyone else."
"Are you a fucking idiot? There is no army in the world as advanced and powerful as Shinra's," Cid snapped.
Cid's eyes met briefly with Reeve's disapproving glare. "We have more allies than you think. It lies within the common people. Shinra's weakness is in their aristocracy. With an influencing speaker, I guarantee you that you could get just about every person in the slums to take up arms against their mother country."
Cid laughed indignantly. "So you think that we're going to start a war with Shinra with the people of the slums behind us?"
"No. We're going to start a war with the common people behind us. In the past, Shinra has labeled you as terrorists. They have blamed you for their own atrocities. Don't you think it's about time that you returned the favor? If we appeal to the common people and let them know what's really going on, we could have an army much larger than Shinra's."
"Playing with politics, eh?"
"Yes, you would be correct in your assertion."
"There's a huge gap that you forgot to mention in your plan. Technology. Weapons. Armor."
"I wouldn't say I forgot to mention it. I was simply waiting for the right time."
"And?"
"Yuffie knows what I'm thinking."
Cid looked at Yuffie. She beamed with glee. Apparently she had forgotten her depression over Vincent. Cid still didn't get it. "Stop with the damn riddles. Will you just tell me?"
Yuffie rose to speak that time. "You're pretty slow, you know that?" She snapped. "Wutai!"
"Wutai..." Cid folded his arms again. Things kept getting weirder and weirder.
"How are you feeling, Cloud?" Tifa stared deep into his eyes. He had such green eyes... green because of mako. All soldiers were infused with it from the start. They would alter a humans body just to make it stronger! It was sickening. Tifa hated fighting, Shinra, and Sephiroth just as much as everyone else. But she hated the war the most.
Tifa brushed Cloud's spiky hair back, smiling at how innocent some people looked only when they were asleep. Yet when they woke up...
"Hey... ugh... what happened?" Cloud looked down at his body. There were a lot of bandages... everywhere. "Damn, Sephiroth! He's still out there. Where is he!? I'm gonna rip him apart..."
"Do you remember why you're here? It's because you tried to fight him alone. You had no idea he was even alive. Did you stop to think what that meant? Or how strong he is?"
"Of course I did!" Cloud glared back at her. "You think I'm stupid?"
"Did you think of how I'd feel if you died because you went rushing into things like an idiot? Did you think of that, Cloud?"
"Uh..." Cloud dodged her glare. "Sorry."
Tears fell from Tifa's smooth cheek. "I already lost my entire family to Sephiroth. Don't you go too. Please don't... what were you thinking when you tried to fight him by yourself? I know you're strong, but..."
"I beat him last time. In the Northern Crater... one on one. Somehow, though... he's stronger than before... I didn't anticipate it." Cloud grimaced. It was painful in more ways than one to lose to Sephiroth.
"Listen, next time, just be more careful, ok?" Tifa brushed his hair back again, smiling.
"I'll try. I know this isn't just a game. I just wish... that he'd stay dead for once."
"Yeah..."
"How long until my wounds will be healed? Do you know?"
"As long as it takes, Cloud."
"Look, time isn't on our side when Sephiroth is out there!"
"You look! Read my lips: We are not chasing after Sephiroth. We're continuing with the plan to Wutai. By the way, it would be nice if you had told me earlier instead of making me wait for a speech that you never delivered."
"Oh yeah... That was Reeve's idea. We're going there as diplomats."
"A bit late to tell me now."
"Whatever..."
"Stop with that "cool" attitude, ok? Is it so much to ask to tell me what you're thinking?"
"Sorry? I'm not fucking perfect."
"Why do you have to be so argumentative?"
"I'm not being argumentative."
"Yes, you are."
"Leave me alone." Cloud turned over to his side, ignoring her. It was a stupid thing to fight about, really. Why was he so tense? That was a dense question. He knew why.
"The Plate is gone..." Sephiroth chuckled. "I feel them, here..." Sephiroth hovered above the once great city of Midgar. It was merely ruins now. Nothing but ruins and desolation. Yet there was still something there.
"Trapped? Yes, I hear you... I feel you... yet you are sleeping... let me wake you up." Sephiroth descended, getting closer and closer to the ruins once known as Midgar.