Encounters with Ruby WEAPON

"This is bad, this is bad!" Cid shouted, struggling to get a better grip on the violently shaking wheel of the Highwind. What had he been thinking letting those stupid trainees fly?? They should have known better than to fly over the desert! There was no telling when and where Ruby WEAPON would surface, especially in the few years since Meteor had appeared and set the Planet in defense mode. Now they were in deep shit if he couldn't get control of the ship soon.

Piccolo watched his student calmly as if the airship were not being dragged around in a whirlwind created by the notorious red monster. The boy had grown so much in these past days. How long had it been since he'd come here? Two days only? It seemed like a lot more than that. An overwhelming sense of pride swept over the Namek. He'd never thought he could hold someone so dear, but he knew he would do anything for that kid if asked. Letting his mind temporarily wander to the beast outside, Piccolo wondered if Gohan was ready for such a challenge. It would be a good learning opportunity if he and the boy wanted to test out their new knowledge of materia. It would definitely be a test, to say the least. Piccolo wondered how long it would take for Gohan to suggest that very thing himself.

"Piccolo!" Gohan shouted, turning away from the view through the windshield for the first time since the crimson devil had appeared outside. "We have to do something!!"

Piccolo couldn't hold back a half smile that revealed his fangs, "Are you sure you're ready for this Gohan?"

The boy nodded his blond head vigorously, "I can ask Cloud for some materia too!"

Like master like student, Piccolo thought absently as Gohan darted off to find Cloud. The two of them needed a good fight, needed a warm up if they were really going to end up fighting the silver man. Fury raced through Piccolo's mind once before he checked it, carefully reasserting his control over his emotions. How that man had done what he'd done was a mystery, but one Piccolo wasn't likely to forget soon.

"C'mon Piccolo!" Gohan shouted, peeking his head in the control room and excitedly motioning for Piccolo to join him. "Cloud says we can fight it!"

What? Cloud wasn't going to fight too? The man wasn't nearly as fast or strong as either the Namek or Gohan, but, with his knowledge of materia and abilities with their magic, he wouldn't be bad to have around. Pausing only a moment, Piccolo flew after his student to the Conference Room where Cloud was already devising hasty plans. There was no point in trying to walk there, keeping his balance wouldn't be worth the effort.

Seeing the two enter, Cloud braced himself against the wall in order to stand, "Good thing you're here. I've got a strategy figured out already, if you're willing to trust me."

Gohan didn't waste any time in agreeing. Cloud had saved his life at least twice now; there was no reason to doubt the man. Besides, if he'd already figured out what materia they needed it would save that much more time.

"Here," Cloud said, tossing a small brown bag to each of them. He immediately began digging around in a pile of items again, as if he'd never been interrupted. He was searching for something, but Gohan didn't take the time to wonder what.

Pulling the drawstring of his bag loose, Gohan peered inside. He didn't know too much about the little magical stones, but one of them was unmistakable even to him. What was Cloud thinking?

"Ah!" Cloud shouted suddenly. "Here it is. Thank the Planet I could find it in time."

"Cloud?" Gohan ventured, as Cloud pulled a small metallic bracelet, patterned with four small holes, out of the pile in front of him. "Are you sure about this?"

Cloud's reply was a solemn nod as he pulled a similar bracelet off of his own wrist. The only difference between the two was that Cloud's had far more holes in it. What were those for?

"Gohan this Fourth Bracelet will be perfect for you, and Piccolo, my Wizard Bracelet should suit you fine. Put them on," Cloud commanded, handing one to Gohan and the other to Piccolo. "You can equip the materia in them, since you obviously don't need weapons."

"What are you doing?!" Gohan nearly shouted to get Cloud's attention. "What are you going to use? You just gave yours to Piccolo, and I may be new to materia, but I know this one is your precious Knights of the Round!" Gohan pulled out a large red materia. As soon as he touched it, his mind was once more overrun with those thousand thoughts. This time, however, they voices were harsh, powerful. They screamed to be released. There was no doubt about what materia it was now, but how had he known before he'd touched it? It looked just like the other red materia he had, but somehow, he could just feel that it was Knights of the Round. It was odd, that powerful essence within the materia calling to be freed, frothing inside with impatiens for the casting of the spell. It was almost disturbing.

Cloud fell silent with a dark look on his face and turned away.

"I'm not going to fight this time."

Piccolo exchanged looks with Gohan. What was up now?

"We need you Cloud," Gohan argued. "You're the only one who really knows how to use these materia!"

"No," Cloud stated firmly. "You said you trusted me, so trust me now. I know what I'm doing."

"If he thinks this is for the best Gohan, we should listen to him. He knows more about this monster than either of us," Piccolo agreed, not wasting any time in snapping the bracelet on his wrist and filling it's slots with the materia Cloud had given him. He wasn't quite sure which order to put them in, but he could at least figure to only put a blue one with one of another color. It would really help if he knew which was which. How did Gohan know? He'd have to ask later, because they were all exactly the same to the Namek.

"But, Cloud!" Gohan didn't back down.

"Just trust me!" Cloud snapped, for a moment his commanding tone and sharp blue eyes made him seemed taller than he was. Now Gohan knew why people followed him. "You just proved that you don't need me. You can use that materia as well as I ever could. Besides, if you focus your ki into casting Knights of the Round, Ruby won't stand a chance."

How could Gohan argue? It looked like he wouldn't have a choice, so he should probably stop wasting time and just do as he was told. If his father had been here, he would have been told that he was being a fool for not acting when action was what was need.

"How do you use materia?" Piccolo tossed up the question. It probably sounded stupid, but it was necessary, so there was no point in being embarrassed or hesitant about asking.

"You just focus on the materia and what you want it to do. The Planet will do the rest," Cloud explained hurriedly.

Frustrating. Piccolo was glad he had more self-control than Vegeta right now. "Right, but how do you know what you want it to do? You said that each materia does something different, so how can you know what it's supposed to be for."

What? Cloud was caught off guard by the question. How did you know which materia was which? He was sure that was what Piccolo was asking, but, how could you not know? You just felt it. All materia pulsed with a life of its own, being a condensed form of spirit energy. Some had more violent feels, like Summon materia. Others were gentle, like Magic materia. Still others were cold or indifferent like the Command and Support materia. How could you not know?? You just had to touch it to know!

"I don't understand," Cloud whispered hesitantly. How long had it been since he'd said that? He shuddered at the memories and pushed them out of his mind. There were more important things to busy his mind with right now.

"I can't tell the difference between your stupid materia!" Piccolo nearly shouted. A huge jolt took the Highwind and reminded the people in the Conference Room how little time they had, heightening the tension.

"Give me that," Cloud snapped. It looked like they didn't have a choice. He was going to have to join in this fight after all. Piccolo handed the bracelet back to Cloud and watched as Cloud set about the task of carefully ordering the materia. It didn't take long, and Cloud was heading out of the room towards the deck of the Highwind. "I don't have time to waste wondering why you can't use materia," Cloud explained over his shoulder as he hurried towards the exit. "We have a battle to deal with."

He just hoped that this newly devised materia adjustment would work as well as his previous one. It should. If Gohan could get a Knights of the Round in, Cloud's Mime materia should pick up on the power increase of the previous spell. It was a long shot as far as he was concerned, but that wasn't something to worry about. Worrying in battle would only cloud your head and lead to your defeat.

Stepping carefully up onto the railing of the Highwind, Cloud made sure he didn't get ripped off early by the tearing wind as he waited for Piccolo. The Namek could fly him down to the surface; Cloud was sure the green warrior was strong enough to keep the both of them in the air. The fact that Piccolo wouldn't be using materia in this battle still made Cloud itch. Going into battle without materia spelled defeat, no matter what level you were at, but he didn't have time to worry now. This was it. The battle started now. Ruby WEAPON wouldn't wait.