"I cry to the heavens to relieve my pain,

Even just a little bit, just to keep me sane.

I begged, I pleaded, but no answer replied,

Everyone has forsaken me, no hand to rely."

emerald drake, Demons

Chapter 6: The Planet Cries

Rain fell from the heavens above, showering the land in heavy torrents. Lightning crackled relentlessly across the sky, making a dazzling display of illumination. The storm was brewing fast.

Cloud looked up in the sky. He was almost to Midgar. But with the heavy rain, it was hard to see and there are probably mud puddles along the way. And the downpour did not show any signs of stopping.

A particularly fat drop landed in his eye, causing him to blink. He sighed. He pulled the reins of the soaking wet chocobo, urging him to not give up. The golden chocobo warked weakly in reply, as if in distress. It trotted faster, as fast as he could through the heavy torrent of rain. As they marched onward, the rider could see the bright lights of Midgar. He urged the bird to go faster.

Watching the dark clouds whirl in angry assault, Cloud can tell this deluge would only get worse.

Underworld

Sephiroth gasped in pain and in exhaustion as he sank down against a large rock. As it seems like hours since he left Hell, his body grew weaker every step he took. His lacerated shoulder threw waves of pain at him, like little knives stabbing him in every move, every shift, every pace.

His breathing rasped as he fought to get air into his heaving lungs. He spread his aching legs in front of him, ankles bearing scars from the chains. Even though they were gone as soon as the young reaper unlocked the door, he could feel phantom cuffs weighing his limbs. He glanced at the darkness around him, as it seemed to stretch forever. Only the trickle of flowing Mako illuminated the void of obscurity.

As he watched mesmerized at the glowing river, his breathing returned to normal, and the throbbing eased and tiredness wasn't as apparent as before. Although his body screamed at him to stay put, he knew he had to move before the wretched reapers realized he had gone. He stood up, and stride briskly, purposely along the riverbanks of the Lifestream, ignoring the imminent pain etching across his system once again.

Midgar

Cloud was shivering when finally arrived at Midgar, with equally cold Apollo beside him. He led the very soaked golden bird to the stables, where the stable boy promised he would take care of the trembling chocobo.

The wind howled outside, torrential rain accompanying it in rhythmic thudding of the roof. Cloud approached the Seventh Heaven bar, the designated place they all would meet. He glanced at his watch. It was two o'clock, few hours later than he expected.

As he pushed the door inwards, he heard the teen-aged ninja's unmistakable voice.

"C'mon Tifa! Just one leeeeettle drink." Yuffie pleaded.

"No. You're underage. I'm not gonna let you saunter out drunk."

"I'm tough! Besides, I'm just two years underage!"

"NO!" Tifa firmly stood her ground.

"Awww…" Yuffie fell back to a chair pouting.

At last Tifa noticed her drenched friend at the doorway.

"Cloud! You're soaking wet! How long have you been standing there?"

Cloud shrugged. "Just a few seconds."

"Come inside now! I'll get a towel…" Tifa bolted out of the room.

"Spike! Yer late!" Barret grumbled. The older man waved his gun-arm about.

"Sorry. Got caught in the storm." Cloud gestured at his clothes.

"It has to be the worst storm this century," crowed Cait Sith. The toysausrus jumped about, amusing 10-year-old Marlene. "Tell me a fortune, Cait!" She bounced happily around the stuffed moogle.

While Cait Sith was busy rattling around making exaggerated fortunes, Tifa appeared with a white fluffy towel. She handed the piece of cloth to Cloud. "Thanks, Tifa." The blonde man began scrubbing himself.

"Anyway… you haven't really told what we are meeting about." Cloud searched for clues in his friend's faces, but couldn't find any.

Vincent stepped forward from the shadows. Although he hadn't formally joined ShinRa, he lurks around the building and acts as an unofficial member of the company. "As you know, we haven't been using Mako energy for quite a while now, though the reactors are still running. Last week, we found a strange disturbance in the Mako."

Red XIII, lounging on the carpet, tilted his head up. "What kind of disturbances, specifically?"

Vincent furrowed his brow. "It appears that Mako has been turning into a tint of red, making it highly radioactive, and stronger." He thought of the mutated corpses he found inside the reactor room. He shuddered. "It seems to create faster mutations, too." He passed the photo of the bodies.

"That's damn creepy." Yuffie commented.

"That's fer sure." Cid puffed another ring of smoke.

Cloud studied the photo. There was something familiar about the mutations. But he couldn't identify why. He silently handed it to Tifa, whose face turned up in disgust. She gave it to Cait Sith. The robotic cat accepted it and tucked it into his cape. Then he said, "These aren't the only casualties found in the change. It seems like the area around Bone Village is suffering tremors. It seems connected, somehow, to the change in Mako."

"And this rain… could this mean something?" Tifa spoke softly, as thunder rumbled overhead.

"We don't know for sure now, but it seems so." Red XIII sighed heavily.

Underworld

The silver-haired man examined the rippling surface of the Mako, with his reflection staring back at him. The stream was reddish-green in color. Gazing into depths of the body of water, Sephiroth figured this was the place the young reaper mentioned.

He touched the surface gingerly. The Lifestream was infected, clearly. He didn't want to risk unknown consequences. He just didn't feel that well jumping into a pool Mako that was probably going to eat him alive. He shook his head, smiling sardonically. He rubbed his sore legs absently, grimacing as his shoulder reminded him of his injuries.

He stood up and sighed. There was really no other choice anyway. He jumped into the green liquid, plunging himself into the depths of the Lifestream.

AN:scratches head: I must have shortest attention span ever… I can't seem to bring myself to write longer.

Oh well… I'm sorry you'll have to endure the wrath of my miniscule, teeny tiny short chapters! Mwahahaha…..

By the way… what do you think of poem stanza at the start? Please, reasonable criticism and suggestions!

Happy Advanced April Fools Day:snicker: