Thanks, Vampiric Priestess, for answering some of the questions. Hopefully Gaia will yield me the remaining answers. Here's the second-to-last chapter. Still kind of slow, but it's only prologue to the final chapter, called "Showdown." Later people.

Final Fantasy 7/8: Lord of Weapon

Chap 11: Lord

After the ship slipped through the dimensional tear, the three occupants soon found themselves soaring over a massive planet, bigger than the two in which they lived. It looked very much like a habitable planet for it was splattered with blue oceans, reddish-brown mountains, and rampant greenery; the satellite readings had also confirmed the air to be breathable for humans. It made sense. Obviously, the Cetra, for whatever reason they chose to send groups to another planet, they had to find suitable planets to match their original home. Though it was probable that their technology was not that advanced, they must have managed their way through space with the use of powerful magic.

As the Gravitor made its way into the atmosphere, the crew could now see the actual surface. It was clearly not a technologically sophisticated race. Ruins of stone castles, temples, and high walls (apparently marking territories as they usually contained one castle) could all be seen. There were also numerous huts made of straw and clay. There was no metal. However, Cloud and Squall found the absence of any people to be odd. Perhaps the entire Cetra race had left their home. The two stared closer at the landscape finding the ruins were all remnants of violence. They attempted to search for people but the ship had begun to sway since their entrance to this mysterious world.

"What's the problem, Cid?" asked Cloud.

"What the fuck? This damn thing won't fly right. According to the ship's sensors, gravitational force is changing radically every few seconds. It goes up and it goes down and then up again. The ship's terradaptors can't change fast enough to fit the conditions because they keep fluctuating. I can't control the ship like this."

Squall stared at the deserted lands outside the Gravitor's window, still unable to see anything of interest. How were they supposed to find this mysterious being anyways? Then it hit him.

"Cid, can you locate the core of the gravity?"

"Well, come on, it's gravity, the whole planet causes gravity. You're not that old, but didn't at least graduate from high school? You should know that."

"No, Cid," said Cloud, "If the gravity keeps changing, it might be because of the Weapon guy."

"Look guys, gravity doesn't work on small things. Second, he shouldn't even be awake. Remember, he can only awake if his Weapons absorb enough mana, lifeforce. They barely killed anything before we got to them."

"Maybe the deaths woke him up. They have to be linked somehow. Besides, we don't even know if it's a Centra," said Squall, "He might be a Weapon gone rogue."

"I don't think a Weapon could have that much intelligence," said Cloud.

"Whatever guys, I'll just check the center, I don't even know why this ship can do that, it's such a pointless function. Okay here we go. The source of the gravity, which is right…no this can't be."

Rather than marking the center of the three-dimensional display of the planet, a glowing red beacon was lighted on the planet's surface, 376 miles away from their location.

"Fine, I'm wrong. That must be where we need to go."

The ship continued to fly to the destination on autopilot. Everyone was preparing for the looming battle ahead. Cid and Cloud were checking their materia combinations while Squall was reassessing his magic stores.

"…mega-all, full-cure, linked…" mumbled Cloud.

"…flare, quadra-magic, damn wish I had that last time, another flare, MP Turbo…" mumbled Cid.

"Dang it, haven't cared about magic since the battle with Ultimecia. All I have are a couple of curagas, a couple of firagas, one meltdown, and a sleep. I don't even have an aura. Why didn't I refine some from Zell's fury fragments earlier?"

Squall had been planning to meet with Bugenhagen, then return to his world to organize his magic. Now, he had zilch.

In the mist of their last-minute organization, the intercom automatically said in a female voice, "Attention, we will be above the destination in T minus three minutes."

"You all ready for this?" asked Cloud with a nervous grin.

"I was born ready," Cid responded with a menacing spear thrust, which nearly struck Squall's back.

"Well, I have a holy war. But that's about it," said Squall, looking at this equipment. He was still carrying one of the Ultima Blasters, but it would be useless here.

The three suddenly noticed that the ship was slowing down and stopped, hovering over a large marble temple, covered with alien weeds. The temple was still white, however, and if it were not for the foliage, one could swear that it had just been constructed. It had been built upon a large, green plateau, a few miles above the ground level. The Gravitor landed toward the supposed entrance, assumed due to the brick path that lay before it and continued down the hill.

Cloud, Cid, and Squall cautiously made their way out of the ship, walking slowly along the path. It was difficult due to the gravity. At some points, they had to strenuously push forward, other times, they could virtually glide across the grass towards the temple. They had assumed it was a temple because the ruins were familiar, an ancient style reserved for religious edifices. Large pillars nearly twenty feet high marked the perimeter. Behind them were walls that seemed to render the columns' use worthless. Above the walls and pillars was a roof in the shape of a triangular prism, with the triangular faces looking towards the front and the rear of the building. The face at the front bore murals of battle, but it was difficult to discern the purpose. At last they had reached the temple's entrance. A large double-door as high as the temple itself served as the barrier between the outside and what lay within. There was no handle.

"So, how do we get in?" asked Cloud to no one in particular.

"Can't we just knock it down?" said Cid in a tone inferring that the solution was obvious.

Squall had said nothing and continued staring at the doors. In the center of each door, approximately 10 feet up, was a circle 1 foot in diameter. Within the circle was a dragon, a replicated image of the ones in the murals.

"Hey, those are the ones in Bugenhagen's prophecies," said Cid.

"What prophecies?" said Cloud and Squall simultaneously.

"Bugenhagen was going to explain them to you guys before the storms hit, remember?"

"Damn, they could have been helpful," said Squall, "But at least this is the final battle."
"Unfortunately, we can't just tell this thing inside that we have to win so he'll let us," said Cloud.

"Either way, we have to figure out how to get in," said Cid.

"Hold on, I've seen this in a bunch of video games. One person has to touch one of the circles while the other has to touch the second circle at the same time," said Cloud.

"Uh, okay. Let's give it a shot," said Cid, "One of you can boost the other, but I should be able to jump that high."
Squall then boosted Cloud above his shoulders, allowing him to place his entire palm over the dragon graphic.

"On three, Cid. 1…2…3!"

At '2', Cid had soared upward, timing his hand alongside Cloud's moment of impact. The instant both hands had touched the circles, the crack between the doors began to expel dust, and both doors slowly moved outward. Cloud, Squall, and Cid quickly ran out of the way, but immediately walked through the opening as it expanded. They found themselves in an elaborate building of some kind, but the lack of light discouraged the use of eyes. Cid silently cast fire towards various candles in the massive hall as they walked past them, illuminating more and more. They finally realize they were walking through an elaborate morgue. Coffins lined shelves, which decorated walls. Since the building was nearly 20 feet high, there were several coffins on each wall vertically. They continued to walk through tomb when they finally reached the end, where a much larger coffin was laid on a huge platform centered evenly between the sides, barely touching the rear wall. They would have opened it, but there was a figure sitting cross-legged above the marble casket. He was hidden in the shadows, which Cid immediately removed by casting fire on the final candles. The light revealed a man no different from any of them. His hair was long and flowing behind him. Even though he was sitting, the hair dropped to the floor. He was clad in a white robe of some alien fashion. It appeared to be light and flimsy, but not overly large for its wearer's size. Soon it struck Cloud, Cid, and Squall all at once that the clothes worn by this mysterious person was a death gown, now worn by someone who seemed healthy, unlike a corpse. His eyes were still closed, and his hands were placed together in a prayer position. In spite of all this, he seemed perfectly normal, except for one final detail. He was completely white. His skin and hair blended perfectly with the purity of his clothes and the coffin on which he was sitting. He could have been a ghost.

"I don't like this very much," said Cloud, "He seems like a ghost."

"I am alive as any of you three," said a strong, yet calm and quiet with a perfectly middle-pitch.

Squall, Cid, and Cloud all jumped back a little when they heard the mysterious voice.

The figure opened his eyes, revealing glistening silver irises and intensely black pupils. "I am the one you have all come to find. I am the Lord of Weapon." He stood up on the platform showing his full height. His hair still touched the floor even though he was clearly above seven feet. He was quite skinny, but his body emanated the aura of contained power.

"So what are you exactly, what's your real name, and what happened to this planet?" asked Cid apprehensively as he tried to expel all of his wonder.

"I am a Cetra, a citizen of this planet, Planet Cetran. My real name is Lord of Weapon. If you are referring to my birth name, it is worthless. This planet's conditions," he paused with a chuckle, "is actually in much better shape than they ever believed it to be. Several millennia ago, this was a prosperous architectural race known throughout the galaxy. The Cetra and the Centra, they're both geographic variations, were extensive users of magic. Different styles, but nevertheless, they were both equally unrivaled in the galaxy. In their progress to create more and more prominent structures for other worlds, they crafted special beings with immense power to help them in their work, the Weapons.

"Wait, you're telling us that the Weapons were building instruments?" asked Squall, "Then why are they so powerful? And why are they called Weapons?"

" 'Weapon' in our native language refers to any sort of tool. They are powerful because as you all should already know, is due to the ultima that flows within them. The Cetra and the Centra wished to create beings that could continually be powered from the planet in which they lived. However, as I grew older, I found that these ideas were worthless. My people, the most powerful mages in the galaxy, armed with the strongest biological creatures in the galaxy, were fit to become the architects of the galaxy? It was absurd. We should have taken control, but even as a prince, I had no true political power. None of the elders sided with me, and none of the other princes dared to agree with me either. So that is when I decided to do things myself. I forged a bond with the Weapons so they would be in my employ, a bond that could not be broken until I was killed. Then, I went to destroy this stupid planet. I ravaged the lands with my power, aided by the Weapons who continually absorbed the lifeforce of this planet. No one could stop us. But eventually, someone had the intelligence to silence me. A phalanx of high-level mages cornered me and sent me into a sleep for they could not overcome me. They could have killed me then, but they probably felt it was too dangerous. However, being in a coma, the Weapons were freely controlled again. By that time, the planet had been all but exhausted of its energy. The people decided to leave. But disagreement broke out. The Cetra saw the usefulness of the Weapons and wished to use them as defensive measures. The Centra wanted them to continue as tools. Thus, the two groups split and journeyed to their respective planets with a set of Weapons. Thankfully, otherwise I would not be standing before you today, the Cetra carried out their plans and placed them in the northern limit, placing them in direct contact with the planet's lifestream, energizing immensely, thus giving me the power, which you meddlers nearly eliminated by destroying my Weapons.

"But I don't understand," began Squall, "how do you know all of this? And how come they didn't destroy you, and how can you be filled with energy from the Weapons?"

"The bond that I created."

"What bond?"

"I removed every drop of blood from my body and replaced it with Ultima. That's why I'm so white. I'm sure you've all discovered that liquid Ultima is white. Furthermore, my body is unlike yours anatomically. Ultima is a suitable replacement for blood. By sharing some Ultima with the Weapons, we were as one."

Cloud, Cid, and Squall all stood with their mouths partly open, wanting to comment, but physically unable to do so.