A/N: Ah! I'm soooo late with this chapter. (bows down) I ish sorry! My memory has been blah… so I almost forgot what the previous chapters were about. O.o My fault if I totally re-explained things here. But, I checked so… there shouldn't be any… but… just in case. (prays)

Disclaimer: FF7 doesn't belong to meee and… the blah blah blah either.

Reveal Your True Eyes
Chapter Six

I'll Find You
"You just stay here and… be all Vincenty or something!" -Cid

Nanaki dodged Barret's heavy thrust towards him. Several trees fell to the ground as bullets flung around. Barret shifted around and fired towards his opponent. He grunted as he watched the four-legged creature dodge his attacks easily. In the back, Aeris stood helplessly with her hands clutched together. She wished that she could do something, but what could she possibly do? If only she knew her past clearly.

Canine teeth dug into Barret's tough skin. He roared loudly as his gun hand shot out several bullets to the sky. Nanaki gasped and finally released his grip. He quickly hid behind one of the trees to catch his breath. He had no idea what was going on with him. He engaged into a battle all of a sudden without any reasons. Nanaki had a huge hunch that someone was controlling him… but who?

Nanaki cautiously turned to check what Barret was up to. He was nowhere to be seen. Just then, a high-pitched shriek sounded off. Nanaki quickly turned towards the noise. Barret decided that Aeris would be his next target. The girl's neck was being clutched by his huge hand.

"Aeris!" Nanaki yelled.

Barret gripped tighter at that.

Aeris moaned. "R-Red!"

Nanaki quickly made his way towards his friend. However, Barret had already noticed this. He lifted up his machine gun hand and quickly flung it right into the four-legged animal's stomach. That immediately knocked the breath out of him. Nanaki fell to the ground after that.

"RED!" Aeris yelled. "Please get up!"

Barret narrowed his pitch black eyes. He tightened his grip once more, causing Aeris' whole body to vanish for a mere second.

'… I-if this keeps up… then I'll be… n-no! I'm…' Aeris closed her eyes tightly. She dug her nails into Barret's fist and yelled at the top of her lungs, "I'M NOT READY!"

A bright flash of light suddenly appeared. Barret groaned, releasing his grip on Aeris. Aeris quickly backed away from him as she stared down at Nanaki. The light was coming from his necklace. Nanaki's appearance suddenly changed from animal to human. His red hair revealed his now bright red eyes. The bright light suddenly dimmed as Nanaki's other form was finally revealed. He was wearing something similar to medieval clothing.

Human Nanaki clutched his fists together and thrusted towards Barret. Barret lifted his gun at him and fired at will. However, his attacks completely missed the target. Nanaki leaped over Barret and stood in front of Aeris. The last thing he wanted was to have his friend hurt… especially Barret. He couldn't attack his friend… so, what was there to do?

"R-Red? Why… why are you… human?" Aeris clenched her fists close to her chest. "Are you even… Red anymore?"

Nanaki turned his head, revealing a smile planted on his face. "Of course. I will never change."

No reaction came from Barret. His gun hand was still aimed towards his opponent, but he had no desire to attack anymore. His arm shook around, sending a cold chill through his whole body. Nanaki cautiously arched his shoulders up at that.

'Barret,' he said to himself. 'I don't know what to do…'

"Here we stand, let the eyes of darkness return …"

Nanaki turned around at that. A white glow dimmed on and off as it surrounded Aeris' body. Her eyes were closed. As she clasped her hands close above her chest, she continued her chants.

"Let your soul create a path to good and release the evil from within. AWAKEN!"

At that, a black glow suddenly appeared around Barret. The darkness of his eyes slowly disappeared as the black glow did as well.

"What is this!" a deep voice echoed suddenly.

"That voice… sounds so familiar…" Nanaki wondered to himself. He shook that thought out and kneeled next to Aeris who had been unconscious after what happened. "Aeris! Wake up!"

"Ugh… R…Red?" Barret moaned in the back.

"…you're… alright…"

"Damn… no I'm not…"

Nanaki smiled at that, but a frown took over. He brushed away Aeris' hair on her forehead.

"Barret," Nanaki whispered.

"What…" He finally looked up. His eyes widened as Nanaki revealed Aeris to him. "…th-that's…"

"…yes."

"Damn! Where the heck did you…?"

"Barret…" Nanaki bit his lip and bowed his head. "She… can't remember anything. Her memory of us… her past… everything. They're… gone."

Barret narrowed his eyes at that. "So, her too, huh?"

"W-What?"

Barret walked towards Aeris and kneeled down next to her. "I met up with Wedge, Biggs, and Jessie earlier. She couldn't remember anything either."

"…I'm sorry."

"No…. They said Myrna went through this forest but… I guess she isn't here anymore. Her powers… must have been absorbed through the Lifestream. She's gone now."

They remained silent at that.

"One question," Nanaki broke the silence. "…why haven't we been absorbed yet?"

"…I don't know 'bout Aeris, but… since we don't belong here, the Lifestream didn't want to accept us, or somethin' like that."

"Maybe…"

"So," Barret said, as he lifted Aeris up. "Where were you headin'?"

"O-oh… we were going to search for our friends. The only way is to go through this forest."

The other nodded. "Alright. Let's move!"

As they finally resumed their trip through the forest, Nanaki couldn't help but wonder about before. What exactly was Aeris doing? She never exactly chanted such foreign words before. Was that… her new powers for this world or something? Did she help Barret snap back to reality? With these questions floating inside Nanaki's head, the only thing he could do now is wait it out. Hopefully, she'll regain her memories back soon.

"DAMN THEM!" Hojo slammed his fist hard against the tube Yuffie had been resting in. He growled loudly, thinking about how his plan failed so easily. He even went over the plans, specifically stating that there couldn't possibly be a way to interfere with it.

'How… is this possible? How were they able to-'

"Hojo," Gast said, entering the room Hojo had been in. "It appears the signal has been interfered with."

"I know that already, goddammit!"

"…Aeris…"

"…I want her destroyed."

"W-What?"

Hojo placed his hands behind his back and turned to Gast. "I want her destroyed! I want the Lifestream to take her away, offer her useless power to the Other World already!"

"It… It can't work that way, sir! Besides… the Lifestream tried to take her away before…"

"And?"

"…it… wouldn't accept her."

"That's impossible. The Lifestream should accept everyone's power. What makes her so special then?"

Gast frowned and turned away. "I'm not sure. I just wonder… when it will be our turn. I've been here for far too long… and I wasn't offered once…"

Hojo furrowed his eyebrow at that. Nothing was impossible for him. Soon, he would find a way to fix that little problem. He shrugged at the thought and stared at Yuffie. Just the thought of his new experiment made a grin appear on his face.

"It's only a matter of time before I finally release her out into the open."

"What… exactly are you going to use her for?"

"If you were paying attention, I said I was going to use this as a little… test subject. I feel this will be one of my greatest experiments ever."

Yuffie's limbs twitched at that. Although she couldn't figure out what was happening, she could tell that it's only a matter of time before she is set to destroy her friends.

'…Nanaki…'

"Ahhh… this feels good…"

Cid happily dipped both of his hands in a lake. He twitched at the cold sensation. Several bright ripples formed at that. He grinned at the sight and leaned back. It was already evening, but the sun was still at its brightest. Cid turned to where Vincent had been resting. He sighed, noticing that he was in the same exact position ever since they arrived. It had only been several hours since they arrived in the Lifestream. Cid had been taking it pretty easy while Vincent seemed troubled. He had a feeling what was wrong with him, however.

"Hey, Vin. Quit getting lost in your thoughts and relax already. I haven't seen you sit down once. Your legs are gonna fall off if you don't."

Vincent turned his head to the side. "…are we truly… inside the Lifestream?"

"Tch. Yes, for the bajillionth time. Look, I'm sure we'll find the others soon enough. But, right now, we should be worrying about where to settle in for tonight.

"Cid," Vincent said, finally turning to face his friend. "Do you think…"

Cid lifted an eyebrow at that. "I… what?"

"…nevermind."

"Tch! Whatever. I'm gonna look for something to chow down on. You just stay here and… be all Vincenty or something! You're gettin' me so worried, I swear I felt wrinkles on my forehead…"

As Cid got up to his feet he made his way around the lake. Vincent watched his friend disappear through the tall grass. He squinted as the bright reflection of the lake blinded him. He stood up and examined his surroundings. There wasn't much to see. However, off in the distance there appeared to be a small village. Vincent sighed to himself. They could have rested there, but he guessed Cid never even noticed.

"HEY! VIN!"

Vincent turned to where Cid was now. His arms were waving like crazy. Vincent shrugged and decided to help Cid at whatever he found.

Once he arrived, he kneeled down next to him.

"What's the matter?"

"Look," Cid revealed a woman's body from underneath the tall grass. "I tried waking her up, but she never responded. Do you think she's… dead?"

Vincent leaned closer. "I don't believe people can die when they're already inside the Lifestream."

"Hn. Good point."

"… we should take her to that village over the hill."

"Yeah, good idea." Cid lifted the woman off from the ground. "Quite small though."

Vincent narrowed his eyes at him. "Wait… you noticed it before?"

"Hell yeah, I was just waiting for you to say something. Man, you're so slow."

"…"

OOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Thank you so much for bringing my Merri back." A young man bowed down. "I've been worried sick about her."

"Aha! It was no problemo! My hawk eyes never fail!" Cid grinned. "Anytime!"

Vincent bowed his head. "It was no trouble. She should be fine. We didn't see any signs of injuries."

The girl's eyes fluttered open. She tugged on the blankets and looked around. The expression on her face was completely blank. The man kneeled next to Merri and clutched her hands into his.

"Merri! Are you alright?"

"…who… are you?"

"…W-What? It's me! You're brother, Tuck!"

"…brother?"

"Merri…"

Cid lifted and eyebrow at that. "Okay… what's going on here?"

Tuck stood up with a frown. "Her memories are wiped away… just like all the young girls in this village."

"Care to explain?" Vincent asked in a deep voice.

"I'm not quite sure why this is happening. Just recently, all the girls in the village suddenly forgot their memories. I don't know why it's targeted to only them. I heard rumors saying something about an evil person with the technology to practically take over this whole Lifestream. I fear that if that happens, our powers will never help the Other World stay alive."

"Other world?" Cid wondered.

The man nodded. "Yes. Lately, there haven't been many offerings given to it yet. I don't know what's going on."

Vincent tilted his head. "Maybe they're somehow connected to the Lifestream. Most likely their forgotten memories are preventing the Lifestream from receiving any offerings."

Tuck shrugged. "I don't know." He gently brushed his little sister's pale cheek. "I'm just glad she's alright…"

"Has Merri fully recovered, Tuck?" A woman's voice said behind the door.

"…her memories are lost, Raine. Just like all the others."

"Oh dear!" The door suddenly flung open. A young woman with long brown hair tied in a ponytail came rushing in. "Merri!"

"Whoaho, she looks hot." Cid grinned.

Vincent widened his eyes and stood up.

"LUCRECIA!"

"Did you guys find anything yet?"

"Not yet, sir."

"Same here, Reno."

He sighed. "Fine. I'll get back to you later." He turned off his cellphone at that. "Damnit… how did I ever get stuck with this path? These stupid worms are getting in my way!"

Reno whacked his flashlight hard against the cave walls. The worms started to fall to the ground at that. He grunted and continued walking through the dark cave. He had a feeling that this wasn't going to be an easy trip. Not because of the glowworms, but because he sensed something stronger within. He narrowed his bright blue eyes and punched in a button on his cellphone. Rude and Elena answered.

"Yes, sir!" Elena responded happily.

Reno grunted. "How can you be so happy now!"

"Sir," Rude spoke. "There appears to be a door coming up in my path."

"Take it. It'll probably lead to one of us or something."

"Yes, sir."

Elena shrieked through the phone. Reno twitched at that.

"The hell is wrong!… Elena?"

Her scream continued.

"O-Oh… no…"

"What! Rude? What is it!"

"…B-Bodies…"

"Wha?"

Suddenly, Reno stepped on something soft. He aimed his flashlight towards the ground and gasped.

"G-God…"

A/N: End of chapter six! Originally, the words in italics was supposed to be in German/Latin but… eehh… I don't trust those translation sites. I don't take the language obviously. (cough) I'll try to work on chapter 7 earlier. (sigh) Hope you liked and please tell me how you thought of it!