A/N: As I was writing this, things got in the way… and I ended up having evil writers block. (groan) I reread it and nothing seemed to be wrong. I was too lazy to use the Spell Check thing so… if you see anything that looks wrong, you can complain about it through e-mail. (sweatdrop)

Important Note: Chapter 7… I fixed one part that I stupidly forgot to add in. Yeah, so… if you'd like to check, you may do so. I suggest you do… 'cause this chapter might make you a little confused. (Near the end of the Lucrecia story.)

Thankies for reviewing! Don't wanna give away too much, but I do mention a little part of a certain ex-SOLDIER here. (hint hint) Hope you like this chapter!

Disclaimer:

Aeris: Things are going so slow here in Miss Author's house.
Vincent: Thank you for unlocking the bathroom door.
Author: (jumps in, freaking Vincent out) WHOA! How'd you get out!
Cid: I'M (BEEEEEEEP) FREE!
Reno: Now… LET'S ATTACK THE AUTHOR!
(a horde of FF7 characters run out from the bathroom with torches and shovels)
Author: O.O (runs away) EEEE!
Cait: (sweatdrop) Uhm… FF7 doesn't belong to Miss Author Poo Poo Head…

Reveal Your True Eyes
Chapter Nine

They Arise
"You… look… just like… me…" -Aeris

The lights of the city illuminated the dark area, revealing a path right in front of the three travelers. Tifa was the first to step forward, followed by Vincent and Cid. They had no idea what was going on, but they knew they had no choice. Possibly,the path would lead them out of the city… somehow. Suddenly, the path mysteriously disappeared as soon as it entered the city's boundaries. The three gazed at their surroundings. The only thing that seemed strange was that there were no people outside whatsoever. They would have thought it would be loud and lively, but it came out to be the opposite. Tifa stepped forward but was stopped by Vincent.

"I still believe this is some sort of trap," he said flatly. "It's not possible for a huge city like this to be created in such a place."

Cid rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "Look, we came this far. We might as well check it out."

"Yes," Tifa agreed. "We might find Cloud somewhere!"

Vincent sighed. "What are the possibilities that we'll find him down here?"

People started emerging out from the tall buildings. However, they made no sound in doing so. They just stopped in the middle of the street and lifted their arms in the air. The air was now filled with deep chants as a mysterious green fog engulfed everything, including Tifa and the rest. No matter how much they struggled to break free, it would only cause their bodies to compress tightly. Suddenly, a flash of light bolted right through, causing the fog to disperse. The three friends fell to the ground at a surprisingly high height. It could have easily broken every bone in their bodies, but they were able to move just fine. Everyone lifted their heads, only to find a bright figure hovering above. It started to descend towards the ground, landing right in front of Tifa. She blinked in confusion and squinted closely. A slight gasp escaped from her mouth.

"C-Cloud!" She quickly got up to her feet and embraced her friend tightly. "Oh! I never thought I would see you again!"

"Whoa, whoa, hey! I-I'm not Cloud!"

Tifa quickly released her grip and stepped back. "W-What? B-But…"

"He's right," Vincent said. "He's not Cloud."

Tifa leaned forward and took another good look at the man. He indeed had spiky hair, and his clothes were similar to Cloud's but slightly different. She tilted her head, noticing that he had long hair that practically reached the middle of his back. Tifa gasped.

"ZACK!"

"There you go!" he grinned.

"I-I thought I'd never see you again…"

"…what do you mean? Have we meet before or something?"

The woman lifted her head and stepped away from the man. She knew it had been several years since they last saw each other, but he couldn't have… lost his memories…? Tifa turned to her friends. They looked confused just as much as she was. Everyone thought that only the girls could lose their memories. Things started to make less sense now. Vincent stepped up next to Tifa and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"…what's the matter?" Zack asked in such a soft tone. "Was it something I said?"

Cid shook his head and replied, "It's not your fault. Ya'see, we just arrived in this here Lifestream and we've been pretty damn confused about everything. After we visited a village, we noticed that only the women lost their memories. But, obviously, you're not a girl so…"

"Whoa, whoa!" Zack waved his hands around. "I understand what you're trying to get at, but… why would you think I lost my memories?"

"We were friends back then, Zack." Zack turned his attention to Tifa. She wiped away the tears escaping from her eyes. "You came to Nibelheim to work on a mission. I was there, too… remember?"

The man blinked. He scratched his chin and gasped. "Oh! You're that fighter girl… with the cowboy getup!"

Tifa cleared her throat. "Yeah."

"I-I'm sorry. I just needed a little reminding."

"Sorry to interrupt," Vincent started. "But, could you please explain the significance of this city? And, why you did what you did before."

Zack nodded. "It was a few years back when I first arrived in this Lifestream. I was wandering around, pretty much studying the geography of the whole stream. Then, like how you guys came in, I discovered this place. However, this city used to be a small town and everyone residing there was just like any plain town I've visited. I decided to hang around there for a while, but 'a while' took longer than I realized. I was trying to find a way out, but I obviously couldn't.

"Then, a few years later, rumors have been spreading that an abnormal soul had just entered the Lifestream. And at some point, a huge earthquake took place, somehow 'causing the village to change into this city. The population soon grew twice as much and everyone started to act very strangely. I didn't want to stick around to find out why, so I decided to observe from afar. And, well… here I am. Still observing."

Cid lifted and eyebrow. "That story… made no shit to me."

Zack shrugged. "Yeah well, that's how it ended up to me. Then, I somehow gained some kind of weird powers. Look," he took a deep breath and reached behind his back. Without flinching, he pulled out a lightning-shaped sword right out from his back. Everyone showed a disgusted face at that. Zack grinned and twirled it around. "Dunno why, but I figured the Lifestream knew that I was good when it comes to swords."

"And… what does that do?" Tifa wondered.

"I guess… I have a duty to protect the people of this city…"

Everyone turned their attention to the city. The people had already disappeared inside the buildings. The four friends had a feeling that they had to do something about this. They cautiously entered the city and examined their surroundings. For a city, it definitely was acting like it was some kind of small town. No sounds… nothing. They soon came across an intersection where they spotted blinking traffic lights. Zack widened his eyes and snapped his head around. The crowd of people began to form once again, and this time, they noticed some intruders. The man took out his sword and brought it to his side.

"You guys find a way out of the city, I'll distract them."

Tifa shook her head and tugged his arm. "No! What if you hurt them!"

"I will never hurt them," he narrowed his eyes at that and handed Tifa a small metal bolt. "I promised them… now, GO!"

At that, the three quickly made their way out of the area. Zack tightened his grip on his sword and jumped in the air. The crowd of people followed the bright light that was now above their heads. That made them turn around. Their arms lifted in the air as deep chants began once again. The green fog suddenly appeared, creating a barrier so Zack couldn't escape out of the city. He grunted and slowly descended to the ground. He returned his sword inside his back and stood his ground. There was no way he could see through this fog… so he just waited… to see what would happen next.

Tifa, Vincent, and Cid were having troubles of their own. Since the fog was so thick, they had no way of telling where they were going. The only things they could see were the blinking traffic lights. So far, they haven't encountered any of the people in the city yet. Tifa, who was leading her friends, started to slack a little. Her head started to feel dizzy from the fog. Vincent and Cid felt this also, but they couldn't stop for anything. Vincent helped Tifa onto Cid's back and quickly followed the blinking traffic lights.

Meanwhile, Zack was in the middle of a fighting frenzy. However, this 'fighting frenzy' was aimed right to him. The crowds of people piled on top of Zack and started beating him up. Zack crouched over and gritted his teeth together. He couldn't move his body anymore. Ever since he began residing in the town, everyone had been friendly with them. And he promised that he would always help them, no matter what. However, Zack knew that deep inside, these weren't the people he knew before…

He clenched his fists and muttered out the words, "I'm sorry." His eyes suddenly turned a bright yellow. A flash of light caused the people to fly back from its impact. Zack slowly stood up to his feet, holding his lightning-shaped sword. He snapped it to his front and thrust forward.

"Call forth the power of the thunder god, RAMUH!"

With that, a huge bolt of lightning suddenly appeared above and quickly pummeled the whole city. The people groaned as a mysterious green soul emerged out from their bodies. (souls, technically. Souls come out of souls) Zack watched as memories of his friends started to disappear into the sky. He closed his eyes as an image of Cloud from the past disappeared into the darkness. Glowing tears escaped from his eyes as he opened them.

"I hope they find you… whoever you are…"

Tifa's head suddenly snapped up. Her eyes gazed upon the distant city that was now under attack by several lightning bolts. Vincent and Cid managed to find an exit, but just barely. They were exhausted by the fog's unusual powers and had collapsed on the ground next to Tifa. She slowly stood up and clenched her hand against the metal bolt Zack had given her. It began to glow, and the object in Vincent's pocket began to glow as well. (Chap. 7)

"Zack…"

Several hours have gone by as Nanaki and the gang continued their journey to find Yuffie and their friends. It had been unusually hot and there were no signs of shade or a town whatsoever. However, they had plenty of supplies to keep moving. No one had made any complaints whatsoever. Everyone knew that something was up. An awkward silence always meant that there were problems bubbling up in their minds.

Nanaki observed his surroundings. There were no signs of mountains in the distance. It felt like they'd been traveling for thousands of years. Biggs' explanation about the mountain made it seem like it was nearby. However, he obviously left the part of it being very very far away out. Nanaki sighed to himself and decided to start a conversation.

"Barret, what kind of things did Dyne give us?"

Barret snapped out from his thoughts and pulled out the brown bag. "Nothing really. Just some mountain gear, food, and…a dagger?"

Aeris looked back. "A dagger?"

The man pulled it out and twirled it around. "Might come in handy," he stopped when the weapon clumsily fell out from his hands. He grinned nervously and quickly stuffed it in the bag. "Shouldn't… really mess around with it…"

"Yes, you shouldn't," Aeris giggled. She turned to Nanaki. "So, do you know when we'll arrive at the mountain?"

He sighed at that. "No… I really wish there was a map or something…"

Suddenly, a small house was seem off in the distance. A smile appeared on everyone's faces. They hurriedly made their way towards it. Perhaps there would be someone there to tell them where exactly the mountain was.

As soon as they arrived, the house appeared much larger up close. It had a peaceful touch to it, however, loud groans could be heard from inside. Aeris perked her head up at that. She felt a strange feeling within her, like she could feel the pain of whoever was groaning. She stepped forward and stopped in front of the door.

"Uhm, Aeris? I think we should leave… I don't think they want us here…" Barret gulped.

She gently knocked on the door. "No… I sense… something really familiar in there."

Nanaki lifted his head to Aeris. 'I think your memories are returning. Let's find out together.'

At that, the door slowly opened. A woman with long brown hair and a pink bow tied around it stepped out. Her green eyes shimmered in the sunlight, practically making everyone gaze right into them. Aeris stepped towards the woman and leaned forward, so that she was eye-to-eye with her.

"You… look… just like… me…"

The woman just took a look at Aeris and smiled.

"…you … do too."

The test tube began to bubble uncontrollably. Yuffie's demonic form was almost complete. Stage two was still commencing, however. The only thing that was missing was the demon's senses. It still held the power of a humans', but that was about to change. Gast had been watching Hojo from afar. He had the sudden urge to just run in and save Yuffie, but he forced himself to watch. From doing so, he had time to think of how to save her. He still hadn't thought of a plan just yet.

Hojo inserted several needles into the tube as they gently inserted themselves inside the creature. There was no reaction at that. Hojo grinned victoriously and grasped his hands together.

"All is going according to plan," he turned to colleague at that. "You know, I've been picking up some strange readings from the other laboratory, and I cannot tell what it is."

Gast lifted his head. "What kind of readings?"

"I'm not quite sure. At one point, the reading was off the charts! I thought my poor machine was about to explode! Not only that, but I sensed the same readings again, only this time, it was really faint," he turned away at that. "I should see to this. In the meantime, Gast, I want you to complete the last part of Stage two."

The other scientist narrowed his eyes. "Extracting the DNA… correct?"

Hojo waved his hands side-to-side at that. "Yeah, yeah. Just hurry! I can't wait until we extract that human's heart into a demon heart!" He grinned as he exited out of the lab.

Gast sighed and pressed his hand against the test tube. "I almost have a plan… don't you worry. Your heart will remain in tact, forever."

"Sheesh, Reeve. We've been looking everywhere for you! How the hell did you end up here?"

The cat shrugged and paced around. "Hey, you were the ones that sent me here to eavesdrop on the poor AVALANCHE party."

Reno grunted. "Yeah, well… anyway, do you know what happened to these guys? Why are they dead?"

"Whoa, whoa! Slow down there, pal. First of all, they're not… exactly dead. I'm guessing you met up with Sephiroth, right?"

"Yeah. The hell was he doing here?"

"Well, I overheard him saying that this was part of his 'evil plan'. He unleashed some kind of weird power and ended up sending these guys straight to the Lifestream. However, what he didn't notice was that he left a little bit of their souls in their bodies. I know, because I can sense it!"

The red head nodded his head. "So… what are you trying to say?"

Cait slapped Reno's face and growled. "Hello! We have to help them!"

"And how the hell are we supposed to do that? Get ourselves killed or something?"

"There's a legend about the Lifestream, stating that evil will befall it one hundred years later. However, the 'chosen ones' must find their true powers in order to save and destroy the Lifestream. And, when their powers are combined into one, a path will be formed, leading to this world, or, as they call it in the Lifestream, the Other World."

"And what do we have to do?"

"…to make sure that no one interferes when the souls of the fallen ones return to their normal bodies. Otherwise, there is no way they could escape."

Reno stepped back and tried dialing his cellphone again. No response. "Shit! I have to tell the others! You better follow me, 'cause I ain't gonna carry you, cat!" he turned and made his way out of his path.

Cait frowned and slowly followed the Turks. "If they never return… who's going to save our world from destruction…?"

A/N: End of chapter nine! Erf… Nanaki's part was indeed short once again. I didn't want them to get to the mountain too soon so, why not start a little side quest, aye? Hehe. Oh, and if you haven't figured out where I mention Cloud, it's… uhm… somewhere in the Nanaki story. Aa-nnd… the Hojo part I had to put in there. Their little experiments with poor Yuffie is almost complete. Now… how can Gast save Yuffie? Hm… so many options. Anyways! Hope you enjoyed and please tell me how you thought of it!