Chapter 7: The WEAPON Materia
Order! Order please!" Jim called out. He pounded his gavel. The gathering quieted.
"Thank you." He sighed. "Now I know it's been a while since our Mayor Tifa, or her second in command, Cloud, has been here. But as curator of the Shinra Museum, Town treasurer, and their close friend, I have the responsibility to take over in their absence."
"What about protection? Two more of my cattle have been killed today!" A man in the back stood up and yelled.
Jim nodded. "We all know about the cattle killers, Mr. Frances. But we HAVE to be able to depend on people OTHER than Cloud and Tifa! Have you thought about trying to catch them yourself?" Jim responded.
Mr. Frances thought about this then sat back down.
Then a woman stood up. "What about the thief that took the Cait Sith body from your own museum?"
Jim sighed. They'd all been over this a million times before. "As I have stated before, I personally saw the body come down of it's own accord, and walk out of town."
The woman sat down, but the look in her eyes said that she didn't believe him.
"Anybody else have a monkey up their ass about something?" Jim asked annoyed.
"What about Tifa and Cloud's weekly story telling? Will that he held this week?" A man asked this. Jim recognized him as the Inn's owner. Jim knew that his children loved the stories that Tifa and Cloud tell. Jim also enjoyed them.
"As you know perfectly well, the weekly storytelling is something that Cloud and Tifa has chosen to do. They never made an agreement with you or anyone else about their story telling. It just sort of started, and everyone enjoyed it, so they continued to do it." Jim finally replied. "Unless they come back in time, I doubt that the story time will take place this week."
A man walked in, and sat in the back. Jim didn't recognize him, but he had other things to do than keep track of newcomers to the meetings. But something about his eyes kept Jim's eyes wandering his direction.
A woman in the front row stood up. "What about the Shinra Mansion Auction?" The crowd cheered this thought on.
Jim motioned for quiet. When it died down, he spoke. "I wanted to wait for when Tifa and Cloud came back, but I guess we can auction it off now." The crowd murmured their approval. "Alrightly then."
Jim started the bid at 2000 Gil.
"2000!" A man shouted.
"4000!" Another man shouted.
"10,000!" A woman shouted.
Before Jim knew it they where up to 3,000,000 Gil. The going price for the mansion's being fixed up being a mere 350,000.
"3,000,005!" A woman shouted.
The bidding grew tense. It was now between 2 men and a woman.
"3,000,010!" The woman grew silent.
"3,000,100!" The other man shouted. The crowd now turned back to the other man, like it was some sort of tennis game. They waited expectantly.
"Uhh...
3,000,110!" He finally shouted. The other man finally grew
silent.
"Well... this seems to be near the end." Jim
commented. "As a spokesperson for Cloud and Tifa, I, on their
behalf, bid 3,000,200 Gil."
For a moment, no one spoke. "Going once!"
Still no one spoke. "Going Twice!"
"Ten million!" the man in the back shouted. Everyone turned to him. Jim was surprised to see the man finally talk.
Jim looked around. "Anyone want to place a higher bid?" No one spoke up. "Well then, sold! To Mr...?" Jim asked expectantly.
"Talon. You may call me Talon." He said as he walked forward, his red eyes blazing with pride.
Reno, Rude, Elena, and Mark walked their way to Nibelheim, to meet their contact. Suddenly, a large object appeared in the sky. Rude was the first to see it.
"What's that?" He asked as he pointed into the sky. The others followed his finger.
"I don't see anything." Mark replied.
"Nor I." Added Reno.
Suddenly, the object grew in size. It's descent did not change. It just grew!
Elena's voice shook. "I don't know about any of you, bit I DEFIANTLY see that!"
The object approached them at an incredible speed. It landed not more than a dozen yards away. It stood as tall as the mountains around them, and looked evil enough to kill by merely looking at someone. It was organic, but had a metallic look to it.
Rude, for the first time anyone could remember, had a sense of fear in his voice. "It's a... WEAPON..." He spoke softly for fear it would hear him.
The WEAPON turned it's glaze to Rude. It bent it's huge head down, and took a sniff like a dog. Rude stood still. Not out of fear, but he didn't want to upset this thing.
The WEAPON also sniffed Reno, then Elena. It then turned to Mark, and took a sniff.
When it finished, it reared it's head back, and screamed what sounded like a war cry.
Mark couldn't help it any more. "It's gonna kill me!" He dropped everything, and ran.
The WEAPON materia
rolled out of his bag, and intensely glowed for a second.
Without
wasting much time, the WEAPON opened it's shoulders, to reveal two
laser ports. It opened it's mouth, and took a deep breath. As he did
so, the laser ports began to light up. Suddenly, it released it's
energy upon Mark, vaporizing him instantly. The rest of the group
just stared at the gaping hole that now existed where Mark had once
been. Then they turned their attention back to the WEAPON, awaiting
another barrage to finish them off.
The WEAPON just stood there. He looked at the group expectantly.
"What is it waiting for?" Elena finally asked. "Why hasn't it vaporized us too?"
Reno spoke slowly. "I don't know. Just don't anger the thing."
After about 5 or 6 minutes of waiting, the WEAPON turned around, and started to walk away.
The group took a sigh of relief. They watched it go. When it was far enough away, they gathered Mark's stuff. Rude took the WEAPON materia, and put it in his pack.
Suddenly, they heard a BOOM, BOOM, BOOM. They turned around to see the WEAPON heading back their way! They began to run. But the WEAPON caught up with them all too easily. It blocked them off.
They froze. It looked solely at Rude. As it did, it began to change. It took on a more stealthy look. More like what Rude may have developed for a WEAPON.
Rude slowly took out the WEAPON Materia. "I thought that this made the planet think you were a WEAPON." Rude stated.
Reno looked at the WEAPON, then at Rude. "Looks like those old books where wrong."
Reno took another look at the WEAPON. "Try giving it a command."
Rude didn't think it was a good idea to try, but why not? "Sit."
The materia glowed brighter for a second, then WEAPON sat down with enough force to
shake the ground.
Elena had lost her balance, and was now trying to get up. "You mean that thing is under our command?"
"Perhaps." Reno replied. "Stand up!"
The weapon just sat there, looking at Rude.
Elena gave it a try. "Look to the left!"
Still, the weapon stared at Rude.
"Stand up." Rude tried.
The materia glowed, and the WEAPON stood up.
And Rude smiled.
"Still no word was been heard from mayor-elect Reeve, as the time for his acceptance of position nears a close. We would like to remind him that he still has 15 minutes. We will update you at the end of this broadcast. Steve?" The news reporter said.
Cid turned the TV off, and looked at Reeve.
"You gonna call them?" he asked.
Reeve's hands where pressed against each other, the tips of his fingers supporting his nose. The light of the lamp on the nearby table only partially lit his face. After a second, he lowered his hands, and began to speak. "I'm not sure. I've worked so hard to get that position..."
"But?" Cid anticipated. He rotated his wheelchair so he could see Reeve better.
"But... In the last few days, I've been reminded of what a REAL adventure is. I've battle monsters, discovered sinister plans, and I'm helping to bring a dear friend back from the dead. A lot of people can become mayor. Even Barret! But not many people can have an adventure like this. I'm just not sure that I want to give up adventures like this, to be a mayor."
Cid wheeled over, and patted him on the shoulders. "Listen. I've been the mayor of Rocket Town ever since it was built. I've only taken a small vacation to help you guys last year. Being the Mayor of even a town the size of this one is kind of fun. But if you feel you would rather not be the center of every reporter's damn camera, you are welcome to stay with me as long as you like." Cid gave Reeve one of his poker smiles, and Reeve also smiled.
"Thanks Cid. Mind if I use your phone?" Reeve asked.
Cid smiled. "Be my guest."
Yuffie waited with Barret, and Tifa for news about her father. Tifa sat with Yuffie and tried to comfort her as best she could, but she wasn't sure what to do.
Barret, on the other hand, was trying to find something to read. He picked up a magazine, and began to flip through it. It took him a few seconds to realize it was one of those teen-girl type magazines. He quickly tossed it onto the table, and began to look for another one.
Why do doctor's offices hafta have so may un-interesting magazines! He thought to himself. He finally gave up, and began to look around. A TV in the corner was turned to the news. Interested, Barret turned his attention to it.
"As we close this news program, we would like to update you on mayor-elect Reeve's acceptance. Barbara?" Steve said.
"Thanks Steve." Barbara said as the picture switched to her. "We have finally received word that mayor-elect Reeve has called in. We can playback a recording of the phone call made not more than 10 minutes ago with his offices."
The TV switched to a picture of Reeve. Underneath, it had text of what Reeve was saying. "I've decided not to accept the position of Mayor of Junon. The reason is that I have found other things that require my immediate attention. I would like to tell everyone that I will run again in a few years, and that I will stress the same issues."
The TV switched back to Barbara. "It is not made clear exactly the reason he decide to decline the position of mayor, but he also stated that he was also looking forward to not being, quote 'the center of every reporter's damn camera.' unquote. Steve?"
Tifa had joined Barret when she had heard Reeve's voice. She poked Barret in the ribs, and he turned his attention away from the TV. Tifa gave him a look that meant "Come on. Yuffie needs us."
"I wonder why
he declined being mayor?" Barret asked when they sat down again.
Tifa was wondering that too. "We'll ask him when we get
back." Tifa turned to Yuffie, but noticed that she wasn't
sitting next to her. Tifa looked around and finally saw Yuffie not
too far away. "Right now..." Tifa nodded towards Yuffie. A
doctor had come up to her, and it didn't look like good news. "We
have a friend who needs us."
Cloud, Zack, Red, and Vincent stood on the main deck of the Highwind. They had been following the trail of the Turks ever since dropping the rest of the group at Rocket Town. Red was deeply emerged in some book he found, while Vincent seemed content to simply look out the window.
Cloud was busily sharpening and cleaning his sword, when Zack sat down next to him. He unsheathed his sword, and also began to clean and sharpen it. Finally, he turned to Cloud.
"Does everyone hate me?" He asked.
Cloud stopped what he was doing and just stared at Zack. "Why would they hate you?"
Zack leaned back. "I don't know. But Vincent won't talk to me, and Red asked me not to bother him."
Cloud chuckled at this. Zack didn't see what was so funny. "That's the way they always are." Cloud said with a grin. "Vincent has been locked in a coffin for about 30 years. We where the ones who released him about a year ago. He talks only when he wants too. It's like he's almost emotionally dead."
Zack turned around to look at him. Vincent's velvet cape just hung there, as if it was about to swallow Vincent whole. If Vincent had heard their conversation, which Cloud believed he had, he either didn't show it, or didn't care.
"And Red... Well... Red is the last of his kind. He'll live to be much older than us. He's 58 or so. In his species terms, he's still a teenager. He likes to bury himself in books, as if he wants to know everything there is to know. He's very persistent about it."
"We have another problem." Vincent said solemnly. Zack and Cloud jumped. Vincent had approached them so silently that they didn't detect his presence until he spoke.
"What? What problem?" Cloud asked. Vincent merely led them to the window, and pointed. He didn't have to say a word.
There, ahead of them, was a WEAPON, standing totally still, like a statue. Suddenly, the WEAPON shrank, until it was out of view.
"Land us there!" Cloud commanded. The crew did so.
Reno, Rude, Elena, and Mark watched the airship descend from the heavens. They saw Cloud, Vincent, Red, and one other person jump out. Elena was the only one to recognize the forth person.
"Well, well, well... what brings YOU here?" Reno asked.
"We thought we saw a WEAPON. But instead, we find you. You want to tell us why you attacked Wutai?" Cloud demanded.
Reno smiled, and leaned his baton against his shoulder. "It was purely business. I'm sure you understand, right?"
"No. I don't." Cloud replied. He brought out his sword, and got ready for an attack. "I
don't murder innocent people. I don't burn buildings, and leave them so they can kill women and children!"
Reno smiled again.
They conversed about this and that for a few minutes. But NEVER did Mark say a word.
He just looked at the others, as if waiting for the command to attack.
Suddenly, the conversation turned to the group's new members.
"So Cloud...
Who's the look-a-like? You're stand in?" Reno joked.
"I
can answer that." Elena chipped in. She walked up to Zack. "It's
good to see you again." She said in a monotone. "I thought
you died."
"And I thought you'd be dead by now." Zack replied.
Both Cloud and Reno where shocked at the personal nature they seemed to have. Rude and Vincent where also surprised, but showed no sign of it. Neither Red, nor Mark made a single move.
"So... You finally made it. How's the Turk life?" Zack asked.
"Different than I thought. But still worth it." She replied.
Reno began to speak. "Can someone tell me..."
"... What's going on?" Cloud finished.
Zack and Elena turned to their respective groups. Zack spoke. "This is my younger sister Elena."
"And he's my older brother, Zack." She commented.
Cloud stared unflinchingly at Zack aboard the Highwind.
The Turks had asked for a ride to Nibelheim. Cloud declined, but Red had convinced him otherwise.
"If they have the WEAPON Materia, it will give us time to find out and get it from them." Red had argued.
Cloud didn't like having them aboard the Highwind. Too dangerous.
But Cloud wasn't thinking about that now. He just stared at Zack.
Zack was starting to feel uncomfortable. "Come on Cloud. I told you. I can't control what she does. I told her that I didn't want her to join the Turks 8 years ago. She ran away, and joined them anyway." Zack scratched the back of his head. "I didn't figure she'd make it...
She was only 16 back then..."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Cloud asked softly.
Zack grew tired of this game. "I TOLD YOU! I didn't think she'd make it! I was as surprised as you where!"
Cloud just continued to stare. He did it in such a way, that even Vincent might have looked away. "If it came down to her and us, who would you side with?" Cloud asked point blank.
Zack thought about it. He hated questions like this. He looked over at his sister, who was probably getting the same talk from Reno, guessing from her reactions to Reno's "speech". "I would side with the one that's right. I won't kill my sister, but I'll do what I have to if it means stopping her."
Cloud got up and left without saying a word.
Zack wanted to tell Cloud more, but got the impression that he wanted to be alone for a bit.
Rude and Mark where standing in the Chocobo stable aboard the Highwind. Rude made sure that no one was around, then brought out the WEAPON materia. He took a good look at it, and noticed that a small chunk of it was missing.
This puzzled Rude. Materia only worked the way it's suppose to when it's whole. But this has a chunk missing. That means...
Rude looked at Mark. Rude knew this wasn't really Mark, but the WEAPON in disguise.
And suddenly, it clicked.
This WAS the WEAPON materia, and it DOES work the way it's suppose to, but it has a chunk missing. That alters the abilities that it has. Instead of appearing as a WEAPON to the planet, it creates a WEAPON you can control.
Rude smiled as he figured this out.
He held out the materia, and asked the WEAPON to talk to him. The materia glowed.
The WEAPON released a low moan, that sounded like a low pitched scream. He had no idea what it was, but he knew that it could bring the whole crew down here.
"Shut up." He commanded. The WEAPON promptly quieted.
But it was too late.
Red had heard it from the nearby conference room, and came in. It sounded like the Planet's cries... He saw Rude holding a blue materia. "What is that?" He asked.
Rude looked at him. "It's my new All materia."
Red just looked at Mark. "I was talking to him."
Rude didn't know what to do. Mark couldn't speak. It was a WEAPON. Mark looked at Rude. It waited for a command.
"Well... tell him." Rude said.
"It's an All materia." Mark replied.
Rude looked at him with slight surprise. He couldn't believe it... the WEAPON spoke... in English!
Red took a look at the "All" materia. He didn't believe him, but had no reason to distrust what he said. Then Red noticed a chunk of the materia was missing.
A memory flash through Red mind. Of Cloud, and his materia ring he showed him and Bugenhagen. The gem in the ring was about the size of the missing chunk, and it was also blue.
He knew that no All materia would work with a chunk missing. So this had to be...
As casually as he could, Red went off to look for Cloud.
On the main deck, Cloud looked out at the sky. They where almost to Nibelheim. Almost home. Maybe we should stop by and check on things...
Cloud's hands felt something in his pocket. He pulled it out, and opened the small case.
The blue gem inside glowed intensely as his thoughts turned to Tifa. He took out the ring and held it up to the fading light of the sun. The gem sparkled and shone brightly against the cloud-filled sky.
In that instant, he knew exactly what would happen if he and Tifa got married. But as quickly as it came, the moment vanished, along with the brief glimpse he had caught of his future.
Cloud shook his head. The vision had been so real...
Cloud lifted the ring to the light again, and thought about Tifa...
The vision didn't come back.
Cloud sighed as he put the ring back.
Suddenly, his thoughts turned to Aeris. He had to admit that he missed her. He knew the Turks where no good, but he knew they might have the one thing that would help bring
Aeris back to him.
"Cloud?"
Cloud turned around and saw that Red had joined him. "What is it Red?"
Red walked up, and sat next to him. "We have a small problem. The WEAPON materia is aboard this ship. And the Turks have it."
Godo's eyes slowly opened. As he did, he could barely make out the figure standing next to him. It appeared to be sitting in a chair, with one hand supporting it's head. Godo let out a low moan.
The figure's head popped up. "Dad?" It asked.
Godo recognized the voice, but couldn't place it. "Who's there?"
"Dad. It's me! Yuffie." The figure replied.
Suddenly, everything dawned on him. "Yuffie?" He finally asked. "What happened? I remember three men and a woman, they wanted the family materia, we fought, then I was knocked out."
Yuffie smiled that her father was alive. The doctors had told her that if he woke up within a few hours, he'd would make it. Yuffie decided to sit by him and wait. But she thought of none of that.
"The Turks attacked Wutai. They nearly destroyed it. But they left with some sort of materia." Yuffie answered. "Dad? Is that the WEAPON materia?"
This surprised Godo. "How do you know about the WEAPON materia?"
Yuffie explained their plan to bring back Aeris, and how the WEAPON materia would negate the effects of the Materia of Destiny.
"But... was that the WEAPON materia?" She asked again.
Godo nodded. "But... it doesn't work that way anymore. Long ago, someone stole it from our family, and wanted to create jewelry out of it. They'd managed to get a piece off of it, before my father and I found them, and brought it back. But we never found the ring it was made into. It's probably still out there."
Yuffie digested this information. "If we were to find the missing section, and put it back into the WEAPON materia, would it work correctly?"
Godo was able to manage a nod before he started back into sleep. "Go. Be careful. In it's current state, the welder of that materia is almost unstoppable. You must find and rejoin the two pieces in order to save your friend."
Without making a sound, Yuffie nodded her head, and left the room. Godo just fell back into his dreamy sleep.
Reno couldn't believe his ears. "What do you mean, you can't land!" He asked exasperated.
The crewman just looked at him and shrugged his shoulders. "I just got a call from Cloud that I wasn't suppose to land. You'll have to take it up with him." The crewman turned back to his duties.
Reno cursed, and went after Cloud.
Elena, Rude and Mark had joined them. In the main hanger, they where met by Cloud, Zack, Vincent and Red.
"Why won't you land the ship!" Reno spat at Cloud.
"There's something that you have that we need." Cloud responded.
Reno mocked surprise. "Now what could we have that you want?"
Red spoke up. "How about the WEAPON materia for a start."
Reno continued to play dumb. "WEAPON materia? What's that?"
Vincent now spoke up. "A piece of materia that would be too dangerous in the hands of people like you and your kind."
Reno was about to continue, but he knew that they were seeing through his charade. He smiled slyly. "Maybe we have it, and maybe we don't. What's it worth to you?"
Cloud had had enough of this game. "Hand it over now!"
"What... is... it... worth... to... you?" Reno replied, emphasizing each word.
Zack also grew tired of this charade. "How about the life of a friend. Is that a high enough?"
Reno didn't understand this answer. "What do you mean?"
"It doesn't matter! Just give us the WEAPON Materia!" Zack replied.
Elena was getting jumpy. "Reno, why don't we just finish these guys off?"
Reno smiled at the enthusiasm of Elena. "Because if we DID fight here, we'd most likely damage something that keeps us up in the air, and we'd all die."
Reno turned his attention back to Cloud. "I'd love to continue this, but we have a meeting to get to. So if you'd so kindly lower the ship, we'll be on our way."
Cloud saw the logic in what he said. Fighting was out of the question. He knew they'd just have to get the WEAPON materia another day.
Suddenly, the
Highwind rocked as if hit from the side. Everyone lost their balance.
In the control room, crew members scramble diligently to steady
the ship. Another hit made people go flying. Operators where yelling
back and forth about some kind of strange turbulence, and they where
barking orders to get the ship straightened again.
Back in the main room, Reno had hit his head, and was unconscious. Elena was shaking it off, when she noticed Rude. He was hanging from the side of the walkway. Below him, machinery grinded, and turned. On a ledge, not to far away, was the WEAPON materia. Rude reached for it, but it was too far away. He felt his grip on the side going. Suddenly, a strong hand grabbed his. He looked up, and saw that Vincent now held onto him. Vincent pulled Rude out of his precarious position.
Red noticed the materia, and jumped to a ledge not far away. He gripped it, and put it with his materia, then jumped back.
He then got the materia, and handed it to Rude. "I believe this is yours."
"So. We're back to square one." Barret commented.
The others had returned to Rocket Town, to tell them the news.
Red smiled. "Not so." He took out a materia, and handed it to Cloud.
"What is this Red?" Cloud asked.
Red just smiled. "How about the WEAPON materia?"
Cloud looked at Red with a smile. "Why you sly thing! You switched materia on Rude?"
"Yep. He told me earlier that it was an All materia, and that's exactly what it is."
The group laughed, and complimented Red on his trickery.
Yuffie looked at the orb. "So that's the WEAPON materia?"
"Hands off runt!" Barret barked. "We need that!"
Yuffie turned to him, and gave him a harsh look. "For your information, that materia belongs to MY family! In every aspect, it belongs to me!"
Yuffie and Barret argued about this for a while, during which, Red walked up to Cloud and Tifa.
"Cloud. Do you still have the ring?" Red asked.
Tifa looked at Cloud with an odd look. "Ring? What ring?"
Cloud looked at her sheepishly. He pulled out a black box. He opened it to reveal the ring he had bought. Tifa took a look at that, and almost melted! In front of her was a golden ring, with a shiny blue gem in the center of it that seemed to glow.
"I... bought this about 6 months ago at Wutai." Cloud explained. "I showed it to Red and Bugenhagen, and they discovered that the gem is really some sort of materia." Cloud shrugged. "It's the reason I originally left. I wanted sometime to think... about marriage."
"Marriage?" Tifa asked. "Oh Cloud!" Her heart melted at the thought of Cloud wanting to marry her.
"However,"
Red interrupted. "That stone is the missing piece of this WEAPON
Materia."
Tifa wince in emotional pain as Cloud took the
ring's gem out, and placed it into the missing chunk of the WEAPON
materia.
A bright light emitted from the spot where they joined. The group had to squint, but when the light faded, the materia was whole, without a sign of it being chipped off.
The group looked at it. Silence encompassed the whole group. Finally, Cid looked at them all and broke the silence. "Well... all we have to do is get the Materia of Destiny. Any ideas where it is?"
Jim couldn't believe it. Here he was, worrying about everything that had gone wrong since Cloud and Tifa left, and everything was now perfectly fine.
Talon had done a lot for them. First, he buys the Shinra Mansion, at a ludicrous price, then he captures the cattle killers, then ever offers to tell stories at the Inn.
It was almost too good to be true. Jim smelled something fishy.
He'd been to the Shinra Mansion since Talon bought it, and he noticed a lot. Such as Talon was turning it into some sort of corporate headquarters, or at least a branch of it.
What worried him the most was that Talon had a secret meeting with four newcomers. Jim had followed Talon, and listened in. He was surprised when he figured out who the newcomers where! They where the famous Turks that Cloud and Tifa often talked about. They worked for whoever paid them. And it was usually not for the good guys.
What was worse was that he saw them give Talon a materia, and Talon had laughed with a demonic laugh. It was the sort of laugh that meant "I now have the power to control the world!"
Jim was sure that Talon wasn't the nice person he'd portrayed himself to be. But he didn't have any proof.
So he would have to get some...
"Cloud?"
Zack walked over to his friend as they looked around in the darkness. Cloud looked at him, then nodded in acknowledgement.
"See her yet?" Zack asked.
"Not yet." Cloud replied. He had been hoping Aeris would show them where this other temple was, but she had yet to show up in this dream.
Suddenly, she appeared out of the darkness.
Finally! Cloud thought impatiently. "Took her long enough." He mumbled under his breath. He took a step forward, and looked at Aeris. "Where is the other temple?" he asked.
Aeris at first looked surprised, but the look quickly vanished from her face, as she looked beneath Cloud and Zack.
Tentatively, they also looked down. They saw the world rotating beneath their feet. At first, they where worried that they would fall, but they didn't.
Slowly, the world got larger, and larger, until Cloud and Zack could see individual towns.
They came down, and flew around the world, visiting every town, until they finally stopped at Gongaga. They both looked at Aeris, but she just smiled. They continued their descent INTO the ground! After several seconds, they came out into a cavern that looked similar to both the City of the Ancients, and the Temple of the Ancients, but was MUCH bigger!
They only caught a glimpse of it, before they where blinded by a white light.
When the light died, they did NOT expect to be hovering around the world again. The both looked at Aeris, as she looked upon the planet turning in the complete darkness of their current existence.
Cloud looked at Zack. "Does that mean what I think it means?" He asked.
Zack shrugged his shoulders in reply. "I'm not sure. But we know what to do when we wake up."
Another white light blinded both of them. When Cloud could see again, he saw a version of himself, like he was watching a movie. He looked around, and saw himself floating above the ground. Zack was still with him. The both floated over to the other Cloud. They then turned their attention to Aeris. She looked at the other Cloud and smiled. Suddenly, a vortex of swirling colors burst into existence. A man walked out of it. He wore a demonic smile as he skewered Aeris through her back. Aeris slumped forward.
Both Clouds and Zack looked at the man who had done it.
There was a man there, wearing all black, and had long, black hair. His eyes glowed, but they glowed an evil shade of red. He smiled at Cloud, then turned to face Cloud and Zack. He smiled again, then killed the other Cloud. The rest of the group came up behind the other Cloud, and the man with the red eyes only took a few swipes and the rest of the group fell down dead. He laughed a demonic laugh that could only be matched by Sephiroth himself.
The man disappeared back into the swirling vortex of brilliant blues, yellows and purples.
His laugh echoed in their ears until both Cloud and Zack woke up screaming.
Cid looked at where he'd been a few minutes ago. He was amazed he had come this far! He used all his might to move his leg a little bit more forward. He felt such a surge of pride, that he almost lost his balance.
Fortunately, Shera was right next to him, to help him if he fell.
Cid had been working at getting the use of his legs back, ever since he had gotten home. They where working a little bit more a day. Today... He thought, I'm going to the end of these bars! He looked at the distance he had to go to reach the end. It was at least a good few steps. If I could walk normally again. Cid thought. He could only move his legs about an inch to 4 inches at a time.
Dr. Ganzgo, who had moved to Rocket Town to help Cid, was amazed at Cid's determination and his process. He had surpassed the time table which Dr. Ganzgo had set up. He was a full month and a half ahead of schedule, and only going faster!
Cid had demanded to use the bars several times. He worked on it day and night. Whenever he had a hour to spare, or whenever he had time to think of what he was probably missing, he wanted to use the bars. He sometimes did it when no one was around to help, but he never told Shera that. It would only upset her.
Cid took another step forward. Shera was by his side, encouraging him to take another big step. Cid gladly obliged. It took him a few minutes, but Cid had finally gotten to the end of the bars!
Shera brought his wheelchair over, and offered it to him, but Cid refused.
"Now... I go back to the other side." He stated. "Alone. No help."
Shera was worried about this, but she knew how stubborn Cid could get, so she let him.
Cid started his way back. He made it halfway, before he slipped. He crashed onto the floor with a loud thud.
Shera was by his side, before he could push himself up. She helped him into his wheel chair, and pushed him by the TV. "Next time, let me help!" She scorned.
Cid just nodded, and wrapped up in his fuzzy blanket.
It had been almost a day since Cloud and the others had left for Gongaga. He wished he could have gone, but he knew that he would only slow them down. And there was no telling what kind of dangers they would have to protect him from. If a monster were to suddenly attack Cid in this state, he would have to hope that his hand eye co-ordination could make up for his fancy footwork.
Shera had gone to get him a cup of tea, when there was a knock at the door.
Cid looked at the door from beneath his blanket. "Who is it?"
"Rocket Pizza, We deliver!" a female voice said.
Cid didn't remember ordering a pizza. Maybe Shera did it... "Come in."
A woman walked in. She wore all blue, and carried a bag of pizza that said Rocket Pizza on the side.
But Cid knew she wasn't from the pizza place for 2 reasons. 1: Rocket Pizza always sends complimentary Rocket Soda in their Rocket Soda 32 ounce mug, which she did not seem to be carrying, and 2: Reno and Rude where close behind her.
Elena tossed the pizza bag at Cid. "We need to talk."
Aeris walked down her corridor for what had to be the 24th time. She looked at the stain-glass windows that comprise her life. She had been surprised to find out that this was what her corridor had been, since she barely looked at stain-glass windows.
Aeris did admit that they had always struck her fancy, but never this much. She was expecting something more like a float parade or something.
But she'd already thought of this. She was here for a specific reason... and she was getting closer. She was looking for the reason that she was still here. The reason she had not crossed over.
She had already looked at her life, and made the judgement that she regretted nothing. She should have crossed over. But she hadn't. And now she was here to discover why.
Aeris had looked at her life again, and continued down to the scenes of her death. She was thankful that there were little displays, saying what people had said during that scene of her life. She looked at the window of this scene, which showed her being ran though by Sephiroth's sword, while Cloud watched in horror.
She frowned, and shook her head. Nothing. She hadn't found a single thing that would have kept her here.
She was about to start again, when she noticed something in a nearby wall. She took a closer look at it. It appeared to be a hidden door.
Unsure, Aeris walked forward, and opened the door. It was completely dark. Her hand fumbled for a light switch, but found nothing. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, and walked it.
The door slammed shut behind her, leaving her in total darkness.
