Chapter 3

Traveling with AVALANCHE for the past seven weeks has been a blast! It is so much fun hanging out with these people, Barret is always shouting and swearing at everyone that rubs him the wrong way, Tifa tryies to play the big sister role towards me which isn't bad but can get on my nerves when she tries to change me by saying stuff like "It is bad to steal" and "boys like girls to be a little less hyper". Who cares if boys like girls to be less hyper, I'm not looking for a boyfriend yet and even if I was he would have to accept me for who I am, or he can get stuffed!

It turns out as a resistance group, AVALANCHE is small, so small in fact it only has five members, six if you include me. The other two members are called Red and Aeris. Red is not human, he may speak human and have a brain the same size as a human but he defiantly not human. Red is some kind of dog or wolf with bright red hair and a main that sticks out and is stronger than steel! He is very quiet and keeps to himself, the only information I could get out of him is that he is forty eight years old and is the last of his kind.

Aeris on the other had is also the last of her kind but not because she isn't human, it is because she is the last remaining pure human. Aeris is an Ancient or CRATA as they called them-selves. Apparently she can speak with the planet and sprits before they return to the Lifestream. Aeris is like the mother I never had and always wanted, she is kind hearted and caring, a great cook which is good because the other can not cook well and I can not cook at all! Aeris is only twenty two and makes me wonder how someone so young could be so knowledgeable about the world, it must have something to do with her being an Ancient. The greatest thing about Aeris is that she lets me play with her most precious possession (A.N. under supervision of course), her pail green materia.

While observing this merry little band I notice that Tifa and Aeris are always trying to get Clouds attention, I just don't see what they see in him, sure he's strong and good looking... I mean not that bad looking but he's as stiff as a plank and just as dense, he has no sense of humor and despite having a commanding air around him he just can not act the part. He'll say things like "let's mossy" instead of "move out", he sounds completely ridicules. He can never tell if he's coming or going and gets really confused when things don't make sense. He's not my idea of a perfect catch but there's no convincing Tifa or Aeris of that.

I've not got much in the way of information out the group other then AVALANCHE has to stop Sephiroth from getting to the Promise Land.

The Promise Land is supposed to be an area surrounded and filled with Lifestream. The CRATA are said to of journeyed to the Promise Land and lived a life of prosperity and happiness until they died off for some reason. I don't know why Sephiroth is after the Promise Land and I don't care, as long as I keep myself away form his exceedingly long Samurai sword I will be completely happy.

We have just passed through the aquatic military fortress base called Juhurn, this place is so big you would not believe it, other than Midgar or The Gold Sorcer it is the biggest structure Shinra has built. As I said Juhurn is a military fortress, so if it were to be attacked it would go into a lockdown mode, lots of cannons will shout out of the floor and Soldiers will pour out of nowhere ready to defend the base, there is also a giant cannon on top of Juhurn that firers three by three meter shells! It's called Sister Ray. Girl Power!

Since we have to cross the sea to follow Sephiroth, we've became stowaways on a cargo ship, which meant I felt like crap! No one seamed to care that I was dieing! And that's when it happened! Of all the people in the world, Cloud had to be the one to show concern! That spiky headed jerk just had to come up to me, asking me how I felt and then started to tell me that he understands what I am going through, that he to has travel sickness too! Just when I was about to throttle him, he offered me a tranquilizer and I quickly accepted and drank it down. It wouldn't put me to sleep, just make me sleepy and settle my stomach. Perhaps I should not hate him just because he was in SOLDIER, after all he is only twenty one and was too young to have been in the war with Wutai and Shinra.

The boat ride from then on should have been "easy sailing", but it was not to be. Sephiroth is on board! When Cloud found out he started acting as the leader the other thought him to be, well not me and Barret. Barret has an ego as big as himself and keeps ranting on about how he should be the leader because he started AVALANCHE, we just ignore him when he starts shouting off his mouth. Cloud split us up into groups to make the search for Sephiroth easier, we were not to engage him, just call for back up and wait.

So me, Aeris and Red set out to find the only person I never wanted to meet, but I am never that lucky. Sephiroth found us! We were in the bowells of the ship by the engine room when he materialized through the floor and gave us an evil smirk. I was on edge, every one of my senses were telling me run! And I would if I wasn't boxed into a corner with Aeris latched on to my arm cutting off the blood supply! Sephiroth slowly raised that Samurai sword of his and swiftly brought it down just as I fainted.

I awoke finding myself in Clouds arms, he was carrying me through a lively beach resort town. We must have been in Costa Del Sol, the most beautiful resort town in the world, or so I read in a magazine, all I saw was a bright orange blur. Cloud finally noticed I was awake and gently put me on my feat. He looked like he was about to speak but Tifa and Aeris dragged me to a hotel preventing him from doing so. I would have been angry with Tifa and Aeris but I was just very confused as to how and why I was still alive. So I asked. Tifa told me, just before Sephiroth's sword sliced through me, it was deflected by Cloud's sward. Tifa went on saying, Sephiroth fled leaving a monster called Jenova to kill us! Cloud, Barret and Red killed it off without much trouble just as the ship docked at Costa Del Sol, Cloud then carried me off board.

I think I'll release my pent up frustration and relieve some hapless store owner of their materia!

NUCK! NUCK! NUCK! NUCK! NUCK! NUCK! NUCK! NUCK! NUCK! NUCK!