Chapter 20
White Materia
Feardorcha exploded out of the Star Room looking around angrily for his enemy, the bridge looked very calm.
"They got away, Fear," Charna said.
"How did he get past the shielding, how did he get in?" asked Fear.
"He used to be one of us, Fear, he could be the single most dangerous enemy we have," Charna said.
"Find him," Fear said, "I don't care what it takes, find him, he knows our plan."
"Well, whose fault is that, sir?" asked Mardra.
Fear spun and glared at Mardra, "Where the hell were you when Samael appeared on our ship, Mardra?"
"Preoccupied," Mardra replied amiably, "it was you who told our enemies the said plan, yes?"
"If you had kept Samael away I may have been able to convince them to help us!" Fear retorted.
"You know as well as I do, sir, that neither Aeris Gainsborough, nor her brother, had any intention of selling out their friends," Mardra said.
"If only I could have told them everything, then they may have seen it all differently," Fear growled, "if only you'd done your job and kept Samael off this ship!"
Fear drew a dagger from his coat and threw it at Mardra.
Mardra brought up his rifle and fired, the bullet hit the blade and both projectiles ricocheted harmlessly away.
"Now I know you're a little upset, sir, but if you do that kind of thing too often I might get insulted," Mardra said calmly.
Fear just growled again, realizing had Mardra not been as fast as he was he would have just killed one of his fellow commanding officers.
"You need to control yourself," Mardra said, "start using your head, Aeris is our enemy."
"I thought you didn't know her?" asked Charna.
"I know now," Mardra replied.
"How?" asked Charna.
"I Googled her, the hell do you care?" asked Mardra.
Charna disregarded the remark which he had picked up from an alternate existence they had visited recently.
The control console made a sudden beeping noise.
"It's Garen," Charna said.
"Hey, you guys there, what'd I miss?" asked Garen.
"Nothing, do you have the White Materia?" asked Fear.
"I think you're lying," Garen said.
"What?"
"I saw three particularly interesting Cetra appearing from where I assume was our ship," Garen replied.
"Don't worry about that, the Materia!" Fear said impatiently.
"Temple of the Ancients, Shinra's hiding it there," Garen said.
"Corta told you?" asked Fear.
"Not quite," Garen replied, "Corta's too dead at the moment; please leave a message after the gunshot wound."
"Damn it!" Fear growled.
"Fear's pissed I guess?" asked Garen.
"Of course," Charna replied.
"Was it them?" asked Fear.
"I don't know who did it, but whoever did used her own bullet against her," Garen said.
"How did you find out?" asked Charna.
"I followed our friends there," Garen said, "I'm looking at the said Temple right now. Well, lack thereof."
"Can you get the Materia?" asked Fear.
"You know me, I'll try anything once," Garen replied.
"Let me send backup," Fear said.
"No time, they'll be gone with the goods by then, I can handle it," Garen said.
"Not alone, wait there," Fear said.
"I'm already moving, don't bother," Garen replied.
"Garen…" Fear continued.
"SSSSSHHHHH…..ZZZZZZTTT…sorry….SSHHHHRRRRTTT…you're breaking up!" Garen cut the transmission.
"Idiot," Charna said grinning and shaking her head.
"Full speed to the Temple of the Ancients!" Fear growled.
§
Cloud and the group took the Shinra Chopper over to the Temple and quickly worked out the details with the members of SOLDIER posted there. After confirming with Rufus Sam held the White Materia in his hand and stood silently staring at it.
"You okay?" asked Cloud.
Sam looked up and nodded, "Just looking at it."
"Amazing little Materia, we saw what it could do," Cloud said.
"Unfortunately it hadn't been enough," Sam added.
"That was our error," Vincent said. "If we had defeated Sephiroth sooner then Holy would have worked, the Materia did its job, it was us that were the deciding factor."
"You people saved the planet," Sam said, "you can pretty much let yourself off the hook for that one."
Vincent just nodded slightly.
"The little Materia that could," Sam muttered and chuckled, "you may end up helping them save the world again little guy. This time existence itself, maybe."
"Stop talking to the Materia, Sammy-boy," said a voice behind him, Sam turned quickly to find the owner. "People are gonna start thinking you're crazy!"
Mere feet away stood Garen, Sam recognized the Outcast immediately.
"Who's this, now?" asked Cloud readying his sword.
"Second in command of the Outcasts," Sam said. "Leader's brother."
"I'll take that Materia, Sam," Garen said walking toward him.
Sam sighed and put the Materia in his pocket, "Come and get it."
Garen suddenly shot off the ground and through the air toward him.
Sam jumped and flew through the air to meet him, in mid-air both collided, Garen was sent straight downward into the ground. It created a small crater from which dust and dirt shot upward. Sam landed just outside this cloud of dust.
Garen quickly came shooting out of the cloud and rammed into Sam sending both of them flying backward.
Vincent drew his gun and fired a single shot.
Garen had to turn his attention away to use his telekinesis to deflect the bullet; in that time Sam kicked him and sent him continuing on backward while Sam came to a halt.
His flight was uncontrolled and Garen tumbled out of the air and fell into the crater that used to be the Temple of the Ancients.
Sam quickly turned and ran toward the crater, diving in and heading toward Garen.
Immediately Sam came flying back out with Garen, both of them sailing up through the air. This time Sam came down hard smashing into the ground, he rolled aside just in time to dodge a powerful downward attack by Garen. Sam rolled back and kicked Garen in the back of the head sending him falling forward.
Garen stood and faced Sam, he lifted a hand and suddenly Cloud's sword flew from his hands and floated in front of Garen. Then the sword shot end over end toward Sam, Sam in turn sidestepped and let the sword pass by. Then Garen made the sword split in two, now two blades came at Sam.
Sam dexterously ducked and sidestepped constantly to avoid the floating swords.
As Garen was preoccupied Aeris came up behind him and smashed him hard across the back of the head with her staff, it appeared to be charged with a green energy that not only hit Garen but sent him sailing a few feet away and grinding to a halt on the ground.
Sam grabbed the now no longer floating swords and turned to Garen, "I'd watch her, buddy, she looks all cute and frail but she will kick your Outcast ass."
Garen stood up dizzily and rubbed the back of his head, then raised his hand and pointed it straight at Sam.
Sam was lifted a few centimeters off the ground; he dropped the swords and found he couldn't move his limbs.
Vincent raised his gun, Garen flicked a wrist and his gun flew out of his hand, he was then tossed off his feet and headfirst into the ground.
Cloud was likewise tossed as he made for his swords.
Aeris moved and Garen turned his attention to her, he raised his free hand and she started floating in the air as well.
"My two favourite Cetra, where's your brother, Aeris?" asked Garen.
"Behind you, dumbass," Gast muttered and fired his shotgun.
The shot blew Garen's head clear off his shoulders and the body fell limp on the ground, Sam and Aeris dropped to the ground and then to their knees, suddenly feeling weak.
Gast stood silently with his shotgun pointed straight ahead, "Careful, fellow Ancient, this is no time to lose your head."
Sam looked up weakly and grinned managing to say, "Good one."
"Another telekinetic," Vincent said sitting up but falling back down, his head had been thrown into the ground hard when he was thrown and he felt as if his neck was broken.
"The last one," Sam said standing up with a struggle and walking over to a still doubled over Aeris.
"Last one?" asked Gast walking over to his sister.
"The Outcasts only had three in their lifetime," Sam explained helping Aeris to her feet. "Garen and the other are now dead, I was the third."
"So we've weakened them," Gast said assisting in helping Aeris.
"Most definitely," Sam replied, "but you just killed their leader's brother, Feardorcha is gonna be pissed."
"Gast…" Aeris muttered shaking off the drowsiness, "…you killed him."
"I had to, sis," Gast replied smiling.
"What's…" Aeris said, "…you're first name?"
"Jackson," Gast replied, "most people just call me Gast."
"Jack," Aeris muttered, "I have a brother…"
She passed out.
"Is she alright?" asked Gast.
"Garen was a very powerful Telekinetic," Sam said, his head was still swimming, "the only reason I can stand is because being a Telekinetic I have a certain immunity."
"Cloud," Aeris said suddenly, eyes shooting open, "where's Cloud?"
Sam grinned, "Lover boy's unconscious over there, don't worry, he wasn't hit hard enough to kill him. I'm surprised tall, dark and brooding over there is still conscious after that."
Aeris stumbled over to Cloud quickly kneeling down beside him and turning him on to his back, he was in fact unconscious.
"He's the key," Aeris said.
"What?" asked Gast.
"Centre Time…" Aeris said, starting to fall into unconsciousness again, "…artifact…Cloud."
Aeris fell on her back and closed her eyes.
"What the hell?" asked Gast.
"Centre Time…artifact…Cloud," Sam muttered.
"Someone tell me what the hell is going on here," Gast said.
"Him…after all this time, the key to Centre Time…" Sam said, "…the Outcasts have no idea."
"Sam, explain something here!" Gast growled.
"Sorry," Sam said, "alright, there's been a new development, we need to talk."
§
Across time and space, in another existence, a group of Outcasts led by a commanding officer by the name of Foret was looking through the abandoned town of Kalm for an item they desperately needed.
They had received the news that the main force had failed to retrieve the White Materia and they likely wouldn't be able to retrieve it at present time. Foret knew he needed to find the artifact in this important existence, if he returned without it he wouldn't live very long.
Their leader was becoming more and more on edge as their plan was beginning to deteriorate.
"Sir, the last of the town's residents have left," said an Outcast behind Foret.
Foret nodded to him, "Any luck with the Peacemaker?"
"Not yet, but there is much of the town we've yet to explore, we haven't ventured inside any of the buildings yet," the Outcast replied.
"We need to find that gun, our enemies may know to come here," Foret said.
"I have more news, sir," the Outcast continued.
"What is it?"
"There's been a major casualty."
"Who?"
"Feardorcha's brother, sir, he's been killed."
Foret stood silently, "By whom?"
"We believe a traitor was involved, he was killed by a firearm of some kind," the Outcast replied.
"Traitor," Foret muttered, "Samael."
"Who, sir?" asked the Outcast.
"It doesn't matter, if it is him he will know to come here, we must find the Peacemaker before he does," Foret said.
"There was one more thing I was told to inform you of, sir," the Outcast said, "apparently the owner of the Peacemaker is with the traitor."
"Vincent," Foret muttered.
"Yes, sir, you know how much trouble we had killing him in this existence," the Outcast said.
"That one will be much more powerful, traveling with an Outcast traitor no less," Foret said.
"If he is reunited with the gun we won't have a chance, will we?" asked the Outcast.
"If it's true they have possession of the White Materia letting them have two artifacts is not an option," Foret replied ominously, "there is no choice, if we don't find it before they come then we will kill them."
"We don't have enough men to do that do we, sir?" asked the Outcast.
"No, not nearly enough," Foret agreed, "get in contact with Feardorcha, tell him we need the Shadows."
"He won't," the Outcast said doubtfully.
"These people killed his brother, he won't hesitate to construct another of his buildings," Foret said smiling, "they are a strong enemy, but the Shadows will be their equal."
"Yes, sir," the Outcast was gone.
Foret walked over to one of the buildings and jumped upward, shooting up impossibly high and landing on top of the roof.
He walked to the edge and looked across the wild world outside of the town.
He watched his men sweep around the outside of the town; soon they would move inside and start checking the buildings.
It was inevitable, they would find the Peacemaker. Before or after their enemies appeared…that was left to fate.
Foret stood for a while longer and then walked away from the edge of the roof, "If you do come, you will be met with an army, Samael. For your sake, friend, forget this place."