Ok ok

Ok ok! New chapter, once again I hope you all been enjoying the fic. Sorry about all the darn trouble with the stupid link to my deviantart page. Such a pain, I dunno why its not working. Try this…just go to and then type in before deviantart, "annubis123." With the dot at the end of it. So it'll look like www.annubis123. ha ha…I sound so stupid! Im not good at explaining things. If that doesn't work, then the internet is messed up! Cause I never have problems! Poo…anyways. Got to get this new chapter up. I posted the last one at 2:30-3:00 am and got real tired. I still had lots of notes for the chapter so I decided to end it there and post the rest in a new one. Oh and I got 1000 hits, but now it won't add anymore hits since I posted chapter 7. what's goin on? I know people are reading it cause I already got 5 reviews on it. Phew. Well I hope you like the new chapter! Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own final fantasy VII, Squaresoft does.

Chapter 8

"Stay back! This is something I gotta deal with! Jes' leave me alone!" Barret loaded his gun-arm and ran away from his group of friends towards a lonely shack. They were thrown into the desert prison located at the base of the Gold Saucer.

"Whew! That's one of your friends!? He sure looks dangerous…" Cait Sith wobbled.

"Cloud, what should we do? Barret's not his normal self!" Aeris trembled as she held onto Cloud's arm. The group followed Barret.

"Didn't I tell you not to come in here!?" Barret raised his gun and aimed it at the group.

"J-Just hold on for a second! We just want to talk! You'll understand if you just hear us out!" Cait Sith covered his face. Barret's arm slowly moved, finding his target. A loud shot sounded, killing the silence of the room.

"Let them loose!" Zack tightened his grip on his sword. "Let 'em loose or I'll slit his throat!" The blade quickly pulled in closer to Dio's throat.

"Listen to me, man! I have no idea what's goin' on, but you're asking for trouble!" Dio shook with fear as a trickle of blood dripped down the length of Zack's sword.

"My friend's, they were framed. Let them loose! Get them out of the prison, immediately. There is no way they would be that stupid…killing Shinra soldiers for no reason. It has to be someone else!" Zack clenched his teeth. He knew he was taking a risk, but he needed to get his friends away from any danger, especially Aeris. The MP's backed away and lowered their guns.

"Get out of here! Let me handle this! We had enough chaos for one day!" Dio ordered the MPs to leave. With reluctance, they backed away and out of the room. "Ok, ok. So we found another man with a gun on his arm. Many prisoners have been killed below by a man with a gun-arm. It occurred right before we picked up your friend. So we suspect that someone else is massacring everyone." A bead of sweat dropped from Dio's forehead.

"Then why did you arrest my friends? If you knew that there was another man with a gun-arm killing men in the prison, then why did you have to arrest them?" Zack was getting impatient.

"D-Don't ask me! It was Shinra orders! They knew it would be a good opportunity to get those guys! I-I had nothing to do with it!" Dio shook with fear.

"Get them out of there immediately, and provide them with the proper supplies before they leave." Zack pushed Dio towards the intercom. "…now…"

"Yeah, yeah. Just get that thing away from me." Dio pointed to Zack's sword. He grabbed for the intercom and began giving his new orders to the officers in the prison.

"Didn't want none of ya to get involved." Barret was sitting on the couch in the shack by the window. The body of a thief was lying on the floor next to him. The thief had been hiding behind the couch, waiting for the chance to mug everyone. Barret had luckily seen the man when he first entered the room.

"Yeah were already involved in this. We saw you and hurried here, so come on Barret just tell us what's going on." Tifa leaned against the wall, tightening her gloves.

"You guys…" Barret hung his head.

"I heard that the murders at the Battle Arena were done by a man with a gun-arm…was that you?" Red padded across the floor.

"That's another…Another man that got a gun grafted into one of his arms. It was four years ago…" Barret thought about the day he and Dyne were shot at. He replayed the incident to his friends, about his arm being badly wounded. "From then on, I couldn't use my right arm no more. I was depressed for a while but then I threw away my artificial arm and got this gun grafted in. Got a new right arm to get revenge on Shinra, who took everything away. Back then, I heard the doc' say there was another man who got the same operation as me. But his was the left arm." Barret ran his hand over the smooth metal of his gun-arm.

"But Dyne's injury was the same as yours, right?" Aeris tilted her head.

"Yeah, that's right. He was deceived by Shinra too. He'll probably join us to fight against the Shinra!" Tifa walked away from the wall and next to Barret.

"Wouldn't bet on it…I gotta 'pologize to Dyne before I can rest in peace, an' that's why I gotta go alone!" Barret stood up and headed for the door.

"Do whatever you want…is that what you want to hear!?" Cloud grabbed Barret and spun him around to face him. "Well I can't let you do it! Because if you die on me, I'm gonna have nightmares!" Cloud smiled.

"Barret…this isn't the end." Aeris stood next to Tifa.

"Weren't you going to save the planet?" Tifa put her hands on her hips.

"Shit! Tifa you oughtta know by now…" Barret looked at her and smiled a little.

"That's all right. I'm not so different from you." Tifa smiled.

"So there it is Barret…we're coming with you!" Cloud put a reassuring hand on Barret's shoulder.

Zack wandered the Gold Saucer. After explaining everything to Dio, the preparations for AVALANCHE's release were completed very easily. Dio had felt bad for all the trouble that was caused. He too did not like the Shinra. Zack came across the arcade. He was to have some fun while waiting for his friends. Dio would find him when everything was ready.

"What's this?" Zack came across a virtual fighter game. "…Coooooool." Zack slowly approached the machine. He had never been to a place like the Gold Saucer, he never made enough money and his family was too poor. He pushed in two gold coins to play the game.

"All right…" Zack looked at the high score screen. "…Tifa, I'm gonna beat you're high score!" Zack took his stance, preparing for his battle.

The sound of bullets ricocheting was heard. Barret approached the man, who was standing by the edge of a cliff, very slowly.

"Dyne…is that you?" Barret stopped in his tracks. The man stopped shooting.

"Now that's a voice I haven't heard in years." The man slowly turned his head and looked towards Barret. "A voice I'll never forget."

"I always hoped I'd be able to see you again someday. I knew you were alive somewhere…we had the same operation." Barret took a few steps forward. "Listen to me, Dyne…I-" A bullet flew in Barret's direction.

"What's that?...I hear her voice!" Dyne looked at the sky. Barret had a look of confusion. "I hear her voice, Eleanor's voice. Begging me…not to hate your rotten guts! That's why I didn't hunt you down." Dyne's eyes seemed to be made of ice.

"I know I was stupid, I'm not asking you to forgive me. But what're you doin' in a place like this? Why ya' wanna kill those that ain't even involved? Why?" Barret slammed his fist into a nearby pile of junk.

"Why!? The hell do you care for!? Are the people killed going to understand why? Are the people of Corel going to understand just hearing Shinra's excuses? I don't CARE what the reason is! All they give us are artillery and stupid excuses…what's left is a world of despair and emptiness…" Dyne looked around at his surroundings. Barret stood quietly. "You still wanna hear why…All right, I'll tell ya. Cause I want to destroy everything." Dyne raised his gun and fired once. "The people of this city." Another shot. "This city itself." Another shot. "THE" shot. "WHOLE" shot "WORLD!" one last shot. "I got nothing left in this world. Corel, Eleanor…Marlene…" Tears welled up in Dyne's eyes.

"Dyne, Marlene….Marlene's still alive." Dyne slowly looked up at Barret. His eyes were glowing with rage. "I went back to town. I thought she was gone, for sure. That is why I wanted to be by her side…'till the end." Barret thought of his wife. "That's when I found her…found Marlene. She's in Midgar. Let's go see her together all right?" Barret held out a hand.

"So…she's still alive…All right Barret. I guess that means you and I gotta fight." Dyne loaded his gun-arm.

"WHAT!?" Barret took a step back.

"Eleanor's alone all by herself. I've got to take Marlene to her." Dyne's face was expressionless.

"Dyne…are you insane!?" Barret held his ground.

"Marlene wants to see her mom, don't she?" Dyne unloaded his clip in Barret's direction.

"Stop, Dyne! I can't die yet!" Barret shielded his face. Dyne stopped firing.

"Oh, yeah! Well my life's been over ever since then!" He continued firing.

"Stop it! I don't wanna fight you!" Barret began loading his gun.

"Barret!!" Cloud ran towards Barret.

"Cloud, you stay the hell out of it! This is my problem!!" Barret ran towards Dyne.

Bullets flew past the two men. It was hailing bullets. Cloud ran back to the others, telling them to take shelter somewhere safe. Barret hid behind a piece of sheet metal and continued trying to hit Dyne. Dyne ran and dodged Barret's bullets. His mind was gone completely. Barret knew that the only way he could stop his friend was by shooting him down.

Dyne flew out into the open and ran towards Barret. He kicked the sheet metal away and shot at Barret. The shot was wide, hitting him in the shoulder.

"GAH!" Barret lunged out of the way. 'Okay, Dyne. I've tried talking. Since you won't listen…I'm gonna hafta take you down!" Barret brought his gun-arm up and aimed. He shot once, the bullet flew in Dyne's direction, hitting him in his left arm. The bullet dug into the front side, shattering the hinge joint at the elbow. Dyne hunched over, grabbing onto his gun-arm.

"AHH!! You son-of-a-bitch!" Dyne tried lifting his arm but failed. "My-my arm! It's practically severed!" Dyne fell to the ground and went silent. Barret slowly approached the man.

"Back!" Dyne slowly got up and walked towards the wall. "It wasn't just my arm back then….I lost something irreplaceable. I don't know where I went wrong…" Dyne's hair shielded his eyes.

"Dyne, I don't know either, man. Is this the only way we can resolve this?" Barret looked at his friend with concern.

"I told you….I-I want to destroy everything. Everything…this crazy world…even me." Dyne slowly walked towards the cliff. He glanced at the sky.

"An' what 'bout Marlene? What's gonna happen to her?" Barret took a step forward.

"Think about it Barret. How old was Marlene back then? Even if I did go to her now, she wouldn't even know me. And what's worse…Barret…these hands are a little too stained to carry Marlene anymore…" Dyne stood on the rock next to the cliff. He slowly turned and pulled a small object from his pocket. He threw it at Barret. "Barret…give that pendant to Marlene. It was Eleanor's…my wife's…memento." A few tears slid down Dyne's face.

"All right." Barret stared at the trinket.

"Wow, Marlene's already four…" Dyne backed up closer to the edge. "Barret…don't…make…don't ever make Marlene…cry…" He leaned back.

"Dyne…" The man fell over the edge. "DYNE! DY--NE!!" Barret fell to his knees. "Dyne…Me an' you were the same. My hands ain't any cleaner…I shouldn't be able to carry…Marlene either." Barret threw his arms in the air, screaming.

"Whoo hoo!! Take that!" Zack did a little jig. "Oh, yeah! Top score! WHOA BABY! Tifa, I doubled the score! I whooped your ass!" Zack jumped off the platform, laughing at his accomplishment.

"Sir…" An MP approached Zack. "Dio told me to give you a message."

"Oh…I almost forgot." Zack ran a hand through his hair.

"He says that your friends were released, with no trouble. The other man that had a gun-arm committed suicide, so that problem was taken care of by itself. Your friends were given a buggy and have already left for their next destination." The MP saluted Zack and turned to leave.

"WHAT!? But…but I was supposed to see them! I am supposed to be with them right now!" Zack hit his forehead.

"Sorry, sir…but that information was never relayed to me. You better hurry if you want to catch up. I think they mentioned they were heading for Nibelheim." The MP left the area.

"No…" Zack whined and hit his head against the arcade machine next to him. "I'll never catch up! They have a freakin' car!" Zack moped and slowly crept out of the Gold Saucer. His next destination, Nibelheim.

"Hey, Rude…" Reno tugged on his long, red ponytail. "Who do you like?" He glanced at his partner. Rude looked at his friend.

'What the hell is he talking about?' Rude's face took a shade of red. He turned his back to Reno.

"What are you getting' so embarrassed about? Come on! Who do you like?" Reno jabbed Rude in the side. He could see that Rude was very uncomfortable and did not want to say.

"…Tifa…" Rude hid his face under his sunglasses.

"Hmmmm… That's a tough one. But, Poor Elena. She…you…" Reno tried to figure out the love triangle. Rude turned to Reno quickly.

"No…she likes Tseng." Rude said quickly.

"I never knew that! But Tseng likes that 'Ancient'." Reno put a finger to his lips in contemplation.

"What are they talking about?" Cloud said aloud. He was hiding in a bush, away from the sight of Reno and Rude.

"It's so stupid! They always talk about who they like or don't like…" A blonde haired Turk approached Cloud from behind. "But Tseng is different…AH! Oh, no!!" She darted off towards her teammates.

"What the hell is Elena doing now!?" Reno asked Rude.

"They're here! They're really here!!" Elena flailed her arms.

"Hmmm….Then it's time. Rude…don't go easy on them even though, they're girls." Reno pointed in Tifa, Aries', and Yuffie's direction.

"Don't worry, I'll do my job." Rude slid on his gloves.

"Then we're counting on you! I'll report to Tseng!" Elena darted up the right path, her blonde hair bounced with each bounding step.

"It's been a while. Payback time for what you did in Sector Seven." Reno pulled out his weapon, electric current flowing through the tips.

"Outta our way!" Cloud pulled out his sword.

"That's as far as you go." Rude darted towards the enemy.

"Nice sword…did you borrow it from someone?" Reno blocked a hit from Cloud.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Cloud pushed Reno onto the dirt.

"You may say you're ex-SOLDIER, but you sure as hell don't fight like one!" Reno charged Cloud, sending an electric current through his body. Tifa turned her head towards Cloud. She overheard Reno's comment.

'H-how does he know?' Tifa averted her attention back to the battle.

"So tired! Am I even close to Nibelheim?" Zack whined. He looked ahead and noticed a familiar town was near. "GONGAGA! Mom! Dad!" Zack began running towards his hometown. He hadn't been home in over ten years. He wondered if they even remembered they had a son.

"I guess I have to thank Hojo someday…if it weren't for him…I'd be dead and I'd never see my parents again." Zack continued as the sun began to set.

"We may be retreating, but we're still victorious!" Reno ran into the woods, Rude behind him.

"How could they know we were coming here?" Aeris asked.

"They followed us…but there weren't any signs of it. Then, that means…" Cloud looked around at the group.

"A Spy!? No way!" Tifa looked over her shoulder.

"I don't even want to think that there's a spy…I trust everyone." Cloud led the group up the path towards the destroyed Mako Reactor. They were about to enter when the sound of a helicopter came near. The group ran for cover in the bushes and behind the rocks. The helicopter landed. From the cabin came two people, a man in a blue suit and a woman who was wearing a rather revealing red dress.

'Tseng and…Scarlet. What the hell are they doing here?' Cloud thought to himself. He listened closely to their conversation. Scarlet cackled endlessly about some kind of big, large materia. She mentioned using it to make some kind of 'ultimate weapon'. She kicked at the materia lying on the ground, complaining that it was junk and not the right stuff. Tseng did not say much. He just nodded his head and promised to continue looking. Scarlet hit him on the back, cackling, and headed for the helicopter. She rubbed at the bandages that were wrapped around her wrist.

'She probably got in a fight with some other chick. She was always too cocky.' Cloud thought to himself as he looked at her bandage. As the helicopter flew overhead, the group ran from the hiding places.

"Come on, this reactor is dead. Let's continue, we have a long trip ahead of us. We'll stop by in the nearest town and get more supplies." Cloud and his friends headed into Gongaga. Yuffie was the last to move. She had been staring at a shiny object lying on the ground.

"Hee hee! Deathblow materia! Yes!" She tucked the newly acquired materia in her pocket and hurried to catch up with the group.

"You a traveler? Hey wait, that glare in your eye…you in SOLDIER?" An older man approached Cloud. The man stared at Cloud as if he had seen a ghost. The man's wife ran to his side.

"Oh! You're right!" The lady nodded at her husband. "Don't you know anything about our son?" The lady picked up Cloud's hands.

"His name is Zack…" The man looked with hope.

"It's been close to ten years since he left for the city, saying that he didn't want to live in the country…He left saying he's goin' to join SOLDIER. You ever hear of a Zack in SOLDIER?" The woman smiled like she had won the lottery.

"Hmmm…I don't know." Cloud thought long and hard. Tifa clenched her fists.

"Zack…" Aeris hung her head.

"Young lady, you know him? I remember he wrote us six or seven years ago, sayin' that he had a girlfriend. Could that have been you?" The woman dug through her drawers, looking for the letter.

"That…Can't…" Aeris ran away from the man and woman and out to the entrance of the village.

"Zack…" Tifa covered her face. Cloud looked at everyone and apologized and left them to find Aeris.

"What happened to you? Aeris?" Cloud was concerned for her. He placed a hand on her shoulder.

"What a shock….I didn't know Zack was from this town." Aeris sniffed a little.

"You know him?" Cloud scratched his head.

"Didn't I tell you? He was my first love." Aeris shook her head. Cloud stared at her with confusion. "Zack…SOLDIER First Class. Same as Cloud." She laughed a little as tears slid down her cheek. She turned to Cloud.

"Strange, there aren't that many who make it First Class, but I've never heard of him." Cloud got lost deep in thought.

'Why wouldn't he know? How could Cloud not know him? I…I thought…' Aeris broke her thoughts.

"That's all right. It's all in the past now. I was just worried because I heard he's been missing." Aeris wiped a tear from her cheek.

"Missing?" Cloud stared at Aeris.

"I think it was five years ago. He went out on a job, and never came back." Aeris remembered Zack's promise.

'He promised…he said he'd come back…I loved him so much. I was so sure we had a future together…'

"He loved women, a real lady's man. He probably found someone else…" Aeris noticed Cloud's expression had changed greatly. "Hey, what's wrong? Are you…jealous? Hmmm? Hmmm? Are you Cloud? I'm kiddin'. I'm sorry. Let's go Cloud." Aeris turned to walk away but was tugged at the wrist. She looked back and saw Cloud smiling. He was now holding her hand.

'I can't stand to see her hurt. Why would someone leave her like that?' Cloud led her to the rest of the group.

"Zack…" Tifa muttered to herself.

"Do you know him?" Cloud looked at her.

"N, No! I don't know him!" Tifa laughed nervously and waved a hand in her face.

"Your face tells me differently." Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"I told you, I don't!" Tifa yelled a little too loudly.

'Damn it Tifa…why can't you just tell him the truth?' Tifa kicked herself.

"A-all right." Cloud fumbled for words.

"…That sounds just like you, leaving town and sayin' 'I'm joining SOLDIER'!" Tifa poked at him.

"There were a lot of guys like that back then…Ugh!" Cloud dropped Aeris' hand and fell onto his knees. He held onto his head. A loud screeching interrupted his thoughts.

"CLOUD!" Tifa ran up to him and held his head. "Are you alright!? Why…why does this keep happening? What the hell is wrong with you!?" Tifa felt tears well up in her eyes. She did not mean to sound so harsh, but things had been getting weird lately.

"Cloud…" Aeris stared at him. Aeris heard the noise too, but it was very faint to her ears. There was a mumbling from the Ancients also. "What? What is going on? I…I don't understand…" Aeris laid her head against the ground, trying to understand the voices.

"What is she doin?" Barret ran up to Aeris.

"I…I don't know." Tifa began to sob. "Everything is just so…complicated." Tifa hated crying. It made her feel so weak and helpless. She watched as Aeris lay on the ground, trying to hear something. She watched Cloud in pain as he spat and convulsed in her arms.

"It seems that she is interacting with the planet…" Red sniffed Aeris. "Must have something to do with her being an Ancient."

"But, why is Cloud freaking out!?" Yuffie stared in wonder.

"That…I have no idea…" Red padded around Cloud. "We should go soon. It is getting dark. I don't want us to run into anymore trouble…" Red looked around.

"What the hell do you mean?" Barret stomped over to the creature.

"I sense an evil presence nearing…but it isn't like Sephiroth…I'm not sure." Red headed towards the buggy. With reluctance the rest of the group followed.

"Here…Tifa. I got him." Barret pulled Cloud out of her arms and carried him to the car.

"Aeris…" Tifa walked slowly to the flower girl.

"I-I can't hear you…" Aeris shook her head. "What? What are you saying?"

"Aeris. Aeris!" Tifa tugged at the girl's jacket.

"Huh! Oh! Sorry…I didn't know…" Aeris quickly stood and headed for the car.

"We have to go quickly. Red XIII says that there is something evil heading this way." Tifa looked at the sky. She rubbed her arms because of the sudden chill in the weather.

"Here…You take this. It's not much, but it may help." Aeris handed Tifa her jacket. Tifa smiled and gratefully took it. Aeris did not question what Tifa had told her. She already knew that there was an evil force nearby.

'It's been following us since we left Kalm…I wonder who it is.' Aeris got into the backseat of the car.

"About time!!" Zack trudged up the path towards the village. The only noise came from the surrounding crickets. It had gotten dark fast and quite chilly. He was about fifty feet from the entrance to the town when he was tackled.

"What the hell!? What…you…" Zack untangled himself from his enemy.

"Yo, you make my job really hard." Reno pulled out a cigarette. Zack stared at the other man who was standing over him. His arms were folded and he had a displeased look on his face.

"Figured you'd be with AVANLANCHE by now…" Reno puffed. "Oh, I'd like ya' to meet Rude." He pointed at the man above Zack.

"…hi." Zack said with lack of enthusiasm. Rude had no reply. "Haven't caught up yet. Little misadventures, like this one, keep me from catching up." Zack stood up and dusted himself off.

"Ah, you're too late anyways…" Reno chuckled. "They left about fifteen minutes ago."

"What!? No!" Zack's legs felt wobbly. "But…They have a car! How am I gonna possibly catch up?" Zack ran a hand through his hair.

"Guess you'll hafta get a chocobo…good luck. Anyways, I'm not to let you get away. Hojo has some serious plans for you. Dunno what the hell that creepy guy is planning, but it can't be good. My job is to postpone you're meeting with AVALANCHE, that's why I haven't stopped them yet. So…if ya' wouldn't mind…" Reno nodded at Rude. Rude grabbed Zack and put him in a sleeper hold.

"What!?" Zack felt his adrenaline kick in. In an instant he flung Rude over his shoulder and into a nearby boulder.

"Wha- Why you!" Reno pulled out his prod but immediately dropped it as Zack grabbed his throat. "Gah! Looks like the cells…are adjusting…just fine." Reno gasped for air.

"Yeah…isn't it great!?" Zack squeezed tighter.

"Can't…breathe…yo…." Reno turned red in the face. He lifted his hands to try and pry Zack's off of his throat. The grip only tightened. "Stronger…by the…minute." Reno's eyes began to roll back.

"Stop following me! I don't care what your job is, I will kill you." Zack threw Reno onto the ground.

"Ow…" Reno gasped for air. Zack's shoe flew into Reno's throat. Reno looked at Rude. "ACK! Times up, yo. You should…hurry…Seph…Reunion…Nibelheim…" Reno fell silent. He had passed out.

"Guess that means I'll hafta leave right now. Man…I really was hoping to see my parents." Zack walked away from the village and towards Nibelheim.

'Sorry mom…dad…I have to leave immediately. I'll come back when all of this is over.' Zack walked into the open space.

"Wark!!" Zack heard a familiar sound. He ran in its direction.

"Chocobo!? Wark!" Nothing. "Aw…where'd it go? Wait! Kweh! Kweh!" Zack made the female call. A chocobo darted out of the darkness.

"Wark! Wark!" The golden chocobo nuzzled Zack.

"My God! It's you! How did you get here? I can't believe you followed me!" Zack pat the side of his golden chocobo. "I guess you can swim can't you…Boy! You work hard! I guess you really like me!" Zack hugged the bird and got on top. The bird seemed to sigh as Zack got on. Zack began to feel bad.

"You poor bird…do you want to rest? I promise that we'll rest soon. Can you do me one favor!?" Zack patted the bird. It warked in response and trotted into the night.

Cloud woke up to the sound of yelling. "What?"

"It ain't my fault! I didn't do a damn thing!" Barret yelled out loud. Cloud slowly got up and got out of the buggy.

"What's going on?" He stumbled to the group.

"Cloud!?" Tifa and Aeris ran up to the blonde.

"Are you alright!?" Tifa hugged him.

"I was so worried! You had some kind of attack and passed out!" Aeris took her turn and hugged him after Tifa.

"Um…I guess I'm ok. What happened here?" Cloud saw that the hood of the car was up and steam was puffing from the engine and liquid was all over the ground.

"Barret messed up the car!" Yuffie hit Barret on the shoulder.

"No I didn't! Not my fault!" Barret pointed his gun-arm at Yuffie. She yelped and ran towards the village.

"What's that place? Where's Red XIII?" Cloud looked around him.

"It's Cosmo Canyon. I guess its Red's hometown. He said he was going to see his grandfather and ran inside." Tifa started towards the town. "Come on. We've gotta get some help with the car. Let's just rest for the night." AVALANCHE walked into the village.

"You really can't forgive your father?" Bugenhagen floated over to Red XIII. AVALANCHE had spent the evening in Bugenhagen's planetarium. He told them about the planet and its cries of pain. He also taught them about the Lifestream and Shinra's destruction of the planet and how Huge materia is created and its dangers when all of them are combined. The group was now sitting around the Cosmo Candle, a large fire.

"Of course, he…left mother for dead. When the Gi tribe attacked he ran off by himself, leaving mother and the people of the canyon!" Red XIII had continuously talked about how his father was a coward all night. Bugenhagen looked quite upset.

"Come Nanaki, there's something you should see. The place may be dangerous…" Bugenhagen led Red XII (Nanaki) and the others to a giant locked door located in the main tower of the canyon.

"This leads to the Cave of Gi. Please be careful there are many souls trapped here, souls of the Gi tribe that were killed in a certain battle." Bugenhagen warned the group.

"Certain battle?" Red looked at his grandfather.

"The vengeful spirits didn't disappear and couldn't return to the Lifestream." Bugenhagen followed the group through the treacherous cave. "As you see, this cave leads to the back of Cosmo Canyon. It was unfortunate that the Gi were larger than us. If they attacked through here, we wouldn't have stood a chance. This warrior went through the cave all alone, fighting attackers one after another." Everyone was silent.

"Grandpa…that warrior…" Red XIII tried to ask his grandpa.

"Ho ho ho were almost there! Come I have something I want to show you…" Bugenhagen looked around. "Odd…I am surprised we haven't come across any bad spirits. I sense something is scaring them…" Bugenhagen stopped.

"What do you mean?" Red sniffed the air. "I sensed this earlier tonight. It seems to have grown stronger." Red looked at his grandpa with concern.

"Come, I have something I want to show you. Right over here." Bugenhagen led them out of the cave. He pointed on top of the cliff, revealing a stone figure.

"This is…" Red gulped.

"The warrior who fought against the Gi. He kept them from taking even one step into Cosmo Canyon. But he was never able to return to town. Look Nanaki. Look at your father, at the warrior, Seto!" Bugenhagen threw his arms into the air.

"That…That's Seto?" Red slowly approached the boulders that would take him to the top of the cliff where Seto was.

"Seto continued to fight the Gi tribe here…to protect this canyon. Even after the Gi's poisonous arrows turned his body to stone…even after they all ran away…Seto continued to protect us. And he continues to protect us, even now." Bugenhagen cleaned his glasses.

"Even now…" Red started to climb up the boulders.

"You thought that he was a coward and ran away. But he alone risked his life to protect Cosmo Canyon. That is your father, Seto." He placed the glasses on his nose.

"That..That is Seto. Did mother know!?" Red turned to Bugenhagen.

"She knew. The two of them made me promise to keep this cave shut. They asked me to seal it myself and not tell a soul. They said we should forget about this cave." He turned towards Cloud. "Cloud, do you mind leaving the two of us alone?" Cloud nodded and left into the cave. "Nanaki, I want you to continue your journey with Cloud and the others."

"Grandpa!?" Red padded over to his grandpa. Bugenhagen pet Red XII on the head as he explained that he wanted Red to fight to save the planet. His grandpa wanted him to make sure the planet remained safe. He was too old to do anything and was already one-hundred and thirty. He felt his days were coming to an end.

"Grandpa! You must live! I'll see to it! I'll see to what's happening to the planet, and I'll come back to tell you." Red XIII rubbed against Bugenhagen.

"Nanaki…" He patted him on the head.

"I am Nanaki of Cosmo Canyon! The son of the warrior Seto! I'll come back as a warrior true to that noble name! So please grandpa…" Red was interrupted as droplets of water landed on his head.

"That's…Seto's…" Bugenhagen looked up in disbelief.

"Seto…fa…father!?" Red XIII jumped up to the stone figure of his father. Seto's stone body was crying. Red rubbed against the side of his father.

"What's that place?" Zack rode his chocobo towards Cosmo Canyon. He spotted a buggy in the distance. The bird carried him to the car. "Gah!" Zack fell off the bird. He started shaking and convulsing. He heard the loud cries within his brain.

'Not again! I have to…get through this!' Zack slowly stood up and leaned against the car. His Golden Chocobo had run in fear towards the village.

"Damn…Why does this happen every time I get near him?" Zack slipped and fell onto the ground.

"Are you okay!?" A mechanic in dirty overalls rolled out from underneath the car and ran to Zack's side.

"Y-yeah…" Zack sat up. He forced the feeling away. It was getting easier to push away the pain, but the sounds still shouted.

"You sure? Why don't you go there!? You can get some rest in Cosmo Canyon!" He helped Zack up.

"I have to find my friends…" Zack mumbled.

"Oh…well what are their names? We got a group in here a little while ago. This is their car. It broke down and they decided to stay for the night and rest. Odd group too!" The mechanic rubbed his hands on his overalls.

"Was there a guy with blonde hair and bright blue eyes? And a man with a gun-arm?" Zack asked hopefully.

"Why yes! Those are the exact guys! Had some girls too and a native of this place. His name is Nanaki! Hurry! I am not sure how much longer they plan on staying here!" The mechanic pushed Zack in the town's direction.

"Thanks!" Zack rushed into Cosmo Canyon.

"Wow…this place is cool." Zack walked down towards the giant tower. The city reminded him of an old cowboy movie he saw once. There was a village full of natives and tribes; the village was an exact copy.

"Halt…who are you?" An old man floated in Zack's direction.

"Woah! Uh…I'm looking for some friends…One is named Cloud Strife." Zack looked around.

"Oh! Do come with me! I will give you some food and rest! You're friends will be with you in a moment. My name is Bugenhagen." Bugenhagen led Zack to his planetarium. He let Zack sit on the couch. "I'll be back in a moment. Please stay here." Bugenhagen rushed into the kitchen and filled a jug full of water. He pulled out a vile and poured the clear liquid into the jug. He handed Zack the jug of water.

"Thank you…" Zack downed half the jug instantly.

"My, you were thirsty! I bet you're hungry too!" Bugenhagen floated towards the doorway. "I'll get some food prepared. Why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself?" Bugenhagen went back into the kitchen.

"Well…It's kind of a long story…" Zack drank the rest of his water. "I worked for Shinra a long time ago….and…I…Ughhh…" Zack felt himself sweating. His vision began to blur and everything was silent. He felt himself choking. Zack turned red and fell off of the couch. His whole body got limp.

"I'm sorry boy…I can sense the evil within you. It is growing rather quickly. I can't let you interfere…" Bugenhagen floated out of the room, leaving Zack on the floor.

Holy crap this took forever to write! Well I hope you like it so far. I had a lot of stuff in the game, with some changes. I'll try to post the new one asap. Please review!