Author's note: This is seriously the last chapter of 2018 now. Yet the story continues starting tomorrow, the first day of 2019, or maybe a bit later within the week. Without further ado, let's continue on.
I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy Type-0, Sailor Moon or Pokemon. I do own Arien, though.
Chapter 9: Elfe-No, Felicia.
One month and three weeks later...
July 23rd [8:30 AM]-Year-1994.
Highground HQ-UnderEdge.
(~Uncertain Visions*Memory II-The 3rd Birthday*~)
Why? Why was this feeling getting worse? Elfe couldn't understand at all. She had recovered from her injuries from Cid Aulstyne's attack on her and...the leader of the Turks, Veld. But the pain from her hand that surged right into the rest of her body continued to drain her energy. On top of that, ever since she layed close eyes on the man, the leader of Highground had felt something...strongly familiar. To make things worse, there were continuous images that painfully hit her in her mind.
'S-stop...What are...you doing...to me?' The brown-haired woman panted, wheezing, feeling as through she was drowning and running out of air...
"The experiment's a failure. Dispose of the samples." A hauntingly, very irritating voice spoke coldly, as Elfe found herself staring above her, as an old ugly man in a lab coat with glasses peered over her, but the ceiling light was too blinding. She couldn't make out what he really looked like.
Next she found herself in a reactor as she stood before the Turks and Rufus ShinRa, who looked shocked to see her. Standing nearby was another man in light coloured fatigues, short brown hair and glasses. The one who looked the most shocked...was Veld.
"You're alive?! I thought you were killed in the explosion in Kalm!" Veld exclaimed, with a mixture of disbelief, shock and...utter relief on his features.
Elfe heard herself gasp almost instantly after Veld shouted those words, as somehow images and memories began to form in her mind, finding herself muttering, "Kalm… An explosion… Laboratory…"
She then heard the spectacled man chuckle evilly, "With this, all preparations are in order. It looks as if the return of her memories was the key. Those that would hurt the Planet. All of you worthless beings, return to the Planet that you may heal her anew!" (~End Uncertain Visions*Memory II*~)
(~Memories with Lucrecia-DIRGE OF CERBERUS FINAL FANTASY VII~)
Then...she saw her youngerself, no older than five or six, at a beach in Costa Del Sol, except unlike the other images, this one looked more...real, more familiar. She was standing next to an older woman gazing out at the ocean.
"Mommy...isn't daddy gonna join us?" The younger Elfe asked, gazing up at the woman who looked a bit like her in the face, but with lighter brown hair and honey brown eyes.
"I'm sorry, dear. But he's busy at work." The older woman sighed with a sad smile, and Elfe heard her younger self whine in disappointment.
'...Is that...my mother?'
"And who says I'm not allowed to have time off from work?" A familiar man's voice teasingly asked behind them. Elfe and her mother turned to see...a silhouttee of a familiar man standing there. The shape looked familiar, but for Elfe in the real world, it was too dark, but she could tell and sense that he was smiling.
"Daddy!" She heard her younger self cheer happily, and raced towards her father who picked her up while laughing. "Mommy said you were busy."
'...Daddy?'
"I was given permission to have time off." Her father chuckled, before saying to her in a singsong tone, "That means we get to play as much as you want!"
"Really!?" The younger Elfe cried out happily. "Can we build sand castles?"
"Would I say no to that?" Her father teased, which made the little girl and her mother giggle.
(~End Memories with Lucrecia~)
"..fe...Elfe...Elfe!"
Hearing another but more closer voice call out her name, Elfe blinked as the pain subdaded, and then looked to her right see that Shears was holding her gently, both of them on the floor sitting. It took the woman a moment to realize that, in her recent episode, she must've fallen and her Second in Command caught her before she would've fallen hard.
"You okay?" Shears asked, worriedly.
"Yeah...I'm sorry." Elfe muttered, mentally shaking her head as though doing it physically would only make her dizzy all over again. But then she frowned in concern and confusion and...for some reason, pangs of sadness. "I think I had...a memory return to me."
(~Discovery in Sadness-DIRGE OF CERBERUS FINAL FANTASY VII~)
"You mean you're starting to remember your past?" Shear asked in wide-wide surprise and confusion. All the years ever since finding her when they were both young, when his Uncle brought her in as she had amnesia, Shears took it upon himself to take care of her and they would be together to find out what had happened that cause her memory loss. She had only had one memory that haunted her;
That being Aulstyne, who had stolen her of her family and her memories. Could the encounter against him began to bring her memories back? He didn't know. For one thing, that sicko was also responsible for the death of his Uncle almost twelve years back.
"Only a little." The Highground Leader nodded, standing up slowly and took a couple of steps forward before stopping while explaining, "First was an image that makes no sense; you and I were in this Reactor with the Turks and their new President, and a man whom is also familiar, but I couldn't get his name. He said something about 'Preparations being in order, and my memories being the Key, and that he called humans worthless beings, that we should return to the Planet to heal her anew'."
"That's sick. But...at the same time, that sounds familiar to me too." Shears thought frowning deeply in thought.
"On top of that...I also saw, myself in a Lab...after an explosion in Kalm. The leader of the Turks, Veld...he somehow knew, and he seemed...quite relieved and shocked that I was still alive." Elfe continued, "That's when my real memory came to me; I was...on a beach...in Costa Del Sol, I think. With my mother...and, I couldn't pin-point who my father looked like...but his voice..."
She paused, furrowing her brows in confusion and realization. "I know it all too well. That day, he took time off from work, so that he could play with me. Building sand castles."
Shears didn't know what to say about that. How could he?
(~End Discovery in Sadness~)
"...There's only one lab I know of that may have a clue to all of this, one that Militas Ultra may attempt to go to next." Elfe spoke after a moment of silence.
"Where's that?" The man behind her asked as he stood up, standing full attention for the newest assignment despite his leader's health.
"...Nibelhiem."
July 23rd [10:00 AM]-Year-1994.
Turks Headquarters-ShinRa Building-Edge.
Since the attack in Edge, the Turks had been trying to locate the next location of Militas Ultra. Unfortunately, they were once again left empty handed. Tseng was on a urge of a mental breakdown since his temporary position as Acting Director of the Turks. Reno was faring worse in his position as Acting Second in Command, wanting nothing more than to drive himself into such a dream-state that he would just pretend the entire situation was nothing more than a long-winding nightmare.
Fortunately, Rosalind had recovered after two weeks of rest and was back to work. To add up to the good news, the newest member of the Turks, whom everyone thought was the last person they thought to have returned actually, was the Turk who'd been under House Arrest in Costa Del Sol until Veld called him in to help with the situation in Edge a month back. He was a demolition and bomb expert, and while he had this terrifying aura, he was actually a pretty nice guy if you didn't get on his bad side.
Like Rude, he wore sunglasses, but he also had shaggy ginger-blonde hair, far less messy than Reno's unkempt red hair, and very thin beard. No one knew his true name, and while he went by another title long ago, he insisted that everyone simply call him Legend.
And today had everyone else in a bit of high spirits, because in the month and three weeks pass, they recieved news that Veld would be returning to work after that much time in recovering from the surgery of his new artifical arm to place the arm he lost to Aulstyne in the attack.
The fourteen Turks assembled waited in the Turks Briefing Room until the doors opened and when everyone looked up, relief filled their expressions as the aforementioned Turk Leader approached, with a new scar on his left cheek near the one he recieved six years ago, and while it was covered by the sleeves of his undershirt and suit jacket and black leather glove, they could see the tail sign of metal underneath, which they knew was his new artifical right arm.
"Good morning, everyone." Veld spoke to the team.
"Sir. Welcome back." Tseng greeted with a small smile of relief.
"It's great to see ya, boss!" Reno said happily.
"Welcome back, sir." Rosalind smiled warmly.
Even Legend chuckled and greeted with a wave, "Back from the dead, eh', o'l man?" teasingly which made Tseng and the other Turks cringe at this.
Thankfully, Veld shook his head as he replied with a smirk, "It's good to be back." adding to Legend, "And I suppose you could say that like Tseng, I am too stubborn to die."
Tseng in question felt embarrassed by this comment while Legend laughed, before the Wutaiian spoke, "Sir...the President has requested this meeting to inform everyone, as Reno has informed me."
"Oh, I already know that. I've been informed on my way here." Veld replied, stepping aside from the door way and then said while gazing outside, "Sir, everyone is assembled and ready."
(~Sign-FINAL FANTASY VII: ADVENT CHILDREN COMPLETE~)
All of the other Turks shared confused glances before gazing through the doorway, and their eyes all widened in shock and disbelief and surprise as Rufus ShinRa, the current President of ShinRa Company stepped inside in person, looking the same as he always did. They had known that Rufus wanted to speak to all of them about the information he discovered not long after the attack, but everyone thought he would greet them via video commication, not in actual person to be in their Briefing Room.
"Mr. President?" Rafe muttered in shock.
"Why so surprised? Don't tell me Reno didn't inform you of the meeting today." Rufus greeted, with a hint of teasing in his tone.
"I did but...nobody expected you to be here in person, sir." Reno admitted, scratching the back of his head.
"Which is why today is more of a matter of importance." Rufus said, joining Veld to the head of the table, taking a seat with both Veld and Tseng standing by his side. "While I am aware that these 'false memories' are more than likely Militas Ultra attempting to control us like puppets, I had thought of something that may be the key in figuring out who his responsible for this."
"Sir?" Veld inquiried.
"There were two men whom I somehow feel had betrayed the Company long ago, at least in false memory sense. However, at the same time, they are far too dangerous to simply be fully ignored. They are scientists, as I can tell, but far more destructive than one can ever imagine. I do not know of their origins or how evil they are, but their names...are almost very clear." Rufus explained.
"Weird...I got that sense of fake deja vu too. At the same time, though, you're right, sir. They can't be ignored if they're real and might've made a slip to keep us from getting rid of Militas Ultra." Reno thought deeply.
"Yes. Those were my thoughts, exactly." The President agreed. "I can't say that this would prove useful or another false lead, but perhaps it would be best to find these men; a Professor Hollander and Professor Hojo, both having numberous reports of their scientific experiments."
"Hollander...Hojo...Those names sound familiar to me as well, yet I can't believe they are real. But if they are the cause of the false memories, then we should find how they made the chemical and learn if a cure can be created." Tseng thought deeply with a frown.
The rest of the Turks all held deep thoughts of their own, yet having the same thoughts at the same time. If Hojo and Hollander were real men working for Militas Ultra, then they could be creating fake memories in all of them and even those who weren't even working for the Company. In fact, even the soldiers in Militas Ultra were likely to have been brainwashed.
"Where do we find these reports, sir?" Balto questioned.
(~End Sign~)
Rufus turned to Veld who nodded, and then gazed back to the rest of the Turks with a serious expression he always wore. "We are to leave for Nibelhiem in 20 minutes. Be ready for departure."
Rosalind mentally gasped as her eyes widened in realization and shock. Nibelhiem...for some reason, it was connected to...what she saw before passing out in the attack; the two men she still had trouble recognizing, and...Sephiroth burning down the village and was unharmed by the flames. Could it really be possible that might be the very same place? Or was it just the fake memories making her distracted?
'Nibelhiem...Maybe Rufus is right. Maybe the answer is right there.' The female Turk thought to herself.
July 26th [4:20 PM]-Year-1994.
Nibelhiem Ruins.
(~Silent Edge-DIRGE OF CERBERUS FINAL FANTASY VII~)
The trip from Edge to Nibelhiem, even from flight, took a matter of three days as they had to stop and refuel the choppers in Costa Del Sol before moving on. During the flight, Rosalind felt the pangs of guilt in her chest, and she was certain it was because the fake memories were starting to take a hold of her, and it made her...terrified. Which mean that the more she dwelled on them, the more she would be in control of Militas Ultra, to become another mindless puppet.
Given the expressions on the face of Veld, Tseng, Reno and Rude, the female Turk had a feeling they were suffering the same pangs, and it wasn't hard to figure out that they were somehow involved with what happened, or what happened in the fake memories but not in reality. Yet her heart was repeatingly telling her that none of the images were fake at all, but she didn't know what to think of anymore.
'We have to find a cure soon, or everyone will soon fall under Militas Ultra's spell.' She thought to herself in great concern. She hoped that whatever Nibelhiem had, she hoped that these reports by Hojo and Hollander would provide them a clue in how to infeltrate the Organization's whereabouts.
With that thought in mind, she braced herself to see the village not burned down, but lively. Which was why, as she and the other Turks disembarked from the four choppers outside of the village gates, she was fully surprised and shocked to see that...there was no sign of life at all. While the houses were in tact, as she'd expected, it had fallen into a bit of a wreck of years of being abandoned...centuries even.
Rooves had holes in some of them, the Inn had broken windows, the wood and bricks were worn and covered in dew, moss and years of vines. In fact, it was much like the Midgar Ruins, but without having been destroyed before nature took over. The place had been left to rot and form plants and grass, but even the nature of this area was slowly dying despite the rain and sunlight.
It made it more of a ghost town taken over the the ghostly nature of wildlife. Rosalind glanced around in completely disbelief, as did most of the other Turks.
"Ooookay...I thought this place would be bursting with villagers or something." St. Andrew muttered in disbelief.
"Actually, no." Balto spoke, not all that surprised. "It is said that after the Calamity destroyed Midgar 8,000 years ago, the people of Nibelhiem left this village behind years later as they felt no longer welcome."
'I guess that explains it then.' Rosalind thought in disappointment and somehow relief. Yet her heart continued to ache even more, and she couldn't figure out why. She had thought that seeing the real Nibelhiem would ease her to see that the fake memories were just that; fake, nothing real, chemicals controlling her mind. Yet it seems, as she began to realize, seeing familiar but more real places were only making those feelings even worse.
"Funny. I feel as though...I've seen this place more than once before." Reno muttered, worriedly as he glanced around the abandoned, and somehow very boring ghost town. He felt the same pangs as Rosalind was feeling, but he was certain it was the fake memories trying to get him to forget reality. "Got this bad image in my head that this place was burnt down at some point, and then-"
"Then it was rebuilt before being abandoned again." Rude interrupted, and finishing for the redhead who turned to his partner and nodded to indicate that he was saying what Reno himself was about to say and was thinking.
"Sephiroth." Rosalind spoke, getting everyone else's attentions. "I had that terrible fake memory just after Sephiroth saved us. He...was the one who burned down this place, and he had this cruel smile and was completely unharmed by the flames. There were also two people there; a SOLDIER with a large sword, black hair and blue eyes, and...a trooper who looked just as horrified as I felt."
"Hold on...are you saying that Sephiroth is involved in this too!?" Arien exclaimed in shock and horror. She then realized something else and went up to Rosalind and added, "Wait a minute! This other SOLDIER guy! Spiky hair, huge Sword...was his name Zack?"
"...Y-yes!" Rosalind nodded, now that her friend had mentioned it. "I didn't hear his name but...it does sound like that's his name."
"I knew it! I saw that guy in a vision when Rafe and I were at the Mythril Mine with Cloud and Tifa two years ago. You know, where Militas Ultra tried to use a giant mechanical Zolom to try and attack Edge." The white-haired Turk thought.
"Wait...Cloud...as in, Cloud Strife? One of the guides?" Rosalind muttered, before her eyes widened in horror as she said, "That leader also said Cloud's name too."
"Wait a minute. Are you saying that tour guide kid's involved too?" Rafe asked in disbelief. "Why would Militas Ultra want with him?"
"Well, he did have cool swordsmanship skills even though he never used a sword before." Arien remembered, before worriedly added, "Would that mean Cloud and Tifa are in trouble in being targeted by the bad guys too?"
The Turks all shared concerned expressions before Reno groaned in dismay, "Ah, hell no. Ya' mean to tell me they gotten that far in brain-washin' other people, includin' some kids workin' on a Chocobo Farm already? And who the hell is this Zack guy?"
"It doesn't matter." Tseng spoke up firmly. "If Militas Ultra are indeed targeting even innocent young and falsely familiar people, then we're running out of time to find the source of how they are doing this if they had began six years ago rather than four years ago."
"Then you know what needs to be done. Reno, Rude, check the abandoned Inn. Rosalind, St. Andrew, you come with me into the old Manor. Tseng, you, Cissnei and Balto check the Mako Reactor, but be careful and take the long route. The bridge that used to be there is long been destroyed. The rest of you check the houses." Veld commanded sternly.
"Yes, sir." All of the Turks responded, before they and Veld split up to check through out the abandoned village of Nibelhiem.
(~End Silent Edge~)
(~Uncertain Feelings-DIRGE OF CERBERUS FINAL FANTASY VII~)
Rosalind and St. Andrew had both thought the condition of Nibelhiem itself was bad enough, but the sight of the ShinRa Manor before them and Veld was even worse. The only building left untouched by the devastating fires, or so Rosalind had thought, but being one of the first to have years of weather damages left abandoned. Rusty gates left open and crippled and destroyed.
"Well...this is creepy as hell." St. Andrew remarked as he gazed up at the building, placing his hands on his hips. "It's like a friggin' Haunted House."
Rosalind had to agree. The building itself did indeed look very creepy. She had the urge to shudder as something quite cold, dark and...evil waited inside. But she stopped herself from rubbing her arms to cover up the goosebumps she was feeling. She was a Turk, and she had to not show any weaknesses. The female Turk and St. Andrew followed Veld inside as the older man pushed the remaining half of the two doors that used to be there at some point, and the trio stepped inside to marvel their new surroundings.
All the curtains were drawn and shredded and fallen apart almost completely, leaving behind tiny thin streamers with a Halloween feeling to it as the light from outside shone onto the old oak floorboards that too were covered in years of moss and fern and grass growing from between the wooden planks. All in all it was a very eerie old house, and the sense of unease ran all the way through the entire building. For some reason, the Turks noticed mechanical pieces of what they assumed was once a robot that did not belong here, nor was it even new. It looked about the similar age as the rest of this place.
One thing was for certain, the three them could feel the sense of coldness and unease in this place. The dust was also thick that it made the Turks having a bit of trouble breathing. It definitely had a ghostly feeling to it, that's for sure.
"Ugh." St. Andrew cringed, "It's just as creepy in the inside as it is outside. No wonder no one's been here for the last 8,000 years. I wouldn't be surprised if there were real ghosts in this place."
"I think you're being too silly, St. Andrew." Rosalind rolled her eyes. Yes, the inside of this mansion was just as haunting, but really? Ghosts?
"The Lab should be close by on the second floor. Perhaps we will find what we are looking for." Veld spoke once more, his gaze having been on that of the staircase on the right, leading into one of the bedrooms. He was certain of it. It felt as through...someone or something was calling for him to look, and while it could very well be fake memories, it was worth in looking into, unless it was a trap. But he didn't feel comfortable to simply ignore it either.
"Lab?" Rosalind blinked. Somehow that sounded a bit familiar too, but unlike most parts of Nibelhiem, the Manor was the least recognizable, even by fake memory standards.
"You've been here before, sir? Or is that fake memories speaking?" St. Andrew asked, folding his arms to his chest in wonder.
"I have once ventured here long ago when I was young. Call it a...gut instinct of a strong feeling once. I never ventured into the Lab, however, but I do know it exists. I'm quite certain of it." Veld answered, taking the lead once more, careful in climbing up the staircase, which the old wooden floors creaked under his weight no matter how careful he was.
Rosalind and St. Andrew shared a quick glance before following the Turk Leader, also mindful of the stairs which creaked ominiously, even under Rosalind's light weight. The second floor wasn't anymore comfortable, and the two younger Turks could've sworn it was about to collapse underneath them.
Veld led them to a stone shaft with its stonework that didn't quite match, with the hidden door open and wrecked from the years of the weather. The trio peered down and saw that the way down into the lowest level was a spiral staircase. It made Rosalind a bit crossed eyed, and St. Andrew dizzy looking into the darkness below. Though they could see the bottom, a very faint glow of light there.
The Turks then carefully stepped into the shaft and began to lead the way down, one hand each against the walls to steady themselves. Eventually, they made it down into what appeared to be a huge cave underneath the Manor. Following Veld, Rosalind and St. Andrew ventured through the even more creepy place, passing a broken door which, after a quick glance, saw a bunch of coffins inside, only one being covered but the Turks already convinced it held nothing more than a skeletion of someone who possibly lived here and wanted to be buried in it's home. Though Veld thought differently as it looked and felt familiar, but he ignored it and instead continued to lead his Turks into where he thought the laboratory.
Fortunately, the door was partly open so they wouldn't have to worry about breaking in. When they stepped inside, they were surprised that it didn't look as bad as the rest of Nibelhiem. As though somehow left untouched safe for a few centuries old but modern looking castings of guns, dust covering up almost everything, an old switch to lights that were most likely never to be used again, ancient looking books that were gathered around the bookcases were still there, untouched with even more dust gathering on the leather covers and thin paper pages. The desk was likewise in the similiar condition, along with the filthy old tubes in the corner.
"How can something like this survive even after 8,000 years?" Rosalind asked in disbelief, walking over to one of the shelves and carefully withdrew one of the books, gently blowing away a thick layer of dust and carefully opening the front cover without pulling it off, taking a quick look inside.
"You're telling me. It's like a time capsule in those ridiculous time-travelling movies." St. Andrew nodded in agreement.
"I can speculate that perhaps what we're looking for were somewhat taken care of. Be on alert, in case Militas Ultra are lurking in the shadows." Veld muttered, switching on the flash-light.
The other two Turks nodded, and likewise switched on their own flash-lights they brought with them and began searching for any kinds of clues for Hojo or Hollander's research on the chemicals of creating false memories. (~End Uncertain Feelings~)
They searched for at least a few hours, but nothing they found was anything they were hoping for, and the three Turks began to lose hope on finding out the meaning of this. Rosalind was becoming more and more frustrated, beginning to believe that Militas Ultra had destroyed their own research to hide the fact that they had an evil scientist or two working on chemicals and not even borthering in producing a cure in case there was an accident.
Just as she was about to announce she still hasn't found anything, something on the desk had caught her eye. Feeling the sense of needing to check it out, the young woman approached it before picking up one of the oldest books in the Library she, St. Andrew and Veld were currently in.
What she discovered made her blood run cold.
(~Evil Lurking*Xehanort's Theme-KH:BBS*~)
"…An organism that was apparently dead, was found in
a 2000 year old geological stratum. Professor Gast named that organism, Jenova…
X Year, X Month, X Day. Jenova confirmed to be an Ancient …X Year, X Month, X
Day. Jenova Project approved. The use of Mako Reactor I approved for use…"
"...Jenova? Professor Gast?...Jenova Project? Use of the Mako Reactor?" Rosalind asked herself aloud, feeling herself shaking in the growing fear that she felt her breathing and her heart quicken, and nauesous in the stomach.
What was Jenova? Why did it sound...awfully familiar? A 2,000 year old geological stratum? And, an Ancient? What was that? Jenova Project Project...connected to the Mako Reactor, here in Nibelhiem? Then that meant...everything that happened long ago in the past went even 2,000 years longer than the Calamity? For some reason, it was somehow connected, but it would mean all of the trouble and near destruction went back to 10,000 years ago, not 8,000 years.
Shaking her head, Rosalind set the book down, only to notice another piece of paper underneath it. Despite her stomach protesting not to look at it, the female Turk picked it up and scanned through the page, and her heart froze in ice even more.
"Analylis of Procedural Failure:
Failed Case #1: SOLDIER 1st Class.
Summary: Desired effects did not occur. Strong tolerance to Jenova Cells due to SOLDIER conditioning assessed as cause.
Failed Case #2: ShinRa Infantryman.
Summary: Weak tolerance to Jenova Cells lead to toxicosis. Lack of response to outside stimuli suggests severe damage. Recovery very unlikely.
~Professor Hojo: εуλ 0005."
Rosalind couldn't believe what she was reading, and this was a little over 8,000 year old record! ShinRa...was invovled in this? Could this mean...the Company as been running far longer than almost 50 years? How could this be? And...using Jenova cells into people? Feeling faint from the severe shock and horror, the female Turk found herself stumbling backwards while dropping the piece of paper until her back touched the bookselves behind her, her breathing becoming more and more quick, finding herself feeling as though someone was choaking her.
"Rosalind?" Veld gasped, as he and St. Andrew heard the thud and both men quickly saw that the female Turk wasn't looking so well. In fact, she had become pale and they hurried over to her. While the Turk Leader placed his hands onto the young woman's shoulders to see what was wrong, St. Andrew noticed the piece of paper she dropped and picked it up, his eyes scanning to see what made her so freaked out.
When they did, he began to feel the same sense of fear and disbelief himself. He felt sick all of the sudden. "Uh...S-sir? I think we oughta be gettin' outta here." He spoke up, shakily.
"Agreed. Let's go." Veld nodded mindlessly, gently holding Rosalind in his arms while she continued to breathe far too quickly. "Rosalind. It's alright. We're leaving now." He told her as gently as he could.
"...What has...ShinRa...and Hojo done?" Rosalind was asking ferverishly.
Veld felt his heart freeze for a moment, but shook it away. His Turks was his top priority at the moment. Whatever it was that Rosalind had discovered somehow made her become shaken in fear. Yet somehow...it sounded extremely familiar. (~End Evil Lurking*Xehanort's Theme*~)
July 26th [7:12 PM]-Year-1994.
When the rest of the Turks reported that they came up empty handed except for a disturbing report that, for some reason, ShinRa was behind in rebuilding this town after it was burned down, and that Hojo was among them, they regrouped with Veld, and the two shaken Turks who had calmed down a little bit, but St. Andrew had found the time to bring back what he found and after Rosalind, with still some fear, mentioned the diary she discovered about Jenova, everyone was beyond shocked at the news.
"WHAAAAAT!?" Arien, Freya, Jake, Rafe, Patrick and even Legend exclaimed in complete and utter shock, while Alana, Balto, Cissnei and Rude gasped in horror, all of their, Reno and Tseng's eyes widened.
"What the hell's that s'posed to mean!?" Reno exclaimed in horror and disbelief, feeling nauesous in the stomach and his heart freezing in ice and stopping for a split second as well.
"I don't know. All I do know is, Jenova was found 10,000 years ago, 2,000 years before Midgar was destroyed." Rosalind replied, rubbing her arms a little as though she was feeling cold, and it wasn't because of the chilly night air from outside as everyone gathered in one of the choppers, which was a bit cramped for all fifteen of them, but still enough room to at least sit down on the hard, metal floor.
"And the guys who claim to be ShinRa...and Hojo and this Gast guy...they were using it's or her or whatever it is Cells in people?" Freya gasped.
"That's what this says." St. Andrew replied, holding up the 8,000 year old paper. "It's all written in black and white." The only thing gibberish was the name of the year."
Jake blinked in shock. "So...that Hojo guy existed 8,000 years ago?"
"Which means we have been looking for a ghost." Balto muttered in disgust and disappointment.
"But...what does that make of us...and everybody else?" Arien asked worriedly.
"Maybe Militas Ultra was using Jenova Cells and somehow it so tiny it would mess with people's heads?" Freya shrugged hopelessly, yet now her theory she came up with a couple of months ago was becoming very unlikely.
"But why use cells from a 2,000 year old thing in the past, nevermind that it's 10,000 years old now?" Patrick pointed out.
"Maybe Jenova's a vampire or a zombie?" Reno weakly joked with a shrug.
"Get real. If that were the case, then humanity would've been dead by now." Alana rolled her eyes in exasperation, despite being aware that Reno was just kidding.
(~Aqua's Theme-KH:BBS~)
"Or perhaps, as much I dislike speaking of it, that Militas Ultra may be correct of the assumptions and we have only been denying the truth for the past four years." Tseng surmised with unease.
"And ShinRa had indeed existed long ago. That we are seeing memories long forgotten." Veld nodded in agreement. The rest of the team held horrified looks of disbelief as they shared glances.
Reno shook his head, not wanting to believe that any of this was true. "No way...No friggin' way! No one can be born twice! That's completely crazy! There's gotta be another reason about all this!" He protested, yet most parts of his heart was agreeing with both of the Turk Leaders, and it terrified him even more.
"What are you trying say, Reno?" Rude asked.
"Okay, so Hojo is dead and we've been seeing a couple of dead guys in our heads, but that doesn't mean we came from there. We've been working ShinRa for years, and I've lost my parents when I was a fifteen year old kid. It just doesn't make sense at all...!" Reno replied, breathing in and out as though he'd been shouting at the top of his lungs.
"I'm with Red on that one." Legend spoke up in agreement. "But the thing is, we're right back to square one, right? How else can this mess happen, huh?"
"The only way to find out for certain is that we capture the leaders of Militas Ultra and demand on what they know and how they knew about all of this. Unfortunately, this brings us right back to the beginning; finding out their agendas and where they have been hiding all this time." Veld sighed.
Freya let out a groan of frustration. "At this rate, we're never gonna figure those jerks out." (~End Aqua's Theme~)
"You're tellin' me. This is the next step up of a wild goose and chocobo chase." Reno sighed, prompting his leg up to rest his arm on his knee.
For a couple of seconds though, because he suddenly sensed movement from his right and turned sharply to look, demanding in a suspicious and cautious glare, "Who's there?"
(~Crimson Impact-DIRGE OF CERBERUS FINAL FANTASY VII~)
To his and the rest of the team's dismay, a large number of Militas Ultra soldiers had just pulled up and were ready to attack. At one of the Op members signaling to open fire, Veld, Tseng, Reno, Balto, and Rosalind quickly summoned a Barrier combined Spell to block most of the gunshots which repelled and some of actually hitting the enemy soldiers back killed them almost instantly. As soon it was done, all fifteen Turks quickly emerged from the chopper and stood in fighting and defense stances, those who had weapons bringing them out.
"Hey, go away!" Arien shouted angrily.
Rosalind fired several shots at several Militas Ultra men who went down at her perfect aim before she dodge-rolled out of the way to avoid the rapid fire that came to her. She quickly used that time to reclip her gun before returning to the fight. One managed to get close to her and attempted to slice her in half, but the female Turk kicked him in the stomach which forced him to drop his weapon and punch him squarely in the face, before shooting dead another that came up too close to her. When more came, she switched to the use of her Materia, casting Comet which rained down at the soldiers who fell to the ground almost instantly.
Rafe was shooting Militas Ultra men of his own with his double Guns before dodge-rolling out of the way to avoid in getting hit himself. He then kicked another in the face and then punched another before flaring up a Firaga which balls of fire flared out and caught three of the Militas Ultra men who went down while being burnt to death.
Arien was smacking and whacking her opponents with her Whip, knocking away many of their weapons before dodge-rolling out of the way and back-flipped to avoid the rapid fire Militas Ultra were doing at her and the SOLDIERs she was right. Jake was crushing the skulls of his opponents with his Nunchucks, spinning them expertly before ducking to avoid a sword and then returned the favor by cracking the enemy's neck with his weapon.
Alana was tossing her Knives at as many enemy soldiers as she could before casting Lightning to zap them, and when she approached them to collect her weapons, she finished them off by slicing at their throats which killed them almost instantly. Patrick was slashing and punching his opponents before jumping out of the way as did Alana who back-flipped and kicked another opponent right in the chin which caused him to stumble backwards before both Turks finished him and others off by tossing their knives right into their chests and skulls, shattering their helments in the process.
St. Andrew whacked another Militas Ultra, the sparks of electricity seeped into the man's body as the enemy screamed before falling to the ground, either unconscious or dead. The redhead spun around and punched another in the face and then casted a powerful Lightining combined with his EMR to shock the life out of two of his opponents.
Freya shot fired another Militas Ultra soldier after one of the ShinRa soldiers were gunned down which surged her anger. She kicked at another enemy's hands which cracked his wrists and his machine rifle flying out of his hands which she quickly caught and returned fire at as many of the Militas Ultra soldiers until her burrowed weapon was out of ammo and jammed. She furiously tossed it at another one's face which was a direct hit, because he stumbled and was out cold.
Reno flicked his weapon and thrusted it in the air sideways, sending a large wave of electricity flying toward the rest of the Nobodies who stood no chance in escaping on time. Some of it hit the robot, but not enough to destroy it instantly like the white things. It flared up small cannon and fired a small missile at the Turk who grunted and summoned another Barrier, which reflected it and it exploded in front of him. It didn't do damage, but he did winch and was pushed back slightly at the impact. When it cleared, he was forced to leap out of the way before charging again, taking out his attacker and three others with perfect ease.
Rude heaved a Militas Ultra soldier and flipped him over in a backward toss which forced his opponent to crash into three others as they landed on the ground hard. The bald Turk then headbutted another and punched him squarely in the face, fracturing his skull and breaking his jaw with some teeth falling out in the process. He then turned around and grabbed another before repeating his stragedy and crushed him onto the ground.
Tseng fired three more shots before any of the three Militas Ultra could attack, but when one got up too close for him to fire again, he punched and kicked him which was strong enough to send it flying and he then switched for a Lightning Materia, summoning it's spell and electrocuting him to death. Yet more appeared, which was a bit of a problem. Still, Tseng refused to back down. The Turk conjoured another Lightning Spell which weakened five more before dodge-rolled out of the way when one rapid fired at him with a machine rifle. This time he managed to avoid in having history repeated to himself as it did almost two months ago back in Edge.
Balto expertly twirled his weapon, the Katana, in his hand as he slashed and swiped at the opponents he was facing, before jumping out of the way to avoid in getting shot while he clashed against other opponents with swords of their own before knocking them out of their hands and slashed at their chests and stomachs as he went, killing them almost instantly. He winched when one gunshot grazed him on the face, leaving a deep cut on his cheek. Turning around to see who shot him, the swordsman Turk leaped out of the way again to avoid in getting killed before eventually reaching his attacker and finished him off, killing two others as he went.
Cissnei tossed her Rekka at five Militas Ultra men before catching it when it returned her, before leaping and jumping back to avoid the gunfire and swords coming at her and when she got up close to more, she slashed at them with her weapon in a deadly strike before they even knew what came at time. Legend tossed several remote controlled small bombs at fifteen Militas Ultra before pushing the trigger which resulted in several explosions that killed the enemy soldiers almost instantly. He was careful to make sure none of his toys were anywhere near the choppers or the canyon walls that were near Nibelhiem village.
Veld, despite being rendered with one arm and only been out of hospital for a few days, punched and head-butted soldiers that he was fighting, then kicked at another to trip him and, giving his new artifical arm a test run, flared up a Firaga from the Materia slot and thrusts it side-ways, a large ball of fire shooting out and engulfing several more of the enemies who screamed in pain and agony before slumping to the ground, dead.
Even though the Militas Ultra soldiers were decreasing in numbers, the Turks found themselves soon trapped and cornered by one of their choppers as twenty more of the enemies advanced on them slowly to finish them off, as the fifteen of them were becoming exhausted despite the healing spells they were casting on themselves.
"Why can't these guys find something nicer to do?" Freya complained, frustrated that she was down to three ammo castings left. Tseng, Rosalind, and Rafe had the same problem.
Before the Militas Ultra soldiers could even make the attempt to shoot the Turks dead, however, all of the sudden familiar men of another Organization appeared from around the corner and opened fire on most of the enemies, shooting them dead. Shears and Elfe then both appeared behind them and while the former punched and thrusted his fists at five in such incredible speed and power, the latter leaped before thrusting her sword down onto seven more, slashing them sideways and killing them almost instantly.
Soon enough, the remaining twenty enemy soldiers were dead, with horrified and shocked expressions forever imprinted on their faces. (~End Crimson Impact~)
All of the Turks stood there stunned at the sudden reappearance of Highground. What were they doing here, and why did they help them again?
"Man, you Turks owe us a hellva lot for saving your butts." Shears sighed, turning to face the group as did Elfe and their own soldiers who lowered their weapons while Elfe put away hers.
"And why would we do that?" Rafe questioned, "Why do you keep helping us?"
Arien elbowed him in the stomach with a glare, scolding, "Come on, Rafe. Quit being hostile to these guys. They helped us out again. They're on our side."
"Yeah, they wanna take out those Militas idiots as much as we do." St. Andrew agreed, though adding as he corrected himself while gazing at Elfe, "At least she does, like Rosie told us."
"That actually has me curious." Reno mentioned, gazing at the two Highground leaders and asked, "Not to sound hostile or anythin', but how come you wanna kill the Militas Ultra Top guy anyway?"
"Any reason why you want to know?" Elfe questioned, gazing at the redhead somewhat suspiciously.
The redhead shrugged awkwardly, "Just curious, I guess. I mean, after all the crap those guys did for nearly five years, they deserve whatever hell they should get. 'Cause I certainly wanna kill them too."
Elfe and Shears both shared a glance, not certain if they should reveal their true reason for the murder of Aulstyne. Eventually, the former sighed, and began, "It's for...revenge. Cid Aulstyne, the leader of Militas Ultra, is the main reason for an attack in Deling City ten years ago...and the loss of my memories."
Reno gasped in shock while the other Turks all held shocked expressions. So Militas Ultra had began all of this ten years earlier? That meant that this was going on for fourteen years? Why hadn't any of them heard of that? Not only that, Elfe had been the first victum?
"You have amnesia?" St. Andrew asked, a bit dumbly.
"She just mentioned that she lost her memories in the Deling City attack, you idiot." Alana pointed out in exasperation.
"That's correct." Elfe confirmed. "I only remember that attack, and Aulstyne's name and face. I was most likely the only survivor of the attack."
(~Ten year Reunion-DIRGE OF CERBERUS FINAL FANTASY VII~)
"The attack in Deling City..." Veld spoke up, taking a couple steps forward, feeling more shocked and in disbelief than anyone else. "It wouldn't happen to have resulted in a massive destruction to the City, and...a festival happening that day?"
The woman gasped as she gazed at the Turk Leader in shock. "Yes...How did you...?" She began.
It was then that Veld now knew the truth. It had to be her. He just knew it. How could he have not known all this time? "I knew it...It's you. You survived just like I did...Except we had been seperated for far too long...Felicia."
Elfe gasped again, her eyes widened as more painful, yet much more comforting images and memories filled her mind.
"And who says I'm not allowed to have time off from work?" A familiar man's voice teasingly asked behind them. Elfe and her mother turned to see...a silhouttee of a familiar man standing there. Now the shadow faded away from the man...revealing a slightly younger Veld with no injuries.
"Daddy!" She heard her younger self cheer happily, and raced towards her father who picked her up while laughing.
"...Daddy?" Elfe, now truly identified as Felicia, gapped in disbelief and realization. It was true; the Turk Leader right in front of her was no doubt her father. A father she had thought she lost forever when she'd been only twelve years old. One she had forgotten until now.
While Veld was still in the state of shock, disbelief and relief, the rest of the Turks, Shears and the Highground soldiers were glancing back and forth between the Turk Leader and the Leader of Highground, unable to believe what they were hearing. Elfe-or Felicia-or-whatever, was Veld's long-lost only daughter?
"Wait a minute...She's...the Director's daughter?" Rosalind asked in shock. She had heard bits and pieces that Veld's family had been killed at some point a decade ago, but she never got the full story or did she ask, as it wasn't something the man wanted to talk about.
"Even though..." Rude trailed off.
"She'd been the leader of the guys that helped us out for the entire time." Reno finished, in shock and amazement himself. Yet it disgusted him that Aulstyne had to start all of this ten years ago by attacking Veld and his little girl at Deling City, the city of super high tech, during a festival and separating the two, killing Veld's wife who was also Elfe/Felicia's mother and rendering the said little girl with memory loss to the point of being met up with Shears at some point.
"Sir?" Tseng turned to his mentor.
"...It was ten years ago that Felicia, my wife and I went to a Festival for a family outing. We were to spend two weeks there. However, everything went wrong when there was an explosion at the centre of the city. It caught everyone by surprise, and everyone was running to try and escape. But, there were more explosions one by one, killing thousands who attended. I told my family to run while I held back suspicious looking men in disguise, but another explosion occured and I lost consciousness. I woke up in hospital hours later as you well know, and I was told that I was the only survivor. I didn't want to believe it, but there was too much rubble for anyone to lift, and all of them were declared dead." Veld explained, squeezing his eyes shut at the painful memory.
"I remember now." Felicia muttered. "Mother was...gunned down by a man; in a sailor's hat. That was Aulstyne. I got a glimpse of him just as an explosion happened and I passed out when something hit me in the head. That was the only memory I had. I couldn't even remember my own name. But I never forgot his face, and I knew he was responsible for what happened. Since then, I wanted revenge, to kill him for taking away my memory...and my family."
"She came wandering to me and my uncle's house and we took her in." Shears hesitately admitted. "But it was about three years later that that bastard and the rest of Militas Ultra attacked and killed the only family I had. Since then, it was just the two of us, and we sworn to kill him and prevent Militas Ultra from doing anymore damage to anyone else."
Reno sighed, shaking his head. "Now I really hate Militas Ultra even more." He grunted. What Aulstyne had done was absolutely disgusting. To think that what he did to Deling City, and in Shears' hometown, it almost happened again in Edge. It was sickening.
"You and me both, Red." Shears grunted in agreement, clutching his fist in anger.
"So horrible...how could they?" Rosalind muttered in disbelief, disgust and horror. Aulstyne has gone way too far.
"That's got terrorist written all over those guys!" St. Andrew grunted angrily. Aulstyne had started all of this; Felicia's memory loss, Veld separated from his family, casualties in Deling City and in Shears' hometown, the attack in Edge and new Banora, the late President's betrayal, the mechanic Zolom, the attack in Cosmo Canyon and siege in Edge just months ago...
"Those guys have gotten way too far!" Freya hissed furiously. (~End Ten year Reunion~)
"Cowards is what they are. Takin' it out on innocent people and doin' all those stuff, how much more sick can ya' get than that?" Legend grunted in disbelief and disgust.
Veld sighed, gazing at his daughter, alive and having grown up into a young and very strong skilled woman. She looked so much like her mother, but with his hair and eyes. "Felicia...I'm sorry. If I had known...you wouldn't have suffered."
Felicia was a little shocked at the Turk Leader's apology. She did feel a bit angry for him not finding her, but at the same time, he never forgot about her. He remembered, and thought he had lost her. Given her memory loss, she wouldn't have known.
Before she could say anything however, everyone then heard a whooshing sound and as they all turned to look up, their eyes widened as a sudden shot was zooming straight towards Veld from his right and by the time he looked, he had no time to dodge. But Felicia did and she knew for a split second what she had to do.
(~The Key of Darkness-KH:BBS~)
"DAD!" She shouted, shoving her father out of the way and took the hit on her arm just near where her hand was aching. She screamed in pain, kneeling on her knees as she grasped the gunshot wound, and for a mysterious reason, a light began to glow on the back of her hand which began to drain her strength even more.
"FELICIA!" Veld screamed in horror, shocked, horrified and guilty that his daughter had just risked her life to save his.
"ELFE!" Shears screamed in shock, attempting to approach his leader. But before he could, a sudden missile appeared which crashed and exploded onto the ground just ten feet from everyone, causing a huge explosion that sent the Turks and Highground flying backwards.
All of them screamed at the sudden impact before crashing into the ground while a couple of the helicopters were caught in the blast and were not set in fire. While none of them were severely injured, the wind from their lungs had left them for a moment. Weakly pushing themselves up, while Felicia continued to grip her arm, hissing in pain as the sensation was getting worse, everyone saw, to their anger and dismay, it was Aulstyne and Qator who stood in a chopper of their own as it hovered to the side after the pilot fired a missile at them.
"This is what I feared for a very long time; now you left me with no other choice, Turks, AVALANCHE!" Aulstyne growled angrily down to the group.
"Aulstyne!" Tseng hissed angrily, correctly guessing the man in the sailor's hat is the one Veld's daughter called Cid Aulstyne, the man who had began the entire deadly situation since ten years ago.
"AVALANCHE?" Shears asked dumbfounded while angry with Militas Ultra's leader even more, before turning to Reno and Rude, asking in confusion, "Hey, did that moron call me, Elfe and our boys AVALANCHE?"
The two Turks nodded, just as confused as the Second in Command of Highground.
"I never would have thought your daughter would have the urge to put my life to an end, to aid you, Veld." Aulstyne hissed. "But these past four years have proven me wrong. It's because of her, you and your Turks and ShinRa continued to live. Now it's beginning to reawaken in her body, and it will drain away her energy. I will find the pieces of the source, and ensure humanity's survival by destroying all of you."
"What are you talking about?" Veld hissed furiously.
"You think killing thousands if not millions of people is a way of saving humanity!?" Rosalind shouted furiously.
"I have no choice. It's either them, or I am forced to do what Fuhito had done with Zinconiade." Aulstyne growled.
"Zinconide? Fuhito?" Rosalind asked, shocked as the name of the monster filled her mind once more, and Fuhito...not only it sounded familiar to her, but also to everyone else around her as they struggled to figure out who Fuhito is.
"It's time for all of you to meet your ends." Aulstyne declared.
"SHUT UP!" Shears shouted angrily, ordering the Highground soldiers, "OPEN FIRE!"
The men, though weakened, nodded and pulled the triggers of their own machine guns, opening fire before Aulstyne or Qator had the chance to order the pilot to fire again. Qator quickly pulled his leader out of the way to avoid in getting shot to death. But their vessel suffered heavy damage. Legend, despite being weak, tossed a remote controlled bomb right at the chopper where it landed on the side and he pushed the trigger, causing it to explode and damage the vessel even more.
Realizing that they were defeated again, Aulstyne and Qator both nodded and quickly ordered their pilot to retreat for now before their ride fully exploded. With out other choice, they flew off before their enemies could attack again. (~End The Key of Darkness~)
Seeing that the enemy was gone for now, Shears wasted no time in scooping up Felicia, turning to the Highground soldiers, "Let's get outta here."
"Hey, wait a minute! Where are you going?" Arien asked, standing up weakly as did everyone else.
"I'm gonna figure out how to fix up Elfe-I mean, Felicia. I don't know what's happening to her, but she hasn't been well lately. I'm going to find a cure." Shears responded, before gazing at Veld and narrowed his eyes. "What about you, old man? You gonna continue leading the Turks?"
Veld lowered his head. He felt torn. He couldn't lose his daughter again. Not when he finally learned that she had been alive all this time, and yet, for some reason something within her hand was making her ill, draining away her energy bit by bit, and now it's getting worse. But then...he couldn't leave the Turks either. They needed him. What could he do?
Tseng and the rest of the Turks could see the struggle their leader was facing, and all of them shared concerned and hurtful but understanding expressions. As much as it hurt them to make this decision, as each and every one of them knew...family always comes first.
"Sir." Tseng spoke, getting his mentor's attention. "You should go and help your daughter."
"I..." Veld began.
"C'mon, boss. You're not just gonna give up on her, are ya?" Reno asked with a sad but understanding expression.
"You got to see her again after all this time." Rude added.
"You should do what you want, sir." Rosalind encouraged, trying to hold back the urge to cry.
Even Legend looked setimental. "She's the only livin' family ya' got, o'l man."
(~Sudden Parting-DIRGE OF CERBERUS FINAL FANTASY VII~)
"I'm a Turk, though." Veld pointed out.
"That doesn't mean you don't have the right to be with your family and friends, sir." Arien pointed out.
"You've always stood by us, sir. This time we want to return the favour." Tseng informed him fondly, and the rest of the Turks nodded in agreement.
"Tseng...everyone..." Veld felt very emotional. They were willing to give him up for him to have the chance to be with his daughter, to find a way to save her life. Yet he knew, they were right. With a nod, he told his Second in Command, "All of you return to Midgar and inform the President of what has been discovered."
"Yes, sir." Tseng nodded, feeling deeply torn in his heart, but he knew it was the only way.
"From this day forward, I resign from the Turks, and from ShinRa Company." The Turk Leader declared. "Be sure Rufus knows that, for family reasons."
"Understood." Tseng nodded.
Veld nodded, about to take his leave, but paused as he gazed back at his Second in Command for the final time, "Tseng, the rest is up to you. The Turks are in your hands now. Take care of them, as their Leader."
"Yes sir..." The Wutaiian Turk nodded.
"And Reno."
"Sir?" Reno asked, his throat feeling all thick as he could feel tears sting his eyes. He knew what Veld was about to ask of him, and despite that he only had two years of being Third in Command, he just knew that this day had come. He didn't like it, but Veld's daughter was more important to the older man now.
"Stand by his side, as Second in Command." Veld requested.
"...You got it!" Reno replied, choaking up.
Veld began to walk away to join his daughter and the rest of Highground who were stunned by the man's choice to leave behind his Organization for Felicia's life.
"Sir!" Tseng called back, almost losing control of his emotions but still managed to hold it in. Veld paused for a moment, allowing the Wutaiian to continue for the final time, "Thank you for everything you've done for us up to now. I won't let you down. We'll work this out!"
"I know you will. Everyone...I'm so proud of you, and I am proud, to have worked with you. I hope we meet again someday." Veld replied, allowing a single tear slide down his cheek, before leaving with Shears, the exhausted Felicia and the stunned Highground.
Once Veld and Highground were out of sight, the Turks stood in silence, saddened for their now former leader's depature, but knew, it was for the best. For Felicia's sake.
"...Goodbye, sir. I...I hope we meet again someday too." Tseng whispered, as silent tears began to fell.
(~End Sudden Parting~)
July 26th [?]-Year-1994.
Realm of Darkness.
Even though she had no idea how long she'd been wandering in the Realm of Darkness, Aqua, the blue haired young woman who'd been unknowingly trapped here for six years, still held onto the hope she would find her way back to the Realm of Light. Her Wayfinder, the glass item she made herself along ago in blue, was her shining light.
As she wandered, she kept her mind onto that of her friends, ones that were missing, and others who were lost but never forgotten;
Terra, Ven, Young Queen Serenity/'Sailor Moon', Jason, Mickey, Grovyle, all of the people she made and made friends with in the worlds she visited, and Master Eraqus, and the three children, Kairi, Sora and Riku, everyone gave her the resolve and strength to push on.
Just then, Aqua paused in her steps as up ahead, a glimmer of light shone, and standing by the light on the ground, was...a young man, she realized. With dark hair, and an outfit she wasn't familiar with.
"Who...?" She muttered, before the light shone so bright that the young Keyblade Master had to shield her eyes as did the young man. However, what she didn't see was that he noticed that the light, a broken shard of a Materia, opened up some kind of portal and the young man, somehow realizing this was his way out, to find the one he loved, did not hesitate to leap in and managed to jump through before the portal closed up and the light faded.
By the time Aqua looked again, the young man and the light were gone. Looking around and trying to sense where he went, she realized that he simply vanished without a trace. Had she been hallucinating?
"What was that about?" She asked herself. She then shook her head, realizing that she was wasting time on trying to figure something out that she knew she would get no answers to.
With her resolve to try and find her way home, Aqua continued onward. Fully unaware that she had just missed out on her escape route.
July 26th [?]-Year-1994.
Room Where Nothing Gathers-World that Never Was.
(~Organization XIII-KH2~)
It was a secret meeting that no other members of the Organization would know. Xemnas and Xigbar made certain for that. Yet not long after they disposed of a useless young man whom they were keeping captured in the Deling City Ruins for four years, it would seem that they made a mistake on that.
"The reborn one of the Time-Cycle World has managed to escape from the Realm of Darkness." Xemnas informed.
"How the heck could that kiddo do that? There's no way he could've escaped the Realm of Darkness!" Xigbar protested. "He was only in the Realm of Darkness for a few hours and he already managed to escape on his own?"
"Not on his own." The Superior corrected. "I sense a shard of a power lost for thousands of years being the cause of his escape. A powerful shard of a Summon capable of eliminating all life to a single large world. Should it be fully formed, it will destroy the Realm of Light...and us."
The eye-patched Nobody gasped in shock. Could a summon from the world the Turks live in be able to do that? To not only wreck the Realm of Light, but also destroy the Organization and render their goals for Kingdom Hearts into nothing?
"Uh...shouldn't we do somethin' about that?" Xigbar asked.
"The Turks had destroyed it once before. I gather they will do so again, whether with or without the aid of the King. Like the Silver Crystal rendered into seven Rainbow Crystals and hidden into seven individuals on Earth, the power of the Summon is also separated, one of them being in the body of Veld's only daughter, which is draining away her energy." The Superior ensured him.
"So we just leave it up to the guys were still keeping an eye on?"
"Indeed."
Even though this sort of thing was uncomfortable, Xigbar allowed himself to trust Xemnas. After all, why fight against a monster capable in wrecking everything when they can leave it to the guys who, while still having no clue of their pasts, stopped it once?
(~End Organization XIII~)
With Highground leader Elfe revealed to be his daughter Felicia who survived an attack done by Cid Aulstyne ten years earlier, Veld resigns from the Turks and leaves his position, leaving Tseng to now lead the Organization, with Reno as his Second in Command.
Yet things haven't gone quite as smoothly in the next two years. Recieving threatening notes and calls in a few more encounters of Militas Ultra who would attack their loved ones and family, one by one, the Turks were forced to resign themselves to keep their families safe.
When it was left to only five, as Arien had decided to join Jake to protect his family as he had become like a brother to her, during a mission gone wrong, Legend sacrificed himself to allow Cissnei and Reno to continue the mission which resulted in finding Machina, Rem's close friend who had one of the shards connected to Felicia.
However, Militas Ultra had stolen it from them, but not without losing one of their more powerful weapons they controlled. In grief, Cissnei resigned to live in Gongaga.
Now all that's left is Tseng, Reno and Rude...but fortunately, they would be recieving a new member, of that of Rosalind's sister.
Yet...
In that very same year, Genesis began to make his plans in making Zack Fair remember his past, and thus Zack's final adventure had just began.
A/N: This is now officially the final chapter of 2018. Next up, is "Episode Legend and Cissnei", which will further explain what is written in the epilogue summary of this chapter, and then after that is the year of "Kingdom Hearts: Crisis Core" and "Sailor Moon-Season 1" where the franchise of Sailor Moon Continuum offically began.
So as a final goodbye to 2018, see you later in 2019, everyone! But don't worry, the story is not over yet! HAPPY NEW YEAR!