ATE: Yes, yes, I know it's been about 5 months since I last updated this story. Here's the main reason (besides procrastination): there was a point that I ended up leaving the story alone a few times due to the amount of filler I wrote at the beginning, so a lot of on and off happened during that time. It was only when I finally got to the part when Cloud showed up (which happened two days ago for me) that I was bulldozing through everything.
Speaking about the Nibelheim Incident, instead of showing what happened in the game, I chose to summarize everything in a way that those who have played the game (or watched a walkthrough on youtube) would recognize what's happening while others who are unfamiliar (or need a refresher) would be able to get an idea of that part of the game. That, and I didn't think you'd want to read so much dialogue from a flashback. During that part of the story, you'll notice I bold and italicized the text while there might be regular text in there as well; this has been done for a reason, which you'll find out.
It'd like to thank both guest readers ren7720and The kid for their reviews, as well as those who are still reading and have placed this story in their Favorites or on Follow. I appreciate your patience as I know what it's like waiting a long time for a story you like to be updated.
In response to guest reviews:
ren7720: As much as I want to answer your question, I can't at this point in time. All I can tell you is that, as the story progresses, there will be some hints (even if they might be vague). I hope you enjoy this chapter.
The kid: I don't recall mentioning anything about romance to you during our discussions. As for Cloud, we'll never know. At some point in the story we'll learn about the disease Amalthea had (though I honestly don't know when that'll be, but it won't be anytime soon); as for magic, you'll see.
Hope you all enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Final Fantasy VII. I only own my OC.
~*~Chapter 3~*~
Amalthea sat awake staring at the remains of a fire that had died hours ago, the bedsheet wrapped around her in an attempt to keep warm. It wasn't because of her biological clock that she was awake (it was too early for her to be wake, and she had a feeling that there was an hour or so left before the sun rose), but a dream she had.
No, not a dream. A memory from a long time ago.
It was a memory that she had cherished for 20 years, clutched close to her heart in a desperate attempt to keep it safe from being tarnished by time.
That precious memory was of the day she first met him.
She remembered how exhausted she had been after the doctors had performed their experimental procedure on her in an attempt to extend her life, how she had been placed on bed-rest in order to recover. She had been hopeful back then, believing she'd be able to return to her parents in a few weeks' time.
She had felt something she was unable to describe, and that had been when she first laid eyes on him. She remembered how he stood at the door looking lost, how he and the black business suit he wore stood out in contrast with the white room she would eventual become familiar in days to come. His presence had intrigued her for some unknown reason, and it was something that continued to do so even to this day. It had been when his gaze fell on her that he had stiffen, as if he hadn't been aware of her being in the room when he had been taking everything in.
"Who are you?" She had asked.
He had been surprised when she addressed him, having asked if she was referring to him to which she confirmed.
He never gave her a name, simply stating that he was nobody. Regardless, she had introduced herself to him before asking how he had gotten inside her room, for she hadn't heard the door open. He didn't know, only that he just found himself in that room. He had asked her why she was there and she told him about what she'd gone through, and eventually she had asked the question that had been on her mind.
"Are you real?"
She had wondered if he was a real person or something her mind had made up; he had hesitated, unsure of how to answer such a question. In the end even he didn't know the answer, saying that he probably wasn't real and wasn't aware of it.
Like an imaginary friend.
She ended up asking if he could be her friend. It had come as a surprised to him, but then he recovered and gave her a small smile, though there was a hint of sadness to it that she hadn't understood.
Ever since that day he had been her friend, though he had told her that he wouldn't know how often he'd be able to visit her. Despite that, it had made her stay within the Shinra Building bearable in the years to come.
But now she was more or less on her own, traveling with a group of unfamiliar faces in an equally unfamiliar world that had only been touched upon in the many books she had read. It was intimidating, yet at the same time there was a sense of excitement that she hadn't felt in some time.
Amalthea noticed that the sky was gradually starting to get brighter as the sun came up, a clear indication that it was only a matter of time before the group she was with would have to continue their journey to Kalm. She reached for the sunglasses Barret lent her and was about to place them over her eyes, only to stop herself and lowered her hand.
She couldn't keep relying on the sunglasses forever. Her eyes needed to be able to adjust to natural light on their own now that she was free. And what better way to do that than to watch the sunrise.
Though she had lived the past 20 years on the upper plate of Midgar (courtesy of Shinra), the sky was always covered with smog, only allowing enough sunlight through to indicate a day and night cycle. But now that she was away from the metropolis she found herself fascinated by the sky as it got brighter. Even the grass she sat on fascinated her, the greenness being something she had only seen in pictures and images, but even then they both paled in comparison to the real thing.
It felt so surreal to see the world with her own eyes, yet at the same time it was refreshing. And she wanted to experience it all with her newfound freedom.
"I see you are enjoying the sunrise." Turning to her right, Amalthea watched as Red XIII stood up, stretching to get rid of the stiffness before sitting on his hind legs and gazing at her with his good eye. "You are up quite early."
"I could say the same for you." She told him.
"A fair point." He agreed. "I presume this is the first time you have seen such a sight?"
She nodded.
"And what are your thoughts?"
"It's different, but in a good way." She gazed at the sun. "I'm aware of the concept behind the sun itself, but how can something so simple be…refreshing?"
"'Refreshing'?" Red XIII chuckled. "If you are this mesmerized at the sight of a sunrise, then I wonder how you will react to other things and places we'll encounter on this journey."
Amalthea pulled her eyes away from the sun (knowing that she shouldn't look directly at it by this point) to glance at Red XII, but what caught her attention the most was how the flame at the end of his tail was making direct contact with the grass.
"Your tail…" She tilted her head to the side.
"You refer to how the flame isn't setting the grass ablaze. It's a question I tend to get a lot."
"How is that possible?"
"In all honesty? I do not know. It has always been like this." He then stood up. "Amalthea, would you mind waking Aerith? I believe we should get an early start if we want to reach Kalm."
Amalthea stood and headed over to where Aerith slept on the ground. She knelt down before reaching a hand out and placing it on the sleeping woman's arm.
"Aerith, wake up." She said.
She was surprised when Aerith's eyes opened to reveal green orbs before sitting up.
"Good morning." Aerith greeted, giving her a smile. "So it's time to go?"
"So it would seem."
The group was able to gather what few possessions they had before resuming their journey to Kalm. Along the way they encountered a few monsters, being rewarded with Gil from each skirmish which Aerith placed in a wallet with the rest of their earnings. Amalthea was unable to participate during these encounter, but it was during a battle that an incident occurred. While Aerith and Red XIII were preoccupied a monster managed to slip past them, and by the time they realized what happened the monster was already lunging at her, seeing her as an easy target.
What none of them expected was for a blast of ice to shoot out of Amalthea's hand and hit the creature dead on, causing it to drop to the ground. With wide eyes she stared down at the dead monster before her eyes fell to her hands, not knowing what to think.
She did it again! First the Thunder spell she had casted on the machine everyone had fought on the highway, and now a Blizzard spell!
How was she casting magic without Materia?
"Are you alright, Amalthea?"
Amalthea tore her gaze away from her hands to look up at Aerith and Red XIII, both of them stopping before her. She managed to school her expression before speaking.
"I'm fine." She told them.
"How did you managed to kill that monster with a Blizzard spell? I thought you didn't have Materia."
"I don't."
"That doesn't make any sense! It's impossible for others to use magic without the aid of Materia."
"Maybe it isn't." Red XIII commented. "It's possible that she's capable of performing magic due to the experiments performed on her by Shinra. It wouldn't surprise me if that were the case."
"Why do you say that?" Aerith asked.
"You remember how we all fought the machine Shinra sent after us on that highway? Do you recall what caused it to stop using its flamethrower when we were being burned?"
Aerith's eyes widened as she realized what Red XIII was getting at.
"You mean you weren't the one that cast Thunder at that time?"
"It was Amalthea's doing." He stated. "I only took credit in order so the others wouldn't be suspicious of her."
Amalthea stared at the red creature, unsure what to think. So he had known it was her the whole time and had taken credit in an effort to cover for her. She frowned. For some reason, she felt somewhat irritated despite him meaning well with his decision.
As tempted as she was to voice her opinion, she refrained from doing so.
"So we know that Amalthea's capable of performing magic without Materia, but the question now is which spells can she use?" Aerith turned to her. "Try casting a spell you haven't used so yet."
Amalthea considered this before holding out her hand. She searched her mind, trying to figure out what spell to use. Maybe Fire? She imagined a flame burning in her hand, hot to the touch but not burning her at the same time.
Before their eyes a flame appeared in her hands, dancing in the open air. Closing her hand caused the flame to be extinguished, leaving no trace of ever being there.
So she could cast Fire. What about Cure?
She glanced at Aerith and noticed a bruise on her arm. She then held out her hand and concentrated. She imagined a soothing warmth before witnessing a soft light touching the woman's arm. The bruise was gone when the light disappeared.
"So I can cast Fire and Cure as well." She said.
"Are you able to cast anything else?" Red XIII asked.
Amalthea thought about this. So far she could cast Thunder, Blizzard, Fire, and Cure, but was she able to cast anything else? Something seemed to tell her that the answer was no, but how did she know that?
Was it a gut feeling?
"I don't think so."
"Hold on!" Aerith said, pulling out a green and yellow Materia before holding the green one out to her. "Try holding this one."
Amalthea reached out to take the green Materia from Aerith, but as soon as her fingers made contact with the orb she froze. Images seemed to flash before her eyes, none of them distinguishable and not staying long enough for her to register. Though her eyes couldn't register what the images meant her mind seemed to somehow understand. Just as quickly as the images appeared, they soon ended and she found herself still standing before Aerith.
The most curious thing was that she knew how to use the ability from the green Materia. She pulled her hand away, holding her palm up and concentrating before a small sickly green looking smoke appeared.
Poison.
"Try this one now." This time Aerith held out the yellow Materia.
Just like with the green Materia, the same process happened and she had learned how to use Scan. The only way she could compare the process would be the way a program would be installed on a computer or a file was downloaded.
"Interesting…" Red XIII mused. "It seem that whenever you come in contact with certain Materia you learn its abilities to add to the others you already know."
"As convenient as being able to cast magic without Materia, what do we do about the others knowing?" Amalthea questioned.
Aerith and Red XIII looked thoughtful as they pondered this. Eventually Aerith was the first to speak up.
"We could convince Cloud and the others that you need a way to defend yourself and provide you with Materia of the four initial abilities you know and something to equip the Materia to. It wouldn't be out of the ordinary to do so and even if you don't need the Materia itself to use spells, it be a good way to hide your secret." Aerith figured. "And seeing as you likely won't participate in battle as much, you could offer to hold on to our healing items as well. That way you're able to contribute during our journey."
"It could work."
(~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~)
Kalm was not what Amalthea expected it to be upon entering the town. From what she'd managed to see of it (before Aerith and Red XIII ushered her into the Inn) it was an idyllic (the irony was not lost on her) place surrounded by a wall to protect its residents from roaming monsters. She didn't know how to describe the buildings of the place, but something about them seemed to exude a sort of comfort to them, unlike the few memories she had of the Sector 8 Slums back in Midgar from her early years.
At the moment she stood by the window of the room Aerith had managed to reserve for them, along with telling the Innkeeper that they were expecting three more people to come and to tell them that they were waiting. Earlier Amalthea had taken the chance to get a shower (she only spent a little over seven minutes before getting out) and currently Aerith was taking her turn to get cleaned as well. Red XIII, on the other hand, was resting at the end of one of the beds seeming to enjoy laying on a surface that wasn't the ground. She didn't blame him, finding the bed a welcome comfort, but for a different reason; the bed she used for the last 20 years had served its purpose, but it had lacked the comfort the ones at the Inn provided.
Even more reason she was grateful to be away from Midgar and another thing to add to her ever growing list.
Amalthea was pulled away from her thoughts when she heard the door of the bathroom open followed by Aerith walking out, all the while brushing her long brown hair. As she passed by the bed Red XIII was on she reached down to pat him on the nose, much to his chagrin, before sitting down herself.
Though, she found it somewhat amusing to witness.
"Would you like me to brush your hair?"
Confused, Amalthea turned around to face Aerith as the younger woman waited for her answer. How was she supposed to answer such a question, let alone expect it?
"…Brush my hair?" She asked.
Aerith smiled at this.
"Come over here." She told her.
Seeing no reason not to she made her way over to the bed Aerith was on and sat down in front of her when indicated to do so. Amalthea tensed up when she felt her hand being gathered, expecting the harsh pulling of a brush going through tangles, but was surprised when she never felt it. Instead Aerith was getting rid of the tangles at the ends and once satisfied with her work started with the rest. She found it surprisingly relaxing was the brush ran through her hair, having been used to brushing her own hair until now.
"It's difficult maintaining long hair, but it's not so bad as long as you know how to take care of it properly." Aerith explained. "Notice how I started at the ends? The trick is to start there and work your way up. That way you make the task easier and it won't hurt as much."
"You speak from experience." Amalthea noted.
"I do."
"Why are you doing this? What do you hope to gain?"
Aerith paused, considering the question before she spoke.
"'What do I hope to gain'? If possible, a friend. Wouldn't you want that?"
Amalthea thought about this. Even though he had been her friend growing up, he hadn't been real. But if she took Aerith's offer, she'd have an actual friend. Maybe it was for the best.
"I guess so."
"I can understand your uncertainty, but I assure you that you don't have to worry about that. You don't have to worry about being alone anymore."
Was that actually true, though? Was it safe to say that she wasn't alone anymore? Maybe Aerith was right.
'I'll have to find out for myself.' She thought.
"You're very quiet, you know? A lot more than Cloud is." Aerith commented, braiding her hair after finishing with Amalthea's hair. "But I'm sure that'll change the more you talk with everyone else. And you should smile more."
"Smile?" She questioned.
"Yeah. I bet you'd look a lot prettier if you did."
"…I haven't had much reason to smile in recent years."
"Really? Not even now."
She shook her head.
"Well, I'm sure you'll find one someday." Aerith giggled. "In fact, I'll try to give you a reason to do so one of these days."
The sound of footsteps climbing up the stairs caught the attention of the two women as they both turned in time to see Tifa and Barret reach the top. Amalthea didn't miss the detail that Cloud was absent.
"You made it!" Tifa exclaimed, her eyes lighting up in relief upon seeing them. "Did you have any trouble getting here?"
"Nothing we couldn't handle." Aerith replied. "Where's Cloud?"
"Spikey said somethin' 'bout tendin' to some business." Barret stated. "Whatever that means."
"Well, we can't do much until he gets here." Red XIII said.
Amalthea merely tuned out the conversation from this point. She wasn't sure how much time passed, but her attention was brought back to reality when she felt the bed slightly sink from the additional weight, causing her to turn and find Tifa sitting next to her.
"How are you holding up?" She asked, her tone almost…motherly.
When was the last time anyone spoke to her in such a way?
"I'm fine." She replied.
"That's good. Believe it or not, some of us were concerned as to how you'd handle traveling in your…condition."
She regarded the woman, allowing her words to sink in. First Red XIII and Aerith, and now Tifa. There were people concerned about her wellbeing. Only one other had shown her such concern, but that wasn't a pressing issue at the moment.
"Your concern is noted."
Amalthea didn't expect to see the disappointed look that crossed her face. Had she said something wrong? No, it wasn't what she said; it was the delivery. She sighed, knowing that she had to fix this mistake.
"I…apologize if I came off as crass." She said. "I never had many instances to socialize with others unless it was with a scientist or tutor."
Tifa nodded at this, seeming to catch on to what Amalthea was saying.
"That actually explains a lot. We could help you with that, you know? That way you can avoid a situation like this in the near future. For example: instead of saying 'Your concern is noted' you could say 'Thank you for being concerned' or 'I appreciate your concern'."
Amalthea considered Tifa's words, noting her suggestions sounded a lot better than what she'd said earlier.
"Thank you for being concerned." She tried. Having said the words herself, it gave off a better message.
"See? Doesn't that sound better?"
She nodded.
"I appreciate you for wanting to help me with this."
"You're welcome." She smiled before getting up from the bed. "Well I'm gonna go freshen up. A girl's gotta take advantage of any chance she's get to take a shower."
With that Tifa headed into the bathroom, closing the door behind her before the sound of running water could be heard. Amalthea glanced over to where Barret stood leaning against the wall and that was when she remembered the sunglasses in her possession.
"I believe these are yours." She said, offering the sunglasses to the taller man.
She watched as Barret regarded her with dark eyes for a moment before taking the sunglasses from her.
"Thanks." He said, pocketing the eyewear in a way that conveyed he had done so countless times. "Gotta admit, I wasn't expectin' to get these back."
"I only kept them as long as I needed. It's only fair I return them." She then remembered something. At first she was hesitant to talk about it, but then chose to proceed. "Both you and Tifa mentioned being from AVALANCHE. What is AVALANCHE?"
Barret sighed at this, as if coming to terms with something.
"You really weren't kidding 'bout bein' sheltered. You are aware of where Mako energy comes from, right?"
"Mako energy is processed by Shinra through the Mako Reactors. Normally, Mako can form naturally in places where the Lifestream is close to the surface, which are known as Mako Springs, and over time will condense into naturally made Materia. However, the Mako Reactors are forcibly extracting the Lifestream from the Planet in order to create Mako energy. The topic of using Mako as an energy source has brought up controversy over the years."
"Hmph. Practically a textbook example. AVALANCHE is tryin' to stop Shinra from suckin' the Planet dry of Mako. We managed to blow up the Reactors for Sectors 1 and 5, but then…"
Barret trailed off, looking away with fists clenched tightly as he seemed to recall a memory. Amalthea realized why once she managed to make the connection.
"The casualties caused of the plate being dropped. Your base was in the Sector 7 Slums."
At this the taller man's head shot in her direction.
"What gave you that idea?" He asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"I saw it happen from the window of my room. At first I had no clue as to the reason behind this action, but your words give some clarity." She admitted. "My condolences for your loss."
"It don't matter now! Just as long as Shinra pays!"
She wanted to say more on the subject, but decided against it. As far as she knew, it wouldn't change anything. Thankfully Tifa had finished her shower since she came out of the bathroom at that time looking refreshed as Aerith had earlier.
From her spot on the bed she watched as the Tifa, Barret, and Aerith counted the Gil they had collected while traveling to Kalm. Apparently, the others came up with the plan for each group to have an empty wallet that was meant to place the Gil gathered while traveling, so that once they reached their destination they would split the earnings once counted. Amalthea found the idea logical, seeing as they would each need to have their own funds if they wanted to buy something for themselves. Overall, the total earnings came to 6,276 Gil, and she observed the earnings being split into…6 groups? Who was the extra group for?
"Here!"
Amalthea was taken aback by this. She hadn't expected to be given money, let along from the people who allowed her to come along despite being unable to contribute to their cause. And yet, Tifa stood before her, offering her a wallet containing a share of their earnings.
"…For me?" She asked.
"Of course!" Tifa replied. "Whether or not you decide to travel with us, you'll still need money in order start a new life."
At first she didn't know what to think of this, but eventually she accepted the money. It turned out that she was given 1,046 Gil.
"Thank you."
Tifa smiled at this and nodded.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps climbing creaking steps caused everyone to turn towards the steps just as Cloud reached the top.
"Cloud!" Aerith exclaimed.
"Yo man, you're late!" Barret told the blonde swordsman.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." Cloud responded, going over to one of the beds and placing his large sword against a nearby wall.
"Guess everyone's here now." Aerith commented.
"So let's hear your story..." Barret said, crossing his arms as he leaned back against the wall. "You know, the one about Sephiroth and the crisis facing the Planet. Let's hear it all."
Cloud's gaze fell to the floor for a moment before turning to Barret.
"...I used to want to be like Sephiroth, so I joined SOLDIER. After working with Sephiroth on several missions, we became friends." The blonde swordsman started.
Barret snorted at this.
"You call that a friend?"
"Yeah, well... He was older than me, and hardly ever talked about himself."
Glancing over at Tifa, Amalthea noticed that the dark haired woman looked troubled by this.
"So I guess you'd call us war buddies... We trusted each other. Until one day..." Cloud trailed off.
"...One day?" Aerith inquired.
Cloud turned and walked away from them, as if contemplating what to say next. That, or the memories weren't exactly ones he'd like to recall.
"After the war it was SOLDIER's duty to put down any resistance against Shinra." He responded. He then tilted his head back thoughtfully. "...That was 5 years ago. I was 16..."
Cloud begin his story, describing how he had been traveling in a military truck with Sephiroth and a few cadets; their mission had been to investigate malfunctioning Mako Reactor (as well as creature that were being produced by it) in Nibelheim, his hometown. He went into detail on how it had been raining hard, the ride having been bumpy, as well as one of the cadets sitting in the back had gotten motion sick. While they were traveling, they had been ambushed by a massive dragon-like monster, and though Cloud and Sephiroth were the ones to confront it, the latter had been able to take it out with ease.
"Sephiroth's strength is incredible. He is far stronger in reality than any stories you may have heard about him." Cloud told them.
"So... Where do you come in?" Aerith asked, giggling.
Cloud scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"Me? I was mesmerized by the way Sephiroth fought."
Tifa looked at Cloud, but was quiet. He tilted his head back as he crossed his arms.
"...And then we reached Nibelheim."
Cloud continued. His group had reached Nibelheim after days of traveling on the road. Sephiroth had asked him how it felt to be back in his hometown, saying that he didn't know since he didn't have one himself. Cloud had asked about Sephiroth's family, and he had gone on to tell how his mother, Jenova, had died shortly after he was born; when the topic of his father came up he merely laughed before wondering why he was even talking about the subject itself. Cloud told them how the cadet that had gotten motion sick earlier was bored and had suggested that he practice his pose. He had heard Sephiroth mentioning that the Mako in the area smelled back before continuing on to Nibelheim.
"Yo wait a minute!" Barret interrupted, having noticed something. "Isn't that, uh...? The name of Sephiroth's mother... I remember Jenova. That's that damn headless spook livin' in the Shinra building."
'Headless spook'? There had been something to that description that had been in the Shinra Building?
"That's right." Cloud nodded.
"Barret, would you please let us hear what Cloud has to say?" Tifa asked. "You can ask questions later."
"Tifa, I was only..." The taller man trailed off.
"Okay Cloud, continue." She turned to the blonde.
Aerith giggled, seeming to know what came next.
"The childhood friends reunite!" Aerith exclaimed.
"...I was really surprised with Tifa." Cloud admitted, scratching the back of his head.
Cloud described how the town had been quiet; everyone had stayed within their houses, though he admitted that he wasn't sure if it was because they were afraid of the monsters or of the group Shinra had sent to their quiet town. Sephiroth had told them that they would depart for the Reactor at dawn and to make sure they got plenty of sleep; he also mentioned that only one of the cadets needed to keep watch and to get some rest as well. The General had been about to head inside when a cadet had approached and stated that they had permission to visit family and friends if they wished before entering the Inn. He told them about the man that had outside with a camera who wanted to take a picture of Sephiroth fighting a monster. As Cloud continued his story, there were times where he would go quiet, as if unsure of something or having trouble recalling certain details. Cloud was about to tell them about visiting his home, but had decided it wasn't important.
"Yo wait, I wanna hear." Barret exclaimed.
"Me too!" Aerith agreed. "It's been a long time, right?"
"Tell us more! You saw your family, right?"
Amalthea was interested to hear about his family. With the looks everyone was giving him, Cloud sighed before agreeing to tell them.
"I don't know if you'd call it a 'family'... My father...died when I was still young. That's why my mom...lived alone in this house." He told them. "Yeah, I saw my mom. My mom...she was a vibrant woman. Hadn't changed at all. But a few days later, she died... But when I saw her, she looked fine."
Cloud described his encounter with his mother, who had been working in the kitchen when he had entered the house. At first, she hadn't known who he was until she turned around, and ran over to him once she realized who he was; the warm welcome he received was proof of how much she'd missed her son, much to his embarrassment.
Cloud paused, something Amalthea noticed he'd been doing frequently during his retelling.
The swordsman resumed his story with how his mother had looked him over and called him 'handsome'.
Cloud trailed off again. Was he having trouble remembering? It was possible, having been 5 years ago.
He continued. He had been laying on the bed by the kitchen when his mother had approached him, commenting on how much he'd grown during his absence and how she bet the girls never left him alone; he told her that wasn't the case. She admitted that she was worried about her son, stating there was a lot of temptations in the city before saying that she'd feel better if he settled down and had a nice girlfriend. Despite stating that he was fine, she continued on, commenting that he should have an older girlfriend that could take care of him, believing that would be the perfect type for him. He wasn't interested.
Pause.
He had been in the kitchen with his mother while she cooked, which led her to ask about him eating right since he couldn't cook; she had been worried sick about his wellbeing.
Another pause.
Cloud went to open his mouth, only to close it, all the while looks of confusion crossed his face. This happened a few more times before he sighed in defeat.
"…Let's stop this..." He muttered before continuing.
Cloud told them he left his house before he headed next door.
"Cloud? Did you go into my house?" Tifa asked, surprised by this.
"I thought you might be home." Cloud confessed.
As Cloud was talking about going upstairs (since no one was present on the first floor), Tifa interrupted again.
"Cloud? Did you go into my room?"
He nodded before continuing. He mentioned approaching a piano in the room.
"Did you play my piano?"
"Just a little." He admitted.
He mentioned playing a song on the piano before heading over to the desk, where he found a letter.
"Did you read it? My letter?" Tifa interrupted.
He nodded.
"You remember what it said?
"I read it..." He replied. "It was a letter addressed to Tifa from the son of the guy that runs the General Store..."
As Cloud summarized a portion of the letter, Tifa's eyes widened in surprise.
"Cloud, do you remember all of it?"
"Yeah, I remember it all. Because there was some stuff about me..."
He finished summarizing the letter before continuing with the story. He had left Tifa's house and proceeded to visit some neighbors (one that had two children) before heading to the Inn. Cloud recalled how he met a man named Zangan, who happened to teach children martial arts and that Tifa had been one of his students (much to the blonde's surprise at the time), praising her for her skills. Cloud then went upstairs were he found Sephiroth staring out the window, and upon inquiring what the General was looking at, he replied that he could swear he'd seen the landscape of Nibelheim; he told Cloud he should get some sleep, as well as informing him that he hired a guide to the Mako Reactor.
The next day the group had gathered outside the Shinra Mansion (which was on the outskirts of the town near the trail leading to Mt. Nibel) where they waited for their guide to arrive. The Mayor was talking to Sephiroth concerning something when their guide arrived, which turned out to be Tifa herself; she went on to reassure the Mayor (who was her father) that she'd be fine since she had two men from SOLDIER with her before introducing herself to them. Cloud had been surprised by this, but she merely stated that nobody was a better guide that her in that town. At first Cloud didn't want to get her involved, but Sephiroth put an end to the discussion (saying she'd be fine if he protected her). Cloud mentioned the photographer from earlier requesting to take a picture as a memento, to which the General complied with, resulting in Cloud, Tifa, and Sephiroth ending up in a photo; they proceeded up Mt. Nibel.
"There was a Mako Reactor built in Mt. Nibel. The cold air of the mountains of Nibel. It was no different..." Cloud told them before continuing.
It was during their journey to the Reactor that they came across a rope bridge, but as they were crossing the bridge broke apart and everyone fell, landing in a canyon below. The group had survived the fall, however, one of the cadets was missing; they had no choice but to continue onward despite the missing cadet. They eventually came across a Mako Spring, which led to Sephiroth explaining how Materia is formed. Sephiroth laughed at Cloud for referring to magic as a mysterious power, stating that a man once told him never to use unscientific terms like 'mysterious power' and that it should've even be called 'magic', recalling how angry the man had been; it turned out that man had been Hojo, who Sephiroth had stated was an inexperience man assigned to take over the work of a great scientist, as well as a walking mass of complexes.
Amalthea mentally laughed at this; the Professor would say something to that extent.
Eventually the group had reached the Mako Reactor on Mt. Nibel. Tifa had wanted to go inside and look, but Sephiroth informed her that it was a top-secret facility and non-Shinra personnel weren't permitted inside; he had the cadet that survived earlier look after her. She hadn't liked this idea. Cloud had followed Sephiroth into the Mako Reactor until they reached a room with metal pods (that had been lined up in rows with round glass windows to look through); one of the things that caught his eye had been the door at the top of the steps, with the word 'JENOVA' written above it (Amalthea had a feeling where this was going), however the door was sealed. Sephiroth had found the cause of the Reactor's malfunction and had Cloud seal the valve, all the while wondering to himself why it broke in the first place before walking over to one of the other pods.
Cloud had told them how the General had been disturbed upon looking through the glass window of the pod upon approaching him; he had muttered something about Hojo and how what he was doing would never put him on the same level as Professor Gast. He then explained the purpose of the pods and how it condensed and froze Mako energy before asking what happened when it furthered condensed (to which Cloud had answered correctly about Materia forming from the process). However, Hojo had put something else inside the pods, and upon looking inside that something (to Cloud's shock) had turned out to be a monster. Sephiroth went on to explain that average SOLDIER members were Mako-infused humans, enhanced, but still human; that raised questions on what the creatures inside the pods were, since their Mako energy levels were exponentially higher than Cloud's.
The implication of what the monsters were left her disturbed.
Apparently, monster had been the right term to call them, and Hojo had been the one to create such abominations spawned by Mako energy. Cloud had caught on to how Sephiroth had mention 'average' member, and had wondered about the latter. Sephiroth hadn't reacted well since he had started clutching his head, trembling; it seemed to have come to some realization, was he created the same way? Was he the same as those monsters?
Amalthea's fears were confirmed when Cloud revealed that the monsters in the pod had been human, much to everyone's shock.
Sephiroth had known, ever since he was a child, that he wasn't like the others. He'd known his was a special existence. But what he discovered in that Reactor wasn't what he meant. Cloud went on to tell them about one of the pods exploding before the front lid had fallen open; the monster inside had fallen out, not having been fully formed, and twitching. Sephiroth questioned if he was even human.
"I didn't really understand what Sephiroth meant then." Cloud told them. "I was even more surprised that Shinra was producing monsters."
Amalthea was just as shocked as everyone else as they let Cloud's story register in their heads.
"Damn, Shinra! The more I hear, the more I hate 'em!" Barret commented.
"...Who would have ever thought the Mako Reactor held such a secret." Tifa said.
"That would seem to explain the increase in the number of monsters recently." Red XIII said, having been quiet up until then. "I think we should listen carefully to Cloud."
"Tifa... Were you waiting outside then?" Aerith asked, having remembered that part.
"...Yes." Tifa confirmed, having crossed her arms.
"We returned to Nibelheim." Cloud started, his gaze averted to the floor. "Sephiroth confined himself at the Inn. He didn't even try to talk to me."
"Then all of a sudden he just disappeared, right?" Tifa glanced at Cloud.
Cloud looked up at this.
"We found him inside the biggest building in Nibelheim."
"The villagers used to call it Shinra Mansion."
"Long ago, people from Shinra used to live in that mansion..."
Cloud and the cadet with him left the Inn after finding out that Sephiroth had gone to the Shinra Mansion, as well as some of the villagers gathered outside the gate. He had gone inside the old mansion, and after finding a secret door leading down to the basement, had eventually found Sephiroth inside a library, pacing back and forth as he read aloud from a book; he had been so absorbed in his reading that he never noticed Cloud was there. He learned that Professor Gast had discovered a dead organism from 2,000 years ago that he named 'Jenova', as well as approving a project named after it and the use of Mako Reactor 1. This caused Sephiroth to wonder if the name of both his mother and the project had been a coincidence.
"From that day, Sephiroth shut himself inside the Shinra Mansion…and proceeded to review document after document, like a man possessed. The light in the basement never went off…" Cloud explained, before looking down at the floor. "And on the seventh day…"
Seven days later Cloud went back to the basement library to check up on Sephiroth, and upon entering the area he could hear him laughing; this had caused him to rush past the hallway of books. It was within the inner reading room that he found Sephiroth seated at a large, surrounded by books, be they on the shelves lining the walls or on the floor. Sephiroth had demanded to know who entered, only to realize it was Cloud, though he became confused when the General called him a traitor.
According to Sephiroth, he had researched the Cetra, finding out that the Planet originally belonged to them. They had been a race that traveled from place to place, cultivating life, and at the end of their journey, it was said they would find the Promised Land and supreme happiness. However, there were those who disliked the journeying and stopped their own migrations, built shelters and elected to lead easier lives, and taking what the Cetra and the Planet had made without giving back in return; they became the ancestors of the human race. Then, long ago, disaster struck the Planet, the ancestors managed to escape by hiding. The Planet was saved due to the Cetra sacrificing their lives, and after that the ancestors continued to multiply. All that was left of the Cetra, however, was from the report Sephiroth found.
When Cloud had asked how Sephiroth was involved, the later told him that an Ancient named Jenova was found in a 2,000 years old geological stratum, leading to the Jenova Project. The purpose of the project was to produce people with the powers of the Ancients, or the Cetra, and that he was the result of that very project; the leader of the Jenova Project had been Professor Gast.
Cloud had tried to stop Sephiroth from leaving, but it was futile since the general was determined to see his mother. Cloud had rushed after him, but when he exited the Shinra Mansion he was horrified to find the entire village on fire. Running through Nibelheim, he found that not a single building was spared by the strong flames, but upon reaching the courtyard he encountered Zangan tending to an injured person lying on the ground. The older man had spotted it, asking if Cloud was still sane before calling him over to help; he had to leap over pieces of burning debris in order to reach him, and once he did they both split to search for survivors, the old man rushing into the building next to the Inn. Cloud had checked up on the cadet lying on the ground (who had groaned out Sephiroth's name) before rushed toward his home, worried for his mother's wellbeing; it wasn't long before he was forced to leave. It was too terrible…
Turning around, he spotted Sephiroth running a couple of villagers through with his sword. He looked up at Cloud with an empty expression before walking away through the fire, completely unharmed by the flames. Cloud ran after him and through Mt. Nibel until he finally reached the Mako Reactor, heading inside. He was surprised to find Tifa kneeling in front of the door leading to the pod room, her father lying dead before her while a familiar looking sword sat beside her. At first she mourned his death, but that sorrow soon turned to anger as she realized Sephiroth was responsible. Sephiroth, SOLDIER, Mako Reactors, Shinra, everything! She hated them all!
Tifa picked up the sword beside her before running into the pod room, Cloud not fair behind her. He arrived just in time to witness her falling backwards down the stairs with wide eyes, her form crumpled at the bottom. At the top of the steps was Sephiroth, who had then decided to enter through the door that was labelled JENOVA. Cloud ran over to Tifa, and as soon as he knelt down she had reminded him of a promise he made to hear, that he'd come when she was in trouble. He gently picked her up before carefully carrying her to the side and placing her on the ground in front of one of the pods. He then ran after Sephiroth into the room beyond the door at the top of the steps.
Just as he passed through the doorway, he could hear Sephiroth talking as he stood before what appeared to be some sort of effigy with wings (connected to a mass of machines), referring to it as 'Mother', as if it were an actual person. He was saying something about taking back the Planet, having an epiphany of going to the Promised Land. Cloud yelled at him, wanting to know how he could just destroy his family and hometown. Sephiroth only laughed before telling Mother 'they're here again', that she should have ruled this Planet, that she was stronger, smarter. He started reaching his arms up towards the effigy as he continued talking.
"But then they came…" He had said, "Those inferior dullards… They came and took this Planet away from you. But don't be sad, Mother. I am with you now…"
Suddenly Sephiroth tore the upper half of the effigy off, the wires and machinery tearing apart in the process before he threw it off to the side. Behind the armor was a tank containing a fragile, alien looking woman. Though it looked somewhat human, there was something about it that brought the word 'grotesque' to mind.
"What about MY sadness?!" Cloud had demanded, brandishing his sword. "My family...friends? The sadness of having my hometown taken away from me?! It's the same as your sadness!"
Sephiroth had turned around to face him, holding his sword. He laughed.
"My sadness? What do I have to be sad about? I am the Chosen One." He replied. "I have been chosen to be the leader of this Planet. I have orders to take the Planet back from you stupid people for the Cetra. What should I be sad about?"
"Sephiroth...I trusted you!" He looked away, only to look back up, raising his sword upon realization. "No, you're not the Sephiroth I used to know!"
Cloud went silent and Amalthea watched as the others waited for the blonde to tell them what happened next. She'd be lying if she said she didn't feel the same way.
"...and that's the end of my story." Cloud suddenly said.
They stared at him, not having expected it to end like that.
"Wait a damn minute! That's it? No more?" Barret asked, being vocal concerning his thoughts on the matter.
"…I don't remember." Cloud merely shrugged at this.
"What happened to Sephiroth?" Aerith asked, placing a hand on her chin thoughtfully.
"In terms of skill, I couldn't have killed him." The blonde replied, crossing his arms.
"Official records state Sephiroth is dead. I read it in the newspaper." Tifa confirmed.
"The Shinra Company owns the newspapers, so you can't rely on that information." Aerith stated.
"…I want to know the truth. I want to know what happened." Cloud decided. "I challenged Sephiroth and lived. Why didn't he kill me?"
"...I'm alive, too." Tifa noted.
"A lot of this doesn't make sense." Aerith said. "What about Jenova? It was in the Shinra Building, right?
"Shinra shipped it from Nibelheim to Midgar." Cloud said.
"Did someone carry it out later? It was missing from the Shinra Building."
"Sephiroth...?" Tifa guessed.
Everyone went quiet at the thought of the idea.
"Damn! None of this makes sense! I'm going, going, going, gone! And I'm leavin' the thinkin' to you!" Barret exclaimed before running over to the stairs. "Yo, Cloud! Let's get a move on!"
Cloud nodded in agreement.
"Yo, c'mon let's go!"
With that Barret ran downstairs, leaving the rest of them in the room.
"Oh brother..." Cloud sighed, shrugging.
Amalthea looked over at Tifa, seeing that she looked somewhat hesitant before going over to Cloud.
"Cloud?" She asked. Cloud turned to face her. "How bad was I after Sephiroth stabbed me?"
At this Cloud looked away, averting his eyes.
"I thought you were a goner. …I was really sad."
Tifa went quiet.
"I..." Aerith started. "The Ancients…Cetra…Jenova…Sephiroth and myself..."
"Let's go." Tifa nodded. "Barret's waiting."
Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith nodded in agreement before heading downstairs, leaving Amalthea and Red XIII in the room.
"What a fascinating story…" Red XIII mused, his tail twitching in curiosity. He then turned to face her. "Wouldn't you agree, Amalthea?"
"I suppose." She replied. "Though, something about it seemed…off."
"So you noticed as well."
"I find disturbing how he had trouble recalling certain details, like when he was visiting his own mother. But near the end, the memories became more clear. They were more recent."
"Or he could never forget them. Either way it would explain a few things." Red XIII then got up, stretching out in a feline fashion. "I believe the others are waiting for us downstairs."
Amalthea followed Red XIII downstairs to the lobby, where they found Barret handing out some sort of devices to the others; Aerith and Tifa noticed them when they got closer.
"There you are." Tifa said. "We were wondering when you'd join us."
Amalthea glanced at everyone, having come to a decision earlier.
"Cloud." She said, and in response the blonde turned to her. "I want to join."
This seemed to come as a surprised to others, though Cloud regarded her before speaking.
"You do realize what you're getting yourself into, right?" He asked.
"I'm fully aware. We could part ways at this point, but I know Shinra might be looking for me as well as your group. I admit I'm unable to wield any kind of weapon in my state, but I could use Materia if you were to provide it, though it's unlikely I would participate in battle as much. I could also hold on to whatever recovery items you have, along with keeping stock of supplies and distributing them whenever needed."
The swordsman considered her proposition before nodding.
"Very well. You'll oversee our healing supplies along stocking up and distribution in and outside of battle. We'll provide you Gil whenever you need to restock on items, so that you don't have to spend your earnings. We'll give you some Materia to start out with and provide any others if needed. It's only fair that you have some way to defend yourself."
"Would you provide me a way to equip Materia?" She asked.
"We happen to have an accessory you could use that has four separate slots." Tifa stated, pulling out a bangle that, as she claimed, had four slots. "Which Materia would you want to have?"
"If you happen to have either Cure, Blizzard, Thunder, or Fire Materia to spare, I would request those."
"Luckily, we can spare those for you."
Cloud took the bangle from Tifa and equipped the four Materia Amalthea had requested before handing it to her. Barret approached her just as she placed the bangle around her left wrist.
"You'll need one of these." Barret stated, handing her one of the devices he had been passing out.
"What is this?" She asked, examining the device.
"It's a PHS. You use it to call people, or us." He explained.
"That way, we can keep in contact in case we get separated." Aerith told her.
"Alright then, we're outta here." Barret declared.
Following the others out of the Inn, Amalthea knew that it was only the beginning of things to come.
ATE: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter despite how long it took for me to complete it. I admit that I changed up some dialogue for a few reasons: I was watching a walkthrough of the game that had the Reunion Mod (which provides a re-translation of the game; I believe it's only available for the PC and Steam version of the game) and fixed up the dialogue. I also used dialogue from Crisis Core for the parts that it covers for the Nibelheim Incident, while using the previous mentioned re-translation to fill in the blanks. There were certain bits of dialogue that I kept for reasons.
The amount of Gil mentioned in this chapter wasn't made up since I actually took the time to gather that much in game for a set amount of time. As for the names of the spells, I'm not using the ones from the game (such as 'Restore' being changed to 'Cure').
I've recently posted a drawing of a 5 year old Amalthea in my DeviantArt gallery (just look up Aerith-The-Evenstar) if you're interested.
Please remember to review, even if it's just to ask questions concerning the story! ;D