Er. Sorry for the delay? *scratches head nervously* I really have no excuse for my laziness. . . Er. Well, I wanna thank Miserable At Best, Sky-Pirate325, Kairis 12, Lunas Dark Spirit and MegaKiraraLoverfor their wonderful reviews. It makes me feel proud to know that my fic is appreciated. I love you, dears!

I'm trying to keep this as realistic as it possibly can be, so if something seems er. . . not normal, well, just tell me so I can fix it. I really don't mind getting criticism, as long as it's constructive and useful not just "Thiis is crap, u suk!!11!". I gladly recommend you to send ideas for even if I know what will happen, I still don't have the exact details of what can happen in all the chapters. I want this story to be at least 12-13 chapters long, minimum. I may take quite some time, but I hope it will be worth it! I already have chapter six to polish up a bit and to post as soon as I'm done with chapter seven. I like having things planned.

So, send me whatever idea you have. I'll see what I can do with them! Thankies, my hearts! Kisses to you all.

Onward!!

04/15/2009: I have edited this chapter, since it was greatly needed. There were some small errors in the text (I hope I took them all away, if you see any, please tell) and Ren was doing exactly what I did NOT want her to do, that is "fall in love in two seconds". Now, I think it's much better; she still is impressed about him, but it really limits itself at that. I don't really know how I'll manage to make them more lovey-dovey (laughs) between each other, but I'll find a way. I hope I also got their characters somewhat right... Well, if you see anything that really doesn't work, I'll try to rectify it! Also, any ideas for the story are appreciated, since I need some more filling... (laughs)

Chapter five: Crash and Discoveries

Ren clutched nervously at her vest when the helicopter jumped again in the air, battling against the harsh winds and snow outside. She stared enviously at Zack and Cloud hugging each other for warmth. Tseng, the Turk, was trying to get the helicopter to move more smoothly so she had no one to share some warmth with.

She sighed heavily, trying to wrap her already mussed up uniform around her small body. She was shivering badly and if not for the tiny heater place beside her, she would probably have become an ice block hours ago.

Going to Modeoheim suddenly didn't seem as such a bright idea and she cursed at her stupidity, remembering what she had read about the small village. It was quite far up in the north, near Nibelheim, and was nearly always covered in snow, except in the warmest months, from June to August, were the snow melted and the very few fruits and greens were planted with the help of an earth materia and cultivated for the coming winter season. It had been deserted a couple of years ago for reasons unknown.

And she had brought nothing but her cutlass, bronze plate (she had nearly forgotten completely about it), materia and the standard issue gun she had received when entering the SOLDIER training program and then 'stolen' with some bullets to spare for keeping with her all the time. It would probably be useful for hunting, or something.

Apart from that, she also had a thin blanket, now wrapped around her ice cold body, a toothbrush, some toothpaste and a book named 'Monsters and their weaknesses'. It had not gone into her head to take the special winter uniform (long-sleeved, thicker material and heavy leather boots), and for that she was cursing heavily at herself. Her helmet was currently resting against her booted leg.

There was a sudden jolt in the helicopter and she grabbed for the steel wall separating her from her doom. There was another jump in the air and she heard the propellers slowly come to a stop. The helicopter lost its speed, turned around itself in various circles and went crashing down on the mountain-side. Ren screamed shrilly, thinking her death upon her and was suddenly propelled forward to smash into Cloud and Zack, sending them out of the helicopter as it crash-landed.

Her head hit a stone, and she winced in pain, feeling blood start to pour out from the deep wound at her temple. Holding a hand to it and the other to the ground, she shakily tried to get on her feet after a few minutes on the ground to regain her surroundings.

It took her some time for her to be able to walk again, and when she looked up she saw that the worst of the storm had passed over their heads, heading east to torment some other unfortunate people crossing its destructive path. Now the winds had slowed down considerably and vision had been returned to their senses, as the snow had stopped swirling angrily around them and was now falling softly on the already covered ground.

She turned to face Tseng when he began talking, drying her bloodied hand on her pant-leg, "We still have some miles before Modeoheim, and we're already late as it is, so I suggest we hurry." He then pointed ahead of the road they had crashed on, gesturing for Zack to begin to walk, and he just did so, taking big strides and advancing in the deep snow with little to no problem.

Ren sighed and looked down at her knee-deep legs. She gingerly lifted one and made a step, letting her booted foot sink low in the snow. This was going to take a long, long time.

---

Ren cursed her luck for the x-th time in the past hour, grumbling at the snow that stuck to her boots and making it even more difficult to walk. She could see Zack and Cloud conversing gaily a long way in front of herself and Tseng. He seemed to be having problems too, especially since he was waltzing around in his pretty suit. Very business-like and intimidating, but terribly inconvenient in areas and harsh conditions such as these.

She shifted the weight of her standard issue gun from one shoulder to another, massaging the aching muscles it had caused. She griped it more firmly when she heard the distinct sound of battle up ahead. When she looked up from the warm scarf around her neck where she had buried her chin and nose, she saw distinctly Zack take out some weird beast. Shuddering at the odd sight, she barely breathed a relieved sigh when Cloud killed a griffin of some sort that had intended to attack Zack. She saw them, rather than heard them, laugh at something and continue their way, the dead beasts dissolving into lifestream and dissipating into thin air.

She shook her head at their childishness, chuckling lightly. Herself and Tseng were many a feet away from the lovebirds, and the distance kept growing as they walked on. It seemed as if the other two had an innate talent to walk on the snow. She snorted in amusement, remembering the very familiar scene of Lord of the rings, when Legolas had walked skillfully and gracefully upon the white stuff while the others had to make their way in waist-deep snow. Luckily for the hobbits, they had been too small to walk so they had to be carried.

Ren was now very tempted to jump on Tseng's back and get a piggy-back ride to Modeoheim. Unfortunately, it was very likely that he wouldn't appreciate it and just throw her off the mountain. She let out a puff of breath. Men.

In front of them, she saw the outlines of Zack and Cloud crouch down and go forward to a small cliff-side, where they looked down as stealthily as they could manage. She stared at them stupidly when they barely thought of hiding in some better place than being in plain view. She shook her head at their stupidity.

She and Tseng arrived silently, and Tseng spoke up. "There are Genesis copies down there."

'Genesis…? Copies?'

Zack frowned, "What should we do? Attack?"

Tseng nodded, "It would be best, but you'll have to infiltrate the building. Alerting Genesis with your games is the least that we need."

"All righ'! Let's get 'em!" Zack cheered and ran down the icy slope. He took a minute to choose some materia and potions, before he entered the base. Cloud and Ren were holding their breaths while he made his way behind old barrels and forgotten equipment to escape the watchful eyes of the copies. He evaded skillfully the guards posted at different places and knocked them out one by one, and finally found the entrance to the underground. He gave them all thumbs up with a big, cheery smile before running head first into the darkness.

The three sat in silence for a few minutes. Ren shifted a bit, rolling her shoulders to get the blood circulating. Cloud was watching the open entrance with worried eyes. Tseng was walking away.

Ren started, "Hold up! Tseng, where are you going?"

Tseng looked back at them, "To Modeoheim. We already have lost much time because of the crash, and someone needs to be there at least. You can wait here, if you want."

Cloud nodded and jumped down, running to the entrance.

Ren stared at Tseng's back, then at the opening. She sat for herself for a few seconds before she jumped up and followed Cloud.

---

Barely seeing anything with their unmako-ed eyes, Ren and Cloud inched their way in the dark tunnels that made up the enormous basement. Coming to a stairway, they clung to the railing for fear of falling to their death. They had to descend many stairs before coming to an elevator. She and Cloud killed the two monsters guarding it with their weapons and they activated the elevator when they got in.

Ren gulped slightly in nervousness and felt a drop of sweat roll down from her now-healed temple. She suddenly jumped. She hadn't had anything to bandage the wound, and as she touched her temple, she felt nothing but slightly sweaty skin. Sucking in air sharply, she searched for her cutlass hidden under her clothes. Finding it, she unsheathed it and lightly pricked her right index finger with it.

The metal pierced her skin easily and she watched in sick fascination the blood pearl at the surface, a thin line falling down to drip on the metal-paneled floor palm. Watching intently, she saw that the blood stopped flowing and receded back into the small wound, before the skin closed up on itself with a small, barely noticeable light green glow. The only way to know that she had been hurt was the small line of the red liquid still present on her finger.

Cloud had watched the whole thing silently before he spoke up, "By seeing your reaction, that was not normal, was it?" Ren dumbly shook her head. He sighed, "We'll look into it later."

The elevator stopped and opened, revealing a scene that caused them both to jump. A man in red leather and graying hair was menacing Zack with a rapier-styled sword. A fat old man was trying to hide his rather big stature behind Zack, and failing quite miserably at it.

"Nobody knows where de Jenova cells are," He shouted, trying to make a difference in the younger man's mind. "Not even Hojo."

The man in leather just laughed, "Then I'll just keep degrading until I find them!"

Seeing as it was impossible to reason with the other man, he jumped to the side to run away in direction of the elevator. And right into them.

Cloud grabbed the man from behind and pined his arms to his back. They struggled for a few minutes before the man managed to elbow Cloud in his sternum, making him choke and fall down. The older man pushed her aside roughly when he saw that she was not moving from his way. Ren let him do so without reacting, barely flinching from the hard blow as she took a step back. She had her eyes only for the auburn-haired man, and when he talked she knew just who it was.

"It's you…" She whispered first, a bit weirded out. Zack and the other man stopped arguing over something she had tuned out, and looked at her. She began walking towards them, mindless of the bad consequences of her going into the middle of a battle (or the beginning of one anyway).

"You're the one that spoke to me in my dreams!" When they both looked confused, she sighed, but then smiled lightly when the comforting phrases came back dancing in her mind.

"There is no hate, only joy for you are beloved by the Goddess…" She murmured wistfully. Her eyes seemed to have glazed over and her voice took a mysterious tint, making her seem older than her twenty one years.

The man observed her silently, noting small things about her. Her features made her look wutainese, but only her eyes kept him from confirming it: they were endlessly blue with a stormy grey swirling within, instead of the brown and black common in Wutai. She very probably had a mother or father from the northern parts of the world where he knew blue-eyed people were abundant.

Suddenly realizing his train of thoughts, he shook his head once to rid it of such petty wonderings. He was going to deal with her later.

Zack pursed his lips, "You heard that in your dreams?" Ren snapped back to reality, and nodded. "Yes, it happened before the Planet talked to me." At that, she regained the auburn-haired man's attention.

"The Goddess spoke to you? What could you have done to merit such thing?" His voice entered her mind like a powerful wave, sending shivers dancing up and down her spine. He had the voice of a singer, smooth and powerful, low and seductive. She would bet her own brain (not that it was worth much, according to her teachers) he had been one in another life. Or would be.

"I don't know," she shook her head. "But she never did tell me why she really wanted me here… Just that she needed my help." Recalling the conversation, she frowned lightly. The Planet had sounded so urgent at that time.

The man shook his head. "I shall deal with you later."

Realizing that it meant the battle was about to begin seriously, Zack pushed Ren behind him and ordered both her and Cloud to run after Hollander, the old man he added to her. Turning back towards the man, he bellowed "Genesis!" and jumped into action, parrying, blocking and attacking the other.

Cloud dragged Ren towards the elevator and pushed nervously on the button to make it go down quicker. Ren had a thoughtful look plastered on her face, seemingly miles away from the current situation.

'Genesis…'

---

Once they were back down on the ground level, Cloud and Ren finally stopped running. Gasping for breath, they hunched forward, leaning on each other's shoulders for support. They had lost Hollander when they got up, as if he had flown away. Cloud shook his head, "We should go find Tseng, he'll want to know what happened." Ren only nodded, still trying to comprehend what had just happened.

She had seen a man she had imagined (or so she had thought) in her mind. She had known, somehow, just how he looked (except he was 'degrading' in real life) and sounded. She sighed, rubbing her brow absentmindedly. "For the love of Odin... I feel like some dumb bimbo thrown in a fucked-up story."

Cloud chuckled in a somewhat nervous manner. She had to be really out of it for her to swear, she said she found it degrading and childish; she much preferred the olden threats.

With a sigh, Ren marched forward in the direction she thought was correct, a serious look upon her features. When she heard a small cough, she turned to Cloud who was sheepishly pointing the other way. She sweat-dropped and ran back to him, face flushed in embarrassment.

She hated her sense of direction.

---

Zack silently trudged up the way to Modeoheim, careful not to fall to his death in the icy mountains. Swiftly slaying the few monsters who dared to attack him, he continued forward, lost in thought.

Ren had somehow known Genesis, which she should not have. He had been classified a traitor of Shin-Ra a few months ago, and she had not even been in this world then, only having stayed a little more than two weeks on Gaea. True, her quoting of LOVELESS was also curious, but anyone in ShinRa could have told her about it. And then the thing with the 'Goddess'.

Zack sighed, massaging his brow absentmindedly. He was going to have a talk with that girl, and she was going to tell him every damn thing that had happened to her.

This chapter is not exactly how I wanted it, but I lost some parts of it and had to rewrite it. . . Hope it was still good! If you see any errors, may it be grammatical or or just something wrong, tell me please so I can change it.

Please review, it makes me feel all bubbly inside.