Part 2 of Return to Arms
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of it's characters! This is for fun only!
Chapter 2: The Warning
The Shera shot through the skies, making it's way towards the City of the Ancients. Though they knew that the world might be in danger, all of them had time for some smalltalk. Suddenly, Barret jumped from his seat.
"WE FORGOT CAIT SITH!" he exclaimed, and looked at Cid.
"Aw crap... Now we have to fly back to Reeve's place to pick up the cat?" Cid sighed.
"No... Knowing Reeve, the moment he had the flash, he would have sent out Cait Sith to the City of the Ancients." Cloud calmly replied as he looked at Barret.
"Hm... yeah, you're probably right. I mean... Reeve wouldn't wait for us, and neither would Cait Sith."
Cid let out a relieved sigh. "Thank God! If I had to fly back, I would seriously doubt that my toilet would survive... I think Yuffie already filled up half of the tank!"
This earned him a glare from Yuffie, that would be able to blow up a Mako reactor.
"I'm sorry that I've got motion sickness, but at least my face doesn't look li-" her face turned slightly green and Yuffie sprinted off towards the toilet once more. They all laughed, though Cid was curious at what the Ninja was about to say.
Cloud looked at Vincent and saw a strange big grin on the Immortal's face.
"You sure look cheery Vincent! I haven't seen you this happy since we presented you with four barrels of red wine!" Cloud said.
Vincent let out a snicker. "It's been a while, not having to hear Yuffie's yapping about Victory Poses... I'm quite enjoying the time off."
They all laughed once more, and heard an irritated grunt from the toilet.
Ten minutes later, Cid looked at them and told them to gear up... They had arrived.
They exited the Shera and looked at the familiar surroundings. Yuffie fell to her knees and kissed the ground.
"Ooooh! Solid ground, how I love you!!"
Cloud stepped forward and closed his eyes. "You can come out, Cait Sith."
A black shadow shot out from behind some rocks, made a somersault and landed in a bow before Cloud and the others.
"Well well! Ah see yer still a sharp as usual Mr. Strife!"
"It wasn't hard to figure out you'd be here before us. Reeve was always someone to work fast."
"Ah cannot deny that, that's for sure! So... Off we go then?"
"Yep... Let's see what's going to happen."
They all headed towards the Pond where Aerith had been absorbed into the Lifestream.
The place looked just as they had left it so many years ago, though Kadaj, Yazoo and Loz had redecorated a part of the White Forest during their clash with Cloud. They stood at the bank of the Pond and looked at the motionless water, as if waiting for a sign. Minutes passed, but nothing happened.
"Maybe... It wasn't... To summon us?" Barret slowly uttered, and Yuffie's face turned red because of anger.
"I hope that Aerith isn't playing games with us, because I'm going to do something terrible to her because of the terrible ride to this place!" she hissed.
"What terrible thing can you do to her kid? She's dead already, ain't anything worse than that..." Cid replied.
"I'll think of something!"
"I think you won't have to do anything..." Cloud said in a soft voice. "She's here."
He pointed at their reflections in the water, and to their surprise, they saw Aerith standing amongst them. Her youthful form stepped forward, into the water. When her feet touched the water, it began to swirl and rise. They all watched in amazement as the water took the form of their friend.
"Hello everyone." Her voice sounded far away, as if she was speaking from behind a window. "Thank you that you came here on such a short notice."
Cloud smiled. "No problem... It's good to see you Aerith."
"Good to see you too Cloud." she said as a smile appeared on her face. "It's good to see that you let go of your guilt... It was eating you up, wasn't it?"
Cloud nodded. Tifa walked up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.
"He has good friends to help him with his feelings."
Aerith's smile grew wider, but, as if a dark cloud passed over her, her face turned serious and grim.
"As you might have figured out already... This isn't a social call... Something happened or... Will happen in the near future."
Vincent stepped forward, locking eyes with Aerith's watery form. "Let me guess... An old friend of ours?"
Aerith nodded. "Yes... Sephiroth."
The AVALANCHE Team's faces grew more serious.
"He's at it again? Can't the guy take a hint after being sent to the Lifestream three times?" Barret grunted.
"I don't think this is his own doing Barret... His presence started to lessen over time, as if he was losing his grip on the stream... But then suddenly, it completely disappeared. Now I can't find him anywhere, though I can feel everything that is linked to the Lifestream."
Cloud rubbed his chin. "Isn't that a good thing? That you can't find him?"
Aerith shook her head. "No... If he was reincarnated, I would be able to feel the remains of his former self, and if he was absorbed by the Lifestream, then I would also be able to sense him... But now... It's as if he didn't even exist."
"As if he didn't exist... That's very disturbing..."
They all looked down to the form of Cait Sith. Cloud chuckled.
"What do you think about it Reeve?"
"Figures... You always look through me, don't you Cloud?"
"Your way of speaking changes when you assume control."
"True that... Now, lets analyze what Aerith has said... Sephiroth has completely vanished, which could be a good thing, though no one disappears without leaving behind something. So, this would mean that Sephiroth is still around BUT you cannot find him... What could cause that?"
Aerith thought about if for a moment but she couldn't find an answer.
"I know why..." a voice said. They all looked around, but they saw no one. Cloud's bright eyes widened as he recognized the voice.
"Z... Zack?! Is it you?"
The water next to Aerith swirled and the muscular features of Zack Fair took shape.
"Who else! Good to see you Cloud, Tifa and Cait. And the others off course, though I don't really know you all..." Zack said with a smile as he scratched his head.
"I know you! You're that SOLDIER that attacked Wutai during the wars!" Yuffie exclaimed as she shook her fist at Zack.
"Oh... Yes! You're that spunky kid that attacked me! Now I remember!"
"Can we get over the formalities please?" Cait Sith asked. "Zack my dear friend... You know how you could shield yourself from the Lifestream?"
Zack nodded and struck a pose. "It's as easy as using the Cure Materia! A 449-DZX Mako Shield Generator. Those things could take a full Lifestream hit during a Mako Overflow and still they wouldn't budge. I figure those things could shield you from the Lifestream if you recalibrate it."
Cait Sith facepalmed. The answer was as simple as it could be! Reeve himself had drew the first designs for the Mako Shield Generator.
"How simple... But... How did Sephiroth gain access to it? If he was just a spirit..."
Tifa looked at the cat. "Maybe he used Remnants? Like the other time...?"
Aerith shook her head. "No, when he created them, his spirit increased... If he did that, we'd have known."
Zack's eyes were locked with Cloud's, both with a smirk on their faces. It was as if they didn't hear the discussion their friends were having.
"You look good Cloud! A little older though. Have you put on weight?" he jokingly asked.
"Heh, no, I didn't put on weight. Can't say you changed one bit. One of the good things of being dead, probably?"
"Aha! Touché my friend. Seems you still have my kind of humor."
"Hung around you long enough to know your humor."
Zack sighed as he remembered the past. "Yeah... So! Lets see if some of my memories remained with you! The thing the others are discussing is pretty obvious to me... And you too probably."
"Really?" Cloud cocked his head, not understanding what Zack meant.
"Yep. Since you absorbed my persona and memories, you should know. I'll give you a hint: Crimson."
"Crimson? What kind of hint is that?"
"Ow come on Cloud! At least try!"
"Okay, okay... Crimson... Nope, can't figure it out."
Zack facepalmed. "Okay, tip 2: Friend of Sephiroth."
"Crimson and friend of Sephiroth? Who the-" Cloud's sentence was cut short as he saw a memory flash from Zack. "G... Gen... Genesis-"
"Rhapsodos." Zack finished.
Cait Sith looked up to Cloud. "Did you just say... Genesis Rhapsodos?"
"Yes. Zack figured it out."
"Genesis Rhapsodos is pulling the strings Reeve. I think he somehow resurrected Sephiroth for some reason. He's the only one I can think of."
"It does make sense... Though Genesis died... Right?"
"No... I thought so too, but two years ago I felt his spirit reappear."
"This is very disturbing... Genesis was going insane after he discovered how he came to be... But why Sephiroth?"
"Kindred spirits? They're both insane." Zack jokingly said.
Cloud nodded. "He's up to something... We'll have to figure it out."
Aerith smiled. "Then my friends... You'll have to go and find Genesis... And stop him."
Cloud grinned. "I've sent Sephiroth to the Lifestream three times already... This time won't be any different."
Zack stepped closer to Cloud. "Don't underestimate Genesis... He's got some tricks up his sleeves." he extended his hand to Cloud. "Here, take this..."
Cloud opened his hand as Zack dropped the small Red Materia Orb into his hand.
"A Summon Materia?"
"Yep. Use it wisely my friend."
"Okay."
Vincent turned around and started to walk off. "It seems like we'll have to set out again... Yuffie, come over here."
Yuffie walked over to her Crimson Guardian.
"What is it Vince?"
"Take this..." Vincent said as he took a Tranquillizer from his pocket.
"YOU HAD A TRANQ WITH YOU THIS WHOLE TIME?!" Yuffie exclaimed in horror.
"Yes..."
Yuffie was amazed by the cruelty that Vincent was capable of.
"Ho... How could you Vince?"
"No time to explain. Use it. We'll need you for the information gathering."
"Alright..."
She took the Tranquillizer from his hand and slowly walked off, only turning around to wave at Aerith and Zack with a very sad look on her face. Tifa walked up to Vincent and slapped him in the back of his head.
"How could you do that to her Vincent?"
"What?"
"Keep the Tranquillizer to yourself while you know she needs it when we travel by Airship?"
"I..." But he didn't finish his sentence. He followed the young Ninja towards the Shera.
Cloud turned to Aerith and Zack.
"It seems like this is goodbye again..."
Both Zack and Aerith smiled.
"Yup. And hopefully for a long time my friend... Next time we meet it might be in the Lifestream." Zack softly said.
"Heh... probably Zack... Well, goodbye you two... Take care of things in the Afterlife."
They both nodded, and their forms dissolved back into the water. Cloud stared at the reflection of himself, with Aerith and Zack standing behind him.
'We'll always be with you' that was the thought Cloud heard floating through his mind.
"Alright you guys... We're off to hunt one of our old foes again."
Nanaki growled. "When will our world be freed from this terror?"
"Probably never Nanaki. But we'll watch over it, and protect it."
They all walked away from the Pond of the Ancients, returning to the Shera.
Meanwhile, Vincent had caught up with Yuffie.
"Yuffie?"
Even though he called for her, she didn't turn around.
"Yuffie, I'm sorry okay? I... I didn't want to hurt you."
Yuffie stopped and turned around. Her eyes still showed that Vincent had hurt her feelings by making her suffer that much.
"Vincent... I... Never mind. We have to concentrate on this mission. The world is at stake... again..." She turned around and entered the Shera.
"Yuffie..." Vincent's face saddened. He cared deeply for his comrades, but Yuffie had a special place in his heart. Even though she could irritate him to no limit, she was the only one that made him feel normal... Human even... And now, because of a stupid mistake, he might have distanced himself from that person.
"She'll be fine... She just needs some time, you'll see Vincent. She'll be smiling again soon enough."
Vincent turned around and saw Cloud, who was walking up to him. The others were a little behind.
"Her love for you is bigger than her hate could ever be."
"She does not love me Cloud. And I don't love her either. We're Allies, that's all there is to it." Vincent said as he quickly turned around, and briskly walked to the Shera.
Cloud sighed. "Those two... They won't admit it, but obviously, they love each other a lot."
"You're the one to speak..." Tifa said as she walked past him.
"Wh-What did I say?!"
Cloud followed Tifa, trying to get her to tell what she meant, and the others followed, slightly amused by everything that happened before them.
Though they were acting all happy and playful, everyone of the AVALANCHE Team knew that this would be their hardest battle yet. Genesis Rhapsodos and Sephiroth... An Angel and a God. Both Evil and Wicked... Both insanely powerfull.