AUTHOR'S NOTE: You guys are really puzzled as to who the white-robed person was? I'm a little surprised. Granted, I tried to be as subtle about it as possible so that no one would know, but I figured you would have deduced it by now. Oh well. You'll find out in this chapter.

Bahamut heard a door click, and suddenly swing open on rusty hinges. He didn't bother to look up. His mind and senses were pouring over the ancient, crumbling tome that he now held in his hands. The candlelight and torches barely illuminated it as he paced around the room and glared over the letters. He only raised a hand to brush a strand of his white hair out of his eyes. He hated having to deal with fur…even if it only grew long and on one part of the body. It was the price he paid for disguising himself as a human before he had come in here. But at least he didn't have to worry about being inconspicuous at this point. Back in his human body, and wearing the mountain-man garb, he was just another hominid…

Bahamut only watched out of his peripheral vision as he saw a man suddenly walk through the door he just opened. He was dressed simply, obviously one of the historians there. Considering how late it was, he was probably one that the beast had commissioned. But on seeing him there, his face turned to confusion. "Hey you!" He called out to the esper. "What are you doing in here?"

Without looking up, Bahamut stretched out a small amount of his power. "You're going to bed. I've got the shift for tonight."

Immediately, the irritation and confusion on the man's face disappeared.A relaxed look came over him. "…I'm going to bed. You've got the shift for tonight." He responded. Then, moving far more calmly, he turned and walked back out of the door, and closed it behind him.

Bahamut normally would have snickered at the chance to play another mind trick on a human, but he was far too busy. This tome too held nothing. Groaning, he nearly slammed it shut and set it on a nearby table, where a pile of scrolls and old books was already accumulating.

In his Neo Bahamut form, it had taken Bahamut a single hour to arrive at Cosmo Canyon. Once there, it didn't take long at all for him to find the library, disguise himself in human form, and enter. He immediately began to dig through all the volumes he could find that looked like they had information on the Crystal Stone. Aside from a staggering number of historical inaccuracies, he was finding little. There were a few pieces that actually named it that had been misplaced inside volumes about the four crystals, in particular to something that mentioned it had been broken into four pieces. But that didn't help him. He had been at this for three hours now. That didn't seem like much for a human, but to his keen intellect, fast-acting brain, and ability to process information…he was able to go through a staggering amount of volumes. And yet…still nothing.

The esper growled again and wheeled back to the shelves of the room. He had to admit, he was impressed by the collection of information that Cosmo Canyon possessed. It wasn't likely that they could understand most of it, however. Some of it was in the Cetra's language, which Bahamut knew only Ragnar could understand. Another part was in Old Esper, a tongue so old that even Bahamut was rusty when it came to speaking in it. Still others were in a multitude of other forgotten languages that he hadn't heard spoken in years. He even found a spellbook here filled with dark magic…written in the language of Hades' descendants. Regardless of what the historical society would think…Bahamut incinerated it shortly after finding it, throwing it into a handy fireplace located in the chamber. Yet all of this information did little to help his search, and only ended up frustrating him more with its amount. It would take forever to wade through it, even for him… There wasn't the time.

Sighing, Bahamut turned and walked over to one of the old, beaten, cushioned armchairs located in the library. Once there, he turned around, sat back in it, and slowly exhaled as he rubbed his head. Yes, even for one like him…sometimes it was best to take a rest and try and think. He began to grow a bit nervous. After all, there was little reason to believe that he would actually find it here. Why would Terra have left directions anyway? She was supposed to keep it safe… He thought he could look through some of the Wutai literature in the library. Perhaps something in one of their "myths" possessed some clue… Or maybe it was still in the stack with lore on the crystals. He groaned at the thought. Someone had to catalog these accursed records…

He tried to think. Assume that Terra had expected that the stone would be needed one day. Even then, there was no reason to believe that she would be thinking he would be the one needing it. After all, he was supposed to be dead. And yet, in the same breath, she had to assume that the stone would be needed one day. If it wouldn't, he wouldn't have told her to find a place to recharge it. She would have to do something…and leave a trace for future generations. She would have used some sort of clue that only she orher generations would understand. But what sort of clue could that be?

A clue that she would understand as being important…and so would those in the future…

Bahamut?

No…that would too easily be misplaced in the other lore about me.

Hyper-velo?

No…that could be lumped in with the information on magic…

Wutai?

I sure hope not. There's thousands of scrolls on Wutai… Maybe there's something on cherry blossoms. After all, that was what the word meant in the esper language. That's something. What if she used my name in the esper language? Well, that wouldn't do any good. It's pretty much the same with only a few pronunciation changes…

Suddenly, lightning struck.

Bahamut's eyes opened wide as he realized something. Perhaps…just maybe…that was the word she had hid it under. To anyone else throughout the whole of history, it meant nothing. It only meant anything to him and to the people of Mobliz. Maybe…maybe she could have left a clue there.

With this idea in mind, Bahamut rose up from where he was seated and quickly rushed back over to the shelf. The C's were near the bottom, and had been in easy access for him. However, it wasn't so with the T's. Those were further down the line, and piled near a top shelf that would normally take a ladder to get too. Eager to check this out, and not wanting to waste time with human tools, Bahamut simply looked around the area to make sure no onewas spying on him…and then turned back and used an Auto-Aero spell. Immediately, his body sprung off of the ground and began to levitate. Hedirected himself to the top shelf, until he began to see words starting with T passing by on the scrolls and tomes. Once there, he stopped and began to look over them more earnestly, going to the "Tu"s…

Let's see…Tunnel Armor…Tumnas…

Here.

Bahamut's eyes froze and locked on the object. It was a single solitary article, and it had been sandwiched in between two rather large books on other subjects. However, it had also had an index card put outside of it, sticking out to show anyone who passed by what was held there. And when Bahamut saw that, a smile spread across his face at the word that was written.

Tumahab.

Thank you, Terra.

With that, the esper reached forward and pried his hand in between the books. He fished around for a moment, but soon his fingers slipped around something thick and paper. His fingers immediately clenched it, and a moment later he pulled it out. After doing so, he turned around and broke off his Auto-Aero maneuver, instantly dropping back to the ground. He held the object up to his eyes, and read the front. Just like the index card said, the front simply read "Tumahab". It appeared to be some sort of envelope of some kind. It was old…at least eighty years. It was withered and yellow. However, Bahamut knew that the original message had to be much, much older. Terra had been smart to find the founders of this "Cosmo Canyon". They must have had scribes who were constantly transcribing the old messages onto fresh paper. As a result, her note had survived for a millennia.

The esper reached into the old envelope and grasped a piece of paper that was inside. He pulled it outand began to read.

To Whom It May Concern:

I'm leaving this message to be found by a future generation. I don't know if anyone will ever read it…but hopefully the word on the front of this envelope will tip off the appropriate person at the appropriate time. It requires me to act on a lot of faith…but I believe in the one who entrusted me with this duty, and I hope that I will see him again soon, now that my own life is coming to an end. I trust that whoever needs it will find it. I only hope that I didn't ruin this…

I was told to place this treasure in a special place, one that would focus the light of the sun onto it for thousands of years. I knew of no place where the sun always shone, but I found the best place I could. I had my friends construct a special holding chamber in the Figaro Desert. This is near the equator of the world, and the sun is always hot and bright here. It is exactly one thousand paces from the northwest parapet due north. This chamber is lined with mirrors, conducting the sun down to the center where the treasure is kept, feeding it more solar energy than it could get alone. The location is buried. I'm not sure how many tons of sand will cover it through the ages, but if you ever try to find it…it will be sealed by a special hatch. I made this from the very same material that sealed the chamber to the bottom of Mt. Zozo. Because of this, I am certain that it will be sealed away from thieves for as long as it takes for the true heir to appear.

Hopefully, you who are reading this are that one.

Terra Branford

Bahamut softly smiled after reading this. He didn't feel sad…at least he thought he didn't. His body betrayed that. Slowly…a single tear rolled out of his eye. Was she still waiting for him in the next life? Still hoping that she would have met him there? It filled him with melancholy…seeing her words after so many generations… It made him think of his time of despair and depression. However…he was over with that. Terra would forever be his only true love, but he would have to wait a bit longer before going to see her again. He had made his choice to stay. In the end, he wiped away the one tear, carefully folded the message up, and then set it down on the table. After that, he reached inside the envelope again.

The next paper he pulled out was the same age as the first, but it was different. A parentheses statement was written near the top of this paper, which was much smaller. He looked to this first and read it…

(Enclosed with original note circa 300 W.O.R.)

Bahamut looked down to the message after that.

Found the damn hatch, but nothing will open it.

The esper smiled and gave a chuckle. Some thieving human thought he could so easily break past an esper's seal, did he? It was good for a quick laugh. However, he soon replaced this in the envelope, and set it down on the side. Now was not the time to be getting a laugh. What was far more important was to find just where this place was. Bahamut had talked to Terra enough when she had been alive to know where Figaro and its desert were located…but that was nearly a thousand years ago. There was no telling what had happened since, especially with the way the world had been changing in the wake of the Collapse. Luckily, he was in just the right spot to find that out.

Bahamut disregarded Terra's message for the moment, and turned his attention to a subsection of the rows of books and tomes. This one was very special, having long, thin drawers in neat cabinets, stacked several rows high. The esper quickly moved over to these and dove in, opening the drawers and beginning to look through. As he pulled open the first, he revealed a map of the Imperial Continent from nearly a thousand years ago. In the drawer underneath it, more weathered and beaten, and more crude from having been copied so many times, was a map of the Cornelia realm. Underneath that one, even more battered, was a map showing the trails through the Mt. Hobs region.

Whoever had been in charge of this area had to have a fun job. Due to the chaotic and powerful nature of the beings and forces on Gaia, the world was frequently broken up, remade, and reorganized into different landforms. Throughout time, one generation after another had made maps of it, only to have those maps be invalid within a few thousand years. Those who had endured the Collapse and, before it, the crisis with X-Death had the unlucky fortune to see their worlds drastically reorganized within their own lifetimes. Fortunately, there had been no major dramatic events to the world's geography between the Collapse and the modern day. Hopefully…that would mean this wouldn't be too hard.

After a few minutes of searching, Bahamut had emerged with two maps. The first had taken far longer. He had poured through the drawers until he managed to find a map of the Figaro Kingdom after the Collapse. After that, he quickly had examined it for the longitude and latitude. Fortunately, the world's equator never shifted. As a result, one could use the longitude and latitude between spans of time as reference points to track the movement of larger continents. He couldn't find a perfect match with that of the earlier map, but he eventually did find a map of the modern world that was approximately the same scale that overlapped much of it.

With these two in hand, Bahamut moved over to the table again. He quickly pushed the excess books and scrolls out of the way, and then placed the older map down. He set the newer one aside and looked back to Terra's letter. On review, he found it was in the Figaro Desert. Paces hadn't been used as a measurement for quite some time in history, but Bahamut knew a thousand was about a third of a kilometer. He quickly looked back to the map, found the northwest parapet of the outline of Figaro Castle, and then did his calculations. After consulting the scale and measuring a bit, he found the area, or where it should have been. It couldn't be that hard to find if the thieves had followed the clues to it before. With that done, he quickly traced the degrees, minutes, and seconds of the area. He wrote this down, and then put this map aside.

Now, Bahamut pulled out the newer map and placed it down on the table. To his pleasant surprise, it seemed as if Terra had picked a good spot. A thousand years later, the desert was virtually unchanged. Everything else around it had, but it stayed the same. He quickly traced out the coordinates from before, and plotted them on this map. After doing so, he found that the location was still located in the middle of the desert, as it should have been, and was in an area of civilization. Seeing that, Bahamut looked over to read off what it was.

Gold Saucer/Corel Desert Prison Area.

A bit of the esper's enthusiasm died. A prison. Wonderful. He had very low tolerance for the scum of humanity. In the past, he had been incensed to the point of violence regarding them. What more, he had been by this "Gold Saucer". It was some sort of overly colorful, loud, obnoxious thing that the humans called a "theme park". He hadn't very well enjoyed seeing the great moments of his history and that of his race degenerated into exaggerated toon characters that a child could watch for a gil at any of three convenient times a day…with a matinee on Sunday. However, in the end he could expect little else. Humanity could have made anything while he was gone in that spot. And at least it was in an area of civilization…somewhat.

At any rate, this was what he needed. Bahamut looked over and reached for a pen available for note taking. Once he had it, he began to write on the back of Terra's letter. Soon, it would be invalid after all. He had to get these coordinates to Ragnar. He wasn't planning on getting in too thickly…because, after all, he was still supposed to just be an observer. However…he would make sure that they got the stone…and he would make sure that the person in his vision came into being.

Ragnar's eyelids drooped, and he began to slump forward.

A moment later, a light smack in the back of the head from Cloud got him to straighten up again. He snapped his eyes open and looked about himself. The rest of the high officers had gathered here now. However, they weren't crowded around the table as they had been the other day. Instead, they were seated in the ampitheater part of the room. Cloud, of course, was there. So was Barret, Tifa, and Cid. Mack wasn't present yet, for although he was one of the commanders now, he hadn't officially received the designation. However, Yuffie, enraged when she heard that Mack was now a higher officer while she was just a lieutenant, had barged her way in and was seated as well. Not only that, but Ragnar noticed that, for a change, Reeve had paid a visit, and was sitting at something of a distance. His face was grim and businesslike.

However, that was nothing compared to the man in front of the room. Red XIII's face looked sunken and dark, and he leveled his gaze over the audience with a serious expression. He was calm right now, but it was obvious just from the look at him that he had some bad news.

Ragnar, however, was still a bit too sleepy to be empathic. He was also sore all over from having been jostled about so painfully on last night's ride, and he felt he could drink a few more caffeinated sodas before being here. And yet, he forced himself to lean back and become alert.

"Alright colonel…" He started. "What was so important you had to get me up at 0500?"

Red XIII responded by walking over to the overhead. He reached out a paw and clicked it on, and then stepped back. An image of what appeared to be Midgar was displayed on the screen. Once that was done, he began.

"Yesterday morning, at 0200 hours, Cait Sith was passing through one of the more dilapidated sections of former Sector Five, in particular the area of the Baptismal Church. At that point, his internal sensors detected a toxicity of mako. Seeing as that would indicate the presence of mako waste, he was programmed to seek out the source…and he found it to be the fountain within the church itself."

Cloud raised up a bit on hearing this. This genuinely surprised him. Ragnar looked and saw that, and then looked to the others gathered. They looked very surprised as well, seeming to not believe that such a thing was possible. Ragnar himself was rather puzzled by this news, but he wasn't completely overwhelmed by it. Although…it did seem somewhat strange. From what he heard, that was the place where the fountain came forth that cured the Geostigma… His friends believed that it wasn't a natural occurance either, but one that was sent by her…

At any rate, Red XIII continued. "At 0257, a tremor was detected in that area. At 0312, Cait Sith alerted Mr. Reeve here," He indicated to the man sitting apart. "And he, in turn, responded by sending down an environmental and geological team to confirm the findings. At 0833, they came back with a level of mako beyond threshold for human safety contained in the water of the pool. On discovering that, Reeve contacted me and wanted me to come out and verify the results. Given the seriousness of the news, I went. At 1201…a second tremor was reported, this time being recorded on seismograph. At 1321, a second sample was taken, this one showing even higher levels of toxicity. On arrival, and after hearing the news, I immediately ordered more in depth testing, and a more rigid chemical test. It took some time to get the required equipment on site. During that time, the other specialists began to construct models about what this meant… The underlying geological structure of the city was determined for this area, and some analysis was done of potential cause. It wasn't until 2342 that I was able to finally see the results of the tests. In that time…the level of mako in the water had gone beyond simply being in the 'hazardous to humans' range to the level where minimal exposure would begin to cause cellular damage. At that point, I ordered a copy of all of the reports to be brought to me, so that I could call this meeting and present my findings. Since then, further increases in mako level have been observed, and another tremor has been recorded."

Red XIII inhaled deeply after this, and raised his head as he steadied himself. After a few moments of hesitation, he went ahead and announced the bad news.

"All signs point to the same effect that has been observed in past occasions. A mako eruption is growing underneath Midgar."

Now, it was Ragnar's turn to have his jaw slacken. He immediately woke up the rest of the way. He held a moment in sudden surprise.In the end, however, his surprise vanished, andhe let his head slump and let out a sigh. He leaned forward and folded his hands in front of himself, balancing his head on them. Cloud himself frowned and nearly let his fist fall on his chair. Tifa bowed her own head and began to look worried. After all, she was one of the few people in the world who had not only endured a mako eruption, but had survived falling in one without contracting severe mako poisoning. Barret grit his teeth and cursed. Cid flicked out his cigarette and did the same. Yuffie herself formed a rather pathetic frown.

Ragnar at last looked up and began to scratch at his chin. With a sigh, he gave a shrug. "…I guess that means we shouldn't be here anymore. We'll need to make sure no one else moves into that district. We'll have to move the army to a more opposite location…maybe Sector One…"

"You don't seem to understand, sir."

On hearing this, the others broke out of their own looks of disappointment and trouble, and lookedback to Red XIII. Ragnar himself looked up, a bit puzzled.The beasthad not changed. He was stilldark and grim. And for that matter…so was Reeve.

"The mako level is growing at an exponential rate. By the end of today, it will be at fatal levels. Tomorrow morning the fountain won't even be clear anymore. It will be green. It will start sending off toxic fumes by that evening. By then, the tremors will start visibly shaking material on the ground, and will be felt from three blocks away. The next day, it will be so concentrated that it will be able to melt flesh off of the bone. Then it will start boiling and giving out small geyser eruptions in a desperate attempt to blow off 'steam'. Sector Five and the surrounding sectors will feel not tremors…but small quakes at that point. After that…"

Ragnar was starting to feel uncomfortable at all of this. Something told him that this wasn't going to be a normal mako eruption. The others were starting to grow uneasily as well. The youth leaned in closer. "…What are you saying, colonel?"

"This mako eruption is going to be on a magnitude greater than volcanic." Red XIII responded. "Everything confirms it. It's building up power too quickly. When it blows…it's not going to just destroy the church or a few blocks…or even Sector Five. Almost the entire city of Midgar is going to be engulfed in it."

The group's eyes widened in shock.

"Good God…" Cid uttered out loud.

"That much? Is the whole damn Lifestream trying to pop out of the ground?" Barret added, his own expression astonished.

"That can't be right…" Tifa said as she shook her head, her own face growing more anxious as she did so. "I mean…it's impossible, isn't it? Why would so much of the Lifestream be coming out here?"

"Well…keep in mind, this place was draining a considerable portion of the Lifestream for some time." Reeve suddenly spoke up, causing the others to turn their attention to him."Some of our scientists reached the conclusion that doing so on such a large scale for long enough would be the equivalent of placing a leech on a wound. It somehow frustrates the Planet's ability to 'clot itself', so to speak. That, and this area is nearly dead."

Red XIII gave a grim nod to that. "Indeed. The Planet might be trying to prevent another wound like the Great Northern Crater from forming. Flooding the area with this much mako would certainly kill all life there initially, but in the end, once it subsided, the place would bloom into a much more vibrant area of life. In addition…" The beast hesitated, and bowed his head a bit more uneasily. "…Killing so many people would send a considerable amount of mako back into the Lifestream."

"Terrific." Yuffie sarcastically groaned.

"This is growing far too fast." Red XIII continued. "The speed at which its building will only cause a bigger buildup of pressure, which will do even more damage than it alone was capable of. It will be forced from the world like a pump in an artesian well. Estimates vary slightly at this point…but we can agree that we have no more than four days."

The silence in the room that resulted would have enabled a pin drop to be heard, as everyone in it became totally flabbergasted.

"Four days?" Cid nearly yelled. "It's going to happen in four days?"

"You're kidding, right?" Yuffie threw in, her own look growing more anxious. "Fool's Day came early this year? Ha ha ha? Bad joke, right?"

Red XIII glared back calmly. "…Now you know why I thought it was so important to abandon my post to check this out. And why I had to get you up so early."

Ragnar was overwhelmed. Never had he expected that it would only be this short. This changed everything. This was a whole new issue in and of itself. In the end, when he finally managed to compose himself after hearing the news of this disaster, he looked back up to the beast. "…Well, in the future, feel free to wake me up at any hour to tell me about matters involving the annihilation of wherever I'm living." He answered back. "We need to get working right away. We need to clear everyone out of here, and evacuate the city to the outskirts. I guess we'll be camping again…"

Red XIII frowned and shook his head. "No good, sir. We'll have to move at least as far as Kalm. The mist that comes off from the eruption will be more than poisonous enough to injure or kill people who are in the vicinity."

The general's eyes widened again. Barret himself uncrossed his arms and leaned forward. "We can't do that!" He yelled back. "There ain't no way we can move everyone out in four days!"

"We might be able to." Reeve threw in. "We'd have to give the evacuation order now…and people wouldn't be able to bring anything along, just themselves. Our trucks can move the army out. People with cars can drive themselves out. After that…we'll have to commission the entire transit system and our own fleet of trucks to working 24 hours to haul out those who can't move on their own. And some people might be able to walk that distance…"

"But where can they go?" Tifa responded. "They'll have no homes, no food, no water…they'll overcrowd Kalm to the point where the streets will be filled with homeless. The place will be a cesspool of disease and crime in a week."

"And that ain't the worst of it." Cid threw in. "You think the New Shinra are just gonna sit by and not take advantage of this? We'll have to abandon our shore defenses and almost all of our weapons and equipment. We'll be stuck out in the field again and scattered. We don't have time to get anymore 'Bismarks' or whatever you call them… If I was that general, I'd send everything I got at us while we were trying to move the people out. We'd be at our weakest then, trying to help them along. And in case you forgot, they still got mako reactors. The waste that's gonna be left of Midgar ain't any good to us, but they'll have a large amount of it just waiting to be harvested."

"And we can't evacuate them either once the damn Shinra get here." Barret snapped. "From there, we ain't got nowhere to go 'cept through the sea or the mines. We sure as hell can't move all those people through the mines, and we ain't got any boats. Even if we did, they've got the bigger navy."

A pause went through the people in the room. One bad bit of news after another. Now, they were all beginning to grow downcast and fearful. Ragnar himself breathed uneasily. If he had more time he might have been able to think of something. He thought that an eruption would have only come in a few years…a few months…at least a month away. But four days? The army still wasn't in great shape. Just as it had started to get some real power, it was being forced to break up again. And now, they wouldn't have their nice reprieve from before. Even if they could move the people out through the mines, there was nothing on the southern half other than Junon. The New Shinra could move to take that next and would ruin everything. They were in a bad situation…

Tifa sighed and formed a confused look. "I don't even understand it… Why didn't this happen years ago? Like when Midgar first stopped pumping mako? The city's starting to grow back now. You can actually breathe the air without gagging…and actually walk without street lights during the day…"

"…Perhaps it's trying to get something besides the city with this eruption."

The room turned to who had spoken. They soon found themselves looking to Cloud, who had broken his private silence for the first time in a while. His head looked to the floor now. His gaze was dark, and he slowly tapped his fingers against the armrest. He looked perfectly serious about what he had just said. However, Ragnar didn't go for it. He shook his head in response.

"That doesn't make any sense. We're trying to save this world. We're on it's side."

Yuffie gave a snort. "If anything, it should be erupting below that New Shinra HQ Dome. It's where the mako reactor is now…"

"We don't have to understand it." Reeve announced, breaking off the dialogue again. "The important thing is that we find a plan to move people out. That's all we can do for right now, and…"

The official was interrupted. A knock suddenly traveled through the room, obviously coming from the closed door. The officers turned and looked up to it when it sounded. Red XIII had the floor at the moment, so it was his responsibility to decide what passed. However, he gave a nod and called out to the person on the other side. "Come."

The doorknob turned and the door swung open on its squeaky hinges. A minor officer stepped into the room. She looked around for a moment, seeming kind of wide-eyed and confused. After all, this had been a private meeting of the bigwigs in the Planet Protector Army. She felt a little unnerved to be there, especially since they had all gone silent and focused on her. After a moment, she swallowed and turned to Red XIII, and then walked up to him. Ragnar noticed that she was carrying something. It looked like a thick manilla envelope. Once she reached the beast, she held it up and leaned down to his side. She whispered something into his ear afterward. As close to the front as Ragnar was, he couldn't hear it. The woman had whispered in a voice so quiet that she normally would go unheard by human ears. However, Red XIII had sharp enough hearing to listen to it.

He looked out to the audience again. Some emotion went over his face, and he seemed a bit tense. After a moment, he indicated to the side, toward one of the tables that had been shoved against the wall. "Over there." He spoke quietly, but loud enough for the general to hear.

In response, the woman went over to the table and opened the envelope. Red XIII turned aside from the others and went over to it. Both put their backs to the officers. The group began to grow puzzled at this, wondering what it was. Cloud himself leaned back a bit and leveled his cold stare at Red XIII, seeming to already be growing suspicious. Ragnar also stared at him, although his look was far warmer and more intrigued than probing. At any rate, the woman continued to whisper to Red XIII. A few words got out, but Ragnar couldn't make out any of their syllables. One by one, she pulled out a series of papers from her folder and set them down. She explained each one as it came. In the meantime, the beast went through a series of changes. He whispered back to her on some. On others he bowed his head, closed his eyes, and then inhaled deeply. He seemed to think a lot during this exchange, which lasted an entire five minutes.

At last, she backed off and gave him a salute. Red XIII did back with his paw, and the woman turned and left the room. The beast himself turned back to the others, and began to walk forward. However…he had changed. His head was bowed now. His jaw hung slightly ajar. Both his living and dead eyes were focused on the ground, seeming to be deep in thought. He appeared hesitant now…very troubled…or very uneasy. He swallowed twice on the way back, as if something was troubling himgreatly.

The others had picked up on this. Most were concerned. However, Ragnar looked rather intrigued…and Cloud's own dark face was probing. Barret broke the silence with a snort. "So what was it? More bad news?"

Red XIII kept his head bowed for a moment, seeming to be deep in thought. Then, he suddenly raised it. "What…? Oh…no, no…it…it was nothing…" He trailed off after this, and began to bow his head again.

Cloud continued to level his stare at him. "…Didn't seem to be nothing five minutes ago."

"Really…really. It wasn't anything." Red XIII continued, raising his head up again. He gave a shrug. "It was…it was something stupid, to be honest. Something I wanted to check out, I don't know why… Hardly worth the time."

Reeve hadn't heard anything about this either, obviously, for he raised an eyebrow. "Really? Are you sure? What was it?"

"Nothing. Something dumb… Something out of a fairy tale. Forget about it…"

However, this was what caught Ragnar's ear. He leaned forward shortly after and scooted himself up. "Fairy tale?" He asked aloud. "Six months ago, you guys thought I was mostly rambling off a fairy tale, until Zola and Noonian showed their true faces. And I, for one, give a little leeway to things that I read and hear, after talking to Bahamut face-to-face."

Red XIII frowned. He stayed silent for a moment. He looked up to the room, and saw that his actions had already attracted everyone's attention. Now, they were looking to him expectantly, wanting to know what that had been about. The beast slowly sighed. He bowed his head again, and started to look a little troubled. He licked his lips once.

"…I didn't want to have to tell you any of this." The beast finally admitted. "If I hadn't had the life that I had…I would have dismissed this immediately as hokum and myth. What I did was interrogate Private Zola recently. I was trying to find out if he knew the reason why Noonian had been ransacking my books. The only thing that he could offer me was that she was looking for some clue that would tell her and the one she served where to find something called the Crystal Stone.

"For some reason…I felt some compulsion to actually follow up on this search. I mean…after all, if she had thought it was real, then perhaps in some history it was. So I sent out a message to Cosmo Canyon to look for any records on it. The thing is…I only sent that message out last night. I didn't think that they would get right on it…or that I would get a response so soon…"

Ragnar turned a bit puzzled here. "Crystal Stone?" He asked aloud. "I think I remember that… It was supposed to be Leviathan's answer to Hades' Oblivion Stone… It was the component that had to be used to summon Holy Alexander. At least, that's what they thought it was. And then, years later, it turned out that…" The young man trailed off at this, for he remembered. Bahamut had supplemented what he knew about the Crystal Stone when he met him. He had told him how it had ended up having another power that could be charged for 1,000 years. And by now…he realized it had to have been about a millennia ago since it was used last. So…that's what Noonian had been looking for. Apparently, their master hadn't been 100 percentconfident about his chances for victory either.

"Will someone please explain what's so important about this stone?" Cloud suddenly interjected, for the room had gone silent by now, with both men having trailed off.

Red XIII raised his head slightly, and let out an exhale. "There was something Zola said it could do. I didn't believe it…not completely…and I'm not sure I do now. But the notes that were just brought to me confirm it, at least the legend. Apparently…the stone charges itself with solar energy. When it has been left to charge for 1,000 years, it gains so much power into it that it can do something…impossible." The beast hesitated a moment, and licked his lips again.

"Supposedly…if a person dies of unnatural causes…and the body is completely preserved…and the injury that killed them is bound up so that the body could live…the stone can fill the body with such power…"Another pause. "…That the spirit can be drawn through it back out of the Lifestream…and the person can come back from the dead."

Ragnar noticed an instantaneous change throughout the room. First, it went silent.Cid, Reeve, and Barret stared at Red XIII fairly normally…although they focused on him. And when they did, it was obvious that something was churning in their brains. But they were practical people, and showed nothing else. Yuffie, childish as she was, widened her own eyes and looked amazed at the thought of it. However…the greatest change of all was in Tifa and Cloud.

Tifa's eyes widened first, and her own jaw slackened. Something clicked in her mind. She seemed to tense up in her chair. In the end, she turned her head over to Cloud. For once…to Ragnar…the man looked totally overwhelmed. His own mouth had opened, and now his own formally dark expression had turned wide and stunned. He too stared out into space now. Only Ragnar could tell he wasn't calm. Something inside of him had accelerated. He was tensing up. It was like some sort of powerful anticipation and hope had seized him, and now it was so strong that it was bleeding out through his facial expression, showing his desire. Tifa reached out and took his hand, but he didn't notice. It didn't seem to bother her.

The gesture was something strange… It seemed to say to him, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

The room stayed dead silent. No one said anything. Red XIII looked to open his mouth once or twice, seeming like he would dismiss it again as a myth. However, he wasn't able to. Ragnar himself looked back to the front of the room. He stayed patient…waiting this out. He looked up and back to the overhead, and watched the screen that was there. Unbelievable as this was…and much as it could attract the others for reasons he knew…this was the pressing concern. The eruption. That was still a very real threat. The Lifestream was raging…it was going to kill everything in the area. The Planet had somehow become incensed against here, whether it was the leeching or something else, and now they had to get out of its way, or…

…She could do it…

Ragnar wasn't sure how that thought had arisen. It just seemed to pop into his mind…almost as if another voice deep inside of him told him it. But as the thought came to mind…it made him freeze. That…that wasn't possible. It was silly…dumb…pointless to even try. Besides, the Crystal Stone…

The Crystal Stone…

It brought master back to life…

She's still fresh…preserved. Her body hadn't aged a day when I saw it. She wasn't even pale yet. The Cetra used to manage these things all the time. They would calm the anger of the Planet and warnit about their actions. And she…she was a strong one. She was so powerful…is so powerful…that she has talked to the Planet from the Lifestream itself. She's already changed things…

…Why not?

Ragnar didn't know what suddenly took him then. The business of bringing people back from the dead…it was strange and even deemed unnatural by many. And for this reason…for something so…"trivial". To stop an inconvenience… However…it wasn't just that. There were many lives at stake…maybe the future of the world. There would only be more eruptions in the future if the New Shinra had their way. Maybe worse…maybe the Planet would be incited to start creating WEAPONs again… The Cetra had never been extinct throughout the whole of history. Now that they were…what would it mean for the future? What would it mean for the Lifestream? Perhaps…with this person…something should intervene…

There were many reasons that Ragnar could think of…but there was another subconscious one…now that he was on the subject of her again. It was that he had seen her face-to-face. He had marveled at her…basked in her beauty even in death…and had heard of how pure and gentle a creature she had been in life. And a part of him…feeling not just mental or spiritual…but actually in the marrow of his own bones…he wanted to meet her. He wanted to see her eyes filled with life. He wanted to hear her voice… He had never even met her, and yet the urge was so strong inside of him… In the end, he found himself voicing it.

"…Why not, everyone?"

On hearing this, the room turned to Ragnar. Their faces were expressionless, but they came out of their daze of thought. Ragnar merely gave a shrug. "I know what you're thinking…what we're all thinking. I've never even met her and I'm thinking of it. Why don't we? Why shouldn't we bring her back?"

"You never even met her." Yuffie responded. Much to Ragnar's surprise, she didn't sound nagging or whining for once…but perfectly serious. "Why do you care?"

Ragnar paused. He wasn't sure he wanted to say his subconscious reasons. In the end, he shrugged. "…Well, we could use her help right about now. Maybe she can tell the Planet to calm down…to call off this eruption before it happens."

Cid snorted. "Yeah…she'd love that… Bringing her back just so she can do us another favor…"

Ragnar frowned. "Oh come on, everyone!" He suddenly shouted out. "Why are you all moping around like this? What's there to think about? Isn't this all what you wished you could do three years ago?"

There was another pause of silence throughout the room. The others turned and looked to each other, beginning to look uncertain. Ragnar couldn't understand it. What was with them?

"I…I guess so…" Tifa slowly responded. After a moment, however, she sighed a bit and shook her head. "No…I know so. I'll admit…I felt a little jealous around her and Cloud every now and then, but I cried just as hard as the rest of you when she was…murdered…" She hesitated after this, and finally gave a shrug. "I mean…I guess we should all want this. So…why are we hesitating?"

"I don't know. Something about this doesn't seem natural…doesn't seem right." Red XIII answered. "I mean…we've all grown to accept that she was dead and gone… We've moved on with our lives. And we all know…once a person is dead, there's no coming back. That's it. To hear about something like this… It doesn't seem real. It seems…almost like a joke. Something fake…too convenient…"

"She helped the Planet out only when she was dead." Barret threw in, bowing his head a bit. "…Maybe it is better that she just stay that way…"

"You know what I think?"

Ragnar turned over to his side. As he did, he saw Cloud suddenly become active. With a quick movement, he stood up out of his chair, turned, and glared at the others. Suddenly, Ragnar sensed that he was charged with emotion again…and possibly even a bit angry. He didn't look to the youth, but he did look at the others, and he had such force in his glare that when they looked to him they were taken aback…

"I think you all are crazy." Cloud darkly retorted, nearly snapping. "I don't know about you…but I prayed for years that there was a way she could come back. The part that hurt me the most was knowing how innocent and kind she was…and knowing I would never see her laugh or smile ever again. She gave her life for everyone on this world. I think the least that we can do is try and give her this…a second chance at life."

"But do you think that's what she even wants?" Red XIII calmly responded, not that miffed by Cloud's outburst.

To Ragnar's surprise, Cloud wheeled around to Red XIII and seemed to blaze with new anger. "Why wouldn't she want this!" He shot back.

"He's right, Cloud." Tifa threw in, causing the ex-mercenary to wheel around again. "We all want her back…but maybe she doesn't want to come back. She's talked to us before…and she never said anything directing us to bring her back. She was at peace when she died. She saved the world only after she passed on. It would be selfish of us to try and bring her here when she wants to stay dead. She's probably gone on to the Promised Land…"

Cloud wouldn't hear anymore of this. He snapped his head back around and looked to Red XIII. "Where is the Crystal Stone?" He asked him, his voice cold and serious. "Tell me. I'll find it alone if I have to."

Ragnar began to rise at this. "Cloud…"

"Don't start with me!" The ex-mercenary snapped, cutting Ragnar off. The youth recoiled a bit. He had never talked so viciously to him before. To his surprise, the man turned around and glared at him. Now, he was beginning to grow angry with him. "Yuffie was right…you don't know a damn thing about it. So just shut it."

"Listen to Tifa, you old asshole." Cid called out as he began to walk forward. "She's got a point. She might be happier where she is."

"Is it on one of those papers, Red XIII?" Cloud asked, ignoring this and pointing to the table. The beast stared back at him silently, saying nothing. When he did…the ex-mercenary only flew into a greater rage. His teeth suddenly clenched, and he advanced on the beast. "You better tell me!"

"Cloud, stop it!" Tifa called out, beginning to rise.

"Cloud, think about what you're doing!" Reeve finally called out. His own voice was turning aggressive, matching Cloud's own. He shot to his feet and looked to him. "Look at yourself! This is all about you! It's not about her! It's about making yourself feel better! Stop being such a stubborn jackass and think about her!"

That was the breaking point. Wheeling around, face filled with fury and anger, Cloud turned to Reeve and glared daggers at him. The power was so great that it broke Reeve's anger, and made him back up. Cloud suddenly seemed monstrous as he clenched his teeth and nearly spat.

"I am thinking about her! Why aren't all of you?"

With that, Cloud wheeled around to Red XIII again. Suddenly, he lashed out at him. Using his own superhuman strength, Cloud walked forward and shoved himself to one side, nearly throwing Red XIII to the ground in his wake. Once he was out of his way, he rushed up to the table. He stopped only long enough to snatch up the papers, and then turned and bolted for the door. Before anyone could rise, retort, or make any other attempt to stop him, the ex-mercenary was at the door. He didn't bother opening it. He just smashed his shoulder into it. The strength within him flared up…and the door was broken off of its hinges and toppled to the side. Cloud shoved the rest out of the way and pushed by, exiting into the hallway.

In the end, Ragnar was the only one who got up. Just as he exited, the youth took off after him, hot on his heels. Soon, he was passing through the door as well. Both men were soon rushing down the hall, out of the building, and running away.

The remaining officers were left behind. Slowly, they began to turn to one another and stare back silently. The words of Cloud still hung on the air, and in their minds. Tifa bowed her own head and closed her eyes, realizing how angry he had been at her once he had stood between the two women…and felt sad.

They continued to stay like this for some time, not able to make any plans to evacuate for quite a while.

"Cloud, wait up!"

Cloud didn't stop. He continued to run down the street. Ragnar lapped at his heels. Luckily, the youth had been practicing, and as a result he could match his speed. He stayed behind him as he ran on through the roads. Cloud turned a few times, going into alleys, running between buildings, and changing roads. His path was not "willy-nilly", however. It had a purpose and a direction to it. It was making its way to one of the particular areas of the town in the military branch. Ragnar had a feeling he knew what it was. At any rate, he continued to chase him and call out after him.

At last, a few blocks away from the meeting hall, Cloud came to a stop. However, he wheeled around to Ragnar as soon as he did. His eyes still blazed violence. Ragnar ran up the rest of the way to him. But as soon as he was in range, to his shock the man reached out and seized him by the collar. Ragnar gaped a moment, before he found his body flung around and smashed against a nearby brick building. Cloud wasn't too gentle about it, and soon began to hold him up against it. He turned and got fully in his face, eyes blazing anger and teeth clenched.

"I thought I told you to stay out of this!" He snapped at him. "I told you that you didn't know a damn thing about this! If you know what's good for you, you better not try and stop me!"

Ragnar's face was panicked and tight. However, he shook his head in Cloud's face. "I…I didn't come to stop you…"

"Then why don't you stop following me?" The man viciously snapped in his face.

"Because I want to help you!" Ragnar finally managed to shout back, just as fiercely.

"Why?"

"Because she's the last Cetra! They've kept this planet in balance for thousands of years! Now that they're extinct, I think we're only seeing the first wave of what's to come! Who knows what else is going to happen? And what if another destroyer like Jenova arrives? What if Meteor is used again? Without the espers, the Cetra are the only things left saving this world from destruction! And besides…you know how much I love the Cetra and things of the old world, Cloud. I want to meet her just as badly as you want to bring her back. I'm not here to stop you. That's the last thing I'm here to do. I swear."

Cloud continued to grip Ragnar for a few moments. His face stayed angry and tight. But as Ragnar spoke…his anger slowly began to subside. He saw into the youth's eyes, and he saw no lie in them. Not that it was hard. He knew Ragnar never lied…and he wouldn't be lying about this. This helped him to slowly calm down. And as he did…he began to come back to his senses. He began to realize what he had done…how he had acted in front of his friends…how he had turned on them so viciously. He started to realize his mistake, and the logic of their words. In the end, his face softened. He slowly let out a sigh. Once that was done, he carefully released Ragnar's lapel and brought his hands back to his sides. His head bowed, and he closed his eyes and shook his head.

"…I'm sorry, kid."

Ragnar reached up and straightened his tunic, but then he too began to calm down and become normal again. "…It's alright, Cloud. Don't worry about it."

"No…it's not alright." Cloud slowly answered, wiping his forehead and brushing his hair back. "They were right in there. I have no idea if she's happier where she is. I would be forcing her back if I went off and did this. I'd never be able to forgive myself if I saw her alive again…only to have her be angry at me for bringing her away from whatever paradise she may have gone too. They were trying to tell me this…and all I could do was snap at them because I wanted to feel better. They were right. This had nothing to do with her… It only had to do with me and my own pain. It's just…" Cloud trailed off here. He closed his eyes for a moment, and steadied himself.

"…I really, really miss her… I want her back so badly…"

Ragnar bowed his own head. He reached out and put a hand on his friend's shoulder. Cloud himself reached his hands to his eyes. He held them there. Ragnar understood. Cloud had come far…but he was still too insecure to want to let his friends see him cry. And so, he just held there, letting Cloud get his emotions out. The youth licked his own lips and exhaled.

"…I'm afraid that you both don't have the luxury of leaving her dead."

Both men snapped out of it, and looked up. Ragnar, on his part…felt a surge inside him. Something awoke in his spirit. He knew that voice… He knew its power, wisdom, and confidence. And on hearing it, he felt his heart grow light, and a smile already started to spread across his face. A gloom within him broke. He realized what this meant…and felt great joy. He was still here… He was still alive… He had won, and he was back on Gaia…

However, Cloud recognized none of this. Instead, he looked in puzzlement to the source of the sound. What he saw, and soon Ragnar saw as well, was what looked like an old man. He appeared to be about in his fifties, but his hair was pure white already. He had it tied behind him in a short tail. He was dressed in rather simple casual attire. A dark blue trench coat covered up most of his body as he clicked forward in his loafers, approaching the two men. On closer look, however…the man looked rather young for his age. That was a contradiction…but somehow the man looked both old and young at the same time. Especially in his eyes, which shimmered large and powerful from beneath some wire glasses.

"…And you are?" Cloud finally announced, sounding rather distrusting.

"Dr. Tumahab. Research specialist that Mr. Reeve called in." The man responded as he finished walking forward, and halted in front of them. "I got in late. I'm a surgeon by trade, but Mr. Reeve called me in for my interest in Cetra and Lifestream studies. He wanted to know what my opinion was of the incident happening in Sector Five was, but I couldn't even get away until about 3 AM this morning. After examining the site, I came up with some rather terrible findings. I came over here to inform him of what was going on when I saw you shove this younger man against the brick wall. I was coming over to see what was the matter, and I couldn't help but overhear what had happened."

Ragnar stayed silent. He looked to Cloud and back to "Tumahab". So…it appeared that he was going in disguise again. But now, he was introducing himself. What did this mean? From the sound of it, it seemed like he knew something about what was going on…

Tumahab held out a hand to shake Cloud's. Cloud didn't even look down to it. "…You seemed to overhear quite a bit." He responded flatly. "Exactly what did you mean by that comment you made?"

The man looked a bit uneasy, and withdrew his hand again. "Well…" He started, his own face seeming to grow worried and tense. "For starters, I know what the other scientists have said, that this eruption is going to be disastrous on a massive scale." He hesitated, and then grew a bit dark in tone himself. "What you may not know is that what you're seeing here is merely the beginning. The world is growing more chaotic, and it's not just due to the use of mako reactors in the past. I theorized, based on historical accounts, that there was a correlation between the amount of natural disasters on Gaia, as well as severity, and the decline of the Cetra. They appeared to have some sort of buffering effect on the world while they were alive. But now that they're gone…this world is growing more unstable. What this incident will be is merely the beginning. There will be more mako eruptions within as little as a decade…followed by much worse."

Now, Ragnar was intrigued. Cloud still looked distrustful, but the youth knew who this man was, and trusted what he said already. "…How much worse?"

Tumahab turned to him with his cold, serious look. "In one scenario…in as little as 300 years, this world will be incapable of supporting life."

The youth's eyes widened. That short a period of time? He had no idea… He had thought the Cetra were important to buffering the world's actions…but he had no idea that they were that important. That was horrible… Now, the youth was gripped with fear. As he realized this, heconcluded that there was no longer a question to consider. He didn't know if she wanted to come back…but he knew from what he heard about her that she would never want this level of destruction on this world. She would never want all life to be extinguished. He didn't believe that any Cetra would.

Cloud, however, was still rather stern. "Alright." He simply replied. "So how do you know anything about raising anyone from the dead?"

The man merely gave a shrug at that. "I don't know anything about raising anyone from the dead. I just overhead you two talking about 'bringing someone back' who happened to be a Cetra. I merely came by to tell you the importance of doing so. However, if that's what you're off trying to do, to bring this Aerith back from the dead so that she can save this world from the coming disaster…then I'm with you. This is a matter that concerns everyone. I'm a doctor. I might be able to help if life and death is concerned. I'd like to come along with you."

Abrupt as this was, Ragnar knew who this man really was himself, and turned to Cloud eagerly. He had to restrain himself from nodding. Unfortunately…Cloud had suddenly doubled his hardness and apprehension.

"Tumahab" had made a slip…

"…How did you know her name was Aerith?"

The man froze at that. His face fell, and Ragnar thought he nearly saw it break into worry. In the end, he gave a shrug. "I just overheard you say her name."

"I didn't say her name. Neither did Ragnar." Cloud returned coldly.

Tumahab moistened his lips. He looked down for a moment, and turned his head, as he reached up with one hand and took his glasses off. He looked back up afterward, and this time turned his own blue, powerful gaze right onto Cloud's. When he spoke…Ragnar noticed that his voice was slower and smoother, and yet stronger than before.

"Pardon me…but you did indeed. How else would I know her name…if you hadn't said it?"

Ragnar looked to Cloud. The man's eyes were open and hard for a moment. But then…he watched his jaw slowly slacken. For a moment, it looked as if Cloud's pupils were shrinking…or fading. After a second longer…his eyelids started to droop.

But then, Tumahab looked away. He bowed his head and began to put his glasses back on. As he did, Cloud snapped his eyes back open and shook his head, like he was coming out of a daze. When he looked back up to Tumahab, he had lost his coldness and apprehension. He was far more normal now.

"Yes…I guess I did." He remarked after a moment. "Alright…you're in." He turned his head to the side after that, looking to Ragnar. Considering what he had just witnessed, the youth was almost a bit surprised. "You're coming too, kid?"

Ragnar paused a moment, but then gave a nod.

"Alright then…let's find a means of transportation. And I'm sorry to say that Fenrir won't cut it this time. If we only have four days, we'll need something bigger."

To be continued...

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yes, yes...I'm sure some of your people who hate cliches in FFVII fanfictions are now giving me plenty of hisses and boos. I still have to get used to spelling her name like that. Frankly...I always hated saying it that way. It makes me sound like I have a lisp...