Disclaimer: Characters belong to Square-Enix.
A/N: I finally got to watch FF7: Advent Children! All FF7 fans must watch this film, the last scene makes the years of waiting completely worthwhile:D
-oOo-
: Chapter Nine : An Errant Ninja
The sun was setting; it was cold, and there was darkness. For a long time now, the tide had been drawing in, closer. He liked it here. Solitary, lonely, and the air, sharp and cold. The sun was disappearing.
Sephiroth was sitting in the sand, and the water was coming in. With knees hunched up to his chin, he stared out to sea. He liked to watch it, in and out, in and out. He had never seen the sea when he was a child. But it was flowing eternity, it went on forever, like the gods - like the Cetra, and the Universe. The wind was whipping through the air now, tossing his hair about his face, and a seagull cried out in the distance, a last goodbye on its way home. The world was shutting down.
Jenova had begun to move.
Sephiroth dreamed of her arms, warm and comforting, a mother's touch on his child's skin. And of suckling the prismatic liquid from her breast. Yes, mother - it was her essence that had given him divine powers. Beautiful mother, a goddess.
But that was only a dream. He could not remember such a thing having happened. All he saw now was a decapitated alien, cold, lifeless, azure-tinted skin, arms that did not hold him. She was alive, but she was dead, she did not feel.
And sometimes, he dreamt of his father, of a gentle, kindly face, of words that filled inside him such love and pride that he felt as though he would die with it. No, that was not true - that was only Dr. Gast he was remembering, and he was dead. He was no longer there for Sephiroth, he'd gone long ago.
"Why did you die, Dr. Gast, why did you leave me behind?"
He was angry, it was the only thing that could fill the deep chasm of loneliness.
"Why did he go...?...If only...But don't worry, mother, we'll be all right...we'll rule the Planet..."
It was dark. The sun had dipped beneath the line of the ocean. It was only him, him and his lifeless mother. The world was rootless, there was no rock to lean on; no proof of existence, no nothing.
Sephiroth dropped his head. Alone and in the dark, the water was rising to his feet. For the first time in many, many years, the tears trembled in his eyes.
-oOo-
Early sunlight had woken Cloud up, and dreams of darkness had been put aside. He had been mildly disconcerted to find that the others had ventured into Gongaga anyway, and were already eating a hearty breakfast - due, apparently, to Cait Sith's ravenous hunger. After joining them at the table, and generally marvelling at the toy cat's amazing appetite, they decided it was time to go. The land was well forested, and the group soon found that they were lost deep in the woodland.
Cloud, though given the task of finding their way out of the maze-like forest, was not wholly preoccupied with doing so. He'd had a dream last night, one that had uneased him. Since he had last heard the mysterious voice talking to him in his dreams, he'd been waiting for it to reappear again, to challenge him with those unanswerable questions.
But last night had been different. He'd dreamt of Zack, but in his dream, he had been Zack. He could not remember what had happened exactly, but even though he'd never even seen Zack before in his life, he'd known that he had been him, he'd known everything about Zack. And then Sephiroth had appeared.
Cloud started. Yes, that had been it: he'd been Zack, and he'd been in a large white room, with a mirror. He'd gazed at himself inside, and he had been neither Cloud, nor Zack. His reflection had been that of Sephiroth.
"These woods," Cait Sith groaned, interrupting Cloud's thoughts, "I don't know. They're like mazes to me. Each tree looks the same. It's impossible to tell where you are."
"Yeah, Cloud," Barret grumbled, "This is ridiculous. You've got us even more lost than we were in the beginning."
Cloud waggled his hand above his head in aggravation.
"Shut up, you guys! I'm trying to concentrate on getting us out of here, in case you hadn't noticed."
"Bloody shit load of good it's doin' us," Barret swore under his breath.
They had not walked more than a hundred yards, when there was a sudden torrent of rustling from a nearby bush. Each one of them stood still looking at one another in suspense.
"What was that?" Aerith whispered, but no sooner had she said it than a deafening war cry suddenly emanated from the shrubbery. Cloud swung round in confusion and was instantly knocked flat by the quick swipe of someone's foot against his temple. Falling down amongst the leaves and grass, he looked up to see who was his assailant.
He found himself looking up into the face of a young girl, who couldn't have been much more than sixteen years old. She was dressed in strange-looking fringed clothes and in her hand she held an enormous, razor-sharp shuriken. She stared back at him with an intensely violent look on her fresh face as he attempted to get up.
"Stay down on the ground!" she bellowed at him in a voice that was surprisingly commanding for someone her age. "I said stay down on the ground!"
She shoved the weapon toward his face and looked menacingly toward the others.
"One move out of you lot and this punk gets it, okay?"
Barret crossed his arms.
"I knew he wasn't cut out to lead us," he muttered. The girl jutted out her jaw indignantly.
"Would you SHUT IT, buster? I told you not to move. Otherwise, this punk's face gets spiked."
Barret shrugged.
"Go ahead."
"I said SHUT IT!"
Everyone looked dumbly at her and she gave a smug, satisfied smile.
"Great, now that I've got your attention, let's get down to business," she began in an efficient fashion. "Hand over your materia."
Not a word or a movement was made in reply. The girl stood up straight and gave a cry of exasperation.
"Are you guys deaf as well as stupid!" She began to wave her shuriken threateningly in the air. "I said hand over your materia!"
"Hey, you shouldn't do that," Cait Sith warned in a concerned tone of voice. "You might hurt someone, waving that thing around like that."
She glared at him with a mixture of disbelief and vexation on her face.
"That's what this is for, you dumb retarded cat!" she spat out, forgetting to brandish her weapon. Cloud took the opportunity to free himself. As quick as thought he grabbed her foot about the ankle and gave it a sharp yank. With a yell of surprise, the girl stumbled backwards, but didn't quite fall over. Cloud leaped up and smashed her in the side of the face with his fist. She toppled over with the force of the strike, landing heavily on a patch of green ferns.
Cloud staggered over toward her, holding the side of his throbbing head. She seemed to be out cold. Sighing in relief, he turned to the others.
"Is she okay?" Tifa asked, still not daring to move. He nodded.
"Yeah, I think so."
Red shook his head as he walked toward the girl. He nudged her head with his snout.
"Yes, I think she's all right. What a shame that even youth such as this is seduced by today's greed."
Barret lumbered up to look at her.
"Damn, she's a young 'un for all this materia hunting business." He pulled a face at Cloud. "You should know by now that us 'men' don't hit girls."
Cloud shrugged atthe scolding.
"Hey, did you want me to risk being stabbed in the face by that maniac?"
"As I said," Barret retorted, "I don't mind."
Aerith spoke before Cloud and Barret could continue the argument any further.
"Are you all right, Cloud? That was some whack she gave you back there."
"I'm fine," Cloud turned back and bent over the girl. Her eyelids were beginning to flicker and her fingers were twitching. "Oh hell, she's coming round."
Gently, Cloud slapped the side of her face. The girl opened her eyes slowly, seeming quite dazed as she stared at Cloud without recognition. Moaning, she tried to sit up, but promptly fell back into the bracken.
"Are you okay?" Cloud murmured, trying not to jar her obviously aching head. However, his concern was quite uncalled for. As soon as she heard his voice, she sprang up from the ground, all sign of her pain having disappeared. She stood up straight and pointed at him, glowering.
"You! I don't believe I lost to you!"
Unable to find her weapon, she began to jab at the air with her fists at him.
"Come on, again! Let's go again, you spiky-headed jerk!"
"Hey, I don't want to fight you!" Cloud protested, raising his hands. "You're just a girl!"
The girl stuck out her lower lip.
"God, you wuss! What's your game, anyway?"
Tifa interrupted cuttingly.
"Who're you calling a wuss! Haven't you ever heard of manners!"
"Hey, who asked you, boobs!" the girl replied. "Besides, your Cloud here already hit me, didn't he?" She pointed to the bruise on her cheek. After a momentary silence, she looked at the group with a conceited expression.
"Hey...you're scared of me, aren't you. Come on, admit it."
"Yeah," Cloud replied sarcastically. "We're petrified."
At his mocking tone she crossed her arms and glared round at them.
"Wow, what a bunch of misfits you are! Two really weird talking animals, Mr. T, a snotty bitch with boobs, a pretty-pretty mummy's girl, and a wuss for a leader! I wonder where you crawled out from? Guess I was mistaken in thinking you lot had any materia!"
She turned to leave, ignoring their looks of disgruntled annoyance at her insults. When she'd walked a little way, she suddenly turned around.
"I'm really going. Really."
Cloud thought a moment. This girl was acting in a stupidly blatant manner. It was obvious she craved attention and was looking to them for it. Two could play at that game, Cloud thought. Besides, he needed someone with skill like her. He took a step forward.
"Hey, wait a minute! P-Please don't go!"
Everyone shot Cloud weird looks, but he said nothing. The girl stopped abruptly and looked up at him hopefully, although it was evident she was trying to disguise it.
"What? You want me to come with you?"
Cloud nodded.
"Well...yeah... I mean,you're a good ninja. We could sure do with someone like you - if you don't mind hanging with a bunch of misfits, that is."
She grinned and ran back toward them.
"I'm beginning to think you're not so bad after all, electro-hair. All right - I'll come with you. I guess I can stand hanging with a bunch of losers - maybe I can do wonders for your style, eh?"
Cloud turned quickly. Better not overdo it, he thought.
"Right!" he called to the others "Let's get going!"
They all caught his drift. Walking off and leaving the girl behind, Cloud's reverse psychology had assured her loyalty as their newest follower.
"Hey! Hey!" she began to shout. "Wait for me! I haven't even told you my name yet! Hey!"
They did not stop walking, until Cloud heard her panting behind him and felt her hand on his shoulder.
"Okay, okay! That was pretty smart. You win, Mr. Wise-Guy."
He turned on her.
"If you want to join us, you've got to play by the rules, okay? I don't want any insults, and I don't want you taking any of our materia, right?"
She nodded immediately, an oddly steadfast gleam in her eyes. "Right."
Cloud relaxed a little.
"Well, that's sorted then."
"Great," the girl replied. "Now that that's all over, do you all wanna know my name or what?"
"Sure," Cloud shrugged. "Go ahead."
The girl smirked and lifted her shuriken up over her shoulder with an athletic arm.
"The name's Yuffie Kisaragi. I'm a princess."
"A princess?" Cait Sith looked at her suspiciously. She glowered at him.
"Hey, what's your problem, moggy? I'm a princess from a faraway land called Wutai."
"Then why are you in a place like this?" Red asked her, obviously disbelieving her.
"Because I hate Wutai, all right? I hate being a princess, it's boring. So I'm thieving materia for my hobby. It's so much more interesting."
"But Wutai's a tourist spot," Aerith put in. "It's a place where rich people go on holiday. Why would it have a princess?"
Yuffie scowled, strangely irritated.
"It just does, okay?" she changed the subject. "Actually, I'm getting bored thieving materia, so I thought it'd be cool to hang out with you guys."
"But you said we were misfits," Barret replied hotly. Yuffie shrugged.
"Well, aren't I a misfit too? Besides, you won't go unrewarded. I can cook the best Wutainese barbecue ever!"
"Oh goody!" Cait Sith squealed. "Wutainese barbecue!"
Cloud stared at his newest companion suspiciously. He was still dubious as to whether she was a trustworthy follower or not. She caught the look and she spoke to him as severely as she could manage.
"Listen. I know what you're thinking. But for once, I'm serious. You can trust me a hundred per cent!" She slapped Barret on the back with a hard hand. "Now, how 'bout telling me all of your names!"
After introducing themselves, Yuffie insisted that she knew the way out of the forest, and it was not long before they found themselves back next to the Buggy.
"See!" Yuffie began triumphantly, "I told you you can rely on me!"
The party of now seven bundled into the vehicle and continued west along the coast, hoping for any sign of Sephiroth, rather unsuccessfully. It seemed that he had slipped out of their grasp, and had travelled on to whatever destination he was aiming to get to. There was nothing to do except keep on travelling, and hoping that someone would at least have seen his whereabouts. While they were scoring the land they were passing through, their time was occupied with explaining to Yuffie the point of their quest, filling the determined young girl with much awe and admiration.
Soon, the lush forests and fertile pastures gave way to the wonderful and swooping valleys and canyons of the southern regions of the New Continent. A setting sun delved under the rising clusters of mountains separated by their deep ravines, and bathed the surrounding area in a rich, golden light. The chocolate brown of the canyons seemed to come alive with the tawny light.
Red, in the back of the Buggy, began to grow noticeably restless. His eye glistened as it passed over the rapidly scrolling scenery of golden beauty. He began to growl softly, a purring, crooning sort of sound.
"Red, anything wrong?" Cloud turned back in his front seat, but before the question could be answered, the engine began to gasp and splutter, choking the Buggy to an abrupt halt. Swearing to themselves, the group filed out of the truck.
"Damn it, this has to happen now!" Cloud sighed, lifting up the engine cover only to be met by a stifling and overpowering blast of smoke. Coughing, he waved at the cloud with his hand.
"What's wrong with it?" Barret asked, peering inside the motor shaft.
"I don't know anything about cars," Cloud said, regretfully.
"Only motorbikes," Aerith added comically.
Yuffie stepped in solemnly.
"Let me handle this."
Taking a step backwards and a deep breath in, she whacked the side of the car with a hefty kick from her foot, only to end up sprawled on the floor, clutching a wounded toe. Cloud helped her up gently.
"Hey, it's no good. Isn't there a place round here that can fix this thing?"
To everyone's immense surprise, Red suddenly bounded off, over the rocky land and up into a ridge, out of sight. Everyone looked at each other in confusion.
"Where's he gone?" Yuffie asked, dazed.
Cloud shrugged.
"Let's go after him."
The six rushed after Red's footsteps and into the rocky hills. As they turned a corner, they saw that they had come to the bottom of a flight of steps that had been hewn into the rock face. Red was at the top of it, beckoning to them.
"Up here, up here!"
Very much perplexed, they ran up the stairs to where Red was standing. Reaching the top, they all stood and stared up. Resting in the side of the mountain was a beautiful village, cheerful and welcoming, nestling its tiny community and stone-hewn huts away from the world. Ladders led up to the highest houses, and beaded curtains as doorways. The highlights of the village glowed out radiantly to the outsiders. On their level, a raging bonfire sat in the centre of the tiny town, glittering and casting its finger-like shadows in the falling sun. On the furthermost tip of the range sat a large telescope protruding from a circular dome, pointing toward the violet sky. It obviously belonged to a planetary observatory of some sort. The whole town had the aura of some lost ancient city, the kind that the great archaeologists of past centuries had uncovered in their fruitless search for the cities of the Cetra.
Cloud looked back down at Red.
"Where are we?"
Red gazed back at him proudly.
"This is Cosmo Canyon, my hometown. And this is where my journey with you ends."
Before Cloud could begin to reason with him, a man came running up, joy on his face.
"Nanaki! Nanaki, you're home!"
Red welcomed him as the man approached.
"Kanta! I am glad to be back. How have things been here in Cosmo Canyon?"
Kanta nodded easily.
"Oh fine, I think." He looked at the others grouped around Red suspiciously. "Who are these people?"
"These are my friends," Red replied, introducing them one by one."I trust you'll make them welcome. They have a Buggy outside that needs repairing. Could you help them fix it?"
"Of course." Kanta nodded at Cloud amiably. "Any friends of Nanaki are friends of ours." He turned back to Red. "Nanaki, your grandfather is eager to see you again. If you would go up to his room now..."
Red perked up considerably.
"Grandfather!" he growled, and ran off into the distance, up a flight of stairs and into a building near to the telescope dome.
Cloud stared after him, amazed.
"So Red's real name is Nanaki?"
Kanta looked at him, confused.
"Red? Nanaki's Nanaki, nothing else. He's our protector."
"I see," Cloud replied, astonished at the whole affair. Kanta led him through to the heart of the village solemnly.
"I must thank you for taking care of him. In repayment, please accept our hospitality. There are many places you might like to visit here. Cosmo Canyon is a very special place."
Cloud looked at him questioningly and he hastened to explain.
"Cosmo Canyon is a place where we study the science of the Planet. But not only that, the meaning of the Planet, its existence. Our chief elder, Bugenhagen, knows all about it. He's Nanaki's guide in life. He knows more about life and the Planet than anyone else in this world."
Aerith stopped walking and stood stock-still.
"He knows of the Planet?"
Kanta nodded.
"Yes." He pointed to the telescope on the top of the mountain. "That's his observatory, up there. Inside his laboratory, he learns about a special subject called Planet Metaphysics."
Aerith looked troubled suddenly.
"I must see this man. He may be able to tell me about the Cetra."
Kanta was obliging.
"If you follow Nanaki up those steps, you'll find him."
As Aerith made her way toward Bugenhagen's room, Cloud suddenly felt as though he should follow her. If this man did know of the Cetra, then maybe he would be able to explain the meaning of Sephiroth's existence also.
Leaving the others behind with Kanta, he ran after her to Bugenhagen's observatory.
-oOo-
Next: The team learn a little more about the Planet and the Ancients...