Chapter 5: A Reunion of Sorts

The mysterious man sat in the coffin made no attempt to step out of the coffin once he had sat up. Instead he chose to turn his gaze slowly from one person to another while his arms hung loosely by his sides. It was as though he had no life in the rest of his body, waking up just enough to sit and move his head. Upon closer inspection it turned out his eyes were not dark but a very deep red: something that was very alluring and mystifying, and held their gazes as he looked at them.

'Kurenai-sensei has eyes like him only a little lighter,'

"Indeed. My natural eye colour is red. I only have them green because it looks less threatening."

'Next time I see you go with your natural eye colour. I won't mind,'

Kyuubi smiled, even though Naruto couldn't see it. It made her feel warm inside. As if some one had lit a candle inside of her. The warmth spread through her body.

"OK, I'll do that," said Kyuubi as she felt herself blushing.

A few more moments of silence filled the room before the man's voice banished it.

"…Never seen you before," he said to them. His voice was soft and very quiet, and almost unemotional. His lips, a soft red against his pale skin, barely moved as he spoke, as though he was still lost in a dream. "You must leave."

"You were having a nightmare," Naruto pointed out. He saw the man's head slowly turn and his gaze fell upon him, slowly looking him up and down. Naruto gazed back at him, doing the same. He seemed to be rather frail, but somehow he figured the man was much stronger then he appeared to be.

"How bad was your dream?" asked Tifa.

The man then turned his gaze on Tifa and looked her over. It was clear in his eyes that he was still in the process of waking up, and a little disorientated. Yet they also got the distinct impression that he was not the talkative type, and that he did not really want them there. "Hmph… a nightmare…?" he said, his voice becoming low and quiet as he sighed sleepily under his breath. "My long sleep has given me time to atone."

"What are you saying?" said Cloud, confused as to what the man meant by 'long sleep'. What kind of long sleep? Was he really…?

The man in the coffin sighed once again, although this time it seemed to be a little more annoyed rather than sleepy. "I have nothing to say to strangers," he replied, still keeping his level, unemotional tone as he spoke. "Get out. This mansion is the beginning of your nightmare."

Cloud also sighed, and lowered his head so that he was looking at the dirty, dust-covered floor of the coffin chamber. "…You can say that again," he mumbled faintly, although in the silence of the room it was still loud enough for the man to hear.

"Hmm? What do you know?"

Cloud looked up again and gazed at the man. He had his head tilted to the side so that his longer strips of fringe hung loosely across his pale face, staring at him through his deep red eyes. He almost looked a little interested in hearing what Cloud knew about the mansion.

"Like you said, this mansion is the beginning of a nightmare." Cloud stopped suddenly and lightly shook his head, disagreeing with his own statement. "No, it's not a dream, it's for real. Sephiroth has lost his mind. He found the secrets hidden in this mansion."

"Sephiroth?" the man snapped fiercely, making everyone in the room jump.

It was the first sign of emotion the man had shown since he sat up. His dark red eyes seemed to light up and flare against his skin, while his lip curled into an expression of sudden anger as he glared out at Cloud. It even brought a little colour to his cheeks and some life to his hands, as out of sight of the others his fists clenched tightly and trembled slightly, trying hard to conceal the emotion.

"You know Sephiroth?"

Cloud and the man had asked the question at the exact same time. They stared intently at one another, each of them waiting for the other to speak and explain what they knew. Yet neither of them said anything, and continued to wait.

Suddenly the man stood up and flipped out of the coffin, so suddenly in fact that it made the others jump in their anxiety, so tense that anything would make them jump. They watched as the man flipped up, almost seeming to move in slow motion before finally landing daintily on the edge of the coffin, his boots balanced perfectly on the thin wooden wall that kept it confined. Once he had landed and was steady, he pointed at Cloud sternly.

"You start first," he said.

He made it sound almost like an order. Cloud took a deep breath and then began to explain in brief detail everything that he knew about Sephiroth. He kept it as brief as he possibly could, which was difficult since there was a lot to get through.

He began five years ago, when he and Sephiroth first arrived in Nibelheim. This was the part that interested the man the most – hearing about everything that had happened while he slept within the walls of the mansion, unaware of everything.

Cloud then moved onto the more recent events – beginning from the moment Sephiroth appeared inside Shinra Headquarters and murdered the former Shinra President. He explained their pursuit of Sephiroth across the Midgar and Choco Plains, the slaughter of the Midgar Zolom, and how he appeared on the Junon ship.

All the while he explained, the mysterious caped man stood firmly on the edge of his coffin and listened intently to Cloud's story. His expression changed a number of times during the telling of the story, beginning with interest and then anger, before slowly turning into a sad and almost subdued look, as though a whole load of pain was hurled at him all at once.

"…That's how it was," Cloud said when he had finally finished his story. He took a deep breath, relieved that it was over. He was beginning to feel like a recorder stuck on repeat, telling the same story over and over again.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Naruto. He nodded at Cloud, saying with his eyes that he wasn't alone. Cloud nodded back and both blonds turned back to the red-eyed man. He had his arms folded now and had lowered his head to look at the floor, deeply lost in many thoughts that were running through his head. The unemotional look had returned to his face now as he thought over what Cloud had said, making it impossible for them to see what he was thinking.

"So Sephiroth knows he was created five years ago?" he said finally, still refusing to look at the group and continuing to look at the floor. "And about the Jenova Project? …He was missing, but has just recently reappeared? He is taking many lives and is seeking the Promised Land."

Cloud nodded. He had just about got the gist of the situation. He then remembered that the man also had a story to tell. "Now it's your turn," he said, just as sternly.

He expected the caped man to comply and begin telling them his story, but to his surprise the man looked up at him through empty red eyes and slowly shook his head. "Sorry…" he said, shaking his head. "I cannot speak."

"Hmm… I'm disappointed," said Tifa. Around her the others all nodded in agreement. They had been rather looking forward to hearing the story of this strange man.

Ignoring the groans of disappointment from the others, the caped man jumped smoothly into the air, flipping back so that his feet landed on the red velvet bedding of the coffin.

"Hearing your stories, has added upon me yet another sin," he said. He suddenly sounded very sad and remorseful, and could not hold their gazes any longer. "More nightmares shall come to me now, more than I previously had." He carefully sat back down in the coffin, his body fitting perfectly into the grooves that had formed naturally over time. He looked up and gave them one final look, before looking back down into the coffin. "Now… please leave."

Those were his last words, and as he lay back down inside the coffin, the lid rose up from the floor and lowered itself perfectly over the coffin. As the wooden lid slid back into place the metal latches locked themselves together, sealing the coffin once more. There were no sounds inside the coffin, either.

Silence descended upon the room again, and Cloud turned to look around at the others. They were all (even Naruto and Gaara) very confused by the man's sudden response and desire for them to leave without an explanation. What was his connection to Sephiroth, and why did their stories of him make him feel guilty? They were still curious to know what it was, and they didn't come all the way down into the basement just for him to shoo them away.

Naruto turned to Aeris and nodded at her. The young woman nodded back, and with the end of her staff she gave the coffin a harder and much louder knock. At first nothing happened, but as Aeris was about to give it another gentle bash the clasps unlocked themselves and the lid flew off once again. The man sat up again, sighing heavily as he saw the group still standing in front of the coffin.

"…You're still here?" he asked.

Naruto nodded. "Who are you?" he asked, feeling they had at least spoken enough to know one another's names. "At least tell us your name."

The dark-haired man hesitated for a quick second. He seemed rather reluctant to tell them anything about him – even something as simple but yet so personal as his name. He finally made up his mind and looked up at them, glancing from one person to another, and said, "I was with… the Shinra Manufacturing Department in Administrative Research - the Turks… Vincent."

"The Turks?" Cloud exclaimed, unable to hide the surprise from his voice. His eyes opened wide, and he could sense the others, except Naruto and Gaara, all taking a step back and putting their hands close to their weapons, perhaps unnecessarily. If this man was a member of the Turks then he was definitely far stronger than he appeared on first glance.

This was the first time Cloud had heard the true title of the Turks for a long, long time. They department had once only helped in research, often working alongside the Science Department in gathering specimens and guarding them. Of course that all changed a number of years ago, turning the Turks into what they were now – ruthless people who would go to any length to achieve their goal – ignoring all that got in their way.

"Formerly of the Turks," the man known as Vincent said. There was a faint sense of hostility in his voice as he stressed the word 'formerly', as though it was something he wanted to make clear. "I have no affiliation with Shinra now. …And you?"

"Cloud, formerly of SOLDIER."

Vincent raised an eyebrow in intrigue. "You were also with Shinra…?" he asked. He seemed to hesitate again for a moment before asking, "Then do you know Lucrecia?" There was a faint touch of hope in his voice and in his eyes as he waited for Cloud's answer.

"Who?" Cloud asked.

The hope in Vincent's eyes died, but he repeated the name anyway. "…Lucrecia." He watched as Cloud thought hard for a moment, but he was not surprised when Cloud regretfully shook his head, unable to recall the name at all. "The woman who gave birth to Sephiroth."

Hearing that made Cloud very confused. If this… Lucrecia… had given birth to Sephiroth, then technically she would be his mother. Yet all the reports written about the Jenova Project declared that Jenova was Sephiroth's mother, and Sephiroth believed that without question.

"I thought so," said Naruto out loud by mistake.

"What do you mean?" asked Cloud.

'Oh shit. Me and my big mouth,' Naruto thought.

"Well," Naruto said out loud. "I've had a theory that Sephiroth wasn't the child of Jenova, but rather was injected with Jenova cells while inside his mother's womb. That would make him not an Ancient."

"Indeed," Vincent replied. "He was born from a beautiful lady. That lady was Lucrecia. She was an assistant to Professor Gast of the Jenova Project. Beautiful… Lucrecia."

"…A human experiment?" said Cloud, staring. He was learning more and more about Sephiroth from Vincent's words. This Lucrecia was his biological mother, and in another way… so was Jenova. It was true that scientists were willing to go to almost any lengths in order to achieve what they wanted.

It was also the second time in his life he had heard Professor Gast's name being mentioned. Sephiroth had mentioned it, too, when he had been pacing in the mansion after reading all those reports about the Jenova Project. Cloud remembered from Sephiroth's words that Professor Gast had been in charge of the Jenova Project – the one in charge of creating Sephiroth in the first place. If Lucrecia had been his assistant, then that could mean only one thing:

"…A human experiment?" Cloud said, feeling a little disgusted.

"There was no way to cancel the experiment," Vincent continued. The sad and mournful look had returned to his deep red eyes as he thought back, images of beautiful Lucrecia flashing across his memory. "I couldn't stop her. That was my sin. I let the one I loved, the one I respected the most, face the worst."

"So the punishment was sleep?" said Tifa, piecing together the rest of the story. Vincent nodded his head in reply, and Tifa scratched the back of her head in bewilderment. "That's weird." She had heard of many different punishments in her time, but this was the first time she'd heard of sleep as a punishment.

Before she could say anything else, the man called Vincent slowly let his body sink back into the velvet-cushioned coffin, and the lid floated back into place. For a moment there was silence, until a faint, saddened voice murmured from inside the coffin, "Let me sleep…" before returning to silence once again.

One by one Naruto and the others quietly turned around and left the chamber and its gathering of empty coffins. It was clear that Vincent was not about to say any more to them, so they felt that this was the right time to leave him alone and continue his ever-lasting slumber. They even shut the door behind them, closing it so that the chamber was once again shut off from the rest of the world, the old key still resting in the rusty old lock.

Hearing Vincent's story left them feeling a little subdued as they headed back towards the spiral staircase. It was yet another reminder of all the pain and suffering that Shinra had caused – all in the name of money and power. Power over those less fortunate, or weak-minded. Shinra was a plague that had spread across the Planet, affecting everyone and everything in its path without a single care.

"Where Garra and I come from there is a man who has done 50 times worse than this Professor Gast," revealed Naruto.

Everyone gapped at him. They had not expected this. Cloud and the others just could not imagine this.

"His name is Orochimaru and I fully intend to destroy him one day for all the pain and suffering he's caused," said Naruto with fury in his eyes, thinking of the third Hokage.

"Wait!"

Naruto and his group all stopped and turned around. As they turned the door of the coffin chamber was suddenly pulled open, and Vincent came running out of the door. He looked around for a moment before he spotted them and ran over to them, a strangely determined look on his face. His cape flowed slowly and almost mysteriously behind him. Naruto also took note of a second belt that was tied around his waist, holding a slender black gun.

"If I go with you, will I meet Hojo?" Vincent asked suddenly, before anyone could speak and interrupt him.

"I'm pretty sure that you will. Hojo seems interested in Sephiroth's activities at the moment, so there's a good chance."

Vincent let his eyes turn away, thinking Naruto's words over. As his suppressed memories rose he quickly turned away, picturing in his mind the beautiful face that was Lucrecia. "Lucrecia…" he whispered under his breath.

When he had finished his moment of remembrance, and had pushed the memories back down to where they could not be seen, he turned back to the others. His mind was made up, so he took a breath and said, "All right, I've decided to go with you."

The suddenness of the statement caught everyone by surprise. The surprise was clear on their faces, their eyes open wide as they stared at him. All except Naruto, that is, whose expression was blank as he gazed at Vincent. "What? You're coming with us?" Tifa asked him.

Vincent nodded at her, his determination resolute. "Being a former Turks, I may be of help to you…" he said.

While all this was going on, Naruto was staring at Vincent. He was trying to figure out what was going on in the man's head, but his eyes weren't giving anything away. They were almost blank, despite their calming red colour, and Cloud could not tell anything about him, unlike the others. The eyes of the others were filled with anger, fear, and sometimes a little uncertainty. Vincent's eyes were neither angry nor scared, but there was just a tiny bit of hidden sadness that could only be seen through careful examination. Yet as Vincent raised his gaze and met Naruto's eyes, he saw a strong pang of sudden determination, and Naruto smiled.

"All right, then," he said, with a slight nod. Vincent nodded back at him in gratitude, one hand resting quietly over the handle of his gun.

Even with the arrival of a new member to the group, there were no joyful or overly dramatic welcomes. Perhaps it was because Vincent was not the type of person to neither accept nor enjoy such welcomes, or maybe it was simply because the atmosphere and the aura of the deeper depths of the mansion repressed all those kinds of reactions.

So instead, after a brief but meaningful welcome (of which the most excited was Cait, glad that he was no longer the newest), the group of what was now ten finally began to head back towards the spiral staircase, relieved that all their efforts to find Vincent had at least paid off.

Cloud was at the back of the group as they headed back slowly down the tunnel, avoiding the areas where the bats had been. He didn't mind a new member joining their journey. After all, Vincent also had a strong reason to fight Sephiroth, and he had no reason to lie to them.

Remembering Sephiroth made Cloud stop with a sudden jolt, although the others didn't notice this and carried on towards the stairs. Cloud almost slapped himself across the face – how could he have forgotten that so easily?

He turned around slowly and looked back towards the door of the underground laboratory. His heart was beating loudly as he looked, although he didn't know why he was afraid to look. Was he afraid that the door would be dark and locked, and that they had missed their chance to fight Sephiroth? Or was he more afraid to see the light still there, and that Sephiroth could still be inside waiting for them?

So as he turned his faintly glowing blue eyes, he prepared himself for what he would see. Even so, the sense of fear and relief that licked its way down his spine as he saw the door still ajar with the thin line of light shining through made him jolt again. So Sephiroth could still be inside.

With his heart still beating loudly inside his chest, Cloud took a step forward towards the door. He didn't call out to the others, who were now heading up the stairs, leaving him alone in the tunnel.

Unknown to him, Naruto and Gaara were using their stealth to remain unseen. They followed Cloud, knowing full well what he wanted to know.

Careful step by careful step, Cloud walked slowly towards the partly open door. His eyes stared solidly at the door, his gaze focused completely for any signs of movement beyond the door, even if it was just a flickering of the light.

He paused outside the door, hesitant to step inside. He knew he should call the others, but by now they would be at the top of the stairs and out of his calling range. So he was alone outside the laboratory, unaware that his hand was automatically moving towards the handle like a puppet being pulled by string.

The door opened with a light creak, and more light swept out and into the tunnel. Before his eyes had time to adjust Cloud found himself walking into the laboratory, leaving the door open behind him. Despite his anxiety his hand didn't move towards his sword or any of his materia, instead choosing to hang awkwardly by his waist, almost like a lost part.

Looking around, Cloud saw that the laboratory hadn't changed much in the past five years. The piles of books that were gathered around the bookcases were still there, untouched – with even more dust gathering on the leather covers and thin paper pages. The desk was exactly as it had been left, along with the filthy old tubes in the corner. Cloud still wondered what they were for.

Naruto and Gaara continued to follow him and watched as the scene unfolded in front of them.

Cloud stopped in the middle of the laboratory and slowly turned his head towards the corridor that continued the library, towards the office. He was not surprised when he found another pair of slightly glowing eyes staring back at him. Cloud felt his mouth fall open a little, but the feeling was distant, and almost unreal.

Sephiroth was standing in the middle of the corridor again, his head also turned to look back at Cloud with a faint but sinister grin on his face. It was not the grin but the cold glare of his eyes that made Cloud freeze, the glare piercing him like a knife.

A full minute passed by as Cloud and Sephiroth stared at one another, neither one of them speaking. Looking at Sephiroth standing there with that grin on his face, Cloud began to feel the deep rage he felt for the older man beginning to swell in him. At first it was just normal anger, but the longer he gazed into Sephiroth's eyes the harder it became for him to control, as though someone had flicked off the safety switch. Pretty soon he found his voice and his movement again, and he turned towards the man with a furious glare in his eyes.

"Sephiroth!"

The corner of Sephiroth's mouth twitched and spread into something more worthy of being considered a sinister smile. It made Cloud step back like a silent command, and he fell silent. Sephiroth, on the other hand, was free to move as he lifted his gaze and looked around at the library walls around him.

"Being here brings back memories," he said, his voice so soft and almost gentle that it didn't even echo off the walls. After looking around he looked back at Cloud, curious. "Are you going to participate in the Reunion?"

"I don't even know what a Reunion is!" Cloud snapped. His hand was twitching to move to his sword, but the longer he stared at Sephiroth the harder it became for him to move his hand to it.

"Jenova will be at the Reunion," Sephiroth continued, seemingly unaware of Cloud's inability to draw his sword. Instead he returned to gazing at the walls of books and the secrets they held within them. "Jenova will join the Reunion becoming a calamity from the skies."

All at once Cloud stopped and stared at Sephiroth. He didn't move nor breathe, and his hand was no longer twitching. "Jenova," he said slowly, his voice sounding awkward. "A calamity from the skies? I thought she was an Ancient!" he said, ignoring Naruto's theory.

Sephiroth suddenly snapped his head around and locked gazes with Cloud, feeling the younger male's abrupt jerk as their eyes met. There was no recognition of the words in his eyes. In fact, he was completely clueless, and Sephiroth frowned. "…I see," he said finally, his voice empty and emotionless as he spoke. "I don't think you have the right to participate."

He reached up and flicked back his silver hair, while his other hand remained on the hilt of his sword. He looked away in thought for a moment, before a faint flicker of a smile returned to his face.

"I will go North past Mt. Nibel," he said. "If you wish to find out… then follow…"

"…Reunion?" Cloud repeated, lost in Sephiroth's words. "Calamity from the skies?"

While Cloud was busy contemplating what Sephiroth had said, Sephiroth suddenly reached under his cloak and pulled out a small, rounded ball of green materia, and threw it at Cloud. Cloud didn't even have time to look up before it hit him, and he curled over and fell to his knees, groaning loudly as he clutched his waist, the ball of materia rolling in front of him.

With Cloud temporarily distracted, Sephiroth floated up away from the floor and flew forward. All Cloud could see through his tear-filled eyes was Sephiroth's shadow as he passed over him and flew out of the laboratory door, disappearing down the tunnel.

Naruto and Gaara sprang to Cloud's side as Sephiroth passed them. Naruto looked at him as they passed. He seemed like he was completely taken over by the Jenova cells. He then faded out of existence and Naruto then relised that he was just a projection, like a Bushin.

As Naruto and Gaara got to where Cloud was as he slowly staggered to his feet, picking up the materia as he moved. His sword felt heavy on his back, so he untied the strap that held it up and let the large blade fall weakly onto the ground. The materia attached to the sword also came loose and scattered across the floor, and the ball in Cloud's hands fell down as he lost his grip, joining the rest of the Mako balls in a scattered scurry across the floor.

Cloud didn't notice, nor did he care. He just stood there, breathing heavily, head lowered so that the longer lengths of his blond hair cast dark shadows across his eyes and they could hardly be seen. The cold feeling of fear and a slight, aching pain in the back of his head were all he could feel, apart from the cold fingers of the memory of Sephiroth that were still closing around him, even after Sephiroth had left.

Traveling through the rough and jagged peaks of Mt. Nibel was thought to be no problem for Naruto and his team. The paths were too bumpy for the buggy so they'd had no choice but to abandon it outside Nibelheim. The acting shopkeeper didn't have many items to sell, but they had managed to stock up on food and healing items for the next part of their journey.

The mountains themselves had seemed quiet enough. They were just as Cloud had remembered them, too. The rocky cliffs were still grey and lifeless. The air was still cold and dry, and the winding mist that still lay heavy across the mountain floor made him feel uneasy and apprehensive. He had had no doubt the others felt the same – Mt. Nibel wasn't a very hospitable place at any time.

They had soon discovered how inhospitable as they finished crossing the old wooden bridge that joined the two main mountains. They had barely even taken a few steps away from the bridge when a piercing screech came screaming down at them from the rising grey walls, making them stop and look up, their hands rushing towards their weapons.

Glaring back down at them had been a giant scorpion-like beast that lived inside the deepest crevices of Mt. Nibel. The Materia Keeper was perfectly adapted to its terrain – it had a body of thick, dark blue skin that was so tough it was almost impossible to penetrate with ordinary weapons. It had four strong legs tipped with gigantic claws for digging into rock, and two more back legs raised up to grip into the crevices of the mountain wall. Behind it were a long spiked tail and a flexible rod of firm flesh, making it a walking arsenal of spikes and claws. And with all that thick flesh and claws, defeating it would certainly be no easy task.

They couldn't believe how right they had been. With the Materia Keeper's tough flesh their weapons were proving next to useless. Not a single one had made a dent in the monster's flesh – not even Barret's bullets, firing at three-to-five bullets a second or Naruto's sword. Nor could they afford to get too close to the creature – that spiked tail and many claws were just waiting to grab onto them and slice them in half.

So, with all these handicaps in place, they had resorted to falling back on their last remaining weapons. Weapons that would prove to be the backbone and motivation for all of their battles to come: the Materia.

Naruto took charge and removed one of the red materia. He charged it full of chakra and launched the ball into the air. It shimmered brilliantly with an intense blue-white colour. Within seconds the shimmer had grown and solidified, bringing forth the form of a beautiful ice maiden contained within the ball. Her skin was iridescent, shimmering with many shades of blue like images reflecting off the surface of lightly rippling water. Her eyes were a deep, enchanting blue but held tremendous power, which only intensified as she floated down from the air to the spot in front of the Materia Keeper.

Shiva, the Maiden of Eternal Cold, slowly raised her right arm up above her head. A shower of icy sparkles began to glisten in the air as a blue ball of light formed at the tip of her fingers. When she was ready Shiva lowered her arm and cast the ball away from her.

The Materia Keeper never had the chance to react. It was still reeling from the fierce storm of flames that were burning around its tough skin, cast by Ifrit in the previous attack. Yet, although the flames were strong they were nowhere near powerful enough to damage the beast - its strength against heat was incredible. As Shiva's attack hit those flames were vanquished instantly, replaced by a structure of strong, slanted icicles. The Materia Keeper shuddered and then stilled within the icy frame, until the icicles shattered and Shiva disappeared in a shower of sparkles.

With the icy cage now gone, the Materia Keeper screeched and charged forward, its legs slicing up huge chunks of rock as it stomped forward like a charging cannon. It headed towards Yuffie and Aeris, who were standing cornered at the edge of the cliff overlooking the chasm.

Yuffie leapt up from the sidelines and prepared to throw her shuriken. The Materia Keeper stopped and raised one of its powerful, claw-tipped feet and struck the girl in mid-leap, swiping her aside. The young ninja hit the ground hard and rolled across the floor, hitting one of the exhaust pipes that were sticking up out of the ground.

Gaara and Barret were tag teaming the beast with bullets. As Gaara was firing he dug into his coat pocket and pulled the gravity materia he got from the Gi cave. He made eye contact with Aeris and flung the green ball toward her. She caught it and pushed it into a spare slot in her staff, just as Gaara resumed shooting.

Ignoring the pelting parade of bullets that were attacking it from behind, the Materia Keeper then turned towards Aeris. She was already preparing her defense, her staff hovering in front of her as she began to cast the magic from her new materia. A swirling pool of black emptiness was forming in front of her, rippling like water.

The Materia Keeper raised its sharp-clawed, pincer-like leg and thrust it forward. The pincers touched the edge of the pool and quivered, a sharp swell spreading across the hard claws and spreading to the monster's skin. Pulled deeper into the pool by the gravitational the claw began to shrink and twist, its form being completely distorted by the field.

Alas, keeping the gravitational field going was extremely difficult, and Aeris was already struggling. Her hands trembled as she held them out in front of her, and the black pool was steadily beginning to draw back towards her as the Materia Keeper began to push it back. She closed her eyes and focused all of her energy on keeping the magic working… to save her from falling from the ledge. Still, as the Materia Keeper pushed the wall kept falling back and rippling harder, close to breaking despite Aeris's attempts.

A few seconds later the wall shuddered, before dissolving into a dozens droplets of black that slowly melted away into the air, leaving Aeris defenseless. As the Materia Keeper thrust its leg forward it stopped as another pool of black suddenly appeared ahead of it, blocking its attack again. Aeris looked over to her right and saw Cait Sith standing nearby, the materia in his megaphone twinkling vibrantly.

"Cait!" she called.

The cat didn't answer her, as his attention was entirely focused on keeping up the gravitational pool that was stopping the Materia Keeper from getting near to her. So far it was working, and the Materia Keeper was temporarily held still against its strong pull.

Using this moment of immobility to their advantage, the others chose this moment to attack. Barret, Cloud and Tifa cast a series of fire, ice and lightning attacks into the air, and a blur of fiery fur dashed alongside the monster. In his wake Nanaki created a series of cuts and scratches across the monster's skin, although they were not very damaging wounds and did not slow the monster in any way.

As if to prove this point, the Materia Keeper stepped back and broke away from the gravity field cast by Cait Sith. It stomped its legs into the rock as it turned around sharply so that it was facing Nanaki as he ran past. In a rage of fury the Materia Keeper lowered it head and charged forward. Nanaki jumped up as the Materia Keeper thrust the deadly horn on the front of its face forward, and yelped as he felt the hot sting scrape the side of his hind legs.

"Nanaki!" yelled Naruto, his face a mask of worry as he leaped forward. He remembered a move he used to defeat Jenova on the Junon ship. He focused the chakra into his lightning materia and soon the blade was shimmering blue. Kyuubi fed her fire into the sword and Naruto used his excellent chakra control to lengthen the sword to 12 feet long. Naruto gripped the sword in both hands and brought the blade crashing down onto the Materia Keeper. It didn't make a dent but it did distract the monster. At that point Naruto looked at Cloud and yelled, "GO!"

Cloud zipped past and darted along the edge of the ledge, just as the Materia Keeper began to turn once again. He grabbed Aeris as he ran past, pulling her away from the edge just as the long, spiked tail of the Materia Keeper swung past them, missing them by a few inches.

As the Materia Keeper finished turning it spotted the two running away from it, and once again began to charge towards them. With its deadly claws raised it struck, but was stopped, as a flash of red appeared in front of it, and something golden-brown came up and caught the claws in mid-descent. Hearing the frustrated cry of the monster, Cloud and Aeris stopped and looked back.

The Materia Keeper had been stopped by Vincent, his left arm stopping the claws in their tracks. Vincent stood his ground as the monster pushed against him, not showing a single ounce of pain on his face as the claw dug into the golden plating surrounding his arm.

With the monster directly in front of him, Vincent flung open his cape with his free hand and pulled out the long and slender shotgun from his belt, and aimed over his left arm to the hideous face of the Materia Keeper.

He fired a single shot – straight into one of the Materia Keeper's eyes. It responded with a terrible shriek that echoed throughout the mountains, and as it stepped back away from Vincent it stamped its feet against the rock and making it shake. Dark green blood poured from its tiny, wounded eye.

Looking up at the wounded creature, Vincent placed his shotgun back into its holster and raised his gaze to it. He stared for a few seconds before his dark red eyes suddenly flashed and came to life in a sea of fiery red. It was a fierceness that was sweeping through the darker colours in a wash of life and anger, and with that sudden surge of energy came another power that the man had kept hidden until then, and he began to change.

It started off slowly at first, but increased in pace rapidly. From his eyes leaked a shade of dark purple that sank into his skin and began to spread across his face and neck, sinking underneath his clothes to the rest of his body. The skin of his face then began to thicken and bulge outwards, as though there was something living underneath his flesh that was trying to force its way out of him.

From there things began to happen very quickly. Vincent keeled over so that he was on his knees as a deep orange glow suddenly swept up from his feet and surrounded his body. Within that deep, opaque glow his clothes were gradually burned away, and his dark hair was swept up into the air as shades of red and purple were forced through, pushing away the dark. The bulging and thickening of his skin continued all over the rest of his body, merging with the purple shade that had taken over him.

By the time the transformation was complete, there was nothing left that could identify the new creature as Vincent. The glow faded to reveal a magnificent yet destructive beast. Many strong muscles and a sturdy structure had replaced Vincent's apparent frail form. His face was that of an angry beast, with the mane of purple-red hair falling loosely across his head and back, and even a tiny beard underneath his pointed muzzle.

Cloud and the others all stared in awe and fear at the beast Vincent had become. The man had said very little about himself since they left Nibelheim, and they had thought him to be nothing more than a skilled gunman. Yet before their eyes they had seen a terrific transformation – from which the delicate-looking man had become a strong, fierce beast.

"He… he turned into a monster!" cried Tifa.

"So this is what the letter meant when it said 'scientifically altered'," Nanaki said calmly, limping across the rock. His own wound was still bleeding, but he was more entranced and intrigued by the new creature. He could still smell Vincent in the air, but that scent was now merged with the scent of the new beast. "Very interesting."

Naruto and Gaara were staring at the beast. Not in awe. Not even in fear, but in recognition. He had something inside of him too. Naruto resolved to ask him later about it.

With the change complete, the new beast, known as Galian, stormed forward and jumped up into the air. In mid-leap he roared loudly, so loud that the ground quaked beneath him. Sparks of light began to dot the air around the Materia Keeper, small at first but gradually growing larger. Then, in a sudden flash, they exploded.

A shower of powerful flames erupted around the Materia Keeper, surrounding it on all sides so that it couldn't escape. Even though it had a natural resistance to flames, it did not expect the flames of Galian to be so precise in finding the weak spots at the joints of its legs. Within seconds the flames filled those spots and burned the softer flesh, and the Materia Keeper crumpled onto the floor.

This was their chance. With the Materia Keeper down Cloud and the others all gathered round, ready to strike. Their materia at the ready they now planned to destroy the monster, using its own favoured item against it.

Just as they had done to the beast in the safe in Shinra Mansion, the group together let off an onslaught of magic into the air. Bolts of lightning flashed, showers of ice fell, and storms of flames rose up from the earth and surrounded the Materia Keeper and making it shriek even louder. To one side Yuffie used her Earth magic to make the ground beneath the monster shake and tremble, breaking up to create a pit. The Materia Keeper shuddered and collapsed into the hole, now completely vulnerable.

Together, Aeris and Cait cast a powerful wave of gravitational energy. It descended on the Materia Keeper and enveloped it, pushing it down. Its body was pulled completely out of proportion as it was pressed into the pit, its cry wavering and distorted, sounding as though it was crying from beneath the oceans.

Galian gave the final blow. With a final tremendous roar he once again cast another wave of fiery balls that flew down to the Materia Keeper, as it lay pressed in the pit. Upon contact they exploded in another fierce shower of flames, blowing the gravitational field apart. The Materia Keeper went with it, and as both energy fields faded there was nothing left of the creature except for the pit.

There was a moment of silence amongst the group as the last traces of energy faded away. They were all staring at the centre of the pit where the Materia Keeper had been just seconds before. There wasn't a single trace of flesh left, nor could they feel its spirit seep away into the mountains. It had been completely obliterated.

Galian slowly floated down onto the ground, his clawed feet landing at the edge of the pit. The others turned their gazes upon him as a calmer blue glow silently rose up around him, blocking him from their sight again. By the time the glow died away there was nothing left of Galian, and Vincent was standing in his place once again.

"Vincent…?" said Tifa, braving to be the first one to break the silence. "Umm… how did you…?"

Vincent refused to answer, and he also refused to look at them. He just pulled out his shotgun, opened up the barrel, and looked inside. Then he pulled out a small case containing more bullets, and placed one into the barrel to replace the one he had used against the Materia Keeper. With that done he placed both the case and the gun away, and began to walk away from them, towards the mountain exit.

"Well, ain't that jus' damn rude?" commented Barret, looking over at Vincent as he walked away from them. "Ya think he could've at least given an explanation." He looked down at Nanaki. "Ya reckon he's got somethin' to hide?"

"Leave him alone," said Naruto softly, but loud enough for everyone to hear. Gaara nodded.

Everyone turned to him and saw the sadness in his eyes. They were just about to ask why when Naruto shook his head.

"One day, you'll know, but not now. Lets just continue out journey," and with that he walked off in the same direction as Vincent, Gaara following.

'What the fuck is going on', was the thoughts of everyone left over.

Following their brisk and somewhat unusual battle against the Materia Keeper, the group of ten continued to head through the mountains towards the exit. They were now heading back pretty much the way they had come, but on a different path that would lead them around the other side of the mountain and towards its exit, leaving them on the next part of the continent. Going deeper into the mountains would only lead them towards the Nibelheim reactor, but Cloud knew that Sephiroth wasn't heading there.

Naruto, Gaara, Cloud and Vincent didn't say anything as they walked on through the short stretch of winding path leading to the exit. They were all equally silent, the four of them lost in their thoughts. The others, feeling uncomfortable by the almost hostile silence, made small talk amongst themselves. Mostly about the Shinra, where they could be heading… and even about the Gold Saucer, which felt like a world away from where they were right then.

Naruto was thinking back to the harsh treatment he received from the villagers back home. Wondering if it would ever stop.

'Well no more! As soon as I get back I'm moving out of Konoha. I won't be able to build my village yet so I'll travel the world first.'

"Good idea. You can gain experience, friends and knowledge for your hidden village. By the way, do you know what to call it yet?"

'I think, "The Village Hidden in the Heavens". What do you think?'

"I think its perfect,"

'Thanks,"

While Naruto was musing, Vincent was thinking about Professor Hojo and Lucrecia. He wondered how long it would be before he would run into the mad scientist again. All that time in his coffin inside Shinra Mansion had not subdued his anger for the scientist… and if traveling with Naruto and the others was the only way to find him… then so be it. And if they did indeed run into Sephiroth as well… then he would settle both problems at once.

Cloud, of course, was once again thinking about Sephiroth. He had managed to still the rising anxiety that had hit him so harshly inside the Shinra Mansion, but he couldn't remove the memory. The cold fingers, so icy and hard, still gripped the deepest reaches of his mind, ensuring that Sephiroth didn't slip his mind for even a second. Finding Sephiroth… stopping him from finding the Promised Land… and ending everything… That was what mattered the most.

"Jenova will join the Reunion, becoming a calamity from the skies."

Sephiroth's worse continued to run through his mind, like a record that was stuck and repeating the same lines over and over. They were repeated so much that even after the record stopped the words could still be heard.

Reunion? A calamity from the skies? It sounded like some sort of title. So did that mean that Jenova wasn't an Ancient after all? If she wasn't then Sephiroth wasn't an Ancient, either. They had already seen Jenova on board the Shinra ship from Junon to Costa del Sol, reborn from an arm thrown down by Sephiroth. She had seemed to be intact then, so what was this 'Reunion?'

"Are you going to participate in the Reunion?"

The words seemed to scream through Cloud's mind, like a nail scratching on the surface of a blackboard. It made his head throb and made a lump in Cloud's throat that he couldn't swallow or push away, and he felt a little dizzy and light-headed. To pull himself back before he fainted he gave his hair a sudden, sharp tug, making the back of his eyes sting.

"Are you going to participate in the Reunion?"

"I wish I knew what the 'Reunion' was…" Cloud muttered under his breath.

They eventually emerged from the mountains and back into the wide, grassy area of the Kutai Plains. The change between the land of the mountains and the plains was instantaneous. The dark and lifeless stony floor suddenly stopped and was replaced by a land of lush and verdant grass. The cold, harsh air of the mountains was filled with life again, carrying with it the fresh scent of grass and the faint, salty smell of the ocean no more than a few hundred metres ahead of them.

Free of the cold, bleak restraints of the mountains, Aeris threw her staff down onto the ground. Forgetting about the others for a minute she kicked off her boots and ran forward onto the grass, feeling its soft, tickly feeling on the soles of her feet. There was a gentle breeze blowing from the west, and she could smell the scent of flowers that were blossoming in the sunlight. They reminded her of her own flower garden, all that way back in Midgar.

Looking up Aeris caught a flash of the sun shining high at the midday point. Warm rays were shining down on her, and right then all she wanted to do was lie back on the grass and watch the clouds go by. It was a truly picture perfect moment.

The others had also settled down on the grass, taking this moment to recuperate from their battle inside the mountain. Although there were no more monster attacks inside the mountain they was aware of those outside the mountain. There was a small pack of Nibel Wolves watching nearby, eyeing them over as potential prey.

Tifa walked over to the nearby river and took off her gloves. Already the thick red leather was beginning to wear from all their fighting – she would have to replace them soon. Kneeling down she dipped her fingers into the water and sighed, feeling the coolness against her skin. A shadow fell over her and she realised that Cloud had walked up beside her. He was looking out across the river towards Nibelheim, with their buggy still parked outside.

"We'll be setting off soon," Cloud said without looking at her. "Cait says the only other town around here is a place called Rocket Town about an hour's walk from here. We should be able to find it if we stick close to the mountain."

Tifa slowly nodded her head and looked back down at the water. She watched the water flow between her fingers, creating small bubbles of air as she swished her hand gently beneath the surface. Like the fire in Cosmo Canyon, she could see all sorts of things in the water. She found herself particularly looking at hers and Cloud's reflection, disjointed and wavering in the river's current.

"Cloud…" she said softly, pulling her hand from the water. "Do you ever get the feeling that we're just being led somewhere? That we're not really choosing where we want to go?"

Cloud looked down at her in surprise. "You mean like puppets on strings?" he asked.

"Almost like that…" Tifa said. She gazed back down at the water. "It's like this river. We see ourselves in its reflection, but each drop is swept away of its own will." She reached out and touched the surface of the water, watching it ripple. "We can't do anything about it, but we know where it's heading. I just wonder where we're heading. I guess I do feel like a puppet. Do you feel like that?"

Cloud closed his eyes and thought for a moment. "I don't really know," he admitted finally. "All I know is that if we keep following Sephiroth and the Shinra, then eventually we'll get somewhere." He scratched his head. "I guess that's really not much help."

"No, it is," said Tifa. "I just felt like I needed some assurance."

Cloud nodded. "Don't worry, Tifa," he said. "It'll be fine."

His words seemed to reassure her, and she smiled faintly. Cloud wasn't surprised she was feeling a little down. They had made their way across the ocean and across two continents, but still they had no idea where Sephiroth was heading or what he was up to. It was beginning to affect everyone. Except Vincent, that is, since no one could ever really tell what he was thinking.

"Cloud! Tifa!" The two looked up as they saw Aeris standing with the others at the corner of Mt. Nibel. "Hurry up, or we'll leave you behind!"

"Coming!" Tifa called back. She shook her hand dry and slipped her gloves back on. Pushing her hair away from her face as she stood up, she turned and headed back towards the others. After a few steps she stopped, and turned back to Cloud with a happy smile on her face. "Thanks, Cloud," she added, before turning back and ran across the grass.