Chapter Four

Being back in Midgar was not pleasant. Ruins of buildings were everywhere. Hardly anyone lived there anymore, and Cloud suddenly wondered if anything ever happened with Aerith's church these days. But he wasn't sure Aerith would want to visit and see it in such a state, and they had their task at hand to keep looking for the leather case.

Sephiroth's telekinesis certainly came in handy, at least. He moved even the largest chunks of debris without batting an eye, allowing them to see under everything without too much strain on anyone's part. Aerith poked through the rubble of the Tuestis' old house with her staff, frowning at the mess and the lack of the case. Yuffie, who had been told of the developments and wanted to join in the treasure hunt, stayed perky for a time. But even she began to get frustrated after a while.

"Ugh! Why can't we find it?!" She kicked a rock in aggravation after hours of this.

"Every place people could get at was pretty much ravaged after Meteor," Cloud said. "Unless the thing's buried even deeper, someone no doubt ran off with it."

Zack's shoulders slumped in frustration. "So what do we do?!"

". . . We could try to tap into the Lifestream and ask what happened," Aerith said.

"The church has the highest concentration of pure Lifestream in the area," Sephiroth said. "If the pool is still there."

Cloud shrugged. "Don't know where it'd go." He looked to Aerith. "Would you be okay with going back there?"

Aerith nodded. "Under the circumstances, it sounds like we need to," she said.

It was amazing how intact the church was even after Meteor. Cloud and Kadaj had tore it apart during their fight, but Cloud had done what he could to fix it back together after that. He and Aerith and Zack all stared at the church as they approached and climbed the steps, different memories strong in their eyes. Sephiroth, who had none of those memories, frowned thoughtfully as they entered. Red XIII and Yuffie just glanced about curiously.

"I wonder what the history of this place is," Aerith said. "No one really knew, except what my birth mom told me about it having been built back when things about God were still taught on Gaia."

"It looks just like the Christian churches on Earth," Sephiroth remarked.

"I guess people from Earth went over to Gaia way in the past and that's how we ended up with it both places," Zack said.

The pool was definitely still there, shimmering in the sunlight penetrating through the roof. Aerith bent down near the water's edge, touching it with the tips of her fingers. Sephiroth stood nearby, hesitant to do the same. While he had learned to listen to the Lifestream coursing through various flora, and he had touched the Lifestream in Mideel, he wasn't sure he should touch the pool in the church. A groundless fear, perhaps, but he worried whether he would taint it.

Aerith smiled up at him. "It's okay," she said. "Let's listen together."

"You're sure?" Sephiroth asked.

She nodded. "It'll be fine! The Lifestream knows who you are now."

Slowly he bent down, taking off a glove before reaching out his hand to the water. When it brushed against the tips of his fingers, a surge of others' memories immediately washed over him. It was strange, intrusive, but not an unknown experience to him. He focused, sorting through the memories as he silently asked his question.

The others waited to speak until he straightened again. Then Cloud asked, "Well?"

He frowned. "I saw an image of the case being carried along with the Lifestream. It looked as though it was headed deeper into the city."

"I saw it too," Aerith said.

"If it just landed in the middle of Midgar, there's no way it's still there now," Cloud scoffed. "Someone would've seen it."

"I next asked where it had landed," Sephiroth said. "Then I saw only shadows."

"Ugh." Cloud looked discouraged. "Figures that wouldn't be much help."

Zack was disappointed too. "You guys really didn't see anything else?" he asked.

"Not really," Aerith frowned. "Although . . ." She straightened. "Wouldn't it be ironic if it landed here? Or in the water?"

Cloud snorted. "It sure would." And it was possible, really.

"Okay then!" Zack said. "Let's check it out!" He looked ready to dive into the pool himself. And he did so with a tremendous splash.

"Alright! Whoo-hoo!" Yuffie jumped in after him.

Aerith looked amused. "That's Zack and Yuffie for you." She started walking around, checking under and around the remaining pews. Cloud opted to help her, while Sephiroth examined areas near the pool while waiting for Zack and Yuffie to resurface and Red XIII looked around anywhere else.

As Zack came back up for air, Sephiroth looked down at him with an amused smirk. "I hope you brought a change of clothes," he remarked.

"Of course I did! . . . I think," Zack said.

"I made sure you did," Aerith said with a wink.

"And have you found anything that makes your dive worth it?" Sephiroth wondered.

"Well . . . not yet," Zack admitted. "I'm not giving up, though!" And he went under again.

"For all we know, maybe it's on the roof," Cloud muttered.

"Oh? Do you want to go see?" Aerith smiled impishly. "It could bring back old memories."

Cloud flushed a bit but said, "Sure. Why not."

The trip up to the roof was much more precarious now then it had been back then. Much more of the floor was worn-out or completely gone. But somehow they found a path up to the roof. Cloud emerged first, studied the area, and snorted. "I don't believe it."

Aerith peeked up to see him staring at a rectangular leather and metal case wedged dangerously near the hole. "Do you think it really is . . . ?!"

"Don't know. It's locked," Cloud said as he pulled it to him and examined it more closely.

"Hm." Aerith studied it from every angle. "Well, we can surely figure out how to open it. Let's take it down!"

Down below, Sephiroth was still idly straightening out the church while watching for Zack and Yuffie to come up. He looked over with a raised eyebrow as Cloud and Aerith appeared. "You found it?"

"We found something," Cloud said. "Won't know if it's it until we get it open."

"And maybe I've got the key!" Zack popped up again, his spikes somehow still standing in spite of being drenched. He was eyeing an old key in delight.

Yuffie popped up too. "I spotted it first!" she said.

"You really found that down there?" Cloud said in disbelief.

"Water's pretty clear!" Zack said.

"So let's try it," Cloud said.

"Aerith should do the honors!" Zack declared as he climbed back up and presented her with the key.

"Why, thank you, Zack," she smiled.

Everyone watched intently as she tried the key. But Sephiroth couldn't say he was surprised when it didn't fit.

"Oh well," Aerith said lightly, shrugging off the disappointment as the key refused to turn in the lock. "That would be too much to get them both so fast, after all."

But Zack's shoulders slumped. "Aw. I thought we had something that time!"

"For all we know at this point, maybe it's the right key and the wrong case, instead of vice versa," Sephiroth deadpanned.

"Yeah." Cloud nodded. "Let's take this stuff and see what Reeve's parents have to say about it."

Zack cheered up a bit as they headed out of the church and Sephiroth teleported them back to the house for Zack and Yuffie to dry off while they called Reeve on the landline phone. Soon he was changing into dry clothes while humming a cheerful song.

Reeve listened to the whole strange story in amazement. "That's incredible to think of something stuck on the church's roof all this time," he remarked. "Even moreso if it ends up being what you want."

"Isn't it," Sephiroth said. "It's a black leather case trimmed with metal, rectangular in shape."

"I think we had something like that," Reeve said. "I'll call my mother and ask, and also find out if it opens with a key. If it does, she may even still have the correct key."

"I wonder what the one Zack and Yuffie found goes to," Aerith said.

"It could be almost anything," Reeve said. "Maybe even to something in the church if anything's locked in there, or could be."

"We'll have to find out!" Aerith said.

"We probably won't ever know what it goes to if it isn't in the church," Sephiroth pointed out. "And even if it is, it's probably not relevant to us." He didn't really want to spend time puzzling over it when there was the Promised Land to worry about and Dalton to stop.

"Yeah, you're probably right, Seph," Zack said as he came out of his and Cloud's bedroom. "And hey, that's okay! If we've got the case, that's way more important!"

"I'll let you know what my parents say," Reeve said. "If the case sounds right, maybe I can bring them by later."

"Good. Thank you," Sephiroth said. They said Goodbye and he hung up with a sigh.

". . . If they don't have the key, then what?" Zack voiced the unspoken thought.

"Call a locksmith?" Cloud grunted.

"That should be a last resort," Sephiroth said. "It would be better if we could resolve it among ourselves."

"You don't have a power that would work, do you?" Cloud asked.

"I might be able to telekinetically open it," Sephiroth said. "Strangely, although I can move pieces of buildings, I don't think I ever tried using that power on anything as mundane as a lock."

"That'd be cool if it'd work!" Zack said with wide eyes.

"I'm slightly concerned I might damage it," Sephiroth admitted. "As you know, my powers are very forceful and strong. Let's wait and see what Reeve finds out before I attempt it."

"Don't know your own strength, huh?" Cloud said.

"Let's say I'm aware, and wondering how well I can curb it to channel it into something like that," Sephiroth replied. "I'd rather practice on something of lesser consequence."

"Probably a good idea," Cloud agreed.

Within the hour Reeve arrived in the company of two elderly people, whom he introduced as his parents Ruvie and Fergus. They greeted everyone warmly, leaving Sephiroth to wonder if Reeve had told them who he was at all, and then Ruvie caught sight of the case. Her eyes gleamed.

"Well, it certainly looks like ours!" she exclaimed. "I swear, I haven't seen this since Meteorfall!" She hurried over and picked it up, examining it from all angles. "And it was on top of a church?!"

"Yes," Aerith said. "It was very strange. It was just wedged in up there."

"Almost like the Good Lord was keepin' it safe for us," Ruvie mused. "But Reeve tells me if it's ours, the contents were stolen from someone?"

"Technically, they were stolen from someone who stole them from the original owner," Sephiroth said. "That person's descendants still want them back."

"It's no wonder they're still thinking about those beautiful glasses," Ruvie said, shaking her head. "We'll be sad to let them go, but of course if this is them, you can have them." She took out a key on a chain from around her neck and placed it in the keyhole. The lock turned.

Everyone perked up as she lifted the lid. Nestled inside the protectively soft but firm innards were all eight diamond rose glasses, glistening as the new light touched them.

"They sparkle like materia!" Yuffie said.

Aerith lifted one reverently, in awe. "They're beautiful," she said softly, turning it around from every angle.

"And they survived all that!" Ruvie said. She smiled a bit sadly. "Might we have a couple of pictures of them, at least?"

". . . Maybe we could make you guys some replicas or something!" Zack suggested.

Deciding more information was required, Sephiroth said, "We would have no objection to pictures, except that the arrangement of the diamonds is supposed to be a map, somehow. We're not sure how they have to be positioned to display that. But we're trying to stop someone else from getting that map. If pictures exist, and they somehow learn of it, they may come after you. We wouldn't want to put you in danger."

"What kind of map would be worth that?" Ruvie scoffed. "A map to some kind of treasure, when the glasses are already a treasure?"

"Something like that," Sephiroth said.

Ruvie took off the key and handed it to him. "Then we won't be asking for any pictures, or replicas," she said. "We don't need that kind of trouble, and we don't want to make more for you. Just take them and keep them safe."

Fergus nodded in agreement.

"Thank you," Sephiroth said in surprised amazement, staring down at the key.

"You're a good person, like we always heard," Fergus said. "We knew something wasn't right when you were causing so much trouble. But Reeve's assured us you're your old self again."

Sephiroth looked over with a start. "You know who I am and you were that willing to just hand this over?!" he said in disbelief. "It's because of me the both of you almost died!"

"Reeve told us all about you," Ruvie said. "And he assured us you're safe to be around now. Denzel's even living with you."

". . . Yes, that's true," Sephiroth acknowledged, his voice filled with unexpected emotions. "Thank you, for being willing to trust me."

"Just don't make it in vain!" Ruvie said with a stern look.

"He won't," Cloud spoke up.

Ruvie looked to him. "You're the one who fought against him, aren't you?" she remembered. "And you're standing up for him so much now?"

"Yeah." Cloud stepped closer to Sephiroth. "Always."

"Us too!" Zack added. "We all promise Seph's good!"

"Well then." Ruvie smiled. "We have to believe you all, don't we." She stepped back. "Good luck getting the glasses safely back to their real owner."

"Thank you," Sephiroth said.

Red XIII looked to Reeve. "Have you heard anything about Cosmo Canyon?" he asked.

"Cait Sith asked me that too," Reeve said. "As far as I know, it's still the same as it was before."

"No one has vanished from there except me?" Red XIII wondered.

"I don't think so," Reeve said. "I know they'll be happy to see you."

Sephiroth nodded. "We'll go there now. Thank you again."

When their guests had left, Sephiroth locked the case and began to open a portal. "Let me know if this isn't right," he said.

Red XIII watched intently. "It's right," he said. "I recognize the village." He started to relax. "And everyone is there. I see them all near the fire pit."

Aerith gave a bittersweet smile. "Then I guess you're going to stay here."

"At least for now," Red XIII said. "But I'm only a portal away. Let me know if you want my help to go against Dalton."

"Right," Cloud said. "We will."

"Do you want to come through and meet everyone?" Red XIII asked.

"We should put the glasses in a safe place as soon as we can," Sephiroth said. "Perhaps we can do that and come back."

"That's a good idea," Aerith said. "I'd like to see everyone there again."

And Sephiroth suddenly paused. "Will they accept me?" he asked in concern. "If they know who I am . . ."

"I'll talk to them," Red XIII said. "If my grandfather will listen—and I'm sure he will—he can tell everyone else to keep an open mind."

"Alright," Sephiroth said. "Thank you."

Red XIII nodded and stepped through the portal to happy cries of "Nanaki!"

Sephiroth allowed the portal to stay open a moment, mostly to let Cloud, Aerith, and Zack see the reunions, and then shut it again. "Let's go home with the glasses," he said. "We'll call Linda and see what she wants to do. Then, if everyone wants, perhaps we can all come back just for a friendly visit to Cosmo Canyon . . . if possible." He still looked concerned about it. The people there surely would know who he was, unlike others on Gaia who were unaware that he was the one who caused Meteor.

Cloud nodded. "Let's grab our stuff and go then."

Tifa looked up with a start as a portal began forming in the living room, where she was working on financial information for the dojo. "You're coming back?" she said in happy surprise.

"For now," Cloud said. "Is Angeal around?"

Tifa shook her head. "He stayed at the company all night and he's still there."

"We've got the glasses," Cloud said. "And then Red XIII wanted to go back to Cosmo Canyon and invited us to come meet everyone. They're still there."

Sephiroth took out his phone to call Linda. "I don't know if they will accept me, but I will take you and the children back over with the others, if you would like to go," he said to Tifa.

"That would be nice," Tifa said.

"They're probably going to have a cool party now that Red XIII's back!" Yuffie said.

"They probably will," Tifa said with a smile.

Sephiroth dialed Linda's number and waited. In a moment there was a click. "Hello?" she greeted.

"Hello," Sephiroth said. "We found the glasses and brought them back. All seems to be in order."

Linda gasped. "Really?! That's amazing! So this Reeve had them?"

"No, but he was able to point us in the right direction so that we could find them," Sephiroth said. "Now the question remains, what becomes of them now? Where will they be the safest?"

Linda sighed. "We've been wondering the same thing," she said. "We have a safe at home, but would that be as secure as what you've probably got?"

"And yet on the other hand, we already have our enemy hounding us, believing we know where the Ancients' Compass is," Sephiroth said. "You are completely out of his eye. He would never think to look for what he wants with you or Dave."

". . . Unless Angeal lets it slip about them coming over last night," Cloud realized. "He didn't know why they were coming, but who knows if that information might get to Dalton somehow."

"But would it mean anything to him?" Sephiroth mused.

"If he did come after us to ask why we were there, we'd just say we were visiting friends," Linda said.

"He might not believe it," Sephiroth said.

"I think the glasses would be safer with you, even though he knows about you," Linda said. "You probably have something much more high-tech to protect them."

"We do," Sephiroth admitted.

"I would like to come see them if I could," Linda said haltingly.

"Of course," Sephiroth said. "That's your right."

"We'll come over in an hour, if that's okay," Linda said.

"That's fine," Sephiroth said. He said Goodbye and hung up. "Meanwhile, I should put the glasses in the vault and change the combination lock."

Cloud nodded. "Good idea, only . . . what if Angeal finds out he can't get in? Maybe he'll report that to Dalton."

Sephiroth sighed. "Any way we look at it, we have a problem. If we leave the glasses with Linda, her regular safe could be cracked far easier if Dalton becomes suspicious of her. If we keep them here, Dalton would have a far more difficult time getting at them even if he comes to believe more strongly that we have them. They must indeed be the Ancients' Compass he's been after."

"We need to find out if Linda knows how to activate the map," Aerith said.

"We'll ask her tonight," Sephiroth said. He took up the case and headed for the basement.

"Sephiroth . . ."

He glanced back at Cloud's voice.

"When you change the combination, are you going to be the only one who knows it?" Cloud wondered. "That might be safer in one way. Dalton could get at any of the rest of us, probably. Like Gunju already got at me before." He looked away.

"He will not get you again," Sephiroth vowed. "I would feel better if you and Zack and Aerith also know the combination. If anything were to happen to me, someone else would need to know what to do to carry on. Come down with me." He headed for the stairs.

"Nothing had better happen to you, Seph!" Zack exclaimed.

"I don't intend it, but with our track record we should be prepared," Sephiroth said.

Sobered at that reasonable thought, Zack, Cloud, and Aerith all started to follow him downstairs.

Tifa watched them all go. "It's really happening then," she said softly to the room. "We have a map to the Promised Land."

And what would happen because of that?

They would likely find out very soon.