Final Fantasy VII(r) The Sephiroth Apocalypse By: D.A.P. Cobra7455@aol.com Άπί(r)ε Part 1 The New Crisis Chapter 1 Back Again, Two Years Later Sweat rolling down his face, dodging trees, and thinking about the cheap pay that he was getting, Cloud ran from the site of his last job. The explosive's timer ran to zero and it's reaction started; it's explosion was intense as the heat rolled over Cloud's entire body. "I should get more for this," said Cloud to Mike. "Well I'll see how much I can scrounge up back at HQ." replied Mike hopping into a small jeep. Cloud followed him in while a small battalion was closing in on them, "HURRY UP AND START THE DAMN THING!!" he yelled. "It's choking!!....come on baby start for me.." said Mike. Then as the battalion gained up the engine roared with life. "YES!!" yelled Mike as he pulled quickly out of the forest. Looking behind him, seeing the men disappear Cloud sighed; "That was a little too close back there." "Well this jeep is old but you were great back there man," said Mike "Anyway your pay will be decent for this job." "It better be." said Cloud coldly. As they both sped off Cloud knew he saw Reno and Rude back there but why were they? Mike drove up to a mountain side, then he hit a small button under the dash and a secret cave opened up. "Nice hideout..the last one I saw was under a bar at Midgar." he said. "Wow! Midgar? You must a good mercenary to come from Midgar." replied Mike. Cloud didn't reply, he just thought about everyone and what they were doing as they drove in. "Hi there Mike, is that the mercenary you found?" said Heather, a special weapons maker. "Yeah he needs his pay." Mike said back. The group they were in was a small group and consisted of about ten people. "Anyway Mike did that special voice activated bomb work?" asked Heather. "Like a charm!" he replied, "but how much gil do we have?" "I think there's five thousand for the weapon supply, and there's three thousand gil extra we got this morning," she said. "Good..." said Cloud quickly, "that'll do for this job." "Hey you jus' goin' to leave then?" questioned Mike. "Don't misunderstand me I'm just a mercenary," Cloud said, "I don't get attached and I just want my pay." "Okay then, but I want to tell you about another jo-", Mike started. "Hey I told you I just want my pay and to get out of here." interrupted Cloud. "Yeesh..(Psst he's really a happy person don't ya think Mike?)" whispered Heather. "Hmm..(Yeah lets just give him the gil and get him out)" he said, "Here's the gil Cloud, I think you know the way out." "Yeah right..." Cloud said. He took the gil and headed toward the entrance to the cave. "CLOUD WAIT!" yelled Heather, "Thanks for your help." "Yeah sure anytime," and with that Cloud walked out. The fresh air greeted Cloud as he walked out of the cave. "It's a good day to build up materia," he said. Running from the cave near Gongaga he remembered that he gave most of his materia to Yuffie after everyone asked for the materia they wanted, and then the rest was Yuffie's. So then he figured he didn't really need to build up materia because he had most of his at master. All of a sudden he spotted some monsters in a group, but something wasn't right because they paid no attention to him. "Oh well..I'll kill them." thought Cloud. Then he summoned Bahamut ZERO, then he saw a glimmer in the sky; high above the planet, in space, flew Bahamut, he came to a stop, spread his mighty wings, gathered a high-energy beam, and fired it down the planet. Cloud, far away, saw the beam hit; then a huge explosion, almost nuclear like, covered the enemies and killed them. "Hmm..twenty-six hundred gil...not bad." he said then shrugged his shoulders and moved on. At that very time at the cave......."QUICK, DEFENSES!! WHERE ARE THE DEFENSES!!!!" Mike screamed to his people. "Sir it's the Turks, they have destroyed them!" a member said. "Well then," said Mike "what about materia?" "Sir all of our materia's at level one!" the member replied. "WELL USE THEM!" replied Mike. "Yes Sir!" said the member as Reno busted through the door. "We're as good as dead." mumbled Mike. "Elena stop acting so weak." Reno said. "What now!?" she replied. "You're being annoying." he said. "Oh shut up, this is the group that blew up the secret Shinra Weapon Research Center. They disserved it." said Elena. ".....I saw Cloud too....." Rude said. "Yeah so did I." replied Reno. "Cloud!, then we need to go get him too!" Elena said. "No, let him go." Reno said. "But why!?!" replied Elena. "Because....he's not worth the time and trouble. Remember, we're professionals." said Reno. "But there'll be another time." "Well.......okay then." she said. Nibelheim was in sight and Cloud thought home sweet home. He ran up and when into the item shop, "I'll take thirty Hi-Potions." he said. "That'll be six thousand gil." said the clerk. "Here." replied Cloud and walked out. As Cloud walk into his house he heard the phone ring. "Hello?". "Hey Cloud how's it going?" the voice asked. "Tifa? Is that you?" Cloud guessed. "Why Cloud I thought you'd forget who it was." she said. "So how's the new bar going in Kalm?" he asked. "It's going good but it seems lonely without Marlene and AVALANCHE below, but business is booming." she replied in a sad tone. "Well do you keep in touch with Barret and the others?", he asked. "Well.." started Tifa. "Barret went back to North Corel to try and help rebuild it." "Hope he does a good job because that place was a dump," he said. "Yeah, but he took Marlene with him. Last I heard Cid went back to Rocket Town with the escape ship; I think he's trying to build up another Highwind." she continued. "I wonder if that'll ever get finished or started," he chuckled to himself knowing Cid as a procrastinator. "Please go on." "Okay, well I know that Red went back to Cosmo Canyon and has been there since," she went on getting kind of tired of the interruptions. "I thought he would, he seemed determined to go back and protect it," he said. "You're right he did. Yuffie went back to Wutai with most of our materia and she took over the Pagoda tower from her father. I think our materia helped. Well I know that Reeve turned off Cait Sith and he gave Mayor Domino power to govern Midgar. Now Reeve's planning to take over Shinra Inc. and rebuild all of Midgar." she finally got a chance to say. "Even sector 7?" interrupted Cloud. "That's the idea. As for Vincent, last I heard he was wandering around taking random jobs, he even worked here for a while and that's how I know what he's doing." "Well you know I've started up the mercenary business again," Cloud told her. "Yeah..." said Tifa. "Those were good times, don't you think Cloud?" "Yeah...it brought back fond memories," he said regretting just leaving them behind. Mike had even offered him another job which he just turned down. It was frustrating for him to keep pushing away the ones that cared about him, but it was his nature to do so since the Aeris incident. "I just got back from a job so I'm kinda tired." "Then get plenty of rest and maybe I'll call back again. Bye." "Bye," Cloud said hanging up the phone. He really was tired and thought about what had happened to him and Tifa. The entire group had split up and she had asked him if he wanted work at the new bar she had planned to build and open. He knew she had feelings for him, but he just didn't feel complete. He thought about what Aeris had said to him on the night of their date. "I want to meet...you..." He knew she was happy and finally met him, but was still sorry for not being "there". He wanted to forget these problems so he decided to turn on the TV to see what was on. "Latest in Shinra news, a bomb attack on the Weapon Research Center destroyed over half the building and killed most of it's scientists. Many have been taken to a local hospital and are in critical condition. The Turks have helped SOLDIER in the capture of the group in charge of the bombing. Here's John on location with their capture. John?" "Well Tom this group calling themselves REBELION have been blamed for the bombing and what you are seeing is SOLDIER taking them in for trial. Here's one of the prisoners now." "I went down and now I'm going to pay for my crimes." Isn't that Mike thought Cloud, and sure enough it was. "Well that was interesting, back to you Tom." "Thank you John for that on location special report, and now back to your original program and thank you for watching Shinra news." "That's too bad," said Cloud flipping the channel. "He was kind of a good leader." Suddenly there was a pounding on his door. Alarmed by the sound he jumped up and went to see who it was and what they wanted. "I'm coming." When he opened the door he was shocked at the sight. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2 The Voices Within "Heather! what're you doing here!?" he asked. "You look beat. Come in. What happened? How'd you get out?" "Thanks. I ran though a secret exit in my lab, but I got shot escaping for my life." she replied gasping for breath. "Here take some Hi-Potions I just got," he said showing her a couple of bottles. "But...how'd you find my house?" "I asked a person walking out of town where you lived. I had to cover my bullet wound to not look suspicious. Uh..do you have a bed so I can lay down." "Yeah sure I'll help you there," Cloud agreed helping her step over to the extra bed that was next to his own. "Here are the Hi-Potions, take them slowly in your condition." "Thank you but, I thought you didn't care." "I don't really, but you need a place to rest till you get better," he quickly said trying to cover up that he did kind of cared. "Then tomorrow I'll take you beyond Nibel Mountains and from there you can probably make it to Rocket Town. Oh! And when you get to Rocket Town ask for a guy named Cid or the "Captain", as he's known in the town, and tell him, 'Cloud told me you could help me', and that should do it." "Thank you so much, I don't know what I can do for you," she said just a bit nervous in front of him. "Just make sure and leave when you're better and make sure that you stay alive. That's the most important. By the way....do you have any materia?" "Yeah. I have a fire, ice, lightning, restore, and deathblow. Is that okay or do I need more?" "Yeah that'll do. Now let's get some sleep," he replied knowing that she was being playful. He let it slide right by him and quickly got ready for bed. "Ok, well goodnight Cloud and really, thanks a bunch for what you're doing for me," she said after taking some Hi-Potions and getting in the extra bed. "Night." Later that night Cloud started stirring. "I'm back......", "but I'm not like before......", "......I now know what to do......." "What is that?" replied Cloud. "I tried to become a god but you eight killed me....", "but it should have been nine.....", "......blame yourself because.......", "........you killed her....." "...Don't listen to him..." "What?" Cloud answered. "......You're mine....." "NO!", Cloud shouted in the darkness of the room. Sweating all over he got up and got a drink. He saw that Heather was still asleep, and he wondered why the voices came back now. It made no sense to him, two years later.....why? "Hey HEY!! wake up Cloud!" He opened his eyes to see Heather over him, and she looked like she was in good shape. "Hey those Hi-Potions you gave me worked like a charm." "Well, I paid good gil for them, I sure hope they work," he replied trying not to be grumpy. Cloud sat up and saw she had started to make breakfast for them before going into the mountains. "I sure hope you like bacon and eggs Cloud," she said over the sizzling of the pan. "I had to go to the store and get this stuff 'cause you had nothing in your fridge." "Yeah. It's like that for a reason," he commented sarcastically. "...Men.." she said rolling her eyes. "But yeah, bacon and eggs are fine. You know you didn't have to this." Cloud told her feeling bad. "I felt like helping you 'cause you helped me." Cloud got out of the bed, got some juice, and then sat at down at the table. Heather brought over two plates with steam traveling from them. "Smells good, I need a good breakfast 'cause I haven't had one in forever." "That's what all the guys in REBELION said..heh heh." "I'll bet," he said as he chuckled along with her. Her cheerfulness reminded him of Aeris which almost killed him about a year ago. It was the episode he had where he grieved for her so much that he felt like killing himself just to be with her, to make himself happy, but with the help of his friends he realized that Aeris wouldn't want him to do that and just live his life. They scarfed the breakfast down, equipped themselves, and headed for the mountains. "What's that mansion for?" she asked. "That is the Shinra Mansion. Alotta strange stuff happened there with Prof. Hojo and Gast. Mostly it happened in the basement and I was part of their projects...so were my friends." "Brutal," she said giving the mansion one last fearful look. "Yeah, well let's go on to the mountains," said Cloud as he turned from the mansion. They walked up to the steep mountains and started to trail the paths. "That's odd. There aren't any enemies to fight." "Isn't that good?" she asked. "Actually no because then materia can't grow to master so a new materia won't be born," he replied a bit worried. They walked though the mountains quickly and soon were at the end. "Wow! That was easy!" exclaimed Heather. "Yeah...kinda too easy," said Cloud. "I think I will go with you to Rocket Town so I can see Cid." "Uh huh," she said with a tone in her voice and started mocking him. "But I thought you said, 'I don't get attached...It's just my job. Blah blah blah." Cloud gave her a mean look but ended up smiling. "No, I really want to see Cid again." "Hmm...so you'll be a kind of bodyguard for me? Cool!" she squealed hoping that he would. As she said that Cloud thought of Aeris and being her bodyguard even though he never did protect her from Sephiroth that time. "Yeah a bodyguard," he said thinking of really doing it. "Okay, I'll do it." "Good I'm glad you did. Now let's get going to Rocket Town, bodyguard." They started off to Rocket Town when all of a sudden a voice started talking inside Cloud. ".....you killed her...", ".....it's your fault.....", "..follow my ways....", "......then kill everyone you care about......" "NO!! Why are you doing this?! I'm going insane!" he yelled as he gripped his head and fell down at Heather's feet. "Cloud, Cloud!, CLOUD!, WAKE UP!" he heard her yell faintly and then, blackness. Cloud stood alone in blackness with nothing anywhere just pitch black. "Where the hell am I?" he said into darkness. All of a sudden a young Cloud appeared in front of him. "Don't you know? It's your mind," said the little Cloud. "This black void is MY mind?" he replied. "Yes it is," a voice said. "You have nothing to care about now so you have nothing in your mind. Your mind is in chaos after two years which means something is happening. I don't know what it is because, well, because I'm your mind. I do have a clue from the Lifestream." "Lifestream? How can that bring information here?" Cloud asked his mind. "It brings all sorts of information, a stream of consciousness, that you blocked out before," the voice detailed. "The orb at the City of Ancients," Cloud realized. "Yes. The worst is here. Sephiroth is coming back along with the crisis from the sky. But his goal will not be the same. He will be changed somehow by some one. But the crisis from the sky will rule because we are all puppets," the voice explained as simple as it could. "Wait! Sephiroth?! It can't be! I destroyed him!" Cloud yelled at the voice. "Yes I know. Like I said, some one will bring him back, but not whole. He'll need you. Even kill you if he has to. The Jenova cells inside of you have seen his and have been forcing thoughts upon you to make you give in easier to his new presence. You have proven this difficult for the new Sephiroth." "How do you know all this?" Cloud asked. "I am the part of you that knows of the Ancient's power and for me to stay, you need to be alive. The alien Jenova cells have been acting strange so I have been monitoring them. Sephiroth will be a new threat, and if he gets what he needs, it'll bring the end to all planets, a new apocalypse for a new time. There is also a new one. A young man that'll be a major help to you in the future. The main thing is to keep Sephiroth away from the Unk-..." "Damnit man wake up!" Cid yelled at Cloud trying to wake him up. "He hasn't been this way in two years when he was sucked into that Lifestream shit. Shera get some tea I think Cloud's coming to." "Wha? Cid? Am I in Rocket Town? How'd I get here?" Cloud kept asking one after the other. "Whoa whoa whoa! Hold on Cloud I can only answer one question at a time. Yes I am Cid, you are in Rocket Town, and this girl here dragged you in and asked for me. Now does that answer your questions? SHERA! Where's the damn tea!?". "Heather, you brought me here?" Cloud asked, surprised that she found a way to carry him. "Well sure I did, but I don't think that going unconscious is being much of a bodyguard." "Heh yeah," he said knowing that something could've happened to her as well. "Bad timing on my part." "Thanks for saying 'Hi' to me, you're just being too damn nice," Cid said getting tired of being left out. "Sorry Cid, it's nice to see you again after all this time. How's the new Highwind going?" "Well I'm short on metal but thanks to Reeve he put in some Shinra money to help me get more supplies." They looked out the window and Cloud was surprised to see that the partial airship was hovering above the ground. He also noticed that Cid kept the escape ship to put inside the new ship. "Wow I'm impressed Cid. I thought for sure that you'd never get back and have time to rebuild the Highwind," Cloud said. "I also thought that you'd turn into the town drunk." "Yeah, this is the new and improved me," Cid said giving Cloud a scornful look. "No more sleeping around for me. Shera where's that damn tea I wanted?" "I'm sorry Ci- I mean Captain. He's the tea," she said placing it in front of them. "Ah good, drink up Cloud," Cid said. "An' I know my hospitality is good enough for ya this time." "Psst (hey Cloud he's as happy as you are)," Heather whispered to Cloud. "Mmmm? Yeah...huh?" Cloud asked confused about her comment and then realized he hasn't introduced her yet. "Oh Cid, Shera, this his Heather. She was from a group was called...um..REBELION that's it. SOLDIER found them out and got them all except her. I know, I just finished a job with them yesterday with the leader, Mike." "Oh yeah I heard 'bout it on the news last night," Cid commented. "Anyway hi Heather, I take it Cloud told you about me cause you did ask for me when you came into town." "Yes he did," she replied feeling that Shera was being left out. "Come on Shera sit with us, have some tea." "Oh thank you....Heather was it?" Shera asked. "Yes, now sit with me, let's girl talk." Shera sat down near Heather and they started talking while Cloud was talking with Cid. Meanwhile back in Nibelheim a dark figure walked in the town. Vincent looked around and then saw the mansion, "Many bad memories here," he said to himself. As he walked toward the mansion something caught his eye....it was one of those black capes all those clones wore with the tattoos. "This isn't right," he said kneeling down to pick it up. "This is entirely not good. I thought all those clones died going towards the crater." Then he dropped the cape and walked into the mansion not knowing what was inside. The rain was lightly sprinkling at the new North Corel as Barret directed the construction crew. It was the least he could do for the people of his old town. "Hey watch that tent! You don't want to crush someone's home do ya?" Barret barked at a worker. "No sir, I'll be more careful next time," the worker replied after grumbling to himself. "Man I'm so excited! The town's almost finished an' tha power's going to come on today!" Barret said excitedly looking at the new town. "Heh, and they said it couldn't be done." "Daddy daddy, where's our house going to be?" asked Marlene running to Barret as he picked her up and put her on his shoulder. "See that house over there honey," Barret said pointing to a house on the first hill. "That's going to be our house." "Oh it's beautiful daddy," she cheerfully said "I love it already!" "HEY! watch those old homes, people still live there ya know. Do you want ta get fired?" yelled Barret. "No sir(ya big mumble mumble...)" The rain started getting worse by the minute, and Barret knew that construction would have to stop soon. He pulled out a radio and told the person at the reactor to start the power flow. Barret made sure that the reactor was fully functional because he didn't want Corel to end up just like Gongaga. Right then the Mako reactor hummed with life, then cranked up, and the lights flickered in the town. Barret smiled with pride because the view of lights in Corel haven't been seen in four years, and the look was breath-taking to Barret. "It's a good thing Reeve an' his stupid cat were in AVALANCHE. I think it taught him a thing or two 'bout the planet. With these new MR's I don't have ta worry about it suckin' the planet dry," Barret said proudly. "Hey You! What's your problem man?" "S,sorry. It's just that lately I've been...!!" he stopped and grabbed his head suddenly. He started shaking his head no and fell down, shaking like a leaf. "Hey man, I didn't know you were sick. Some one get him some help. NOW!" Barret yelled. Two men came and helped the worker up and took him to a nearby house. "Yo. Wake up. Hey man, you collapsed out there. Say, what's your name?" "Huh?" the worker asked confused. "My name? It's Case...Case Garin. Did you say I collapsed?" "Yeah, and it looks like ya took a pretty hard fall," Barret replied. Case looked around the room, looked at Barret, and then started to get up. "You think can work now?" "No, I'm j,just going outside," Case said leaving the house. By now the rain was pouring down and Case just sat down at a corner and stared at the ground. "Why are you talking to me?...Why are you saying it'll be alright?...Is this normal for a person like me?...Why won't you tell me everything? What?! Am I a. You mean I could?...NO! I won't believe this! What you're saying is nonsense. Their race died ages ago. Just listen to me, I sound like I'm crazy 'cause I'm talking to myself. I won't listen to any of the voices anymore, especially yours. I mean what do you know, you say your a part of the planet but how can you be? I just wish I knew what the hell I should do." Barret stared out the window at Case and wondered just what the hell he was doing. He thought that it might be good to let him off with his pay so the townspeople wouldn't start wondering. He was about to go tell him when he saw Case pull out a small sword and some daggers. Case turned and looked back at Barret, he shook his head, and ran out of Corel. "Wait!" Barret yelled trying to run after him. "Case do you want your pay?!" It was too late, Barret stopped running cause he knew Case had a head start. He stood here in the rain as he saw Case was running off, away from Corel, disappearing into the storm. Vincent entered the old mansion silently and looked around. "Some one has been here," he said looking at the fresh footprints on the floor. "Recently too. I have a bad feeling about this." He continued on upstairs to the secret entrance to the basement of which he knew all to well of. The door opened with a clang and the winding staircase came into sight. Vincent went down quietly until he reached the bottom, and then saw something that him stop dead in his tracks. The light to the lab was on and noise was coming from inside. "So that's who has been here." He leaned next to the door to listen what was going on inside. "Yes professor this experiment will be a complete success," said the first man who's voice Vincent didn't recognized. "Indeed it will be. Adding mechanical components to the great Sephiroth's clone will lessen his chance of trying to summon Meteor or becoming a part of the planet. Plus, it will strengthen him in case Cloud and his friends decide to fight him again," the Prof. said fixing up the Sephiroth clone. "Professor Edin you are a genius!" exclaimed his helper. "Thank you Clive, I want to be as good as Hojo and Gast were. Now those guys were amazing scientists," Edin said. "I don't think so!" said Vincent busting into the lab. "Prof. Edin is it? Well I can't let you revive Sephiroth, and so now you and your assistant must take a long sleep for your sins." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 3 A Confrontation All was silent as Vincent held his gun on Prof. Edin and his assistant Clive. "Get away from Sephiroth," demanded Vincent breaking the silence. "Fine, just don't shoot the gun," replied Clive moving nervously away. "There's a lot of breakable equipment in here and you could easily bre-." "Stop Clive," Edin said gesturing him to stop. "I don't think our friend knows how deeply in trouble he is. You see my friend.." "First off I'm not your friend, my name's Vincent," he reminded him. "Yes...I'm sure," Edin said continuing his original conversation. "Anyway you don't know what you're in. You see, Sephiroth is already alive we just need some blood with Jenova cells in it. We need a man called Cloud." "You can't be serious?" Cloud said shock and happy for Cid. "Psst...(Are you really thinking about marrying Shera?)" "...(Yeah I was thinking about it. You think I should? 'Cause she is a nice girl.)" Cid whispered a bit embarrassed. "Yeah I think you should but whatever you want to do is none of my business, but...if you do, invite me so I can see everyone. It seemed like you were liking her when we left," Cloud said winking at Cid. "Huh?! It showed?" Cid asked astonished. Cloud nodded. "Really!? Cloud did that?" exclaimed Heather after Shera told her about all that happened two years ago because it had slipped her mind about Meteor, WEAPON, and the entire Sephiroth incident. "Yes he did," replied Shera calmly. "Cid told me all about Cloud and how he helped save the planet...when I wasn't there with them of course." "Wow, all that REBELION wanted to do was just stop the Shinra from making more weapons of destruction since there has been peace," Heather explained. "Hey Cid, did ya ever get the Tiny Bronco flying again?" Cloud asked. "Yeah I did. She flies like a dream, just like she used to. I also fixed that Shinra hot rod and now it's running fine," Cid said getting up to go to the back. "You wanna see it?" "Sure," Cloud said putting down his tea and getting up to follow Cid. The guys went out back to look at the Bronco and the hot rod. Shera and Heather stayed inside and talked longer while the other two kept looking at the vehicles. Case ran through the storm straining to see what was ahead, and then he saw a monster that tried to attack him. He threw two daggers at it and sliced through it like a knife through cake. He picked up the gil, his daggers, and ran on with his hair in his face when the single materia orb in his short sword started to glow. "Huh? That's funny, it's never glowed like this before," he said stopping to look at the shimmering materia. He pulled it closer and the materia shimmered brighter until it lighted the area all around him. He touched it to pull it out when the materia hummed loudly and shot out a beam of light that fried an enemy twenty yards away. "Whoa, this is like a 'Light Materia'. I bet when I get this at master, it'll kick ass." He ran on while the storm got worse as he passed the Gold Saucer and knew it was closed. The yellow figure towered even in darkness of the storm, and every time lightning flashed the Saucer shadowed over Case. Ignoring the Saucer, Case ran on into the growing storm. He finally reached the river but wondered how he was going to cross it because it was too deep and flowing too fast to cross by foot. He just sat there wondering when an enemy attacked from behind; the monster slashed at him but got his coat. He drew out three daggers and threw them at the monster, then slashed it. After killing the monster he sat back down and tried to think of a way to cross. He finally remembered that he took some heavy rope from the construction site just in case something like this happened. He reached in his jacket and took out the rope, tied it to his sword, and threw it across the river. Luckily the sword stuck into a rock firmly, and he crossed the river with ease. After crossing he kept going on until he came upon the cave of the REBELION group and walked in for some rest. Back at Nibelheim, the thunder could be heard in the basement while the stand off was in progress. "Cloud? You won't be able to find Cloud," Vincent told Edin. "Oh really?" Edin asked. "Then why am I in his home town? You see, huh...Vincent, I work for Shinra and I know that Reeve wouldn't like this so I went behind his back to do this. See I know all of the Shinra secrets, I even know about the real Sephiroth and Lucrecia." "Lucrecia...." Vincent mumbled. With the anger he felt he squeezed the trigger slightly to let the hammer snap back. Clive quietly walked to a switch on the wall and waited for a signal. Edin and Vincent stood there locked in the same position, Vincent looked at the nearly completed Sephiroth while Edin looked at Vincent's gun. Then Vincent saw something that scared the shit out of him, Edin was blinking twice in the same pattern. Vincent turned around and shot Clive right at his chest, but it was too late, the switch was pulled down. "Shit!!" Vincent yelled and covered his eyes. Sparks flew around the table that Sephiroth was on and glowed all around the table. Edin hid behind the two mako chambers while Vincent ducked in the corner. The lights stopped over the table and then his arm started to twitch. All of a sudden Cloud fell down to the ground at Cid's feet. "Damn man what's wrong?" Cid asked. "Ugh....it's....I think it's.....Sephiroth," Cloud said as Cid helped him up to his feet. "SEPHIROTH!? How the hell could it be?! We killed him, didn't we?" Cid yelled almost dropping Cloud. "Yeah, I thought so too, but somehow I feel that he's back alive. Not entirely alive though, he's missing something," Cloud said having to struggle it out. "Just call it a sick-sense or something, but I think he's back." "Damn," Cid said staring at the ground. "Some sick-sense. Let's get inside there's a storm coming. You and Heather can stay at the inn, I already paid the guy." "Thanks Cid," Cloud said walking back inside with him. "I could sure use some rest to get my mind offa Sephiroth. C'mon Heather let's get to the inn before the storm hits hard." "Ok Cloud," she replied quickly turning back around to talk to Shera more. "Shera it was really nice talking to you." "It was fun for me too," Shera said as the four moved to the front of Cid's house. "Come back again sometime and we can talk some more." Cloud and Heather waved bye to Cid and Shera then walked to the inn. They walked in as it started to pour down and the clerk told them to just go upstairs and in the first room. They walked in there room and started getting ready to sleep. "You can use the bathroom first," Cloud said being generous. "Thanks Cloud, I could use a shower now," she said back going to the bathroom. "No comment," Cloud kidded walking over to the bed. Heather poked her head out and gave Cloud a dirty look. Cloud lay down on the bed and stared at the ceiling, then fell asleep. Sephiroth stood up from the table and looked around then just sat there. "Sephiroth," Edin commanded standing forward. "Go kill that man." Sephiroth looked at Vincent but just sat there. Vincent noticed something strange about Sephiroth, his cyber implants were making him not do anything. Edin then found the control to the implants, but then Sephiroth moved out of the lab and towards the exit. Vincent followed Sephiroth out of the mansion and saw him head north towards the mountains. Edin ran out of the mansion and stood next to Vincent. "He's going after Cloud." Vincent didn't reply and just ran off after Sephiroth just as Case walked into town. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4 The Search "Daddy are you sure you want to go out?" Marlene asked. "It's really pouring down out there." "Yes honey. I need to 'cause he worked for me. Plus something's wrong with that guy and I want ta see if I can help," Barret told her patting her on the head. "Brad, take good care of her." "Yes sir! I won't let you down." Barret gave Marlene one final hug and jumped into his jeep. He opened up a box with a project inside he had worked on with Cid earlier, a cybernetic hand. He detached his gun and put the hand on. He waited a moment and started to move it's fingers. Delighted about his hand he waved bye to Marlene with it and drove off into the storm like he saw Case do earlier. The rain was still coming down hard over Corel, Nibelheim, and Rocket Town as Barret sped through the plains and across the rivers. It was the worst storm the new continent had in a long time and Barret was afraid that there might even be a tornado. He drove on and saw the dead bodies of the monsters that Case killed and drove on past the REBELION cave and Gongaga up to Nibelheim. Barret figured that since this was the only other good town in the area that Case would run to here. Case entered the town and walked, in the rain, up to the well. Edin came to him yelling through the storm at him "Hey! You're Case aren't you!?" "Yeah! Who're you? And how'd you know who I was?" Case yelled over the clapping thunder. "It doesn't matter!", Edin kept yelling as the storm got worse. "Go north passed the mountains till you get to Rocket Town! Some guy stole my materia and he's probably headed there! If you can stop him and get my materia back, I'll give you a handsome reward!" Case shrugged his shoulders and didn't argue with him and ran off up into the Nibel mountains. Barret slid into a stop at Nibelheim, grabbed his gun, and hopped out to look for Case cause he knew that if he was going to go further it'd have to be on foot. He ran to the entrance of town and saw Edin, "Hey! Yeah you! Have you seen a man wearin' a long coat and baggy jeans with a short sword and some daggers?" "Yeah he ran north into the mountains! I tried to stop but he didn't listen to me!" Edin yelled as Barret walked up to him. "Sh'it!" Barret mumbled. "Thanks!" Barret yelled as ran up north to the mountains. Edin waited for Barret to be out of view before he started to leave. He walked over and picked up the black cape, that Vincent had left on the ground, and put it on. He reached in his pocket and took out his keys for the Shinra truck that was parked behind the mansion and drove out of Nibelheim. ".....I'm coming for you....", "....you're the last part to make me complete....", "....soon we will become one again...." "What're you talkin' about?" Cloud asked the dream. "You're coming for me?" "Wake up." "What, wake up?" "Yeah, wake up!" Cloud opened his eyes and saw Heather telling him to wake up. "Oh! So you're finally up." "Yeah yeah. Let's get out of here," he replied quickly getting ready. "Huh?" "Trust me, I know," Cloud reassured her. "You do want me to be your bodyguard don't you?" "Yes..." she replied nervously. "Well if we left now I'd be helping to save your life," he replied. Heather cleaned up and got dressed while Cloud waited on the bed. Heather got out of the bathroom all ready to go. Cloud got up off the bed and they walked out of the inn to say one last good-bye to Cid and Shera. They ran through the rain to Cid's and knocked on the door. "OUCH! Damn shoes mumble mumble....Who is it?!" Cid yelled through the door. "Oh Cloud. What the hell do you want?" "I just wanted to say good-bye 'cause I'm leaving town," Cloud explained. Cid opened the door, "Why?" "Sephiroth's coming for me," Cloud said almost not believing himself. "So I'm going to leave to get some help." "Well then I guess this is good-bye again," Cid said about to shut the door. "Yeah well do...do you have any transport?" Cloud said stopping him. "Sure, I still have a black chocobo if you want to use it?" Cid asked. "Yeah that'll do fine," Cloud replied. He took the chocobo from the stable that Cid built and hopped on. Heather hopped on after him and they rode out of out of to the east. Cid and Shera waved to them until they were out of sight. Sephiroth walked into Rocket Town with Vincent, Case, and Barret following him. Cid looked out the window as the storm started to die down and saw Sephiroth. "SHIT!!" he exclaimed. "Cloud wasn't lyin'. Sephiroth is alive and he looks just like he did two years ago. Well, he looks kinda funkier than he used to. Shera! Get back to bed." Cid stared at Sephiroth who looked around the town and left towards the east just like Cloud did. A while later Vincent showed up in Rocket Town and Cid saw him from his porch. "Yo Vincent! Hey over here!" Vincent saw Cid and walked over to him and asked "Did you see Sephiroth?" "Yeah he went over to the east after Cloud," Cid explain to him. Just then Case ran into town and saw Cid and Vincent. "Huff... puff...is...is this Rocket Town?" he asked out of breath. "Yeah, this is my town. Who are you?" Cid asked. "My...my name's Case," Case continued. "I was told to come here by some guy in a lab coat. He said some guy took his materia and said he might come here. Have you seen any suspicious people around lately?" "Edin...", Vincent calmly said. "Did you take his materia?" Case asked Vincent curiously. "Hardly," Vincent replied turning to Case. "Edin is a Shinra professor, I doubt that he'd have any materia." Soon after that Barret ran in town also just like Vincent and Case did earlier. "Barret! Get your ass over here!" Cid yelled at him. "Huff...puff...puff. Don't....yell....at me. Where's Case?" Barret asked out of breath. "I'm right here Bar..uh sir," Case replied going to help him. "Just call me Barret for now Case an' leave me alone," Barret said pushing him away. "Ok Barret," replied Case trying not to argue with him. "Damn this is jus' a littl' family reunion," Cid quaintly said. "An' just like old time 'cause we're all chasin' Sephiroth again." "Yeah man........DID YOU SAY SEPHIROTH?!??!?!!", asked Barret waving his arms in the air. "Where the hell did he come from?" "Prof. Edin brought him back to life," Vincent replied looking towards the east. "Sh'it! I think I saw that sniveling little worm at Nibelheim. Man if I'd known I would've..." Barret exclaimed clenching his fists. "But not Sephiroth again! Man I jus' can't handle that again." "Hey y'all, Cloud left here going to the east and Sephiroth followed him," Cid told the three. "Sephiroth will follow Cloud wherever he goes," Vincent explained. "He needs Jenova cells, that's why." "Well then les' go stop him," Barret said trying to cheer up the group. "Shera! Take care of the house!" Cid yelled through the door. "Ok honey!" Shera replied from inside. "Honey?" asked Barret almost laughing. "Don't say a damn word." said Cid pointing at him. "Don't forget that I built you that hand which I see that works." "Yeah, and I thank you for it," Barret replied smiling. All four of them went around to the chocobo stables. "Wow, five gold chocobos! You must've done alotta raisin'." Each of them got on one and started to ride out to the east just like Cloud did. Cloud looked through the binoculars, magnified a thousand times, at Sephiroth. His left eye was replaced by a mechanical eyepiece, his right hand looked extremely different, it was biomechanical from his upper wrist down. Then he didn't believe what he just saw. He saw it morph into a chainsaw and back to a hand as he cut down a tree. It was composed of super small microchips (like mechanical cells) that could make any mechanical form. His left upper arm was composed of a metallic skeleton just like his right upper leg and his feet, but his feet had hover components, which made him float like a ghost. His back had "jetpack" attached to it for flying Cloud guessed. Then Sephiroth looked straight at him with his eyepiece and saw it focus on them. Then he saw his right hand morph into a syringe and pointed it at him. Then Cloud saw Sephiroth's hand grow out towards him, and it was coming fast. "Get on the chocobo!" Cloud ordered Heather. "Why? wha..." she started sounding worried. "Just do it damnit!" he yelled back harshly. Then he turned and saw Sephiroth's hand in plain sight and drew out his sword. The syringe came up at Cloud and dashed at his arm. Cloud dodged and took one slash to cut off the part of Sephiroth's hand with the syringe on it. Then Sephiroth's hand shrank back and went to him. Cloud picked up the piece he cut off and put it in a little container and then he summoned 'Knights of the Round' on Sephiroth. He looked through the binoculars and saw Sephiroth go into oblivion. "That'll buy us some time. Now let's go." Heather nodded and they got the chocobo to go east more. "What was that summon?" she asked looking back that the burnt ground where she saw Sephiroth go down beneath the ground. "It was Knights of the Round:Ultimate End," he informed her. "It's the most powerful summon known." "Then how'd you get it?" she asked turning back around. "I've been around. Plus I have all the master materia," he casually replied. "It took a long time to get, but I think it was worth it." "Sounds neat," she said and they rode on. Back at where Sephiroth was, Knights of the Round was fighting him, and most of the attacks kept missing him surprisingly except the magic attacks. After Knights of the Round was done, Sephiroth got up. He stumbled around a bit and reformed his hand, as if the tiny mechanical cells were duplicating. After his hand was repaired he looked at where Cloud was and focused his eyepiece to zoom in. When he saw that Cloud was gone he zoomed out, morphed his right hand into a copy of the Masamune, and hovered off to the east with a cold look of nothingness on his face. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 5 Return to the Floating City Cloud and Heather rode across the shallow water with their destination being the east continent. Heather asked Cloud "Where are we headed?" "..We're going to Midgar," he replied as they crossed more water. "Whoa Midgar?! The big city? No, I'll be killed for helping REBELION with the bombing!" she said really worried. "Don't worry I'll help you with a disguise," Cloud said trying to calm her. "Then we need to go find Reeve." They kept riding across the islands and shallow water. Cid, Barret, Vincent, and Case rode up to the area where Sephiroth tried to get Cloud, they stopped, and looked around. "There was a battle here," Vincent said hopping off of his chocobo. "There are burnt spots everywhere and that tree's cut down." "This things been cut down wit' a chainsaw," Barret said examining the tree. "Cloud doesn't have a chainsaw and I saw Sephiroth and he didn't have one either," Cid said confused. "Sephiroth?" asked Case. "Is he the guy that one girl told me to stay away from?" He stopped, then the other three just looked at him with strange looks and shrugged. "Never mind." Then the four rode off again after Cloud and Sephiroth. The sky got dark and the lights of Midgar shimmered in the distance over the horizon. "Midgar sure is a sight during the night," exclaimed Heather. Cloud was silent when she talked. He just thought about what happened in that floating city, all the hurt and pain came back to him just thinking about it. Midgar looked so different now with Sister Ray gone and all the construction on sector 7 and the rest of the city; it almost seemed like a completely different town. When Meteor was cast back out into space by 'Holy' and the Lifestream Midgar was never the same. Over half of the city had been deserted and Reeve was left with a run down tower and a run down city. He took it upon himself to make the city run again but more prosperous. He told Barret to go back to Corel and tell the men there that he was going to start a construction business and there would be jobs for all. He quickly got a construction crew started and hoped that Midgar would shine again. He added sunspots and rain gutters all throughout the top plates so the slums below would be worth living in. He got the Shinra tower rebuilt and let Mayor Domino actually be in charge of Midgar. Reeve also looked into the making of MR's which replaced the old Mako Reactors but still gave the power that Midgar needed. The next thing was to move the Sister Ray back to Junon and that went over pretty well, but Reeve thought that the removal made Midgar defenseless. So instead of keeping the Sister Ray, he made plans for a Brother Ray which was a bit smaller, easily stored in a protective casing under the ground, and just as powerful. The storage place for it was huge but didn't get in the way of the city so it was very convenient. Then the rebuilding of sector 7 was Reeve's final plan and was being worked on as Cloud and Heather came closer. The lights of the city got brighter as they got closer to it until they were in view of the gate to sector 5. Cloud and Heather got off the chocobo and watched it go back to Cid's stable. Cloud reached in his pocket and pulled out the key to the gate. As they walked in the slums still looked pretty much the same and the church was still there. "Let's stop here for a while," Cloud said pointing over to the church. "Ok sure." They walked into the church and looked around, "Boy. This place could use some redecorating," Heather said viewing all the broken down pews. Cloud didn't reply he went to the flowers in the floor and knelt down towards them. "They're very pretty." Again Cloud said nothing and then took the flower that he looked at. "That'll cost you one gil sir," a voice said from the back. A young woman came out of the back, about late teens, early twenties with blonde hair and blue mako-like eyes. "Huh?" asked Cloud surprised that anyone was even here. "That'll cost you a gil," she continued walking over to him to explain. "I am the flower girl here of sector 5." "Flower girl? How'd you become the flower girl?" asked Cloud knowing that Aeris was the original flower girl. "I heard a story from two little kids about this nice pretty flower girl that used to live here, but then she stopped coming around so there was nobody to tend to the flowers. So I decided to look in this church after all and saw all of the pretty flowers here," said the flower girl. "So I decided to become the new flower girl and I tend to these flowers whenever they need it." "Mmmm...." Cloud said thinking for a minute. "What's your name?", said Heather butting in. "My name is Katlyn....Katlyn Prevance," replied Katlyn. "Like I said sir that'll be one gil." "Alright alright," he said reaching into his money pouch and giving her the gil. "There's one gil." "Thank you so much sir," Katlyn said taking his money. "You don't have to call me sir, I'm Cloud and this is Heather." "Nice to meet you Cloud, Heather," Katlyn replied being polite. "Likewise," said Heather, looking at the flowers. "Here just make yourselves at home and I'll get us some water," Katlyn said going to the back room. "Then you can tell me why you're here." Katlyn walked to the back and Cloud and Heather went to sit in a pew, then Katlyn came back out and they started to talk. Sephiroth was still in pursuit of Cloud even after what had happened before. His hate had grown stronger since then and he felt an urge to kill Cloud and just take the blood that he spilt. Sephiroth knew where Cloud was going so he thought to set a trap for him, and then rocketed towards Midgar with his jet boosters. The four men rode in a line across rivers and mountains. "Where'd ya think they went?" asked Barret. "Probably went back to Midgar 'cause Cloud said that he'd need some help, and Reeve could be able to help him," replied Cid. "Midgar? Isn't that place still under construction?" Case asked. "Last I saw it was," replied Vincent. "Well then les' head out," Barret said commandingly, and the four rode off again with Midgar being their destination. "My...that was some story. I would've never guessed that you were THE Cloud Strife," Katlyn said as if he were some celebrity. "But it's kinda hard to get to Reeve unless he knows you or you get the construction workers to let you on the top plate." "That'll be easy," Cloud said lying back and knowing his connections. "Well then shall we be off?" asked Katlyn. "WE? What do ya mean we?" Cloud asked sitting up. "Well you were so nice to me that I want to help you, and I can help you," Katlyn said giving them a wink. "C'mon Cloud....stop being cranky...(let her come with us) besides you're being moody anyway," Heather complained about him. "Moody!?" he replied raising an eyebrow. "We would love for you to come with us," Heather answered for him. "Oh thank you Heather, Cloud, this'll be so much fun," Katlyn said enthusiastically. Then the three walked out of the church and started for sector 6, where the construction site was for the rebuilding of sector 7. They walked through the slums quietly and just looking around for any monsters that could pop out. "Hmm..no monsters...they must've cleaned out the slums," said Cloud impressed. "Yeah, that was a project that is still in effect but some still lurk around in some parts of the slums," Katlyn informed them. "Well still, this place gives me chills," Heather said walking closer to Cloud. They continued on walking and then started running for the construction site. Little did they know that they were being watched and followed by the Turks, who knew that Heather and Cloud were involved in bombing of the Shinra Weapons Base. "Hey Cid!" yelled Barret. "Don't ya still keep in touch wit' Reeve?" "Yeah, why?" asked Cid. "Because! I don't wanna walk through Midgar again. Can't Reeve get us some transportation to the Shinra tower?" "Hold on I'll call him.", Cid said pulling out the old PHS. Cid dialed Reeve's number and waited for an answer. "Hello?" answered Reeve finally. "Yo Reeve its Cid," Cid said. "Oh! Cid how long has it been? Almost a year since I last saw you," Reeve said swerving in his chair. "Yeah man it has. Oh! Thanks for those parts I asked for," Cid thanked him. "Anytime Cid. When will you STOP mooching off of Shinra," Reeve kidded. "Now what did you call for?" "Well....um....can you get a chopper to land outside Midgar and then bring us to the tower?" Cid asked feeling bad about taking so much from Shinra. "Is that all?" exclaimed Reeve. "That's no problem I'll send a chopper down right now. Looking forward to seeing you." "Right Reeve, you too," Cid said hanging up. "So?" asked Barret eager to hear an answer. "Don't complain. We aren't walkin'," Cid said relieving Barret. The four rode up to the light of Midgar and saw the chopper coming down to pick them up. They got off their chocobos so Cid could send them back and walked to the landing chopper to get on. "Buckle up," said the pilot as they got in and took off for the Shinra tower. Cloud, Heather, and Katlyn walked up to the construction site and looked around. "It's their lunch hour now," explained Katlyn. "Everyday at this time they go to the Wall Market and have lunch then go back to work." "Looks like they're doin' a good job rebuilding sector 7," Cloud said peering into the "Workers Only" area. "I don't think that they'll mind if we use this service elevator to get to the top plate do you?" Heather looked at Katlyn who looked back at Heather and they shrugged their shoulders. "Let's do it," Heather said hopping on. The others got on the elevator and Cloud pushed the button for up. The elevator cranked, stopped, and started to move up to the top plate. The ride was slow so Cloud looked into the new sector 7 and it looked pretty much built, then he looked up and saw a helicopter flying to the newly built Shinra tower. Barret looked from the helicopter at sector 7 and then asked the pilot, "Hey. When will sector 7 be finished?" The pilot replied, "In about two to three months. Now we're coming to Shinra HQ so please stay seated." They flew up above the tower till they could see a helipad to land. The pilot steadied the chopper and touched down perfectly, "Thank you for staying seated and enjoy your visit to Shinra HQ." The four of them got off and watched as the helicopter took off to the sky. The four looked around and waited for Reeve to come and greet them. "Hell Cid les' jus' go down to his office? I'm freezin' my ass off up here," Barret said shivering. "Ok then ya big puss. C'mon everyone les' go to Reeve's office," Cid replied leading the way down. They found a staircase and went down to the next floor which was floor seventy, which was where Reeve's office was. "Hey! Is anybody here?" Cid's voice echoed in the big office. He started to walk in and saw somebody coming. "Oh! Sorry, I wanted to surprise you," said Cait Sith hopping into the room. "What the hell is that damn cat DOING HERE!?!" yelled Cid remembering when he was a spy. "I thought you said you turned him off Reeve!" "Sheesh no need to yell," said Cait Sith turning to Cid. "Like I said, I wanted to surprise you." "Damnit this is some stupid surprise," Barret said in an obvious "happy" mood. "Sorry! Blame me for trying something good for you guys," Cait Sith replied turning back around. "Anyway I turned him back on so he could maybe get us some drinks while we sit and chat. By the way...... why ARE you here?" "Well Reeve.....it's a long story," Cid said shaking his head. Then Reeve walked into the office and Cait Sith hopped out to get some drinks. "You'll never believe how hard it was to find him in this big tower," said Reeve walking over to them. "Now let's sit down and catch up on old times." He stopped and looked at Case, "Who're you?" "Me? I'm Case," Case replied shaking his hand. "Oh well then, looks like I meet some new characters to," Reeve said with a smile on his face. "Like the first group wasn't enough." The five went and sat down at a nearby table; then Cait Sith walked back in with drinks and the five started talking. Cloud, Heather, and Katlyn finally reached the top plate and stared at the huge tower over them. "Well," said Cloud turning to the girls. "Let's go in and find Reeve." The two girls nodded and they walked in, but they had no idea what would happen. "What the hell!?" There was blood and bodies of people all over the place. "Oh shit, this is just like two years ago. Don't look, just get in the elevator and go to the top floor. We need to get to Reeve as soon as we can." They got in the tube elevator and pressed the button for floor sixty-eight. "EDIN?! That back-stabbing-son-of-a-bitch is FIRED!" yelled Reeve when Vincent told him about what had happened in the mansion. "You said Cloud was here." "Yeah, he said he was coming here," Cid answered unsure. There was a brief silence in the room until there was a knock on the door. Cait Sith went to answer it and then Cloud busted in the room. "Cloud!" they all yelled, except Case who looked at Katlyn. "We need to get the hell outta here," Cloud told them quickly. Then he start to show Reeve the piece of Sephiroth's hand he'd cut off earlier. "Reeve..quick..does Shinra make these kind of machines?" Reeve took the piece and looked closely, "Yeah we do," he told Cloud. "Then what the hell do ya think you're doing reviving Sephiroth!?" Cloud yelled to Reeve. "I didn't revive him, Prof. Edin did," Reeve replied trying to explain to Cloud. "Vincent saw him do it, and I had no idea his was going on behind my back, I'm sorry Cloud." "Vincent?" Cloud asked looking to see Cid, Vincent, Barret, and some other guys he'd never seen before in the office as well. "Then...I guess it's not your fault." "Umm...sorry to interrupt but why did we have to get the hell out of here?" Case asked casually. All of a sudden there was a loud banging on the floor below them, and the biomechanical hand started to move and squirm around. "Shit....too late," said Cloud bracing himself. Sephiroth violently flew into the room and stood right at Reeve's desk. He stretched out his right hand and morphed into a syringe again. The part of his hand that was in the little box flew out to his hand and reattached itself. Everyone drew their weapons: Cloud drew his sword, Vincent loaded his gun, Barret attached his gun-arm, Cid got out his fold-away spear, Case brought out three daggers and his short sword, Heather took out a crossbow, Cait Sith got his megaphone, Katlyn got out a staff she found at the church, and they stood there locked for battle. Sephiroth didn't move a muscle and neither did any of the others. Then, in the blink of an eye, Sephiroth shot out his right hand, with the syringe, into Cloud's arm, knocking Cloud down, and filled the syringe with Jenova celled blood to complete himself. He pulled his hand back and pumped the blood into his arm and started to laugh insanely. Cloud got up and said uneasily, "We're all doomed now." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- End of part 1: The New Crisis Final Fantasy VII(r) The Sephiroth Apocalypse By: D.A.P. Cobra7455@aol.com Άπί(r)ε Part 2 The Planet's Part Chapter 6 Sephiroth's Plan The eight stood locked in their previous positions as Sephiroth finally stopped laughing. "Thank you Cloud," he finally said looking at Cloud. "I needed your blood to set the Jenova in me. I was made without Jenova cells that I needed. But now your time has come to perish and I will revive Jenova to destroy the planet." He stopped and they all just stood and listened to him. "Well then," said Cloud raising his sword. "We'll just have to stop you again." "I'm sorry Cloud," Sephiroth said raising his own sword. "But you will not be able to stop me this time. You see Prof. Edin enhanced me with these biomechanical parts to make me indestructible. Oh! And it seems that you brought me another Cetra to get rid of so he doesn't stop my plans and my mother's." He looked over at Case and slashed in his direction, making him jump back. The others didn't say a word and just stood there, amazed that Aeris wasn't the last one. "C,cetra?" Case said finally realizing what he was. "That's what the woman told me I was. She said 'Be strong, all Cetra go through this phase in their lifetime', that's what she told me." "Be strong.......", muttered Cloud thinking about Aeris. "Shu'up Sephiroth!" Barret said loading his gun. "You want to challenge me?!" Sephiroth asked, not surprised. "Come on." They got into battle mode and Barret cast the first spell, 'Regen'. Cloud cast 'Big Guard' on everyone and cast 'Ultima' on Sephiroth. Heat filled the room while a green ball of energy landed on Sephiroth and exploded. The blast was a direct hit while Cid mimicked Cloud and cast the same spells. Vincent shot at Sephiroth but missed, and Case cast 'Light 1' on Sephiroth which hit him with a beam of light square in the chest. Heather had up her limit and did 'Heat Arrow' on him that made Sephiroth a bit weaker. Cait Sith summoned 'NeoBahamut' after Heather's attack. The entire group watched as Sephiroth was taken up to the sky and attacked. The flare burnt him slightly but didn't hurt him that much. Katlyn attacked and got him right in his gut, knocking the wind out of him. Then Sephiroth, full with anger, morphed his hand into a big laser type gun and countered with his 'Hand Laser', that hit everyone, sending them to the ground. Barret got up and cast 'Cure 3' to heal everyone, but then Sephiroth took his Masamune and slashed Case, who fell after the blow. "That takes care of that," said Sephiroth wiping the blood from his sword. "Now if you will excuse me I'll be on my way." He turned around and flew through the window, out of the office while Vincent and Barret followed shooting at him. "Case! CASE!" yelled Katlyn running to where Case fell. She knelt down to look at Case; Heather and Cloud followed her to see the wound. "Ughh....Katlyn....how long has....it been....since.....we've seen each....other?" Case muttered. "Shh....don't talk, save your strength," Katlyn said pulling out some Potions. "That's a pretty deep wound," Cloud said gesturing her to put away the Potions. "I'll cast White Wind to heal it." Cloud cast 'White Wind' and a refreshing wind came through and healed Case up to Cloud strength. "That looks better," Katlyn said trying to wipe off the blood that was still there. "He's starting to look better already." "Now that you're better," said Cloud leaning over him. "What is this talk about you being a Cetra?" "Cetra?" asked Barret butting in. "So you a Cetra?......That explains why you looked like you were talking to yourself." "Yeah I guess y'all know now," said Case sitting up. "Lately I've been hearing voices that say they were from the planet. This one girl told me that you saved the planet before and that it needs to be saved again." "Aeris..." said Cloud quietly turning around. "Yes.....is this Edin?" Reeve asked on the phone. "It is? Good. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING REVIVING SEPHIROTH!?!?!?!?!!" "No...no s...sir it wasn't me it was Clive that did it, he revived him but he's dead now sir," Edin lied. "Clive?" asked Reeve turning to Vincent. "Is this true Vincent?" "I'm not sure of it but Clive threw the switch to start up Sephiroth. Also I heard Edin working on him," Vincent told him walking over to the window. "Yes sir it was Clive that brought Sephiroth back to life," repeated Edin. "You're being suspended from work without pay since we're short on scientists," said Reeve and hung up. "Damnit man! You jus' gonna let him go!?" asked Barret. "Well if Clive's dead then I'll just keep Edin under close watch," Reeve replied calling up Reno. "Reno?" "Yes sir I'm here," Reno replied. "Good, I got a personal job for you. I want you to follow Prof. Edin and keep a close watch on him," Reeve told him. "Ok Reeve, I'll get right on it. Also I'll just let you know one of the REBELION people is in Midgar. She's 'bout 5'4", reddish brown hair, and is wearing...." He would've kept on going but Cloud took the phone from Reeve and hung it up. "What the hell did you do that for?" asked Reeve surprised. "I didn't want to tell you but...Heather is that other member," Cloud told him. Reeve looked at Heather, who was still tending to Case with Katlyn, and looked back at Cloud. "Why didn't you say anything?" Reeve asked him. "Hell Reeve!" Cid busted in. "Don't worry 'bout it, she DID help us with Sephiroth didn't she?" "Yeah, I guess you're right Cid," Reeve said adjusting his collar. "I won't let it bother me, BUT she has to help us at all times and after this is all over she'll do manual labor for Shinra." "Heather. Get over here," Cloud said to her. "Yes?" she asked walking to him. "Reeve knows about the bombing," Cloud told her. "Shit....umm...yeah so?", she asked. Reeve, Cloud, Cid, and Heather talked, Vincent stared at the window where Sephiroth flew out. Barret was looking at Cait Sith by Cloud and the others, and Katlyn was tending Case while they talked. "Why.....why didn't....you tell me where....where you were? Was I not good enough for you?" Case asked Katlyn still getting his strength up. "No no no....you were good for me I just.....I just took a job here," Katlyn said still helping him out. "Here in Midgar? but where?", Case replied. "I'm the flower girl in the sector 5 slums. I've just never had time to call you," she said feeling sorry for him. "Well you could've sent a letter," he replied kind of harshly. "I know. I'm sorry Case, hope you're not mad......are you?" she asked worried. "......Nah I'm not mad...but still you should've," he replied giving her a smile. "So where've you been working Mister Why-didn't-you-contact- me?" Katlyn asked him knowing he never wrote her. "Oops...sorry Kat," Case replied with a guilty look on his face. "Anyway I've been working in a construction crew. That's how I met Barret. Then I started hearing the voices and I just ran. I ran from Corel to Rocket Town and that's where I met Cid and Vincent." "Then how'd you get into Midgar?" she asked him. "We rode some gold chocobos here," he continued. "We were following Cloud bec...." He stopped and grabbed his head and moaned. "Ughh....he's got control...of Jenova now." "What did you say?" asked Cloud walking to Case. "Did you say that he's got control of Jenova?" Then all of a sudden Cloud grabbed his and fell to the floor, unconscious. Sephiroth flew down to where the Temple of the Ancients used to be. "Hmmm...." he said viewing the hole. "I wonder if it's here. I should've looked at the Shinra confidential files before I flew out. Well, at least this'll torture Cloud for a while. Now how hard could it be to find a big chunk of materia?" "No..what, what are you...looking..." Cloud said now lying down on the couch. He felt the Jenova cells putting bad thoughts into his head but quickly got over it. "What the hell's goin' on with ya?" asked Cid looking down on him. "He's...Sephiroth is looking for something. He's at familiar places, all the places where something bad happened," Cloud replied sitting up. "Then he's...." "Going to go back to the reactor in the Nibel Mountains," Case said finishing Cloud's sentence. "How'd you know?" Cloud asked. "Voices from the planet told me," Case said holding his head. "I think the planet...I think it is going to do something about Sephiroth and Jenova but I don't know yet. It keeps saying that if some people didn't kill some monster called WEAPON that it could of stopped Sephiroth." "Sh'it! ya don't think that the planet's goin' ta......make a new WEAPON batch....Do ya?" Barret asked scratching his head. "No..." Vincent said walking back from the window. "WEAPON probably takes many years to create. We shouldn't see any of WEAPON for a while." "Well..." Reeve chimed in with a bad tone in his voice. "Our science lab doesn't have the precise date or time that old WEAPON was started and finished. So....we can't really tell where or when new WEAPON will be created." "Well that just raises up all hopes," Katlyn said. "We need to get back to Rocket Town, fast," Cloud said getting off of the couch. "I can get a jet to take you there," Reeve told Cloud helping him up. "I would send Cait Sith with you but you'd probably get mad again." "No," Cloud quickly said. "We need all the man-power we can afford. 'Cause it looks like Sephiroth is worse than ever. By the way, Katlyn I know we just met but it would greatly appreciated if you helped. Will you?" "Sure," Katlyn said nodding. "Plus I can be with Case again." "Why Rocket Town?" asked Cid. "Because," Cloud continued. "We need the Highwind again." "I'll send whatever supplies that you need Cid," Reeve told Cid as he walked over and talked about supplies. Afterwards Reeve called for a jet, which roared overhead some minutes later. Cloud, Barret, Cid, Katlyn, Vincent, Case, Heather, and Cait Sith hopped in the cargo jet and it took off for Rocket Town as Reeve waved them off. "Ughhh...." Cloud moaned. "Damnit man! What's Sephiroth doin' to ya now?" Cid asked trying to sleep. "No...not Sephiroth....motion..sickness. Ughhh..." Cloud replied. After he said that everyone scooted away from Cloud as if he had some fatal disease. "No offense," said Barret. "But ain't none of us want you ta get sick on us." "That's.....that's fine Barret, but...I...can't...really talk so jus' shut up!" Cloud sickly replied. Barret just growled at Cloud's response while the jet sped on. The jet hummed to a stop and hovered down to the ground outside the Highwind. "Alright," said the pilot. "The cargo has to go and I need to get back to Midgar by 8:30." "Well then..." Cid said excited. "Let's get this stuff out and get to work on the Highwind." They all groaned as Cid, Case, Cloud, Barret, Vincent, and Cait Sith helped with the big pieces as Katlyn and Heather got little pieces. They got all the pieces out of the jet in about seven minutes. The jet sped off while Cid whistled for some construction guys to help with the materials. They all got to work on the Highwind; Cid worked on the controls while Barret applied sheet metal with his hand laser. Cait Sith carried materials to everyone so they could keep working. Cloud worked on the interior with Vincent as Case worked on the jet engines with Katlyn. Heather looked over the blueprints and Shera made refreshments for everyone. "Damn!" Cid said frustrated. "Damn these wires! I swear ya wouldn't be able to find your way out if ya went completely in. Ah-ha! There's that bastard cable for the jets. Now lets find that landing harness." He dove back in the mess of wires and left the jet wires outside the cable panel. Case looked inside the engine to see what the problem was while Katlyn watched him. "Hmmm...." he mumbled looking stumped. "These engines should have power flowing to them but they don't." "Here are the blueprints for them," Katlyn said handing him the blueprints. "Thanks Kat," he said and looked at them. "Hmmm.....well that's the lousy problem, there's no cable to hook on right here." He looked up and grabbed two connector with a big space in-between them. "Do you want me to do anything?" Katlyn asked. "Well...go find Cid and see if he has the cable for the engines. You do know when he is." She nodded. "Good, I'd really appreciate it." She walked off and Case sat down by the engine, staring at the evening sky. Barret was almost done applying the sheet metal on the side of the new Highwind when Cait Sith walked up. "Do you need anymore sheet metal Barret?" Cait Sith asked. "Nah, I've got three pieces left an' I only need two," Barret told Cait putting on a new piece. "It almost looks done," Cait Sith said. "The view's spectacular." "Yeah....we all did a good job, but now, I want a good break," Barret said picking up the last sheet. "Go see how Cloud and Vincent are handlin'." "I just thought about that Barret," Cait Sith said hopping off. "Ahh, yes the room's almost done.", Cloud said with a sigh of relief. "Uhh...Cloud," said Vincent. "Sorry to bust your bubble but the chocobo room is suppose to be THAT one, not that first room." "Aw crap," Cloud said looking at the blueprints again. "Well let's get back to work then." They got back to work as Katlyn walked by into the control room towards the cable box with Cid looking in it. "Um...Cid," she asked. "Yeah, what is it?", he replied with his head in the cables. "There's no power flowing to the engines," Katlyn explained. "Also Case needs an extra jet engine cable." "What?" he asked getting out of the cable box. "Here it is.... oh wait I need to hook it up." He hooked up the cable that was outside the box. "There, that outta give those engines power." "But there's a cable output and input on the engine," she told him. "Well damn..." he said looking around. "Wait! that's what that extra separate cable was for." He walked over to the deck where a single cable was and he picked it up then gave it to Katlyn. "Hook this up to the engine but make sure that the engine's turned off." She took the cable and headed out to the engines to give the cable to Case. "Here's the extra cable that you needed," Katlyn said handing Case the cable. "Oh. Make sure and turn off the power so you don't get shocked or anything like that." "Thanks," he said turning off the power and attaching the cable. After the attachment was done Case switched on the engines and listened to them hum to life. It was near midnight when the Highwind was almost completed and everyone got a chance to rest. The engines were humming in the night, and the body was shimmering with new sheet metal. The inside was completely re-done with all the rooms in place, and the control room was a perfect replica of the first one. The wiring for the entire ship was in its rightful place with power flowing throughout the ship. Cid stood on the ground just staring at it while everyone else was laying down then Shera walked over to him. "Ain't she beautiful?" he said proudly. "Yes it is, especially in the night with all the lights making it shine," Shera said looking all around the ground at the others. "Let's leave them to their sleep." "Ok hon, you're probably right, but it's finally done. Now I have something else to do" he said nervously. "What is it Cid?" she asked looking at him. "I've always told myself I'd do this when the Highwind was finished and now I have butterflies, but here goes," Cid stopped and reached in his pocket. "Shera," he said as he slipped a ring on her finger, "Will you marry me?" "Cid..." she said. "Yes...I will." "Hot damn!" he almost yelled hugging her and they walked into his house while almost everyone else slept. Case sat up awake looking at the Highwind. "...Sephiroth's moving..." he said to himself. "Looking for something, but what?... Just hope that Cloud doesn't flip out like you told me he did before." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 7 Jenova:Embodied "C'mon c'mon c'mon," Cid said waking everyone up. "Wake up ya bums!" "Damn.." Barret started turning over. "Let us sleep. We just finished that thing for ya...so jus' let us sle-" "No," interrupted Cloud getting up. "We need to leave now to catch Sephiroth." They got everyone else up and got them into the new Highwind with a brand new kitchen so they could eat. Heather cooked eggs and bacon for everyone while Cloud helped her out with the cooking. Cid didn't eat, instead he went to the bridge to see if the Highwind would start. "I've worked on this for two damn years," he said staring at the control console. "Now this damn thing better start." He looked the at the panel and pressed a button to start up the engines. There was a low hum, then a grinding of metal, and finally the Highwind came to life with loud blast and took off. "YES!! I'm airborne again!!!" Everyone rushed in to see if he was alright and saw the ground moving though the big window. "She works Cloud! She works! Thank you all for helping me. Case...good job on the engines." "No problem," Case replied scratching his head. "Wow...it's just like two years ago," Cloud said holding in his breakfast. "It...feels nice to be flying again." He stopped and grabbed his head. "Ughh..." Everyone gathered around him to see what had happened. "Sephiroth's...he's at the City of the Ancients." "Well then..." Cid said jumping up and pointing to the bridge. "Let's go get him." "Right!" everyone said following Cid to the bridge. Sephiroth walked up to the big shell house and looked at it. "Ah yes..." he said smiling. "Good memories for me, bad memories for Cloud. And it's the place where he killed Jenova:Birth. You think the Ancients would hide the most destructive power in the universe, somewhere close to home." He started inside but stopped. "Damn...I didn't kill that Cetra boy. I guess I'll have to do a better job next time." He walked into the shell house and down the crystal stairway where the Forgotten City was. The group was almost to the city when Cloud felt something. "This is a trap," he said looking down on the planet. "He wants us to go to him. He...might even try to kill Case again." Katlyn looked at Case who looked back and nodded at Cloud. "I'll stay in the Highwind and you can take some others in to help you," Case said. Cloud nodded as the Highwind was coming upon Bone Village so the city wasn't far. The Highwind slowly came to a soft stop and the whole group gathered at the exit. "I'll take two others with me," Cloud said explain his battle tactics. "A second group will stay in Shell Village, and the last group will stay here with Case so Sephiroth doesn't try to kill him. I think we'll need you in the future." "Right," Case said getting worried. "I have a feeling that I'll be important too. Oh...here Cloud, you might wanna use this materia on Sephiroth." He handed Cloud the 'Light Materia' but once Case let go of it, it stopped glowing. "Hmm...it never did that to me before." "Here just keep it," Cloud said handing it back to him. "I think only you can use it. See...it's glowing again. Anyway each group will have PHS so if anything goes wrong we can contact each group, got that? Case, Katlyn, Heather, here's you three your PHS call any of us in case something happens." Everyone agreed and they split into three groups; Cloud took Heather and Cid, the second group consisted of Barret, Vincent, and Katlyn, and Cait Sith stayed with Case. "We'll go in first, then Barret, Vincent, and Katlyn will just stay outside the main city, and Cait Sith will stay here, at the Highwind, with Case." Then Cloud, Cid, and Heather ran off into the City of the Ancient not knowing what to expect. Then Barret, Vincent, and Katlyn followed after Cloud and the others were out of sight while Cait Sith and Case stayed at the Highwind. The first group approached the big shell house and stopped in front of it. "He's in inside...he's down in the Forgotten City.". The three walked inside the house and down the crystal staircase like Sephiroth did. They carefully walked into the Forgotten City and looked around for Sephiroth. "Glad you could come..." said Sephiroth as an image of him appeared in front of them. "What do you want!?" Cloud demanded. "What were you trying to tell me!?". "You'll see...", Sephiroth said as the image disappeared. They ran closer to the altar where Aeris was killed. Then another image of Sephiroth appeared in front of them again. "I have another surprise for you." They ran on closer to the altar as another image of Sephiroth appeared. "You are going to love me for this..." Cloud ignored it and ran on top of the alter with the others following him were they found Sephiroth. "Glad you all could make it here without becoming badly hurt. Oh by the way...how's that Cetra boy?" asked Sephiroth. "Leave Case outta this," Cloud said threatening him. "This is just between you and me." "Hardly, my quarrel is with the planet," Sephiroth replied. "But you're no longer needed anymore so that...means...you're... disposable. JENOVA! Wake up!" Sephiroth flew out of the city and then a piece of flesh fell down just like two years ago. It morphed into a body with six arms, eleven feet tall, a mouth in its chest, a tail with a spiked ball at the end, and finally an orb for every elemental attack ever used morphed out of thin air. "Ohhh....fuck," said Cid opening his mouth, letting his cigarette fall out. "This son-of-a-bitch is going ta be a tough shit ta beat." "Barret!, Vincent!, Katlyn!, anyone! Help us out goddamnit!" Cid yelled over static on the phone. "You heard him," said Barret taking command. "They need help so let's go help." Barret, Vincent, and Katlyn ran towards the big shell house to help while the new Jenova stood there in front of Cloud, Cid, and Heather then it actually started speaking. "I am Jenova:Embodied," it started to say. "This will be your last day on this planet. I will bring oblivion among this planet and destruction to all of you puny creatures." "I don't think so Jenova," Cloud said drawing his sword. "I've beaten you before and you're not going to stop me this time." Jenova raised one of it's arms and suddenly Cloud stumbled then fell to the floor. Barret, Vincent, and Katlyn ran into Sephiroth as he was flying out and started to fight him. Vincent took the first shot right at Sephiroth's left forearm which took him down to the ground. He got up, mumbling under his breath, and then morphed out his Masamune again and said, "Alright...who wants some now!?" He lunged towards Barret and hit him in the face then took Katlyn and brought his sword to her neck. "Now......If you try anything such as the smallest step to help her, she will die." "Damnit..." Barret said rubbing his jaw. Sephiroth slowly made his way around them and then threw Katlyn to the ground. "Heh heh heh..." he chuckled. "Now it's time to kill a Cetra..." "No!.." Katlyn yelled as Sephiroth flew towards the Highwind. Barret went down to the Forgotten City to help Cloud, Cid, and Heather while Vincent went with Katlyn after Sephiroth. Meanwhile down on the altar, Jenova:Embodied continued to hurt Cloud with just the movement of its arms. "Damnit...I can't take this anymore..." Cid said and cast 'Ultima' on it. The blast knocked Jenova down to the ground and then Cloud became conscious again and got up. "Alright..." Cloud said getting ready to attack. "Now it's time to get even..." He lunged toward Jenova with his sword leading and did '4x-cut' on it that sliced it pretty badly. After that blow Jenova got up steadily and started to speak, "I see that you puny creatures are not as simple to kill as I thought." Then after it said that, Jenova flew out of the city as Barret came down and just started shooting at it. "I can't see anything," Case said to Cait Sith looking to the city. "Trust me..." Cait Sith said. "He's coming." Just then Case saw a figure coming over the horizon, Sephiroth's figure. "Well...I'll be damned," Case said drawing his sword preparing to use his materia. Then Case cast 'Light 1' on Sephiroth while he coming towards him. The force of the magic attack blew Sephiroth back twenty yards. "Ouch..." said Cait Sith flinching a bit. "I think that blast hurt him." "Is he still coming?" "Hold on I'll look," Cait Sith said pulling out some binoculars, focusing them on Sephiroth. "Wait...he just got up and... boy is he pissed off. Anyway now he's coming in really fast." Sephiroth got up, grumbled under his breath, and sped towards the airship. Case saw him speed up then just stepped to the side, clenched his hand into a fist, and waited for the right moment to punch. Sephiroth, surprised, was going too fast to stop and ran straight into Case's fist. Case and Sephiroth both flew backwards from the blow and Cait Sith caught Case. Sephiroth very slowly got up, stumbled, and took off to the air. Just as Case and Cait Sith saw Sephiroth fly away they saw Jenova:Embodied fly off with him. Then Cloud, Cid, Heather, Barret, Vincent, and Katlyn ran out of the city as Case started running in. "Hey!..." yelled Cloud to Case as he passed him. "What the hell are you doing?!?" "I need to get something that I was told to get before we left," he yelled back, already in the city. "But WHAT!?!" yelled Cid, but by then Case was too far in the city for him to hear. They waited for Case at the airship when he finally came back, wet. "Ok," Case said running into the ship. "Let's get outta here." They all stared at him for a while then went into the Highwind as well. "Now what the hell was that crazy fucker up to?" Cid asked. The Highwind took off smoothly and Cid started steering it. Just then Jenova:Embodied flew by and knocked up against the ship. "DAMN!!" yelled Cid as everyone else went across the room. "That son-of-a-bitch is going to pay!" Then he pressed a small yellow button which caused a Mako-cannon to come out of a compartment on the outside of the ship. "Hey Case. Put your 'Light' something or other materia in that slot." Case took out the 'Light Materia' and put it in the slot on the gun. Then Cid pushed a green button just to the right of the yellow one and told everyone to stand back. At first there was low hum, then a cranking. "Watch that cannon right below the skyline." A high power light formed at the end, then Cid turned the turret to point it at Jenova, he pressed the green button again, and finally the gun fired. A huge beam of mako energy light shot straight at Jenova and knocked it right out of the sky. "Now," said Cloud. "We need to get the rest of the gang back." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 8 The Awakening "What do ya mean you're not coming with us?" asked Cloud. "We need more power on the team Red." "I'm sorry Cloud..." said Nanaki shaking his head. "But I need to stay here in Cosmo Canyon to protect it. Oh, and by the way, there is no need to call me by that name. Just remember that my real name is Nanaki." "Ok Nanaki," Cloud said not to disappoint him. "Look man..." Barret said. "Sephiroth's back and deadlier than ever. An' that's why we need ya." "Hmm..." Nanaki said calmly. "Sephiroth again...is he trying to destroy the planet?" "Ya see we don't know yet," Barret said. "I think he's not the one we have to worry about," Case said. "That new Jenova might be trying something but I don't know yet." "What do ya mean yet?" asked Barret. "Well," started Case. "You know that the Cetra have a special ability to communicate with the planet. Well, the planet is watching Jenova and Sephiroth carefully so that an incident like two years ago doesn't happen again." "Ya don't think..." said Cid. "That the planet might finish WEAPON early to kill Sephiroth and Jenova?" said Vincent finishing Cid's thought. "It IS possible... isn't it." "Wait wait wait just one moment...", Nanaki interrupted. "Is this young man a Cetra? I thought Aeris was the last one. Besides, the elders and books here don't speak much of the construction or completion of WEAPON." "Well..I am a Cetra," started Case but suddenly stopped. "But ...I...don't really...know who my mother is...or father." He stopped, sat down, and thought for a second while the others got settled around Cosmo Candle. "Who..." Case said conversing with the voices of past Cetra. "Who are my parents?...who? Why is it so hard for me to know?" He kept going on while others had individual conversations. "...I... remember..." After he spoke everyone grew silent. "I was born in Midgar. More specifically, the Shinra tower, in the science lab level." "You mean like where Prof. Hojo did all those experiments?" asked Cait Sith. "Yeah, I guess so..." said Case. "My mother was........Ifalna, and my father was some man......called...umm......" He stopped suddenly and sat there in shock. "Let's go on," Case said trying to change the subject. "But what abou-," Cloud started. "No," Case quickly stopped him. "I can't tell you. So let's go." Case got up and walked away to the bar. "I'll see what's wrong with him," said Vincent getting up as well. "I probably know how he feels." Then Vincent and walked to the bar after Case. "Anyway Nanaki..." Cloud said still trying to recruit him. "We really need your help. You were a big help the last time we were in trouble like this." "I know...I know..." Nanaki said. "But the canyon needs me a lot. It is my duty to protect this canyon." "Damnit man," Cid said. "Jus' think what you're grandpa would have you do." Nanaki sat and thought about what Cid said. "I'll have to think about what you said," Nanaki started getting up from the flame. "Why don't all of you have a good nights rest at the inn." "Yeah...sure..." said Cloud. Nanaki walked away towards his room while all the other waited till he left and still sat by the fire. "I wonder how Vincent's doing with Case," said Katlyn worried. "I know I wouldn't have any luck getting out whatever's haunting him inside." Meanwhile in the bar Vincent found Case and sat down next to him. "One please," Vincent told the bartender. "Why are you in here?" asked Case. "I know how you feel..." said Vincent. "Always feeling abandoned, guilty, or afraid." "Hey!" started Case standing up, making a scene. "You have no idea what I feel like right now. To know how it feels to know that Sephiroth is your father?! I don't think so." The whole bar was completely silent while Case turned around and saw Cloud standing in the doorway. "Case..." said Cloud. "I'm sorry...I didn't-" "Save it," said Case and then he walked into one of the inn rooms. "Vincent..." Cloud said. "What did you say to him?" "I just said 'I know how you feel'," Vincent said. "Let's go to sleep," Cloud said. "We need our rest." "Yeah..." Vincent said. Cloud called in everybody in to rest up but stopped Katlyn to talk with her. "Umm...Case needs some one to cheer him up. Why don't you give it a try." "Ok..." Katlyn said. "I'll try my best to make him better. But what happened?" "Case found out who his father was," Cloud said walking outside of town. She walked up to Case's room and knocked on the door. "Come in..." Case said. "Hi," Katlyn said. "Hon I thought you needed some cheering up." "It doesn't matter," Case said laying on the bed. "This whole fucked up planet isn't worth saving anyway if we're just going to damn ourselves to a life in hell." "Case! I'm ashamed! You don't really mean that do you?" asked Katlyn. "Well..." he said. "Katlyn we're just sucking up all of the planet's spiritual energy. People say that the new reactors will recycle the energy but it still takes a little. We pollute the land, sky, and sea so why try and save it all if we just trash it again." "Case...this isn't like you..." replied Katlyn. "What happened to the Case I knew, and loved? There'll always be good people trying to do good things, and there are more of them then bad people." "Katlyn..." said Case. "What would you feel like if you knew you were just an experiment?" She said nothing but just stood there in shock. "Exactly. I was born to help the old President Shinra find the Promise Land, but when a riot happened in the building I found a drain chute and left. This was when I was four years old, but before that, right after I was born, my mother and sister left the building. Later she was hurt and got on a train. My sister was with her when she died and some lady that was at the station took my sister, Aeris, and cared for her. It was my mother's last wish. She didn't even think about me." "I'm...I'm sorry Case," Katlyn said. "I didn't know about that, but, why didn't you tell me while we were in Midgar?" "Because..." he replied. "I...I thought you'd become scared of me, plus...I didn't know this much back then." Their conversation was interrupted when the ground started shaking violently. "What the hell is goin' on?" Barret yelled from the other room. Just then Case and Katlyn came running out of the inn as the ground's shaking let up a bit. "The worst possible scenario we could dream of is happening," said Case. "And what is that?" asked Cloud. Vincent walked out of the inn and by then the ground's shaking was almost gone. "What was that all about?" asked Vincent. "It's......WEAPON," said Case looking towards the north. "And it's not happy about any of this." "What is going on?" asked Nanaki coming out of his room. "Why did the ground start to shake?" "It's WEAPON," Cloud said running past him. "Let's check this out through that telescope in Bugenhagen's house." The nine of them ran up all the stairs to Bugenhagen's right away. Cloud looked through the telescope and then quickly stopped. "Uh...where should I look at?" "I don't know," Cid said. "Try north," Case said. Cloud did and then stood there with his head down. "Not again..." he muttered. "Is it...WEAPON?" Heather asked. "Yeah..." Cloud said looking back through the telescope. "Four of 'em." He looked though again to watch them fly off and saw all their different colors. "Hmmm...orange, green, mostly white, and black-gray." "Topaz, Jade, Opal, and Dark WEAPON," Case suddenly said. "I asked the planet a while back when the conversation came up. "Oh great," said Cait Sith. "What if one of them tries to attack Midgar again?" "I don't know about that," said Case. "I have no clue as to what WEAPON wants to do." "Well Nanaki," said Cloud looking at him. "Are you going to come with us or let WEAPON and Sephiroth tear up the planet?" Nanaki sat and thought for a while then came up with his answer. "...Yes..." he finally said getting up. "I will join you once again." "Great," Cloud said. "Now let's get to the airship." "Why now?" asked Cid. "We're going to get Tifa," Cloud said and they all ran out to the airship. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 9 WEAPON! Meanwhile in Kalm, at Tifa's bar, the aftershock of WEAPON's awakening just finished. "What the hell was that all about?" said a man at the counter. "What do I look like?" replied another man. "A Shinra rocket scientist?" Tifa got up after being knocked to the ground by the shaking and wondered herself what that was all about. "Yo! barlady..." yelled a drunken man. "Get me your...uh get me some...aoerwambvcx, I mean SCOTCH! get me your best scotch." "I'm sorry sir," said Tifa cleaning a glass. "I have a limit on the number of drinks a customer can have." "What the hell!?" the man replied drunk as hell. "When I say get me a drink, that means get me a drink." He started to pull a gun on Tifa when all of a sudden his chair came out from under him and he fell to the floor. "Don't ya know it rude to pull a gun on a lady," said a man in the shadows. Tifa couldn't tell who it was or could be, because this man had a red glow from his left eye. "T-Thank you sir," Tifa said when he stepped out into the light. "Sephiroth?!?!" "Why, you got it in one try, here's your prize," he said sarcastically putting his sword on the counter. Tifa couldn't help but look at his deformed biomechanical face and body. "Um...did you kill him?" Tifa asked looking at the man on the floor. "Because it makes me look bad if a customer of mine got killed in my bar." "Why of course not Tifa," Sephiroth said stepping over the man. "I only knocked him out." "Anyway, what the hell are you doing back?!" Tifa said practically yelling. "I even saw Cloud kill you, but you're even uglier than I remember." "Now now my dear," Sephiroth said calmly and waving his finger. "All I know is that I was scientifically brought back to life and mechanically altered. But I had to steal some Jenova cells from Cloud, and now because of me...WEAPON has come back for me and my partner in crime, Jenova:Embodied." "You mean that shaking was..." Tifa asked but got interrupted. "Yep," said Sephiroth. "It was WEAPON." Racing across the sky, the Highwind flew quicker to get to Kalm. "Damn that WEAPON," muttered Cid looking at Dark WEAPON floating in the sky. "Acting like it owns the sky." "Just shutup Cid," said Cloud. "We need to get to Kalm as quick as possible." Just then Dark WEAPON flew overhead of the Highwind and almost brought it down. Everyone inside flew across the room and the airship started to go down. "That goddamn-mother-fucking-son-of-a-bitch is goin' ta pay, big time," Cid yelled violently. Then he got the ship under control when they felt another jerk on the ship. "What the fuck is it this time?" "Silly mortals!" the voice boomed. "You think you can hurt me and live to see the next day?" "Who is it?" asked Cloud. "Um..." said Katlyn. "It's Jenova:Embodied." "I will destroy you," Jenova kept saying. "And I will destroy your ship as well. You will never see the sun set." Just then Jenova raced towards the ship and slammed right into it. Everyone inside lost their balance and fell down. "That does it," said Cloud getting up. "I'm going up there to destroy this thing so I will never face it again." "Wait!" said Case running to Cloud. "I'm going to. I will be strong and face this thing with you." "Me too," chimed in Heather. "I don't want to lose a part of my team." "Thank you," started Cloud. "But I-" "But you nothing," said Heather "We're going too." "Alright," said Cloud. "Cid, if you can, try and help us kill this thing." Cid nodded and the three walked out of the bridge towards the deck. "It's comin' again!" shouted Barret. "Take this you bitch," Cid said pressing the fire button for the Materia-ray. The barrel glowed for a while then shot out this clear beam of energy that hit Jenova head on. Then Jenova started moving slower than before. "What the hell happened to it?" asked Vincent. Cid growled under his breath and walked over to the materia slot for the gun then took out the materia. "Who's 'Time Materia' is this!?" he asked. "Uh..." said Katlyn. "It's mine, I thought I'd lost it for a moment." "Well..." Cid said shoving it to her. "Don't lose it again." After giving Katlyn her materia he went back and put in his own materia. "This 'Ultima Materia' will pack a better punch." Cloud, Heather, and Case got up to the deck and saw Jenova face to face. "Alright Jenova," Cloud said with his sword out. "You'll never control me again." Cloud summoned NeoBahamut that burnt Jenova and destroyed the ice elemental orb Jenova had. Then Jenova used it's water elemental orb on Cloud and a big wave of water hit Cloud, pushing him against the railing. Then to make matters worse Jenova raised one of it's arms and then Cloud grabbed his head, stumbled, and fell to the deck. "You bitch," Case said as Heather knelt down to help Cloud. "You killed thousands of Cetra, caused them all to go mad and now you think you can just hurt my friends and get any with it?......I don't think so." Then with all of his rage, Case did his limit break called 'Elemental Fury'. He took out four daggers and tossed them out above Jenova. They stopped in the air in a diamond formation above Jenova. Then Case threw his sword out in the air, which stopped right on top of Jenova. Then he did a chant that lasted about a minute when his weapons started to react. First off, one of the daggers shot out a fiery red beam, then the next one shot out an icy blue beam, then after that the next dagger shot out an earthy green beam, and the final dagger shot out an electric yellow beam. Finally his short sword gathered up energy until the energy was blinding and then it shot out a pearl white holy beam right on top of Jenova. The blast of it was blinding and fried Jenova to some extent. After it cleared the weapons that were over Jenova went back to Case, then Jenova spoke. "I am still afloat," it said. "Even though your attack was wounding, it still had no effect in killing me." Just then a turret on the ship turned towards Jenova and started to heat up when a voice started talking over a microphone. "Alright bitch," Cid said over the mike. "Let's see if this will kill you." Cid finished talking and pushed the fire button for the Materia-ray with the 'Ultima Materia' in it. The turret hummed louder and louder until it fired. The sound of the fire was deafening as a huge beam of pale green light shot out at Jenova. It shot out straight through Jenova as if it were made of paper and disintegrated it into thin air. Cloud, getting up, said weakly, "Let's get to Kalm." Heather and Case got Cloud to his feet and walked him in to the bridge. Meanwhile at "Tifa's Haven" in Kalm, Sephiroth talked on with Tifa. "So you see," Sephiroth said drinking a glass of whiskey. "I was the victim in all of this." "You say you had no emotions when you were without the Jenova cells?" said Tifa mixing a drink. "That's strange, but anyway why are you telling me all of this?" "Hey!" Sephiroth exclaimed finishing his drink. "It's a bar. Aren't you supposed to tell your life story or not? But anywa-" He stopped suddenly and stood up. "DAMNIT!" he said slamming his fist down on the counter. Tifa, alarmed, didn't want to ask him what the problem was, so she let him go on talking. "I have to go." He got up and took his Masamune off of the counter "Here's some gil. I trust it should pay for the drinks." He threw a little pouch filled with gil onto the counter and walk out of the bar. Tifa didn't say a thing to any other customers, but instead just took the gil and put it in the cash register. Just outside the bar Sephiroth looked up at the sky and saw the Highwind coming, fast. He had felt that Jenova:Embodied had been killed and anticipated that Cloud and the others would be here soon to get Tifa back. Sephiroth ran just outside the town to meet with the Highwind. When it finally landed Cid got out and climbed down the ladder. "Oh..why hello Cid." Cid, shocked, hesitated but then finally said, "What the fuck are you doing here!?" "Ahh, poor Cid," said Sephiroth folding his arms. "Always so violent." "Well," Cid said clenching his fists. "I have a good reason to be violent today with you and your dumbass little buddy Jenova flyin' around." "Such cruel language," Sephiroth replied. "How's Cloud? Hmm..? Dead I hope." Just then Cloud slid down the ladder and said to Sephiroth, "No, I decided I liked living and would like to keep doing so." Sephiroth started to applaud and told Cloud, "What impeccable timing. But I must take my leave. Because you see with WEAPON to reek havoc or chaos upon society, I can get the next part of my plan into effect. To get the 'Unknown Materia'." With that he flew off laughing but finally said, "Hope you have fun fighting WEAPON because it's coming this way!" He pointed at WEAPON as he flew off towards the northwest. Cid radioed back up to the Highwind, "Well, which one is it?" "It's Topaz WEAPON," Vincent answered over the intercom. "And it looks unhappy." "Well Cloud," said Cid. "Who's going to stop this thing." Cloud was about to talk when Tifa came running out of Kalm. "I'll help you," she said. "Tifa," Cloud said. "But-" "Save it. Remember, I don't take 'No' for an answer," she replied putting on her glove. "I'm going to help then we can talk later." "I'll help too," Cid said pulling out his spear. "It'll be like ol' times. Now hurry up you bastard WEAPON, it's time to kick your ass." Then the three ran out to meet it ready for battle then waited for it to reach shore. Topaz WEAPON took it's time reaching the shore, but from looking at it was heavily artillerated with guns, rocket launchers, and lasers. "Aw damn," Cid said looking at the orange giant. "This is goin' ta be one tough bitch." "For once you got something right," said Cloud casually waiting. "Just be quiet you two," said Tifa. "This thing could try something any second." Just then WEAPON turned towards Midgar and armed itself. "Cait Sith!" Cloud yelled into the PHS. "Do you have defenses in Midgar?" "What?" asked Cait Sith. "Why?" "Because," Cloud said. "WEAPON's about to attack Midgar!" In Midgar at the Shinra tower Reeve stood looking out the window at WEAPON arming itself then pushed some sort of button. Missile turrets raised out of parts of the ground and Mako cannons charged up to full power. Reeve pushed another button next to it and watched as a large compartment opened up and the Brother Ray raised up into view. It reached full extension and aimed at Topaz WEAPON. Then a man came up behind Reeve and said, "Sir, do you want us to fire?" "Hold on Cyrus," Reeve said raising his hand. "Let's let Cloud and the others see if they can't defend us while the Brother Ray charges up." "But are you sure?" Cyrus asked. "Yes, I'm sure," Reeve told him. "Hey Cloud," Cait Sith said over the PHS. "Do you think you three can hold WEAPON off for a while?" "Yeah," said Cloud. "We can get that thing preoccupied." The three pulled back from the shore so they'd have a chance to fight it on dry land. Topaz looked at the three running back and took it's attention off of Midgar to walk ashore and fight. Topaz WEAPON had the first strike on the group and it shot out a whole turret of missiles that spread out to hit Cloud, Tifa, and Cid. Tifa ran up, dodging all the missiles, and did her limit break. Each attack hit perfectly but not hurting it much. Then Cid did his limit break and called the Highwind to fly overhead and unleash an array of bombs onto WEAPON. All the blasts took a while but when they were finally done Cloud did 'Knights of the Round', while Topaz was still confused, to try and finish it off. The three watched as WEAPON went down into oblivion, then finally Tifa said, "Do you think it'll come back alive?" "I wish I knew," Cloud replied. They waited about one more minute when Topaz WEAPON appeared out of thin air. It turned and started to walk away from the small group. Inside the Shinra tower, Reeve stood there looking out the window, and he saw once more WEAPON turn to face Midgar ready to fire. "Fire all weapons," Reeve told Cyrus. "But save the Brother Ray for last." Cyrus agreed then turned to tell Roland, chief of security, to fire all weapons except the Brother Ray. The blast from all the turrets and cannons made the whole city shake. The streams of smoke left by the missiles trailed for miles, and the shots from the Mako cannons went in a straight line. Then the Brother Ray hummed until it got deafening, energy gathered at the tip of the barrel, and then finally, a huge blast of Mako energy shot out and ripped across the sky. Topaz WEAPON stood there about to fire when the light artillery hit it. With all the missiles and Mako cannon bursts Topaz WEAPON was stunned when the shot from the Brother Ray was in site. Topaz WEAPON got up and shot one missile towards Midgar before the blast from Brother Ray tore WEAPON open. Topaz WEAPON went flying back into the sea when the shot from Brother Ray just dissipated. "Well," said Cloud turning around to face Cid and Tifa. "That takes care of that. Good job Reeve." "Anytime you need the help," Cait Sith said. "Tifa," said Cloud. "Thanks for your help." "Eh.." Tifa started. "It was my turn to save you." "So what now?" asked Cid sitting on the ground. "We go find that 'Unknown Materia' Sephiroth was talking about," Cloud replied finally realizing that the 'Unknown Materia' was what Sephiroth had been searching for all along. Then the three walked back to the airship to plan for tomorrow. "There is such a thing as the 'Unknown Materia'," said Prof. Edin standing over a brownish looking materia. "Who knows what powers this one materia has. It might even be able to bring about the destruction of a planet just like the 'Black Materia'." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 10 The Unknown Materia Prof. Edin looked over the materia carefully, checking out the surface and condition of the materia. "Hmm..." he mumbled looking over it again. "This isn't any ordinary materia. It has a strange aura and sense to it." He continued to take notes and examine the materia when he didn't know that Sephiroth was right behind him. "Boo..." Sephiroth said startling Edin. "Aren't you scared to see me?" "What the hell are you?" Edin started but stopped. "So I take it that you got some Jenova cells?" "Why yes," Sephiroth said. "And what is the good doctor doing on a desolate island like this?" "As you can see I'm doing research on this so to say 'Unknown Materia'," Edin said turning back to the materia. "But to my calculations this materia is no ordinary materia. It's a huge materia, and another thing...it didn't originate on this planet." "You mean it's...alien?" Sephiroth asked looking at the materia. "Yes," Edin replied covering the materia. "But what did you intend on doing with it?" "Why, use it to my benefit of course," Sephiroth said picking it up. "To conquer this planet and other planets as well, but first, tell me more about what this materia can do." Sephiroth walked up to Edin and backed him up to one of the cave walls. "How are we going to find this...'Unknown Materia'," asked Vincent. "We need to ask...Yuffie," Cloud said looking out the window. "What?!" yelled Barret. "Ya mean we're goin' back ta that damn materia thief for help!?!" "We have no choice," Cloud continued. "That 'Unknown Materia' Sephiroth talked about is I was warned not to let him get. I've heard legends of a destruction materia that was even more powerful than the 'Black materia' itself, but......that was just a myth." "Yes," said Nanaki looking up. "I've heard the story of it too. Grandpa told me of it a day or two after Meteor. It had enough power to destroy worlds." "But," interrupted Barret. "How'd it get here?" "I was about to say," continued Nanaki. "It was said that a long time ago a supreme being created this planet and gave it spirit energy. Then the first creatures form on this planet, Cetra. They flourished, created civilizations, and a great city to channel their energy. Then the Crisis from the Sky came to spread its terror upon the Cetra. When this being, Jenova, came down it didn't come alone but with a powerful weapon. This caused the planet to produce WEAPON, but the creature's weapon got lost when it crashed onto this planet. When it did, four separate pieces flew off, or out, of the weapon and they were scattered upon this planet. Some people confined these pieces so that the crisis from the sky could not be able to use its weapon." There was a long pause as everyone waited to hear what Nanaki had to say next. "Um..that's all I know." "Well then," said Cloud. "Let's go to Wutai." The Highwind flew off to the west from Kalm to see Yuffie at Wutai. "So you see," Edin told Sephiroth showing him the slots on the materia. "This materia is a housing unit for four of the most powerful materia on this planet." Sephiroth stood there staring at the glowing materia then knelt down and touched it. It emitted a fierce violent glow and then Sephiroth said, "So you're saying it's like a huge materia for destruction materia." "Exactly.," Edin said. "When all four of the separate materia are put into their slots, I think, this "huge materia" becomes active." Then Sephiroth grabbed Edin and threw him up against the wall holding him in the air. "Tell me where they are," Sephiroth demanded. "Well Cloud," Yuffie said walking out of the tower. "I've heard of it and I think it's on some island somewhere, but I don't know where." "Well we need to know," said Cloud. "You see, Sephiroth is back and is looking for that materia. He might even be planning to destroy the planet again." "What?!!!?!" Yuffie yelled. She sat down and thought about the situation at hand. "Well..." Nanaki said. "Are you coming with us, telling us where the materia is, or do we have to find out ourselves?" "Hold on!" she snapped back. "I'm thinking......ok, I'll go with you under one condition." "Fine, what?" Cloud was afraid to ask. "Whatever materia I find, it's mine!" she said looking at Cloud. "Ok," Cloud said not really caring about materia. "What 'bout ya stealin' our materia last time," said Barret. "Don't worry old man," said Yuffie point at Barret. "I have enough materia from the ones you chumps gave me after we killed the FIRST Sephiroth so don't worry about me stealin' your measly materia." "Good," said Barret. "I just wanted to make sure that you were on the level. Wait! Old?! Measly materia?! Why I outta..." "Don't let it get to ya," Cloud said stopping Barret. "Now let's go find that materia before the Shinra scientists or Sephiroth do." "Hey!" complained Cait Sith. "All of the Shinra scientists are accounted for except...shit." Just then Reeve was reminded of Prof. Edin and what he did. "Hold on Cloud. I have some "business" to attend to, I'll be right back." Cait Sith shut off and started to go limp. "Hey Barret," Cloud said. "Get that toy and take it to the airship, ok?" "...Fine," "Good, now let's go," Cloud said as all the others walked to the airship. "Yes?" said Reeve. "Is this Reno? Good. Have you kept track of Edin?" "Well sir..." Reno started to explain. "We kept track of him while he was on the mainland, but then he took a private ship and sailed off to the northwest." "Hmm..." Reeve muttered pacing in his office. "The northwest... that bastard. Good job Reno, you'll get some extra pay for this." "Thank you sir," Reno said and hung up. Back at the Highwind everyone was gathered in the conference room. "Now, I know that the materia was on an island like 'Knights of the Round' was," Yuffie said thinking about the legends. "And I remember it's somewhere in an ocean but I don't know which one." Reeve got Cait Sith back online and told Cloud what he had just found out. "It's on a hidden island in the northwest," Cait Sith said. "Thanks Cait," Cloud said as they walked out of the room, heading towards the bridge. "Cid! Point us to the northwest and keep your eyes pealed for a hidden island with some type of boat on the shore. We can't let Sephiroth get his hands on this materia." The Highwind rushed off towards the northwest with the crew not knowing what awaited them. "What the hell do I need to activate it?!" Sephiroth yelled at Edin. "Well, I know you need the 'Black' and 'Holy Materia'," Edin said. "But the other two I have no idea what they do or where they could be." "Hmm..." started Sephiroth. "This should prove to be difficult to do. The last time the 'Black Materia' was used "I" was in the Northern Crater, and the 'Holy Materia' was being worn by that Cetra girl...um Aeris it was. Damn...that Cetra boy must've gotten it, and she probably told him to. Excuse me "Doctor", but I'm on a mission, a mission to conquer the planet and all other planets." "How could I've created a "man" with such hatred, such... psychoticness," Edin said. Sephiroth just looked at him with the most "human" face he could ever pull off. Then Sephiroth was about to grab the 'Unknown Materia' when he heard engines overhead. "Ha! Cloud and the others are here to stop you." "Not without another fight," Sephiroth replied grabbing the 'Unknown Materia' and ran out of the cave. Edin followed after him and quickly got into his boat without anyone seeing him. The Highwind landed close to the mouth of the cave so Sephiroth was blocked from escaping. Cloud and the others, except Cid, got out of the Highwind. "It's over Sephiroth," Cloud boldly said. "We found out your little plan to conquer all the planets, and it's going to stop here." "How noble," Sephiroth said. "Just like a knight of the round, so full of life, hope, and dreams. Well, with this piece of materia all of that will be crushed into dust and be blown away in the wind with all the other meaningless stuff that gets caught in it's circulating draft. Now if you'll excuse me I have pieces to find, plus I don't feel like killing you......yet." He started to walk off but then Case walked forward and started to speak. "You just don't want to face all of us," Case said. "You're helpless without your Jenova to aid you and make your escape." "On the contrary," Sephiroth said turning around. "I don't NEED the help of Jenova to make my escape, and you're starting to annoy me. That's one thing you don't ever want to do, that and piss me off." Sephiroth looked at Case with the evilest look in his human eye. Case started to quiver but then gained control of his body. "This'll be just you and me. If any of them try to help you I will call on three different Jenovas to take care of them, each more powerful than the previous. Is it a deal?" "Yeah," Case replied shaking a bit. "I'll do it." "Case..no." Cloud said grabbing his arm. "You might be our only hope to stop him, we need you." "It's ok Cloud.," Case told him. "Trust me." Case drew out his sword and readied his daggers while Sephiroth waited for him to strike first. Case turned around and cast 'Light 1' on Sephiroth which knocked him down. Sephiroth responded with morphing his right hand into a laser and shot at Case. Case reflected the beams with his sword but got hit by some that burnt his arm bad. Then he countered by throwing three shock daggers at Sephiroth. Sephiroth morphed his hand into a shield and block the daggers then rushed Case. Sephiroth swiped at his feet and tripped Case then held his sword at Case's chest. "It is finally over," Sephiroth said about to thrust the Masamune into Case. Then the ground started to shake a bit and Sephiroth lost concentration. Suddenly a shot was heard and Sephiroth's eyepiece was broken. Smoke streamed out of Vincent's gun as he lowered it. "I don't care if you summon a million Jenovas," Vincent said staring a Sephiroth's one good eye. "I just won't let you kill our only hope." "That does it. You're all DEAD!", Sephiroth said furiously when the ground started shaking again but more violently. Sephiroth knew what it was and grabbed the materia then took off. "There's only one thing that could be doing this much shaking," Vincent said. "Yeah," Cloud replied helping Case up. "It's gotta be WEAPON." Then Opal WEAPON boldly rose out of the ocean and came towards the island at ramming speed. "Get in the airship!!!" Everyone started running for the Highwind as Case and Cloud steadily walked. WEAPON was getting closer and closer by the moment. Cloud helped him up to the ladder as the shaking got more and more violent and WEAPON kept getting closer. They ran into the Highwind as it started to warm up. "Let's go Cid!! WEAPON's coming!!" "Alright," Cid said starting to ascend. "We're goin' up." The Highwind rose slowly as WEAPON ran right through the island, and when it went back down again. The island was nowhere to be seen. "So WEAPON was trying to get rid of the materia before anyone could get their hands on it," Tifa said. "Sounds logical to me," Nanaki said. "Keeping the planet safe from even ourselves." "Well now the question remains where are those missing pieces," Vincent said. "That's what we need to find out," Cloud said sitting down in a chair. "Plus we need to find out before Sephiroth does." The Highwind turned around and headed back towards the mainland while Cloud just sat and thought where the other two pieces could be. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- End of part 2: The Planet's Part Final Fantasy VII(r) The Sephiroth Apocalypse By: D.A.P. Cobra7455@aol.com Άπί(r)ε Part 3 The Four Destructions Chapter 11 'Krypt Materia' "How will we find all the pieces before Sephiroth does?" asked Heather walking over to sit next to Cloud. "And why are we going to Nibelheim?" "What!?" Cid said looking at Cloud, wondering himself. "We're going where?" "We need to go to Nibelheim," Cloud replied looking back up at Cid. "Sephiroth will be there, to find one of those materia pieces." "Well..." Case said walking on the bridge. "If he can't get all of the pieces, he can't activate the 'Unknown Materia'." "What do you mean?" asked Cloud getting up. "I mean this," Case said showing everyone the 'Holy Materia'. "Without this he can't start that thing." "How'd? Where'd? When'd ya get that?" Cloud said astonished. "When you guys were 'bout to leave the Forgotten City," Case said walking over to give Cloud a better look. "I was told to get the green materia in the bottom of the water." "That's why you were wet," Cid said. Case nodded and kept talking, "Anyway, the 'Black Materia' has disappeared since the incident two years ago, but Sephiroth is going for one of the other destruction materia that's in the Nibelheim reactor......maybe." "Then let's get him," Barret said. "Wait! What d'ya mean, maybe?" "What I mean...maybe. I'm not sure if he's there now, but, better safe than sorry," Case said as the Highwind sped off for Nibelheim. "Damnit," Sephiroth cursed under his breath. "That fucking piece has to be here somewhere." Sephiroth looked around inside the Nibelheim reactor for the 'Krypt Materia'. He looked inside one of the mako chambers and saw a bunch of mechanical devices turning and squishing around the mako energy. He got down and remembered the past time "he" was here. He knew that there were monsters inside the chambers, but since the Meteor incident, Shinra had gotten ride of this problem with the making of the MR's. The creatures were replaced by mako runners, which could use mako energy and then put it back into the planet, getting rid of the monster problem. "Hmm...It could be..." He continued to look as he walked up to the Jenova chamber and started to look in there. He saw the statue without it's head and walked up to it. He started to get frustrated as he was searching for any type of container or compartment. He looked around the base of Jenova and saw the outline of what seemed to be an area below it. "Ahh...Why else would a reactor be built in the mountains." He pushed over the Jenova statue and tried to open the lid. "Damn...stuck." He brought up his right arm and morphed his hand into a sort of spike to puncture the covering. It didn't take much for the cover to break and Sephiroth looked in to hope what he thought was there. Sure enough, there was an odd shaped, gray materia, sitting on a stand. "One fourth complete. Now I just hope that Cloud doesn't make on of his "grand" entrances." "Damn!" Cloud said running up to the reactor. "He's here already here! Vincent, Cid, Katlyn, Cait Sith, Nanaki, go around the sides just in case Sephiroth finds another way to get out." The five split up and ran to each side. "Let's go." Cloud, Heather, Case, Yuffie, Barret, and Tifa ran though the front to stop Sephiroth when he busted out of the front door. The force from the impact sent Cloud flying back into the other as Sephiroth flew back as well. The other group heard the crash and ran to the front. When they arrived they saw Sephiroth getting up but obviously hurt. "Stop right there!" Cid said boldly. "I always wanted to say that. Anyway, you aren't going anywhere Sephiroth." "Huh?" Sephiroth asked in a daze. "Oh...you think you can stop me? You think you can get all of the destruction materia before me? You think you can defeat me? Well go ahead, take your best shot." "Ok," Vincent said aiming his gun shoot at Sephiroth three times. The bullets hit Sephiroth's sword, the 'Krypt Materia' he was holding, and the final bullet hit right at his upper right leg where his body was mechanical. Sephiroth fell down from his leg malfunctioning and his sword and the 'Krypt Materia' flew out of his hands. By that time Cloud and the other were getting up as the sword came down and stuck in the ground next to Barret, and the 'Krypt Materia' bounced off the ground and rolled next to Heather who pocketed it. "Goddamn you," Sephiroth cursed kneeling on his good knee but finally standing up. "You damn pricks. I'll kill you this time and then, I'll be happy." Sephiroth smiled sadistically then with his right hand he punched out Cloud, grabbed his sword, and flew over to kill Case once more. Heather, confused in shock, took the materia she picked up and held it in front of her. The materia glowed and Heather's mind was filled with the knowledge of it. She opened her eyes and yelled out, "Krypt Spire!" A little while passed when suddenly graves started to pop up from the ground. Hands grabbed Sephiroth to keep him from escaping, and then a huge towering spire rose up from the ground two hundred yards away. There was a slight pause before the spire hummed a low note and started buzzing loudly. After that it shot out a flaming greenish blue beam that covered Sephiroth and the top of the mountain. Soon after the beam stopped, the spire went back into the ground and the graves and hands disappeared. Sephiroth was still for quite a long time when he finally showed some sign of life. "Ugh..." he mumbled painfully. "That materia packs quite a punch. I think I'll just use my own powerful weapon." Sephiroth then got up and cut off a bit of his hand. "There you go. Christmas is coming early this year, and I hope you don't break the toy I'm making you." Sephiroth backed out of the way not to get hit in the battle as the little piece started to grow into a complex machine. It grew up to about ten feet tall with two laser turrets, ten laser cannons on the sides, a mega beam cannon in the middle of its chest, and two pulse cannons on its back. "My Laser Master! Have fun with it! Hopefully I can get back that materia from your dead bodies!" Then it seemed like Sephiroth flew off to Cloud and the others, but he was really planning on taking away the materia during the battle. The Laser Master loomed towards the group of people, lasers charged and ready to fire. Cloud signaled to Vincent to go to the right, and Barret to go to the left. Then he signaled Yuffie, Katlyn, Tifa, and Cid to go to the rear of the machine. Cloud, Case, Nanaki, Cait Sith, and Heather stayed in front. Then the Laser Master charged up it's pulse cannons and shot at the five in the front. The pulses hit directly on them, "Damn!..." Cloud said trying to use his materia. "It that shock muted me!" "Then it seems to have muted all of us," Nanaki said trying to use his materia as well. "I just hope that thing doesn't have anymore surprises," Cloud said reaching into his pocket. He pulled out an Echo Screen, from a previous battle, and cured himself. Case threw some knives into the Laser Master that hit right on some of the little cannons. Cloud signaled to Vincent and Barret to shoot the robot down. Barret and Vincent opened fire on the machine inflicting minor damage on the outer shell. Then Cloud told the four in the back to attack it. Yuffie threw a star at the Laser Master and hit it right at the back of it's head. Tifa rushed forward and punched down one of its legs to knock it off balance. Then Cid stabbed it right in its back with his spear while Katlyn knocked out one of it's pulse cannons with her pole. Then when Heather was about to use the 'Krypt Materia' when the Laser Master did its special move, 'Laser Spin'. Then it's upper torso started spinning around in circles while it's lasers charged to the max, and then unleashed a firestorm of laser beams upon Cloud and the rest. The multiple blasts hit all of them, almost spinning them around just from the force. The Laser Master stopped shooting and spinning it's upper body, to watch the entire group fall to the ground. Then Sephiroth flew back and took the 'Krypt Materia' out of Heather's lifeless hands. "Heh heh heh..." he chuckled proudly. "Now it's time to find the 'Black Materia'. Laser Master, finish them off." Laser Master beeped back an agreeing reply then walked over to Cloud and started to charge up it's mega beam cannon to the max to fry Cloud. Sephiroth walked over to Case getting ready to kill him. "At last. Now it's time to get you out of my hair once and for all." Sephiroth got ready to thrust the cold hard steel of his Masamune into Case's body when Case moved. "You know I'm like gum," Case said opening his eyes, knocking Sephiroth's Masamune out of the way of his chest. "Once I'm in your hair, I never get out." Case stabbed Sephiroth right in his mechanical leg part. Sephiroth screamed and fell to the ground while Case pulled out five shock daggers and threw them all at Laser Master. The daggers stuck right in the Laser Master and started electrocuting and the mechanoid. The Laser Master jerked about before firing its mega beam cannon into the air and finally walked right off the cliff. After Case heard it explode at the bottom he walked over to Sephiroth and pulled out his sword. "Now then. Give me the 'Krypt Materia' or I'll kill you off. Wait...I could kill you first, then I'd be able to take the materia away from you easily." "Wait a minute," Sephiroth said astonished. "You're the good guy. You aren't supposed to kill me. At least not like this." "Why not?" Case asked back. "I didn't sign a contract, and it would take a whole deal of stress off of my back." Case stood above Sephiroth waiting for a reply. "Well...Are you going to say anything?" "No," Sephiroth said shortly. "Damn," Case thought. "He's trying to trick me or something, but I gotta stay on my best guard and not let him slip through." Sephiroth finally got up, his leg buzzing from Case's damage, and started to hover away. Case just stood there not knowing what to do as Sephiroth's figure got smaller and smaller until it was gone. Everyone else started to wake up and look around. "What happened?" asked Katlyn looking around. "Where's Sephiroth or that Laser Master?", asked Tifa. "The Laser Master took a bad step and fell of the cliff," Case told them going to sit down on a rock. "Sephiroth made off with the 'Krypt Materia'. I couldn't stop him." "I'm sorry Case," Katlyn said trying to soothe him. "He is tough, and he's a rea-" "It's not that," Case told her getting up. "It's that because it scares me to think that Sephiroth is my father. I guess it's a weak spot that he took advantage of, not even knowing it." "You'll be fine," Cloud reassured him. "You can find a way to block that out of your head or else you will never be able to face him again." "But I practically GAVE him the 'Krypt Materia'!" Case said doubtfully. "Believe me," Cloud said remembering the Temple accident. "I know how you feel. Exactly how you feel. I gave Sephiroth the 'Black Materia' once, two years ago." "You're right," Case told Cloud realizing what he was saying. "I have to get over this and face him sooner or later or else he'll have control over me, and I don't want that." Case got some new spirit in him and started down the mountain. "Where you goin' off in a hurry?" Barret asked stopping him. "I'm going off to find myself," Case replied still heading down the mountain. "And my courage, to find and kill Sephiroth." "Case!" Katlyn said running towards him. "Wait! Don't leave me. Please." "I wish you could come," Case said, holding her close. "I just need time to strengthen myself, for Sephiroth." "Just promise me you'll come back," she told him. "I promise," he replied and then walked down the mountain till he was completely gone. "Will we ever see him again?" Katlyn asked Cloud. "I wish I knew. I wish I knew," he replied. "He acts kinda the way I use to act when I was alone." "So..what now?" asked Cid. "Sephiroth's already got one of those materia." "He's probably going to find another one too," Vincent said reloading his gun. "Yeah," Barret said reattaching his hand. "But we don't know which one." "I think it might be the one he left behind," Nanaki said. "That'd mean it's the 'Black Materia' he'd go after next," Tifa said. "NO NO NO NOOO!" Yuffie complained shaking her head. "I'm not going to stay if that freak calls Meteor again." "Relax," Cloud said trying to calm her. "We're going to stop him this time, before anything really bad happens. And I won't let him try anything on any of us while I'm still alive." Cloud's speech "energized" everyone to get up and agree that they would all stop Sephiroth no matter what the cost. "Next stop, Northern Crater." They grabbed all their stuff and headed off for the Highwind. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 12 'Black Materia' The Highwind soared through the air, racing towards the Northern Crater. "We have to get there fast," Cloud said calmly. "Sephiroth can't be allowed to get any other materia." "Have you ever wondered?" Heather asked looking up. "If three of those materia are 'Krypt', 'Holy', and 'Black'. Then what's the name of the last one?" Everyone stopped doing what they were doing and thought about Heather's question. "I think I speak for all of us," Vincent said from the corner. "When I say I don't have the slightest idea." "Now wait a minute," Cid interrupted. "I like to speak my mind and I might have something to say." "Do you?" Vincent asked looking at Cid. "......uh...no," Cid said quietly. "Then what are you bitching about?" Vincent asked Cid. "Stop the fighting guys," Cloud said stopping Cid from talking back. "We need to concentrate on Sephiroth." "Sure," Vincent replied walking off of the bridge. "I can do that," Cid said. "Good," Cloud said walking to Cid. "Then Cid you can start by moving us out of the way of that mountain." Alarmed, Cid turned around to see a gigantic mountain moving closer to them. He rushed to the wheel to turn out of the way and just barely cleared the mountain. There was a little bump from when the Highwind hit the very peak of the mountain, but other than that there was no substantial damage. "That was close," Cid said with a sigh of relief. "Yeah..too close," Cait Sith said jumping out from behind a complex looking machine. "Try keeping your eye on what's in front of you." Cid looked menacingly at the cat and turned around to steer the ship. Sephiroth stumbled along on an icy white blanket of snow. "Why'd I pick such a terrible place to destroy the planet," he said looking up the road, seeing the Icicle Inn and beyond that the Great Glacier. "Good. I needed a place to rest." He walked in the town and right to the item store. "Yes sir may I-" the store keeper said looking at him and seeing he only had on some torn pants. "You'll freeze out there if all you wear is some pants and gloves. Hell, I'm surprised that you're alive at all." "Do...do you have...cl,clothes?" Sephiroth chattered back. "How interesting that you ask cause I have an exact copy of Sephiroth's original suit. It was hard to come by. Hell, I don't even remember how I got it," the store clerk said showing Sephiroth a rack full of clothes. "Good," Sephiroth said punching the guy in the face knocking him out cold. "I'll take it." Sephiroth jumped over the counter to the clothes rack and started rummaging through them till he found his suit. "Ahh...Perfect fit." He looked around the store some more and saw a corner full of snowboarding equipment. "Hmm...I might as well have a bit of fun while I take over the planet." He walked over to the supplies and picked up a snowboard. He walked out of the store looking and feeling like his old self, "Now, time to reclaim what was once mine." He ran over to the snowboarding hill and pushed the guy trying to block his path out of his way. "Hey!" the guy yelled back at Sephiroth. "I was just trying to help. You know it's slippery, and you could get hurt!! Bitch." Sephiroth saw the massive hill at his feet and almost shuddered at the sight. Then after a big sigh he jumped off and started going down the hill. The snowboard slid faster and faster down the curving hill while Sephiroth had to maneuver past rocks and other obstacles. Then at the very end of the hill Sephiroth flew out into the white, but instead of falling, he turned on his jetpack and started flying through the air past the Great Glacier to the Northern Crater. Case walked along the shoreline of a beach near Nibelheim and sat down. "I need to find myself," he said apparently to himself. "How could I defeat Sephiroth, my father? How?" "I will show you the way," a woman's voice said all of a sudden. "I will help you." "How?" Case said replying to the voice. "How can you help me? I can't even see you." "Close your eyes. They bare a burden on how you view things," the voice said. "Become one with the planet, and the Lifestream." Feeling stupid, Case did what the voice told him, he closed his eyes and started to meditate. He felt himself move with the planet and becoming one with it's energy, with the Lifestream. When he opened his eyes he saw a young woman before him, with brown hair and green eyes. "Hello," the woman said. "Look upon me as your guide." "Huh?" Case said dumbfounded, looking around and seeing a pale green everywhere. He looked down to saw streams of mako flowing freely. "Where am I and why do I need a guide?" "I am here to help you find yourself," the woman said leaning towards him. "That IS what you wanted right?" "Yeah but-" "So that's why I'm here," she interrupted. "Follow me." She started walking along what seemed like nothing but was really a transparent glowing green road. Case saw her motion for him to follow her and ran to her to see what she had to show him. Meanwhile in the Highwind, the crew anticipated the moment to be able to fight Sephiroth again. "Come on," Barret said attaching his gun-arm. "I'm itching to get back at Sephiroth for sooo many reasons." "You'll get your chance," Vincent said polishing his gun. "As will all of us." "Alright you guys," Cloud said trying to get everyone's attention. "We're coming close on the Northern Crater, and if you remember, there are some tough creatures down there. Plus! Don't forget we are trying to get the 'Black Materia' as well, not just kill Sephiroth." Everyone mumbled an agreement even though they all really wanted a piece of Sephiroth. "We're here," Cid told Cloud. "Well then," Cloud said heading out. "Let's go!" The ladder dropped down and touch right on the ground. "I'll stay in the Highwind," Cid said sending them off. "Just in case some monsters try to come up." Cloud nodded and started down the ladder, then Barret, then Tifa, and so on and so on until they were all on the ground. "Let's split up into three groups," Cloud said. "We can cover more ground that way." Tifa, Barret, and Vincent were in group one, Katlyn, Yuffie, and Cait Sith were in group two, and Cloud, Heather, and Nanaki were in group three. "Ok. Remember, if you get lost just use your PHS to contact the other groups or the Highwind in an emergency." "Yeah yeah we know," Barret said starting down. "Now let's get this part over with. I don't wanna be down here any longer than I need to. (How did I get dragged into this Sephiroth crap anyhow?)" The three groups split up and started down the Northern Crater to the basin where Cloud gave the real Sephiroth the 'Black Materia'. Sephiroth trudged into the room with all the mako where the first WEAPON woke up and looked around. "Ahhh..." he sighed looking around. "Old stomping grounds. Heh heh, calling Meteor was fun. Too bad that blasted 'Holy Materia' had to come in, oh and the Lifestream too." He blasted up to the top of the room where he was imprisoned in a shell of mako and looked around. "Damn...How could I lose a little black stone in a place like this?" He looked around briefly before realizing what had happened and flew out like a bat out of hell. "Keep close," Cloud told his group. "It gets pretty dark from here." "Hey!" Heather shouted scaring the two half to death. "I see something ahead." "I see it as well," Nanaki said staring hard into the darkness. All three of them looked ahead and saw a small red glowing light, but not an ordinary light cause it was getting bigger and bigger. "Uh-oh," Cloud said worried. "It's Sephiroth." Sephiroth charged on, knowing that Cloud was there, to get out of the Northern Crater to look for the 'Black Materia'. Cloud stood ready for Sephiroth's impact and told Heather to fire one of her arrows. She did and missed Sephiroth who grabbed the arrow and stopped to return it to Heather. "Here you go," Sephiroth said giving her the arrow. "I think you dropped this." Heather grabbed the arrow back quickly and turned around to pout. "What do you want?" Cloud asked Sephiroth. "Why, the normal," Sephiroth told him. "Destroy the planet, kill you, and kill..you." "Oh that's original," Heather said still mad at him. "Did you come to tell us something?" Nanaki asked growling. "Or are you just wasting our time?" "A little from column 'A' and a little from column 'B'," Sephiroth said jokingly. "Tell me why you're leaving or I cut you open a new mouth," Cloud threatened holding his sword at Sephiroth's neck. "Actually," Sephiroth said, getting a bit worried about Cloud. "You don't need to waste your time here. The materia has already woken up." "What do ya mean by that?" Cloud said letting go of Sephiroth. "I mean...it's not here. None of the destruction materia will be in the Northern Crater unless one of them returns," Sephiroth told Cloud. "And what's that suppose to mean?" Nanaki asked. Sephiroth laughed and flew off, out of the Northern Crater to look for 'his' materia. Meanwhile, Case follow the woman on the green road until she stopped and showed him a window. "A window?" Case said surprised. "You made me walk about a mile or four to look at a window?" "No silly," the woman said. "Look in the window." Case did what she said and saw a familiar room. "That's the...the Shinra laboratory level," Case said uneasily. "That's where I was born...as an experiment." "I'm going to show you this. You need to see," the woman said. Case looked again and saw Prof. Hojo and Sephiroth standing by a table. "Why did you want me to come?" Sephiroth asked. "I need you," Hojo said. "For my project I'm working on." "And what is this project?" asked Sephiroth. "To breed a new Cetra so we can find out more about them. Plus we could also use it as our warrior," Hojo told Sephiroth. "Will it be under my command?" Sephiroth asked. "It depends," Hojo said, "Do you want to help me breed it?" "You mean I have to..." Sephiroth started. "With that Cet-" "Of course not you fool," Hojo told him. "I just need your seed to impregnate the Cetra woman." "Oh," Sephiroth said. "Then I get to train this somewhat "child" of mine to be in SOLDIER like me." "Fine with me," Hojo said. "Just as long as we have control over it." Case pulled away from the window and looked at the woman. "Why are you showing me this!?" Case yelled. "Like I don't think that my life sucks already. Then you show me how I came into the world.....as an experiment!" "Look more," the woman said. "You haven't seen the entire thing." Case looked again with disgust in his face. Ifalna was holding a newborn baby in a cell in the laboratory deck. "The time has come Cetra," the guard said. "That's right," Hojo said walking into the cell. "Your child is now ours." "No!" Ifalna said. "Don't take Case!" "Oh a name!? We'll have to remember it," Hojo said grabbing the baby from Ifalna and pushing her to the ground. "I better keep this guard here just in case." Ifalna took Aeris into her arms and told her to not worry then she jumped the guard and took his gun. She ran out of the cell and onto the elevator. Going down she ran into some more guards in the opposite elevator. They shot at her and missed then she aimed and fired two shots that knocked one guard out of the elevator. One of the guards fired and almost hit Aeris, that Ifalna got mad and she sprayed bullets on to the two remaining guards. The guards got hit pretty badly and another one fell off the elevator while the last one hung on. He took one shot before he let go hitting Ifalna right in her arm. The elevator slowed down to a stop and Ifalna and Aeris stumbled out. "We must get to a safe place Aeris," Ifalna said trying to comfort her. "So we can rest. I just hope your brother knows that I wish I could've saved him as well as you." They walked along, slowly, to the train station and got on. "All stops for the sector 7 slums!" the conductor yelled. "Let's get off here," Ifalna told Aeris weakly. They both got out of the train and walked off to the sector 5 slums to get out of Midgar. Unfortunately she didn't have a key to the gate so her and Aeris were stuck there. They turned back and found a church along the way and decided to stay in there so Shinra wouldn't be able to find them. Then one day, four years later, Ifalna tried to get up to the top plate to retrieve her lost son when some guards recognized them on the top plate and shot at them both. Ifalna was wounded badly and Aeris was scared to death but they finally made it to the train station again. The train stopped at sector 7 and they both got off and Ifalna fell to the ground. A woman came up to her to look at what happened. "Please..." Ifalna said weakly. "Take...my d..daughter....take ..Aeris...and look..after..her. Please." "Yes," Elmyra said. "I will." After that Ifalna became lifeless and Elmyra took Aeris to her home to raise her. "Case.." Ifalna muttered out. "I will always love you...you and Aeris both..." After she died the conductor took her body and buried it in the train graveyard. "Sir sir!" yelled a guard. "The Jenova-human hybrid is loose!" "Damn! I can't lose my prize specimen," Hojo said running into the cage room. "I'll stop it," Sephiroth said. "I won't allow it to leave." "Hmm..." Hojo muttered rubbing his chin. "This may prove to be interesting." The creature stepped forward to Sephiroth and it asked him to get out of the way. Case was stunned and looked at the woman who motioned him to look back at the window. "Get back to your cell," Sephiroth demanded drawing his blade. "Or I will force you to go back." "You can't stop me," the hybrid said boldly. "I will not stand to stay in this captivity. To be poked at by your professors. I will be free." It flashed a green light that blinded Sephiroth then it ran up and punched Sephiroth down and flew out of a window. Sirens were sounding and people were running crazy in the halls. A little boy walked around the walls to a small venting chute and climbed in. "Do you know who that boy is?" the woman asked Case, pulling him away from the window. "It's my brother." "But I was escaping at that time I-" Case stopped and thought. "Then your my? But it can't be possible. How can you be here?" "I AM here. It's you who is not here," the woman said. "Your spiritual energy manifested here with my help and I guided you." "I never even got a chance to see you Aeris," Case told her. "I never knew you till a while back. I want a hug before I have to leave." Case and Aeris started hugging when he stopped and asked, "How does this help me fight Sephiroth?" "Look at the window again," Aeris told him. Case looked and saw all the destruction, torture, and chaos Sephiroth had put everyone through and his hate started to grow towards Sephiroth. "You must control your anger but remember it when you are faced against Sephiroth alone. This may help you, it may not help you, but you should feel for Sephiroth like I felt for Sephiroth. Besides, the Sephiroth that is your father died seven years ago to my knowledge. So remember, the one you're fighting is just a clone." "He killed you?" Case asked, she nodded. "Because of him I wasn't able to see my sister in person. Instead I have to wait till you come to me as a vision, and Cloud loved you. Sephiroth, he, killed everything that I could've cared about." "How do you think Cloud felt?" Aeris asked him remembering his brief trip through the Lifestream. "He was the same way, full of hatred, confusion, and deception. He was basically a wreck, but he made it." "Hey!" Case said with excitement. "Do you think there might be a way to bring you back?" "There might be a way but it'd probably be impossible. Why'd you ask?" Aeris said. "Well," Case said. "You saw how Sephiroth was brought back. Maybe I can force Edin to make a clone of you like he did Sephiroth." "That would be impossible," Aeris said. "My body is under water at the City of the Ancients." Case looked depressed for a moment but then perked right up. "I remember when I was little, Shinra took some of my blood and froze it to try and make some clones of me, but I was too smart and took it when I escaped," Case said. "They might have some of your blood from when you were there too." "Ok.", Aeris said, "Go and look to see if they have some of my blood. But that won't all though." Case looked at her with a puzzled look. "You'll need some of my Spirit Energy to bring in my new life." "Wait," Case said thinking. "What about your Promise Land? I looked up on it in the Shinra Mansion. The Cetra would find their Promise Land at the end of their journey. And I think your journey ended when you died. I don't want to force you out." "Oh no Case!" Aeris told leading him back. "This IS my Promise Land, but I've seen what has been going on. I've come to realize that I can't do anything from here, since this new terror goes beyond this planet. I WANT to be brought back and I want to help you all again." "Well...if you want. Anyway what were you goin' on about your Spirit Energy?" "OH!" Aeris said remembering what she was talking about before. "You to soak the clone in my Spirit Energy and let it go inside "me" so that the clone will have all my memories and thoughts. Basically so it can be me. Here." She gave him a small glowing pouch with her Spirit Energy inside. "That should be enough. It's quantity is surprising, but that's not all. There is a chant, a chant that only the Cetra can do to ask back the soul of another Cetra. Unfortunately his chant was hardly used, seeing since when the Cetra died, they found supreme happiness. I can't tell you what it is. You must find it on your own." "Thanks Aeris," Case said giving her one last hug. "I'm sure I'll find out the chant somehow. I'll have you back before this thing is over." Case waved bye and ran off in the direction he came, trying to remember all that Aeris told him. "All groups report to the Highwind now!" Cloud said into the PHS on all frequencies. All three groups started to run to the Highwind when they all ran into each other. "Let's get out of here fast." "Why?" asked Tifa. "Sephiroth's going to try and kill WEAPON." "But ain't that good?" Barret asked confused. "Not when WEAPON holds the destruction materia," Cloud told him. They all climbed up the ladder and ran to the bridge. "Follow Sephiroth when he comes out of the Northern Crater." "Why?" Cid started. "Just do it," Cloud told him. "Sephiroth is going to be looking for WEAPON." Just then Sephiroth flew out of the crater into the sky. "Go!" The Highwind sped off after Sephiroth who was trying to find Dark WEAPON to get back the 'Black Materia'. Dark WEAPON soared above the plains of a remote island when Sephiroth flew into it like a bullet. Dark WEAPON flew down to the ground, hurt slightly and mad. Sephiroth had torn a hole straight through its arm like it was made of paper. "Heh," Sephiroth chuckled looking down on the creature. "I was expecting more of a fight." Dark WEAPON opened it's mouth and fired a black mako beam at Sephiroth. Sephiroth dodged the blast and morphed his hand into a laser then shot a fierce beam at Dark WEAPON's leg. Just then the Highwind flew into the scene when Dark WEAPON did 'Meteor Shower', one of it's special moves, on Sephiroth. "Watch out!" Cid yelled bracing himself. "We're in for some turbulence." The Highwind shook around till the attack was done and took little damage. "So who are we trying to stop?" Heather asked. "WEAPON or Sephiroth?" Cloud shrugged his shoulders. "Umm..." Cid said getting ahold of the Highwind. "I don't know." All of a sudden a brilliant flash covered the sky and a creature flew up to Dark WEAPON and struck it with some sort of tri-elemental attack. "What is it?" asked Nanaki. "It feels familiar," Vincent said looking at the creature. "Like it's a part of me somewhat." "Me too," Cloud said gripping his head. Sephiroth, hurt badly from WEAPON's attack, got up slowly and saw the creature fighting Dark WEAPON. The creature drew out a tentacle and struck Dark WEAPON with an icy hit. Dark WEAPON flew back from the hit when Sephiroth flew up to the creature to talk. "Hey, I saw yo-" Sephiroth started but instead got struck down by one of the creatures tentacle. "Go away," the creature said calmly. "This is between me, the planet, and WEAPON." Dark WEAPON shot a black beam at the creature and hit it dead on, but the creature just absorbed the blast, gathered the energy, and shot it back at Dark WEAPON with twice as much power. "Cid!" Cloud yelled. "Hit Dark WEAPON with an Ultima blast!" Cid pressed the green button knowing that 'Ultima' was still in the slot. The cannon at the front of the Highwind glowed pale greenish and gathered energy. The creature heard the humming and ducked below the line of fire and started towards Sephiroth. The cannon gathered up energy to it's full extent and fired such a huge powerful blast of Ultima mako energy that the Highwind flew back about four thousand feet. The blast went straight into the side of Dark WEAPON and shocked it to death. The creature flew down and pushed Sephiroth to the ground forcefully. The creature stood over him looking at him carefully. The creature's flesh seemed discolored, it had a human arm and a tentacle that could morph into other things, its face looked almost like Jenova's, and it seemed like it was over six feet tall. "I am Avonej," it said. "I'm the Jenova-human hybrid that defeated you before and now I will finish you." "I don't remember you," Sephiroth said trying to get up. "Wait, you seem different," Avonej said closely observing him. "You're artificial, not really the real Sephiroth." Just then Dark WEAPON raised it's head and did 'Black Meteor Flare' on Sephiroth and Avonej. Everything turned pure white and an explosion of black heat and meteorites trampled on the two in the field. Dark WEAPON lowered it's head and a small piece of it fell off onto the ground, the 'Black Materia'. Sephiroth lay on the ground while Avonej got up and walk over to the Highwind that was just landing. Cloud got out and greeted Avonej, "Hi," Cloud said shaking his hand. "I'm Cloud." "I'm Avonej and my appearances are like this because I'm a Jenova-human hybrid." "Interesting..." Nanaki said. "An actual crossing of a human and Jenova! I've never heard of it." While the group was getting better acquainted with Avonej and trying to get him to join them, Yuffie walked off to the broken piece of Dark WEAPON. "Ooo," she said with delight. "The 'Black Materia', could prove useful in a sticky situation." She looked at Dark WEAPON and shuddered when Cait Sith called to her. "Hey Yuffie!" the cat said as she jumped. "What're you doing?" "Umm.." she started. "I'm...checking to see if this big hunk of junk was still working." "Ok," Cait Sith said not believing her. "Well come on over to meet Avonej .He's a Jenova-human hybrid." "Wow!" she started with actual enthusiasm. "That sounds cool, let me look." The pair went off to see Avonej while a little tracking device went of inside of Dark WEAPON. Sephiroth, still on the ground from all the hits he's taken, stumbled up weakly and severely hurt. "That's the last time I try to talk to some alien thing," Sephiroth said pathetically. "But at least that WEAPON is dead for me to get the 'Black Materia'." Sephiroth walked over to the body of Dark WEAPON and looked at it. Then he saw a little indentation in the middle of its head where he knew that the 'Black Materia' was. Seeing that it wasn't there just made him even madder and walked around the beast to wait for nightfall, to take the materia. Jade and Opal WEAPON heard the tracking device and started for the little island. They knew hat Dark WEAPON had died and were going to search for the cause. They soared above Case as he sat on the beach in the middle of the night. He was still walking along the green road in the Lifestream when he was interrupted by WEAPON flying overhead. His eyes opened and his energy was torn out of the Lifestream. "Whoa..." he said spaced. "That had to have been a dream." Then he looked down on the ground and saw the glowing pouch of Aeris' Spirit Energy and picked it up. He knew then that it wasn't a dream at all and knew that he needed to get to the Shinra tower. He got up and went to get a chocobo at Cid's stable in Rocket Town. He walked through Nibelheim onto Rocket Town fighting monsters, that would occasionally pop up, and getting the money and experience. He fought this one creature that he'd never seen before and when he killed it his 'Light Materia' gained a level. "Alright! I can't wait to test it out." It was still the middle of the night and everyone in Rocket Town was asleep. Case walked up to Cid's house and banged on the door. "Yes...yes.." Shera said a bit grumpy. "Want do you want?" "I need to use a chocobo," Case replied. "Oh Case!" Shera exclaimed. "I didn't realize it was you, and why do you need a chocobo?" "I need to get to Midgar." Shera got out and walked to the stable to give Case the chocobo. "Here you go," she told him. "Just press the button on his collar to send him back here." "Sure." "He'll be back within the morning." Case hopped on the chocobo and rode off to the east to go back to Midgar for the second time. Sephiroth walked from the dead Dark WEAPON to the camp where the group had stayed for the night. He had remembered that Yuffie was a materia freak and knew that she would die to get her hands on any destruction materia, and he would make her die. He carefully walked over to the camp quietly in order not to get his ass kick by all of them. He saw Yuffie and knew she had it but didn't know where because it was to big to fit on any belt or weapon so he checked her backpack. Sure enough...it was......gone! Puzzled, Sephiroth looked around, then with his eyepiece he saw a dark glimmering in her pillow. With his biomech. hand he pushed the 'Black Materia' out of the pillow, and he split his hand so that a piece of it was there to take care of them some other time. He picked up the 'Black Materia' and pocketed it, then he walked out of the camp and took off into the midnight sky. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 13 'Holy Materia' "Where is it?!" Yuffie yelled looking under her pillow. "I had it last night and now it's gone!!" "What's gone?" Cid asked lighting a cigarette from the ashes of the fire. "Uh...nothing," Yuffie replied obviously guilty. "Spill it girl!" Barret yelled getting tired of her games. "What are you missing?" demanded Cloud. "The...'Black Materia'..." Yuffie quietly replied. "I saw it fall from Dark WEAPON and drop to the ground. So I decided to pick it up and, maybe, use it to my advantage." "And now it's gone," Vincent said and Yuffie nodded. "Damn!" Barret yelled kicking dirt on the ashes of the fire. "An' that means that only Sephiroth could have it, seein' as he was the only other person close to us." Cloud stood up and stared into the sky wondering what Sephiroth would do now. "We need to get the other materia," Avonej said walking over to Cloud. "And not worry about the two you'v- we've lost to Sephiroth." "The freak's right!" Cid said taking a puff. "I'm not a freak," Avonej said sternly. "Yeah..ok...anyway we've got to know where to find those other two pieces before Sephiroth does." Cid continued. "OH SHIT!" Cloud suddenly yelled. "We've got to get to Case!" He darted for the Highwind and signaled everyone to follow him. The party just stood there for a while, then without question they all followed Cloud into the Highwind and took off. Case still rode, on his way to Midgar, while he thought about what he would do when all of this was over. He finally came to the conclusion that he would marry Katlyn, settle down, and raise a family. Of course he didn't think about what he would do for a living or how the children would be able to live knowing that they were part Cetra. It all didn't matter anyway because all that mattered now was trying to get Aeris' blood if Shinra still had it, considering that it wasn't blown up when WEAPON first attacked. He kept riding on during the day until he reached his final destination, Midgar. In the daylight Midgar looked like a much friendlier place than it did in the night. Case rode up to the post where the previous chocobos have been kept and saw that they were gone. He had figured that the chocobos knew that their riders wouldn't be returning and so they took themselves back to Cid's. Plus the collars tracers on them had been activated to let them know to go back home. Case got off the chocobo, and pushed a button on the collar that said 'Home' on it. The chocobo "warked" and ran off towards Rocket Town while Case walked into Midgar to face his destiny. Sephiroth flew over the ground searching for Case and the 'Holy materia'. "Damnit," he cursed. "How hard could it be to find one Cetra and a stupid destruction materia?" As he started to go over the water he stopped and saw a white figure swimming underneath. It flowed as gently through the water as a school of fish or a dolphin. Sephiroth looked again and zoomed in with his eyepiece and saw that the thing wasn't white but more like white with shades of different colors. He knew then what it was and didn't even bother to tangle with it because he knew that he'd die. He decided not to bother with it and continue his search for Case, which right now seemed hopeless. The gate to sector 7 was still shut tight and no key was present. "Damn! I forgot to get the key that Cloud had," Case said looking at the key slot. He looked all around and saw the road above him curving with the gate and go into the city. The sky started to turn cloudy and dark so Case thought he should get inside somehow and then he remembered his rope. He pulled out his sword, tied the rope around the hilt, grabbed the end of the rope, and tossed the sword as hard as he could so it would stick into the road above. His sword flew up and stuck right into the cement above, firmly. "Well...I can't climb all the way up, not without falling at least." He sat down and thought for a while and then decided that he'd climb up high enough to swing over the gate into Midgar. He got up, jumped onto the rope, and started to climb up feeling the sword give a little. When he was pretty clear of the gate he started swinging back and forth until he was well over the gate. When he was about to jump his sword came loose letting him fall right on his back, but in Midgar at least. If that wasn't the worst of his problems he looked up and saw his sword coming down right for him. He rolled away on the ground quickly and jumped away not even thinking of his hurt back. The sword stuck straight into the ground standing up like someone had thrust it down. "Whew!" He got up and started to pant when he realized his back was hurting, he fell down to the ground in pain and fell asleep. "Hey!" a voice said. "You finally coming to? Good he's still asleep. Hey, you guys, come look!" "Wow!", another voice said. "Where'd you find him?" "By the gate." Case finally decided to open his eyes and saw little kids above him and when they saw him open his eyes they screamed and ran away. "Wait!" Case said sitting up. "Ow!...my back...I'm not dead, just hurt." Case got up and looked around to see which part of Midgar he'd been taken to, but then found out that it was the old church in the sector 5 slums. He just now realized why the ground felt so cushy and it was because he was lying on the flowerbed. He quickly jumped to his feet and started walking towards the door but something stopped him, pain. He sat down in one of the pews and reached into his pocket to get a Potion out he had gotten a while back. He drank it down and started to feel better, not a whole lot, but good enough to walk. "That really hit the spot. Now, off to see Shinra." "Goddamn fucking weather!" Cid cursed as the rain batted down on the window. "We can't worry about the weather," Cloud said staring out the window. "I'm more worried about Case and Sephiroth looking for him." "Eh..." Barret said. "That kid's tough. I mean he worked on a construction crew for me. How much tougher can ya get?" "Well..." Tifa said. "With the way you work people, I'm surprised he's still alive." Barret gave her a childish look and went back to what he was doing before. "I can't help thinking about what Sephiroth's doing right now, flying in the storm," Vincent said chuckling to himself and thinking about lightning striking Sephiroth. The others laughed a bit too except Cloud who just sat there and stared out the window. "Are you worried about him too?" Katlyn asked sitting down by Cloud. "Yeah..I mean, he buckled under when Sephiroth had the 'Krypt Materia' and then he just left to "find himself" and now Sephiroth's after him." "I know Case. He will find a way to beat Sephiroth, I'm sure of it." "I just hope so. Plus, we don't know where he is. So he'll have to be on his own for a while till we can get a lead." Sephiroth flew in the storm despite the bad conditions that were growing. "If I were a Cetra," he asked himself. "Where would I be?" Sephiroth finally thought that he should sit down and rest so that he doesn't get struck by lightning or anything else. Then he saw Midgar, luminous in it's field of darkness, a bold man-made obstruction upon the planet. "I think I'll rest there." Case ran in the rain trying to find a place to rest that would actually let him in. He walked through the sector 5 slums to a remote part of the town. In it, there was a big house with probably thousands of flowers in the gardens behind the house. Case stood there and looked at the flowers for a bit, then went into the house. From the looks of things the house looked like it hadn't been lived in for a couple of years so he decided to make himself at home. At that time Sephiroth was landing down at the construction site of the new sector 7 slums when a strange feeling came over him. "Hmm...I feel a presence here in Midgar...... it's him!" Sephiroth got up and started to run for sector 5, killing any monsters that got in his way. He finally made his way through the debry of the connecting sectors and then found himself outside of the sector 5 slums. The rain batted down upon him, soaking him completely but also giving him a grim look of evilness. The water landed all over him as he walked into the slums, with nobody outside. The only person that was out was a young man sitting in a chair watching the rain pour down. "Eh?" the man said in a raspy voice. "Ya gettin' cold out there or what? Heh heh heh!" Sephiroth walked over to him, grabbed his collar, and lifted him out of his chair. "Have you seen a man walking through here?" Sephiroth demanded. "Well, I seen many a men walk through this crummy ol' place so ya have ta be more specific," the man replied. "Then let me be more specific for you," Sephiroth said drawing out his sword and putting it to the man's neck. "He's in his twenties, about six-foot, wears jeans and a long heavy jacket, has long brown hair with a bandana on his forehead, and has a short sword with two glowing materia in it." "Oh yeah, that guy!" the man responded quickly. "I seen him, he went that'away." The man pointed to the left as Sephiroth dropped him and walked over to the one house with the big flower garden in the back. "Finally Case!" Sephiroth said fiendishly. "I've got you where I want you. At a DEAD end." "Damn!" Cloud said waking up. Heather ran inside his room to comfort him. "What's wrong? What happened?" she asked Cloud. "I...had a dream. I know where Case is," Cloud said sweating. "What? Really? Where!?" Heather asked frantically. "Whoa whoa whoa, slow down," Cloud told her. "We need to get to Midgar." Cloud and Heather ran to the bridge and told Cid to get to Midgar. "Why should I rush around fer' you?" Cid asked angrily. "Because dumbass, Case's life is on the line here. Sephiroth has almost found hi- no, make that Sephiroth has found him!" Cloud yelled at him. "Ok, ok boss," Cid replied, surprised in Cloud's tone. "Next stop, Midgar!". The Highwind sped off to Midgar with the crew inside hoping to save Case. Katlyn, disturbed by the sudden change of speed, came in to the front to ask about what was happening. "What's going on?" Katlyn asked confused. "What's with the sudden rush of speed?" "We're going to Midgar," Nanaki told her. "Huh? Why?" she continued. "Because Case is in trouble," he replied. Katlyn quickly ran over to Cloud, "Is Case okay?" she asked him. "I don't know because this is just based on a dream but I think that Sephiroth has found Case and I don't know what'll happen then," Cloud told her, worried. She didn't say anything but instead just sat down beside the window as the Highwind flew over Midgar. "I'm surprised ya even saw Midgar Cid," Barret said astonished. "Oh-uh yeah, I guess I'm just too good of a pilot," Cid boasted obviously lost. Cid landed the Highwind as fast as he could and Cloud, Katlyn, and Barret jumped out and went into Midgar. Vincent got out and patrolled the surface to make sure Sephiroth didn't get an easy escape. "If anything," Katlyn informed them. "Case's probably in the sector 5 slums." "We know the way," Cloud said opening the gate. "When then let's get goin'," Barret said as they ran into sector 5. Case was peacefully asleep in one of the upstairs bedrooms when he just woke up for no reason. "That was weird," Case said shrugging his shoulders and laying down again. Then he heard a creak in the floor and Sephiroth chuckling so he decided to play along. Sephiroth opened the door and saw Case lying asleep on the bed and drew out his sword. "Nighty night Case," Sephiroth said raising his sword in rage. Then he felt a sharp pain in his gut and felt the flow of blood down his legs. Sephiroth then fell to the floor and curled up while a dagger stuck out of his stomach. Case sat up in the bed watching Sephiroth bleeding on the floor, "Didn't think I had it in me did ya?" Case said to him. "As a matter of fact," Sephiroth said pulling the dagger out of himself and getting up. "I expected that from you." He threw the dagger on the floor, morph his hand into five separate pieces, and tossed them at Case. The pieces morphed into bands and quickly tied Case up. "Now...It's time to slice and dice." Sephiroth raised up his sword and was about to slash it on Case when his sword was blasted out of his hands. Barret's gun barrel was smoking as Cloud popped into the picture. "DAMNIT, LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!! I'm tired of you mother fucking sons-of-bitches getting in my goddamn way to take over the planet!!!" "You know..." Cloud said scratching his chin. "I think I liked you better without a real personality than with one." "Oh!" Sephiroth exclaimed. "So now Cloud's getting a sense of humor. Ha ha ha, well see how funny you think this is." Sephiroth rushed to Cloud, with this jet thrusters, grabbed him and slammed him up against the wall, rendering him unconscious. Then he spun around, morphed his hand into five lasers and shot Barret down the stairs. Katlyn was downstairs at the time looking at a portrait of Aeris when Barret tumbled down the stairs. She got out her pole and ran upstairs as she saw Sephiroth about to cut Case in half when that vision got her mad. "Field of Protection!" Katlyn yelled as she did her limit break. A yellow glowing covered Katlyn, Case, Cloud, and Barret keeping them from harm. Sephiroth struck down hard on Case but had no effect on the force field. Then Katlyn did her other limit break on Sephiroth called 'Flaming Fury'. She started to focus energy into her staff that burst into flames. Then she just went haywire on Sephiroth and hit him at least twenty times doing all these different types of moves with her staff, making one flowing motion. The very last hit was in his gut, pushing Sephiroth out a window. Sephiroth flew down the side of the house and landed in the water below. The 'Field of Protection' started losing it's effect and then disappeared into thin air. Barret and Cloud got up and walked to the room. "Hey, Barret," Case said struggling in the bands. "Get me out of these things will ya?" Barret charged up his hand-laser and cut the bands holding Case. Just then Sephiroth flew up to the window holding a green materia in his hand. "Look at what I've got," Sephiroth taunted them. Case looked at his sword and saw that the 'Holy Materia' was missing. "Well, now that you know, I'll be on my way." Nobody said a word until they got outside of the house. "I can't belie-" Case started. "Don't talk," Cloud said coldly. "Let's just get to the Highwind." The four of them walked outside of the sector 5 slums and stopped again. "I need to stay here for a while," Case said stopped behind the gate. "Again!?" Barret asked. "Yeah...it's, a personal matter," Case told them. "Fine," Cloud said not looking back. "I just hope you find you're way back to the group." Case nodded as the small group started walking away when Katlyn turned around and ran up to Case. "Stay out of trouble," she told him. "I love you and...take care of yourself." "I love you too," Case said, hugging her. "You take care too." She turned around and ran up to Cloud and Barret as they walked out of Midgar to the Highwind. Case then turned around, looked at the Shinra tower, and started walking towards it as the rain battered down on him and everything else. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 14 'Pearl Materia' Case walked along the slums as he looked at his sword with the missing materia in the slot. He cursed to himself about what had happened at the house on his way up to the Shinra tower. Monsters came to up him, he killed them with no feeling what-so-ever, didn't even pick up the gil, and walked to the train station. He got on the train to the upper plate where he could get to the tower. The train ran on through the tunnel where the security system was and was almost to the upper plate. Reeve had taken out the old security ID system on the train with a device to count the number of people on board. He wanted the citizens of Midgar to feel like they weren't in a prison, but then also kept a tight security watch over the people to make sure of no terrorists. The new system made all the people in Midgar feel at ease and not under a stressful system. He had also noticed, that even though Shinra has been trying to keep the monster encounter rate down, the monsters have been increasing rapidly. He got off the train onto the station and started to the tower. He noticed now that the upper plate had been going down in class, like the slums almost. He ignored most of the people that tried to get him to donate to charities and other organizations including AVALANCHE. AVALANCHE had turned into a giving organization that, instead of destroying Shinra, worked with Shinra to create a mako reactor that would fully recycle mako energy back into the planet so the planet wouldn't die. The prototype was called MR.1 which stood for Mako Recycler No. 1, and it was a good idea with the exception that it occasionally gave off radiation which ended up poisoning the land. This was the first of many prototype reactors that ended up being twenty-seven, when the MR.28 turned up being the best made reactor yet. There was only one slight problem with this one, and that was that it used mako energy to recycle it and that meant that it used up more mako than it produced. This "bug" was fixed with the MR.29, which was first built at the site of the new Corel, by doubling the produced energy so it could recycle mako and put it back into the planet. With this new mako reactor, Midgar had turned into a flourishing community but the decline in class was unexplainable. Case made his way through the winding underground tunnels up to the base of Shinra's base of operations. He didn't know what to expect from the security so he decided to take the stairs...bad mistake. One new improvement that Reeve made on the tower is that he had put a security system in the staircase do to people thinking that Shinra was still evil and out to control the planet like REBELION. Case made his way up the stairs about to the twentieth when a camera spotted him and rang out an alarm. A red light started to flash and a loud beeping came from the camera. "WARNING...WARNING!" it said. "Identify your personnel and state you ID number." Case didn't want to mess with it so he threw a dagger into it. The small camera exploded and after that three small laser cannons morphed out of the wall and charged up to fire on Case. As they charged Case cast 'Light 2' on them and two rays of light came from above and shot down on all the cannons, destroying them. Case walked on pass the debris up to the sixtieth floor with every tenth floor having the same defenses. Case blasted his way through each floor leaving ashes behind and a stench of burnt plastic. When he finally got to the sixtieth floor no camera came out shouting warning warning, but instead five laser turrets appeared out of the walls. Case did his limit break called 'Shock Field'. He pulled out six daggers, threw two of them into the ground, two right above them, and two more out to the side. The daggers charged up energy and pulsed out a "wall" of electricity, and then Case pointed out to the turrets and the daggers started to move toward them. Then the field blasted right past the turrets, shorting them out and then destroying them. More ashes and the smell of burnt plastic filled the air as Case walked into the door to the sixtieth floor. Sephiroth was flying on his way out of Midgar when Vincent suddenly spotted him on a sweep of the area. "Heh heh heh..." Vincent chuckled cruelly. "Ready...aim.........fire." Then Vincent pulled the trigger multiple times in Sephiroth's direction. Sephiroth was too late to notice that there were shots coming toward him. The first couple of hits were dead on target, then some of them missed, and the last couple scratched Sephiroth's surface. Then Vincent brought out a new weapon he had been testing while on the road; a rocket launcher attachment for any gun. Vincent put it at the end of the barrel and twisted it on tight. Then he reached in his little duffel bag, pulled out a small air missile, and locked onto the attachment. He pushed a small red button and a scope rose up out along the side of the barrel. Vincent looked through, locked on Sephiroth's figure, and fire the missile. Sephiroth saw this through his eyepiece and off started in the opposite direction shooting at it with his hand laser. The missile kept on dogging all the shots that Sephiroth fired at it and blasted forward to Sephiroth and the kill. Then Sephiroth stopped and morphed his hand into a energy field generator that put a protective shield around him. The missile flew straight into the protective shield that Sephiroth had produced and gave of a powerful explosion. Sephiroth was thrown back from the impact of the explosion and didn't bother to mess with Vincent. His mind was on more important matters like the collection of the final destruction materia. Sephiroth flew out of Vincent's sight, even through the scope. Cloud, Barret, and Katlyn walked out of Midgar towards the Highwind with a blank stare of sadness on their faces. Cid saw them coming out and started up the Highwind to pick up it's oncoming passengers. Tifa dropped down a ladder so the four on the ground. Vincent detached the rocket launcher from his gun and walked over to the ladder. The Highwind stopped about ten yards away from the three walking away from Midgar. Vincent stayed at the ladder to meet them, "Let me guess," he said looking at Cloud. "Sephiroth got the 'Holy Materia' didn't he?" Cloud pushed Vincent out of his way and started up the ladder. "What's you're fu-" "Case went off on his own again," Barret said shaking his head. "An' we don't even know if he'll be comin' back. What happened in there was intense, and don't need ta be talked 'bout." Barret followed Cloud up the ladder and Katlyn soon followed after them both. Vincent watched them go up the ladder and then started up himself when he just realized something. "Tears?" he said then walked up the ladder. Cloud busted onto the bridge, "We're having a meeting!" he demanded. Nobody asked questions and just went inside the conference room. When everyone was in Cloud slammed the door shut, "Is this everyone?" he asked. "Yeah.." everyone responded. "Did you put the Highwind on autopilot Cid?" Cloud asked him. "Yeah, I remembered to put it on." "Good..." Cloud said turning his back to them. "Now...guys.. we've gotta pull through for each other. I can't do this anymore... I've gotten rusty, he could take control of me again, and I...I....I couldn't stop him today. Case is gone again, and I have no fucking clue to why he keeps going away. All I know is that he was a great help to this team. I used to be too, but that was before I realized that I was hurting us. The best to do is just me leave and you guys can stop Sephiroth on your own. I've got nothing more to say. Cid, could you drop me off at Kalm?" "I gue-" "Shut up you spiky ass punk!!" Barret interrupted hitting the table. "Ya gotta realize that you're the soul of this group right here! I'm not sure 'bout the new guys, but they don't know ya like I do. Damnit Cloud, you're doin' the same thing like ya did two years ago! Ya think you're no good when in real life you're doin' all you can to keep goin'!......But if ya think you're no good anymore....well then I ain't stoppin' ya cause it'll finally be the last time that you'll desert your friends. I sure as hell won't miss ya no more. Jus' remember, there ain't no gettin' offa this train we're on." The entire room was silent for at least five minutes or so until Nanaki spoke up. "You have to know Cloud, we were thinking about giving up hope last time, but then we found you and Tifa helped you recover. Now this apocalypse threatens not only this planet but many others that might have civilizations on them. You haven't grown weak, you're as strong as ever. You have new friends to help us in the fight against this ultimate evil. Get over this thing that pulls you back." "Ok Nanaki.", Cloud said after thinking about a minute. "Barret...thanks for yelling at me and kinda settin' my mind straight. I don't know if Sephiroth or Jenova might be doing this to me, but I do know I will go on with you guys. Avonej, I'd like to talk with you alone." Avonej agreed, and then Cloud and Avonej walked into a back room while everyone left. "What did you want to talk to me about?" Avonej asked sitting on the table. "How do ya do it?" Cloud asked while Avonej looked at him puzzled. "How are you not under Jenova's control?" "I am my own being," Avonej answered him. "I don't let my "mother" or anyone else have control over me. I have a will for my own and no one can take it away. I am not like Sephiroth because he was injected with Jenova cells in his mother's womb. Nor am I like you, being injected with Jenova cells as an experiment. I am the actual breeding of Jenova and a human, an actual creature of my own. That is why I'm not under the control of Jenova. I live my life, being hunted down by the planet till I die. That is why I came with you in the first place, so the planet will know I'm not a threat but an aid. But you, my friend, I cannot help. You must find the answer on your own." Avonej walked out of the room leaving Cloud there to think. "Will he be okay?" Tifa asked concerned. "Just let him think," Avonej said. Tifa walked past Avonej who went out of the conference room to the front of the room that Cloud was still in. "Knock knock," she said knocking on the doorframe. "What is it Tifa?" "Is that anyway to talk to your childhood friend? I don't think so." "Sorry Tifa, but what did you want?" "It's funny isn't it. I mean it's like a cycle. We go after Sephiroth. He hurts or kills some one dear to us. He tries to destroy the planet. And you, Cloud, then you say "I can't go on." It, it gets frustrating." "Tifa..." "I mean, you've quit almost everything. I've...but I've never quit for you. I wanted "it" to work but you quit." "Tifa, we all went our separate ways, this isn't like you. Besides if you'd have asked I would've gone with you." "But that's just it! I didn't ask...I just saw you leave and could never follow you 'cause of MY fears. I'm afraid to commit to you and I don't know what you think. I didn't even realize if YOU had the same feelings. I was scared that if, Aeris came back you'd drift away to her or something like that. I...didn't want to hold you back from your true feelings. She even made you smile..." "Aeris? Is this all because you were afraid of Aeris? Tifa, I know you have feelings for me, but I don't know much about Aeris. All that's important is here and now. Yes, I have looked into research about maybe bringing her back but I haven't been able to find anything. Just now that I'll always be there for you. Your hero, remember?" She looked at him with tears in her eyes and ran to him. He caught her and held her tight like she always wanted him to. He did have feelings for her but was afraid of himself as well. "I'm sorry Cloud," she said almost sobbing into his chest. "No, don't be. Just be the Tifa I know. The one that took care of me when I was in a wheelchair, that Tifa Lockheart." "You're right." She let go of him and started out. "I have to be strong, and not let this get to me." "Hey Tifa." She stopped to look at Cloud. "Let's have a night alone, to ourselves." She didn't say anything and smiled. She walked outside the room and leaned against the room when she heard Cloud talking to himself. "Why can't I get that hurting feeling out of my head," he said. "I feel like just splitting my head open. I must stay with the team, to help them and get rid of this thing once and for all. To help them, they need me. Tifa outta most of them, I need to stay especially for her sake." Tifa then heard Cloud walking out of the room so she hid behind the door, not to be seen spying on Cloud. Cloud walked out of the conference room and to the bridge. "Thank you Cloud," Tifa said with a smile as a tear rolled down her cheek. Case watched carefully for the guards and overheard two of them talking. "Did ya hear?" said the first guard. "About the stairwell break in? Yeah," replied the second guard. "I checked it out and nothing was there 'cept ruins." "Oh well," the first guard continued. "Just keep a good watchout for the person or people breaking in." The guards turned and walked away while Case run swiftly across the lobby. He stopped by one of the statues and waited for another guard to turn around. When the guard did, Case ran as fast as he could to the stairwell leading to the laboratory level. "Huff.....puff...and..only level...sixty-five," Case wheezed out. "Just two more floors." All of the doors had been opened to let people roam free because of the tightened security on the outside. Case finished walking up the two stairwells he had left to floor sixty-seven and started to sneak around. He found a computer that had been left on and in the "Laboratory Find" category. Case walked up to it and typed in "Blood Storage". The computer beeped and show a highlighted area that that storage was and a yellow lined trail leading from the computer to the room. Then another screen popped up saying "Who's blood do you want to check?" "Oh crap..I never heard or got her last name, but there should only be one Aeris." He typed in "Aeris" and pushed enter. After waiting for the computer to search it's records it finally came up with one name, Aeris Gainsborough. The computer showed that her blood was there and in compartment G-6. Case turned off the computer and then went along the trail that the computer had shown him, making sure that he wasn't seen. The times that he was seen he used his 'Light Materia' to slightly blind the people so they wouldn't be able to see him. Case finally got to the room after winding down what seemed to be endless halls. "Blood Storage. Warning: Cold room, SHIT! I'm going to have to keep her blood preserved." Then he walked into the room and to the side where there was some blood transport suitcases with freezing unit on them to keep the blood cold. Case felt stupid and picked one up then went looking for compartment G-6. He went over to the G section and started searching for file number six. He looked through hundreds of names before he finally came across Aeris' tube with the blood inside. Case touched it carefully to get his fingers used to the cold. Then he opened the storage container so the blood wouldn't get the slightest bit warm. He started to get cold and he looked over the controls so he would be able to turn on the freezing system. After playing with the controls a bit, he finally figured out how to start the system and was ready to transport the blood. He reached in the file, pull out the blood carefully, set it gently in one of the holders, closed the suitcase gently, turned on the coolant system, and closed the file to not let anyone know he was there. He shut the door to the cold room and was off to find Prof. Edin to get him to restore Aeris. He walked along and demanded to first person he saw. "Were is Prof. Edin?!" "He's...he's in t,the experiment room," the scientist said. Case let go of him and headed off to the experiment room in the direction the scientist said. "Something needs to be done about this old Jenova cell. It's all old and...destroyed," Edin said just as Case busted into the room with his sword ready. Case walked up to him and pushed him into the wall with his sword by his neck. "Listen up doc," Case said letting him down a bit. "In here I've got Aeris Gainsborough's blood, and I want you to make a clone of her just as you did Sephiroth or I kill you." "First off, I need my clone kit, second it takes about a week to do, and third my kit is in Nibelheim." "Well then. I guess we're going to Nibelheim." Then Case walked over to the elevator and "escorted" Prof. Edin out of the building. "How are we going to find Sephiroth?" asked Heather. "When we find Opal WEAPON, we'll find Sephiroth as well," Cloud told her. "How do ya know that Cloud?" Barret asked as puzzled as Heather was. "Well, you saw how Dark WEAPON had the 'Black materia' in it. I can only think that Opal WEAPON might have it imbedded in its body." "Good theory," Avonej complimented. Just then the PHS started to ring and Cid picked it up. "Hello this is the Highwind," Cid answered. "Cid? This is Case. Send the Highwind back to Midgar and take me to Nibelheim," Case said. "Wait Case!" Cloud said running to the PHS. "Why Nibelheim?" "Can't tell ya Cloud," Case told him. "It's a secret. Just do it and thank me later." "Ok, Cid let's go get him," Cloud said. "What I planned on doing." "Also," Case went on saying. "I can't be seen by anyone when I'm there. It's just get on, go to Nibelheim, and drop off. Got it?" "Got it Case," Cloud said hanging up. Cid turned the Highwind around to head for Midgar and had a ladder dropped for who they only thought was Case. "Are we almost there Cid?" "Uh Cloud, we are there, here whatever. We're at Midgar," Cid told Cloud. "Okay guys," Case said into the PHS over the intercom system. "I'm on, let's get to Nibelheim." They didn't ask anymore questions because they knew that they wouldn't get an answer, not even Katlyn. The Highwind flew soundly as Case, still holding Prof. Edin hostage, watched over the water below. "You better do this right. Or you better be more afraid of me than Sephiroth getting the last destruction materia." Edin didn't say anything back to Case; he thought this whole thing was stupid and wouldn't ever work, and he was already afraid of Case by that time. Nibelheim was in view from the bridge, and Case and Edin prepared for the drop off. The Highwind slowed down to a hover over Nibelheim while Case lowered the ladder to the ground. Case let Edin slide down first with the blood in the container while Case slid down keeping a close watch on Edin as they both went down. "We're down. Now go get Sephiroth." "Will do Case," Cid replied. Case stood outside of Nibelheim and waved the Highwind good-bye while holding onto Edin. Edin pulled away from Case and started walking into town. Case ran up to him. "What the hell do you think you're doin'?" "Well," Edin said not turning around. "You want...uh Aeris isn't it? Anyway, if you want her back as quickly as possible I need to get to work now." Case didn't reply to him because he knew that Edin had a reasonable point. Instead he followed Edin, carefully, to the Shinra mansion keeping the glowing pouch of Aeris' Spirit Energy close to him, and always watching the suitcase with her blood in it. Edin got to the front door and opened it with a loud creak. "Let me go in first," Case told Edin. "I'll kill the monsters and then you can go on without harm." "Please!" Edin practically laughed out. "Shinra had this place exterminated months ago. We are the only creatures in this forbidden place." Edin walked right past Case and up the stairs to the secret passage to the basement. Case followed right behind him remembering to keep his guard on because he knew Edin wouldn't agree to everything he told him to do. Case walked down the winding stairs, being careful not to fall, to the basement and lab of the mansion. "This way. Let's get started." "You've been awfully helpful," Case commented. "I'll pay you when you're finished with Aeris." "Thank you. Now let me pull out the cloning kit, defrost the blood, and we're set. Oh, but there's one thing." "What?" "I need some Spirit Energy, preferably hers, instead of Jenova cells to make her "active"." "Don't worry. I've got it under control." Case looked at the inside of his jacket and saw the green glow of Aeris' Spirit Energy as Edin got started. "That's right Cloud!" Reeve said through Cait Sith's transmitter. "I've got word that Opal WEAPON looks like it's about to attack the Gold Saucer from Dio himself!" "Sephiroth must be there too," Cloud said. "Cid! Get us to the Gold Saucer, and FAST!" "Damn!" Cid exclaimed grabbing the wheel. "Gold Saucer, here we come!" The Highwind took off to the Golden Saucer in a blur of chrome silver. The trip wasn't too long so the group was able to get there in time to see Sephiroth taking on Opal WEAPON. "Somehow we need to get Sephiroth and Opal WEAPON at the same time," Cloud said thinking quickly. "Avonej, you take Sephiroth out of the sky. Barret, Nanaki, and I will take him on the ground while the rest of you get Opal WEAPON. Cid you fly the Highwind and bombard Opal WEAPON and Sephiroth if you can but DON'T hit the Gold Saucer. Everybody got that?" "RIGHT!" everyone replied enthusiastically. "Good," Cloud said heading out. "Now let's kick some ass!" They all ran off the bridge, Avonej flew out the window, and Cid manned the attack team. Sephiroth was buzzing around Opal like a fly, annoying it to many extents. Opal did one of it's special moves on Sephiroth called 'Pearl Beam'. It locked onto Sephiroth and fired a pure white energy beam on him. Sephiroth blocked it by making a shield out of his right hand. "Ahh," he sighed regaining his balance. "Cloud and his little buddies are here to play. I just hope that the little piece of me is still with them." Just then Avonej flew in from the sky and did on of his limit breaks, 'Strike Whip'. He flung out his tentacle-like arm and lashed it upon Sephiroth who then fell from the sky to Barret, Nanaki, and Cloud, who were waiting for him. Sephiroth barely got up as he saw Yuffie run by with her backpack on. "Crusher...Come.." Yuffie stopped in her tracks as her bag started to move and grow. She threw it off and backed away. The little mechanical piece Sephiroth had cut off started to grow up to WEAPON's height. "Fuck..." Cloud said in despair. "Some of you take WEAPON and the rest take care of Crusher! Omnislash!" Cloud yelled before he went head-on in slashing Sephiroth down. Slash after slash cut Sephiroth till Cloud came above him and then down onto Sephiroth's already weak body. Then to top things off Barret did 'Catastrophe' on Sephiroth which nearly burnt him to a crisp. Barret came down from the air and started shooting at Crusher. Nanaki knew Sephiroth was beaten for now and went to fight Opal. Crusher mostly ignored the people fighting it and went on to fight with Opal WEAPON like it was programmed to do. Nanaki had saved up his limit for an occasion like this one and went out into the desert field and did 'Cosmo Memory' on the two unsuspecting giants. A burning red comet formed over Nanaki's head as it started to build and grow stronger. Then with a mighty howl the energy was forced out of the comet and sprayed upon the two giants, damaging them severely. Vincent, Barret, Heather, and Avonej opened fire on Crusher, damaging the wires and exoskeleton. Tifa, Yuffie, Nanaki, Cait Sith, and Katlyn were all attacking Opal WEAPON head on in combat. Tifa would take a couple of punches while Yuffie would throw a ninja star or two at the upper torso. Katlyn did a different limit break from the two she'd done earlier called 'Darkness Craze'. Her staff started glowing a light black, almost purple, and she began to do all sorts of Kung Fu moves with her staff hitting Opal almost twenty times. Cait Sith did 'Slots' and got the toy soldiers, little soldiers came out and fired on Opal WEAPON damaging mostly its legs. Opal WEAPON did 'Blinding Fury' on Crusher, another special move. Its chest opened up and a huge beam was gathering in the center. Opal then released the ray onto Crusher and the force of it was so powerful that the giant robot was pushed into the mountain side. Crusher jumped out of the impression that it made in the mountain and did 'Spinning Fists' on Opal. Its upper torso started to spin with its arms extended out and started to pound on Opal WEAPON. Opal tried to block the punches from the robot but got hit a lot anyway. Then it shot Crusher with some lasers that came out of it's shoulders. The blast stunned Crusher then Opal attacked with its entire artillery that vaporized the giant robot. Cloud had been sitting on a stone close by where Sephiroth had fallen from the hits he had taken earlier. "So the mighty Sephiroth is finally up," Cloud said smugly. "You seem a bit weaker now than you did before." "I can still control you," Sephiroth replied menacingly. "Is that so? Or is Jenova controlling you?" Cloud inquired. "Using you to get the four destruction materia so it can take over planets. Don't you see Sephiroth? It's the perfect plan. We're all puppets of Jenova, at least all of us that carry Jenova cells. That is our fate." "Yours, not mine," Sephiroth said as he anticipated the attack on Cloud. Sephiroth got his sword ready for the attack and leapt at Cloud quickly. Cloud was ready for his attack and slashed his sword down to stop Sephiroth quickly. Sephiroth's sword got stuck so he morphed his hand into a laser and started shooting at Cloud. Before any of the shot could get to Cloud, he cast 'Reflect' on himself to repel the shots. The lasers bounced off the shield like they were rubber and started flying in all different directions. "I don't have time to worry about you. I've got bigger fish to fry." Sephiroth grabbed his sword and flew directly towards Opal WEAPON. Sephiroth held out his right hand and formed it into a huge drill to plow straight through Opal. "Vincent, Barret stop him!" Cloud yelled. "We can't let Sephiroth get that materia!" Vincent and Barret both aimed at Sephiroth and unleashed out an array of bullets. Sephiroth molded out a piece of his hand and morphed it into a shield generator to deflect the oncoming bullet shower. The shield weakened greatly from the hundreds of bullets banging continuously on it. Sephiroth was about ten yards from Opal WEAPON when it realized that he was about to drill inside. Opal then pulsed out and energy field that blasted Sephiroth down to the ground. Everyone was now focused on Opal WEAPON and destroying it, to get the materia inside. By this time Opal was getting pretty annoyed by the constant bugging by Cloud and the rest. Opal knew that he was going to be defeated if he stayed here so it started to retreat back to the ocean. "Ohh no ya don't ya sneaky bastard," Cid said watching Opal turn away. "Ya ain't gettin' away that easy." Cid checked the materia slot to see if the 'Ultima Materia' was still in and ready to fire. He pushed a different button that made missiles and bombs ready to deploy. He took the Highwind into firing range and pushed the button again. The sudden noise startled Opal and he turned around just in time to see about a dozen missiles and bombs coming straight for him. An almost look of despair came across Opal's face as he prepared for the impact. The dozens of blasts knocked Opal to the ground and started taking off bits and pieces of his body. Then to top that all off Cid fired the Materia Cannon on Opal with 'Ultima' in the slot. The ray tore Opal apart and completely demolished him. A piece broke off of his head and fell towards the ground. Everyone knew that it was the 'Pearl Materia' so Avonej flew down and swooped it up before it even hit the ground. Sephiroth was furious in rage and took to the sky just waiting for another time to take the 'Pearl Materia' from them. Cid landed the Highwind gently and close so everyone wouldn't have far to walk to it. He climbed down to greet everyone, "So did we get it?" he asked anxiously. Avonej raised his hand to show everyone he'd gotten it, "You mean this little thing is what this grand battle was about?" "This "little thing" could mean the destruction of this planet if Sephiroth got his hands on it," Cloud said taking the materia from Avonej. "Damn Cloud," Barret said walking up to the Highwind. "Ain't we gonna get some R&R yet?" "Yeah," Cloud said after thinking a while. "Let's all rest up, we've deserved it. Then we need to find where Sephiroth's hiding, and get all the other destruction materia from him." Everyone agreed as long as they rested up before the search for Sephiroth. They all went into the Highwind except Cloud who stayed outside, looking towards Nibelheim. "What's the matter Cloud?", Tifa asked, concerned about him. "Nothing, I'm just wondering what Case's up to." "Well don't worry about it now. Let's go get some rest." Cloud didn't reply and they both turned around and climbed the ladder into the Highwind. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- End of part 3: The Four Destructions