Chapter 1: Meeting an enemy 
"Ugh! Where am I?" 
Silence. 
"Hello?" 
Silence. 
"Are you there?" 
A sound. Dense. Darkness. "Am I here?" 
"Who ARE you?" 
"You should know, fool!" 
"Me? Know?" 
"You know me! I know you!" 
"What have I done?" 
"Your crime...your sin." 
"Sin? What?" 
"You act inferior!" 
"What do you mean?" 
Silence. Darkness. Nothing. In the darkness, a man. A man with sword. Blue, clear 
eyes. Blonde hair. A blue uniform. 
Uniform. A uniform. A soul of gold. A spirit of strength. Nothing to stop for. Only 
to continue. Life to go on. No problems. Done. Cloud. Yes, his name. Cloud. On 
one side was a girl. A woman who loved him. A woman he loved. A young girl 
you he hadn't shown his feelings for. Because of one person. Aeris. Aeris. That 
name. The name Cloud kept so dear to his heart. The name who he treasured 
dearly. On the other side. A pilot. A pilot with a pike. He was a warrior. Cloud was 
a warrior. This was a mission. He did not know what he was after, but he was in 
search for something. Something that seemed to draw him closer to it. Cloud was 
frightened. 
"Cloud, are you alright?" the girl asked. She had love for him. It was no normal 
love. It was diffrent. It was unreal how much she loved him. Cloud had the same 
feelings for her. Tifa. Her name. "Cloud, what's wrong?" 
"Huh?" Cloud asked. "Tifa?" 
"Cloud, you sound frightened." 
"Me?" replied the warrior. 
"SHIT!" Cid yelled. Cid. The pilot. The brave pilot. "You always talkin' this way?! 
Bein' so damn concerned!" 
"He IS my husband," Tifa said. "We ARE supposed to look out for eachother. You 
know he DIED to save my life." 
"Woah, THAT'S love," said the self-centered pilot. 
Darkness. Not even a sound. Cloud could not see his wife, nor his friend. He was 
in a dark void. Searching. But what was he searching FOR? He did not know. His 
heart told him to go this way. He had an open heart. He let his heart control him. 
His heart. He has a heart? He was a Jenova, but he now knew who he was. He IS 
the Cloud from Nibelhiem. He IS what he was. Sudden scream from Cid shattered 
his concentration. The path narrowed. 
"Goddammit!" Cid cursed. "What the hell was THAT?!" 
"It...It is...a narrow path," Cloud said. 
"Cloud, what are we looking for?" asked his beautiful wife. 
"I don't know," answered the warrior. 
Now it was black. Pitch black. You must understand this. You could not see a 
damn thing. But Cloud did not bump into anything. He walked perfectly. 
"Cloud, if you don't know where the hell your goin', why the hell are we goin 
there?" said the pilot. 
"My heart senses something," Cloud responded. Suddenly Cloud flew his sword 
over his head and into something. 
A monster. Cut in have with it's embrails sploched on the floor. Blood oozed out. 
"Cloud, there...how did you know that was there?" 
"My heart," said the warrior. 
"Are we there yet?! My legs are failing me, damnit!" Cid swore. 
"I feel it," Cloud said calmly. "We are there." Cloud lifted a match and set fire to a 
torch. He approached a wall. A red wall. Blood? Could this be...blood? Blood. It 
was obvious. But on that blood stained wall was..3 black marks. The mark of the 
wolf. It was the mark of the wolf. 
"Cloud...what is it?" Tifa asked. 
"The mark of the wolf," the charming man replied. 
"Wha...what is...the mark of the wolf?" Tifa asked. 
"I don't know." Cloud answered. "I heard the answer from..ME." 
Silence. 
"Tifa?" 
Silence. A sound. "Cloud, you are mine!" 
"Who are you?" 
"I am your master." 
"You are NOT!" 
"I am! You can feel my power, can you not?" 
"You don't have any power!" 
"Kill the pilot!" 
"N...NO!" 
"I will make you!" 
"Never!" 
"HA!" 
Cloud caught himself. But had an erge...to kill Cid. Cloud took his sword. 
"Uh, Cloud?" Cid said with a questionable voice. Cloud raised his sword over his 
head. "Cloud?" Cid said again. Cloud swung his sword over his head at Cid. Cid 
dived out of the way. A spark flew. Cloud's sword hit the ground. It was stuck in 
the ground. 
"Shit, Cloud! What the hell are you doin'?!" 
"Huh?" Cloud stuttered. "What is it? What did I do?" 
"You almost killed me, goddammit!" Cid swore again. 
"It's....no, it can't be. Could it?" 
"It ain't Sepheroth." 
"I know, but..... their is one. One being. One soul who deceived Sepheroth. And he 
posses Sepheroth's power," Cloud said with a frightened look on his face. 
"It can't be....Clenario, can it? Oh, I hope it isn't," Tifa said. 
"Clenario is dead. I killed him," the brave man assured her. "It is..." Cloud stopped. 
The "Mako eyes", those beautiful blue eyes turned white. No color whatsoever in 
his eyes. His eyes closed. He started to move, his body falling backward. He 
collapsed. Tifa shrieked. 
"Damn, better get his ass outta here! SOON!" Cid yelled. The mark of the wolf 
glowed. It shot forth rays. 6 rays (2 from each mark). Each one shot a pillar that 
held the place up. All support was gone and all hell broke loose. Cid, holding one 
half of Cloud and Tifa carrying the other. A rock fell. It hit Tifa on the head. Tifa's 
eyes widened and she fell back. She had passed out. 
"Goddamnit," Cid thought. "We are going to die." Cid stuck his spear into the 
ground as hard as he could, with the sharp edge sticking up. "Well, I guess I can 
kiss my ass goodbye," Cid swore. He covered his head and closed his eyes. The 
roof caved in...but the pike. It held a round section up. It saved Cloud and Tifa's 
lives. Cid took out a cigarette and inhaled deeply. 
"Goddamn, THAT was close." he said. He took out the PHS and called Barret. 
"Barret, get your ass over here!" he cursed. Barret was on his way. 
*** 
A few minutes later, Barret picked up Cid, Tifa and Cloud. Cloud was put in the 
operation room. Tifa was put in the control deck. Cid was sitting around with his 
eyes widened and puffed rapidly at his cigarette. What happened to Cloud? Did he 
get a sudden comma? Was something unearthing him? Cid looked over Tifa. In 
honest truth, he was jealous Cloud married her. A beautiful young woman. 
"Sir, status report! Mr. Strife is regaining consciousness," said one of the crew 
members. 
"Good, now give him anything he wants! Ease him a little!" Cid said. 
"The man can barley speak, but he wants Tifa," said the member. 
"Goddamnit!" Cid swore. "Always wantin' stuff we can't give!" 
"Huh? Wha...What happened?" said a weary girls voice. 
"Tifa?! Men, lead her to the operation room. OH, and tell Barret to sit his ass down 
with me for a moment," Cid yelled. The two men lead Tifa out the door. Right into 
a center room. And through a door. To the operation room. They put her next to 
Cloud. Both of them had too little energy to get up, so they lay down next to each 
other. 
Tifa opened her eyes. There, next to her, was her hero. The "Man" of her life. The 
one. Tifa stared into his eyes. "Cloud, what happened?" 
"I-I don't know," Cloud said. "All I remember was the mark of the wolf, and....and 
Calypso, and...." 
"Woah, slow down, Mr. Strife. Who is Calypso?" said the young, beautiful woman. 
"He is...trying to wreck me. He will stop me from knowing....what the mark of the 
wolf is," Cloud said tiredly. "I need some rest," Tifa's head was seen above Clouds 
body. She kissed him. 
"Get some rest, soldier!" she said. Tifa dragged herself against a wall and closed 
her eyes. She rested. 
*** 
A sudden curse from Cid shattered her sleep. 
"Say that again!" Cid yelled. 
"Goddamnit Cid, calm down!" she herd another voice say, dim over the metal. Tifa 
moved. She could walk. She had definitely recovered. She opened the door and 
walked past the main bridge. Inside the control room, assorted pieces of metal were 
scattered across the room. Cid's spear was sliced clean through the scanning 
computer unit. On the side of the room were.....two dead men. What was going on? 
"Shit, Barret! Say what the hell happened again!" 
"I told you, Cid, the mechanic was found dead and two operators were captured 
last night," Barret explained. 
"Barret, you were watch last night, who shot em'?" Cid yelled. 
"It was hard to tell," Barret said. "Everything was so damn dark." 
"What could you make out?" Cid demanded. 
"It...It was a man who wore red and black. Arm looked pretty creepy, OH and 
some Red animal. I couldn't tell if it was a lion or a wolf. He had a buncha guys 
with him," Barret described. "All of em' had pretty big guns." 
Tifa quivered. "What's going on?" she thought. 
"NO! Their gone! ERRGH!" Cid cried. He knelt down. WAY down. He lifted his 
hand in the air and pounded on the floor. "Godd..." Cid stopped. He saw Tifa. "Uh, 
oh, hi Tifa. Just a minor debate. Don't mind us!" Cid said. 
"Okay," Tifa said. She walked out the door. 
"Amnit!" Cid finished. "I KNOW who that damn masked man was! It was Vincent 
and Red!" 
"But, WHY?" asked the powerful man. 
"What would I know?" Cid asked. Where are Red and Vincent anyway?" 
"They left last night to get some more power couplings," Barret said. RIIIING! The 
PHS. The PHS was a phone. Barret kept it in a shirt pocket. All of the team had 
one. Barret took it out of his pocket rapidly. He was a bit shaken up. "Barret. 
Whatyuwant?" 
"Hi, Barret, this is Red XIII. I...." 
"WHAT?! Alright! Get your butt over here! I got a bone to pick wit' you!" Barret 
screamed into the PHS. His cream echoed accross the Highwind. 
"Um, OK," Red said a little nervously. Barret heard a click. Barret waited for the 
stupid Nanaki to arrive tensely. 
*** 
"Um, you wanted to talk with me?" Red said slowly 
"You damn right!" Barret said in a low voice. 
"What is it?" Red asked. 
"You an' Vincent said you was out to get the Highwind some power couplings. But 
you REALLY came back with Vincent, killed the mechanic, and captured 2 of our 
operators!!" Barret yelled. Red quivered. 
"It-It wasn't me," Red stuttered. 
"Then who WAS it?" Barret yelled, his face quite red. Red thought a moment. His 
face humble, just as always. Then he knew. 
"No, it....can't be," Red said quietly. 
"What is it?!" Barret demanded. 
"Calypso?" Red asked. 
"Who is THAT?!" Barret asked, a little more calm. Red looked in the air. Then he 
looked back at Barret. Calypso. Who was that? Calypso. 
*** 
Cloud had just awoken. He seemed better. Much better. He could actually get up. 
He heaved himself up. The room....was gone. There was no room. It was a void. 
Spaceless void. "Where am I?" Cloud asked himself. 
"You are MINE!" said a voice. Cloud quivered. 
"Where is Tifa?" 
"In a safe place." 
"What have you done with her?" 
"She is also mine. I will not harm her. Yet." 
"If you lay one finger on her, you...." 
"Your going to WHAT? Confront and kill me? I think not!" 
"But who are you?" 
"More or less who Sepheroth was." 
"Sepheroth?!" 
"You know him?" 
"I do." 
"You then know me." 
"Calypso?" 
"That is my name." 
"What do you want from me?" 
"I want YOU!" 
"What is it you want with me?" 
"You will be among the damned. You will wonder my pits of hell." 
"What good will that do YOU?" 
"Do you know who is THERE?" 
"TIFA?!" 
"No. It is the OTHER girl." 
"AERIS?!" 
"Correct." 
"What is SHE doing there?" 
"She was loved by you. You are the ultimate mistake." 
"Aeris wanted Tifa and I's lives to be lived....TOGETHER." 
"Yes. YES." 
"I am not afraid of you." 
"Then you will die. DIE!" 
Cloud opened his eyes. He looked right into Tifa's. 
"Tifa, there is something wrong." 
"What is it?" asked the girl, sitting next to him. 
"Calypso. He will kill us," said the brave warrior. 
"Huh? Calypso? Red was just taking about Calypso." 
"He...He WAS? What did he say?" 
"Calypso attacked the ship." 
"He WHAT?!" Cloud yelped. 
"He killed the mechanic and captured two operators." 
"Calypso's wrath has begun. We must fight," Cloud said. 
"Where do we start?" Tifa asked. 
"We need to go....to Goblin Isle.," Cloud said. 
"Why? What's there?" asked the woman. 
"He is there. He's calling my name." 
"Well, then, to Goblin Isle it is," Tifa said with determination. She ran through the 
door, past Yuffie in the hall (Who was more sick then usual) and into the main 
gate. Barret was apologizing to Red, because it was "The wolf" who did his crime. 
Cid was piloting the Highwind towards Midgar. 
"Cid, change your course to Goblin Isle.," Tifa said. 
"Why, what's there?" said the self-centered pilot. 
"Cloud says Calypso is calling his name. We need to find Calypso at Goblin Isle." 
"But..." Cid started. 
"No buts! Just go!" Tifa yelled. 
"Okay! Okay! God!" Cid said. He changed his course and the team was off to 
Goblin Isle. 
*** 
The Highwind cruised across the ocean and in the horizon. Cid Just puffed away at 
is cigarette. He saw it. Goblin Isle. In the distance, an Isle. An isle. full of forests. 
Below that was a grassland. Goblins claimed this forest. But now...someone else 
owns it. The evil Calypso (Who we will learn Oh-so much about). Cid steered the 
highwind to the port side. But, surprisingly enough, the highwind went starboard. 
"What the hell?!" Cid cursed. 
"Cid! What are you doing?" Barret yelled. Everything on the ship flew to the right. 
Barret went flying off his feet and right into the wall. Then a wrench went flying at 
him and hit him in the arm. Blood flew from his limb. 
"I'm TRYING to save your sorry ass!" Cid cursed again. 
"What's goin' on? Why is this happenin'?" Barret cried. Cid yanked at the controls 
rapidly. Barret could see how hard Cid was yanking at the wheel. For the first time 
in his life, Barret knew that Cid was trying his best, and that he actually cared. 
"SSSHHHHHHHH....................................IIIIIIIITTTTTTTT!!!!!!!" Cid cried at 
the highwind as he went flying in one direction. He pulled and tugged with all his 
might and then...he lost his grip. He flew at the wall and bumped his head against 
the wall, with a SPLAT. 
"Shit!" Barret cried out as the ship was going hysterical. 
"What in the world's happening?!" Tifa cried as she entered the main gate. She 
walked with as much weight on her steps as she could, so she wouldn't fall. 
"The ship's going down! Get Cloud!!" Barret cried. Tifa, controlled by fear, ran to 
the back room to get Cloud. 
"Cloud!! CLOUD!! Wake up! Something's wrong!" Tifa cried out. Cloud squinted. 
"Cloud, we HAVE to get off the Highwind! Something's wrong!" 
"Good gosh!" Cloud yelled. He leapt to his feet. 
"Barret! Get Cid!" Tifa cried. She ran up to the top deck. Yuffie was already there, 
throwing up off the side. Cloud looked at Tifa. "Take my hand," he said 
vigorously. Tifa grabbed her hero's, her husband's hand. They dived down. They 
flew closer and closer toward the water. SPLASH. They were down. Cloud swan 
rapidly toward the shore. Tifa was right behind him. Cloud made it. He was on the 
shore, ready for anything. Cloud stared at the airship. It flew right for the beach. 
Cloud looked as hard as he could at the deck. Barret was there, holding Cid, and he 
jumped off. He landed on the beach with a splat. Cid apparently had woken up 
from the impact. Cid opened his eyes in Barret's arms. "EEWW!! Get your hands 
off me!" he cried. Cid dusted himself off. He spit out some dirt. Then he stared. 
The highwind. It was heading quickly for the Isle. Cid stared at it every inch as it 
approached, not blinking once. The highwind crashed to the ground and flames 
flew everywhere. the ship was gone. Nothing but a heap of garbage. Cid opened 
his mouth so wide, his cigarette fell out of his mouth. 
"GODAMNIT!" He swore. He threw himself on his hands and knees. He pounded 
the ground. "DAMN IT!! DAMN IT TO HELL!!" Cid yelled. He picked up his 
Venus Gospel and Cut down a lot of trees, killed a lot of goblins, and just plain 
destroyed everything he saw. 
"Cid, calm down," Red said. 
"Don't you get it? That ship was a beauty 20 minutes ago, and now it's just a pile of 
SHIT!!" Cid yelled. He cried out in agony. 
"Cid, we must continue. This is for US, not our possessions," Tifa said. "We need 
to be strong." 
"Urrggh," Cid said. "I-I guess your right. But I'm gunna miss that baby. She flew 
beautifully." 
"I guess we start here," Tifa said. Those words.. Those words were almost the same 
words she said as they left Midgar. "This is the start of our journey." 

Chapter 2: The beginning 
"Where do you think we'll find Calypso," Tifa asked. 
"Wherever there's evil," Cloud said. 
"God, Cloud, you just aren't very descriptive!" Cid swore. 
"I mean, when I feel evil, we're close," Cloud said. 
"Well, I SEE evil! Here come a whole bunch a badasses!" Barret cried out. Cloud 
took his Ultima sword and braced himself for battle. Cid was prepared for battle 
with his Venus Gospel. Tifa got her fists ready. Barret backed them up while 
blasting away with his gun arm. All of the enemies looked like stone. They were 
gold plated, and reflected most of Barret's shots. Bullets ricocheted off the enemies 
and straight for Cid. A bullet hit Cid in the leg. 
"OW!! Crap!" Cid yelled. He ran up to one of them with his Venus Gospel and 
stabbed it right in the heart. Rock chipped from the body. It dug deep into his body 
and Cid yanked it out. It fell back. 
"Damn it!" Barret cried out. "My bullets don't do a damn thing! I wish Vincent was 
here!" 
More fighting continued. Someone shot a bullet. It hit Cloud in the leg. 
"OWWW!!!" Cloud cried. Blood dripped from his knee. With nothing to support 
himself, he collapsed on the floor. There he laid. Tifa immediately ran to aid him. 
"Cloud! Oh, Cloud are you all right?" she said. She was worried. In the past, she 
could not admit it. Now, she did. She carried Cloud to safety with all her might. 
"Cloud," she whispered. "I'm sorry." 
*** 
The battle continued. Things weren't looking well. Yuffie was to badly hurt and 
Red could not move. Cid sighed. 
"Shit, we're dead," he thought. There were too many of them. he couldn't hold em' 
of forever. He had given up hope and was prepared to die. 
BANG BANG BANG BANG!!!! Ratitititatatatata!! BAM! BANG! 
"What-What the hell was THAT?!" Cid cried out. Everyone who had been fighting 
their team. Dead. Who did that? A dark man flew down from the top of a 
mountain. VINCENT!! 
"Vincent? Was that you?" Cid asked. 
"Yes, it was. Oh, here are your power couplings," Vincent said. He tossed to 
battery shaped electric units to him. 
"Hate to say this, Vince, but there ain't nothin' left of the ship but a bunch of shit!" 
"How AWFUL!" Vincent said, trying to sympathize Cid. There they were. 
Nowhere to go. Nowhere to go. Cloud felt evil. He knew they were there. He knew 
what was going to happen. 
*** 
Tifa was just plain pampering Cloud. She tried to get him better. If only she knew 
how. Cloud just lay there. He looked at Tifa. She was smiling until a few seconds 
after she heard a sound. She stopped. She looked VERY frightened. Her eyes 
widened. Her mouth was wrinkled with fear. 
"Cloud?! What the...?" Tifa started. Cloud pondered. What was wrong? 
"What's wrong, Tifa?" Cloud asked. 
"Where are you?" Tifa asked. 
"Where am I? I'm right here," Cloud tried to convince her. But she turned her back 
on him and left. 
"Cloud! Where are you?" 
"TIFA!!" 
Silence 
"Huh?" 
Nothing. 
"What's going on?!" 
"We meet once again, Cloud Strife!" 
"What do you mean, 'once again?' We never have met!" 
"Face to face, true, but heart to heart? No. NO!" 
"Will you show me who you are?" 
"If you know who I am, why do you wish to see me?" 
"I don't know. Nor do I care." 
"Deny your senses? How dare you!" 
"What is it THIS time?" 
"The girl, Aeris. She is suffering in these depths." 
"What are you doing with her? Can't you let her rest in peace?!" 
"You have Tifa! What would you care?!" 
"Everything! I've lost Aeris, but that doesn't mean I don't love her!" 
"You don't love Tifa then!" 
"That is NOT true! I love her!" 
"You don't. You've ignored her, rejected her for all this time!" 
"It was only because of Aeris. I knew I couldn't reject her." 
"And WHY not?" 
"Good lord! I don't know!" 
"Was it because your heart was centered into HER? Did you marry Tifa because 
you knew SHE would want you to?" 
"I-I don't know." 
"And WHY not?" 
"Oooh, WHY don't I know?! Augh!!" 
"Cloud Strife! You LET the woman die! That is worse then killing her 
YOURSELF!" 
"Oh, man! Was it......?" 
"It is! Aeris's compassion has rubbed out on you!" 
"NO!! Your trying to throw me off guard! Trying to make me forget myself 
again!" 
"Face it! It is TRUE!" 
"But, WHY?" 
Silence. 
"Where ARE you?" 
Nothing. 
"Hello?" 
Darkness. A light. A sound. Cloud felt himself being lifted off the ground. Cloud 
Went high off the ground (If there was one, that is) and then flew through a blue 
void. One that seemed to go faster and faster. He all of a sudden felt himself going 
down, as if someone suddenly dropped him from a high distance. He was back in 
the fields. Probably HOURS from when he last saw Tifa. He was alone. 
Alone. Away from the ones he loved. Cloud seemed to have that weakness. 
Loneliness. Tifa was not with him. He had new love for her that he hated to be 
away from. No one to love. 
Love. Cloud's OTHER weakness. Did Cloud ALWAYS love Tifa aside from that? 
Yes. Why did he ignore her? Deny her? Aeris. 
"Tifa!!!" Cloud yelled. "Tifa, I'm sorry!! I ALWAYS loved you! Yet I ignored 
you! Wherever you are, I hope you hear, I love you! I always have. And I always 
will!" Cloud was down on his knees. His hands against the ground. A tear came 
from his eye and splashed onto the cool forest grass. He looked into the tiny pool 
of water his tears had made. He looked deeply into it. There, he could make 
out....Tifa's face. That beautiful face he had loved always. Cloud laid back and 
closed his eyes. He fell asleep. 
*** 
"The hell's THAT supposed to mean, 'He just disappeared'?!" 
Tifa sighed. "I told you what I saw. He disappeared." 
"But how could he just disappeared?!" Barret demanded. 
"I-I don't know," Tifa answered. 
Everyone was in the middle of the forest of goblin isle. They had spent a long time 
setting up a camp suitable for everyone. They weren't quite used to it. They 
normally just used inns or hotels, or stayed at people's houses. There were nine 
tents out. Seven for the seven members of the party (Although Cloud wasn't there), 
one for eating, and one for recreation (Or anything of that type.). 
"Look! We're STUCK! Cloud's gone, Cid is pissed..." 
"Shu'up, Barret!" Cid interrupted. 
"And WHY is Cloud gone?! It's all your damn fault!" Barret scolded at Tifa. Tifa 
felt a tear in her eye. She was hit with sorrow. Strange sorrow. She felt tears go 
down her face without thinking. She fell to her knees and started crying. Barret 
looked a bit surprised. He didn't know Tifa was gunna crack up like this. 
Cid stared at the weeping girl, feeling bad for her. Cid decided he would stand up 
for Tifa. No one was EVER going to talk to a woman like THAT!! "Goddamnit, 
Barret! Look at this! You made her cry!" 
"No! No, it's not Barret's fault! He is right! It IS my fault! I shouldn't have let him 
go!" Tifa cried even harder. Barret stared at her, as if he hadn't ever noticed that 
Tifa did love him. Tifa was shattered by sorrow. She let her emotion control her. 
"Damn Calypso! Damn him!" 
"Tifa, you never swear, and I don't want you to start! Cloud'll be alright." 
Tifa sighed. "Oh, Barret, I hope your right." 
"Girl, you need some rest. I'll get your tent ready," Barret said. "He sighed. "And I 
promise you, we'll look for Cloud first thing tomorrow." 
Tifa took one last look to the wilderness before she went to bed. (Barret, I hope 
your right. I hope your right.) she said quietly to herself. She ran back to camp. 
*** 
Tifa woke before anyone else in the party at 5:00 (Midgar Standard Time). 
"Barret! Cid! Red! Vincent! Yuffie! GET UP! We have to find Cloud!" she yelled 
into their tent. Yuffie squealed. Cid grunted. Barret yawned. Vincent squinted. Red 
got up and stretched (Like a cat after a nap.) 
"I hate gettin' up this early! Tifa, what's this..." Barret began. 
"I have some coffee ready," she explained. Cid leapt to his feet, dashed toward the 
meal tent, and practically drank every drop of his coffee. Cid had 3 cups and really 
cut loose on the sugar. He put 3 packages of French vanilla cram in. Yuffie Drank 
2 cups and so did Barret. Red didn't drink any (He did not believe in caffeine, nor 
did Vincent). 
Tifa simply got herself a cup of rum. She normally didn't drink, but she was 
depressed. She knew that any type of alcoholic beverages made you forget things, 
and that included her worries for Cloud. She took a sip. The rum was bitter. It did 
not taste good one little bit. But it had an effect on her. A strong one. She tried not 
to drink enough to get herself drunk. 
"Yo, Tifa! Are you drinking that crap?" Cid yelled out. He went towards Tifa. He 
saw her drinking alcohol. He sighed. "Cloud gettin' ya down?" 
Tifa sighed. "Yes, I'm worried about him." 
"Hey, why don't you light yourself a REAL one?" Cid asked. He offered Tifa a 
cigarette. Tifa, who had nothing better to do, refused it. Cid sighed. Tifa looked at 
the man. 
"Cid....I'm sorry," Tifa said. 
"Hey, don't be!" Cid said. "I just wanted to help. If it doesn't help, it doesn't help. 
That's that." 
"Where do we find Cloud?" Tifa asked. 
Cid took a puff at his cigarette. "What the hell would I know?!" Cid said 
impolitely. 
*** 
"Ti....fa. TI.....FA," Cloud said weekly, dying from starvation. He hadn't had a taste 
of food for 2 days. He hadn't had a taste of Tifa's mouth in 5. He needed food. He 
needed love. 
He was...rising? Up. Up. Through the clouds and through the atmosphere. He 
entered....a strange blue void. The same one he exited from...from....HIM! 
"Not again! Nooo!" 
"You do not wish to talk with me?" 
"No! I do NOT want to have audience!" 
"What do you want then?" 
"Tifa." 
"The girl?" 
"Yes." 
"Yes. I will bring her to you." 
"You WILL?!" 
"Yes. I hope this will bring trust in me." 
"I don't know." 
"Go in my honor!" 
Cloud found himself in a void. Empty. He was not there. He was gone. 
*** 
"What the hell IS that?!" Cid cursed. Something was materializing right in front of 
their faces. It had a few spikes. It was gold. Then whatever it was started 
materializing from the bottom up. Leather boots. Finally it finished materializing. 
Cloud! 
"Cloud?!" Barret cried with disbelief. It was. Cloud looked around the area. He 
was specifically trying to eye Tifa. There she was. The beautiful brunet. Cloud 
walked up to her, while Yuffie's mouth hung open. Tifa looked at Cloud and 
smiled. "I'm....hungry," Cloud said. 
"Well, I got something!" Tifa said. She closened her head toward Clouds, as if to 
get him to realize what she meant. Cloud caught on and kissed Tifa. They were 
happy to be together at last. Again. 
"Well, if all this mush is done, we need to get you fed, boy!" Barret cried. He took 
Cloud into the meal tent. "We're crossing the sea tomorrow. Be prepared!" Barret 
said. 
"Damn!" Yuffie said (For she got every type of motion sickness). 
*** 
"Okay, smartass, where to? Where is this "Calypso" guy?" Cid demanded at Cloud 
as they got on a boat. Not a big boat. A boat about medium size. It was about as 
big as a Shinra office, big enough for everyone to have some space. Cid was the 
proud captain of this ship. Cloud told them the way. 
"Cloud do you know where we're going?" 
Cloud thought from his heart. His soul. "We're going to Kalm." 
"Okay, that ain't too far," Cid exclaimed. 
It was only a mater of minutes before Kalm was in sight. Tifa was trying to act as 
bright and optimistic as she could. She decided she cheer Yuffie up. 
"Hi, Yuffie!" she said. Yuffie groaned. 
"Look," Yuffie said. "I know you like to cheer up people, but I am so sick. So..." 
Yuffie's lunch took a swim. Tifa's stomach hurt to the sight, so she decided to try 
someone else. Tifa was going up the stairs to the top deck, when Barret came 
running with all his might up the stairs and bumped into Tifa, and Tifa went flying 
down them. 
"Captain! We got a critical mess!" Barret cried out. "Looks like a tsunami!" 
"What?!" Cid cried with fear. 
"Turn to starboard and you might make it." 
"Oh, CRAP!!!" Cid yelled. The wave approached the ship with great velocity. It 
gained closer and closer. It approached more and more. The top of the wave was 
over the ship. Cool sprinklets of water came down lightly on the ship, which got 
everything a little wet. It went to VERY wet. The huge wave crashed down on the 
ship with great force. Cid was stunned by the force. 
"SHIT!" Barret cried. The ship went 20 feet under water and forced everyone 
under. Cloud swallowed a heap of water as he went down. Tifa went down 20 feet. 
She couldn't hold her breath forever. She had not taken a breath before she went 
down, and had very little oxygen in her lungs. She swam rapidly towards the 
surface. She made it out and swung her hair back. She saw Cid and Barret each 
hanging on to a piece of the remainder of the ship that was floating. Cid was 
coughing really hard. He coughed up a bunch of sea water. He choked. Barret 
looked at Cid with fear. 
"Cid, get to the escape rafts!" 
"What escape rafts?" Cid answered. 
"Life vests! Get them!" Tifa screamed. "Cloud can't breath!" 
"We'll get them!" Cid cried out, hanging on for dear life to a piece of wood. Cid 
dived down. Cid swam down (For he was able to hold his breath for a very long 
time!) He came back up with a life jacket. He tossed it to Tifa. Tifa slipped it on 
Cloud and swam as hard as she could for Cloud's sake. She was about 15 feet from 
the shore with Cloud in one arm. She finally made it to the edge of the shore. She 
was a mile from Kalm. After she had gotten back to the beach, she rolled away 
from the water. She was covered with sand. She felt something. A pinch. A 
CRAB! She yanked it off of her finger. Cloud was even worse. He was almost 
drowned with sea water. He had sea weed all over him, and was intensely covered 
with sand. Tifa stopped for a moment. Then she looked back over the water. Barret 
was getting attacked by the waves. 
"Barret!!" She screamed. 
"Don't worry 'bout me! Get Cloud to Kalm!" Barret screamed. Tifa put Cloud. She 
held Cloud mouth opened and inhaled deeply through her mouth. She blew back 
into Cloud. It was no use. Cloud started coughing up water. She had to get him to 
Kalm. She got Cloud to Kalm 30 minutes later. 
*** 
"Cloud, I think we're ALL glad your okay," Barret explained. Everyone was at a 
house back at Kalm. It was a house in the back (With QUITE a view!) It was a 
fairly large house, with a T.V, 7 beds (3 bedrooms) and a big shower that was NOT 
run by Mako. 
"Yah. We're all filthy!" Yuffie explained. 
"I get the first shower!" Cid yelled with determination. 
"No, I think Cloud should get the first shower. He is the FILTHIEST!" Tifa said 
giggling. "And I get the next one!" Tifa explained. 
"Fine! Geez! I save Cloud's ass and THIS is the thanks I get!" Cid swore. He sat 
down grumpily. 
"Well, Cloud, wash up!" Barret said. "You look like CRAP!" 
"Gee, thanks Barret," Cloud said. 
He walked into the bathroom. He slowly stripped. He opened the shower door. He 
steped in and adjusted the heat before turning the shower on. Cloud took a long 
shower. Doing nothing but scrubbing the multiple layers of dirt of himself. He had 
to wash his hair down, because it was filthy and had to be washed. He was clean. 
Finally He got out. He stepped out of the shower. Tifa was waiting patiently by the 
door. Cloud styled his hair back up and wrapped himself in a towel. He walked 
past Tifa and into and his room. In Cloud's room was a Window with a beautiful 
view. Cloud looked out of the window. He didn't get out of his towel. He just left 
his towel 'round waste and looked at the beautiful view. 

3. Passion of the night. 
Cloud stared out the window. It was a beautiful night. Stars sparkled wildly. Cloud 
sighed. It was a beautiful night. Chocobos were running around the fields. The 
lights of Midgar could be seen vaguely over the horizon. The fields were lush 
green. Cloud could here Cid and Barret listening to the T.V for further reports of 
damage that 'Calypso" had done. Insofar, 50 people had been killed instantly from 
5th degree burns from hell. Damned souls had actually possesed a man and he 
killed 30 people with a knife. Reports were getting severe. Calypso was killing. 
People were dieing. Sepheroth was gaining energy. Spirit energy. 
Cloud wanted to see this view because he was embarrassed and worried. He was 
embarrassed how many times everyone else had to save him. In most cases, Cloud 
had saved THEM, but they were saving HIM. Cloud was worried about Calypso. 
What he has done, and what he will do. Awful things. Aeris. What had he done 
with Aeris's soul? He wouldn't DARE torture it. 
"Cloud, you look worried sick," said a young woman's voice. Cloud slowly turned 
his head. It was Tifa. She was warring a pink bathrobe. 
"I am," Cloud said with a sigh. "That's why just have to see something pretty, like 
this view." 
Tifa knew how worried he was. Calypso and all this junk. 
"Cloud, you HAVE to get your mind off Calypso for a while! You'll probably DIE 
of how worried you are!" she said. She was having a strange feeling. An erge....for 
bliss. From extreme ecstacy. 
"I just don't know HOW to!" Cloud said. He had to have a way! 
"Cloud, I....." Tifa insisted. She stopped. She felt herself feel a VERY large erge 
for Cloud's love. Cloud still looked out the window. He did not look at this 
beautiful woman. But he did ask something. He wanted to know what she wanted 
to say. 
"What?" Cloud asked. 
Tifa put her hand on Cloud's shirtless shoulder. "I love you," she whispered in his 
ear. 
Cloud looked at that beautiful hand. He started at her hand and then looked up her 
arm. What was THIS? Tifa's robe sleeve wasn't there. She....she wasn't wearing 
ANYTHING. She stood nude before Cloud. Cloud just stared, for he had never 
been this close to an unclothed woman. She had stripped her robe, apparently. She 
was directing her body closer to Cloud's chest. 
"Tifa, I....." Cloud started, but Tifa just wildly kissed him. Cloud knew her 
intentions, but didn't want to play along.....YET. Tifa needed the bliss. she knew 
Cloud had love to offer. She wanted it. 
"Cloud, get your mind OFF Calypso!" she urged. Cloud closed his eyes. He felt 
Tifa's finger nail slip down his stomach and into the towel. She pulled it off with 
her nail. Cloud, normally would be embarrased, but some strange feeling came 
over him 
There they were, flesh to flesh. Tifa, knowing precisely what to do, put her arms 
around Cloud. She pulled him closer to her body. Her warmth was what tended to 
sooth Cloud. Cloud knew what Tifa wanted, and now decided to give her wish. 
Cloud's head approached Tifa's head and he kissed her neck. She semed to be 
putting preasure on him to direct him into a certain direction. Back towards Cloud's 
bed She felt this kind of passion should be a comforting experiance. Cloud fell 
back in his bed but leaned back up, slowly yet surely. He gazed. Gazed into Tifa's 
beautiful eyes. They were angelic. She was absolutely beautiful. Tifa leaned up 
against Cloud's body. She was happy, her heart filled with bliss. Cloud finally laid 
back in his bed. Tifa snuggled into him and closed her eyes with ecstasy. He pulled 
Tifa twords him even harder. Cloud started kissing her body with absolute bliss. 
She smiled. She never thought this was ever to happen. But it came. Cloud kissed 
her body one last time and whispered "I love you Tifa." Tifa knew, at last, it was 
true. 
*** 
The next morning, they were off to find Calypso. Cloud had his mind cleared. He 
knew he was going to defeat Calypso THIS time. 
"Goddamnit, Cloud! Why are leaving Kalm?!" Cid cursed. 
"Because, my thoughts were wrong," Cloud answered. 
"Well, how'd you clear your thoughts?!" Barret asked with a questionable voice. 
"Frankly, that's none of your business," Cloud answered. He looked at Tifa. She 
was taking a pill. Birth control, no doubt. Cloud loved Tifa, but didn't quite think 
he was ready to be a father yet. 
"Well, where to?" Cid demanded. 
Cloud froze. His eyes. They were white. Somehow, everyone herd Calypso's evil 
luagh. He was expressing it through Cloud's soul. Deep evil fell from Cloud. Was 
Cloud being demonically possesed? Cid eyes filled slowly with terror. This 
was.....Calypso. 
"SHIT!!!" Cid yelled. "That damned Calypso is gunna bring him to his place!" 
Cloud, sure enough was disappearing. Cloud finally was totally gone. 
"Cloud!" Tifa shrieked. Cloud was gone. Tifa suddenly was hit extremely hard 
with sarrow. Tears leaked from her eyes. She suddenly started crying. She had new 
love for Cloud. And now Calypso was taking him away. 
*** 
"What is it THIS time?" Cloud asked. He was frightned, but wanted to act tough 
for anything that might happen. 
"Now I am ANGRY! You still pursue me!" 
"Pursue?" 
"I thought you would stay out of my life if I was to be kind to you!" 
"I won't stop pursuing you! You will continue to murder or kill!" 
"Why is it we are conflicting right now?" 
"You are making Aeris suffer! You kill and murder! But you think I will forget 
you?! After what you do to Aeris's spirit?!" 
"I didn't know you cared. That affair you had...." 
"What I do with my romance is none of your business!" 
"What I do with the other girl is none of yours!" 
"Why won't you ever show your face to me?" 
"If you wish." 
Cloud was in the middle of a black mist. Out of that mist came a DIM light. The 
light still approached. Suddenly, without warning, Calypso came flying out from 
the mist. It was an UGLY monster. 2 horns like Ifrit's. Teeth like slime. 2 
incredibly twisted eyes, a bony body, but still huge, and pores on a thick, slimy 
back. 
Calypso was ugly. Calypso eyed Cloud nastily. 
"What IS it you want from me?" 
"To stop taking innocent people's lives!" 
"Never, the spirit energy is needed to bring back Sepheroth." 
"Then my friends and I have no choice but to kill you." 
"Never." 
"I release myself!" Cloud yelled. Cloud's arms were holding himself. He was using 
his energy as he held himself, and then, all of a sudden, his arms went flyoing on to 
each side of him. Suddenly light came. Shining light. Cloud. Cloud shined. His 
truth was his light. He shined like an angel. It hurt Calypso's eyes. Cloud started to 
do an uppword movement. Flying up slowly. Twords a dim green light. He was 
aproaching. Suddenly, he flew right through it. His body tingeled with an electric 
sensation. Cloud escaped. Not because of Calypso, but from his will. HIS will. It 
aloud him to escape. Suddenly he was in a void. It was dark. Absolutely nothing. 
Clouds thoughts? Yes, this was his thought. He knew becasue he saw an image 
forming. It was like a moving image. motion. Like a flashback, only projected. A 
projected image. An image of the night before. Him and Tifa in the passion of their 
life. Cloud stared. His thoughts were haunting him. 
*** 
"Cloud it's about time you come back! I still don't know what the hell's goin' on but 
I want to know, goddamnit!" Cid yelled. 
"SHIT!!! This is always goin' on! No one here has a clue what the hell is goin' on!" 
"Barret, watch your language!" Cid yelled. 
"Look who's talkin', ASSHOLE!" 
"Shit knocker!" Cid snapped back, breathing a breath of smoke in Barret's face. 
Barret coughed. 
"Gosh, guys, calm down! You guys are just runnin' way with that type of 
language," Cloud said. 
"I agree!" Tifa said. 
"Do you know where we are goin' yet?" Cid asked, hoping for a better answer this 
time. 
"Yah, we're going to the next destination." Cloud quivered. "It's at the....City of the 
Ancients." 
"Wha......?!" Cid cried out with a little fear in his voice. 
"I heard him say that he was to torture Aeris one last time," Cloud explained. 
"Woah-OAH! Time out!" Barret interrupted. "Aeris is DEAD! Dead as CRAP! 
Why do we care about him torturing Aeris?" 
"Her spirit is there. It is being tortured. Calypso takes LIVES while torturing 
souls." 
"Why does HE KILL people anyway?" Tifa asked. Her voice tremor. 
"Sepheroth takes spirit energy, right? Well, with enough energy, he could be 
resurrected. And so people will die for Sepheroth's life," Cloud explained. Cid 
stared. He was frightened. Sepheroth?! 
"Shit, not Sepheroth!" Cid moaned. He slapped his head in one hand. 
"But, how will WE know when Calypso is to make contact with us?" Red asked. 
"You won't. When the time comes, he will bring me." 
"Damn, I hate these type of things!" Yuffie groaned. She waved her arm 
threateningly. "I wanna kick ass also!" She grinned evily and snickered slightly. 
"We all will, Yuffie. But for now, it's for Aeris's spirit," Cloud said determined. 
"Uh, I.....guess your right..." Yuffie said looking at the ground shyly, looking at the 
ground. She kicked her foot on the deck shyly. 
"We're OFF!" Cid cried as he hit full throttle. They were off. On a new airship 
called "Galikna", named after Cid's first girlfriend. 
*** 
Tifa stood on the deck and stared into the horizon. She still couldn't get her mind 
off Cloud. She couldn't believe what she did, but she was pleased with it. She 
never that that sex would come from her marriage. She figured that she could stick 
with the title "virgin" and be satisfied. But no. She needed a different kind of love. 
She knew that her sexual intentions would pleasure both herself and Cloud (which 
it did). Tifa was actually satisfied with the two's romance. 
*** 
Cid flew the airship like a mad hog. He did loops and zigg zaggs. Everyone was 
sitting down with their seatbelts. 
"YEEEHAAWW!!" Cid cried as he approached the forgotten city. Cid was acting 
quite careless. He approached the city at about 250 KM.P.H. straight down. He 
drove fast. The city was getting closer by the second. 
"Cid, what're ya doin'?!" Tifa yelled. 
"I'm movin our asses through that goddamned city with a BANG!" Cid yelled. 
There it was. The lost city of the ancients. Cid went towards it. BANG!! It went 
through the upper level and down past a building, right through a fish and directly 
into the crystalline city. Cid hit escape as he took a big puff of his cigarette. A 
small escape pod. everyone went flying out of the ship and landed in the water 
with a SPLASH. The escape pod skipped in the water. Yuffie looked really sick. 
The pod bounced and bounced until a KINK was heard instead of a splash. KINK. 
KINK. KINK. SMACK! The pod stopped bouncing. Cloud's head hurt a lot. His 
bodu ached. The pod was now on the side of the water, on the metal brigde. The 
stairs made of glass were shattered and glass was everywhere. Cid, who was as 
calm as normal, yelled "HA! Nothin' left of BOTH my ships but a bunch of SHIT!! 
Hahaha! HEE HAA! GWA HAHA!!" Cid laughed. Tifa, who ripped her seat belt 
off, yanked the cigarette out of Cid's mouth. Then she reached into his pocket for 
the rest of them and pulled them out and threw them in the water. "Cid, you've 
smoked' one (or two) too many!" she yelled at him. Cid fell backwards, kind of 
embarrassed. He just lay there. "We need a non-psychopathic driver!" Tifa called 
out. 
"Tifa, we ain't got no damn ships to pilot!" Barret utterly reminded her. 
"Dear lord, he's right!" Cloud said with a bit of a shock. There was nothing to pilot. 
There was nothing but crap. 
"There ain't nowhere to sleep either!" Barret added. That was oh so true. The 
ground, maybe, but (No thanks to Cid), the stair case that led out of the crystalline 
city was broken. Shattered. 
"Guess that means we stay up all night!" Cid said. Cid only said that as a 
wisecrack. Everyone stared at him from the back of the ship. 
Cloud was tired enough of being cooped up in the rather small escape pod which 
smelled rather disagreeable, ripped his seat belt right from his seat. Fuzz flew 
everywhere. Very little was left of the chair. The chair was utterly torn. 
The ship was a mess. But what seemed to be the most particular mess was this 
ooze. It slid down the seats. It was yellowish white. Yuffie's vomit. 
"Ewww!!" Tifa cried. It slid out the door. Tifa had already hopped out the door, 
and everyone else was heading for it (To get out of the escape pod)......except Cid. 
Cid felt a strange sympathy for Yuffie. He saw her. There she lay. Sick and on her 
seat. Cid approached her. He extended his arm and put his hand on Yuffie's hair. 
Yuffie started to open her eyes. She felt the warm glove on her head. She looked 
right into Cid's eyes. 
"Yuffie, your okay. Don't worry," Cid said softly. Yuffie felt like crying. "We're all 
glad your okay. Common' Yuffie. It's all right. I'm here." Yuffie burst into tears. 
She was now drenching the floor with tears."Yuffie, what's wrong?" Cid asked. 
Yuffie ran outside. Slight droplets of tears came streaming down slightly. She just 
ran to the edge of the bridge. She weeped to herself. 
"Yuffie, wussup?" Barret asked. 
"I feel AWFUL! You guys care about me no matter what happened! I never care, 
steal your stuff, and you care about me! Even if it's something little like me being 
sick!" Yuffie sobbed even harder. 
"Yuffie, it's okay. ALL of us have been dumb %$#@'s SOMETIME in our 
journeys, but we NEVER forget them!" Cid assured her. 
*** 
It was 11 O'clock. Everyone was asleep except Cloud. They didn't stay up all night. 
They were all asleep. But Cloud had something bothering him. Some cry from his 
heart. Cloud had some serious thinking to do. He walked passed everyone. The 
room was eerie. Nothing heard. The world was silent. He went to a place with 6 
logs sticking straight up. He leaped on each one till he got to the top. He got to a 
place. It was a circular platform. Above that was a diamond held up by 5 crystal 
bars. Clear crystal. Nothing but. Around the circular platform was a metal wall 
about 3 feet tall. 
It was where....Aeris had died. 
Cloud simply sat down and lay his back against the wall. He stared into the crystal 
water. The water with no flaw (Except for the remains of the ship). Cloud let out a 
huge sigh. 
What was THAT? A sound. Footsteps. Approaching him. Suddenly they stopped. 
He knew whatever was approaching him was climbing the six logs. It jumped onto 
the platform. 
IT was Tifa. Tifa had a puzzled look on her face. Most likely she was wondering 
what Cloud was doing (As always) and was concerned. She looked deep into his 
eyes. She knew what he was thinking. 
"Are you thinking about....HER?" Tifa asked full of curiosity. Cloud let off another 
big sigh. He stared back over the water. The water shined and sparkled. It was light 
of passion. Light of comfort. 
"Yes, I am," Cloud said softly. 
Tifa still wished Cloud would calm down. He was always worried about 
everything. She knew that Aeris didn't want cloud to be like this. Aeris wanted to 
save the planet. Not get Cloud down on himself. Tifa sat next to Cloud. She looked 
at him, dying to comfort him. She snuggled herself to Cloud's side. She put both of 
her hands on Cloud's side. 
Cloud looked down at her. She just lay there comfortably in his side. Cloud slowly 
lifted his arm. He put it around Tifa and brought her closer. Tifa let her head rest 
on Clouds shoulder. Her hero. Her husband. Her answer in life. Cloud let his head 
rest on Tifa's. He took one last look at the beautiful water. He took one last look at 
the beautiful girl. He moved his arm up and down on Tifa's gently, basically to 
comfort her. He closed his eyes and sighed. Not because of his distress, but 
because of how perfect the evening was. He closed his eyes and stoked Tifa's hair 
one last time before he slept. 
*** 
It was about 2 in the morning. Cloud was still in a comforting embrace with Tifa. It 
was like a still life portrait of love. Cloud and Tifa were asleep. Even though he 
was, he was still close to his loved one. 
Nothing could stop their love. 
What was that? A light? Clouds eyes weren't opened yet, though he was wide 
awake. They brightness was so intense that if you had your eyes closed, you would 
still suffer from the ultra violent rays. Cloud opened his eyes. He stared straight 
into the base of the light. In the center of the light was an orb made of colors. Not 
the basic colors. NEW colors. Colors I can't describe. After all, LIGHT was the 
source of color. Cloud slowly got up and removed his arm form Tifa. Tifa could 
feel his arm move. 
"Cloud, what's wrong?" she asked softly, petrified by fear. She looked, but the 
intense light hurt her eyes, like looking straight at the sun. 
"Tifa, come with me," Cloud erged as he just stared straight ahead of him. He 
looked at the light. 
Tifa, not quite sure what was going on, silently followed the brave warrior. Cloud 
walked to the metal wall, which glared intensely because of the light. Cloud felt 
nothing. Just walking. Cloud slowly climbed up and over the wall. Tifa just stared. 
She saw her hero approach the water, but....no splash. Not a drip. Tifa ran to the 
side of the wall, staring down to see what happened. She looked, and her mouth 
dropped wide open. Cloud. He was...hovering over the water. Just floating there 
approaching something. Tifa did not want to be away from love at ALL. She did 
the same as Cloud, and, sure enough, she was hovering. Cloud continued to hover. 
Forward and forward. 
There was something that filled the are. A smell. A delicious smell, like the ones 
you would smell at a banquet or such. The ambiance made Cloud feel hungry. But 
that wasn't all that was there. Music filled the area (Wherever they were). Soft, 
gentle, heartwarming music. Yet the music was so sad. Sad, like music you would 
hear at a funeral. Music that made one weep. And then, it happened. The light, the 
warp (Or whatever it was) left them. They fell a great distance down. Lower and 
lower. CRASH! They hit the ground hard, but....they felt no pain. 
"Bwa ha ha ha!" an evil laugh erupted. A nasty laugh. A cruel laugh. "Welcome! 
I've been expecting you! The execution well now begin!" cried the hideous voice. 
It was a dark room they were in. There was not much there. Except two lights. A 
yellow one and a blue one. The yellow one shined down on....CALYPSO!!! 
Cloud's eyes were full of hatred and rage. His eyes were burning. His fingers 
tingling. Calypso. 
Calypso. 
He was in the presence of...Calypso. 
The blue light shined on something else. A big brown stake. Tied to that stake was 
some transparent figure. It was pink, brown, and peach. It was human. AERIS!! 
"Just what the hell do you think your doing?!" Cloud shrieked. Looking closer and 
closer at Aeris's face. Aeris looked like she was in great pain and agony. She just 
had her head drooped. She was tortured earlier. They were to late. 
"HA! Letting your mouth control you with such language? In front of your loved 
one?" Calypso cried out, quite happily. Slime dripped from his back. His skin 
bubbling. 
Huh? Did Aeris move? Did she actually move? Yes. Her head had moved. Her 
eyes opened. Slowly but surely, they opened. She stared right into Cloud's eyes. 
The one she loved. She moved, tossed, and struggled. 
"Let me go!!! Cloud!!" She cried out in fear and agony. She yanked at her ropes 
hard. 
"What the hell is THIS?!" Cloud yelled at Calypso. Calypso laughed nasty. A 
brutal laugh. 
"Bwa ha ha ha!!!!!! Don't even think about using that language in my presence! 
The mark of the wolf is to kill her!" he cried. He laughed again. 
"Mark of the wolf?! Nooo!!" Cloud cried out at the top of his lungs. He slammed 
his knees on the ground. He slammed his fist on the ground, very hard. The ground 
shook with Clouds rage. 
"Find this, or this spirit is a slave to ME!!" Calypso cried. 
Clouds eyes opened. 
*** 
It was a dream. A dream of warning. A dream with a meaning. A meaning for 
Aeris. Cloud was still in that embrace with Tifa. Cloud shook Tifa with his arm. 
The arm that was still around Tifa. Tifa's eyes slowly opened staring right at him. 
She had a big smile on her face. She just cuddled back into Cloud. 
"Tifa, wake up!" Cloud whispered to her. Tifa got up. 
"What is it Cloud?" She asked. Cloud looked back over the water. A forever-going 
stream of ancient cries. 
Aeris's cry. 
"We need to find the mark of the wolf," Cloud explained. "It's going to torture 
Aeris." 
"AERIS?!" Tifa cried out. She was a bit frightened. She knew Cloud was worried. 
She had love so strong for Cloud, that the littlest things was frightening if it 
concerned Cloud. 
"We need to find it, Tifa! Wake up Barret, Red, and Yuffie. I'll get Cid and 
Vincent," Cloud commanded. Tifa immediately got up and ran to get the others. 
She didn't care much of Aeris by now. All her thoughts were based on Cloud at this 
point of her life. But she knew, this was important to Cloud. 
MARK OF THE WOLF ©Copyright date January, 1997 


Chapter 4: The search 
"God damn! What the hell ya doin'?" Cid yelled as Cloud woke him up. Cid, like 
Yuffie or Barret, was not a morning person. Cloud wanted to make this as easy to 
understand as he could. 
"Aeris is in trouble," Cloud said. He was extremely concerned. Aeris. His first 
love. In trouble. In danger. A heart of gold. The spirit of a warrior. Cloud. He was 
that warrior. 
"Aeris?! No! Were we too late?" Cid asked eagerly. He had to know. Aeris and 
him were close friends....sort of. Cid really did have feelings for everyone in the 
party. He was concerned. Even if it was one that had passed on 1 year ago, it was a 
comrade in trouble. Cid pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. He inhaled 
deeply and blew out large amounts of smoke. 
He was worried. 
*** 
"Well, now that we're all here, how the hell we gunna get out? Cid crushed the 
stairs!" Barret said in anger. 
"I don't know," Cloud said calmly. "We just gotta get outta here fast." 
A sudden rumble shook the ground. Cid had a bad feeling. 
"Why do I feel like I should kiss my ass goodbye?" Cid said aloud. Everyone just 
stared at him. Cid looked up. CRASH!! Glass. Glass shattered. It fell from the air. 
Remains of the city. Remains of the stairs. 
"OMIGOSH!!!" Tifa yelled. A stone slab came from the air and crashed into the 
ground. It knocked the metal in. The metal was dented. A huge shockwave caused 
the ground to shake. Everything was shaking. 
"Goodbye, dear ass!" Cid said, his voice full of fear. 
"Cid, you jackass! Gimme your spear! I gotta plan!" Barret shrieked. Cid silently 
handed over his Venus Gospel. Barret took a cord and tied it to the end. The spear 
was completely locked on to the rope, like a lock on a locker. Barret stuck the end 
of the spear into his gun arm. He shot the spear into the air. The spear approached 
the top rapidly and almost hit the roof. TWAP! It hit. Stuck in deeply. 
"Hang on tight!" Barret cried. Cloud grabbed one of Barret's arms. Tifa held on to 
Cloud (That was her "Spot of choice"). Yuffie jumped onto Barret's shoulders. 
Barret hit a button on his gun arm. The cord was being raveled up back into the 
gun. Vincent ran towards Barret. Cid close behind him. Vincent took a leap for 
Barret's feet. He caught them. Vincent was not about to let go. Cid took a dive for 
Vincent's feet. A dive. He flew through the air. He caught Vincent's feet. Everyone 
went swaying up. Cid held on with for dear life. One bad move and he'd be dead. 
"Goddamnit! Your ass is too heavy!" Barret yelled down at Vincent. Barret was 
scared for everyone. How does he express that? Basically by loosing his temper. 
ZAT! They were up. They escaped. It was what the planet had fated. 
Cid inhaled extremely deeply from his cigarette. He puffed out some smoke. He 
was greatly relieved. 
"Geez. I woulda missed you, ass," Cid said sarcastically. He collapsed on the hard 
rugged floor. He lay there panting. 
"Oh, GAWD!!!" Yuffie said with a pant. "I though we were dead." 
"Probably almost were," said a voice. A strange, unfamiliar voice. A voice that 
tended to sound nice. Cloud wondered who it was as he slowly turned his head. 
There stood a man. A man with a leather coat. Black leather. He wore quite baggy 
jeans. A wallet chain hung. It was a very heavy chain at that. He had a young face. 
He wore shades, which fit him perfectly. Over his back was a piece of wood. 
Through the end of the wood was a huge nail. Next to this man was another man. 
He wore a black suit, much like the Turks uniform. He had white skin and hair 
split to each side of his head. Blonde hair. He had an electric rod. 
"Who-who're you?" Cloud asked with a bit of fear. What if these men were out to 
help kill him. 
"I'm Steve. Former Turk, top rank," explained the one with the brown hair and a 
nailed piece of wood. 
"Tom. Former Turk. Manager assistant," said the blonde haired one. 
"Wh-what are you doin' here?" Cloud stuttered. 
"We was about to ask you," said Tom. He looked at them with a weird look on his 
face. "Haven't we seen these guys before?" he asked Steve. 
Steve looked into space to try and remember. These guys DID look kind of 
familiar. He was deep in thought. It was obvious. Then his head shot straight 
forward. He had a mad look on his face. 
"I remember! These are those jackasses who destroyed Shinra! Damn, I can't take 
it no more!" Steve said with quite a lot of anger in his voice. 
"Shall we beat the living shit out of em'? Tom asked with an evil smile on his face. 
Steve was about to spit "Yah!", but then Tifa caught his eye. That girl. He wanted 
that girl. He eyed Tifa in a way that made Tifa step way back to avoid him. Steve 
lowered his sunglasses with his finger. 
"Hello....what have we here? A beautiful brunette, I take?" Steve said eyeing Tifa. 
"A MARRIED brunette!" Tifa said to him, a little anger in her voice. Steve's smile 
dropped off his face. He was disappointed. But he still thought Tifa was beautiful. 
"You wouldn't be lookin' for any....help wouldja?" Steve asked vigorously. 
"How would YOU help us?" Cloud asked. 
Steve just stared with a blank expression on his face. "You've never herd of Steve 
'n' Tom?!" he said surprised. "We were the number 1 Turks. We were the secret 
service Turks. When it comes to fighting, we're your men." 
"Sound like flashy guys," said Tifa sarcastically. 
"We will help you kick butt!" Tom said 
"I've got this nailed wood. It's my weapon sort of. But I also like guns!" Steve said. 
He smiled as he eyed a near-by patch of rubble He swung his nailed club right into 
it. The rubble was smashed into a million peices and dirt flew everywhere. 
"I got this 'lectric rod for crucial ventilation!!!" Tom said, acting fairly cocky. 
"You want us to come, then we come!" Steve said with a sneer. 
"We don't know much about you. What is your logic?" Cloud asked, a little 
suspicious. 
"Girls and Gil," Steve replied simply. 
"Breakin' glass and kickin' ass!" Tom said, more powerfully. 
For a moment, Cloud thought he heard a cry from the planet. It was urging him to 
bring these two along, or there would be a great battle in the holy city. 
"All right you two, common'," Cloud said reluctantly. Steve followed, as cool and 
calm as always. 
*** 
Two days later they left Icicle Inn to head for the crushed cavern. The cavern. The 
one the mark of the wolf destroyed. Cloud had forgotten the mark of the wolf. And 
now it was to torture Aeris. Steve and Tom went snow boarding the entire time. By 
this time, Cid had bought one last airship. He was not going to let smoking carry 
him away THIS time. They were heading towards the Temple of the Ancients. 
Cloud had a weird feeling while heading towards the city. The feeling of the end. 
Just like when he had entered the City of the Ancients. 
A feeling like it was the end. 
Maybe it was his memories of Aeris. Was that what gave him the feeling? Or was 
it....something awful was to happen again? 
The Temple of the Ancients was near the cave that Cloud, Tifa and Cid had gone 
to. The mark of the wolf was probably buried, but for Aeris's ghost's sake, he 
would dig out every little block, rock, and stone for her. Cloud could NEVER 
forget Aeris. If she was dead, he would never feel ANY less for her. 
"Shit-covered cave, dead ahead!" Cid called out. He pointed the ship's nose straight 
toward the cave. But what was this? It wasn't trashed any more. It was up. And 
surrounded by Shinra guards. 
Steve simply drew his gun and inserted a new clip into the bottom. He had a semi-
automatic. He took the gun tight into his grip. He pointed it towards the soldiers. 
"Let's kick some ass!" Steve said enthusiastically. Everyone got up to the main 
deck. 
"Okay, what be our strategy?" Steve asked. 
"Objective A: Kick butt. Objective B: kick butt. And objective C: Get the devil 
outta here!" Tom said, trying to act tough. 
Tifa eyed Steve strangely. What was it about him that made him seem appealing to 
the party? She felt she had seen him somewhere. In a dream or something? He was 
young, well built, strong, and handsome. Especially handsome. Steve always 
seemed upbeat. Never giving up hope. Why not? He was a former Turk and Shinra 
was gone, but he still never seemed to get down on himself. He also seemed tough. 
He was much like Cid and Barret....always tough talking. 
Steve looked back at Tifa with a puzzled look on his face. "Tifa, somethin' 
wrong?" he asked. Steve had only known Tifa for 2 days and he already knew who 
HE liked. Tifa was also upbeat, and always acting cool and calm. 
Tifa let off a breath. "Nothing. Forget it," she said, softly and remoseful. 
"Tifa, can I talk with you for....a moment?" Steve asked. He was NEVER shy 
around girls, and always had the energy to ask them things like that. Tifa was eager 
to know what he wanted (aside from a big kiss on the cheek) and followed him. 
Steve slowly walked, his nail club on his shoulder. Looking like Reno. His poses 
looked like Reno's, but his body was different. Steve walked to the control room. 
He stood in front of the door, waiting for Tifa to catch up. When Tifa finally 
caught up, he booted the door with all his might, and it flew opened. He entered the 
room, and sat down at one of the chairs at the table. Tifa looked at him. He just sat 
there. She slowly approached him, quivering. She pulled out a seat and sat next to 
him, wondering what he had to say. 
"Tifa, I think I know what you've been thinkin'. If you've seen me in a dream or 
sumthin'. I know the truth to that..." Steve paused. He was shivering as he was 
about to give a secret...one that he was scared to tell. "Do you remember? Back 
when you were at Icicle Inn? Before we knew we even existed?" Steve took a big 
gulp, probably to clear the lump in his throat. "You were depressed Aeris is gone? 
Am I right?" 
"Wha...? How did you know that?" Tifa stuttered, astonished by what Steve knew. 
Steve looked up at her. He lifted his hands up to his face and removed his 
sunglasses. "You remember the dream?" he asked, starting to sweat a little by now. 
"The dream?" Tifa asked. She started to remember vaguely what he was saying. It 
all of a sudden snapped into her head. "Yes, I remember!" 
"Then tell me, what was it?" Steve said as calm as always. 
"I remember. Cloud...and Aeris were saying goodbye to each other. Then Aeris 
faded. Cloud fell to his knees and cried. Then...a man came. He said 'good will 
come. Don't worry.'" Tifa stopped. She stared into Steve's eyes. She knew she 
loved him. "You! You were that man!" she said, very suprised. 
"Yes, I was," Steve said, still extremely calm. "I know Aeris. Aeris saw me. She 
begged for me to tell you that good will come." 
"What good?" Tifa asked. 
"I don't know. Seems like..." He stopped. "Like it was bad one way and good the 
other." 
"Steve, I'm...." Tifa started. But somehow couldn't get it out. 
"I know. Your sorry. I forgive. Everyone underestemates me at first," Steve 
chuckled. 
"I don't know how sympathy for you got to my heart!" Tifa said, in a strange voice. 
"Hey! It's not the same kind of sympathy! It's the love you have for the party!" 
Steve stood up and headed for the door. But he stopped and turned around. "I feel 
the same way." 
*** 
"Okay!! Let's rock and roll!" Steve cried as he prepared to jump off the side of the 
airship. He stared down. Shinra. SHINRA was down there. Steve kept his hand in 
his pocket. He had a finger on the trigger of his gun. It was his turn to jump. He 
leaped. He fell downward, feeling like there was nothing inside of him. His guts hit 
his chest. He approached the ground and slammed down. He got up. He was a little 
woozy from the fall. 
"Hey, you there!" a soldier yelled, looking at Steve. Steve, quickly, removed his 
gun from his pocket. Shells flew everywhere as he fired his gun rapidly. Sparks 
flew. The light of the blast shined on his shades. 
"Eat this, bigass!!!!" Steve cried out as, one by one, the rest of the team leaped 
down to the sight. 
Bullets flew right across the soldier's chest as blood splattered and body fluids 
spilled. The soldier fell to his knees and then to the ground. 
"You guys be DAMN lucky!" Steve yelled. 
"Why's that?" Tom asked, standing at his side. 
"Cause I'm wastin' so much expensive ammo only to use on some bastards like 
THEM!!" Steve yelled evily. 
*** 
Everyone was in the dark, moist cave. Stalactites and mites. Water dripped from 
the points of the stalagmites. Tom held a thick card with all types of buttons. In the 
top right corner, there was a small monitor. 
Barret stared at door that blocked the entrance. "Shit! Someone built a door!" 
Barret yelped. "How the hell we gunna get past it?" 
Tom held up the card. He clicked a button. Hatches on the back opened rapidly. He 
clicked another button. Spikes came out of the back. He threw his arm back and 
jammed the card into the door. 
"Okay, I'll decode," Tom said as he clicked the buttons rapidly. Beeps and grinding 
sounds filled the cool air as Tom worked. He suddenly slammed "enter". The door 
flew up and the decoder flew right into Tom's hands. 
"Okay, get in and find that mark of the wolf or whatever the hell you called it," 
Tom yelled. "I'll back up from here." Tom pulled out his rod and flew it in front of 
himself. It hit a Shinra guard. Electricity flew through the guard's eyes (Remember, 
this is an electric rod). Tom took out a shotgun to keep both hands busy. 
"Tom, you gunna be okay?" Steve called before he ran into the cave of the wolf. 
"Jes' get your ass in there! I'll be fine!" Tom yelled, trying to keep Steve's mind on 
his work. Steve, though frightened for Tom's life, ran into the dark, forgotten cave, 
staring at Tom all the way. 
*** 
"Damn! It's dark in here!" Barret commented. 
"Shut the hell up, Barret! I'm trying to concentrate!" Cid yelled back at Barret, 
remembering how hard it was to find his way around the first time. 
The first time. Not nearly as meaningful as the second. This time, it was for Aeris's 
spirit's sake. If this was not done, her spirit was to suffer eternally. 
Cloud still led the group. 
A voice. A voice came to his head. He walked, but a voice came to his head. 
"Do you know how much trouble you're going through to save this girl's spirit?" 
"What now?" 
"This girl truly is not worth it." 
"Aeris. She and I have a love that is unreal." 
"Unreal you say, huh? What about your wife?" 
"I love her as much!" 
"Do not make up such falsehood in MY presence!" 
"FALSEHOOD?! You don't believe I'm serious, do you?" 
"I KNOW you do not mean it!" 
"I am going for Aeris! I don't CARE what you think!" 
Silence. 
"Cloud, are...you okay?" Steve asked, trying to get his attention towards him. 
"Your acting kinda weird." 
Cloud's face was not seen. Everyone walked in shadow. Nothing seen. Noises 
heard. Nothing much known about this place. Except that it could save Aeris. 
"How far away is this place, Cloud?" Barret asked. 
"I-I don't know." Cloud was not sure. He remembered what happened last time. 
How long they had to walk. 
"Could be HOURS!" Tifa said. She put her hand on Cloud's shoulder, so her hero 
could guide her through the cave. 
"I ain't got no damn time for HOURS!" Barret yelled out. 
"Shu'up, Barret!" Cid yelled. "Don't you know that yelling could be dangerous 
here?" 
"I know that! I always did!" Barret whispered. Barret tended to have low-tolorence 
for this type of thing. 
"Cloud, when we're done with this, I got sumpthin to talk about," Steve whispered 
to Cloud. He thought it might interest Cloud to know about the dream and Aeris. 
*** 
An hour later. The mark. Glowing. Glowing in the distance. A red light. Cloud was 
not sure what to do at this point. He had to do something about Aeris. 
"Come out, Calypso! I know you are here! Bring forth Aeris," Cloud announced. 
He was trying to get Calypso to confront him. But suddenly, something else 
seemed to glow. Steve. Steve's eyes. Those brown eyes glowed green. Everyone, 
all at once twirled around and stared at those eyes. Steve was quite puzzled when 
Tifa asked him what was up? 
"Nothing's up. I'm fine. Why do you ask, Teef?" Steve said, still wondering what 
was up. 
"Steve...you are the sign! You are Calypso's first sign!" Cloud said extremely 
frightened. 
Steve felt fear in his heart. He was Calypso's entrance. He feared the worst on what 
could happen. Then Steve could see everyone, as if there was no darkness. Except 
everything was green. 
"Damn it! Why me?!" Steve cried out, now on the floor with fear. "Why me?!" He 
knew Calypso was to enter this area through him. 
"HA HA HA HA!!! I will do nothing to this girl." A voice filled the room. A dim 
light filled the room. There stood Steve. Standing. Now shaking. You could not tell 
if he had his eyes closed (because of his shades), and Steve was turning green. 
Florescent green. He started to leave the ground. Floating in the air. Now spinning. 
A strange blue mist exited Steve. For minutes on end, that strange mist exited 
Steve. 
Tifa watched with fear. Was Steve going to die? She didn't even know him for 
long. And now he was to die? She wanted to scream, but she couldn't. There was a 
lump in her throat that she could barely breathe. 
Steve stopped. He fell back on the floor. He fell hard. He landed face first. Blood 
flowed from his face. It spilled on the floor. Steve was out. He could not fight. He 
was all out of it. 
MARK OF THE WOLF©Copyright date January 1998 


Chapter 5: The Final Battle. 
"Calypso, what'd you do to Steve?!" Cloud yelled, as Steve lay helpless on the 
floor, bleeding all over it. Calypso was not seen yet. The blue mist that exited 
Steve was now forming into something. Horns. Pores. Slime. Calypso. Yuffie 
looked up as the huge creature grew. Yuffie's mouth just dropped open. Her eyes 
wide open. 
"Yuck..." she said, very quietly and fearsomely. Calypso stood up in front of them 
all. 
"Cloud Strife! Sepheroth was almost back so his property would be re-gained! The 
world was his and you come!" Calypso cried. 
"Shut the hell up, you badass!" Cid cursed at Calypso. Calypso, of course, laughed 
at Cid. Cid looked up kind of sheepish. He felt insignificant. Calypso slowly 
lowered his hand. Then, the very next instant, he shock it directly in the air. 
"Arrrrgghhh!!!!!!!" He cried out. A huge stake came flying out of the ground. 
Aeris was on that dark, dirty stake. Tied. Hanging there. 
Cloud got out his Ultima Weapon and sighed. 
"Calypso, THIS FINISHES it!" Cloud cried out. "I must kill you, or it will mean 
Aeris!" 
Calypso laughed. "I said I wouldn't hurt her! The mark will do the honors!" 
Calypso laughed cruelly. "The mark is my master! He commands Aeris's torture, 
for being a friend....a women loved by this man. Cloud Strife!" 
"Shut up!" Cloud yelled, holding his sword threateningly at Calypso. He held his 
sword with a death grip. He was prepared to be victorious. 
"Clou---d...Clo--ud, he is destrc...." a voice said. It was the voice of a young, 19 
year old man. STEVE! "Clou-d....He is.....using....yo...." 
Cloud turned and looked at Steve. Steve was moving a little. Barret and Cid looked 
at him. He suffered there on the floor. 
"What is it? What is he trying to do?" Cloud asked tensely. He still held his sword. 
His back to Calypso. 
"Aer....is........Mark will kill.......Aer.....is....while....you fig...." Steve stopped. He 
was in pretty bad shape. 
"Everyone, help Steve!" Cloud commanded. He was fearing for Steve's life. He 
could not die. 
SHWACK! While Cloud had his back to Calypso, Calypso struck Cloud with his 
claws and sent Cloud flying to the floor. Cloud was suspended into the air for 
about 3 seconds and then hit the floor, his cheek scraping across the rough cave 
ground. The setting was perfect for battle, as some would say. Aeris's spirit on a 
stake, the mark glowing, not much light.... it was a grim scene. Cloud, while have 
recovering from the nasty spill, instantly did a backflip. Cloud sent his sword 
flying right at Calypso while still hanging on to it. He countered Calypso. Blood 
flew from Calypso's chest. It splattered on the floor. A red gash crossed Calypso's 
chest. Blood dripping. Blood. Cloud had rage in his eyes. Calypso, after squealing 
in pain, swung his hand at Cloud. Cloud, knowing exactly what to do, lifted his 
sword in the air, and Calypso's hand collided with the sword. It flew right from his 
body and onto the floor with a splat. Blood oozed out where Calypso's hand used 
to be. 
"Gwouuuuu!!!!" Calypso cried in pain. Cloud was prepared. He knew he was to 
win. But he didn't know something else. 
Cloud was right about to stab Calypso in his heart and finish the war, but 
something happened. He heard a sound. A sound, as if great amounts of electricity 
were going through a crystal. Like a gun charging. A laser gun charging. Cloud's 
head swung backwards, his eyes full of fear. The mark was going to kill. Kill 
Aeris. Tiny orbs of electricity were being absorbed by the mark, as if to charge up 
for massive destruction. 
"NOOOOO!!!" Cloud screamed as it was about to shoot Aeris. He ran with all his 
might, all his strength, and dived, his sword directly in front of him. It was aiming 
right at the mark. SMASH! The sword stabbed right into the mark. He spun his 
sword in a circular pattern, so he could get the mark off the wall, and the mark fell 
to the floor, after Cloud cut it out. Cloud lifted the mark high into the air, right 
when the mark fired. A huge plasma ray came blasting out of the mark. Such a 
huge explosion. Wind gusted everywhere as the mark blasted. Aeris's hair flew 
back. The gust of wind must have got her attention, because she slowly opened her 
eyes right into Cloud. Watching him. Carrying that huge rock, shooting massive 
amounts of plasma into the roof of the cave. Rocks flew down and lava dripped 
(For the rocks were being heated intensely). Suddenly, a light shined. It shined 
down into the cave. Even that little light was enough to hurt their eyes (For it was 
very dark in that cave). 
Cloud was using his strength. All of it. He pointed the ray straight at the sun. The 
beam stopped. It stopped. The rock stiffened. It turned black and crumbled up. The 
mark was gone. The wolf was dead. 
Aeris looked at Cloud. She finally smiled. Cloud was doing this for her spirit's 
sake. She looked around. Tifa, Barret, Red, Yuffie, Cid, Cloud, and...STEVE?! 
Was that Steve? The one she used to send a message to Tifa? The Steve she had 
known ever since she died? It was. She was happy to see him again. She gave one 
last smile and sighed. 
"Uh, crap?" Steve said. It looked like he was fine. He still had blood all over his T-
shirt, which he wore under his leather coat. Steve also had an I.D tag of metal 
around his neck on a chain. "We forgot about Calypso! He's............" Steve 
stopped. He staired streight forward. He gasped loud. Something told the others he 
was frightened. "We gotta get our asses outta here!" He cried. "Common'!" 
Cloud did not move. He stared. Stared at Aeris. He could not let her spirit stay 
here. Aeris knew Calypso would kill Cloud if he waited around. 
"Cloud, go! I'll be all right! Just save yourself! I will be fine!" Aeris said to Cloud, 
encouraging him to run. Cloud knew he had to run. But he stopped for one second. 
"Goodbye, Aeris," he said softly. He knew Aeris heard him. Cloud turned and ran. 
Ran down a cave that seemed to go on forever. Calypso, now was in a mad rage. 
He sent a bolt of magic flying at Cloud. Cloud, fearing for his own life dived 
down. The bolt flew right out of the cave. It hit the wall right out of the metal door. 
"Cloud, common'! I'll secure the area!" He heard a voice say. It was a young voice. 
TOM!! 
"Tom, did you see that bolt?!" Cloud yelled, still running for the end, towards the 
metal door. 
"Affirmative! It created a crap load of Shinra soldiers carrying guns!" Tom yelled 
as Cloud made it out. Immediately after Cloud had escaped, Tom re-attached the 
decoder into the near by wiring system to clear Calypso from getting to them. He 
tossed Cloud a 9mm automatic. 
"Cloud, back me up!" he yelled as he immediately started to work on the door. He 
punched in numbers super fast. Cloud was firing away, shotshells flying 
everywhere. Shinra soldiers dropped like dominos on a track, like a bloodfest. But 
there was something suspicious in the dark. Eyes. All of a sudden, a soldier came 
down. He lifted a gun right at Tom. His eyes were full of hate. He fired his gun 
right at Tom. A slight splat was heard. 
"Tom, you okay?" Cloud asked, still firing his gun rapidly. No response. Cloud 
turned his head. Tom was standing, his eyes wide opened. His body fell forward, 
and hit the wall, his face facing left. His face slowly slid along the wall. He was on 
his knees, against the wall. Not making a move. His eyes slowly closed. 
Tom was dead. Blood spilled out the bullet holes in his back. Cloud stared with 
disbelief. He was shocked. There, one he had only known for 4 days....dead. 
Calypso was approaching, and all the soldiers were dead. 
"Tom. Dead. Just to TRY to save us!" Cloud thought. Calypso was still 
approaching ever so quickly. He jumped into the air, so he could catch Cloud. 
Cloud knew this was the end. He closed his eyes in horror. SLAM! A slam of 
metal. A crunch. A slight, blood curtailing scream. Cloud was still afraid to open 
his eyes. But he did, oh so slowly. He saw it. Blood. An ugly face. Dead. The door. 
It crushed Calypso. It landed on his head. It had crushed his skull. Calypso was 
quite bloody by now and his head was obviously crushed from the door. Cloud 
sighed. It was over. He had won. And Tom gave his life for it. Just like Aeris gave 
her life for the planet. 
"Cloud, whatup?" He heard a young voice say. He turned. A young man was 
approaching him. Cloud didn't know who it was because he was in the shadows. 
As he slowly exited from the dark area, Cloud could see who it was. It was Steve. 
"Everyone's waiting for you!" he continued. Steve paused a minute. He turned his 
head. He looked. He looked at the door. The metal door that was the entrance for 
the cave. Under that huge door was the dead carcass of Calypso. Steve felt pride in 
his heart. He was happy. He felt victorious. They had won! 
"Yes!! Tom did it! I didn't think he'd survive two seconds out here! Where is he?" 
Steve asked. He was ready to greet Tom with much gratitude. 
Cloud sighed. He knew Steve would crack up to the truth. But he had to tell the 
truth. "He's dead," Cloud said softly. He felt sorrow in his heart. 
Steve gasped. Tom and him had been best friends for a long time. They did all the 
secret work together, always got themselves a cup of joe together, and hung out 
after work. But those were now just memories. Tom, Steve's best friend, almost a 
brother to Steve, was dead. 
"Where is he?" Steve asked, his voice stunned with the urge for tears and sorrow. 
Cloud slowly brought his hand into the air and pointed a finger. Over to a wiring 
system. Slumped on the wall, face on the wall, was Tom. Steve slowly walked up 
to his body. He was to shocked. This couldn't be real. He walked, ever so slowly 
until he reached Tom's body. Steve put his hand in front of Tom and put his body 
on it's back. Steve looked at the corpse. A tear trickled down his cheek. 
"Goodbye Tom. I'll never forget you," Steve said softly. Never would he or Tom 
have any more memories together. Steve put one arm under Tom. Then both and 
then picked up Tom. He walked with the lifeless body in his arms. He walked out 
of the cave. Slowly, he headed out of the cave. 
*** 
Steve put Tom's body in the middle of a field. Tifa was crying a little. Steve lay 
Tom in a position so that he was lying on his back. Tom lay dead there. Steve put 
both hands on Toms face. He put his forehead on Tom's chest. More tears streamed 
down his face. He whispered one last sorrowful word. "Goodbye." He got back up. 
He turned his back to Tom. Tom's body was to rest in this field. And this would be 
a sacred place. Everyone, leaving Tom behind, never forgot him. What a great 
pleasure it was to know Tom, to watch out for Tom. At first, Tom was full of life 
and energetic, but now he was still and lifeless. But Tom was always a great guy, 
even if he was gone, he was. Steve did one last thing. He put Tom's ID chain back 
around Toms neck. Cloud was to full of sympathy. He and Tifa walked to a near 
by tree. This tree was a huge tree. Full of shade. Very cool under there. It had fresh 
air. Cloud knew this would be a good place to relax. Cloud walked, ever so slowly, 
toward the tree. Now his back was to the tree. He just slumped back and lay 
against it. He just lay against it in thought. He was silent. This didn't seem right. 
They only knew Tom for 4 days, and now, there he was dead. Cloud just sat back. 
Back against the tree. In that field. Tom's final resting place. His grave. Cloud 
slowly turned his head around. Back at Steve. Steve was drowned by tears by now. 
He couldn't leave his friend. But his friend was dead. Steve knew he had to let Tom 
go, no matter how much he missed him. He turned his back on Tom. His back to 
his best friend. He slowly walked. Walked towards Cloud and Tifa. Slowly. 
Slowly. He reached Cloud. Steve was just looking at him. Soon enough, Steve sat 
against the tree. Sat with Tifa......and Cloud. He was really shaken up. Terrified. 
Frightened. It was only hours since Tom.....had died. More tears streamed down 
Steve's face. 
"Goddamn!!!!!!! It isn't fare!" Steve yelled out in agony. In sorrow. Tifa leaped 
back a bit. Even Cloud and Tifa were a bit shaken up. 
"Why did he have to leave me? Why?" Steve sobbed. "It's not fair! I know him all 
my life! He's always been there for me! Now he's gone forever!" 
Cloud looked at Steve, remembering when he was in Steve's shoes. When Aeris 
died. Cloud remembered the horror. 
*** 
"Aeris?" Cloud said. He looked up. There was Aeris. Up on a silver platform. On 
her knees. Her eyes closed. Locked in prayer. Praying to the heavens. "This place 
isn't safe for Aeris. I've got to get her out of here." Cloud ran up to a series of logs. 
6, to be exact. Cid and Barret were right behind him. 
"Cloud, what the hell is Aeris doin' here?!" Cid yelled. Aeris was just kneeling 
there. Locked in prayer. 
*** 
"No!!!!" Cloud thought. He was having a flash back. A memory. A memory of 
Aeris. He...he couldn't get it out of his head. Tom was dead. Just like Aeris. 
*** 
Aeris finally got out of prayer. "My mission is almost complete. But why did 
Cloud have to come to witness this?" Aeris thought. She knew what she had to do 
for the planet. Looking into Cloud's eyes. She looked at Cloud. "Goodbye, Cloud," 
she thought. She expressed that thought through a smile. Cloud was just locked in 
his position. Staring. Staring at Aeris. 
But, suddenly, out of the heavens, there was a sound. A sound of velocity. It was 
Sepheroth. Cloud knew Sepheroth was coming. 
*** 
"NOOO!!!!!" Cloud screamed. His yell broke the sudden silence of Tifa and Steve. 
They slowly turned there heads at Cloud and stared. 
"C-Cloud, is somethin' wrong?" Steve asked the brave warrior. Cloud turned his 
head. Turned his head to Steve. 
"I-I was having a memory...of her," Cloud stuttered frighteningly. Steve looked at 
him. Knowing how Cloud as well had lost someone close. 
The day went on. Cloud, Tifa, and Steve. Not saying a word. Just staring at the 
beautiful sunset. 
MARK OF THE WOLF©Copyright date January 1998 

Epilogue 
Cloud looked. He looked over the horizon. It was a bright, starry night. Next to 
him was one of his best friends, Steve. On the other, a woman who loved him. A 
woman who he loved. Tifa. His wife. They all sat. It had been silent for 2 hours. 
All of them sat in thought. Cloud knew. He knew he had something to say. 
"Tifa?" 
Finally, the silence broke. Tifa turned her head. She laid her eyes on Cloud. "What 
is it, Cloud?" the young woman asked, dying to know what he was thinking. 
Steve also turned his head up. He turned it to Cloud. He was interested to know 
what Cloud had to say. Words are a way to express your feelings. And Cloud had 
something to say. 
"Do you think....." He stopped. "No, never mind." 
"What is it?" Steve asked. He was very anxious to know what Cloud had on his 
mind. 
"It's silly. Forget it," Cloud said. He let off a big breath. He was afraid to ask, 
because he was going to humiliate himself. 
Tifa put her hand on Cloud's shoulder. "It's all right. We won't laugh. What is it?" 
She asked, eager to know. Steve stared at Cloud, waiting for his response. 
"Do you think Aeris...." Cloud stopped. He stopped because of how heavily his 
heart beat and how heavily he breathed. "Do you think Aeris couldn't love anyone 
but me?" He finally got it of his chest. 
Tifa looked at Cloud. She knew, no matter what happened in life, Cloud had 
compassion for Aeris. No matter what the case was. Aeris was always in his heart. 
Her lips finally moved to give her answer. 
"No, she could love another man," Tifa said slowly. She was trying to make Cloud 
feel better. 
Steve was still looking at Cloud. He had a thought in his head. "Yes, Cloud. Aeris 
COULD love another man aside from you." 
Tifa quivered. "Is that bad?" she asked Cloud. Did he ask because he wanted Aeris 
to only love him? 
The air was quite crisp by now. It was late at night. It was fairly cool, but warm 
enough to stay outside. Cloud looked at the stars and sighed. 
"No, Tifa. That's not bad. I was only hoping that...." He stopped. He was afraid to 
get this out of him. "That in the lifestream, she could find someone she loved aside 
from me. You know, someone for HER to love." Cloud stopped. He turned his 
head to Tifa. Tifa could see a blue glow in his eyes. The beautiful blue glow. She 
felt very much love in her heart. 
"Like the way I love you, Tifa," Cloud finished. She smiled greatly. 
"Hey, Cloud?" Steve said quietly. He was curious. There was something Steve 
didn't understand about death. "How did you feel when Aeris died?" 
Cloud looked up into the stars. They sparkled and shimmered. They flew through 
the air. The bright moon shined brightly. Stars were not all colored the same. Each 
one was different. Just like humans. Each one different. 
"I was shocked to have it happen right in front of my very eyes. I felt there was no 
way that it could be real. Aeris and I were so close that it couldn't have been real. 
Seeing that dead body of hers.....was just to much. I thought that I would wake up 
and realize what a horrible nightmare I was having. But this, unfortunately, was 
totally real. Sorrow hit me like a rock would if someone threw it at me. Without 
thinking, tears flooded my eyes. As I watched Aeris fall, I caught her, and I held 
her body. I hated it. No warmth in it. It was cold and stiff. As Sephiroth talked 
about spirit energy I yelled at him, and I burst out crying." Cloud stopped. He 
looked at Steve. 
Steve just sighed. "Wow, helluva story," Steve said through his breath. 
Cloud looked at Steve. "Did you have any of those emotions?" he asked Steve. 
Steve simply looked up at the stars. He sat against the tree even harder. He was 
trying to get comfortable. But it was hard. Thinking of these types of things was 
not easy to be comfortable with. 
"I think it was more of a shock. More emotion, because no one that close had ever 
died. I don't know where my parents are, but I doubt their dead." Steve looked at 
Cloud. "Your parents died, huh?" he said. 
Cloud sighed. "Yes," he responded. 
Steve turned his head from Cloud and into the sky. The stars. "You've experienced 
death of someone that close. I have not," he said again. Steve then shot his head's 
direction towards Tifa. "Mrs. Lockheart, how 'bout you?" 
"Mrs. Strife," Tifa corrected "And yes. My mother died when I was about 7. My 
dad died when I was 15." 
Steve continued to look at Tifa. "I'm 19, and my best friend dies," he said. "Guess 
that means that I'm 2 years behind Cloud in that type of incident." Steve sighed. 
"I'm just glad I didn't have to watch Tom die. And I hope something works out for 
Aeris." 
Cloud smiled. "Whatever the case is, I hope Aeris finds someone she could love in 
the lifestream." 
Tifa, trying to comfort Cloud, snuggled herself into Cloud's side. Cloud looked 
down at Tifa. He smiled again. He lifted his arm and put it around Tifa and brought 
her closer. Steve looked at the happy couple, with a slight chuckle to himself. He 
wished he had a wife like Tifa. Someone who HE could love like that. 
The 3 friends all closed their eyes and leaned against the tree, hoping to go to 
sleep. But 5 minutes after closing his eyes, Cloud slowly re-opened them. He felt 
something. He slowly lifted his head, his eyes to the heavens. He let off a big gasp. 
He shook Tifa, who was almost asleep by now, with the arm that was still around 
her. The girl slowly opened her eyes. "What?" she asked. 
"Look..." Cloud said. Tifa looked up. Her mouth dropped open. 
"Steve, wake up!" Cloud said. "Look!" 
Steve slowly got up. He looked in the air. His mouth, as well, dropped open. He 
slowly lifted his hands up to his head. He slowly removed his sunglasses. All three 
of them stared up. There, in the middle of the sky, were two transparent figures. 
Tom and Aeris, embracing in the stars. 
500 years later 
Red XIII and his cubs ran across a field. Into a plain. A canyon. A long narrow 
canyon. It all ended at a peek. Red leaped up. All the way to the top of the rocky 
ledge. Red looked down at his cub, Zier. 
"Zier, do you know what this is?" Red asked. He smiled at his new cub. 
Zier had a puzzling look on his face. "No, what is it daddy?" 
Red roared out with a smile on his face. He was really laughing. "This is Midgar! 
Destroyed 500 years ago!" Red said happily. 
Wendy, Red's other cub, also had a confused look on her face. "What happened to 
it daddy?" 
Red smiled at his other. He smiled. "500 years ago, I was fighting with a man 
named Cloud Strife. He, at first didn't care for anyone, or anything. Just himself, 
and his money. But then, when a childhood friend of his told him to fight with a 
group called AVALANCHE, he met a girl named Aeris. Aeris was captured by 
Shinra. Cloud saved Aeris, but he found out Sepheroth, an old enemy of his, was 
alive. Cloud was out on a conquest to find Sepheroth. He later found Sepheroth 
was trying to find black Materia to summon a meteor to destroy the earth. Then..." 
"Daddy," Zier interrupted. "What's Materia?" 
"An orb that summons magic and such. I'll explain more later. But Aeris thought 
she could save the planet. She went to a holy city...." Red said, but was interrupted 
by Wendy. 
"You mean like a church?" she asked. 
"No, an entire holy city. But poor Aeris was stabbed right through her back and 
killed. But because she died, she saved the world." Red looked over the City. "But 
Midgar was destroyed. Destroyed by that meteor. Cloud and his friends saved the 
world!" Red cried out triumphantly. 
Zier looked at Red with a smile on his face. "Can we go visit Cloud and his 
friends?" he asked. 
"I'm sorry. But their dead," Red said, a bit sadly. 
"What happened to them?" Wendy asked. 
"They died of old age 400 years ago!" Red said. He looked down at Zier, who 
seemed a bit sad. Red wanted to cheer his son up. He whispered in his ear, "Cloud 
lived a long life. 121 years!" 
"Can we go exploring?" Wendy asked eagerly. 
Red laughed. "I don't see why not!" he said happily. "Common'! Let's go! Race ya 
down the hill!" Red got the jump. He was leaping rock to rock down the hill until 
he reached the bottom. Both of Red's cubs jumped down, trying to get ahead of 
their father. Down the hill was a large grassland. The grassland was about a mile 
around Midgar's remains. Right in front of the grassland was an open field. Red 
was running across the field, slow enough so he wouldn't purposefully beat them. 
All of a sudden, something stung his paw. Red stopped. Red lifted his paw up 
slowly and looked at the under side of his paw. A slight bit of blood was on it. He 
looked at the grass. In the grass was a piece of metal. It shined in the grass. 
Red's cubs looked up at Red. "What is it daddy?" they asked. 
Red looked very closely at it. There were words on it. It was an ID tag of some 
sort. He read the name at it. A smile came across the Nanaki's face. The words read 
"Tom Richards". 
The End