Chocobo's Final Fantasy Haven
Ray Pang
Story
Story
Story |
CHAPTER IIWE HAVE A PLANIt
was night. Cloud stood on a treeless hill in the dark. Rain
pelted down around him, he could feel it but not see it. He
could see nothing but darkness all around him. He looked up,
but there was no sign of any stars or moonlight. He
turned in a slow circle, but saw no hint of where he was, or
how he had gotten here, or anything at all except the
darkness. But then a light slowly grew ahead of him. Faint at
first, but then growing until he could see a small figure. The
light continued to brighten. He could see Aeris clearly now,
for the light seemed to emanate from her. He took a step
toward her but then stopped. In the growing light he saw that
he stood on the edge of a chasm. The ground dropped off in
front of him as if it had been cut by a knife, and he could
see nothing below but inky blackness. Aeris stood on the other
side, close, but unreachable. She seemed to be beckoning to
him. He
looked around, but the chasm seemed to stretch in both
directions for as far as he could see He could not reach her. He
looked at her again, and it was then he saw the dark shadow
growing behind her. He
shouted a warning, but though she didn't appear that far away,
she did not seem to hear. The shadow grew deeper and larger
behind her while she continued to beckon to him, unaware of
the danger. Burning green eyes appeared in the blackness
behind her and a long sword materialized out of the darkness
and hovered above her head. "Look
out," he yelled as loud as he could. "Look out,
behind you!" She
didn't hear. The sword swung up slowly and he knew in an
instant it would descend. With
a cry of rage he flung himself into the chasm. He felt himself
falling, and suddenly he could hear her voice calling his
name, echoing in the darkness as he plummeted downward. "Cloud!:"
He
awoke with a start to see Tifa looking at him, concern on her
face. "You've
had another dream," she said softly. "Are you all
right?" "Yes,
" he said quickly. "I'm fine." He
stood up and looked around. They had camped beneath a small
stand of elm trees at the foot of a hill. The sun, low in the
east, cast long early morning shadows around them. Tifa
waited, hoping maybe Cloud would say more, but not really
expecting it. He
didn't. "You
better pack up your gear," she said finally, "We
need to get an early start if you want to be there by
noon." He
nodded and started to get his gear together. "So
you're finally up!" Barret came striding over and gave
him a slap on the back that nearly sent him sprawling.
"Thought you were going to sleep away the whole morning.
And a fine morning it is, I might add." Tifa
was glad that Barret had insisted on coming along with them,
although she had been kind of surprised that he could leave
his office on such short notice. But when she had broached the
subject to him he had just snorted dismissively and told her
he had only taken the job in order to get Corel back on it's
feet, and it was doing well now. He hadn't taken a vacation
since he had become Mayor, and if they didn't like it they
could just fire him and find someone else to take the job,
though personally he doubted they would be able to find
someone foolish enough. He
took a deep breath and filled his lungs with the cool morning
air. "Ahh,"
he said pleasantly, "It's good to be on the road
again." Cloud
smiled in spite of himself at his old friends enthusiasm. It
was good to see Barret again. He had been surprised when Tifa
had brought Barret back to the Inn, even more surprised when
they told him their plan. He had tried to hide the visions he
was getting from Tifa, but obviously he hadn't done a very
good job. He had been half afraid if he told her she would
have dismissed it as nonsense, or perhaps even thought he was
losing his mind, as he had to admit he sometimes thought
himself. He should have known better. He was grateful she
understood and was trying to help him, though he hadn't told
her so. "We
better get going," was all he said. They
finished packing their gear and were soon on the road again.
Though Shinra Corp had been sucking the planet dry and no one
in the party was sorry to see it go, having had more than a
little hand in bringing about it's destruction, there were
some disadvantages. The roads were in poor repair and vehicles
were scarce. Not that any of them minded very much. They had
done quite a bit of their earlier traveling on foot, and were
well accustomed to the road. Soon
the flat plains around them began to rise up and the
vegetation become scarce. The road wound up slowly into the
hills and passed into a steep sided canyon. They came around a
bend and saw a town carved into the hillside ahead, covering
the entire side of the mountain. Perched at the very top they
could just made out the dark silloutte of an observatory. "Its
good to be back," Barret remarked and led them up a rough
cut stairway into Cosmo Canyon.
"Welcome,
friends" "Red,
it's so good to see you," Tifa exclaimed, walking up
beside him and rubbing the fur under his neck. He lifted his
head for her to get better access. Cloud couldn't help but
smile at the sight of this huge fire red beast, with rapier
sharp claws that could tear a man apart in an instant, being
petted like a housecat. Even though he knew the look was
deceiving and Red was just about the calmest and most peaceful
person (or creature, but he really couldn't think of Red as
anything other than a person) he had ever met. "Indeed
it has been a while," Red replied. "Too long, in
fact. My studies have kept me busy, but that has not stopped
me from thinking about you all often. You are all well, I
hope?" He
looked quickly at each of them in turn. Barret responded in
the affirmative. Tifa just looked at Cloud, who said nothing. "Ah
yes," Red said quickly. "I have been looking into
your theory. If you wish we can go up to my chambers and
discuss my findings, or perhaps you are too weary from the
road and need to rest first?" "No,
" Cloud said quickly before the others could speak.
"We're not tired at all. Let's go." Red
slowly led them through the town and up to the observatory.
Tifa and Cloud had readily agreed with Barret when he had
suggested that they contact Red, and they had sent word ahead
to let Red know they were coming and the nature of their
quest. Cosmo Canyon held a huge storehouse of knowledge about
the planet and all who had lived on it, including the
Ancients. If there was anyplace in the world where they could
find out what they were looking for, this would be it. The
observatory hadn't changed at all since they had last seen it.
Red had kept it just the way it was in honor of Bugenhagen. He
walked into the laboratory and sat down on the floor, the
others gathering around him. "I
have been searching through the records since you first
contacted me, " Red stated getting right down to it.
"I am afraid that what I have found is not promising.
There is no way she could have survived Sephiroth's attack.
However, " he said quickly as Cloud started to speak,
"there is some evidence that in certain circumstances an
Ancient can be brought back from the dead. Although there is
precious little information about death and/or resurrection of
an Ancient. I have come across a few items that hinted at it.
There is one thing I could find that seemed to hold some
promise. There were two references to a special type of
materia, a Crystal Materia, that apparently could revive the
spirit of an Ancient. Both references were from some of the
oldest books here in the Canyon, both written in ancient
languages that were difficult to translate, but the fact that
it was mentioned on two separate occasions, in two separate
books, leads me to believe that it could exist, though whether
it actually can bring Aeris back is unknown." "But
you think it might be possible," Cloud asked. "Maybe,"
Red replied. "There is so much about the Ancients that is
lost forever. I can't say for sure what is possible when it
comes to them." "So
how do we find this Crystal Materia?" Barret asked. "The
books did not say," Red answered. "You
mean you have no idea where to find it?" Tifa asked. "Correct,"
Red said. "So
we're basically right back where we started from," Cloud
said gruffly. "Maybe
not," Red replied. "There was a reference in one of
the books to another tome. I have looked though our archives
and it is not in them. But a long time ago, when Cosmo Canyon
was threatened with invasion, some of the books from our
libraries were stored away in a secret chamber. Even after the
danger had passed not all of them were returned to the
library. I'm not sure what books they were but I know they
were some of the oldest in the Canyon. It is quite possible
that the book we are looking for is among them. But it is not
a safe place, and I wanted to be sure of your determination to
follow this quest before I suggested it. It is not in a place
where I would go on a whim." He
sat up and looked at each of them carefully. "So
where is it?" Barret blurted out. "In
a chamber below the cave of the Gi."
Tifa
felt a touch of fear rise unbidden within her as the door to
the Gi cave slowly opened. She remembered full well how close
they had come to death the first time they had crossed this
threshold. She glanced quickly at the others, but they were
all looking at the door as well. It was all right to feel some
fear, she thought, as long as she didn't show it. "Do
you really think anything is left in there?" Barret
questioned. "I thought we cleaned the place out the last
time we were here." "The
dead abide here," Red replied solemnly. "There may
be fewer than last time we entered, but you can never remove
them permanently. Shall we go?" Red
slowly padded into the cave, and the others followed. Cloud
first, then Tifa, with Barret acting as rear guard. Tifa
looked around quickly as they entered but saw nothing out of
the ordinary in the dim light. The only thing she noticed was
the musty smell and the abundance of cobwebs. Apparently the
dead, just like some living she could think of, were not fond
of dusting. They
proceeded down into the lower chambers without incident. Well,
not entirely without incident. It was true that nothing
disturbed the party as it moved through the darkness, but Tifa
could not shake the feeling, that grew stronger as they
slipped deeper into the caverns, that something was nearby.
She felt... she could only describe it as some kind of presence,
and the feeling soon became overpowering. She kept glancing
sharply around, for she kept thinking that she could see
something just out of the corner of her eye, but when she
looked that way there was nothing there. And there were sounds
too. Furtive movements in the darkness around them. Or so it
seemed. Yet even when she concentrated solely on listening,
she could not really be sure what she was hearing was real. They
reached the bottom cavern and followed Red into the maze of
tunnels. The
others said nothing, and for a while she thought that she was
the only one who felt it. But gradually she noticed the others
looking this way and that, and stopping for a moment to stare
off into the darkness. The feeling of a presence was so
overpowering now that she almost wanted to scream. The
others must have felt exactly the same, for Barret suddenly
called out from behind her; "Quit yer sneaking around and
show yourself. Then we can get this over with and all go
home!" The
others stopped and tensed, looking around in all directions as
Barret's words echoed through the caverns. The words died away
into silence, but still no one moved. Finally Red turned to
Barret. "That
was unwise," he said casually. They
continued on their way. Red turned suddenly to the left and
slipped through a narrow opening that they had not seen on
their first visit. He had been leading them at a cautious pace
up to this point, but now he sped up, as a man tends to do
when his goal is in sight. "We're
almost there," he commented. At
first Tifa was glad for Barret's outburst, for it had broken
the tension, and the presence seemed to have disappeared. She
began to think that it had all been in her mind, and that she
had been getting nervous over nothing. But now the feeling
suddenly came back with a vengeance. She stumbled for a
moment, almost overwhelmed by it. Furtive sounds and shadows
surrounded her, whirled around her in every direction,
everywhere! Get
a hold of yourself, she thought angrily. She took a deep
breath and forced herself to look only at Cloud's back. Then
she marched deliberately after him, resolutely ignoring the
dark movements in the shadows around her. The
party came to a sudden halt, and Tifa almost stumbled into
Cloud. She had been concentrating so much on his back that she
hadn't seen they had come to the end of the corridor and now
stood in front of a rough cut stone door. Without
hesitation Red pushed the door, which opened smoothly and
without a sound. When they entered the room beyond Tifa saw
that it was circular and lined with dusty books. "Here
we are," Red said with satisfaction. The
feeling of the presence had not diminished, but now it seemed
to be coming only from behind them, through the door and the
corridor beyond. "Please
close the door," she heard herself say. But
even before the sentence was finished Barret had done just
that. There was a heavy wooden beam beside the door and Barret
used that to bar it as well. For some reason Tifa felt
tremendously relieved. Red
was already carefully looking over the books. Tifa glanced at
the books for a few moments, thinking maybe they could help
Red look, but she saw that they were all in some strange
language she did not understand. Barret walked around idly
poking in corners and knocking softly on bookcases, apparently
looking for some secret compartments, or walls. Cloud just
stood near the center of the room and stared at nothing in
particular. It
seemed like a long time, but it was only a few minutes before
Red broke the silence. "I
found it," he said. "Now we have to..." He
was interrupted as the room shook. They all jumped, startled
by the booming sound that reverberated around them. Something
had pounded on the door! It
took only a moment for Cloud to compose himself. "Something
wants in," he remarked. Barret
stood back, looking at the door. "Something
big," he commented. They
all looked at Red. "Apparently
there is something still down here after all," he said
thoughtfully. "Is
there any other way out of here?" Barret asked. Red
shook his head. "Figures,"
Barret replied. The
room shook again, and the door shuddered. Cloud
took a step toward the door. "Who's
there?" He
jumped back as the blow came again. This time they heard the
splintering of wood from the beam holding the door closed. Cloud
looked at Red again. "Don't
suppose there's much chance it'll just go away," he
asked. "Not
likely," Red replied. "Kind
of figured that. All right folks, get ready." Cloud
slid his sword silently from it's sheath. Barret moved to
stand in front of the bookcases directly opposite the door.
Red moved to the left of Cloud and Tifa to the right. She felt
her nervousness rising again. It had been a while since any of
them had done this, and she wasn't really sure how much their
skills had deteriorated. She had spent plenty of time
practicing, but that was always different from the real thing.
She tried to clear he mind of doubts and focus only on her
opponent as she had been taught. Cloud
edged up closer to the door, then used his sword to slip the
beam off. For a moment nothing happened. Then the door opened.
It
did not burst open, as they had all expected. It opened
slowly, almost casually, and for a moment they could see
nothing beyond it. Dark shadows seemed to swirl in the air out
there, then, like dark tendrils, they drifted into the room.
Once in the room they thickened, until slowly they took on
solid form, and Tifa could see half a dozen skeletal faces
staring at them. "Time
to rock and roll," she heard Barret shout. Then there was
a blast of gunfire as he opened up. Tifa
leaped and kicked the nearest skeleton warrior in the face.
For a moment she thought her foot would just pass through it,
but then felt a very satisfying thump and the warrior back.
For a short while there was no time to think as she let her
instincts, which apparently weren't as rusty as she thought,
take over. They all fell back into the battle pattern that had
been so familiar to them. Cloud in the center of things,
swinging his sword like a madman. No one, or thing for that
matter, could stand in front of him. Red and Tifa on either
side of him, protecting his flanks. Barret in the back,
picking off any enemy when the opportunity presented itself,
or lending his firepower to any of the others if they seemed
to get in trouble. The battle was over quickly, but even after
the last warrior fell, Tifa could still feel the presence.
Barret
apparently didn't share her feeling this time. "Looks
like we kicked butt," he said, grinning. Then
a figure appeared in the doorway. But it was not a skeleton
warrior. It was the last person anyone of them would have
expected to see, even though she had been so much in their
thoughts lately. Tifa cleared her mind and thought of Zangan's
training, all the while concentrating on her fist. They
all knew it couldn't really be Aeris, but the vision was so
startlingly real that the others just stared for a moment. But
that was enough. In an instant Aeris vision vanished, to be
replaced by a huge clawed skeleton that rushed directly at
Cloud, who was closest to the door. Cloud
tried to bring up his sword, knowing it would be too late, but
just as the creature was upon him Tifa sprang in from the side
and drove her fist with all her power straight into the
creatures breastbone. With a horrible screech the creature
rose up in anguish, and then suddenly collapsed with a clatter
into a pile of bones on the floor. For
a moment they all stood there in silence. Finally
Barret spoke. "Nice
form. Now, I think it's time we got our asses out of
here."
Cloud,
Tifa and Barret sat around the eternal fire of Cosmo Canyon
later that night. Red was up in the observatory poring over
the book. He had told them he would let them know when he
found anything, but who knew how long that would take. Of the
three of them Barret seemed enormously pleased with himself. "Man,
we were slicing and dicing just like old times," he said.
"Cloud, you haven't lost a step with that sword. I knew
you were good, but I'd forgotten how good." "Thanks,"
Cloud replied. "You're still pretty handy with that gun
as well." The
truth of the matter was that Cloud felt better than he had in
a long time. Although, as noted earlier, he was more than
happy to see Shinra Co. destroyed, the fact of the matter was
that peace was not the best of times for a trained mercenary.
With Sephiroth and Shinra out of the picture, there was not
much work available for him. Even the monsters that had
terrorized the land had mostly disappeared now that Shinra's
Mako Reactors were no longer creating them. He had spent most
of the last year helping Tifa with the bar, and it had been
more satisfying than he realized to finally get to use his
real skills again. He had a feeling that Barret felt much the
same. "And
Tifa," Barret continued. "That was awesome. I hope I
never get you mad enough to use that on me." Tifa
just smiled. Cloud had not thanked her for what she had done.
Not because he was ungrateful but because he knew there was no
need. He would thank her by saving her neck in the next
battle. It had happened often enough in the past. "Look,
here comes Red," Barret said suddenly. They
turned to see Red padding down the stairway and coming over to
them. He sat down between Cloud and Tifa. "Well,
I have some information," he said. "the Crystal
Materia was originally in the Temple of the Ancients." "Which
we destroyed to get the black materia," Cloud reminded
him. "As
I am well aware," Red replied. "There was nothing
more about it's location in that book. But with that clue I
started looking in some more recent books on the Temple. I
found out that the Crystal Materia was removed by Infalna."
"Aeris
mother," Tifa said. "Indeed,"
Red said. "Apparently sometime after Shinra killed
Professor Gast she escaped from them. She made her way to the
Temple and took the Crystal Materia. Why she wanted it I
cannot say, but she was recaptured soon after by the
Turks." "So
Shinra got the Crystal Materia?" Cloud exclaimed. "Yes,"
Red replied, "but they didn't know what it was. It does
not look like ordinary materia. They didn't know it was
materia. They didn't know what it was at all. They just knew
it was some kind of Ancient artifact, so they stored it with
all their other Ancient artifacts." "And
just exactly where was that?" Cloud asked, sure he wasn't
going to like the answer. "In
a vault below Shinra Headquarters in Midgar," Red
responded. "Oh
brother," Barret exclaimed. "It
figures," Cloud said, shaking his head. Midgar had nearly
been destroyed by Meteor, and now it was completely abandoned.
Abandoned by people, at least. It was probably the only city
left on the planet, however, that was still crawling with
monsters. "So
we have to go to Midgar," Tifa said. "I'm
afraid so," Red replied. "And
you know what that means," Cloud said. "We're
going to need our Materia," Barret responded. "And
you know what that means," Tifa added. "We're
going to have to pay a visit to Wutai," Cloud finished.
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Author: Frank Verderosa, all rights reserved. |