CHAPTER I
FROM THE FUTURE INTO THE PAST
Cloud Strife stood at the railing of the bridge of the Highwind, looking out across Midgar. Beside him, stood Tifa Lockheart, her wine-colored eyes filled with worry. Meteor had descended on the city and unleashed bright red tornadoes of destruction. Pieces of the different sectors were lifted up and spun through the air as the whirlwinds touched down.
Behind him, Barret Wallace expressed his frustration at the lack of their savior, the Holy Materia. Red XIII felt that it was too later for Holy now and that they should direct their worries toward Midgar. Cait Sith bowed his crowned head atop the enormous, stuffed moogle and shared his sadness for those his controller Reeve had been unable to move to the slums.
Suddenly, there was a flash of white light outside the window and all eyes turned to the source. They watched in relief and awe as Holy spread across the Planet and blanketed Meteor. There was a struggle between the two forces and when the battle ended, they were shocked to see that Meteor remained.
The hope that Aeris had left them with Holy was gone. There was nothing left for them to do now but watch as Sephiroth succeeded in destroying the Planet. It would begin with Midgar and end with the destruction of mankind.
They were only allowed a moment of dread before Tifa noticed something in the distance. Cloud followed her outstretched hand and was overjoyed to see bright green strands of the Lifestream rising from the ground. Strand after strand reached up and flowed across the planet, joining together above Meteor. The group aboard the airship shielded their eyes as a flash of iridescent light emanated from Midgar. When they looked this time, Meteor was gone.
“Hot Damn!” Cid yelled, his cigarette falling from his mouth. “She did it!”
“We,” Cloud corrected, “we all did it.”
Barret looked at everyone and said, “What now?”
Everyone glanced around at one another, almost as if they couldn’t believe that it was all over. Would they go their separate ways now or stick together?
Tifa shrugged, “I can’t imagine being without any of you. Sometimes it’s hard to believe we had separate lives before all this.”
“I’m-” Cid started, and then, “What the hell?”
They all felt a slight tremor that caused them to lose their footing and stumble some. Cid called to his pilots to check the Highwind’s gauges, but they could find nothing wrong with them. Tifa and Cloud turned to look out the window again, but they too found nothing out of the ordinary. Well, that is, if they could call the present state of Midgar normal.
Vincent Valentine stepped from his usual station in the rear of the airship and walked up to Cid.
“Something is wrong, friend, I can feel it.”
Cid turned to look at Vincent and nodded. He also looked to Red, whose expression seemed to support Vincent’s foreboding.
“Well, I don’t know shit ‘bout none of that, “Barret replied. “I just want the hell outta here.”
“I agree with Barret; although not quite in those exact words, “ Cait Sith added.
Cid went for the controls and said, “Where the hell to?”
It was then, that the trembling resumed and Cid had to grab onto the wheel, gripping it tightly to hold his balance. Aside from Tifa and Cloud, who had the railing to latch onto, the others were unprepared and fell the floor.
“Gawd! What is that?!” they heard Yuffie Kisaragi yell from the cargo bay.
“Shit-can-barely-hold-on!” Cid yelled, his voice shaking like a car on old, rickety wheels.
Barret tried to stand up and was thrown into Tifa and Cloud, causing them to release their hold on the railing and fall.
“Get-off-Barret!” Cloud demanded.
“I’m-trying!”
“Vincent, this would be what you were talking about,” Cait Sith said, his the only voice that wasn’t shaking.
“Listen-to-that-damn-cat! Shinra-spy-only-one-can-talk-right!” Barret yelled, managing to get a grip on the railing and stand up.
The Highwind suddenly moved sharply to the left, and they were all thrown hard against each other and any metal objects that got in their way.
“Out-the-window-I-saw-Mako-” Barret tried.
“What?!” Cloud asked.
“Mako-shootin’-up-below-us!”
“Shit!” Cid yelled, as the enormous iron airship was suddenly pulled down with a vicious jerk.
They watched as Mako rushed by them outside of the ship and pulled them further into its blue-green reservoir.
“Dammit! Must have been a defunct reactor!” Reeve’s voice yelled through Cait. “I have a better view and I can see-oh no! You guys are right in it!”
“@#$%! Thanks-cat!” Barret yelled.
They heard Yuffie scream as the airship suddenly shot south at a speed so intense, it felt as if their skin was being pulled away from their bodies. They went further and further down until they stopped suddenly, and then, blackness for everyone.
Vincent was the first to come to and he found himself in the Highwind, sunlight pouring through the cracked window. The ship had landed on its left side, and he could see his friends sprawled out everywhere. It was going to be difficult, but he needed to maneuver his way out of the broken, iron bucket and see where they had landed.
He stepped over the plush body of Cait Sith, wondering at its silence. Perhaps it had short circuited during the crisis. He managed to find the doorway to the outer deck, but could not see Yuffie anywhere. When he made his way onto the deck, he was surprised to see they had somehow landed outside of Rocket Town. But, at the heart of the town, the old, rusted Shinra No. 26 still stood.
He only had a moment to meditate on this before a hand clamped down on his shoulder.
“Thinkin’ of desertin’ us?”
Vincent turned to Cid, who had a nasty looking cut running across his forehead.
“No. I am just seeing where we have landed.”
Cid looked out, “Rocket Town. Damn...what the hell? How did the Shinra 26 get here?! Those bastards at Shinra launched it at Meteor. We were inside of it, we saw it explode!”
“Your guess is as good as mine, friend,” Vincent replied.
“Vincent, Cid?” they heard Cloud ask.
“Out here Spike!” Cid yelled.
Cloud came into view, followed by Tifa, “Don’t call me that, Cid. You know I hate it.”
“Sure, Kid,” Cid grinned, reaching for a cigarette.
“How the hell can you smoke at a time like this?” a deep voice demanded.
“I like the damn things, Barret,” Cid replied, as the big, black man joined them on the deck.
“Hey! Someone get in here and help me up!”
“Help yourself up, Brat,” Barret replied.
They heard the sounds of debris being tossed aside and the unmistakable notes of grumbling before Yuffie appeared, followed by Red and Cait Sith.
“I’m getting funny signals. This is weird,” Cait Sith said.
“Think that’s weird? Take a look at Rocket Town,” Cid said, pointing toward it.
“What?! I thought they launched that hunk of junk,” Yuffie voiced.
Cid turned toward her and glared fiercely, “Watch your mouth, Kid.”
“I would, but I need a mirror,” Yuffie smartly returned.
Cid took a menacing step toward her, but was detained by Vincent’s hand on his shoulder.
“Cid, is the Highwind inoperable?” Cloud asked.
“She can fly again, but not without a hell of a lot of work.”
“How long?”
“’Bout a month or two.”
“Shit! That ain’t gonna help us now!” Barret spat.
Cid sighed loudly, “What do ya want me to do about it?”
Cloud crossed his arms and stared at the two like a benevolent father, tapping his foot lightly against the wooden deck.
Ever the logical, practical one, he said, “Let’s get to Rocket Town and see what’s going on.”
“The Kids right. Let’s go,” Cid replied, dangling over the side of the Highwind before jumping down.
“You want me to jump THAT far?” Yuffie whined.
“You wanna stay here all day, Ninja?” Cid yelled up to her.
At the mention of the word Ninja, Yuffie sighed and crawled over the side, “If I break any bones, Old man, you’re dead!”
“You break any bones Kid, and you’re gonna be in too much pain to even try.”
She managed to get halfway over before she slipped. Laughing, Cid darted forward and caught her. Yuffie looked up at his beard speckled face, her brown eyes wide with fear and her breath coming in short, quick gasps.
“Hmmm. You sure you’re a Ninja?” Cid asked.
Yuffie’s mouth snapped shut and she smacked him upside the head before jumping out of his arms and running toward Rocket Town.
“Get back here you little @#$%er!”
Tifa sighed, “Those two. I swear they are always at each other’s throats.”
Cloud looked at the rest of the group, “I don’t know about you guys, but I’d like to find an easier way to get down.”
Barret nodded in agreement and went in search of a rope. Something had happened to the rope ladder when the Mako reactor has sucked them in, and it was no where to be found.
Vincent smiled at them and said, “I can make my own way down, as well.”
He suddenly leapt onto the side of the airship and nimbly jumped down. The other’s watched as he landed perfectly on his feet, seeming not to falter at all. He then followed the trail kicked up by Cid’s pursuit of Yuffie, his crimson cape billowing behind him like a fiery red cloud.
Damn man,” Barret remarked, scratching his head, “Vince’s got some abilities.”
Cloud turned to him, “You have a rope?”
“Yeah. Don’t know how that’s gonna help Red though.”
Red grinned, revealing even, sharp teeth, “I can go much in the same way as Vincent.”
With that, he leapt over the side and onto the ground, landing steadily on all four feet.
“Show off’s,” Barret grumbled, securing the rope.
Cloud had Barret go first so that if Tifa fell, Barret would be below to catch her. Barret heaved his way down the thick, tan twine, cursing and bumping into the airship all the way. Tifa had to cover her mouth to stifle her laughs, for fear he’d hear and get angry. She went next, proving to be much more nimble than Barret and making it down a whole lot quicker. Cloud wiggled halfway down and then jumped the rest of the way, landing easily.
“Show off,” Barret groused, heading for Rocket Town.
When they walked into the town that had risen around the Shinra 26, they almost bumped into the others, who were standing about staring as if in a trance.
“It looks the same. Before they launched the Rocket. Damn...I gotta bad feelin’ about this,” Cid said.
“That’s just not possible,” Cloud replied.
“Yer tellin’ me!” Barret bellowed.
The town stood as it had before the launch of the old rocket at Meteor. The people milled about aimlessly, either walking to no specific destination or just standing there, staring at the rusted, leaning rocket. Cid had half a mind to walk up to the thing and touch it just to see if it was real.
“Hey Captain! Didn’t think I’d see you back so soon after how you took off on the Tiny Bronco. I thought Rufus Shinra was gonna get you for sure.”
Cid turned to the sound of the voice, shock evident on his face, “What did you say?”
He walked forward, nearly grabbing the man by the lapels of his jacket.
The man looked puzzled, “Just that I thought Shinra was goin’ to get you for sure. We saw the Tiny Bronco was hit by those bullets. We were all afraid you guys crashed and didn’t make it. Shera’s been beside herself...” he trailed off, remembering the Captain’s feelings for Shera.
Cid’s face paled and he turned to look at the others, whose faces wore identical expressions of shock.
“We just left here? Not...there’s just no way!” Cid snapped, banging his fist on the back of his head.
“Sure there is Captain, I just...”
He trailed off as Cid rounded on him; the expression on the Captain’s face told him that he’d better leave real quickly.
“Uh, sure Captain. Just glad to see you’re all right,” he said, turning and leaving as fast as his feet would take him without seeming like he was running.
“Aeris isn’t with us, like before. This just isn’t possible,” Tifa voiced, sounding frustrated.
Tifa couldn’t see how after all that they had went through after this, that they would find Rocket Town like this, like it was frozen in time. When they had left on the Tiny Bronco, Aeris had been alive and with them. She had been her usual optimistic, cheerful self and Tifa felt a pang of loss well up in her again. She and Aeris might not have always seen eye to eye, but Tifa cared about the girl like a friend, almost like a sister. She had watched in horror as Sephiroth plunged his sword into her slender back, the blade so long that it came out through her front. Any sleep she had gotten after that forced her to re-live the experience over and over.
Cloud put a reassuring arm around Tifa’s shoulders and said, “We all know that the Rocket was launched at Meteor. Where were we at this point?”
Vincent spoke up, “If I am correct, we went to Wutai,” he looked sternly at Yuffie after this and she ducked her head, pretending great interest in her feet, “and then to the Gold Saucer. We were after the Keystone.”
“Which the damn Shinra Spy took,” Barret added.
Cait Sith sighed, “Please, Barret, stop mentioning that. I know I may have been a spy, but haven’t I proved to you where my real loyalties lie?”
Red padded up to Barret and interjected, “Barret, if we hope to figure out what has gone wrong, we must work together. Exchanging insults will help no one.”
“Red is right,” Cloud spoke up, running a hand through his blonde spikes, “we need to work together to clear this up. So leave Cait alone.”
Barret glared fiercely at Cloud, but Cloud simply crossed his arms and stared back stonily. Barret sighed and threw his arms into the air, looking pointedly at their leader.
“We’re all tired. Why don’t we find somewhere to sit down and discuss this,” Cloud reasoned.
“Captain.”
The word was spoken softly, but Cid heard it quite clearly and turned sharply. Shera stood at the door to his house, a pot of tea in her hand. Conflicting emotions arose as he thought about his feelings for her at this time and the feelings he had when he first left. He scratched his head and turned to the others.
“We can sit around my house. No sense rentin’ a room when we got free space there.”
Cloud nodded and they followed Cid across town to where Shera stood. Her brown eyes were worried beneath her glasses and her face easily betrayed her anxiety.
“Captain, are you all right?”
Frustration had him snapping at her out of habit, “’Course I’m all right! What are you blind woman?!”
Shera recoiled, but reached a hand out and touched the cut on his forehead despite his harsh words.
“You’re cut.”
Cid stared blankly at her, before sighing and trying to undo the damage of his anger, “Yeah. It’s just a scratch. Uh...I’m tired, so you’ll have to excuse me yellin’ at you.”
Shera’s eyes widened in shock. The Captain was apologizing for yelling at her? She searched his face for signs of a sickness, but could find none.
To cover her unease, she said, “Come sit down. I’ll pour you all some tea. That was quite an escape. I thought Rufus would get you for sure. But, you disposed of Palmer easily.”
She went to the cupboard for mugs, seemingly unaware of the tension caused by her words. Vincent stood in the corner of the kitchen, Red lay on the floor, Barret leaned against the fridge; Tifa, Cloud, Cid, and Yuffie sat at the table, and Cait Sith stood in the corner opposite of Vincent.
“Shera. Did you say we just left?” Cid asked, accepting his mug of tea.
“Why yes,” she answered puzzled. “You took off in the Tiny Bronco about two hours ago. You were running from Rufus Shinra and the Soldiers...but you already know this.”
“You’re absolutely sure?”
“Captain, why-”
“Dammit Shera, this’ important!”
“Yes, I’m absolutely sure. Oh, where is that nice girl...Aeris isn’t it? Something didn’t happen to her, did it?”
The group grew solemn, and Shera suddenly felt as if she was intruding on something private, so she excused herself and left the room.
“Cid, Shera didn’t mean any harm,” Tifa said, thinking that the thunderous expression on his face was caused by the other woman’s words.
Cid waved his hand in dismissal, “Hell, I know that. This’ just too damn much.”
“I’ve been thinking...” Cait trailed off as everyone’s eyes turned to him.
He had never liked being the center of attention, so it didn’t bother him when the others ignored him. It was odd, in a way, that he sat back in Midgar as Reeve, controlling the big stuffed moogle and its riding cat. That pretty much kept him hidden from all of them, yet when he spoke through the cat he still felt as if they could see him.
“Well?” Barret demanded.
The cat sighed, “What if, when we entered the Mako reactor, we were somehow thrown back in time. The Lifestream sucks you in anywhere and throws you out anywhere. It doesn’t seem unlikely then, that this time we time traveled.”
This revelation was met with silence and blank stares. If he could have, the cat atop the stuffed moogle would have began to sweat. Maybe he had been wrong, but stranger things had happened to him since joining this group.
“Damn.” Cid said, lighting a cigarette.
Yuffie burst out laughing, “What a ridiculous idea! Where’d you come up with that story?”
“No, what he says makes sense,” Cloud decided.
And, because it had come from him, the others turned their attention to their spikey-headed leader intently. Cloud looked around at the sea of faces that he had come to call his closest friends and smiled slightly.
“What Cait said would explain why everything is as it was before and why everyone keeps insisting we just left.”
“But then,” Tifa wanted to know, “Where is Aeris?”
Cloud sighed. He wasn’t sure of the answer to this yet. It all seemed like an awful lot to grasp all at once. All he knew was, that they were essentially back right where they had started. Sephiroth was not defeated and Shinra still ran rampant.
“Perhaps,” Red suddenly added, “she still lives.”
They turned to him, wanting to hear what he had to say.
“What if we all still existed too.”
“What?” Barret asked. “Ya lost me Red.”
Red stood up, warming to the subject, “Well, perhaps what the people of this town just saw leave was us. But not us as we are now, but us as we were then.”
“Hey! Speak so rest of us can understand!” Yuffie yelled.
“The rest of us can, Ninja,” Cid replied, dryly.
“Shu-”
“Be quiet,” Vincent said softly, but the steel underneath had Yuffie closing her mouth and glaring at them all.
Red swished his tail with impatience and tried again, “What I am saying is, that there may be two of each of us running around. Except for Aeris; there will only be one of her.”
The group absorbed this and then Tifa said, “Then, we might me able to save her?”
Red inclined his head, “If I am right, yes.”
They sat in silence for awhile. If they were to test this theory, then they needed to head for the Gold Saucer. But since the Tiny Bronco was gone, the Buggy had disappeared, and the Highwind was not operable, they would have to go on foot.
Barret shrugged, “What do we have to lose? We got no choice but to try an’ stop Sephiroth again. Might as well follow the same path we took before an’ try and find the other ones of us.”
Cloud nodded, “But maybe we could get Shera to fix us something to eat first? And we need some supplies.”
Everyone looked at Cid hopefully and he shrugged, I’ll go ask her.”
Cid left the room and Yuffie said with wonder in her voice, “Ask? Did Cid just say he’d ask her, not tell her?”
Once they had finished eating and gathering supplies, they prepared to leave. With one last look at the Shinra 26, Cid followed the rest of the gang out of the town and further into the continent. The next stop would be Nibelheim and Cid wondered how things would play out there. Would Sephiroth taunt them or would things just go as they had at Rocket Town?
They walked in silence for a moment, alert to the possibilities of attacking monsters. Each had their own thoughts about the days proceedings, but none felt like voicing them.
A monster suddenly appeared at Yuffie’s left and she threw out her Conformer, taking care of it easily. The look on her face could only be described as bored. Obviously, these creatures were no match for any of them.
After some time, they came to the entrance of the Nibel Mountains and stopped for a moment.
“Wonder how tough the dragons will be here,” Yuffie thought aloud.
“I’d just as soon not find out,” Cloud informed her.
They walked through the short path that lead to the inner cave and then entered it, reaching the bottom where they had once fought a boss. The eerie silence of the cave reminded Yuffie of a tomb and she sought to shake off the chill. Too bad there wasn’t any new materia here for her to find. She still hoped that when this new journey was done, that they would let her have all their materia for Wutai.
They managed to make it nearly to the top of the last set of stairs when a loud roar sounded in front of them. A large purple dragon stepped into view and sniffed at the invaders to his domain. Seeing that they were humans, he roared again and stepped forward.
Cloud stepped up to meet him, flanked by Cait Sith who had the bulk of the defensive materia and Tifa who had a good portion of the elementals. Cait cast MBarrier on them and Cloud ran forward, slicing at the dragon with his Ultima sword. The dragon roared and swiped at Cloud, who easily dodged it with a jump back.
Tifa came around behind the behemoth and gave it a hard punch and a swift kick to the back. The dragon swung out his tail and knocked her from her feet. Cloud ran in and helped her up while Cait’s moogle pounded the dragon with his enormous fists. The dragon roared again and swung his tail around swiftly, knocking all three to the ground.
Seeing this, Cid stepped in and used Death Blow to deliver the fatal hit with his spear. The dragon died with one last roar and those not fighting helped the others up.
“Well,” Yuffie said, “I’m kinda glad I didn’t get to find out.”
Barret pushed her forward and she stumbled into the back of Vincent, who reached around quickly and kept her from falling. Yuffie stuck her tongue out at Barret and ran ahead to reach the others.
They reached Nibelheim without another incident and Cloud held up the group, hesitating at the sight of the mansion. The others also glanced at Vincent out of the corner of their eyes to see his reaction. Vincent’s face revealed nothing as he gazed at his former prison.
Tifa gripped Cloud’s hand and smiled, “It’s all right. You have all of us and we don’t even have to stop. We can pass right through.”
Cloud nodded sharply and started forward. They passed the dark Shinra mansion, noticing the men in black capes standing about. The tension coming off of Cloud could be felt by everyone near him. They continued walking, all holding their breath in anticipation of a visit from Sephiroth. When they reached the entrance to the town and Sephiroth did not show, they sighed audibly.
“Cosmo Canyon is coming soon,” Red interjected. “Perhaps we could discuss this with my Grandfather.”
Cloud turned to look at Red, “Yes. Maybe that would help us if we spoke to Bugenhagen.”
From the corner of his eye, Vincent could still see the Shinra mansion. When he had joined Cloud and Tifa in a fight against Hojo, he had thought that perhaps his anger would be assuaged. In a way it was, but he knew he would never forget his stay there, nor the man who was responsible for it. It was odd, to him, to be given this chance to save Aeris. He wondered how things would be if he was given this same chance to change the events of his life.
Cosmo Canyon was a bit farther of a walk than from Rocket Town to Nibelheim and Yuffie sought to fill the silence with something.
“Wouldn’t it be weird to see duplicates of us? I mean, two Me’s? Would we even like each other?”
Barret laughed, “We don’t like ya, so why would you like you?”
Yuffie stuck her tongue out at him again and said, “Oh shut up. I’ll bet your double hates you too!”
Red walked farther ahead, hoping to put some distance between the childish arguing and himself. His wish was that his Grandfather would be able to give them some wisdom; perhaps support or refute his thoughts. Red smiled a little as he thought of being able to see his Grandfather again. In his world, Bugenhagen would still have returned to the Planet. In a way, it would hurt to see him and know that he would lose him so soon.
Barret ignored Yuffie and thought of Marlene. Right now, she would be with Miss. Elmyra, Aeris’ Mom. Kept safe from all the evil that he was fighting against. What he really wanted though, was to be with her always. But that was impossible because someone had to stop Sephiroth and Shinra and he had decided that it was going to be him; with the help of the others.
They were drawing closer to Cosmo Canyon because they could see the terrain darkening with the perpetual red-orange that surrounded the place of peace. The Canyon was always a place that they enjoyed to visit. It left everyone with a sense of strength and a feeling that they knew who they were and where they were going.
They came closer to it and were suddenly attacked from behind. It was two penguin-like creatures and a peacock that drained your magic power. Cloud hated those things, so he ran forward and sliced it in half with one blow. Barret filled one of the penguins full of lead and Red easily sliced the other to shreds.
“This is too easy,” Yuffie complained.
“Seems to me,” Cid said, puffing away on a cigarette, “that you were glad not too long ago at not havin’ to face that dragon.”
Yuffie scowled at him and skipped ahead after Red. They came upon the entrance to Cosmo Canyon and the guard at the gate looked at them all inquisitively.
“Nanaki. We did not expect you back so soon. Elder Bugen will be very pleased to see you.”
He moved aside and allowed them to pass. Tifa glanced around and enjoyed the soothing beat of the soft drums being played. She yawned and reminded herself that they couldn’t afford to rest.
Cloud caught the yawn and grinned, “Maybe we should stay the night.”
Tifa shook her glossy, brown head, “No. We can’t afford to. But, if we need to, perhaps we could stay in Gongaga?”
Cloud nodded, thinking of Zack’s hometown. His thoughts were interrupted by a shout from above him and he looked to see Cid motioning for them to hurry up. Apparently, Tifa and he had fell behind.
“Hurry up you lovebirds!” Barret called.
Cloud glared at him and Tifa pressed her gloved fists to her face to hide her embarrassment.
“Hush Barret! You know Cloud and I...aren’t that way.”
Barret rolled his eyes and disappeared through the stone doorway. Cloud and Tifa jogged to catch up and found themselves at the ladder to Bugenhagen’s room quite quickly.
“Ho ho ho! Nanaki, I did not expect to see you so soon.”
Bugenhagen, wearing his traditional blue and green robe floated over to Red. He glanced at the weary travelers and then, missing nothing started at the sight of the comb in Nanaki’s mane.
“Nanaki...where did you get that? I have been saving it for another time. I do not remember giving it to you.”
Red lowered his head and then lifted it, “It is a long story Grandfather.”
“Well, tell me then. I’m an old man and time is not to be wasted.”
Red regaled him with the events that had passed, neglecting to tell Bugenhagen of his death and then waited for his Grandfather’s answer. Bugen floated up the stairs and then returned moments later with a comb identical to the one in Red’s mane.
“Ho ho ho! This is all so fascinating! So, there are two Nanaki’s running around. Ho ho ho! Save the Planet.”
The group gave a much needed chuckle and relaxed.
“Can you tell me anything of this Grandfather? Maybe something that would help us?”
Bugen laughed and said, “No.”
Red looked puzzled.
“Nanaki, I may have lived for many years, but I do not know everything. Of time travel, there is little.”
“Then,” Cid shrugged, “We’ll just have to see for ourselves.”
“This is true,” Bugen agreed. “But, it does my old heart good to know that the Planet considers us worthy of saving. Now, Nanaki, why so glum? I know you are hiding something from me.”
Red swished his tail wishing that he wasn’t so transparent to his Grandfather. To everyone else he was an enigma, but to his Grandfather he was easily readable.
Red bowed his head and went to sit before Bugen, “Grandfather, I know of the time of your death.”
Bugen laughed again, “Is that all?”
Red lifted his head and stared at his Grandfather, “But-but-” he was left speechless, something that didn’t happen to Red often.
“Nanaki. We must all die some day. To return to the Planet and help it heal is not something to be mourned, but something to be rejoiced. I am an old man and I have lived a long, full life.”
“But Grandfather, I will miss you so.”
The others, deciding that Red needed some time with his Grandfather, all filed out of the room.
Cloud looked at everyone and said, “We’ll go our separate ways and meet back here in two hours.”
They nodded and all left, except for Tifa.
“I don’t feel like being alone,” she explained.
Cloud smiled and slipped her arm through his, “Then, shall we find something to do?”
Tifa grinned, “Yeah. Let’s go eat some of those pastries we had here last time. They were the best.”
“You can make better ones.”
“Oh stop!”
They all stood at the gate to Cosmo Canyon waiting for Red, who stood with his Grandfather on the last step leading into the actual Canyon. Red spoke with Bugen a few minutes more before bounding down to the others. He had a smile on his face and looked at peace.
“I am sorry Grandfather was unable to help us.”
Cloud shook his head, “He did help us. He made us remember what’s really important in all this. Us and the Planet.”
“Are we gonna stop at Gongaga overnight?” Barret asked.
Cloud shrugged, “We might. Let’s see when we get there.”
The group left the Canyon completely and was on their guard for the dragons that liked to cast petrify. They ran into a few of them as before they reached Gongaga, but they easily dispatched them with quick slices and well placed punches.
They looked at the run-down town once so thriving and stopped. The evil of Shinra was everywhere; their touch marring just about everything they came across.
The group continued forward and prepared to enter the Gongaga.