Bizarre Occurances Chapter 14

Mega-Time - Part I

By Dino Pollard

“Now what do we do?” Cloud asked. The team had gathered near the Highwind. It seemed as if all of Shin-Ra’s forces had retreated. They had taken the injured Hojo with them as well.

“Red’s gone…” Yuffie said. “I can’t believe he’s gone…”

“We all know who is to blame for this,” Sephiroth said. He walked over to Baakusa and reached for his sword handle. “It was because of your need to examine the device that Red fell through that portal!! This is all your fault!! And for taking the life of one of our own, it seems only fitting that I take yours as well.” He was about to draw the blade, but Knolan stepped between them.

“All right,” he said. “That’s enough of that. Baakusa only examined the device because he wanted to see if it presented any further danger to us. If you want to blame anyone, blame me. There was some interference and I wasn’t able to use a spell to anchor Red as I used on myself.”

Sephiroth walked off.

“Lemme get another look at this machine…” Knolan said. “Baakusa, come with me. Maybe we can find a way to bring Red back.” Baakusa nodded and walked over to Knolan.

“Damn,” Barret said once Knolan and Baakusa were out of earshot. “Who’da thought dat Sephiroth might get dat pissed off over losin’ one o’ Avalanche.”

“You’ve forgotten, haven’t you?” Aeris asked.

“What’cho mean?” Barret asked.

“Red was one of the few people who was willing to give Sephiroth a chance,” she replied. “He regarded Sephiroth as a friend, and it looks as if Sephiroth thought the same of him.”

“Sephiroth…” Cloud said. The rest of the team looked at him quizzically. It was the first time in their journey that he didn’t use that name in a hostile tone.

“Looks like even you’re starting to accept him, Cloud,” Tifa noted.

“No,” Cloud replied. “I can never forgive him for what he’s done. But still. There’s just something unsettling about all this. First he surprised us all by saving Aeris—twice in fact, he risked his own life to save the inhabitants of Mideel, and now he’s getting bent out of shape over losing Red. The whole thing is just puzzling.”

“Not when you think about it,” Aeris said. “Everything he’s done all points to one thing: he’s reformed. He’s no longer a soulless killer. The sooner you realize that, the better off we’ll be.”

Cloud sighed. Aeris was right and he knew it. But now what were they going to do? Meteor was looming over them like a shadow, the barrier around the North Crater still hadn’t diminished, and they had no clue as to what the Ultimate Summon Spell was. They had no way to stop Meteor.

“Hey guys!!” Cait shouted, bounding up to the team.

“Where the fuck have you been?” Cid asked.

“That’s not important,” Cait replied. “But looked what I found!!” He tossed Cloud an Independent Materia orb.

“What is it?” Cloud asked, looking it over.

“It’s called Mega-Time,” Cait replied. “A very rare Materia orb. Only one exists. And that’s this one.”

“Where did you find it?” Cloud asked.

“The Shin-Ra had it in their possesion,” Cait explained. “They took it off this mercenary team called Strike Force.”

“What does it do?” Aeris asked.

“I think it controls time itself,” Cait replied. “Ya know how the normal Time Materia can slow down, speed up, or stop our movements? Well, this can do the same thing—but 100X fold!! And that’s not all. It can also slow down or speed up time around us!! So we could go into the past or the future!!”

“The past…” Cloud said. “Perfect. We can use it to stop Sephiroth when he first reappeared.”

“But we don’t know what might happen,” Cait replied. “Howzabout we use it to see what the future is like?”

“Hell no!!” Barret exclaimed. “I don’ wanna know what my future’s gonna be!! No one should!!”

“Barret’s got a point,” Tifa said. “What if we become stuck in the future? We’re not even sure how it works.”

“Let me see it,” Aeris said. Cloud handed her the orb. Once it was placed in her hands, it began to glow. The aura around the orb slowly extended around the group.

“Wh-what’s happening?” Yuffie asked. With that, the team had vanished.

“What the hell?!?” Knolan exclaimed.

“This is bad,” Baakusa said.

*****

Avalanche materialized in what seemed to be some sort of gathering or rally. A banner displaying the Shin-Ra logo was plain as day behind a podium on stage. People were cheering and holding up signs that read, “To hell with the Cetra!!” and “It’s our planet now!!”

“What’s goin on here?” Barret asked.

“I dunno,” Cait replied. “There’s not supposed to be any public addresses schedueled.”

“And what’s up with those signs?” Tifa asked.

“Good question,” Vincent replied. “Perhaps we’re about to find out the answers.” He pointed at the stage. A man in his 40s stepped up to the microphone. He wore a white business suit and his perfectly-groomed orange hair started to turn gray.

“Rufus!!” Cloud exclaimed. “But he’s older...”

“PEOPLE OF MIDGAR!!” Rufus began. “The time has come. No longer will we live under the shadow of the Cetra. We are going to rise up. We are going to stop them! We will be oppressed no longer!! The time has come for us to destroy Lucrecia and her son!! And as the President of Shin-Ra Inc., I give you my word that I will make the world a safe haven once again!”

“Lucrecia...?” Vincent asked. “Did he say Lucrecia?”

“Damn,” Barret said. “What the hell is that mofo talkin’ ‘bout?”

“Expanding your vocabulary, Barret?” Yuffie asked.

“You want some o’ dis?!?” Barret exclaimed

“HEY!!” an MP shouted.

“Shit,” Cid cursed.

“It’s those Avalanche guys!!” another one said.

“But they look younger.”

“Who cares?” the commander said. “They’re our enemies! Attack!!”

Avalanche spread out and began to defend themselves against the onslaught. Their enemies had larger numbers. As the fight began, they all took out odd-looking weapons. Whenever a shot was fired, a stream of Mako would jut forth.

“What da hell are those things?” Barret asked, reloading his gun-arm.

“Mako guns,” Cait replied. “But only the Turks are supposed to have Mako guns. They’re not
issued to MPs.”

“Looks like they are now,” Yuffie said.

More MPs began to arrive. It was as if they was no end to their numbers.

“SHIT!!” Cid cursed. “No chance in hell we can take ‘em all down!!”

“Then you’ll need our help!!” a voice said from above them.

“Who...?” Cloud began. He looked up. Standing on a nearby shop were older versions of Cloud, Aeris and a man with spikey black hair. His sword was exactly the same as Cloud’s.

“Zack...?” Aeris asked.

“SWEET FUCKING CHRIST!!!” Cid exclaimed.

“What’s going on here?” an MP asked. “I’m seeing double!!”

“Just kill them!!” the commander ordered. “We’ll worry about details later!!”

“SHIT!!” Barret exclaimed. He looked up at the three newcomers to the battle. “If yer gonna help us, now would be a damn-good time!!”

The three followed Barret’s orders and jumped from the shop. With the added might of the counterparts of Cloud, Aeris and Zack, Avalanche was able to put up a fight against the Shin-Ra’s forces.

“Why the hell are these guys so tough?” Yuffie asked.

“Just be thankful we’re not fighting an onslaught of SOLDIER officers,” the Aeris counterpart said. She took out a staff which was more hi-tech than Aeris’. However, unlike Aeris, she was quite adept and skillful wielding it in battle.

“This is taking too long!!” Zack exclaimed, slashing at an MP. “Hey Cloud!! Do you think that now’s the time?”

“Good point,” the Cloud counterpart replied. He pressed what appeared to be a button on his armlet. The sound of an engine was heard overhead. Avalanche looked up to see a giant airship that looked like the Highwind, but was different. Instead of the propellors their ship had, this Highwind had propulsion jets which seemed to be powered by Mako and hanging from the ship were devices that appeared to be... weapons? A hatch opened beneath the ship and an object fell from it. It landed with a giant thud. The MPs stepped back in fear.

“Wh-what is it?” one of them asked.

“The name’s Cait Sith V,” it replied. It was Cait’s basic body, however the mog was larger and seemed different. Unlike the stuffed body Cait possessed, this mog was armored. It looked as if there was some sort of gun mounted on the mog’s left shoulder. It’s left arm was a large blade. The eyes flashed red with a menacing and frightening look. The chest plates slid open and a small gattling gun emerged.

“D-d-damn!!” one of the MPs shouted. “Forget this shit!! This job doesn’t pay THAT well!!” He ran off. The other MPs followed his example.

“H-hey!!” the commander exclaimed. “Wait up!!”

Avalanche looked around. The crowd was long gone by the time battling began. Now it was just Avalanche and their future counterparts.

“This is some fucked up shit,” Cid cursed. He searched his pockets and found a cigarette. Before he put it in his mouth, he noticed Yuffie’s little smirk and tossed it away.

“What the hell you so happy about?” he asked.

“Oh come ON!!” Yuffie replied with a roll of her eyes. “It’s SOOO obvious you need to light up!! So go on!!”

“And lose the bet?” Cid asked. “Kiss my ass.”

The future Cloud cleared his throat. Yuffie and Cid became silent and looked at him.

“Now, who are you?” he asked.

“We’re Avanche,” Barret replied. “Who are you?”

“We’re Avalanche too,” the future Aeris said. “But you guys are our counterparts from the past.”

“That means we’re...” Aeris began. Her counterpart nodded.

“The future...” Cloud said. “Okay. I want to know what’s going on.”

“Hold on,” Cait Sith V said. “It’s not safe. SOLDIER will be here soon.” the future Cloud nodded and took out his PHS.

“Bring the Highwind down,” he said. “And make sure we have room for some unexpected guests.” He shut it off and placed it back in its pouch.

*****

“Shit,” Cid muttered, looking over the interior of the Highwind. “Holy shit. What the hell have you fucks done to my ship?”

“We improved it,” a voice said. He slowly stepped into the light. “Now it’s a fully-functional battleship.”

“REEVE?!?” Cloud exclaimed.

“That’s right,” Reeve replied. “Who do you think breathed life into Cait Sith V? Who do you think breathed life into the original Cait Sith?”

“So you’re the Shin-Ra spy,” Tifa said. Reeve nodded.

“Let’s all gather in the Operations Room,” Reeve replied. “I’ll explain everything there.”

*****

“Okay,” Cloud said. “We’re all here. Now could you tell us what happened? There’s a lot of questions I need answers to. Like for one, why did Rufus say that the Cetra were evil? And why did he mention Lucrecia’s name? And if this is the future, how come Avalanche is so small? And how can he even be here?” He pointed to Zack.

“Cloud...” Reeve began. “Have a seat. A lot has changed. Much of Avalanche was lost to us. After Red was sucked into that vortex, we never heard from him again. Tifa was... lost to us. An ambush by Shin-Ra’s new SOLDIER Squadron. Rufus called them the Shin-Ra’s Avalanche. Tifa died protecting Cloud from a blast by the war golem Calibretto.”

“Tifa...” Cloud muttered. He looked over at his childhood friend. She stood with her head hanging, hugging herself. Her long, dark brown hair concealed her face from his eyesight. He shook his head and turned his attention back to Reeve. But he knew that now Tifa would be on his mind all night.

“What about me?” Barret asked.

“Barret,” Reeve began. “You and Marlene are living a good life together. You just gave up.”

“Barret gave up?” Aeris repeated. She looked at her large companion. His expression was one of bewilderment.

“Yuffie went back to Wutai,” Reeve continued. “And Vincent just... disappeared.” Vincent looked up at the mention of his name. However, his demeanor and expression remained the same.

“Lucrecia’s resurfacing kind of... drove him crazy,” Reeve continued. The future Aeris whispered something in his ear. “Perhaps I’ve said too much already...”

“No,” Vincent replied. “Continue. What is this about Lucrecia?”

“As you wish,” Reeve replied with a sigh. “Lucrecia resurfaced. She was a litte... insane. When she surfaced, Sephiroth left the team to be with his mother. She wanted to take over the Planet. To reclaim it for the Cetra. We tried to stop her, but she wiped out Tsunami.”

“My God...” Aeris said. “Shen, Sara, all our friends.”

“In order to stop Lucrecia, we knew that we needed more firepower,” Reeve continued. “With Knolan’s help and some parts from the destroyed Calibretto, we re-created Cait’s body. It took us three tries. Cait Sith III and IV were both failures. Cait Sith V was the only successful one. We then got to work on the Highwind. Somehow, the Shin-Ra had discovered our hideout, so we needed a new base. We found an underground installation in Fort Condor. The actual Fort itself was destroyed by Sephiroth and Lucrecia.”

“What about Meteor and Bizarro-Sephiroth?” Cait asked, fearing the answer.

“Bizarro-Sephiroth merged with Sephiroth,” the future Cloud replied. “And Lucrecia destroyed Meteor herself and killed Jenova. We thought she was doing a good deed. But then this happened.”

“Talk about out of the fire and into the fryin pan...” Yuffie muttered.

“Now what about Zack?” Cloud asked.

“Not much to tell,” Zack replied. “They thought I was dead. Turns out I wasn’t. I joined up after I heard the story. The end.”

“How did you guys get here?” the future Cloud asked.

“Some Materia this genius found,” Yuffie replied, pointing at Cait.

“Hey!” Cait protested.

“It’s called Mega-Time,” Aeris said.

“Mega-Time?” the future Aeris repeated.

“You’ve heard of it?” Cloud asked.

“Mega-Time is the rarest Materia orb of all,” the future Aeris explained. “Even more powerful than Knights of the Round. Knights of the Round can be ‘born” once you master it. Mega-Tima can never be ‘born’ no matter how many times you master it. Legend says that Mega-Time was created by the Cetra, but when they realized the possible evil it could bring about, they sealed it up. The same as the Black Materia. However, only a Cetra can use Mega-Time.”

“Where did you find the Mega-Time?” Vincent asked Cait.

“The Shin-Ra had it,” Cait replied. “They got it from some ancient ruins on some deserted island. Heard that some MPs were killed while trying to reach it. But no one in Shin-Ra could use it. Since it seemed like such a big deal, I swiped it and brought it to you guys.”

“Sir!” the pilot said over the intercom. “We’re approaching Fort Condor now.”

“Thank you,” Reeve replied.

“Hey Reeve,” Cid said. “What happened to me?”

The future Avalanche grew silent.

*****

“Didn’t ya hear me, shithead?” Cid asked as Reeve led the team out of the hangar. “I said, what the hell happened to me?”

“You’ll get your answer, Cid,” Reeve replied. He stopped at a door and opened it. Avalanche heard a wheezing sound and the blips of life support systems. “Look inside.”

Slowly, they ventured into the room. Sitting in a wheelchair was a man hooked up to a respirator and life support monitors with all sorts of different IV cables running out of his body. His eyes made him look as if he were thousands of miles away from them. His frail hands clutched the arm rests of the chair. His hair was grey and beginning to fall out.

“I think I’m gonna be sick...” Yuffie said, clutching her stomach.

“Avalanche, meet Cid Highwind,” the future Cloud said.
“That’s ME?!?” Cid asked. “Holy shit!! How the hell did this happen?”

“Shin-Ra,” the future Aeris replied. “Remember when we told you about that battle with SOLDIER? Well, they took Cid with them in hopes of squeezing some information out of him. He wouldn’t talk. This was the result. I think that after they put him through all this, he told them where we were.”

“Cid’s DNA and genetic structure were completely mucked with,” Zack added. “The guy who did this knew exactly what to do and how to do it. Call it whatever you like. Course of nature, act of God, natural catastrophe, murder... It all adds up to one thing: Cid Highwind is dying. And there’s not a damn thing we can do about it.”

“Hojo...” Vincent cursed. Zack nodded. Again it was Hojo. It always seemed to come back to Hojo. Vincent wondered whether or not he’d ever be free from the man’s grasp. The two seemed destined to cross each other’s path. They were linked together. And it almost made Vincent want to put his gun to his temple and pull the trigger. But that would satisfy Hojo. And he wouldn’t allow that. Something moved. Vincent noticed it out of the corner of his eye. Although the room was dim, Vincent’s night vision was uncanny. He reached out with his human arm and pulled the figure toward him.

“Wh-what are you doing?!?” she asked. She was an older woman. Late forties, early fifties. Her grayish-brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she wore a pair of glasses.

“Lucrecia...?” Vincent asked silently.

“Vincent, what are you doing?!?” Reeve exclaimed. “That’s Shera!!”

“Shera,” Vincent repeated. He released her.

“Yes,” Shera replied. “I came with Avalanche after I heard what had happened to Cid. I guess you could call me his nurse.”

“Any progress?” the future Aeris asked. Shera shook her head.

“Come on,” the future Cloud said. “Let’s leave them.”

*****

Avalanche had all gathered in a sitting room where they sat in silence, the shock of the events almost too much for them to handle.

“I can’t believe Sephiroth would turn on us like that,” Aeris said. “He’s changed. He’s different now.”

“That’s what I thought too,” the future Aeris said. “But I was wrong. It was all just a cover-up. Sephiroth never redeemed himself.”

“And what’s this about me just leaving because Wutai got independence?” Yuffie asked. “I mean, if there was another threat, I would’ve come back.”

“Somethin’s not right,” Barret said. “If the Planet was still in danger, I wouldn’t give up.”

“Barret, there’s something you should know...” the future Cloud began.

“Shu’up!!” Barret snapped. “If it happens, it happens. Ya can’t fight the future.”

“For once the crazy fuck’s actually making sense,” Cid butted in.

“Lucrecia...” Vincent muttered. So close, yet so far. Why is it that she was always just out of his reach?

There was a loud explosion heard.

“What the hell?!?” Zack asked. He jumped and grabbed his sword. “What’s going on?!?”

Reeve ran over and hit a button on a monitor. Shin-Ra attack planes were flying over them, bombing them. The air force had somehow found them!!

“Impossible!!” Reeve exclaimed. “How could they have known where we were?!?”

{{AVALANCHE!!}} a radio transmission said. {{We have the base surrounded!! Surrender or be taken!!}}

“Damn!!” Reeve exclaimed. He fumbled through his pockets until he pulled out a green orb. “Okay everyone, get close. TELEPORT!!”

There was a flash of light and Avalanche vanished.

*****

Avalanche materialized near the entrance to the Mythril Mines. There were several deafening explosions. The planes then flew off.

“Come on!!” the future Cloud ordered. He ran over to the remains of Fort Condor. There was nothing left but a gigantic hole in the ground.

“My God...” Reeve said.

“Shera... Cid... the crew” the future Aeris said. “They killed them. They killed them all.”

“This is it,” Zack said. “It’s the end of Avalanche.”
_____________________________________________________________________________
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Hope you guys enjoyed Mega-Time Part 1. The idea was concieved by LA7JOE, Genx105566, and SuperGophe for a sim during my absence. It’s a 3-part story about Avalanche’s journey in the future. I’ve changed some things around, such as Fort Condor being Avalanche’s base and Cid being alive. There are some other surprises that you will find out in Part 2. So check back soon and remember that any comments are appreciated.

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