Bizarre Occurances Chapter 28

Preparation

By Dino Pollard

Cloud looked up at Meteor hanging there in the sky, and slowly shook his head. They only had 6 days left before Meteor fell. He could tell it was growing closer to the planet, and that Seraph would have to be stopped soon if Holy was going to have any chance of countering Meteor.

Slowly, he walked into Bugenhagen’s observatory.

“Ho ho ho,” Bugen said. “It is good to see you again, Cloud.”

“How’s my father doing?” Cloud asked.

“Very well,” Bugen replied. “He is currently with Knolan researching the Ultimate Summon. Now, Nanaki mentioned something about Huge Materia?”

“Yeah,” Cloud said. “We took it from Shin-Ra. Barret and Sephiroth are bringing it up. We’d like you to take a look at it.”

“Where is the rest of Avalanche?”

“They’re off exploring the Canyon. Now about this Huge Materia. I know it’s larger than regular Materia, but what can it do? What properties does it have?”

“I will inform you once I’ve had a chance to exam it.”

“Thanks,” Cloud said, walking out.

*****

Jonah and Knolan looked over the eight weapons assembled before them.

“Not bad at all, ol’ friend,” Knolan said.

“Watch who you’re calling old, you withered sorceror,” Jonah replied smugly. Knolan smirked, then looked back at the weapons.

“You sell yourself short, though,” he said, observing the fine handiwork. “The skill used on these weapons is incredible.”

“Must be a talent,” Jonah replied. “Besides, these new weapons will help Avalanche out a great deal. Did you finish your spells?”

“Yep,” Knolan said, closing the spellbook. “Now, I’ve got some other stuff to work on.”

“Ultimate Summon?” Jonah asked.

“Ultimate Summon,” Knolan replied.

*****

Sephiroth stood at the edge of the canyon, his hands resting on the guardrail. Even though Meteor still illuminated the sky even at this time of day, but the sunset was still beautiful.

“I love being able to watch the sunset.”

Sephiroth’s head slightly shifted to see Aeris walking up to him. She smiled as she approached.

“That’s probably the first time that you didn’t reach for your sword when someone came up to you,” she said. “Could it be that the always-alert Sephiroth has finally relaxed a bit?”

“I hadn’t expected an enemy,” Sephiroth replied. “I instantly recognized you from your voice as well.”

“It’s okay,” she said, walking up beside him. “You don’t have to put on that facade with me.”

“It’s no facade,” he said.

“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” she asked.

Sephiroth nodded.

“Because of our journey, I’ve rarely had the chance to enjoy a sunset,” Aeris said. “I’m glad we’ve stopped here in Cosmo Canyon.”

“I think it’s a waste of time,” Sephiroth noted.

“You really need to open up a bit more, Seph.”

“Sephiroth.”

“Excuse me?”

“My name is Sephiroth. Not Seph.”

“No need to get so defensive.”

“I wasn--”

“I know, I know. It’s a joke.”

“.........”

“Oh come on, Sephiroth!! Can you honestly tell me you don’t appreciate the beauty of this view?”

Sephiroth looked out towards the horizon, the lower half of the sun concealed, leaving only the upper arc visible. The light of it not very powerful, but still enough to give off enough light, reflecting on the ocean. He then turned to Aeris, her beautiful emerald eyes wide with joy, like a child on Christmas morning. Her chestnut hair neatly braided in the back and held in place with a pink ribbon.

“Very beautiful.”

Aeris turned to him, instantly locking eyes with him. His features, so angelic in appearence. His eyes, beautiful and haunting at the same time. His silver hair blowing in the wind added to the image.

“Sephiroth....” she began, leaning closer to him, her lips parting slightly. “I...”

Sephiroth began to lower his head to hers, his lips beginning to part as well.

“HEY!!!” a voice shouted.

They instantly turned to find themselves face to face with Yuffie and Cait Sith.

“How’re you two doin’?” Cait asked, bounding over to them.

“Me an’ this cat were bored, so we decided to come and spend some time with you guys!!” Yuffie exclaimed. “Aren’t ya excited?”

Aeris sighed, but Sephiroth simply remained exactly the same.

*****

Barret and Cid sat in the bar, with Red XIII lying on the ground. Vincent stood in a corner, the shadows concealing him.

“Damn....” Barret said, taking another drink. “Thish Coshmo Cocktail or whatever dey call it ish pretty damn good.”

“Dammit Barret,” Cid laughed, taking a drag on his cigarette. “Yer wasted.”

“You take dat back, ‘fore I do shumt’in bad ta ya...” Barret said, his speech slurring.

“Just leave him be, Cid,” Red suggested. “Those drinks are very strong, and Barret will be out of it for awhile.”

“Watch yer mouth, ya dog!!” Barret ordered. “I’m shtill da leader of... of....”

“Avalanche,” Red replied.

“YEAH!!” Barret shouted. “Dat’s right!!”

Red and Cid chuckled. Vincent still remained in the shadows, not moving once.

*****

“Cloud....” Tifa began. “What’s going to happen to us?”

“I’m not sure,” Cloud replied. “If we do stop Seraph, I don’t know if Holy will want to eliminate us or not.”

“I don’t mean Holy,” Tifa said. She put her hand on his. “I mean us.”

Cloud gently lifted her hand, covering it with his free one.

“I’m not sure what’s going to happen, Tifa,” he said. “But no matter what.... I hope you’ll realize that I love you. I always have and I always will. And we’ll always be together. I promise.”

“Then that’s all I need,” Tifa said, putting her arms around his torso, resting her head on his chest. “Thank you, Cloud.”

Cloud put his arms around her shoulders and kissed her head.

“Your welcome.”

*****

“....so then I say, ‘hey, do you have any Materia?’ And the guy goes, ‘of course!! This is a Materia shop!!’ And then I say...”

Sephiroth and Aeris looked at each other. Yuffie continued going on about her Materia stories, and Cait was listening intently.

“....so I ask him, ‘hey, do ya got any Summon Materia?’ and he says, ‘wait, lemme check,’ and when he turns his back, I move fast and grab all the Materia possible!! Then, I high-tailed it outta there!!”

“Damn, Yuffie!!” Cait exclaimed. “Didn’t the guy notice you taking the Materia?”

“Pshaw!!” Yuffie gloated. “Hell no!! okay, he caught me as I was walking out, and he starting shooting at me with a shotgun, BUT that’s not the point!!”

“Yuffie, I would like nothing more than to listen your stories,” Aeris interuppted. “But Sephiroth and I have something important to talk about.”

“Whazzat?” Cait asked.

“Umm....” Aeris said. Her mind went blank.

“I’m helping Aeris to become a better fighter,” Sephiroth said.

“Don’t sweat it, Yuffie!!” Cait said. “You can tell me your stories!!”

“OK!!” Yuffie said, excitedly. She began talking a mile a minute once again as Aeris and Sephiroth walked away from the two.

*****

“Thanks for the save back there,” Aeris said, smiling.

“It wasn’t a pleasent experiance for me, either,” Sephiroth replied.

Aeris walked in front of him, and stopped, looking at him.

“So, where were we before we were interuppted?”

“Too far.”

“What?” Aeris asked, a puzzled look on her face.

“I cannot afford to become romantically involved with you, Aeris,” Sephiroth replied, turning away. “Or with anyone for that matter. I’m sorry.”

He walked out to the observatory.

Aeris watched him go, and bit her lip, forcing the tears back. The wind was cold, blowing past her. She hugged herself in a futile attempt to keep herself warm. But even if she was indoors with the heat on, she would feel the same way.

*****

Once he was out of Aeris’ view, Sephiroth shut his eyes, his head lowered.

A tear slowly ran down his cheek.

*****

The sleep in Cosmo Canyon helped. Avalanche was glad to be sleeping in actual beds instead of the hard cots that were in the Highwind, or in tents that they used to have to camp out in.

Not everyone was able to sleep, however.

Sephiroth, for all he tried, sleep just wouldn’t come to him. He couldn’t get Aeris out of his mind. Earlier, she had tried to kiss him, but he pushed her away.

Why?

He knew he had feelings for her, otherwise the tears would never have come, and he never would’ve had trouble sleeping. But something was wrong.

She had feelings for him as well. Yet, he still pushed her away. During his time with Avalanche, it was mainly Aeris who helped to bring him out of the darkness Jenova had pulled him into. Now though, he was fighting it.

And why? Because he felt he was a monster, undeserving of love. Underserving of companionship.

“You must stop torturing yourself.”

Sephiroth leapt out of bed, eyes darting back and forth.

Nothing.

But then who...?

“Sephiroth...”

He grabbed the Masamune which rested on the floor by his bed. His eyes tried to focus in the dark, taking in any light that they could. It wasn’t enough.

“Who’s there?” he asked.

“You are no monster.”

“WHO’S THERE?!?” he shouted.

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!” Cid cursed from the adjoining room. “SHIT!! SOME PEOPLE ARE TRYIN’ TA FUCKIN SLEEP HERE!!!”

“DAMMIT CID, YER NOT HELPIN!!” he heard Barret shout.

“GO TA HELL, BARRET!!!”

BRATATATATATATATATA

There was no more noise.

Sephiroth regained his composure, his eyes darting across the room, searching for an intruder.

“Trust in yourself, my son. You are no monster.”

Sephiroth slowly lowered his face.

“Mother....?”

*****

Cloud stood out on the balcony of his room, looking up at Meteor. He tried to think about the coming battle, but all thathe could think of was Tifa. He loved her unconditionally, that he was sure of. There was no other explanation.

So what was the problem? After spending all these years, praying to get revenge on Sephiroth, he kept pushing his feelings down inside, bottling them up. That was why he was somewhat cold to Tifa back in Midgar when she hired him. But after finding out the truth about his past, and why he wanted to join SOLDIER, he knew then that he was in love with her. Finally, he was able to express his feelings, and he was shocked that she felt the same way.

Still, he couldn’t sleep. He was thinking too much about what the future might hold. For him and Tifa. Provided that they would be able to stop Seraph, would Holy still eliminate them? Would Holy be able to counter Meteor? And if they did survive, then what? He still had his villa in Costa del Sol, and at least he would be living close to his brother. How would he make a living? Sure, he could always join Strike Force. But is that truly what he wanted? And would Tifa want to work in Costa del Sol? Would she want to return to Midgar or Nibelheim? Or would she move to a different town.

Cloud continued to stare up at Meteor and pondered.

*****

Vincent strolled the fields outside of Cosmo Canyon. He spent the past 30 years of his life sleeping, so he wasn’t very tired. In fact, he usually did go for a walk at this time when the team was staying at a hotel or camping out.

It gave him time to reflect on his thoughts. His emotions. His life.

Sometimes, he could hear Lucrecia’s voice. Under the full moon, late at night, he could swear that she was standing with him.

How could he ever live in peace with the burden of allowing Hojo to ruin his love’s life?

“Do not blame yourself, my love.”

Vincent turned instinctively.

“Lucrecia?”

*****

“Ugh...” Barret moaned. “I dun remember a thing ‘bout last night…”

He slowly got out of bed, walking towards the dresser where he left his gattling gun. Before he re-attached it to his arm, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror and screamed.

“BREASTS!!!” he shouted. “I GOT DAMN BREASTS!!”

He continued to stare at the image in the mirror.

“How the hell did this happen?!?”

He heard a noise coming from the closet and slowly walked over to it, pulling the door open.

Yuffie and Cait Sith tumbled out.

“What?” Yuffie asked. “You had a lot of drinks last night!! When people get drunk, they do crazy things!! This is one of them!!”

Barret lifted his gun-arm to her face.

“AHH!!!” she shouted. “WE TAPED THEM ON WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING!!! IT WAS THE CAT’S IDEA!!”

Cait looked stunned.

“Wha…?” he asked. “ME?!?”

“Yer both lucky dat I don’t blow yer heads off right here an’ now!!” Barret exclaimed. He grabbed the fake breasts and ripped them off. They instantly deflated.

He then turned to Yuffie and Cait Sith, lifting his gun once again.

The two ran for the door.

*****

Aeris looked over the Huge Materia with awe. She marvelled at it. The sheer size of it was breathtaking to say the least.

“Is everyone here?” Bugen asked.

Cloud nodded.

“Good,” he said. “Now, let me explain a little about this Huge Materia. I have performed an extensive study on it, and I have discovered this. As you all know, Materia orbs enable the user to cast spells. Therefore, the Huge Materia would enable the user to cast spells as well. But what spells would this be? All of them.”

“All of them?” Tifa asked.

“Yes,” Bugen replied. “The Huge Materia is very rare, and for that reason, a Huge Magic Materia, or green, would enable the user to cast all the magic spells in existance. From Bolt to Ultima. A Huge Summon Materia can summon all the summon monsters. As such, it is called Master Materia.”

“That’s great an’ all,” Yuffie broke in. “But really, how can we use this crap? I mean, look at the size of it!! We can’t exactly carry it around!!”

“Which is why I’ve discovered that the Huge Materia can be broken off in certain areas, allowing for it to be formed into a sphere, and thus, making it the size of Small Materia,” Bugen replied. “However, there is one downside.”

“Which is?” Cloud asked.

“Only one orb can be refined from each Huge Materia,” Bugen said. “Therefore, I can only give you one Master Magic and one Master Summon.”

“Well that sucks!” Yuffie exclaimed. “Then I should get them!!”

“Since Cloud is our leader, it would be wise to give him possesion of the Materia,” Red said.

“Aeris should control the Master Magic,” Vincent said.

“Why me?” Aeris asked.

“Because you are a Cetra,” Bugen said. “You have far more skill with Materia than any of your teammates.”

“Then Aeris will control the Master Magic and I’ll control the Master Summon,” Cloud said.

Bugen nodded and took two orbs from a nearby table—red and green—and handed them to Cloud and Aeris.

“Now,” Bugen began. “I believe Knolan and Jonah have something for you to look at.”

“Where the fuck are they then?” Cid asked.

“Far beneath in a workshop,” Bugen replied.

*****

Jonah tapped Knolan on the shoulder as Avalanche, followed by Bugen, entered the workshop.

“So,” Barret said, folding his arms. “What’ve ya got f’r us?”

“Have a seat,” Jonah said. “Now, as we all know, your weapons are going to play a key role in the battle with Seraph, right?”

“Right,” Cloud said.

“But unfortunately, your weapons are simply made from regular materials,” Jonah said. “And these materials can be destroyed. You’re going to be going up against an enemy with the power of a god. So you’re gonna need something a bit more reliable.”

“An’ what would that be?” Cid asked.

“New weapons,” Knolan replied. He and Jonah stepped away, revealing eight weapons hanging on the wall. “These weapons are made from the rarest--and strongest--materials in existance. They can’t be destroyed by physical means. And to ensure that they can’t be destroyed by magical means, I’ve casted a protection spell on them. These weapons are extremely resistant to magic, but they can also store an abundant amount of Materia, and their magical properties enable an easier and faster use of Materia.”

“We’ve made weapons for all of you,” Jonah said. “Except for Red and Sephiroth.”

“Why’s that?” Cloud asked.

“There’s no possible way Sephiroth could weild a more powerful weapon than the Masamune,” Knolan replied.

“And I already gave Red his ultimate weapon,” Bugen added. “The Limited Moon.”

Cloud reached behind his back and drew his Buster Sword. It had served him well over the past few years. But, his father was right. It was time for something more powerful.

He walked over and placed the Buster Sword on the bench.

“Here,” Jonah said, handing Cloud a large sword. The blade appeared as if it was crystal. “It’s called the Ultima Weapon.”

Tifa came up next, removing her leather glove. Jonah handed her a new one.

“Premium Heart.”

Aeris put her Guard Stick down on the table next. She received a long staff with an odd design at the top.

“Princess Guard.”

Barret removed the gattling gun from his arm. Jonah handed him a new one, much larger with a barrel over the cannon.

“Missing Score.”

Cid looked at his spear, then put it down. Once his new spear was given to him, he got the feel of it quickly.

“Venus Gospel.”

Vincent drew his Quicksilver-model handgun. He was given a small shotgun.

“Death Penalty.”

Yuffie looked at her shuriken.

“Well, it’s been fun,” she said, slowly putting it down.

“Conformer.”

Yuffie’s eyes lit up once she saw her new weapon. She instantly threw the shuriken aside and grabbed the Conformer.

“This ROCKS!!!” she exclaimed, twirling it.

“MY TURN!!!” Cait exclaimed, bounding up.

“The HP Shout,” Jonah said, handing Cait a new megaphone.

“Sniff.... this is so kewl....”

“All right,” Cloud said, sheathing his new sword. “We’ve got powerful weapons and powerful Materia. We’re as ready as we’re ever gonna be.”

“I’m going too,” Knolan said.

“Why?” Tifa asked.

“I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve,” Knolan replied.

“You mean the Ultimate Summon?” Sephiroth asked.

Knolan nodded.

“That means....” Aeris began. “You’ve found it?!?”

“Yep,” Knolan said with a grin. “So, what are we waiting for?”

*****

“Shen Long, this is completely unacceptable.”

“You work for Seido now.”

“You will only go where we assign you.”

“Meteor is growing extremely close!!” Shen exclaimed. “We must stop it!!”

“Avalanche can handle it.”

“They’ll need our help!!” Sara said.

“This discussion is over.”

Shen opened his mouth to protest, but decided against it. There wasn’t anything he could do about it. He led Tsunami out of the Tribunal’s room.

“Hold it,” Frost ordered.

“What do you want, Frost?” Shen asked.

“About Meteor...” Frost said. “I can get you out.”

“What?” Ray asked. “But why?”

“I’m loyal to Seido,” Frost began. “But there’s not much point if there isn’t a planet left.”

“What can you do?” Shen asked.

“I’ll have a chopper waiting for you in the hangar,” Frost replied. “Just make sure you’re ready.”

*****

The Highwind slowly lowered itself down inside the Crater. After everyone had climbed down the rope-ladder, Cloud looked at them all.

“This is it, people,” he said. “This is where it all ends.”

“Stop right there!!”

Avalanche instantly drew their weapons.

“Hey, don’t shoot!!” Deadpool shouted.

“‘Pool? Strike Force?” Cloud asked. “What are you guys doing here?”

“C’mon bro,” Deadpool replied. “We can’t let you have ALL the fun!!”

“Bloody suicide...” Lara muttered.

“This place is scattered with bodies,” Edge observed.

“SOLDIERS,” a man noted. “First Class.”

“Garrison...” Sephiroth cursed, bringing up his Masamune.

“‘Bretto,” Knolan said.

“Hmmzzt, hello Knolan,” Calibretto said. “I apologize for what happened in Shin-Ra Headquarters.”

“Not yer fault, rust-bucket,” Knolan said.

“What are you two doing here?” Cloud asked.

“We’re here to stop Meteor,” Garrison replied. “Even if we have to team up with you.”

“This day’s just full of surprises then, isn’t it?”

“The Turks!!” Cloud shouted.

“Shin-Ra is in shambles,” Tseng said. “We have no desire to fight you. Just to stop Meteor.”

“So now we’re fighting alongside Avalanche, the Turks, a big robot, and a crazed swordsman,” Lara said. “What’s next? Agents from a black ops group?”

She chuckled a bit.

“Umm.... Lara?” Mercedes asked.

“Yes?”

“Remember when we joked about you being psychic?” Mercedes asked.

Lara nodded.

“Well, here comes a black helicopter.”

“It’s a Seido chopper,” Deadpool said. “Get ready, boys and girls!! This could mean trouble!!”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” an agent said, stepping out.

A chocobo followed.

“Not if ya wanna get yer asses kicked that is.”

“A talking chocobo...” Red said.

“Tsunami!!!” Aeris exclaimed. “Where have you been?”

“It’s good to see you all again,” Shen said. “We were ‘hired’ by a covert black ops group called Seido.”

“Aren’t we missing a few?” Cloud asked. “Where’s Rudy? And Striker?”

“Striker took a bullet,” Sara replied. “For Zack. And Rudy fired the bullet.”

“Zack....?” Aeris asked. “Zack’s alive?!?”

“Yep,” Ray replied. “But he’s not with us. He wanted to go explore the world a little. And he said he was going to make sure Rudy paid for killing Striker.”

“Why would Rudy do something like that?” Cloud asked. “That’s nothing like the Rudy I knew.”

“It’s a long story,” Shen said. “You haven’t met our two new members yet, have you? This is Zyx, a talking gold chocobo we found. And the half-snake, half-woman is Indigo Bleu, a Seido agent assigned to work with us.”

“If we’re done with the reunions,” Reno interjected. “We’ve got a planet to save.”

_____________________________________________________________________________

AUTHOR’S NOTES: Boy, that was quick. Hot on the heels of Chapter 27, and I’m already finished with Chapter 28!! There was a lot more character stuff, and a lot more Sephiroth stuff. I’ve been neglecting him and Aeris recently, so I felt it was only right that I shifted focus to the two of them a little more. And you people probably thought they would have an instant love scene like Cloud and Tifa did. FOOLED YA!! Anyway, Chapter 29 is the teams in the Crater.

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