Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Of Shadows and Dust: The Story of Kyrie ❯ The Ruins ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter IV: The Ruins

*Disclaimer (take 5 *snap*): I do not own any of the characters from FFVII or FFIII, nor do I make any claim to owning Tribbles from Star Trek (once again they are only mentioned in regards to the way Kyrie Looks). I have covered my rear, so you can't sue me… but if you do find some way to do so I ask you do not. I will be happy to change or remove the fic as needed to prevent legal complications.

*Also, since some of my readers (I know of at least one) may not have played though FF VII I took to liberty early in this chapter to describe the characters from that game in detail early in the chapter. Without further nonsense… on with the show…

*Last Chapter, Kyrie managed to force Shadalexia to retreat, and she met some new friends. Others await on the way to the tower.

As Cid Highwind pilots his mighty airship to the ruins in the deserts outside of Miranda, the remainder of his crew make their way though the ruins of what seemed to be an ancient civilization.

Leading the group forward was the ever-vigilant Cloud Stryfe. Cloud wasn't well known in this would but definitely gained a large degree of fame back in his home realm. Standing at 5' 7" tall, this ex-mercenary has seen more of the horrors of war than any man had ought to experience. His clothing certainly spoke volumes of he profession; Black Military Pants, baggy near the knees but tapered towards his waist and boots, black military boots that were worn from the years of travel and combat, a black mesh shirt that offered some degree of protection but was sleeveless, and a thick black belt that widened into a half circle at the center and connected to thick leather straps both front and back over his shoulders. He also wore a spiked leather shoulder pad over his left shoulder, black gloves over both hands also covering his wrists and 2 wide spiked bracelets on his left wrist. Over his shoulder was his favored weapon, a huge sword almost 5' in length and nearly 2' wide, with a 1 ve weapon, far massive than any sword has a right to be, and capable of splitting a man from head to crotch in one cleaving motion. But even considering the huge sword, the most striking feature of Cloud was his glowing green eyes, which seemed to generate intense energy. Also striking was his blond and uniquely spike hair, which seemed to have one, dominating spike point up and slightly right.

To his right was the strongest right hand a man could ever ask for, a man named Barret Wallace. He was a Negro sporting a Mr-T style haircut with a leather jacket to boot. He was a massive man who's well-built 6'4" profile was more than enough to scare the living daylights out of most would be attackers. His pants were also military style but not tapered. He wore a fingerless leather glove and several metal wristbands on his left arm, and a metallic stomach guard also composed of several rings. His boots were rugged and military style, but unlike cloud, he wore his pants over the tops. His only other adornments were a set of dog tags, which were a reminder of a friend lost, and his gun arm, part of the same sad story. His right arm was severed about 3" below the Elbow and replaced with an arm mounted mini-gun. Like Cid, he had the tendency to use a lot of slang.

Following closely was Clouds love interest and long time friend Tifa Lockheart. At only 5'4" tall, this voluptuous young woman (at least on top) seems harmless at first glance. This belies her inner strength and killer martial arts ability. She was absolutely beautiful with long dark-brown hair and light brown eyes, nearly flawless skin, and cheery personality. She wears a dark brown short skirt, low-top military boots and dark brown socks scrunched to the tops. Also part of her wardrobe is a white shirt that had no sleeves and leaves her midriff bare. Her hands sport cloth gloves that stretch above the elbows, and heavier metal gloves over both hands. She also sports a circular elbow-guard on her left elbow. A simple leather belt with leather suspenders and even an even simpler pair of earrings make up her remaining adornments.

Taking up the rear was the youngest and most mischievous member of Cloud's Posse, Yuffie Kisaragi. Although you'd never know it by looking at this rail thin 16 year old, she's actually a skilled ninja, and extremely deadly with thrown weapons. She's used her seemingly unthreatening 5'2" frame to her advantage as it readily makes her opponents underestimate her skill. She wears white short shorts without a belt and always leaves the top button open. A set of 4 leather belts and a studded metal ring on her left leg gives the impression of some sort of bondage garter. The ring sits 2" above the knee and acts an anchor for the single fishnet stocking she wears. Her footwear consists of a pair to drab red sneakers and white socks that stop at mid shin. For the upper-half of her attire, she wares a non-see-through mesh turtleneck shirt that is sleeveless and metal shoulder pad on the left shoulder connected to a set of blocking plates on her left arm. Her right arm sports a fishnet sleeve stopping barely 2" from her shoulder and ending in another studded ring. Both hands have semi-armored gloves that have no covering over the thumbs. In addition, she wears a white headband that leaves her brown hair to hang over it, but the band itself ends in 2 12" shafts tipped with the blades from shuriken (ninja throwing knives, not stars). The overall effect of her wardrobe makes you think she is just a little weird, no matter what dimension you hail from.

The ruins seemed to be an ancient city, although not a very big one. The center was a ruined temple that, for the most, part was still intact. The outside was adorned with strange sigils and runes, carved deeply into the stone. The drab color of everything, including the desert sands, and the maddening sky made the scene even more surreal.

At the first sight of the temple, Cloud stood in awe for a moment at this grand design, still evident after what must have been ages of neglect in the desert winds. Almost instantly he seemed entranced by the sight. Although the others didn't seem as taken back by the sight, Cloud was obviously mesmerized.

"Come on Cloud," the impatient ninja shouted. "If you've seen one ruined temple you've seen'em all right?" But still, Cloud seemed unresponsive. It wasn't until Tifa bumped him in the side with her elbow-guard that he snapped out of it. Instantly his eyes met hers.

"Cloud?" she asked tentatively. "What is it?" As his stunning eyes met hers, she felt an eerie feeling. There was always something out his eyes that made everyone stare uncontrollably. You'd think I'd be used to his gaze by now… His emotions were sometimes rather hard to read, but over time Tifa had managed to learn some of them. This time the emotions were clear; surprise and strangely, confusion.

He turned his unusual gaze back to the temple before speaking. "It… just can't be… here?"

"What Cloud?" Barret interjected. "Come on man, what's with you?"

"It's the temple," Tifa replied. "Something about that temple. Cloud talk to us. What is it?"

"I recognize the architecture," he finally replied. "Its… its Cetra!"

"Cetra?" Yuffie questioned. "But how can that be? We're in an entirely different reality from our own!"

The Cetra, also know as the Ancients, were a race of people who possessed powerful life-based magic. It is said they had existed since the dawn of time, and acting as caretakers of the planet. The late Aeris Gainsborough was thought to be the last.

"Could the Cetra have developed their own form of Dimensional Travel?" Tifa mused.

"Who gives a fuck?" Barret interjected. "I got more than my fair share'o that shit back on the home front."

"Don't you understand what this means?" she shot back. "It means that there just may be some Cetra alive, if not here, than maybe in another reality. We could bring some of them back with us to our world and help heal the damage caused by the collision of Meteor with Holy."

Barret looked back a Tifa for a moment. As far back as he cared to remember, he's been in a war with a mega-conglomerate called Shinra to help save the planet. His most ambitious undertaking in that venture came when he formed the revolutionary force know as Avalanche. Shinra was draining the life energy out of the planet and converting into electrical power for the largest and most complex city ever created, Midgar. They called it Mako Energy, praising it as the most advanced form of power production the world had ever known. But all Barret called it was `The Rape of the Planet'. Energy released from something that died went back to the planet to be cycled anew, but Mako Energy simple burned it up, slowly killing the planet over time. If Cetra indeed existed here on in other dimensions, they may be able to do something about the depleted life of their own world. In short, he saw her point and realized how important this was.

A man named Sephiroth had used the Black Materia to summon Meteor, a huge asteroid that would crash into the world releasing the life energies inside. He planed to absorb all of the planet's energy and, in essence, become a god. Aeris had used the White Materia to summon Holy, a powerful surge of life energy that would protect the planet from Meteor. But for her efforts, she was rewarded with death by the massive no dashi called the Masamune, which was Sephiroth's trademark. Cloud had managed to kill Sephiroth before he could stop the sacred spell from performing its task, but the damage done by the collision of the two forces left the world in ruins. Midgar in particular was nearly wiped off the face of the planet as if by an act of God.

"Alright then," Barret relented, seeing Tifa's wisdom. "Let's search the temple for clues. They hada have left somethin' behind, right?"

"Let's go," came the calm and almost commanding voice of Cloud. Together the quartet marched onward to the temple.

As they reached the great archway at the entrance, Cloud stopped again gazing into the darkness. Tifa noticed this instantly.

"What now?" she asked.

"I feel something," he replied, sounding almost disconnected. "Something… familiar." Tifa inwardly wondered what he was feeling. Ever since his encounters with Aeris, and his time in the life-stream, he seemed to have ESP when it came to things of a spiritual nature. Cloud hasn't completely adjusted to it yet, but feels as if he's starting to get the hang of his new ability.

Without another word he entered the temple. Although it seemed extremely dark form the entrance, it was obvious that some source of light existed deep within the temple. As they continued down the hallway, it the source of the light became more apparent. Along the walls spaced a few meters apart where strange crystalline globes that glowed with a white inner light.

Within moments, the air became more comfortable compared to the desert heat. Cloud had wondered by the desert was still hot, since they had yet to see the sun since arriving on this world. As his thoughts turned towards the cooler air, they entered a grand chamber. Several platforms, suspended by grand pillars rose high into the air, connected by great marble stairways. The interior of the temple was decorated in glyphs and symbols seemingly older than time it self.

As the group ascended the stairways, Yuffie kept her sharp eyes open for anything that might be valuable. She doubted she'd find the precious Materia she and her father adored, but anything that might be valuable would be taken. Although she was a member of Clouds honorable group, she was still a thief at heart.

When they reached the top of the stairway to the final platform, they were greeted with a large altar seating a 6' long crystal that resembled a coffin. The crystal was somewhat cloudy but the light in the room allowed a dark shape to be visible within it. Cloud recognized the profile, even though it was lying down and suspended in the center of the crystal. When realization hit, he gasped in disbelief. Tifa recognized it too, and although she could not believe her eyes, she accepted what she saw as truth.

Cloud instantly ran to the crystal and peered though the completely transparent top. His first thoughts were confirmed, although his logic told him he must be dreaming.

"I don't believe it… Aeris…"

It was her, the last Cetra that lived on his home plane. She lay like a perfect angel, exactly as he remembered her. She was wearing the same pink, front-buttoned dress and short short-sleeved rust colored leather jacket she wore in life. Her soft leather boots and wide metal bracelets were there too, along with the ancient sigil she wore on the thin silver chain around her neck. Her eyes were closed, but she had the same contented smile on her face he remembered so clearly. Normally she wore the long length of her auburn hair in a beautiful braid, but it was loose as she lay. Although Cloud knew she was 22 years old, the 5'3" angelic vision to him represented the innocence of someone younger displayed in her face, body, personality and spirit. He really didn't realize how much she meant to him until she was murdered. Although he could never love her the way he loved Tifa, he had always had strong feelings for her. Though older than him, she was like a little sister in a way that needed protecting.

Tifa stood being Cloud watching his movements and realizing how this must be affecting him. She decided to remain on task for the moment, removing a small device from her belt and stepping closer the crystalline casket to Cloud's left. As Tifa waved the device over it, she watched the readings and gasped. How?

"Cloud!" Tifa half shouted. "She's alive!"

Cloud nearly jumped to his feet as he instantly grabbed the lid of the coffin, pushing it aside. It took a great deal of effort but it did in fact move. As the lid hit the ground it made a loud clinking sound similar to a heavy glass dropped on a hard tile floor that somehow escaped destruction, though cracks could clearly be seen stretching across the lid.

"Aeris," he whispered as he neared her face.

Slowly her eyes began to open; their light green seemed to glow similarly to Cloud's. She sighed upon her first breath of fresh air, unfolding her hands to lie upon the edge of her tomb.

"Cloud?" her small voice seemed to ask. As her vision cleared she saw his eyes, the windows of his soul, and smiled. Slowly she reached up to him, and Cloud met her arms pulling her upper body into his embrace. He hugged her firmly, but not tightly, as if afraid she would break in his arms.

"My God Aeris, you're alive!" As he spoke, his words seemed to confuse her. But from that angle, only Tifa managed to catch the look.

"Of course I'm alive, did something happen to me?" she questioned. "The last thing I remember was starting to summon Holy… everything else is a total blank."

Cloud had no desire to hold the truth from her. He told her about how Sephiroth had managed to take possession of him and tried to get him to kill her but he resisted. Sephiroth then took matters into his own hands. He told her about how he had `buried' her in the pool of water near the altar she was praying at. Then, he tried to tell her an abridged version of the events leading up to Holy. During his explanation, he helped her out of the crystal tomb and helped support her weight, as she seemed too weak to stand on her own. Needless to say, Barret and Yuffi were shocked to see the girl they all knew was dead rise from the grave and try to hold down a conversation.

As Cloud spoke with Aeris, Barret's PHS (a communications device given to him by Cait Sith) began to ring.

"Yo, what up?" he said after hitting a button on it to initiate speaker mode.

"Yeah, it Cid," came the reply. "I'm almost to the Ruins. There's been a change of plan. We're picking you up and heading towards The Tower of Fanatics. Celes just came back from her little dimensional field trip and brought back a rather strange woman with her. They want to go hit the archives."

"Shit! We was gonna do that after we checked out Narshe for supplies!"

"Too bad. We're going by Celes's instructions on this one. Ya'll get your asses on board as soon as I land. This is really important man. No bullshit."

"Fine. Hey, you ain't gonna believe this shit, but Aeris is alive."

"You gotta be fucking with me," Cid said with clear shock in his voice.

"No shit man, I don't believe it either, but you'll see when you get here."

"How'd she get here and alive no less?"

"How the fuck should I know? Just hurry up, this place is freakin' my ass out so bad, I just might turn to a white man."

Cid laughed at the other end. "Right, see you in 3 minutes."

"Peace." Barret shut of the line. "Well shit. Looks like we gotta cut this short. Let's get outside."

As they made their way towards the edge of the ruins, Cloud explained to Aeris that she wasn't in the same world she was in before. As she began to question him, he felt a pang of sadness for the girl. She had been though so much already, and yet he felt as if this was only the beginning. If somehow, Aeris had been resurrected, then that could mean that bigger things were on the horizon. But just how did she get here?

***

As the five boarded the Highwind, a dark figure watched from a ruined building within the ancient city. He sighed, pushing away the silvery hair that momentarily passed by his face, coaxed into action by the warm desert wind.

"Soon Aeris," he whispered. "Soon we will be reunited. Before, I didn't realize what I was doing. But now, I see that there are more extensive problems in the multiverse that require the hands of Cetra like you and I. As I once took your life, I have now given it back to you, in the hopes that one day we can make a difference. Perhaps we can even be together, the last of our kind… romantic don't you think?" He allowed a smile to cross his face as his glowing green eyes softened at the thought. But just as soon as the thought passed his mind, his expression once again regained the cold and calculating look he was famous for. "There are matters that require my attention here, perhaps I'll be able to catch up with you before you leave this plane. You and that young Esper, Kyrie, have a stranger destiny then even I could possibly foresee. But together we can make a difference."

As his last thought passed his mind, he turned from the window and made his way towards the temple. He would visit this place once more before moving on to his next destination. Alone, in a world of ruins, he would make his way and lay the groundwork for future battles. And he knew he would succeed.

For he was one of the last of the Cetra, the warrior, the legend… he was Sephiroth.

* End of Chapter

* Next Chapter: Kyrie and friends venture into the madness of The Tower of Fanatics. Will they find answers, or just more questions? And just what is Sephiroth's new agenda?