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Premonitions: Uncut	By : Hippo_and_Friends_with_Benefits Category: Final Fantasy VII > General Views: 3901 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, and I am not making any money of of this writing.

Chapter List
- 52
- 53
- 54
Chapter 53: A Glimmer of Hope?
January 14 dawned slowly at 6:02 a.m.
Cloud was the first to awaken. He gazed at the still-sleeping Tifa. It was amazing how this beautiful woman loved him with all her heart. He knew he would never be able to understand how lucky he was. Waking up next to her never got old for him, either. It was definitely something he could see himself spending the rest of his life doing.
And then, her eyes opened.
"Hi!" she greeted softly with a smile before kissing him. "Did you sleep well?"
"I did," Cloud replied as he lovingly rubbed her shoulder. "Did you?"
"I had to," she said as she sat up. "We have a long day today."
She then got out of bed.
"I'm going to go shower," she announced. "I'll see you on the bridge."
She kissed him one more time before leaving the suite.
A few moments later, Cloud heard pounding on the doors. He promptly answered the loud knocking.
It was Tifa. And she had a disturbed look on her face.
"You have to see this," she announced as she pointed to the window.
It only took a moment for Cloud to realize what had distressed her. When they went to bed that night, they were stationed on the Western Continent near Rocket Town. But this morning, out the window, they could both see skyscrapers. And the Shinra Building was visible as plain as day.
"What are we doing near Midgar?" asked Tifa.
7:00 a.m.
"What are we doing near Midgar?"
Red XIII had asked the same question an hour later.
"And where is Yuffie?" Cid demanded, noticing she was not on the bridge with everyone else.
It did not take long for Cloud to put the pieces together.
"I know exactly where she is," he grumbled. "She disobeyed me, flew the Highwind out here, and went to that high school to talk to the present day Bestla."
"Are we going to go after her?" asked Vincent.
"We have plans," Cloud said.
"But if the Shinra find her," protested Red XIII, "who knows what they'd do to her?"
"I'm aware of that," Cloud said. "But she's not the only one in jeopardy. The whole world is. I ordered her not to do this and she did it anyway. If we leave her, she might get captured and possibly killed; I won't lie. But if we abandon our mission, she'll die for sure, along with the rest of us."
There were no more objections after that.
7:15 a.m.
Cloud was right and wrong at the same time.
He was right because it was indeed Yuffie who had flown the Highwind to the outskirts of Midgar the previous night. Learning to control the ship was easy; she had been watching carefully how it was operated since it was acquired. Now she was wearing jeans and a crop top, along with a backpack. She had just passed through the front doors of Sector Two High School. She blended in perfectly with the students. Now, all she needed to do was find the fifteen-year-old Bestla.
Cloud was wrong about something else, however; Yuffie was concealing a knife.
She did not intend to talk to Bestla.
She was well aware that Bestla killed everyone in the future. In her judgement, she needed to make sure Bestla's future never happened.
She wandered the hallways, peeking into classroom after classroom. It was homeroom now, and there were twenty or so students in each room. But, alas, none of them looked anything like Bestla.
This was not going to be as simple as she had expected.
7:45 a.m.
"Ho ho hooo!" greeted Bugenhagen at the entrance to his observatory. "If you ever are in need of my wisdom, you are always welcome here."
"Yeah, about that," Cloud replied. "I'm sure you saw the rocket plan go south. We're completely stumped about that to do now."
"What to do?" asked Bugenhagen. "Have you lost your way? When that happens we each have to take a good long look at ourselves. There's always something in the deepest reaches of our hearts. Something buried, or something forgotten. Remember it. Whatever that is, must certainly be what you are all looking for."
"We have a lot to talk about," Cloud said. "But I don't know where to begin. And even if I did, I doubt you would believe me."
"It must be there," Bugenhagen said. "Look harder!"
Cloud agreed to look harder. And it triggered a wound he had been trying to suppress.
8:00 a.m.
Yuffie had just peeked into the final classroom. There was no sign of the young Bestla anywhere.
She sighed in disappointment. All that searching was for nothing.
Just as Yuffie was beginning to wonder if Bestla was sick, she began to hear loud footsteps approaching her.
"You there!" called a man's voice.
Yuffie turned to see an adult who was obviously one of the faculty members. He looked less than pleased.
"You need to be in one of two places," he continued. "Either homeroom or cheerleading. Now which one is it?"
Cheerleading, thought Yuffie. That's the last remaining place in this school Bestla could possibly be.
So Yuffie answered the latter.
"Then you should be in the gym practicing," he said. "Don't let me catch you wandering the halls again, or you'll have a five 'o clock. Understand?"
Yuffie nodded.
"Good to hear. Be off."
8:15 a.m.
Everyone was now in the observatory. All eyes were on Bugenhagen. They were hoping for an answer. Right now, some of them were bordering hopelessness.
"Do you see it?" asked the old man as he scanned the room. "What is it that you are searching for?"
"Nope," Cait Sith dismissed. "Not a thing. Naw. Can't come up with a thing."
Cloud became uneasy, and sighed. The past was not easy to look into.
"Tifa," he began as he continued to hold her hand, "please don't take this the wrong way, but when I'm looking back, I keep remembering...you-know-who."
She squeezed his hand in support, and looked at him tenderly. "Cloud, it's okay. She was a part of my life, too. She had a name, by the way. It was Aerith."
"I know," said Cloud. "And it's not what you might think. It's because of what she said. How she was the only one who could stop Meteor from striking."
"But then she passed away," added Tifa. "And we saved the world in the original timeline."
"Original timeline?" asked Bugenhagen.
"This is what I'm talking about," Cloud said. "You'll have a hard time believing this."
"Is it impossible for us to carry on what Aerith tried to accomplish?" asked Red XIII.
"We've lived through this before," Barret said.
"She loved life," Cloud added. "And yet she was willing to sacrifice herself. She obviously knew something we didn't. That's why she went to the Forgotten Capital."
"Perhaps I'll have you take me there," Bugenhagen suggested, rather unexpectedly.
Everyone looked at him in shock.
Cloud groaned. It was the last place he wanted to go.
"You're going too?" asked Red XIII in surprise.
"What's so surprising about that?" the old man asked. "Even I want to get out from time to time and see the outside world. I wonder what did it? I haven't felt like this in ages."
"It must be the planet," Red XIII suggested. "The planet is calling you!"
"Yeah, hoo boy, the planet calling," Cid groaned as he led the way out. "Right."
8:30 a.m.
Yuffie quietly poked her head inside the gym. Inside, there were twenty or so girls in gym attire swarming the floor.
But there was still no Bestla.
Yuffie sighed again. She realized she hade make a huge mistake; one she would no doubt have to pay the consequences for once Cloud discovered it.
Just then, the door to what appeared to be the coach's office opened, and a sad-looking girl emerged. She looked exactly like Bestla, but, of course, much younger.
Still, Yuffie had to be sure. She listened carefully.
"What's wrong, Bestla?" asked one of the girls.
Eureka, Yuffie thought. She's definitely the young Bestla. Now comes step two: finding a private place.
"I'm off the team," Bestla replied sadly, tears threatening her mascara-stained eyes.
Her now former teammates crowded around her.
Dammit, Yuffie thought. Now's the wrong time.
8:45 a.m.
"Smells like machinery!" cackled Bugenhagen as he floated in his ball around the Highwind. "I love this smell. Of course, I also love the smell of nature, too. Is the deck up there?"
"It sure is," Cid replied."
"Then I'll be on the deck just passing time," Bugenhagen said. "I can feel the workings of the planet in the smell of the wind. I also feel the greatness of man's wisdom and the knowledge in the smell of machinery. Well, bye for now."
Cloud, meanwhile, was quietly sitting alone in a corner of the bridge. He had his cell phone out, and was staring at a picture that Aerith had texted him. Wearing a tank top and a pair of rather tight jean shorts, she had her back turned to the camera, with her head turned just enough so he could see her smile. Below, she had texted him a message. It read: "Badunkadunk!"
Cloud quickly put his phone away as he saw Tifa approaching.
She sat down next to him and placed an arm around him, kissing him on the cheek as she did so.
"You okay?" she asked.
Cloud nodded. "I knew this would come up again sometime," he replied. "It's not like we could pretend that nothing happened."
"Need to talk?" Tifa asked lovingly.
"I know she didn't want to die," Cloud began. "But she knew it would happen. Hell, we were all having premonitions, and I doubt she was any exception." He paused. "She even wrote a farewell letter to me."
"I knew it," Tifa replied solemnly.
"Knew what?"
"I saw her writing it," she clarified.
"You did?"
"She was crying as she wrote it," Tifa continued. "I thought she was going to break up with you. I didn't know she knew that she was going to die."
"Now I know why she moved so fast," Cloud added. "She had so little time left. And she knew it."
"It didn't seem like she was moving that fast."
"She was," Cloud insisted. "Listen, Tifa, you're my girlfriend now, so you have a right to know. Since we went to Gold Saucer the first time, we were taking off our clothes. And having sex. Sparks just flew."
"I knew she let you into her pants," Tifa said. "And I'm fine with it. We weren't together then. I'm not angry. What mattered more was that you were happy."
"But, again," added Cloud, "she knew her end was near, so..." He cut himself off and began to shake.
Tifa wrapped her other arm around him and held him close.
"But she's dead," Cloud continued. "And nobody can do anything about it. We're here now," he said. A tear rolled down his cheek.
"Cloud," Tifa began as she continued to hold him, "after we take care of Sephiroth...before we do anything else...if you want, we can have a funeral for Aerith."
Cloud was silent.
"I think it might help," Tifa added.
"Maybe," Cloud said as he got to his feet and led Tifa up by the hand. "Right now, we have a world to save."
In the next room, they could see the rest of their friends.
Red XIII looked at him with the saddest eyes.
"Aerith used to pat me on the nose sometimes. I used to hate being treated like a child like that, but I also liked the attention. I wanted to apologize to her for what I did when we first met."
"I went and told Aerith's mom about her death," Cait Sith added. "Yes, and Miss Elmyra was crying herself silly. So was little Marlene."
Cloud realized that everyone was in a funk.
She simply could not be swept under the rug forever.
9:00 a.m.
Eventually, Bestla retired to the girls' locker room.
Yuffie promptly followed her in, avoiding eye contact with the other cheerleaders as she did so. Once she was inside, she locked the door behind her. She placed her backpack on a bench and pulled out her knife. In a few moments, it would all be over. Her future would be secure. As would everyone else's.
Yuffie slowly made her way around the corner, knife in hand. There, she could see the teenage Bestla sitting on another bench, on her cell phone, with her back turned to her.
It was almost too easy.
Then, someone spoke.
"Hi mom," the teenage Bestla said in a broken, dejected voice. "I did it."
"Was everyone okay with it?" asked Scarlet on the phone.
"I wasn't," Bestla said softly. "That was two years of my life, mom!" And she began to cry.
"Listen, Bestla," began Scarlet.
"Hey!" Rufus shouted on the other end. "What the hell are you doing on your phone?! You know about our phone policy!"
Bestla seemed even more upset now.
"Guess that's my cue," Scarlet announced. "I'll call you on my break, I promise."
"I love you!" Bestla said through her tears.
"I love you more!" Scarlet replied.
The young Bestla then put her phone down.
And, to her own surprise, Yuffie turned around, returned to her backpack, put her knife away, and left.
9:45 a.m.
The Forgotten Capital had not changed since they had seen it last. Upon entering, Tifa immediately took Cloud's hand. She needed to give him all the support she could. Aerith might have been her rival in love, but Cloud's feelings mattered to her more.
They started down the same path as before, and were soon surrounded by familiar ancient buildings. Bugenhagen seemed amazed, heedless of what had previously occurred here.
What caught his attention the most was an area that none of them recalled visiting the last time. It looked like an ancient arena, with columns surrounding it on all sides. In the center was what appeared to be an elevated crystal that seemed to glow.
Bugenhagen floated up on his ball to study it.
"Is it telling you something?" Cloud asked cautiously.
"Give me a moment," Bugenhagen replied.
After Cloud did as he was told, Bugenhagen signaled for him to join him. Cloud and Tifa thus climbed the nearby stairs and trekked on the narrow path.
"The knowledge of the Ancients swirling around here is telling me one thing," the old man said as the young couple approached him. "The planet's in a crisis. A crisis beyond human power or endless time. It says, when the time comes, we must search for 'Holy'."
"Holy?" asked Cloud.
"Holy," Bugenhagen repeated. "The ultimate white magic. Magic that might stand against Meteor. Perhaps our last hope to save the planet from Meteor. If a soul seeking Holy reaches the planet, it will appear." He paused. "Meteor, Weapon, everything will disappear." He paused even longer. "Perhaps, even ourselves."
"Even us!?" Cloud exclaimed, even though he knew there was a future with humans that Bestla had come from. On the other hand...
"It is up to the planet to decide," Bugenhagen said. "What is best for the planet. What is bad for the planet. All that is bad will disappear. That is all. I wonder which we humans are?"
"How do we find this Holy?" Cloud asked.
"Speak to the planet," Bugenhagen replied. "Get the White Materia. This will bond the planet to humans. Then speak to the planet. If our wish reaches the planet, the White Materia will begin to glow a pale green."
Cloud sighed, and shook his head. "This isn't good. I know exactly where the White Materia was. Aerith had it. But when she died, it fell into the waters below. I don't know what can be done."
Bugenhagen did not even seem to be paying attention to him. He was scanning the crystal, as well as the foundation below.
"Look at this!" Bugenhagen announced, completely disregarding what Cloud had said. "Ancient's writing."
"What does it say?" Cloud asked.
"It's all Greek to me," Bugenhagen answered.
"This is serious," Cloud insisted.
"I'm not an Ancient. I can't read this thing!" Bugenhagen insisted. "I may be old, but my eyes aren't completely bad yet. Look closely below the writing."
"I see something written or scratched or something," Tifa observed.
Over some characters was written "even sunlight can't reach." Over one other was written "key."
"It was probably written by a scientist who's been here," Bugenhagen suggested. "He probably used all his energy to just to interpret these two words."
"A key to what?" Cloud asked. "I don't see a keyhole."
"I don't know," Bugenhagen answered. "But it probably has something to do with our riddle that must have something to do with Aerith."
"And this 'key' can tell us how to save the world?" Cloud asked.
"Probably," Bugenhagen replied. "Use these words as clues and go find the key. I'll continue to figure out the Ancients' writing. When you find the key, or when you can't go any further, come back here. Maybe I'll understand more from the writing and get some new information for you."
Cloud stepped back from the crystal. "A place where even sunlight can't reach."
"Cloud," began Tifa, "I think I have an idea."
10:30 a.m.
Yuffie, having never gone to high school, was oblivious to the fact that lunch often began early. It was still breakfast time for most people, and she was amazed how everyone adapted to the change so well.
What surprised her even more was how she reacted to Bestla. She thought she would be able to take care of it the moment she caught her in private. The situation would even allow her to place the knife in her victim's hands to make it look like a suicide. But instead, she let her live. And she slowly realized why.
She could not kill her. She realized that Bestla was a real human being who laughed and cried like everybody else. She had all the joys and sorrows that Yuffie's companions did. Killing her would be no different than Sephiroth killing Aerith.
Was there another way?
She decided to find out. She saw the teenage Bestla sitting alone at the end of one of the long tables. Before she could change her mind, she took a seat across from her future enemy.
"Hey," Yuffie greeted.
"Hey," greeted the teenage Bestla softly.
"Anyone sitting here?" asked Yuffie.
Bestla shook her head. "Who would want to after today?"
Yuffie knew this had to do with the episode in the gym, so she went straight for it.
"So what happened back in the gym?" she asked.
"You saw me?" asked Bestla.
Yuffie quickly thought of a lie. "I saw you coming out of there crying."
"It's been a couple of hours and the whole school knows already," Bestla answered. "Have you been living under a rock?"
"More or less," Yuffie said.
"It started last week," Bestla continued. "When the cheer coach spotted a huge stone in my belly button."
"That's it?" Yuffie asked. "My belly button's pierced. Nobody's made a big deal out of it."
"Well," Bestla continued, "she said that it was a health hazard and said I had a week to take it out. Or leave the squad."
"And?"
"Everyone is already coming at me. The coach said it's a shame how I have more invested in my stone than being a cheerleader."
"That wasn't very nice," Yuffie commented.
"It's, like, my decision," the teenage Bestla continued. "Even though it affects everyone on the team."
Yuffie could not believe what was happening. She had come to kill her and now they were becoming friends.
"Shit, I'm sorry," Bestla continued. "I don't even know you and already I'm venting on you. I never even asked your name."
She needed to think of a name, and quickly. "Bella," she replied.
"I'm Bestla," she introduced.
"It's nice to meet you," said Yuffie.
"Want to hang out after school?" Bestla offered.
Yuffie could not believe her ears. This girl was oblivious to the fact that she intended to take her life. Then she had an idea.
Becoming friends with her alone would alter the timeline. That might just be all it takes.
"Sure," Yuffie replied. "I'd love to."
11:00 a.m.
"My goodness!" greeted Bugenhagen. "You found it that fast?"
"Actually," Tifa replied, sporting the key, "we had it the whole time."
"We found it on a date," Cloud added. "We ended up on Costa del Luna. There were naked people left and right."
Tifa gave him a shove with her elbow.
"So anyways," continued Cloud, "now all we need to do is figure out where it goes."
Bugenhagen pointed to an odd looking device that appeared to have sharp crystals coming from its base.
"That music box over there," he said. "We'll put the key in it." He then took said item from Tifa's hand. "I'll go use the key. You all wait here, and watch closely what happens."
Cautiously, Bugenhagen placed the key between the crystals. At first, nothing happened. Then, it slowly began to turn. As the key began to rotate, a rush of water suddenly sounded. Before anyone could look to see where it was coming from, a waterfall began to pour, forming a water curtain around the crystal. A stone above created an opening, allowing one to enter.
"Now, go inside," Bugenhagen commanded. "Hope may be inside. Or..."
He entered the opening first, and the rushing water drowned out is voice. Cloud quickly followed, along with his remaining six companions.
Once inside, they formed a circle around the crystal.
"This was just a screen to project an image!" Bugenhagen observed. "Look! Look at the image projected on the screen of the water!"
Sure enough, an image began to materialize.
It was the image of Aerith Gainsborough's face. Her head was down, and her eyes were closed. Behind her, the background began to form.
It took Cloud but a few moments to realized where this was; it was the altar below the ruins. He watched as her head suddenly dropped downward, and her eyes closed. Realizing that it was the moment of her death, his lips began to quiver, and a tear escaped his eye.
Tifa slowly crept behind Cloud and lovingly wrapped her arms around him. She began to rock him gently.
Cloud kept his composure enough to continue watching. A white sphere, presumably the White Materia, was ejected from her hair. It bounced on several platforms before gently splashing into the waters below.
And it did nothing else.
Then the image faded, and the water stopped flowing.
This isn't right, Cloud thought. Didn't it glow green the last time?
"That's it?" asked Barret aloud. "Just a tragic reminder?"
"Why isn't it glowing?" Cloud suddenly asked, in a somewhat frantic tone of voice.
"Whoa!" shouted Cid. "Take a chill pill!"
"Why isn't what glowing?" asked Red XIII.
"The White Materia! It should be glowing green!" Cloud exclaimed. "I remember! Aerith successfully cast the spell five seconds before she was killed. I remember it glowed a pale green!"
"Cloud," began Vincent, "you told us that Bestla created an alternate timeline. Perhaps in this timeline, he killed her before any of that could happen."
Cid sighed, sat down, and lit a cigarette. "Then we're fucked."
Then, Barret stood in front of everyone. "Who here's been fucked before?"
Everybody but Tifa and Red XIII raised their hand.
"Little things change, too," Barret said. "Maybe that wasn't the White Materia that fell. Maybe that stayed in 'er hair."
"Great theory," Cid replied sarcastically as he took a puff. "One we can bank on. And when Meteor falls, if we're right, we live. And if we're wrong, we die. But, fuck, I do love gambling."
"You can't deny it's a possibility," Red XIII suggested.
"But then," suggested Cait Sith, "her hair would've glowed. Sorry, Barret, but I can't buy it."
Everyone was silent. They had awoken that morning hoping for a glimmer of hope, and did not get one. The whole day so far had been in vain.
Then Vincent said something Cloud had been dreading.
"There is one way to be sure," he began. "One of us will have to swim down to the bottom of the pond and check."
"The pond?" asked Bugenhagen.
"Where we laid Aerith to rest," Red XIII said solemnly. He then scanned everyone's face. He wondered how each would change when they heard what he would say next.
"I'll go," he said.
"Excuse me?" said two or three of them in unison.
"I'll go," he repeated. "I have webbings in my feet, anyway. I'll be in and out."
"No," protested Cloud.
Red XIII looked at him sincerely. "It's the only way to rule it out, Cloud. I'll tell you whether anything was glowing, and nothing else. I promise."
Cloud nodded silently.
A few moments after Red XIII left the enclosure, Cloud did the same. He sat down on a rock, and remembered.
He remembered Aerith.
He remembered when he had bought a flower from her; he expected to never see her again after that.
He remembered when they formally met; she had a firm handshake for a girl.
He remembered when she cross-dressed him; she was such a playful person.
He remembered when they kissed; he had never kissed a girl until then. The taste of her mouth and the feeling of her lips and tongue overwhelmed him.
He remembered when they had sex; he had been a virgin until that night. The fact that he had given it up to her would always make her special.
He remembered when she told him she loved him; he had not heard that since his mother died. It made him feel as if he belonged to someone again. And it was certainly not a lie that he loved her back.
He remembered when she died; it was worse on him than the loss of Zack or even his mother. He remembered cradling her dead body and muttering how it could not be real-denial. He remembered shouting at Sephiroth and mocking his plan-anger. He remembered calling her name and shaking her lifeless body, hoping for a response-bargaining. He remembered how dry his mouth was and how badly his eyes burned-sorrow. And he remembered carrying her body up the stairs and laying her to rest in the pond-acceptance.
Now she was gone forever.
And yet, he was still not alone.
Tifa sat down next to him and kissed him on the cheek.
"I love you," she said.
"I love you, too," he replied. Now it was Tifa Lockheart who made him feel safe. She made him feel like the luckiest man in the world.
And then, the drenched red carpet that had once been Red XIII approached them.
"Nothing was glowing," he said.
"That settles it, then," Cloud said softly. "We had to be certain."
"Cloud," Red XIII continued, "I know I promised you I wouldn't say anything else, but I feel like I have to."
Cloud looked at Red XIII with tired eyes. What could possibly have happened now?
"She wasn't down there, Cloud," Red XIII informed him.
"She wasn't down there?" asked Tifa as Cait Sith and Barret emerged from the enclosure. "What do you mean?"
She already realized it. She did not want to say it aloud. Fortunately, Cloud beat her to the job.
"The fish had to eat."
It was not something he wanted to think of, but he was well aware that nature would have to take its course.
"She was gone without a trace?" Barret asked.
The dripping wet Red XIII nodded.
"Fish don' eat bones," Barret said to himself. Sotto voce, but to himself.
Meanwhile, Cait Sith seemed absorbed in something.
Something was going on where is real body was.
12:00 p.m.
"That's why, Reeve," said Rufus. "Now that the cannon has been destroyed, we'll be digging a tunnel at the base of the Northern Crater. It's our only way around the barrier."
"But, Mr. President," Reeve warned, "that kind of digging will take days, if not weeks. We might not make it in time."
Scarlet sighed. "My daughter got kicked off the cheer squad this morning," she said. "That better be the totality of the complaints I hear today."
"Thank God," sighed Heidegger. "Cheerleading's a form of exotic dancing anyway. Now I don't have to have that talk with her!"
"It's not exotic dancing!" Scarlet protested.
"Girls wearing tank tops and short skirts and shaking their asses at the crowd is in no way provocative?"
"Are you two finished yet?" Rufus demanded. "And for the record, all the hookers I've had were cheerleaders at one point."
"Told you," Heidegger smirked.
12:30 p.m.
Cloud and Barret were sitting on a bench in the hallway of the Highwind. Both had a lot on their mind. Cloud could not understand for the life of himself why the White Materia did not glow. Everything was as it had been in the original timeline. What could possibly have changed?
His companion, meanwhile, had a burning question.
"About Aerith," said Barret, "when you were in the Lifestream, did she say anything to you? About the White Materia or anything?"
"Honestly," Cloud replied, "I didn't see her there."
Barret gave him a skeptical look.
"You saw your mom, Tifa's mom, Biggs, Wedge, and even President Shinra. But no Aerith?"
"That's right," Cloud replied.
"Really," said Barret.
Cloud nodded.
Barret has already been suspecting it. But he needed to know what Cloud thought about the matter.
"Cloud," he began, "I need to know somethin'."
"Shoot."
"If you found out that Aerith was still alive, would you still stay with Tifa? Or would you go back to 'er?"
Cloud was silent. He would not admit it, but he had been considering the possibility. Still, he personally considered it unlikely.
"Aerith's dead," Cloud insisted.
Barret needed to pry. He had to know, just in case.
"But what if you foun' out she weren't?"
"She's dead," Cloud repeated. "I know what you're thinking. She's not there because the fish ate her remains. It's not pleasant to think about, especially for me, but it happened."
"Fish don't eat bones," Barret said. "Or even flesh that fast."
She took a sword through her, Cloud thought. I watched her die. There has to be some other explanation, even if it's ridiculous.
"Then that means the someone stole her body," he replied.
"Why the fuck would anyone wanna steal a dead body?" Barret scoffed.
Cloud spent a moment trying to think of a good reason that might happen. Then, he found one.
"The Shinra wanted to breed her, remember?" he answered. "They'd harvest her DNA. As long as they have that, they can preserve her race. She got impaled by a sword. You were there, remember?"
"But just what if?" Barret pressed on. "What if?"
Cloud sighed, realized that Barret was not going to give up. "Well, then I would have to go back to her."
Barret suddenly presented a shocked look on his face. "Say what?"
"I was with her first," Cloud explained. "I was in a relationship with her. We were exclusive. She was my girlfriend. The relationship ended when she died. But if she didn't die, then the relationship never ended."
Barret looked almost as if he was going to explode.
"Tifa loves you!" he snapped.
"So did Aerith," Cloud replied. "She told me. She cried when she told me."
Now Barret looked almost as if he wanted to cry himself. "You two grew up together!"
"I committed to Aerith first," Cloud reminded him.
At that moment, red lights began to flash, and a siren began to sound.
"To be continued!" Barret shouted as he and Cloud ran for the bridge.
Both of them entered the bridge to find everyone absorbed in some kind of station or computer.
"What's wrong!?" demanded Cid.
"I'm getting a strange signal," Tifa, who was absorbed in the monitor, replied.
"From where?"
"From the western shore of the Eastern Continent," she answered.
"Let's see it!" ordered Cid.
One of the screens then displayed a giant creature slowly wading its way out of the ocean. It wars armored with silver plates and a red center.
Everyone, with the exception of Cloud, had seen it before. It was the largest of all of the Weapons.
And it was looking directly at Midgar.
1:00 p.m.
The teenage Bestla waited outside her classroom. It had been a rough morning, but soon it would get a lot better. Her boyfriend, Bruno, would come by to see her on his way to class. It had been the highlight of her afternoon since the year started.
At that moment, Bruno appeared at the other end of the hall and began to approach her position. He was accompanied by Alana, one of her now-former teammates, but she would not allow that to put a damper on the day.
"Hey!" Bestla greeted as he hugged him.
Strangely, Bruno did not hug back. He instead retreated to a neutral distance.
"What's wrong?" Bestla asked.
Then Alana stepped forward.
"Why did you hug my boyfriend?" she demanded.
"He's my boyfriend," Bestla protested as she felt her stomach tighten.
"Not anymore!" Alana gloated.
"That's not true!" Bestla snapped.
"I'm afraid it is," Bruno said, without emotion.
"What?!" Bestla exclaimed as she felt her heart split in two. "What did I do wrong?!"
"I heard you quit the squad," Bruno replied. "That was kind of low."
Bestla was speechless. Had she not been due in class, she would have ran to the bathroom to cry.
"You're dumping me for that?!" she exclaimed.
"I just can't date someone I don't have any respect for," Bruno replied as he walked away.
At that moment, the bell rang. Bestla did not enter the classroom. She was too distraught. It seemed like this was fast becoming the worst day of her life. And, if history played out as it had before, the worst was yet to come.
"Bestla Heidegger!" shouted a male voice.
Bestla turned to see a faculty member approaching her-the same one who called out Yuffie earlier.
"Bell rang!" he continued. "What are you doing out here?"
"I'm sorry," Bestla apologized. "I got distracted."
"Bestla, you've got detention!" he announced without mercy.
And then, Bestla released the tears she had been holding in.
"Hey!" he shouted. "This isn't kindergarten!"
Bestla sadly entered the classroom without saying a word.
Yuffie had seen the whole thing. She could not see it, but she had the saddest look on her face.
1:30 p.m.
"This ain't good," Cait Sith announced on the bridge of the Highwind. "Weapon came out of the sea and is heading straight for Midgar!"
"What can we do?" demanded Cloud, trying to focus his attention on the situation.
"Nothing," replied Cait Sith. "This isn't a warship. We can't just fire on it."
"What about Marlene?!" Barret shouted.
"Doncha worry none," Cait Sith assured him. "Marlene's in a safe place. She's with Aerith's mama. As long as Marlene is safe, who cares what else happens, right?"
Barret gave him an angry look.
"I been itchin' to say this to ya for a while now!" the feline continued. "When ya blew the Midgar Reactor Number One up, how many folks did ya think died?"
Barret grunted. "To save the planet, ya gotta make a few sacrifices."
"A few?" exclaimed Cait Sith. "Whaddya mean 'a few?' What may be a few to y'all is everything to them who died. Protect the planet. Hah! Y'all sure sound good! Ain't no one that'd go against ya. So ya think ya can do whatever y'all want?"
"I don't wanna hear it!" Barret shouted. "Not from you!"
"Nothing I can do 'bout that," insisted the cat.
"Both of you!" shouted Cloud. "Knock it off!"
"We did what we did," Tifa added. "And we can't change that."
"But right now we have Diamond Weapon to worry about," Cloud said. "And I plan on killing that son of a bitch. Now who's with me?"
The red lights and sirens began to activate again.
"Thank you!" Cloud shouted sarcastically.
"Now what?!" Cid demanded.
"It looks like the Urchin is approaching," Tifa announced as she checked her console.
Cid shook his head.
"This has not been a good day."
2:00 p.m.
While the teenage Bestla could describe her day as terrible, the adult Bestla could do that even more so. She had awoken in her quarters that morning as usual. She showered and dressed without considering it. She was still focused on removing Sephiroth from the Northern Crater and taking his place so she could absorb the Lifestream.
But when she saw the date on one of the consoles, she became tense and solemn. She did not even care that Nara was watching her.
"This is the day mom and dad were killed," she said.
Of course, that quickly left her mind when Diamond Weapon surfaced.
"Set a course for Diamond Weapon," Bestla promptly ordered.
"But what about the barrier?" asked Nara, as they were still over the Northern Crater.
"We'll deal with that later," Bestla replied.
By the time they arrived, Diamond Weapon was a few hundred yards inland, and already facing its target.
"I'm detecting energy at an unprecedented level," Nara announced.
Her console then started beeping.
"I'm also detecting the Highwind at three o' clock."
"Forget the Highwind!" Bestla commanded. "They can't even fire on us."
Just then, Diamond Weapon suddenly began to turn toward the Urchin, and opened its mouth. Light began to glow from its throat.
"Incoming!" shouted Nara.
Diamond Weapon then opened its mouth even wider, and fired a bright and powerful laser, directly hitting its target.
The Urchin was deflected violently from its position.
"HULL BREACH," alerted the computer. "HULL BREACH."
Bestla was thrown off her throne. Nara was knocked to the ground.
With the Urchin seemingly out of the way, Diamond Weapon turned in its original direction and began to resume its quest. Slowly, its shoulders began to open. Then, it's center began to seeming absorb energy from its surroundings. Moments later, what looked like bullets of energy began to dispense from the creature.
"It's beginning to fire on Midgar," alerted Nara as she rose to her feet.
"Now's our chance!" Bestla announced as she climbed back onto her throne. "Raise the Urchin three thousand feet!"
Nara did as ordered. The Urchin rose three thousand feet, leaving Diamond Weapon, who was absorbed in firing upon Midgar, oblivious.
"Start the sequence," ordered Bestla.
"Ready to fire," Nara announced.
Diamond Weapon continued to fire upon Midgar. Without any weapons, the city would be defenseless.
It did not know how many people it would kill with its firepower.
It did not know the destruction it was causing.
It did not know the nature of the spherical object that the Urchin had just dropped onto it, until it was too late.
A moment later, a blue flame entirely surrounded Diamond Weapon. The creature screeched in fright, unaware of what was happening. It felt no pain, but it sensed death.
And then, the blue flame was gone. The perplexed creature resumed firing on Midgar for a few moments. It could not see in color, and was thus naïve to its color change from silver to light brown.
And then, it stopped firing.
And then, it slowly crumbled.
Minutes later, a pile of dust was all that remained of Diamond Weapon.
But the damage was done. There was now a gaping hole in the Urchin.
Bestla cared little.
She would not need the Urchin much longer.
2:30 p.m.
"Somebody's grounded," Scarlet muttered as she secretly checked her cell phone. "My daughter just got detention."
Reeve nodded in empathy. "Now I know what to expect."
That response made Scarlet curious.
"You have any kids?" she asked.
"I have a daughter," Reeve answered.
"Married?" she asked.
"I am," he replied.
Damn, Scarlet thought to herself. I've been showing all that cleavage for nothing. She must be one lucky woman.
Just then, the entire building shook, as if there was an earthquake.
"What the hell was that?" demanded Rufus.
"Hold on," Reeve announced. "I'm getting a report." He glanced at his phone. "The seventieth floor has been hit by energy bolts. It's totally destroyed."
Rufus sighed as he sat in his seat. "Thank God that bitch destroyed the cannon and we had to have this meeting," he said. "Or I would've been up there."
3:00 p.m.
The teenage Bestla left the detention room to find Yuffie sitting on a bench outside. Her heart nearly skipped a beat; nobody, not even Bruno, had waited for her before.
"Bella!" she exclaimed. "You waited for me?!"
"I heard everything," Yuffie replied. "I feel so bad."
"You mean about Bruno?" asked Bestla.
Yuffie nodded.
"I think I'm okay about that," Bestla said. "I mean, if cheerleading was how he defined me, it wasn't worth it. I mean, I'd totally have to graduate sometime, anyway."
"I've got a guy friend," Yuffie began. "His name's Hiram. He could use a girlfriend. I'm sure he'd like to meet you."
This was not made up, this really was a close guy friend of Yuffie's; the same one she had gone to Costa del Luna with.
Bestla happily smiled. "I'd love that," she said.
All of a sudden, the lights turned red, the alarm started blaring, and both girls turned to see what the situation was about.
Yuffie was frightened to the point she nearly turned white.
"Uh-oh," she nervously murmured.
"You're coming with us, Bella, if that is your real name, Yuffie Kisaragi!" announced Reno as he and Rude advanced in her direction.
"Now is where the tables turn!" Rude added.
Before she could react, the Turks handcuffed her and began to escort her out of the school, much to the shock of Bestla.
"If you're going to kill me," Yuffie said, "you may as well do it in public. Everyone knows you're a bunch of crooks."
"We'll do far worse than kill you," Rude replied.
"We're either going to hand you over to Palmer to send you on a one-way trip to space, or to Hojo to inject you with God-knows-what. Pays your money and takes your pick!"
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