Final Fantasy VII, The Sequel

BOOK TWO - Another Threat

CHAPTER 1: THE PLAN

Commander Noran Crefen looked at the blueprints in front of him. They were plans for a more advanced Sister Ray. It was smaller, less expensive, and would use the Mako from the underwater reactor to power it. The construction of the base for it was almost done. All he had to do was approve of the design. He heard a ring at the door. "Come in." His personal assistant, Veronica, entered the room.

Crefen sat at his desk. His long, blood red hair fell over his piercing blue eyes as he looked up at her. He was wearing a navy blue turtleneck and a gray jacket on top to match with his gray pants.

"Sir, construction for the base of the cannon is complete," Veronica informed him. "However, we're running low on supplies for the cannon itself. Scouts have reported that most parts from Midgar's Sister Ray are either destroyed or damaged beyond repair. But they did salvage whatever was useful."

"Thanks for the report, Veronica. I appreciate it," he said. "When will construction of the Mako cannon be complete?"

"Well, after we get the parts we need, it'll take about a month."

"Thank you. Dismissed."

Veronica left as Professor Brine entered the room.

"Ah, hello Dr. Brine," Crefen said, shaking his hand. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. Please, take a seat." Crefen sat back down at his desk as Dr. Brine took a seat in the chair, who placed a folder on Crefen's desk.

"These are the profiles of the people you were looking for," Dr. Brine explained. Crefen looked through the profiles of the living AVALANCHE members: Cloud Strife, Barret Wallace, and Tifa (Lockhart) Strife. "Why did you want those?"

"Well, I plan revenge against them. They caused the death of my family. AVALANCHE destroyed the support for Sector 7. It fell, crushing two of my brothers who were guards. My mother and father were killed when the plate landed. They were driving a car...the quake caused them to lose control. I survived because I training here at the time."

"Wow. Sorry to hear it. Umm, anyway, the cloning project is finished. We'll begin the cloning of soldiers. A fully functional clone takes 10 days to finish. Do you have the genetic layout for them?"

"Yes I do. I've used your guidelines and made sure they're perfect. How many clones will there be in ten days?"

"Approximately 100."

Crefen whistled in amazement. "Dr. Brine, you're absolutely brilliant. You can go now. Be sure to send updates of the progress." Dr. Brine left. Commander Crefen's plan was going to work perfectly.

"Bye guys! See you later!" Tifa yelled from the boat. She and Cloud waved at their friends as the boat disembarked. Kalm soon became a spec in the horizon. Cloud and Tifa walked arm in arm together around the main deck. The small, private luxury cruiser was once owned by Reeve, but he had sold it to a cruise company.

"You know what this reminds me of?" Cloud asked her. "The one time we had left from Junon to Costa del Sol and fought against Jenova."

"Yeah. We have some great memories together. They'll be great bedtime stories for our children."

Cloud and Tifa walked to the front of the boat. A nice, cool, ocean breeze blew across their faces and through their hair. "Children...how many? What would their names be?"

"Well, I want two. A boy and a girl. I think Aeris is a good name for a girl. A tribute to our Aeris, you know? As for a boy, I don't know. I guess you can come up with that one."

Tifa rested her head on his shoulder. They watched as the sun began to set and cast an orange color across the water.

"I love being with you Tifa. I don't know what my life would be like without you. I couldn't begin to imagine..."

"Me too, Cloud." Cloud rubbed her shoulder and then stroked her hair. They turned around and started walking to their room. The honeymoon was going perfectly.

Vincent, Cid, Shera, Barret, Red, and Reeve all sat in the bar Tifa's Haven. Yuffie was busy making drinks for the customers, while Marlene helped.

"So," Red asked Cid, "when do you and Shera plan to get married?"

"Well, Cloud n Tifa had theirs in a week, so it might be the same for us. It depends. Some of my friends from Rocket Town should be arriving in a few days. They've just heard the news." Cid looked at Shera and caressed her hand. They leaned toward each other and kissed on the lips.

"All this romance makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside, doesn't it?" Reeve commented, but no one answered.

CHAPTER 2: THE UNEXPECTED

It was in the middle of the night. Cloud woke up to a strange noise. He shook Tifa awake, who was sleeping beside him on the bed.

"Wha...What is it? Cloud?"

"I heard something. Sounded like, gunshots?" he told her.

"Go back to sleep Cloud. It was probably something that just fell down in another room." Cloud lied back down and tried to go back to sleep. He was still suspicious of the sound. He closed his eyes and tried to forget about it.

He was awakened again by the door slamming onto the ground. He sat up as one of the intruders ran over to him and grabbed his throat. He heard a muffled cry next to him. He looked over and saw Tifa in the arms of another intruder.

"Tifa..." Cloud wheezed through his clasped throat. He tried prying the hands from his throat, but no luck. Those were his last words as something slammed into his head. He saw the intruders leaving with Tifa as blackness swept over his eyes. Then nothing.

"What the!?" Cloud sat straight up in his bed, his eyes wide open. He lied back down. "Phew, Tifa, it was just a dre-" he stopped when he saw she wasn't lying beside him. "Tifa?" He got out of bed and looked down at the floor. The door had been knocked off its hinges. "It wasn't a dream," he said out loud. "Oh, #$%^!"

Cloud dressed hurriedly and ran around the boat, looking for her or the prowlers. When he reached the navigation room, he saw the captain slumped in his chair. Cloud swirled the chair around and saw three bloodstains on the captain's shirt. 'So those were the sounds I heard.'

"No. This can't be happening. Not on our honeymoon!" He picked the captain up and placed him on the floor. No pulse, no breaths. He was definitely dead.

Cloud sat in the captain's seat and took the controls. 'Where was Kalm?' he wondered. He looked around the controls and saw a map of the world. There was a bullet hole through the glass, making the flickering image hard to read. He saw their location: the boat was nearing Goblin Island.

'We're way off course. We're supposed to be heading for Costa del Sol.' He turned the boat around and headed back towards Kalm.

"Lieutenant Fox, how are things going at the military department?" Crefen asked through the intercom on his desk.

"On schedule, sir. Both SOLDIER and Junon military will be loaded into their transports. And as soon as the clone soldiers are done, they'll receive one day of intensive training and then will reinforce at the battle."

"Good. Begin the invasion."

"Yes, sir! Those insurrectionists will be defenseless against our infantry."

Crefen turned around and looked out the windows in his office. He gazed upon the thousands of warriors marching into the boat and aerial transports. Kalm would be his in no time.

Tifa snapped wide-awake. The last thing she remembered was being kidnapped and watching Cloud as the barrel of the kidnapper's gun struck his head. She was knocked unconscious soon right after that.

"Where am I?" she asked, looking up. Her arms and legs were both tied to a chair. She struggled to free herself but couldn't.

Black walls surrounded her with only a lamp above her to illuminate the room. She heard the door being unlocked. She looked over as a tall, blonde-haired woman stepped into the room, locking the door behind her.

"Who are you? Where am I?" she kept asking.

"I'll be the one who asks the questions," the woman replied fiercely. "You're under arrest for the murders of Commander Crefen's family."

"Who's he? What did I do?"

"He's going to be the new ruler of the world. As of right now, he's launched an all out strike against your pathetic little town. They'll be nothing left of it after you return, IF you return," she told Tifa, ignoring her questions. "Crefen is taking you as bait. Your friends will be sure to find out and will come after you. Then your town will be left defenseless. They'll fall into a trap here, and we'll capture them all."

"Why are you telling me all of this? What if I escape and warn my friends?"

"You won't escape. You can't escape now. We're in the ocean, heading for Junon, so there's no way you can escape."

"Who are you?"

"Names aren't important. What's important is that you get more sleep." The woman hit Tifa in the neck and knocked her out cold.

CHAPTER 3: CONFESSIONS

"What's this?" Marlene asked, holding up some Ultima materia.

"Ooo, don't touch that!" Barret instinctively grabbed the materia from her hand and placed it in an upper row of the materia rack. "This is very destructive materia. Not to be played around with. Here," Barret handed her Luck Plus materia. "Go outside and play with your friends. You might get lucky and find money on the ground!"

"Thanks daddy!" Marlene ran down the stairs and left the house. Barret watched as she ran out to her friends and started playing games with them. He turned around to continue placing the materia into their slots on the materia rack. He made sure the dangerous ones, like Fire, Comet, Destruct, Lightning, and Ultima were on the top. The summon, command, and support materias were placed in a repository hidden in the basement.

After everything was set, he placed the rack on the wall and walked outside.

The first row of new houses had just been finished. Together, the houses homed about three dozen people. There was still a lot more to build.

"Barret!!" he heard someone shout. He turned to his left and saw Cloud running towards him.

"Cloud, what're you doin' here? Aren't you supposed to be wit' Tifa?"

"I...she...," Cloud struggled to breathe after the long run to Kalm. He took a few deep breaths and continued. "Kidnappers came...and took Tifa. They knocked me out. When I came to, she was gone, and the captain...was dead. I drove the boat back here and ran as fast as I could. We've got...to do something."

"Shit!"

"I think I know where she might be. The uniforms...of the kidnappers were wearing Junon army uniforms."

"Cloud, you go inside and get some rest. I'll rally everyone and we'll see what we can do."

Barret, Red, Cid, Shera, Reeve, Yuffie, Vincent, and a melancholy Cloud all sat at the round table. Cloud told them what had happened and that he needed a few people to go along with them. "And it'll need to be silent, so we can't just fly the Highwind there. We can go by chocobo. Vincent, Barret, your guns will be needed, so you'll need to come along. Yuffie, for your ninja skills. Red, Reeve, Cid, Shera, you stay here.

"Speaking of Reeve, weren't you the one who gave us the tickets?"

Reeve looked at Cloud. "Yeah, but I-I didn't know that..." Everyone was staring at him, waiting for the answer. The pressure put onto him by them suddenly released.

"I DID IT! I did it!" He began sobbing. "It was a trick to get Tifa kidnapped! I'm sorry!"

Cloud looked at Reeve with fury. "YOU @#$%^&*!!" Cloud jumped at Reeve and knocked him onto the floor. He struck Reeve in the mouth and nose. "HOW COULD YOU!?!"

"CLOUD! Calm down, man!" Barret yelled. He pulled Cloud off Reeve and held him back. Cloud's face was red with fierceness. Reeve was lying on the ground with a bloody nose and a few teeth missing.

"We should have never trusted you," Red growled.

"Vincent, let him be the first inmate in the new jail. Take him there, will ya?" Barret ordered.

"With pleasure." Vincent took out his shotgun and pointed it at Reeve. "Get up." Reeve remained on the ground. "Get up or lose all your teeth," Vincent warned, readying his gun. Reeve got up. "Now, head on out that door and head towards the jail. Don't try anything funny." Vincent led Reeve out the door.

"When he gets back, we'll start on our way to rescue Tifa," Cloud explained. He took a deep breath to cool down. "Yuffie, could you get a chocobo carriage and hook it up to my gold chocobo?"

"Sure Cloud." She left to go prepare the chocobo. Vincent returned thereafter.

"Vincent, Barret," Cloud told them, "Come with me. We gotta get prepared." They followed Cloud into the basement armory. Vincent got his Death Penalty, Barret his Missing Score, and Cloud his Ultima Weapon. They all equipped themselves with Escort Guards and Ribbons. Each of them got a Master Magic, Master Command, Master Summon, HP Plus, MP Plus, and Mega-All. Cloud got Yuffie's things. "They're not going to take my Tifa without a fight," Cloud remarked.

They went upstairs, left the house, got into the chocobo carriage and left for Junon.

CHAPTER 4: THE INVASION

Tifa slowly opened her eyes. She had a tremendous headache from being knocked out twice.

The room was different. 'I'm in jail,' she thought. All the walls were gray except for the bars. As she sat up in bed she was lying, she on felt pain in her right arm. She looked at it and saw a small scar as if someone had taken some blood. But why would anyone want her blood?

Commander Crefen looked at the blood sample. He handed it back to Dr. Brine. "Start the cloning as soon as possible. How long will this one take?"

"Well," Brine explained, "since we have a blood sample, it'll only take two days for a full clone."

"Excellent. Do you have the clothes for the clone?"

"Yes, her clothes have been taken and replaced with normal jail clothes."

"Perfect. When her friends arrive, they'll find whom they think is she, and then the clone will lead them into a trap. Perfect."

"It's an honor to work for someone as brilliant as you."

"Thank you doctor. Dismissed."

"Well, I sure hope Cloud and them save Tifa," Cid said, walking with Shera.

"They will," Shera assured. She and Cid were watching the town in its normal busyness. It was pretty lonely without Cloud, Barret, Vincent, and Yuffie around. Red was inside the house caring for Marlene.

Cid and Shera sat down on a bench. Everything was peaceful...

"You hear something?" Cid asked.

"No," Shera replied. "What is it?"

"Sounds like airplanes. A lot of them."

A dark shadow passed over the small town of Kalm.

"Oh no." Cid looked up and gasped. "Shinra warships. We're...we're being invaded. Shera, stay right here. I'll be right back."

Cid went inside the house. "Red, we've got trouble. You hear that noise? We're being attacked." Cid went into the basement and returned carrying equipment for him and Red. "Lock Marlene in the basement. She needs to stay safe." Red went upstairs and told Marlene to go into the basement. She came down the stairs, looked at Cid, smiling, and went into the basement.

"So now what do we do?" Red asked.

"We fight for the future of Kalm." Cid wished the others had stayed a little longer. But all he needed was the materia and the Highwind.

Red and Cid stood on a parapet above the house. They watched in horror as airships parachuted soldier after soldier and as boats in the distance unloaded with even more soldiers. Reeve had caused all this. Because of Tifa's capture, four of the team had to leave, which only left two to protect the town. It was all a perfectly thought out plan.

Shera stayed inside the house to comfort Marlene. Soldiers landed everywhere. They came together into one giant mass of both SOLDIERS and Junon soldiers. Red and Cid ran down to street level and prepared to face the army alone. Cid took out the controls for the Highwind. He started up its engines.

Red ran around the town and cast Regen, Shield, and Wall on all of the people as they ran into their houses, and then onto him and Cid. When he returned to where Cid was standing. In unison, the entire army loaded their guns, and started firing.

"Now!" Cid pushed the red button on the control. The Highwind hovered above the ground and flew towards the army. It launched an array of missiles onto the unsuspecting soldiers, wiping out a few hundred. The army still looked as if it had thousands.

"I never knew Junon and Midgar had so many of them," Cid remarked. He guided the Highwind back down. It was no longer of any use.

Red cast Comet2, crushing a few dozen soldiers in an instant. Ultima wiped out the first four rows of soldiers. They starting charging, their guns firing across the battlefield at Red and Cid. The barriers around them were wide enough to protect the town and themselves. Suddenly, the airships began a bombardment of the town.

"Shit!" Cid yelled. He cast Bolt on the bombs to destroy them in mid-air. Debris from them fell onto the ground. He decided to take the airship out once and for all by casting Comet. It slammed into the side of the airship, first splitting it in two, engulfing it in flames, and then causing it to explode. Surprisingly, the Comet continued, finally hitting the ground and more soldiers with a thunderous crash. The last few hundred soldiers took the risk and cast Wall and Reflect on them.

"So much for Magic," Red noted.

"Yeah, there's always summons," Cid reminded.

"Barrier's getting low, so are our magic points, I'll prepare to cast something to help."

"Cid!" Cid turned around to see Shera standing at the doorway.

Shera looked out the window and to her surprise, saw troops coming in from behind. She knew she had to warn Cid.

Shera ran out of the house and called out his name. He turned around and looked exhausted.

"Cid!" she yelled. "There's an army coming from behind-"

"Shera! Look out!" Cid cried, pointing to a soldier he hadn't seen. The soldier was aiming at Shera. Cid began to run at him.

"What?-"

Everything became silent and seemed to become slow motion for Cid as the soldier fired. The gunshot rang through his ears like thunder. He heard Shera cry out as she was shot.

"NOOOOOOOOO!!" Cid shouted, watching as she lifelessly collapsed to the ground. He faced the soldier and stabbed him straight in the heart with the Spirit Lance. He ran up the stairs and kneeled down next to Shera. "No..." he repeated over and over again. "This can't be happening!" He picked up his fiancee and set her down on the bench. A bloodstain was forming near her heart on her white blouse. He checked her pulse, her breaths, everything. She was dead.

"No," Cid said, beginning to cry. He placed his head on her stomach and sat there, weeping over the death of his loved one.

CHAPTER 5: PRISON

"Ma'am, wake up, it's time to eat."

Tifa woke up and saw a tall, brunette woman standing at the door of her jail cell. The woman opened the door up, walked into the cell, and locked the door behind her. "Here's your food," she said, handing Tifa a tray of some cooked chocobo meat and milk.

"Thanks," Tifa replied. "What's your name?"

"Veronica. Yours Tifa?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Commander Crefen asked me to get profiles of the members of AVALANCHE and give them to our scientist. I recognize you from a picture."

"Ah. You see like a nice person, why do you work for Crefen?"

"Well, I used to work for Rufus, and as a matter of fact had a crush on him, but he was killed by Weapon. Crefen was next in line for command, so he's in charge now and I work for him."

"What does he plan to do?"

"Well, since you're going to anyway, he plans to kill you and your friends when they arrive. That, and ruin Kalm."

"Why?"

"He says that when AVALANCHE destroyed the support, the Sector 7 plate fell: two of his brothers were crushed and his parents lost control of their car while driving on top of the plate and were killed."

"Doesn't he understand that President Shinra did it, for completely different reason?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"President Shinra destroyed it to crush AVALANCHE, and then blamed us for doing it. He sent rescue crews to make Shinra look like the friends and us the foes."

"How do I know you're not lying?"

"See what I mean? Why would AVALANCHE have any good reason to blow up the Sector 7 support? I had a bar and friends in Sector 7. My life was there and Shinra destroyed it. The whole purpose of AVALANCHE was to stop Shinra."

Veronica thought about it for a while. Had Crefen been acting under the wrong impression?

"That scar is there because a blood sample was taken from you. Crefen is going to clone you and lead your friends into a trap."

"Wait...clone?"

"Yeah, it reconstructs an entire person by reading that person's DNA, making a clone, exact duplicate, of that person. Looks, voice, hair, everything."

"Where are my clothes?"

"Those are for the clone to wear, to fool your friends." Veronica sat silently for a long time. "Oh my god, I think I see what you're saying. I got to get you out of here."

Veronica got up, grabbed Tifa by the wrist, and unlocked the cell door. She led Tifa out of the cell and around the corner, but was stopped by Crefen.

"Crefen!" she gasped under her breath.

"What were you going to do with her?" He eyed her suspiciously.

"Nothing. I was just going to take her to the interrogation room."

"It's not time for that yet. And where are your supplies? It's in the procedure to always bring along your materials so you won't have to leave the prisoner for one second. I think you're up to something else...It looks like the cell door is wide open. You would have closed it if it were a regular interrogation. Guards!"

"Well, uh," Veronica started, but two guards approached and grabbed her arms. The other two grabbed Tifa before she could make an escape.

"Veronica, you're under arrest for violating procedures and for assisting the prisoner in an escape attempt." The guards led Tifa and Veronica to their jail cells and locked them in. Crefen and the guards left.

"Who was that?" Tifa asked Veronica, lying on her bed in the jail across from Tifa's.

"That was Commander Noran Crefen," she replied.

"That was him?!"

"Yup."

"Well, what are we going to do now?"

"I don't know-"

"Let me go!" Tifa and Veronica both turned towards the noise that interrupted their conversation. Two guards were struggling with the new prisoner. As they led him past Tifa and Veronica's cells, Tifa saw that he was tall and skinny, with short, spiky brown hair. He was wearing black, baggy pants and gray t-shirt and looked to be in his teens. He looked at Tifa as the guards put him the cell adjacent to Tifa's. They then left.

"Hello newcomer," Veronica greeted. "What are you in for?"

"I wrote something bad about Crefen in the newspaper. I'm a rising journalist, but I guess I won't be able to go anything anymore. Hey, I expressed my thoughts about him."

"That was brave of you," Tifa remarked.

"Thanks. And you are?"

"Tifa Strife." She walked up to the bars and stuck her hand through into the other cell to shake his hand, but instead he kissed it. "How kind...but I've just wed Cloud Strife."

"Name sounds familiar...Well he's one lucky guy. My name is Cirrus. Cirrus Raimes."

"And that's Veronica over in that cell."

"So, what are two beautiful women such as yourselves doing in this rundown prison?"

"Well," Tifa started, "I was kidnapped and captured by Crefen. He plans revenge against my friends, but little does he know it's not their fault."

"And who are your friends?"

"They used to be in AVALANCHE..."

"AVALANCHE?! I've heard of them. Yeah! Now Cloud Strife sounds familiar! And you used to be Tifa Lockhart!?"

"Yes, that's me."

"Wow. You guys had an impact on the world."

"It's a long story."

"And I'm in here because I tried to help her escape," Veronica explained.

"Well, it looks like we're all stuck here," Cirrus said.

"I would count on it," Tifa assured him. "I'm sure my friends will rescue me. There'll be something the clone won't know, and Cloud will find it first."

CHAPTER 6: IT GETS WORSE

Crefen sat down at his desk, disappointed that his personal assistant had betrayed him. Dr. Brine entered the room.

"Sir, the clone Tifa has been finished and clothed. When the rescuers come, they'll fall into the trap."

"Good. You can leave. Please tell my secretary to have Lieutenant Fox call me soon."

Dr. Brine left, and afterwards Lt. Fox called him. "Yes sir, you wanted me?"

"Yes. Have you received word on how the Battle of Kalm is going?"

"The death toll is disastrous. Over 500 of our men have been killed already. The enemy is using mastered materia to wipe them out. The remaining 500 have cast defenses on themselves."

"Damn. It's worse than I've expected. Hold on a minute." Crefen buzzed for Dr. Brine. He answered.

"Yes Commander Crefen?"

"How are those clones coming along?"

"Well, the body structures are complete, skin is beginning to develop. It should be done in three days."

"Can you make it any sooner?"

"It takes a while..."

"I'll up your and everyone down there's salary if you make it one day."

"Yes sir."

"Lt. Fox?"

"Yes sir?"

"Dr. Brine says the clones will be done in a day. As soon as they are, train them with everything you know as fast as you can. We need reinforcements for the battle."

"Yes sir." Commander Crefen stood up and walked to the windows again, this time, looking onto a barren landscape.

Cloud, Barret, Vincent, and Yuffie were all hiding behind a large rock near the back entrance to the Junon military base. Two soldiers stood guard. Yuffie peeked over the boulder and threw a four-pointed star into the wall. The soldiers looked at it bewildered. They stared it and wondered what to do with it as Yuffie sneaked across and climbed onto the roof. After a while, the two soldiers turned back around. Yuffie jumped down with stealth and sneaked over to a guard. She grasped his head and aimed him at the other guard. The guards instinctively fired, shooting each other. Cloud, Barret, and Vincent ran up to Yuffie.

"Good job," Cloud remarked. Barret blasted the door controls causing the doors to open. They sneaked inside.

"Don't seem to be very many guards around," Barret observed. "I wonder why?"

"We can find out," Vincent replied. "Being a former Turk, I know a few tricks." He walked over to an intercom and opened it up. "After re-wiring it some, you can tap in on private conversations." He replaced the wires in different locations and closed the intercom back up. He turned the dial on the intercom to find a good channel...and found one. "Let's listen."

"...you received word on how the Battle of Kalm is going?" an intelligent, self-assured voice asked.

"The death...is disastrous. Over 500...been killed already...Enemy...using mastered materia..." A nervous, simple voice informed. Vincent adjusted the dial a bit.

"...worse...than I've expected. Hold on a minute..."

"Yes Commander Crefen?" another voice returned.

"How are those clones coming...?"

"Well, the...are complete, skin is beginning to develop. It should be done in three days."

"Can you make it any sooner?"

"It takes a while..."

"I'll up...salary if you make it one day."

"Yes sir."

"Lt. Fox?"

"Yes sir?" the nervous voice replied.

"Dr. Brine says the clones will be done in a day. As soon as they are, train them with everything you know as fast as you can. We need reinforcements for the battle."

"Yes sir."

"Commander Crefen's the bad guy!" Yuffie told them.

"They're making clones..." Vincent added.

"And they're attacking Kalm. Damn! I wish I was there to protect Marlene!" Barret said.

"Don't worry, I'm sure she's all right," Cloud guaranteed.

"I hope so," Barret uttered, "or they'll be hell to pay."

Red looked over at Cid, crying at the death of Shera. "That's it," Red declared. "It's time to take them out once and for all. Bahamut ZERO ought to do the trick." Red used an elixir and then cast Bahamut ZERO. A bright spot formed above him in the sky, growing brighter and brighter. A beam shot forth from the Bahamut's mouth, expanding as it sliced through the atmosphere and through the sky. The impact of the energy beam landed with a thunderous, reverberating sound on top of the remaining soldiers, disintegrating them instantly. The battle was over.

Red ran over to Cid. "Cid, I...I don't know what to say." Cid stood up, wiping his tears off with his gloves. He picked up her limp body and carried it into the house. Red followed as Cid walked upstairs and placed her in his bed. He covered her up with the sheets and kissed her cold lips. He broke down again.

"Cid..." Red began, putting his right paw over his nose. "I'm sorry."

"She saved my life, but I couldn't return the favor. Please, leave me alone. Don't let Marlene up here either."

Red left the room to let Cid sit by her side. It was the worst day of his life.

CHAPTER 7: THE RESCUE

Cloud, Barret, Vincent, and Yuffie sneaked down corridor after corridor with ease. With all the soldiers gone to battle, hardly anyone walked the halls. They soon found the prison area.

Vincent peered around the next corner to see if anyone was standing guard. One soldier was standing at the far end. Vincent walked around the corner, aimed, and shot the guard in the forehead before he could even react to the intruder. The guard collapsed to the floor instantly. Cloud, Barret, and Yuffie searched the jail cells looking for Tifa while Vincent stood guard.

"Tifa!" Cloud cried out when he saw her.

"Cloud!"

"Come on, we've got to get you out of here. Barret, blast the lock open!"

Barret walked over to the cell door and blasted it down with a few rounds of bullets. Cloud ran in and grabbed Tifa by the wrist.

"I know a way out," she told them. "Come on, follow me!" She took Cloud's hand and led him down hallway after hallway. Barret, Vincent, and Yuffie followed.

Cloud followed her around but then suddenly noticed something. "Tifa?" he asked, stopping her.

"Yes?" she replied.

"Where's your wedding ring?"

"My what?"

"Your wedding ring. You know, the one with all the materia in it."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"What do you mean? We just got married a few days ago!"

"Cloud," Barret interrupted. "I don't think that's Tifa."

"Then who could it-could it be a...clone?" The Tifa clone started running away. Vincent shot her right in the hip, causing her to fall to the ground. "Vincent, Barret," Cloud ordered. "Watch her. Make sure she doesn't escape. I've gotta go find my Tifa."

"Did you hear that?" Tifa asked Cirrus.

"No, what?"

"It sounded like gunshots. I think they're here!"

"Who?"

"My friends! I sure hope they've found the clone." Tifa ran up to the bars of the cell. She tried to look as best she could down the hallway. "Cloud!" she yelled when she saw him. He and Yuffie ran up to her. He used his sword to cut through the door lock. He ran up to her and looked at her wedding ring. "Tifa!" he cried out, hugging, then kissing her.

"Did you find the clone?" she asked.

"Sure did."

"How?"

"Wasn't wearing this," he said, pointing to the wedding ring.

"I knew you'd do it!"

Cloud picked her up and started running down the hallway. "Wait!" Tifa exclaimed. "We got to rescue the other two!"

Cloud set her down and then freed Veronica and Cirrus from their cells. They all followed Cloud around numerous passages and corners until they found Barret and Vincent still guarding clone. A few soldiers lay dead on the ground that weren't there before.

"Barret! Vincent! Come on, let's get out of here!" Vincent shot the clone in the head, killing it. As he met up with Cloud, Cloud asked how he was sure it was the clone. No blood.

Barret, Vincent, Cloud, Yuffie, Tifa, Veronica, and Cirrus finally got out of the building. They ran over the hill, jumped into the chocobo carriage and sped off.

"Damn! They've escaped!" Crefen yelled angrily. "Lt. Fox," he called. "What are the status of the clones?"

"They're in training right now, sir," he notified.

"What are you training them for?"

"Basic military tactics."

"Stop what you're doing. Train them to shoot-and-kill. That's all they need to know. I want you to launch every battleship and airship we have as soon as the clones are done."

"Yes, sir."

CHAPTER 8: VOICES

Red unlocked the door to the basement to check on Marlene. She was asleep on Vincent's old folding bed. Not wanting to disturb her, he returned upstairs and closed the basement door, leaving it unlocked.

Red left the house and walked to the parapet. The sun was beginning to set in the distance. He saw what a silhouette set off by the sun. As it neared, Red recognized it to be Cloud's party. He ran down the stairs and met with Cloud's party as they unhitched the chocobo. Yuffie took the chocobo behind back.

"Welcome back Cloud!" he said, trying to hide his depression.

"Hey Red! Where's Cid?" he asked.

"Um, he's...he's with Shera in his room. She's been shot."

Tifa gasped. "Is she all right?"

"She's dead."

"Oh no," Tifa said, running into the house, followed by Barret, Vincent, and Yuffie.

"So," Red asked the two strangers, "what are your names?"

"Veronica Morris."

"Cirrus Raimes."

"Well, let's go check on Cid," Cloud suggested.

Tifa saw Cid sitting in a chair, facing Shera. "Cid, it's me, Tifa. I'm back!" But Cid didn't turn around. He remained still and silent. Tifa went up beside him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry Cid." She looked at his blank face. He was happy she was back, but he was sad that his fiancée was dead. Tifa stood up and walked back over to Barret, Vincent, and Yuffie. Cloud, Red, Veronica, and Cirrus arrived a while afterwards. Tifa went up to Cloud and started crying on his shoulder. Cloud looked at Cid, then at Shera's body, and turned around, walking Tifa downstairs. He consoled her as best he could, while trying to hold back his tears. All of this reminded them too much of Aeris.

Barret found Marlene in the basement and took her up to her room, past the closed doors to Cid's room. He placed her in bed early and then went back downstairs with the others.

Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Vincent, Yuffie, Red, Veronica, and Cirrus all sat at the table. It seemed empty without Reeve, Cid, and Shera. All this was Reeve's fault. All of it.

Red explained the invasion and Shera's death to the others. Cloud explained his story of rescuing Tifa and finding the clone. Tifa explained what happened to her and what Crefen's motive was. Veronica told them that Crefen would attack with the clones at any time. After all was said, Tifa made a comment. "I wish there was some way to bring Shera back. She didn't deserve to die like that. Vincent, is there any more Life Potion?"

"I'm sorry to say there isn't. Some ingredients for it don't exist anymore. I'm sorry."

"It's okay."

"Yeah, I wish Shera could come back too," Cloud seconded. Everyone said the same thing. They got up and left the house to help the townspeople recover from the battle, and to confront Reeve.

Cid closed his eyes and remembered the life he and Shera shared. She had saved his life but ended up losing hers. "Why Shera, why?" he said. The sun had almost set and the room turned from orange, to red, to black. Only the moonlight illuminated the room. He heard someone clear his or her throat. Cid turned around to see Cirrus.

"Cid," he started, "tell me about Shera."

Cid had needed someone to talk to. He started telling him. He told him about the rocket, the space program, their relationship, everything.

"Wow," Cirrus replied after the long story. "That's so-" he stopped mid-sentence.

"Huh? What's happening Cirrus?"

"Nothing. It was nothing. Voices in my head. I get them from time to time."

"What did the voices sound like?"

"Like a whole bunch of people: men, women, children, and adults. It's weird."

"That's strange...Who were your parents?"

"I don't know. They were taken away when I was a little. Some people dressed in suits came and took them. I hid and watched as they were captured. Afterwards, my aunt came. She comforted me."

"Who's your aunt?"

"I remember the name vaguely. Ifna? Ifal? Ifalna? Something like that."

Cid gasped. He couldn't believe it. This kid was a Cetra and he didn't even know it. "What did the voices say?"

"They kept repeating 'Holy'. I don't know what they mean by that."

Cid ran downstairs and opened a drawer in the table. There was Holy, glowing a pale green...

CHAPTER 9: A SACRIFICE

Cloud and everyone else had gone to visit Reeve, only to find a surprise. He was gone. They found the Cait Sith toy on the ground.

"He used it to escape," Cloud noticed. The toy suddenly came to life.

"Cloud," Cait Sith said. "Reeve has gone off to Junon, to destroy Crefen and his clones. He's taken some bombs and plans to blow up the facility."

"Oh no, we've got to stop him!" Tifa declared.

"No, it's too late," Cait continued. "He's entering the building right now..."

Reeve stopped the car and got out. He walked up to the back entrance of the facility and entered the doors. He needed to find Noran. His brother had gone too far. Luckily for Reeve, he knew exactly where to find him.

Crefen heard his door slam open. "Reeve! What are you doing here!? I thought you were dead!"

"I'm not. Whatever Shinra told you was a lie."

"I thought you were killed when AVALANCHE destroyed the Sector 7-"

"Another lie! President Shinra destroyed it to crush them!"

"I thought you were a guard..."

"No, I was head of the City Development Division. The whole company of Shinra was lies. Now, stop this destructive reign, or I will!" Reeve pulled out a control. "With the push of this button, the bombs I've placed all over your complex will explode. And I think you deserve to die for what you've done."

Cid ran upstairs with the glowing materia. He handed it to Cirrus.

"What's this?" he asked, looking at it strangely.

"Holy. Now, what else does the planet tell you? When you hear voices, you're talking to the Planet. Don't ask questions."

"Hmmm...They feel your pain. When you and your friends wished for Shera's life, Holy activated. They say they're returning the favor for saving the Planet."

"So, she can come back to life?"

"Yes..." Cirrus shook his head and blink repeatedly. "Whoa. Was I talking to the planet?"

"Yeah! Keep doing it! Do whatever they say to bring her back."

"I never knew I could do this! This is too much for me to comprehend!" Cirrus stood up.

"Sit back down! I need you to bring her back to life!" Cirrus sat back down. With Holy in his right hand, he placed his left hand on Shera. The Holy grew brighter and brighter. Cid shielded his eyes. Cirrus's were wide open, as if in a trance. The Planet was talking to him, acting through him...

Cloud, Tifa, Vincent, Barret, Yuffie, Red, and Veronica boarded the Highwind. Cloud took the controls and flew to Junon as fast as he could. But it was too late.

Flames exploded from every window. Explosion upon explosion erupted from the outer walls and rooftop. The first parts of the new Sister Ray that was being built crashed onto the streets below. Fortunately, everyone was asleep, and no one was injured. One final, huge explosion leveled the upper levels of the Junon complex and sent shockwaves through the ground and air. It reminded Cloud of Rufus' similar fate. He turned the Highwind around, glad Crefen was killed, but sad that Reeve had sacrificed himself to do so.

As the party neared Kalm, they noticed a bright glow coming from the upper level of their house. Cloud landed the Highwind and everyone got off as fast as they could to see what the strange light was. They stormed into the house and ran upstairs.

The bright light only got brighter. Then suddenly, it stopped, and darkness returned to the room. Cirrus collapsed to the floor. The Holy materia dropped to the floor, bounced, and then stopped, gradually turning gray in color. Cloud and the others entered the room and turned on the lights to see. They couldn't believe what they saw.

"What's happened?" Tifa cried out.

"Cirrus is a...Holy...Shera..." Cid tried to explain but couldn't.

"Cid, take your time. Tell us what happened."

Cid looked up at Tifa and then at the others. "The kid, Cirrus, talked to the planet. His aunt was Ifalna...They said they were going to return Shera to us."

"Oh my god." Tifa hugged Cid to comfort him. He was definitely in shock. "Come on, you've got to get some rest." Tifa helped Cid up and started walking towards the door. The others turned around too and started to walk, but everyone was stopped when Shera spoke, "Cid."

Everyone turned around. Shera was sitting up in her bed. Cid ran over to her and hugged her tightly. "You're alive!" he yelled.

"What happened?"

Cid smiled and began to cry. "You were shot and killed. But this kid, Cirrus," he pointed to Cirrus's body, "helped you return. I missed you Shera!"

"I missed you too!" They both hugged each other comfortingly. Cirrus rolled onto his back. "Wha...what happened? Where am I? I...I can't see!"

Veronica ran over to Cirrus. "It's all right. Everything's going to be okay. You used Holy to bring Shera back to life," she told him.

"I...I did?"

"Yeah." Veronica helped Cirrus onto his feet. As she led him out the door, he told Cloud, "Aeris wishes you and Tifa the best."

Cloud and Tifa couldn't believe it. "If you ever talk to her again, tell her we love her," Cloud said.

"She knows."

CHAPTER 10: THE WEDDING

"Why can't I see anything?" Cirrus asked, lying in his new bed.

"Cid told us that you used the Holy materia," Veronica explained. "It became brighter and brighter. Since you were talking to the Planet, you didn't seem to notice."

"I still don't know how I did it. I thought they were just voices. It felt so...strange to me. Nothing words can describe. How is it that I did this?"

"You'll have to ask Vincent about that."

"Oh. Well, see you tomorrow morning."

"See you later. Your sight should return by the morning." Veronica kissed Cirrus on the forehead and left.

"Thanks."

Everyone was dressed in their most exquisite and expensive suits and dresses. Everyone was there: Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Red, Yuffie, Vincent, Cirrus, Veronica, and the townspeople of Kalm and Rocket Town. Cid stood at the altar as Shera, dressed in a gorgeous wedding gown, walked down the isle. Marlene was once again the flower girl, tossing the petals onto the ground behind Shera. After that, she ran over to Barret and sat on his lap.

Cid and Shera exchanged vows. When all was said and done, they were husband and wife. Cid carried Shera over to the dance floor. Cloud, Tifa, and everyone else sat down.

"It's so nice to see them together," Tifa remarked. "Let's dance everyone!"

Cloud and Tifa got up, took each other's hands, and danced along with Cid and Shera Highwind.

"Shall we?" Vincent asked Veronica, extending his right hand. She grabbed it, stood up, and together they danced.

Yuffie walked up to Cirrus. "Let's dance!" He stood up and joined Vincent, Veronica, Cloud, Tifa, Cid, and Shera on the dance floor.

They all danced to various tunes, some used at Cloud's wedding, some that weren't. When the dance was finally over, they sat down to have some cake and drinks.

"So, Cid," Cloud asked, "what do you and Shera plan to do now?"

"Well, me and Shera are gonna take a honeymoon at Mideel. I heard the land has returned to normal and they're rebuilding. So we plan to make a house there and help the people there rebuild their town. I also plan to stop smoking...that'll take a while though! By the way, have you and Tifa thought about kids yet?"

"Yeah. We want two, one to be named Aeris, and the other...Zack. A remembrance to both."

"That's so touching, remembering them like that," Shera commented.

"Thanks." They all sat and watched, as everyone seemed to have the best time of their lives.

END OF BOOK TWO