They ran for what felt like hours, until they were finally out of Nibelheim itself. They all collapsed on the beach of the small inlet that graced the town, taking drinks and dunking their heads in the water.
Amanda spoke first. "What happened there?"
Charles said, "We found all of Cloud's materia in the back of the cave. Then Tion just started to go nuts. He smashed the cave and started to kill everyone."
John, lying down, said, "Figures a Rashion would go insane."
Charles kicked John in the side. "I'll have you know that Rashions are fine souls! True intelligence! Which is more than I can say for you! MY BEST FRIEND IS A RASHION!!" Charles sat again, dropping his head. "Or, at least, my ex-best friend."
Amanda walked to Charles and put her hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll find out what really going on."
Cid suddenly spoke up. "It's getting dark. We should find shelter."
John said, holding his rib cage, "Why don't we just go back into Nibelheim and stay at Lockheart Inn?"
Amanda frowned. "I am not going in any way, shape, or form in the direction of that mountain."
Cid nodded. "My feelings exactly. Let's start moving."
They walked along the beach for an hour, taking in the low sun lighting the air ablaze, and leaving behind the disaster of the mountains. Then they came across an old shack. It was clearly timeworn, made of old wood and a small chimney.
Charles said, "Maybe whoever lives here can help us for the night."
Amanda knocked on the door. It opened, but no one was behind it. The quartet walked in, wary of what might be inside. Cobwebs hung from the corners of the ceiling; dust adorned the floor. John, in the dark, stumbled over something and almost fell. Charles grabbed at what John tripped over.
"A lantern," Charles said happily. He ignited a match and lit the lamp. The shack was small, and looked as if it wouldn't be able to hold four people, much less five. However, there was a table with a note on it. Charles went over to it and gasped. "Cid, this note is addressed to you."
Cid took the lantern and read the note out loud. "'Cid Gainsborough - If you're reading this, it's probably 6:12 P.M.'"
John checked his watch. "Oh, man........ It is 6:12......."
Cid's eyes widened, then he continued, "'As you can see, I know much about you. You're quite an important person. And my job is to make sure that what you are going to do goes off without a hitch. Maybe you've heard of me? My name is Bugenhagen."
Amanda gasped. "The great scholar of years past!"
Cid finished it. "However, that isn't what I go by nowadays. You can call me......"
After a beat, Charles motioned for Cid to continue. Cid shrugged.
"Sandra," said a voice in the dark. "You can call me Sandra." Out of the shadows stepped a particularly lovely 26-year old woman, wearing a t-shirt and shorts. She said, "And the rest of you are?"
After everyone had a cup of tea, Cid inquired, "Sandra, how is it that you are Bugenhagen? He died more than 500 years ago, and you certainly don't float like he did. You're not even a he."
Sandra smiled. "You must understand, Cid. When energies are combined to make a new lifeform, gender is not a part of the energy's rebirth. That is a physical matter, and it is determined by which pollen goes into the pistil, if you will excuse the metaphor. Cid, the reason I am here is part of a far larger story. And it starts with Hojo."
All sat back in their chairs and listened to Sandra weave the tale. She went on, "Hojo of Shinra has committed many crimes against this planet, but none so great as to tempt the strange alien creature Jenova into controlling this planet in the name of science. He implanted Jenova cells in the members of SOLDIER, a military force of Shinra, along with his son Sephiroth, Lucrecia, who bore his son, and himself. And yet, his science could not uproot the facts of the study of planet life. When anything of this planet dies, the energy is reborn, but not on its own. It is combined with other energies, making the new birth different. Also, the new birth retains no attributes or memories of the former lives. But Jenova is an alien, and is bound by different rules than our planet's. Jenova's energy will be reborn, but will retain attributes. And those with Jenova cells in them- their energies will also retain traits, but still combine slightly with other energies. And Cloud, who got cells from Hojo's efforts to make Sephiroth-clones, and Sephiroth himself both have Jenova.
"Fact is, Cid, you are the 'reincarnation', if you will, of Cloud's energy. And, in turn, Tion is Sephiroth." She looked at their faces. "You seem shocked. But, Cid, your face asks me 'Why now?'. Fact is, it takes energy 500 years to go from death to rebirth. Sephiroth's energy is back, and yours is, as well. The planet sensed that history would repeat itself, since you would both be retaining characteristics. So, the planet approached my energy before I rebirthed, which would have been right before Sephiroth, and asked me to be the one to retain my memories and watch over the events, making sure they go smoothly. I naturally was happy to help the planet, and so I spent more time in the Lifestream, where the planet taught me all the tricks of the trade in being a referee to this whole ordeal."
Charles finally spoke. "Hold it. If all you say is true, then prove it."
Sandra grinned. "There's plenty of proof. But here's one example that will help me note another part of this story. How old is Tion?"
"He's 84, I think," Charles said.
"Okay. Rashions have a 3 to 1 year ratio, like Nanaki. He was 48. Divide that by three? 16. Tion is 84. Divided by three makes this 28. The age Sephiroth was when he went mad at Mt. Nibel. Making sense?"
Charles nodded. Sandra continued, "You see, Cloud lived to be 103. Once his energy was coming to the point of rebirth, the planet realized that he would only be 2 when Tion would go mad. So, instead of birthing Cid to parents, the planet simply birthed him at the age of 19. Charles, you said he was 22. But that's only a guess, isn't it?"
Charles grinned sheepishly and nodded. "Cid is now 21. The age when Cloud beat Sephiroth.," Sandra stated. "Now, I suggest we get a move on."
Cid asked, "To where?"
"To Cosmo Canyon. There's some special things there that you need to see."
John yawned. "Isn't it kind of late?"
Sandra opened the window to show the sunset. "It's barely dusk. C'mon, I've got a jalopy that should hold all of us."
Upon arrival at Cosmo Canyon, the four survivors were duly impressed. It was a very small village built into a canyon peak, with a large observatory up at the top. Sandra looked upon the place like she was going to burst into song.
The guard at the entrance took a look at the group and said, "Hey, Sandra! Are these the four cousins you said would be visiting?" They all looked at Sandra, who winked to Cid.
"Yep. This is Amanda, this fellow right here is Charles, that scrawny guy is John, and THIS is Cid."
The guard smiled. "Ah, Cid. Sandra tells me you're the kind of person who will change the world someday."
Cid laughed nervously. "Uh, yeah, you could say that..."
The guard laughed. "C'mon in! Farnell and Jacky are waiting for you!" He opened the gate and let them all in.
John said, "What is this place?"
Sandra grinned wide. "This is Cosmo Canyon. The home of the Study of Planet Life."
Charles nodded. "Yes, I've heard of this place. Probably one of the only places to retain the same structures as those from 500 years ago. And your home, Sandra."
Sandra smiled happily and led them up many flights of stairs, to the observatory up top. "This used to be my home. Now, some people with interesting pasts live here."
They knocked. A black man opened the door. He wore glasses, and looked very scientific. His eyes lit up behind the specs when he saw who was at the door. "Sandra! You're back! And with Cid, I see." He shook all of their hands. "I'm Farnell. I live here with my sister Jacky and my wife Vanessa. Come in, come in! Have some donuts!"
Sandra shook her head. "We really need to get a move on, if we hope to succeed in our ultimate mission. Get Jacky and let's go." Farnell nodded and began to walk away until Sandra stopped him once more. "And.... um.... bring the donuts, too."
As they walked down the stairs once more, Jacky explained to Cid who they were. "We're the descendants of Barret Wallace, one of Cloud's greatest allies. Barret, after the 'great event', came here and became a Planet Life scientist. It's been the family trade for generations."
Cid nodded as he climbed down the ladder. "But what is it that's so important it can't wait for us to sit down?"
Farnell cut into the conversation. "You have to know this about Sandra. We've known her all of her life, and yet she always seemed odd. Then she told us her great secret, and we've been helping her plan this moment ever since. It's what her whole life is about, and she's very determined to not fail."
They reached a large, sealed metal door. Two sensors rose. Jacky and Farnell put their hands in front of the sensors at the same time, opening the door. They all descended into a green, warped, downwards tunnel.
Sandra said, "As you all can guess, the Crater at the North Cave has been heavily explored. What most people don't know is that Cosmo Canyon was the first to get there."
Farnell added, "And what we found was better than anything else in that big hole. The family's been working on restoring it for about 400 years, keeping it down here. And now, as you've shown up, we had just finished our repair."
They reached bottom and went through the opening into the cave. It had been hollowed out to make a large amount of room. And in it, the Highwind sat, fully restored and looking newer than ever. Charles looked in awe, as did the rest. Cid approached the airship and touched its side. Like hard metal. "It seems like it's been improved upon."
Farnell and Jacky weren't sure what Cid meant until Sandra whispered to them, "One of the attributes he gained wasn't Cloud's memory, but Cloud's knowledge of things. He knows what the ship's supposed to feel like."
They nodded in acknowledgement. "We've made some changes from the original design, due to stronger alloys and better engines over the span of time."
Sandra pressed a button on a small remote in her pocket, allowing a ladder to drop. "Well, let's hop aboard."
Amanda looked puzzled. "What, we're getting on now?"
Sandra nodded. "This is going to be our home from now on. Living quarters have been added. Enough for one room per person," the former scholar stated.
As the quiet night began, small children began to be tucked into bed. Adults went downstairs to snuggle in the warmth of their loved ones. And the people of Cosmo Canyon, fully aware of the project lurking beneath their village, stood in the courtyard, beside Cosmo Candle. They were waiting, waiting for the flight. All went quiet, and none moved as each individual stared at the sky with silent concentration.
After 5 minutes, the ground began to move. Suddenly, the citizenry saw as the Highwind, supported by its virtually unscratchable alloy shell and modern rocket boosters, burst from the depths of the Cave of the Gi, brightening the sky once more, gloriously soaring across the stratosphere. The people all hollered and cheered, and two black scientists sniffed, as they knew the adventure had begun....
"AAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!" John screamed as he looked over the side of the airship. "Oh, God, I'm gonna puke....." He bent over and lived up to his word.
Charles, taking in the moving air and the high thrill of flying, snorted in disgust at John's antics and continued to enjoy the experience.
Meanwhile, Cid and Amanda talked with Sandra in the cockpit. Sandra said, "This airship was the only joy of Cid Highwind's life until he reached outer space. It was THE airship in which Cloud flew into the North Cave. It was greatly damaged in an explosion of Spirit Energy from the crater after their final battle with Sephiroth. And now, it is ours to use."
Amanda asked, "What do we do now?"
Sandra replied, "Well, to end the chain of events, Cid must face Tion one-on-one and defeat him. Even after Cloud and his friends destroyed what was called Seraph Sephiroth, Cloud was summoned back to finish Sephiroth off on his own, using the Omnislash technique. But that's not going to be what we do right now. As you can see, Cid has no weapon, let alone any Materia."
Amanda said, "But Tion took all the Materia. It was lying in Mt. Nibel."
Cid got their attention. He said, "Actually, not all of the Materia was there. Only two Summon materias were there."
Amanda scratched her head in confusion, but Sandra said in excitement, "That's right! You see, Amanda, Summon materia call forth powerful beings to aid you in battle. And there's a good reason why only two were at Mt. Nibel. After the meteor, the party of eight people-- Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Cid, Nanaki, Reeve, Vincent, and Yuffie-- went their separate ways. Though Cloud and Tifa, who had become a couple that would last the rest of their lives, kept the Magic, Command, Support, and Independent materias, the Summons were split up between them for protection of wherever they lived. Cloud and Tifa had only two summons: Shiva and Neo Bahamut. Tion has those, but not the others."
Cid nodded. "And he'll probably be coming for those other Summons." Then his eyes lit up. "Who has Knights of the Round, Sandra? Cloud probably mastered that, too!"
Sandra said, "Yeah, he did! I think Yuffie took that one, along with four others! The greedy little pig..." Then she reached in her pockets. "Oh, yeah! Farnell gave me these two Summons that Barret took!" She handed Odin and Ramuh to Cid. Cid grinned and said, "Let's rocket!!"
Landing outside of Wutai, the five walked in. John, upon seeing the place, immediately ran off to go buy Wutai merchandise. The other four were properly disgusted.
Charles said to Sandra, "What's the big deal about this place?"
Sandra shook her head. "Yuffie, upon getting five Summons, created a little family business of deception. While most other places took care not to make a big deal out of the 'great event', (except for Nibelheim, which notes the fact that Cloud and Tifa spent the remainder of their years in Strife Mansion, formerly Shinra Mansion), Wutai began to say that their town was 'the place where it all happened'."
Cid snorted. "That's not true. Barely anything happened in Wutai."
Sandra smiled at Cid. "There's that Cloud knowledge of yours. Anyway, what Yuffie and her descendants failed to tell anyone was what the Materia actually was. Soon, people just forgot. In fact, I've heard the story they use for the five orbs. It's completely made up, probably because they don't know the real reason."
Amanda nodded. "Well," she said, "we ought to go and get those Materia. We'll approach the descendants of Yuffie and ask to borrow the Summons. Money's not a problem, either, since we know John brought his checkbook. Remember, he's Mr. Dean's Nephew." Cid and Amanda walked over to John, who had just bought a photo.
"Look!" he said. "It's Cloud standing in front of the Five-Storied Pagoda, waving! This is 500 years old, and I just bought it!"
Cid took the framed picture and examined it. "The eyelashes are too long and the waist is too small," judged Cid. "Chances are, that's Yuffie doing a cheap imitation."
John's jaw dropped. Then he threw the frame back at the salesperson. "You jerk!" He started to pound the ground. "I paid 10,000 gil for that thing! Ow.." he said, holding his bruised knuckles.
"You people must take me for a complete sap," said Bonnie Kisaragi. "Those five orbs are the biggest sell I have. Nobody knows what they are, but they make people flock."
John, standing in front of everyone else, said, "I have a LOT of money. I can pay enough to compensate for your loss while we borrow it."
Bonnie laughed at him. "No way! One of those orbs is a family heirloom! You can't possibly pay enough money! Anyway, I simply don't want to, and I enjoy being able to say that. So beat it, before I get tough with you."
Charles started to reach for his gun, snarling. Bonnie caught sight of that and quickly said, "Oh no, you don't." She held up some small objects. "These little things right here will get you outta here if you don't leave now. They're Dragon Scales, and they'll flood you so fast you'll be fishing in your ears."
The group frowned, and started to leave. Before she left, Amanda turned to look at the sign that said "Bonnie Kisaragi". She snorted and quipped, "I see your family's too stupid to realize that the girl takes the name of the husband." With that, she left.
Bonnie grabbed the sign and said, "She does?!"
"Fantastic," Charles muttered as he sat on a bench. "Now what are we going to do?"
John, not listening to anyone, said, "How could she even think I didn't have enough money...?"
Amanda, answering Charles, said, "Well, if we can't get the Summons with her permission, we'll have to get them without her permission." The wind started to kick up a little as she continued. "You see, we can sneak in at night while she's asleep. She doesn't look like too much of a diligent worker."
Sandra brushed the hair out of her eyes as it blew into her face. "But wouldn't she have security measures?"
Amanda quickly turned to Sandra, since it took her face out of the wind. "Naah, she probably uses her money for expensive living, not for business. Anyway, we'll--"
Cid cut Amanda off. "Anybody hear that?"
"Hear what?" John replied.
Charles nodded. "Sounds like strong winds coming."
Amanda, facing the sea, said, "Looks like it, too." She was staring at a large tornado.
As the tornado came closer, the five prepared to hide. But Cid grabbed some Wutai binoculars and looked at the top of the tornado. Tion was riding the whirlwind, eyes blazing red.
"Oh, my god..." Cid muttered. The other four, being able to see Tion now without binoculars, came out and stared. Tion looked at them, and snorted. Then, a green glow came from one of his shoulders. A materia.
John whimpered, "Why is his shoulder glowing?!"
Cid replied, "He put the materia in his body. It's the only place he can put it."
Tion started to release large flaming boulders down at the city. Amanda screamed. Cid yelled out, "He's using Comet!!!! Run for it!!!!!"
The five of them started to run from the carnage as Tion lowered himself to the exhibit with the five Summons. Tion blasted the door open with a gravity shot and grabbed one summon. Then, he mounted the tornado and left the city in ruins.
Cid, seeing this, ran back. The others followed him into the museum. He grabbed at the four Summons, then stamped the ground. "He's made off with Knights of the Round!"
Everybody groaned. Then Bonnie came up to them, covered in debris. "Whoa!! What was that?!"
Charles grinned at her. "What we're fighting."
Bonnie collapsed. Then she got up and said, "Whoa, no wonder you wanted these! Take 'em! Just give that pansy a smack for me, okay?" Cid nodded, but thought, Pansy?
Sandra picked the four orbs up. "Which are these, Cid?"
Cid concentrated on them. "Ifrit, Leviathan, Kjata, and Phoenix. Not bad."
After they were hovering in the air again, everybody sat and tried to make sense of what had just happened.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" John screamed. Amanda took no hesitation in smacking him. John looked at her liked that was a love pat, which prompted her to gag and go sit by Cid.
"We need to get Typoon and Bahamut ZERO. Those are the next strongest summons," Cid noted.
"But wouldn't Tion be going after those as well?" Amanda protested.
"No," Cid replied. "If he were after ALL the summons, he would have taken the other four at Wutai. And if he were after only the powerful ones, he would have taken Phoenix along with Knights of the Round. But all he took was Knights, which means that he wants to assure that no one can use that against him. He must be powerful enough to fend off the other summons."
Charles said, "Then isn't our chase of these orbs useless if we can't stop him with them?"
Cid shook his head. "He's forgetting about me. He simply wanted to assure that he had the most powerful summon in his possession. We can get all of the other summons and use all of them at once, making an attack that even he can't withstand."
Sandra added, "But we should get them as quickly as possible, before any other city suffers."
Cid nodded. "So, where are they? Who has them?"
Sandra thought, then spoke. "Reeve had Typoon, along with Titan and Choco/Mog. He lived in Costa del Sol, after buying the Cloud Villa from Cloud. Cid had Bahamut ZERO, along with Alexander."
Charles interrupted. "Oh, that's easy. We'll just go back to Rocket City and--"
Sandra cut Charles off. "That doesn't happen to be where Cid stored them. There's a small cybercafe in Junon with a safe, and it's got a combo lock."
Cid smiled. "Okay, then. Me and Amanda will get dropped off at Costa del Sol and you three take the Highwind to Junon."