Square Wars:The Shinra Strikes Back A Square Soft Parody of Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. By WarChild ================================================================================ Chapter 1-Ice Everywhere Hello. If you read Square Wars-Leaving a New Hope, you'll have a pretty good idea what might happen here. Enjoy. Note: The Empire Strikes Back are the properties of Lucasfilm, and the FF series, CT, and SOM are properties of Squaresoft. ================================================================================ FOX fanfare blares up. Instead of the 20th Century Logo, the PSX logo is seen. PSX logo fades out. Square Soft logo comes to view. The fanfare ends when the logo fades out. The words, "A long time ago, where The World Is Square" appear. Then the background is replace by space, with the words "Square Wars" appearing in Star Wars style. Then these words scroll up. "Square Wars" "Part V" "The Shinra Strikes Back" "It was a time of darkness for the rebel" "alliance of Returners and Avalanche. " "The alliance just won a major battle " "against the Shinra's newest weapon, " "THE METEOR OF DOOM. " "Fearing retribution, the group led by " "the great pilot Cecil, relocated their " "base of operations on the planet Icicle" "The dark warrior, Dark Knight, ticked " "at their loss, pursued Cecil Darkheart " "with millions of probes across the " "galaxy... " The words finally scroll away, and the image scrolls down. A Mana Fortress comes into view. A planet is seen underneath it. Then small blares of lights were fired from the ship, aimed at the planet below. The one of the lights made it to the planet Icicle. It hit the snow with an explosion. A small byte pops up from the small crater. (A byte is a probe droid from CT.) It starts moving around. Another byte landed elsewhere on the planet. Near the landing site a chocobo with a rider wearing a heavy coat and goggles patrolled the area. Taking out a pair of binoculars, the rider viewed the blast of snow made by the byte. He then took of his hood, and pulled out his PHS. He dials it, and starts to speak in it. "Hey Captain, do you read me?" Cid's voices crackles in response. "I hear you Cecil loud and clear. Man, when I was in this type of place, we didn't worry about warm clothes. #$%#$" It was good to see Cid's voice again, Cecil thought. "The only things living here are indigenous to the planet. I don't think any humans live here, except us. I also found a hot spring. Strange isn't it?" "It has a hot spring because this planet is really a enlarged version of the Icicle area in my game, and the enemies here were taken from that area. It nothing new to me! So quit your yappin' and get back to base!" was Cid's reply. "I wonder Cid, does anything here has the ability to cast Comet?" Cecil asked into the PHS. "#@$%@$% NO! No freaking monster here can cast Comet!" "Well, something fell from the sky. And I gonna check. Over and out!" Cecil hung up his PHS just as Cid was about to protest. Suddenly the chocobo was going a bit wild. "Wark! Wark!" it cried. Cecil wondered what startled it when a group of ice golems tackled Cecil and threw him off his chocobo. His chocobo ran off during the attack. The first thing that came to Cecil mind was, "They can't do that! I'm on a chocobo. Nobody attacks people on chocobos." The he slipped into unconsciousness, and the small golems carried him off. At the new rebel base Cid entered the hanger on his chocobo. After he got off he went to his ship, the Highwind, the ship that kept Cecil from blown away during the battle of Baron. He saw Umaro on the ship, doing repairs on it. Umaro roared to Cid. "Ungah!" "Don't worry Umaro, keep your fur on." Cid called out. Inside the ship Red XII was at the cockpit. He turned the engines on. There was sparks coming from the ship. And an oxygen tank blew up, causing Umaro to fall. Umaro now was really mad. Cid just shook his head and continued on to the command post. The personnel there were still setting up defenses in the base. Aeris was also in the room, talking to General Edgar. "You know, princess, anywhere you go, your beauty astounds me!" he said to her. Aeris slapped Edgar in the face. "OW!" "Geez, general. Can't you just do your job?" reprimanded Aeris. Cid interrupted them both. "General, sorry if I impeded you on your personnel time, but I have placed sensors around headquarters. That way you should be able to analyze anything that comes in." Edgar, still reeling from the slap he received, turned to Cid. "Fine, fine fine. Now, has commander Cecil Darkheart checked in?" Cid threw his hands up. "Sorry, but he been checkin' a something that fell from the sky. I keep telling that $@%@# that nothing here can bring a comet here." "But if something did fell, it could disrupt the radar from tracking enemy ships." Edgar pointed to the radar. "Well, it doesn't matter to me now. I gotta leave now. I must pay Jenova-Synthesis before her men get to me." "It's good to have you captain Highwind, but its hard to lose a good pilot like you. But we all can't runaway from everything." Cid and Edgar shook hands, and Cid went off to the hanger. Aeris then followed Cid. "Why are you following me?" "We still need you." "You don't need me, you can handle everything without me. What is it you really want?" Aeris and Cid stopped in the hallway. "Me? It's the rebellion that needs you. And if you think I want a kiss, you got a slap coming to you!" Cid dropped his cigarette. "$#%#$% That's it I'm leaving!!!" Back in the hanger Cait Sith was looking over the people working. He called out them. "Happy days are here! We have a new base! Come on, people, sing with me!" Everybody just stared at Cait Sith. "Shut up! We're working, and not in the mood!" one pilot shouted. "Hey, moogle mouth, BE QUIET!" Jessie shouted from the armory. Everybody went back to work. "Yeesh! Everybody's a critic!" the moogle/cat robot mumbled. Then a ticked of Cid pushed Cait Sith aside on his way to the Highwind. "Hey! It's not good luck if you push someone." "Why isn't it, you @#$@#$@#*^?" Cid spat back, continuing on his way. Cait Sith then rammed Cid on the back. "Because that someone might push back." Cid fell head first. "Why don't you shut up! You didn't just push me you stupid cat, you #$%#%%&* tackled me!" Cid yelled. Cait Sith then jumped on Cid. "I'm not a cat. I'm just a robot that looks like a cat sitting on a moogle!" he shouted through his megaphone. Robo came in just in time to keep the two from killing each other. "Guys, guys, guys. It's unnecessary to promote violence in this story." he told the two. Cid looked at Robo straight at the eye. "Do you have anything else interesting to say beside that? Otherwise, I'm leaving!" Cid sneered. "Actually, Aeris wondered why you weren't answering your PHS, and she wants to know if you know where Cecil is, for nobody else does." Robo explained. "Look, I turned off my PHS. And why wouldn't anyone else know where Cecil is?" Cid suddenly looked dejected, as he went off in another directions. "What do these humans achieve if they act like that?" Robo pondered. Cid walked over to the guard Piette, who monitors the gate. "Hey, Piette, has Cecil come in yet?" "No sir, commander Darkheart hasn't returned." A chirp was then audible from the outside. Using the sensors, they determined it was a chocobo outside, and allowed it in. Cid immediately recognized the chocobo as Cecil's. "Holy @#$@! Cecil's still out there." He then ran towards the hovercrafts. "Are they ready for cold weather?" he asked Jessie. All he received was a shake of the head. "Damn! I'll have to take them chocobos." "But sir, visibility is very low! Without radar, how are you gonna find him? And besides, the temperature was dropping very fast." Piette warned. "Damn the temperature! I'm going out!" Cid mounted his chocobo and headed out into the cold. Cecil finally regained consciousness. He found himself hanging upside down in a cage. Golems were guarding the cage. He shouted to the golems, "Why did you capture me?" One of the large golems turned and faced him. "Our master has this aversion to warm blooded humans. She says they radiate heat." Now having an answer, Cecil tried to free his feet, but they were frozen to the ceiling. Then he looked down. His Mana Saber. It was his only hope. Then in his mind, he tried to conjure the spell float without the aid of materia. It was draining him, but finally the saber floated up to his hand. He ignited his saber and freed himself from the ceiling, opened up the cage, and sliced up his captors. As he ran out, he came to an old woman. "Please help me." she said. Cecil reached for her hand, but she immediately refused it. "Agh. You been to the hot springs!" Light shown through her. "Ugh! My disguise. It breaking up!" FF7 Boss music begins to play. Cecil turned to see that the old woman was really a Snow in disguise. Snows are cold-blooded women who dislike heat. As she breathed ice on him, Cecil casted Mbarrier on himself. Then he used his materia to cast Fire 3 on her. She instantly melted. "That's funny. Why did I hear boss music? She was a regular monster." he wondered. In the water he found the Alexander materia. He pocketed it and headed out the cave. The outside was getting very cold and low visiblity. It took twice the effort to keep warm then before. Man, now I know how those Japanese gamers felt playing the original FF7 in this area, he thought. Finally he stumbled into the cold snow. He almost passed out, if it weren't for Bugenhagen's voice. "Cecil. Cecil." Cecil tried to look up, and he saw an image of Bugenhagen. Is he going crazy? "Cecil, you shall go to the moon of the Lunerians. There you shall find FuSoYa, the warrior who taught me." Cecil still tried to keep conscious, and called out to the specter. "Buge. Buge." He pasted out. But another figure came in. It was Cid on his chocobo. "Hey! Cecil! Don't die on me!" Cid jumped off his chocobo, and checked Cecil's vital signs. "Well, I knew you wouldn't, for you're the main character. Look's like I have to keep you warm though." Cid placed Cecil on the back of his chocobo. Cecil started to moan. "FuSoYa. Lunarian moon." "Man, you are delarious. But, I know to keep you warm." Cid jumped on his chocobo and pulled out the map. "Thank goodness I kept this map from the game." He trekked through the snow until he reached the hot springs. He pulled from his inventory out a mini water bed and filled it with the hot water, and placed Cecil on it. "That's should keep you warm till I set up camp." He took a tent from his inventory(Hey, Squaresoft characters can put anything in their inventory). He started setting it up, and the sleeping music is heard. "Why don't we get to see a tent on the field? In CT and FF7, all it does is act like an elixer." The next day search squads on hovercraft zoomed through the snowfields. Vicks is heading the squad. His radar starts to bleep. Vicks then pulls his PHS, and dialed Cid's PHS. "Captain Highwind, do you copy? Commander Darkheart, do you answer?" In the midst of all that static an answer was audible. "It's about @#$%$% time you flyboys contacted us. Tell Holzoff to prep the infirmary." Vicks radios through the ship's intercom. "HQ, I found them. I repeat, I found them." he announced, as his hovercraft flies pass the campsite. After some time in the infirmary Cecil fully recovered. His friends looked at him. Robo was the first to speak. "It's so nice to see you recover. I thought you wouldn't make it. The odds of survival were 80 million to 1." Cait Sith chimed in. "But it was a mistake. You didn't take into consideration that he is the main character. I did, and I predicted he would live." As usual Robo and Cait Sith started arguing again, leaving the room. Now only Cid, Aeris, and Cecil were left. Cid turns to Aeris. "Well, you convinced me. I'm staying here. I got friends that I can't let go." Aeris just shrugged. "Well, maybe. Besides, the shield generator isn't up yet." Cid and Aeris returned to the command center, where Edgar was waiting for them. "Princess, we got something out there." He pointed the radar. "And it's pretty close." "Could be a Snow. They hate warm blooded humans." suggested Aeris. "Can't. Main weakness is lightning. Normal enemies here are weak of fire." replied Edgar. "Could be one of our machines." Cid suggested. Edgar pressed a few buttons. A coded transmission could be heard. Robo walked by the group. "You know, being a multi-lingual robot I am, I can tell use this code is probably used in Shinra transmissions." "Whatever it is, its wearing out our welcome. Umaro! Get down here!" Cid called. Outside the base a lone byte scanned the area. Cid and Umaro hid in the snow banks beside the base. Umaro distracted the robot by roaring at it. As the probe droid launched its missiles in retaliation, Cid casted a weak Bolt spell on the byte. The byte blew up. Cid then reached to his PHS. "Aeris, we have a problem!" he said into the receiver. "What is it?" "It was a byte. It was spying on us." Cid quickly explained. "The Shinra must know where we are. Better alert the entire base." realized Aeris. "No. Better hope those shields are up!" ================================================================================ Chapter 2-Giants, Asteroids, and Lunarians, oh my!(or The Shinra Wages a full Scale Attack) ================================================================================ Elsewhere in the universe a fleet of Shinra starships hovered in space. ISFs flew between them. All except one were Mana Fortresses. One was a Super Mana Fortress, known as the Black Omen. The Dark Knight was in the Black Omen, looking out at his fleet of starships. Behind him were a bunch of personnel who were tracking the probes the Shinra has scattered throughout the universe. Rufus Shinra and his father were over looking them. "Son, we sent over a million probes throughout the universe. And not one report yet." Rufus' father spoke to him. "Jeez, dad. I think with a million probes we would get something." Suddenly an operator started acting excited. "I got something! I got something." All the operators started to surround him. Rufus and his father tried to push their way in. "Everybody get out of the way. I have to see this." Rufus ordered. Soon the other operators went back to their post. "See dad? We have something." Rufus shows a picture of a base in a crater surround by snow. "Rufus, my boy. That thing could be anything. I don't think that the rebels would..." The Dark Knight joined them and interrupts. "These photos show that the rebels and Darkheart are hiding on the planet Icicle." "Dark Knight, be rational. Anybody could build a base on that planet..." "The rebels are there and that's final! Rufus, set course for the Icicle planet." the dark warrior ordered. In the rebel base everybody is scurrying around, due to the news that the Shinra has found them. They had to quickly piece together an evacuation plan. Aeris is quickly briefing a bunch of pilots, and Cid is rushing around trying to fix the Highwind. It seemed Tank number 8 kept on exploding on him. While Cid didn't have much luck, Aeris was more successful. "We are going to open up the shield temporary just to send an transport with a two fighter escort. A mako cannon will be used to keep the Shinra starships out of the way." was her quick briefing. "It'll be so hard to get all this medical equipment out." Holzoff looked at all the equipment in the infirmary. Cecil was suiting up in his pilot's suit. "Pack the restore materia and those elixirs and potions first. Then pack the more complex stuff. Cecil then headed out to Cid and Umaro and waved them good luck. "Take care Cid, Umaro. Hey, where Red XIII?" "He's in the ship. We're still trying to fix it." Cid walks towards the door. "Hey Red! Check those oxygen tanks!" In the control center Sabin walks up to his brother Edgar with a report. "Edgar, there's a bunch of Mana Fortresses approaching." he said. "Keep the shields up, until the transports are ready." Edgar ordered. "Hey, Robo, don't get yourself blasted this time." Cait Sith warned. Robo was again going to be loaded on Cecil's Epoch. "Don't worry. The ship should instantly have an Mbarrier on it." replied Robo. Outside the base was bustling with activity. Small cannons appeared from under the snow, surrounding the entire crater that the base was in. Troopers rushed around armed with bazooka and lasers. Overhead the planet was a fleet of Mana Fortresses. In the Dark Knight's chambers of his ship Thanatos approached the warrior. Thanatos waited till the Dark Knight spoke. "What do you want?" "Sir, we just came out of hyperspace. We detected a planetary shield surround the crater. Rufus' father insisted on a surprise attack." was Thanatos' answer. "That man is very stupid in everything. Prepare your men for a ground assault." The Dark Knight then turned to his video wall. Rufus and his father appeared on the wall. Rufus' father begins to speak. "Dark Knight, the fleet left hyperspace and we are going to..." The evil warrior cut him short. "Sorry Mr. Shinra. DOOM!" The fat man dropped dead. Rufus looked at his now dead father. "Rufus, you're now in charge in your father's place. Now, prepare to land the ships, and spread the rest of the fleet. No rebels get past!" he commanded. "As you wish, my Lord." Rufus replied, feeling relieved. The video wall was now blank. Inside the base everybody was cheering, for a transport with two escort starfighters just recently escaped the grasp of the Shinra. Cecil smiled as he jumped into his hovercraft, with Vicks next to him. "Hey, Cecil! How you're feeling?" Vicks asked. "Fine, thank you. How about you?" "I feel like takin' on the whole Shinra!" The hovercraft flew out as others joined it. The pilots were to do ground patrol until all transports escaped. A large rumbling was heard. Cecil thought it was an earthquake, but he was proven wrong when he saw them. Robots. Giant robots. Robots that were based on the Proud Clod and the Giant of Bab-il. Cecil lead in his squad of hovercraft against them, but the armor was too strong. Those giant robots kept blasting away at the hovercrafts and the small defense that surrounded the crater. In the base there were many tremors. As the robots continued on, so did the tremors. Aeris and Edgar were still in the control room. "We got to maintain the shield till everyone gets out." Aeris told Edgar. Cid enters the room. "This base is gonna crumble under us! You gotta leave now." Aeris changed her mind. "Get everyone out now. Evacuate the premises!" she ordered Edgar. "You got it, baby." Aeris then gave Edgar another slap. Cait Sith, who just came in, asked, "What's going on?" Everybody just rushed off to the exits. "Hey, wait for me!" Outside the tactics has changed. Instead of trying to destroy the giant walkers, they were trying to immobilize them. Cecil called out to this fellow wingman. "Everybody, you have a harpoon equipped. It should cause Stop or Paralysis on your opponent." Cecil moved in to do it himself, but he was shot down. He survived the blast, but Vicks didn't. He got out just in time as a Giant of Bab-il crushed the hovercraft. He pulled out his Alexander materia. "Okay, big boy. Time to pick on someone your own size." He summoned Alexander. The robot came up through the ground and fired its laser. Its giant opponent fell down. Cecil then turned to see that his plan to tied up other robots worked. But it was only done a few times. He then saw that everybody was retreating. Most of the defense cannons had been destroyed. A few Proud Clods used its big cannon to blow up the shield surrounding the crater. As Cid escorted Aeris to her transport, a huge icicle fell between them and the exit, a result of the destruction of the shield. "Blast!" Cid cursed, as he got out his PHS. "It's Highwind. An icicle got off the escape route. I'm gonna get the princess out of here." "Where are we going?" the Aeris asked. "To the Highwind." Cid replied, as he grabbed Aeris hand and headed towards the hanger. Cait Sith caught them just in time to turn around. Meanwhile on the other side of the base, the Dark Knight, surround by SOLDIERs, stormed in. In the Highwind, Cid was frustrated. "@#%#@%@! Why doesn't this ship work now? Why, why, WHY?" A bunch of SOLDIERs surrounded the ship. The only thing he did activate though were a few defense lasers. "Oh, well. At least its defense systems work." The SOLDIERs were blasted away. "Someone get this ship to work!" In a fit, he hits the control panel. The ship started up. "Thank you!" He got the ship to fly out of the crater, just as the Dark Knight entered the hanger. He raised his fist. "I want that ship captured!" he roared. A SOLDIER came by the warrior. "At least you said that line in the right story." he remarked. The evil warrior responded by killing the SOLDIER off. "Shut up." he muttered. Outside Cecil hobbled to his Epoch. He saw the Highwind get off the planet, so he thought he should be going too. Robo was getting pretty anxious in leaving the place. "Cecil, would you hurry up? I'm getting nervous." Cecil finally got into the Epoch and it lifted off into space. "Finally. I thought we would never leave this place. May I set the coordinates?" Robo asked for permission. "No, I'll set the coordinates?" Cecil personally worked on the control panel. Robo took note of the destination. "That's not the rendezvous point!" "Of course not. But I was told to meet someone here." Meanwhile the Highwind was constantly chased by ISFs and Mana Fortresses. Many laser blast surrounded the ship. Its occupants got more nervous with every hit. Aeris, in a desperate mood, asked Cid to allow her to fly the ship. "Why do you want to fly this ship? $%*$%! Let me get this thing into hyperspace." was Cid's response. He and Umaro fiddled with the controls. He set the engines to hyperspace and... "What the? #$^#$^ What's wrong with this #$%#$^#$^ piece of junk? Why we aren't in hyperspace?" Cait Sith walked in the cockpit. "I guess I should have told you this, but... THE FLIGHT CRYSTAL'S SHATTERED!" Cid was now angry. "Why didn't you tell me that, you @#$%@#%?" Cid was about to blow his top on Cait Sith, but Aeris prevented him. "Cid, be nice. It could just have shattered on us. Why don't you let me fly the ship and you replace the crystal?" Cid thought about for a moment, only to be interrupted by laser blasts. "Okay. Why don't you fly in an asteroid field while you're at it?" "Huh? Why do you want her to fly into the asteroid field?" Cait Sith asked. Cid left his chair and allowed Aeris in it. "Because, the script called for that!" replied both of them. Cid was about to walk out of the cockpit when Aeris called for him. "Cid, the asteroid field isn't close enough. Do something about it!" Geez, this princess wants everything, he thought, as he walked through the hallway. He came upon a nervous Red XIII pacing. He walked up to the creature. "Hey, Red, make yourself useful and use that limit break now. Aeris gave you that limit break in our last adventure. You should use it." "Oh, alright." muttered the creature. "Cosmo Memory!" With that the pursuing enemy fighters were burnt to a crisp. Aeris then whined. "You guys are no fun. You took the fun out of the asteroid chase!" "Don't look at me! You asked me to do my limit break which upset Cait Sith that he didn't do the shooting game." Cid defended himself. Red XIII came into the cockpit room. "Guys, can't we be all friends and head to the asteroid with the giant hole in it?" Everybody turned to Red XIII. "Don't you dare ruin the story for everybody." they said together. Cecil finally landed on the Lunarian moon. He got out of his ship and looked at the area. All he could he was rock. Nothing but rock and rock structures. So he decided to set up tent. Robo got out and took out the power generator. As Robo recharged, Cecil pondered on why he came here. "You know, Robo, it is kind of a creepy place." "You would know that. You been here before." Robo remarked. "Well, that's true. This place makes me wonder. I feel that I..." "Feel like what?" a voice interrupted. Cecil and Robo armed themselves and faced in the direction of the voice. In front of them was a old man wearing a light blue cloak. He had a cane and a full-grown beard. "Please put away your weapon. I will not hurt you. I just wonder, what are you here for?" the old man pleaded. Cecil now realized why he's supposed to be here. "Sir, I'm looking for someone. A great warrior. This is the Lunarian moon right?" The old man seemed to understand Cecil. "You speak of FuSoYa. The Great FuSoYa. So, you seek to be a Mana Knight do you? I'll lead him to you to his house." My, am I in luck, Cecil thought. "Robo, stay with the ship, and keep an eye on camp." he ordered. Then he proceeded to follow the old man. ================================================================================ Chapter 3-Still More Training ================================================================================ Cid looked around. It was perfect. Absolutely perfect. He has eluded the Shinra in the asteroid field and they are probably racking their brains out trying to find him. The Dark Knight is probably tiring out all of his commanders. The Highwind was hidden in a large asteroid, large enough that scanners can't search through it. It was a good time to do more repairs to the ship. "Cid, can't you help me with this?" Aeris called. She was struggling with a large crystal. Its energy hummed softly. "Well, princess, you should do know how to get into a predicament." Cid took the crystal from her and carried to the engine room. In the center of it was the crystal chamber. Cait Sith and Umaro were working on the wiring on the side of the chambers. Red XIII was bringing in tools to the area. As Cid placed the flight crystal into the crystal chamber, he muttered, "This thing better not break on me this time!" "What about these wires? Half of them are polarized!" mused Cait Sith. The ship suddenly shook, and Umaro had to dive in to catch the flight crystal. "Is it me, or is this piece of rock unstable?" Cait Sith added. Cid got up to shout at Cait Sith. "You're the one who's unstable! Get back to work!" Aeris walked into the engine room. The ship shook again. Cid had to dive in to catch Aeris. Cait Sith noticed this. "Hey, Cid! Get back to work! It ain't playtime you know." he mocked. Cid raised his fists. "I'll give you playtime!" He started chasing Cait Sith. As they chased, Aeris looked at Umaro placing the crystal. "I think they make a cute couple." she giggled. Umaro responded with a groan. Red XIII walked in only to be cut off by the frantic Cid. "Don't those two ever stop?" he wondered. The two then froze in their places. "That's not what I meant." In the asteroid field two Mana Fortresses as well as the Black Omen scour the area for the Highwind. ISFs blasted away any asteroids that approached the larger ships. Inside the Black Omen the Dark Knight is speaking to an holographic image of Thanatos. "I keep telling you, there is no way the Highwind is in that asteroid field. It would have been destroyed by now! Besides what's the point of chasing that ship?" "You tire my patience, Thanatos. The Highwind is still out there! Does it matter that you know why I want it?" the Dark Knight hissed. "No sir. We shall continue on." The image bowed then faded. The evil warrior is then approached by Rufus. "Sir, I got a high priority message from the Emperor Sephiroth. He wants to speak to you immediately." "Move the Black Omen out of the area, so we can receive a clear transmission." the warrior ordered. Rufus complied, and within minutes the giant spaceship left the asteroid field. The Dark Knight then returned to his chambers. He kneeled on a platform, and a giant holographic image of Sephiroth appeared. "What is it you want, o great Sephiroth?" The holographic image began to speak. "I have felt a great disturbance in the lifestream." "So have I." responded the evil warrior. "We have a new enemy. Cecil Darkheart. If he should choose the path of the Paladin, it could cost us everything!" the image continued. "He's only a mere boy. And Bugenhagen is no longer. And yet, I have an idea." "Tell me, my puppet." Sephiroth demanded. "Let's make him join us. He could be a powerful ally." The image place his sword to the side, and placed his hand to his chin, for he was in deep thought." "Yes. Yes. He would make a wonderful puppet. The image laughed. Then he pointed his long sword at the Dark Knight. "Go! Find him. Make him embrace the darkness as you have." His transmission ended with a laugh. Cecil rested on an energy plate. The old man told him to rest there till FuSoYa arrived. Cecil was getting impatient. Why should he rest on the energy plate? He wasn't tired or anything. "Sir, if you mind me asking, when will your master FuSoYa return?" "He returns on his own time. Might I ask, you seek him for his wisdom as a Mana Knight. Why do you seek him?" the old man asked. "Well, maybe mostly because I learned that my brother was a Mana Knight, making me realize my heritage." Cecil answered. The old man paused. "Your brother was a great man, a great warrior, I might speak. He has done a lot in his time." The old man rushed off. Cecil was now completely confused. "What do you know of my brother? You don't know who I am!" He gave chase, and followed the old man upstairs. He entered a room of crystals. Eight crystal chambers surrounded the room, with a crystal in each one. The old man was in the center of the room, speaking. "This boy is trouble. How can I handle him?" "He will learn. He shall listen." It was Bugenhagen's voice. "Too impatient, just like his brother." the old man said. "Wasn't I also impatient? Didn't you gave time with me." Bugenhagen's voice continued. "But he's reckless. I feel anger in his spirit." the old man replied. Cecil turned to the old man. "You're... you're FuSoYa. But I'm ready. Bugenhagen, tell him I'm ready!" "But you are a reckless one. The path of the Paladin is a path of honor. Adventure is not in their blood. They do not crave for excitement. But, you do. You must be committed to the things that I'll teach, if you will be willing to learn." FuSoYa pointed his staff at Cecil. "He has learned. And he will learn more. We all have our surprises." Bugenhagen's voice echoed. "I'll not fail you. I shall follow." Cecil spoke to the old man. Back in the Highwind, things got pretty calm. Cid was pretty sure that the Highwind's problems were fixed, so they decided to wait for the Shinra to leave. Aeris was sitting in the cockpit when she saw something flying outside. When she stood up to get a better look she let out a blood-curdling scream. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Cid and the other rushed in to the cockpit. "#$^#$^! Why did you scream like that?" Cid swore. "Something's flying out there. It looked like a bat." Aeris responded. "$#^@^$*%! You telling me this cave is filled with bats?" Cid shouted. "Oh. I didn't know we came to the Bat Cave." laughed Cait Sith. "Shut up!" Aeris and Cid told Cait Sith. "I'm going out there and blowing up their @$$es. These son of a #@%@# will tear this ship apart." Cid grabbed his spear and placed on a gas mask. "If you're going out there I'm going too." She got out her rod and placed on a gas mask. Umaro placed on a gas mask as well. The three venture outside. Surprisingly, the ground was a little too squishy for an asteroid. "Ewww! Good thing I'm wearing my boots." Aeris retched. Suddenly a swarm of bats surround the three. Cid casted bolt and that knocked a few out. Aeris rammed her rod into a few more. Umaro started running so he can crash into them. Instead he hit a cavern wall. The place suddenly shook and all the bats flew away. Cid was now puzzled. "How unstable is this piece of @#%@#?" He jammed his spear into the floor. Now the cavern was really shaking. "@#%@#%@#^!" he swore, as he managed to get his spear out. "Everybody! Back into the Highwind." he ordered. With great haste everybody returned into the Highwind cockpits, where Cid started up the engines. "You aren't leaving now, are you? The Shinra are still out there." Aeris pleaded. "We gotta get out of here and that's final!" The Highwind lifted into the air and started its treacherous journey to the cave opening. What appeared in front of them was the cave opening, lined with stalagmites and stalactites, was closing. "Ugh! The cave's gonna close on us!" Cait Sith panicked. "This isn't a cave! This is the Midgar Zolom's space cousin!" Cid replied. "What?!" everybody else declared, as the Highwind escaped the jaws of the giant snake and headed out for space. The giant Zolom, on the other hand, slithered back into the cave. In the open plains of the Lunarian moon Cecil, with FuSoYa coaching him, went through obstacle and obstacle, always on the move. As Cecil kept on moving, FuSoYa followed, always talking about the ways of the lifestream. "Run! Yes. A Mana Knight's strength flows from the lifestream." he encouraged. But he also warned. "But beware of the dark side. Anger...fear...aggression. The dark side of Mana are they. Once accepted, it'll never let go. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, your lifespirit tainted by darkness, just like Bugenhagen's student." Cecil looked at his teacher. "Dark Knight. Are the powers of evil stronger?" he questioned his teacher. "No...no...no. But it is quicker and easier to master, and it is more seductive." the teacher quickly answered. "But how am I to what's good and what's bad?" the eager student asked. "You will know. When you are calm, at peace. Passive. A Paladin uses the spirits of the lifestream for knowledge and defense, never for attack." He place his staff in from of Cecil, forcing him to stop. "Clear your mind of questions. We shall stop for now." The teacher sat down, back against a rock wall, and placed his stick to the side. The student, however, looked around. He felt a strange aura in the air. He turned around and saw an interesting rock formation. He didn't know why it was interesting. He looked to his teacher for assistance. "FuSoYa, I feel something in there. It feels odd." FuSoYa picked up his stick and pointed to the rock formation. "That's, my friend, a place contaminated with evil. You will go in there." Cecil prepared to take his weapons with him. "Don't take those with you." FuSoYa pointed out. Cecil ignored this and entered the rock formation. Inside was a temple of some sort. A wall of mirrors was on the other side. Cecil saw his reflection of himself in the mirror. Suddenly the image of himself turned to one of the Dark Knight. Then the image suddenly became real, leaving the mirror from which it came from. Cecil lit his Mana Saber, and the image lit his. They swung their sabers at each other, until Cecil cut off the head. Cecil then looked at the head. It looked like the Dark Knight's. Then it blew open. The face behind the helmet was revealed. His own face was in there. In the Shinra starship the Black Omen various bounty hunters gathered in the large control room. Not only was Slash, Flea, and the Turks was there, but also the Scorpion Army, Ultros, and Sigfried. The Dark Knight briefed them on their mission. "I want the Highwind captured and the pilot, Cid Highwind, and his special passenger, Princess Aeris, alive. You are free to do anything, as long you don't mutilate..." "Darn it!" muttered Slash and Sigfried. "electrocute..." "Blast!" said Reno of the Turks. "blind or squeeze with tentacles..." "Hey!" injected Ultros. "smash..." "Don't tell our boss anything..." mused the two goons of the Scorpion army. "or burn them." "Rats." muttered Flea. The Scorpion Army boss raises his hand. "Excuse me, but, what kinda reward we are expected to receive, for me and my men are hoping for something decent. Something like a planet of our own?" "Silence!" he told the group of bounty hunters. Rufus stood in front of him. "Please, before you yell at me, listen to me. Thanatos says he has found the Highwind!" Like Rufus said, Thanatos' Mana Fortress was chasing down the Highwind as it exited the asteroid field. The Highwind was hit with a volley of lasers as it tried to manuver. Inside Cid frantically tried the hyperspace systems again. "Please work. Please work. PLEEEAAAASSSSEEEE WOOOOOOOOORK!" he pleaded with the ship as he pressed a few more buttons. Nothing happened. "What? I thought you said you fixed it." Aeris said. "I thought I did." Then something was beeping. Cait Sith pointed it out. "Hey, our rear shields are down. One more hit to the back and we're toast." "That's it! Time for some evasive maneuvers." He set the ship to attack speed and turned around to face its pursuer. "You're crazy! If you keep doing crazy thing we're all gonna die!" panicked Cait Sith. "Why don't you stop trying to tell the future and do something useful for a change?" Aeris reprimanded. "All right. I will!" Cait Sith started his limit break, Slots. Outside the craft skimmed through the surface of the Mana Fortress. Inside Thanatos was pretty surprised. "That must be the most craziest pilot I ever seen. Raise the shields." They raised the heavy shield just in time, as another thing appeared behind the Highwind. It was Bahamut ZERO. It charged up its lasers and aimed it at the ship. Everybody braced for the impact of the blast. When the attack was over, Thanatos received frightening news. "Uh, sir. We lost the Highwind, and the Dark Knight wants an update of the chase." a captain announced. Thanatos looked pale. "Okay. Get my space chopper. I'm going to tell the Dark Knight in person. In the meantime continue on with the search." he ordered. Cecil was back to doing exercises. He was now trying to master the spell of float. FuSoYa had Cecil stand on his head. A rock the size of a bowling ball was the target. With great strain he managed to levitate the rock a few inches. "Feel the lifestream. Yes. Let it help you." FuSoYa told his student. Robo suddenly came in. "Cecil! Cecil! You better get back to the ship!" Robo blurted, disrupting Cecil's concentration. Cecil fell on his back. "Concentrate. You must concentrate." FuSoYa reprimanded him. Cecil turned to Robo. "The ship? What of it?" "It's best if you see for yourself." Robo let Cecil and FuSoYa to a gaping hole. In it was Cecil's Epoch. "How did this happen? We'll never get out of here!" Cecil frantically said. "Never. You always never. You don't believe in yourself do you?" the teacher questioned Cecil. "A rock is one thing. But getting a ship out of a giant sinkhole is another." He thought his teacher was a bit impossible. "It's still the same problem, and it requires the same answer." Cecil looked at his teacher. "Okay, I'll try to do it." Cecil finally said. He faced the hole. "Don't just try to do it. Just do it!" FuSoYa quipped. "Isn't that from a Nike commercial?" Robo pondered. Cecil closed his eyes. He pointed his hands to the hole. Slowly and carefully he tried to lift the ship out of the hole. But he felt great strain in his head. He had to let the ship down. "I can't do it. It's too large for me." he told his teacher. "Nothing's too large for the lifestream. It should be your ally. And what an ally it is." He points his staff to the ground. "This planet is bounded by lifestream." He moves his staff in the circle. "All life has a spirit that shall be a part of it. Lifestream creates and sustains. It's everywhere." Cecil didn't seem to care. He just walked away. As for FuSoYa, he looked at the hole, closed his eyes, and started to concentrate. The ground started to shake, as FuSoYa levitated the ship out of the hole. Robo was amazed by the sight of this event, as FuSoYa lifted the ship a few more feet in the air and brought it to the ground. Robo chased after Cecil to tell him this. "Cecil! Come back here!" Cecil returned to the area and couldn't believe his eyes. His ship was now out of the hole, and his teacher, an old man, did it. "I can't believe it!" he exclaimed. "That's why you failed." explained the teacher. Thanatos grasped his neck. "My body! It's breaking up." He then fell to the floor. The Dark Knight looked at the limb body. It soon disintegrated. "I accept your apology." he coldly stated. A few man was on hand to take Thanatos' body, or what was left of it, away. Rufus then approached Vader. "Sir, we can't find the Highwind in the area. It's most probable that it has made the jump to lightspeed." "Well then. Alert the entire fleet throughout the galaxy. Calculate all possible destinations based on their last trajectory!" he commanded. "As you command my Lord." Rufus answered, and left. Unbeknownst to all, the Highwind has hidden itself on the underside of Thanatos' Mana Fortress. Inside Cid was congratulating Cait Sith for doing something right. "Thanks to you Cait Sith, this craft has still eluded the Shinra. The blinding light made a perfect distraction as well as fried many of their sensors." "Well, I do my best. Does this mean you won't turn me off?" Cait Sith asked. "Hell, no. I don't want you to ruin anything else." Cid promptly switched off Cait Sith. Aeris turned to the captain. "So, what do we do now?" "We are only going to let go of the fortress when it dumps its garbage." Cid started. "Gee, the Shinra knows how to make a mess." quipped Red XIII. "Shut up! You see, they would then follow standard procedure and go into hyperspace. Now the question is where are we?" Aeris looked at the radar. "We seem to be in the Costa Sol system." was her answer. "The Costa Sol eh? I know that place sound familiar." Cid then proceeded to hit a few more buttons. The screen then confirmed the name's familiarity. "Ah ha! Cloud!" "Cloud system?" "No no no. You know who I'm talking about. You see, he has a place in this area. Runs an amusement park he conned out. I know you'll like him. You'll definitely trust him." "I can't hardly wait." muttered Aeris. "Of course he does have a girlfriend." Cid added. "WHAT?" 'Oh no, don't let it be her. Not now!' she thought to herself. "Of course, he has a friend you might like. Enough of this, let's go!" Umaro removed the Highwind's claw as the garbage came out the Mana Fortress. As the Highwind mingled in the garbage, the Mana Fortress went into hyperspace. The Highwind then blasted to its new destination. But it occupants didn't know that there was another ship in the garbage. The Turk's Gelinka. Cecil finally seemed to understand his teacher's words. With great skill, he managed to levitate several items, including Robo. "Yes, Cecil. Concentrate. Let the lifestream flow through you. In time you see images. Various images." FuSoYa encouraged the boy. Cecil concentrated hard. Suddenly he had a vision in his mind, a vision of Cid and Aeris. "Cid! Aeris! NO!" he declared, and he lost his concentration. All the things that were floating now fell, including Robo. FuSoYa shook his head. "Can't you concentrate, my boy? Keep focused!" Cecil looked at his teacher, bewildered. "I saw a city in the sky. Bright as gold. My friends, they were hurt." FuSoYa now seemed astonished. "The future. You see the future." Now Cecil looked distressed. "What will happen to them?" FuSoYa focused on the question. "The future is still not written. Many possibilities will occur." Cecil wasn't satisfied with the answer. "I must reach them. Help them." "But is it the best thing for you to do? The paths you choose may have dire consequences." FuSoYa questioned the youth. Now Cecil was really worried. What can he do? ================================================================================ Chapter 4-Crisis in Cloud's City ================================================================================ "Whadda ya mean we can't go in?" Cid yelled at the man at the tollbooth. "Sorry, but you have to pay for those ticket prices up here to enter Cloud's City." The guy at the tool booth pointed to the sign showing the tickets prices to enter the city. Cid continued swearing. "Look, I'm not here for your amusement stuff. I'm here to see a friend of mine. Cloud Strife! You better get him!" The man at the tollbooth was now shaken. "All right. Just stay in your ship." He picked up his PHS. Cait Sith, now turned on, laughed at these series of events. "I bet ya what are gonna get is the 'Friends of the Owner' discount." Aeris turned to him. "Cloud is a gentleman, he wouldn't do that do us." The person at the tollbooth returned to Cid, looking very surprised. "Well, apparently he does know you. In fact he dropped all fees for you. And he has allowed you to use the special guest landing platform, 64DD." "That's much better." Cid quipped. The Highwind then hovered over the tollbooth and continued on through the amazing gold city that towered over the planet's surface. It finally landed on a platform, made only for exclusive guests of the city. The group debarked from the craft, expecting a welcoming committee. They only saw a pair of double doors leading into the city. "No one's here! Did you think he snubbed you?" muttered Cait Sith. Finally a group of people appeared at the doors. "Now there's an interesting trio. Two of them have spiky hair. The third seemed to have cosmetic surgery." The lady in the group, who is really Tifa, turned red. "You stupid robot! They are real!!!!" Tifa then turned her frustration on to Aeris. "So you have come back here to take Cloud back from me, haven't you?" "You just jealous because I got the part of the princess in despair. You just got a part as a bartender in the first Square Wars. Besides I was chosen for my Ancient heritage." Aeris and Tifa kept shouting at each other. Zack, Cait Sith, Umaro, and Red XIII looked at each other. "So, what do you think?" Zack ask the other three. "I say this is the most interesting cat fight I've seen between Tifa and Aeris." Cait Sith remarked. "Ungah! Me like Cid and Cloud fight." Umaro mumbled, pointing to the area where Cloud and Cid voiced their displeasure with each other. "I just say why do people always fight..." added Red XIII. Zack slapped his forehead. "No no no. The city! What do you think of the city?" But nobody paid attention to him. They were listing to Cloud and Cid, since the fight between Tifa and Aeris died down. "You got a lot of nerve coming here." Cloud began. "Especially when you have pulled off that little trick." "Hey, hey, hey! I won the Highwind fair and square." Cid defended himself. "You renamed the Falcon to the Highwind? How could you?" Cloud was now really ticked. "Look, everything is legal and such. I mean, you did that to that gambler Seltzer, remember? If you did that, why can't I?" Both men finally laughed, remembering the good times they had. Cloud finally noticed his other guests. "Umaro, looking good as usual. Red, still got that fiery tail." He looked at Cait Sith. "You look like you can fit in my city." "That's the nicest thing anybody has said to me, I think." Cait Sith replied. Cloud then looked at Aeris. "Hello, what's your name?" Aeris laughed. "Don't you recognize me? I'm Aeris. You should have known." "Hey, hey, hey! I was trying to stick with the original script." Cloud defended himself. Soon Cloud and Zack led everybody into the city, retelling the story how they got the place from Dio, and turned it into a tourist attraction. Cid finally got Cloud's help in fixing the Highwind, despite the earlier argument. Now the only thing else they had to decide on was what to do. "I'll take a stab at the shooting game." Cid muttered, and ran off. "We better get back to work." Cloud announced, as he, Tifa, and Zack departed. "Ungah! Me go fight in arena!" Umaro mumbled, as he went off. "I'll think I'll try my luck at the Wonder Square." mused Red XIII, as he took off. Cait Sith, seeing that everybody has gone, said, "Well, maybe I can bet on chocobo races!" As he headed towards the Chocobo Square, he bumped into another robot that looked like him. It mumbled something incoherent then went it own way. "Unbelievable, Cait Sith Two is actually very rude!" Then he heard a familiar voice out from a window. He peered out to find its source. "Robo? Robo? Are you here?" All he has found was a speeding coaster with a bunch of kids. "Hey, there's a target! Blast it full power and we get a million points!" one of the kids yelled. "Uh oh!" moaned Cait Sith, as he was blasted to bits, later to have all of his parts picked up by a garbage man. Back on the Lunarian moon, Cecil finally decided what to do. He must go after Aeris and Cid. He was packing his ship while FuSoYa was insisting that Cecil should not go. "Cecil! You must complete your training." Cecil shook his head. "The vision's too strong. I can't keep it out of my head. I have to help my friends." FuSoYa kept on insisting. "You must not go! It's dangerous for you to go." "I'll risk anything to see that Cid and Aeris are safe. Do you know what happens if Aeris dies?" Cecil replied. "Everybody knows what will happen if she dies. But, as FuSoYa said himself, the future has many possibilities. It isn't written." Bugenhagen's voice rang out. Then Bugenhagen's image appeared near FuSoYa. Cecil looked at the spirit. "But I may be able to ensure their safety. I feel the lifestream's energy." "But it's still beyond your control. It's all part of the emperor's plan. He's luring you. He want you to be his puppet just like the Dark Knight." the spirit warned. "But I learned so much. I'll be able to save them. I will return." Cecil replied, as he got into the ship. "If you choose to face the Dark Knight, I won't take part of it." Bugenhagen reminded. As the ship blasted off into space, carrying Robo and Cecil, Bugenhagen looked at FuSoYa. "I told you he was trouble. Now, things are worse." FuSoYa said to the spirit. "But the boy's is the universe's last hope." answered the spirit. "No, there is another one out there." FuSoYa responded, as he looked up into space. Aeris waited patiently in her room at the Ghost Hotel. It was only a while ago that everybody noticed that Cait Sith was missing. So they went out looking for him. Finally, Umaro walked in the room, carrying the many parts of Cait Sith. "What happened to him?" Aeris inquired. "Ungah! Ooh ooh! Me find him in trash! Ooh ooh!" Umaro grumbled. Then everybody else walked in. Cid was the first to say anything. "$^#$^#$! Oh my @#%$@#%! What happened?" "You know, it is inappropriate to talk trash here, and speaking of which" Red XIII answered pointed to Cait Sith "looks like this fella ended up in it." Cloud, Tifa, and Zack walked in. "You found your droid? Looks like he has been trashed, literally." Cloud spoke. "If he were still functioning, he would just add on to the trash jokes." Cid laughed. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm inviting you guys to the Event Square. I reserved it for all of us." Cloud announced. "Oh, Cloud. You shouldn't have." Cid laughed. "What are you hoping to do?" "You know, catch up on things, etcetera. Beside, you need to see something else besides that awful Dukes of Hazard." Zack answered. "Don't you tell me that dem Dukes is @#%$@#%@# awful. DUKES RULE!" Cid shouted in protest. Everybody then laughed at Cid. Cid then blushed. "Look, if you keep standing here, we'll be late. Now come on." Tifa ordered. "You heard Tifa, let's mosey." Cloud said. Cid groaned. "@#%$@#! That's a wimpy saying. Can't you say something like movin' out?" Cloud laughed. "All right then. Let's move out." Everybody finally left the room. Cid and Cloud began to talk. "So, do you worry that the Shinra would find this place?" Cid started. "The Shinra, nah. They are happy with their tourist attractions. Besides, people here keep this place a secret. How else would I operate this place despite all those laws that say all tourist attractions must be operated by the Shinra? You know how they hate competitors." Cloud answered. "What do you hope to do about it?" Cid asked. "Actually, I just signed an agreement that ensures that the Shinra doesn't put their nose in here." Cloud replied. They finally entered the Event Square and sat on the front row. "Okay, pull up the curtains." Cloud ordered. The curtains were pulled up to reveal the Dark Knight and the Turks. In disbelief, Cid stood up and started casting Bolt spells at the Dark Knight. The lightning strikes had no effect on the evil warrior, and he, using the lifestream, forced the materia in Cid's spear to pop out and fly in to his hand. Reno placed triangle barriers on Umaro, Aeris, and Red XIII. Shinra's SOLDIERs suddenly surrounded the group. "Sorry, but I had no choose. These guys already arrived before you did." Umaro, Aeris, and Red XIII were placed in the city's prison room. Cid was placed in the torture room where Dr. Lugae was waiting to inject truth serum. Bored with being in prison, Umaro worked on fixing up Cait Sith. He attached Cait's head to the body, and tries to turn him on. "Huh? Where am I?" Cait Sith looks at his body. "AHHHHHHHHH! I've been disembodied! Someone fix me, please!" Outside the prison Cloud was discussing things with the Dark Knight. "How dare you? First you decide to give Cid to those Turks, now you decide to force his friends to say here?" Cloud was frustrated with the warrior. "Considering you have been running an illegal tourist attraction, we can do whatever we want. At least we aren't considering pressing charges, understand?" the evil warrior reminded. Cloud was beaten. "I understand." He then walked to the cells. "Everything's getting worse all the time." he muttered to himself. The Turks, concerned with the screaming by Cid, walked up to the Dark Knight. "Sir, we are worried that Cid might be damaged. We want him one piece so we can deliver him to Jenova Synthesis." Elena started. "Don't worry, you will have Captain Highwind as soon I have Darkheart. And he won't have any permanent damage." he assured the group. Cid was finally tossed in the same cell with Aeris, Umaro, Red XIII, and the almost repaired Cait Sith. Aeris saw that Cid was hurt badly, so she used some Cure spells on him. Then Cloud came in the room. He looked sad. "Sorry to tell you guys, but I got some bad news." Cid was now angry. "#$@%@#%! If we had to hear bad news, it had to be from you!" Cloud continues on. "Well I had no choice. Anyway, the Dark Knight wants Aeris, Umaro, Red XIII, and Cait Sith to stay here. He's given you Cid to those bounty hunters." Aeris was puzzled. "Why is he doing this? I thought he wants us dead." "He never wanted you. He's after someone else you know. Someone named Darkheart." Cloud finally explained. Cid was now really ticked off. "That's it! You put us through all this so that loony can get our friend? What kindda friend you are anyway, you @#$%@#%?" He lunged at Cloud, only to be restrained by City guards. "Sorry, friend, but there's too many things to risk here." Cloud said, as he departed from the room. Outside the city premises a lone Epoch flies in the air. Cecil was worried. No patrol vehicles. Nothing. Robo was concerned too. They both hoped their friends were all right. The Dark Knight looked at the machine. It could be pretty useful, he thought. The city uses this machine to make huge blocks of ice. The warrior hoped to use this to freeze Cecil, so he would have no trouble delivering him to Sephiroth. Goblins were scurrying around the place, maintaining it. "This is a pretty crude facility, but it is very useful. I would have no trouble delivering Darkheart to Sephiroth if he's encased in ice." he mused. A SOLDIER walked up to the warrior. "Sir, an Epoch was entered the outskirts of the city." he told the warrior. "Very good. Allow him to enter. But lead him to me." the warrior commanded. The SOLDIER left. The Dark Knight was then approached by Cloud, who was accompanied by the "prisoners" and a few more SOLDIERs. "Look sir, we only use this machine to make blocks of ice and occasionally used it to preserve stuff, but if you place anything living in the machine you might just killed it." Cloud explained. "Have you not heard of cryogenic freezing? I know I don't the emperor's prize destroyed. But first, place Captain Highwind here. You will see." the warrior insisted. Unbelievable, Cloud thought. He's getting away with murder. He walked up to Cid. Cid looked at his "friend" coldly. "What do you have now, old buddy, more bad news?" he asked sarcastically. "Hardly. They want to put you in that machine and freeze you." The Turks, who were also in the room, looked at the Dark Knight. "Hey, you said there won't be any damage to him." Reno complained. "Don't worry. If he dies, the Shinra will pay double the amount Jenova will pay you." reassured the warrior. That didn't help Umaro at all. He started attacking the SOLDIERs, only to stop when Cid told him to. "Please, Umaro, you're not helping." Cid points to the princess. "Princess Aeris, you must take care of her." Umaro groaned with a yes, meaning he understood. Cid was finally escorted to the machine. He was lowered to the freezing chambers below. With in minutes steam has risen from the hole where Cid was stand. The Freeze spell was heard many times. Finally the platform started to rise. On it was a freezer, which contained the frozen Cid Highwind. The goblins worked around it. Cait Sith took a peak at the scene. "Oh my. Cid Highwind's on ice. Now that's one way to shut up his problematic mouth." The freezer fell down with a deafening slam. Cloud looked at his frozen friend, sensing for any signs of life. "He's alive, but in hibernation." That pleased the Dark Knight. "I knew he would be." He turned to the Turks. "Highwind is all yours now." He turned to the goblins. "Reset this machine." He turned to Cloud. "You there, escort those four to my ship." He pointed to Cait Sith, Umaro, Aeris, and Red XIII. Cloud was now dismayed. "I thought you said they would be staying here!" "Just pray now that I don't ask for anything more." the warrior replied. Cloud stamped his foot. The warrior turned to his men. "Make sure the Darkheart comes to this room." he ordered. Cecil finally landed his ship on a platform. He and Robo got out of the ship. He noticed the Highwind on another platform. Now he knew they were here. But the question where? With haste, he and Robo charged into the city, not knowing what to expect. ================================================================================ Chapter 5-A Dark Secret(or a Mark of a Traitor) ================================================================================ Cecil and Robo went through the hallways of Cloud's City, still no sightings of his friends. As Cecil came upon an intersection, he instantly hid because of approaching footsteps. What he saw come by was a floating freezer case guarded by the three Turks and some SOLDIERs. A SOLDIER noticed Cecil and promptly fired as he walked. The boy retaliated with a few good Fire spells from his materia. Reno also noticed the boy, and unleashed an electric shock from his nightstick. Cecil dodged the threads of electricity. Now that convoy has moved down the hallway, Cecil started to pursue them. But he was forced back into his hiding place when more footsteps were heard. Now coming out of the hallway were a blond man with spiky hair, Aeris, Cait Sith, Red XIII, and Umaro, all surrounded by many SOLDIERs. After given them time to move down the hallway, Cecil motioned Robo to go on and start chasing them. He finally caught up to them when the group approached a doorway. The SOLDIERs then started firing on him. Aeris called out to Cecil. "Don't follow us! It's a trap!" Red XIII did the same. "She's right Cecil! Don't try to get to us." But the group then disappeared through the doorway. Cecil, ignoring Aeris' warning, went through the doorway. What he found was a locked door and a set of stairways heading up. The doorway behind him suddenly closed, forcing Robo to find another path. Cecil left with little choice, headed up the stairs. On the other side of the locked door Cloud and the others were escorted down the hallway by SOLDIERs. Now being fed up, he pressed a button that would contact his friends. In time, Zack and Tifa arrived, with several city guards. The guards aimed their blasters at the SOLDIERs. Cloud, Tifa, and Zack took the guns that each SOLDIER had. Zack then took the guns from Cloud and Tifa. "Men, escort our prisoners to the holding cells. Zack take care of these weapons, and meet us at platform 64DD. Do it quietly." Cloud instructed. The city guards and Zack led the SOLDIERs in another direction. Cloud and Tifa then promptly started to undo everybody's bindings. Aeris is perplexed. "What are you doing?" Cloud looked at her. "What do you think? We are getting out of here." Aeris was a bit skeptical. But Cait Sith accepted the explanation. "Finally, you have come your senses Cloud. What they do to you? Mind Control?" "Shut up!" Cloud told Cait Sith. "What is it with me? I am always told to shut up." Cait Sith moaned. "Just calm down, we don't want to gain any attention." Cloud now worked on Umaro's binds. After he undid them, Umaro turned on Cloud, choking him. "Ack!" he gasped. "Umaro, I don't think that'll help us." Tifa noted. "Look, you're always on Cloud's side, even what he has done to Cecil and Cid?" Aeris retorted. "Look, not only we have you guys to worry about, but a city too." explained Tifa. "Tifa's right. Let's think rationally." Red XIII agreed. "Look," Cloud gasped, "I know where the Turks are taking Cid." Aeris motioned Umaro to let go of Cecil. After Cecil got his breath, he quickly said. "Platform PSX, Platform PSX! If can get there quickly, we might get Cid back. Everybody then rushed over towards that platform, almost trampling Cait Sith. "Hey, you guys really don't care for me, do you?" Cait Sith yelled. The Turks looked at their newfound prize, the famous pilot Cid Highwind, frozen in a huge ice cube. "Okay, load him up, carefully." Reno instructed the SOLDIERs. The SOLDIERs placed the freezer containing the frozen Cid Highwind into the Gelinka. The Turks then walked into their craft. Robo has been wandering the area for a while until he came upon a frantic Aeris, Red XIII, and Umaro rushing down the hall with a blond man with a spiky hairdo, and the bartender from the first adventure? He wasn't sure what to make of this until Cait Sith hopped by. "Robo, get your bucket of bolts here! We're trying to rescue Cid!" Cait Sith shouted to Robo. Robo then joined in the chase. But it was too late. As they arrived at the landing platform, the Gelinka has already started its engines. Cloud unleashed a Meteorain on the craft, but it managed to escape. Suddenly there were under fire from SOLDIERs. Tifa punched them, while Red XIII cut them with his comb. Aeris did the curing, and Umaro did the throwing. Cloud used the Big Guard enemy skill. Now everybody decided to charge through the hallway. Cecil looked at the area. It looked like some sort of freezing facility. In the midst of the fog, he saw him. The Dark Knight. The warrior who killed his brother. He went toward his enemy, and ignited his Mana Saber. His opponent did the same. "The Lifestream does guard you, young Darkheart, but you are not a full fledged Mana Knight." the evil warrior hissed. The two started swinging their sabers at each other, blocking the others blow. While the warrior taunted Cecil, the platform used in the freezing system has lowered. Then the Dark Knight has started forcing him towards the hole. "Bugenhagen has taught you very well." the dark warrior spoke. Then with a few quick swings, he forced Cecil into the hole. "Maybe you haven't learned much. I wonder what the emperor sees in you." Using his powers he turned the machine on. Mist begins to rise from the hole. A figure jumped from out of the mist. The warrior looked up to see what happened. Cecil was hanging from the hoses connected to the machine. "That's why." Cecil looked down at his enemy. "You have underestimated me, haven't you?" The Dark Warrior then took a swing at Cecil, but he jumped off and the hose was hit instead. The hose bursts out with water, and it blasted the warrior with great pressure. The warrior then quickly retreated into a jump tube. Deciding to pursue him, Cecil also entered the jump tube. He found himself in some sort of storage room. All it contained was antiquated game machines. He looked around, trying to find his opponent. As soon as he spotted him, he reignited his saber. The evil warrior ignited his. As he got closer, the Dark Knight laughed. "Foolish boy, always wants to play. How about a game of skeeball?" With that nine skeeballs flew towards Cecil. He enacted a Barrier just in time to reduce damage. "Maybe basketball's your game." the warrior mocked. Two basketballs went through the air. Cecil knocked them down with his saber, and proceeded to swing at the evil warrior. "By the way, Asteroid are coming through." With that an Asteroid arcade machine was hurled at him. He stopped it with Ice magic. "Look out, Mario's going for your head!" Now a Mario Brothers arcade was aimed at Cecil. Cecil ducked it, but more arcade machines were pulled up and aimed at Cecil. Cecil unsuccessfully tried to dodge all the machines, but there were too many. Then one machine hit a window. The sudden vacuum of wind pulled Cecil out the room. The Dark Knight held firm behind a change machine. Cloud kept leading the group through the hallways of Cloud's City. They kept pushing aside opposing SOLDIERs until they came upon a locked door. As the others held off the SOLDIERs, Cloud plugged in the code. "Hey, the code's been changed!" Robo looked at the console. "Don't worry, I think I can access the main computers." A probe extended from Robo's stomach. It was inserted into a socket, but what he received was an electrical shock. "Hey, this is a plug!" Cloud was busy using the intercom. "Citizens of Cloud's City, this is Cloud Strife. We hope that this day will never come, but it has. The Shinra has discovered us. I urge you to evacuate now!" he announced. Cait Sith looked at the now sizzled Robo. "Gee, you would think there would be a standardized plug for the entire universe." They hustled down another hallway, going past the many residents that are fleeing. Cait Sith took note at the items they carried. "Ice cream maker. Bread maker. Juice maker." "Cait, it's not the time to figure out what they are carrying." muttered Tifa. They finally reached the door to the Highwind, and Zack was waiting there. Robo extended his probe again, this time checking for the right port. He accessed all the data in the main computer. He came upon some interesting info. "Hey, would you like to know about the Highwind's hyperdrive?" Robo asked. "Never mind that. I saw it fixed. Just open the door! I've been waiting here too long." Zack whined. "As you wish." Robo finally got the door opened, just as a bunch of SOLDIERs fired on them. "Don't worry! I have a Smoke Bomb." With the Smoke Bomb, they sneaked in the Highwind without problems. The engines powered up and the Highwind quickly left. Cecil got up. His head started to hurt. He used Cure on it a few times. Then he got a look around his surroundings. It was the Battle Arena. He tried to exit. The adjoining room was empty of people. Except the Dark Knight. The warrior lunged at Cecil, forcing him back to the arena. After igniting his saber, he again challenged the Dark Knight. The warrior looked at the boy. "You'll only get yourself killed. Don't end up like Bugenhagen did." Despite valiant moves by Cecil, the Dark Knight forced Cecil into the room behind the arena. A large deep shaft was in that other room. With Cecil distracted by the view of the shaft, swung his saber at Cecil's right hand. Cecil then cried in pain as his hand was cut off, falling into the deep shaft. His saber was in that hand. With his right arm in pain, and his saber gone, all he could do was crawl on a thin ledge that surrounded the shaft. The Dark Knight only motioned Cecil to come to him. "There is no escape now. There is none at all. You now have two choices. You can either fall to your doom. Or you can join me, and end the great conflict that we are surrounded with." Cecil only got angry. "Why should I join you? Especially you, the murderer of by brother." The warrior remained confident. "You really don't know the powers of darkness, do you? What Bugenhagen has told you is all wrong. I am your older brother." Cecil stared in disbelief. "No! No! That ain't true. That ain't true. Great SPOONY it ain't true." Cecil knew what he had to do. He fell into the shaft. The Dark Knight looked down, searching for any sign for Cecil. Then he departed the room. Cecil found himself to be in the middle of the sky. The he finally grasped onto something, the Gondola line. Hanging on with only his legs and left hand, he cried out, "Bugenhagen! Bugenhagen!" Then without reason he also cried out, "Aeris! Aeris!" Aeris was in the cockpit with Zack, Umaro, and Cloud. She seemed a bit focused on something. She felt a voice in her head, Cecil's voice. Then she saw it. An image of Cecil hanging from the Gondola wire. "Cecil!" she blurted out. "Pardon?" Zack inquired. "Cecil's still out there. We have to save him!" she explained. Robo entered the cockpit. "Yes, he's out there. I forgot about him." Robo added. "If that's so, we have to go there. Umaro, turn this thing around." Cloud ordered. With a turn the Highwind redirected its course towards where Aeris felt Cecil was. Then they all saw it. A person hanging on the Gondola wire. Cloud jumped out. "Zack, bring me over him." He approached Red XIII. "Get the harness ready!" he instructed. Soon he was on the outdoor platform. After Red XIII placed the harness on Cloud, he lowered himself to Cecil. After he got a good grasp on Cecil, Red XIII pulled up the harness. With Cecil finally onboard, the Highwind returned to its normal course. Only this time ISFs pursued them. The ship finally entered space, with enemy craft on its tails and a Mana Fortress ahead of it. The Dark Knight was in that ship. He looked to Rufus Shinra. "Did you have your men deactivate the hyperdrive and did you prepare the boarding party?" the warrior inquired Rufus. "Yes. We did all what you asked. The ship will now be in range." Rufus answered, reassuring the menacing figure. "Good." He motioned Rufus to leave. Then he concentrated on tracking Cecil. "Cecil, you know who I am." Cecil's was in the ship infirmary, where Aeris and Tifa worked endlessly to make him feel better, despite the cut hand. He felt the Dark Knight's word flooding his mind. "Buge, what is the truth, I must know." he muttered. In the cockpit, Cloud, Zack and Umaro prepared the ship for hyperspace. Robo, realizing what will happen, rushed over to Cait Sith. "Cait Sith, no time to explain, but we must head to the engine room, fast." Robo darted towards the engine room. "Hey, what's going on?" Cait Sith followed the robot, just as Cloud tried to make the jump to lightspeed. It failed again. Cait Sith and Robo entered the engine room. Robo dragged Cait Sith towards the Crystal Chamber. "I read on the Cloud City's computer that the Flight Crystal has been disconnected. We must reconnect it." Robo explained. "So what? We don't know how they..." Cait Sith tried to say, as he tripped over a wire. Robo inspected the wire. It was really a plug that seemed to be recently unplugged. "I think you just found it." Robo took the wire and plugged it in. The ship finally went into hyperspace. Rufus gulped. He was sure that his men deactivated the hyperspace systems. "Please, Dark Knight. Don't kill me." he pleaded. Dark Knight looked at Rufus square in the eye. "I won't kill you now. You're just not worthy of it. Maybe in another story." Cecil looked at his hand. It was a product of robotic technology. It almost felt like a real hand. He looks at his doctor. "Thanks for the new hand." he thanked the doctor. "Told you I was the best. I did worked on Barret's hand you know." the doctor bragged. Cecil chuckled. Aeris, Tifa, Robo, and Cait Sith were at the room. Cecil took out a PHS, and called up Cloud, who, with Umaro, Red XIII, and Zack, was in the Highwind. The Highwind was currently docked on the medical spaceship that Cecil was in. "Cloud, remember our plan. If you find the Turks and Jenova, you will contact me." he spoke into the PHS. "Right. Then we meet at the rendezvous point on your home planet Corel. Guys, don't worry. We'll get Cid back." Cloud responded. With his treatment done, Cecil and the others went to the hanger to wave goodbye. The Highwind appeared into view, then jumped into hyperspace. Outside, Big Whales, Epochs, and FF8 jets surrounded the medical ship, patrolling the area. Despite their losses, they have found a new sense of hope. Fanfic completed on August 21, 1998 Revised on March 9, 1999