Due to a death in the immediate family of this author,
This Chapter is Dedicated to my Mother...
January 22, 2003
“Wh-what happened?” Rose said, blinking in the bright sun.
“You kids got a lucky break that’s what!” Cid said, staring at her in disbelief, “I watch you take a suicide dive down a 2-mile deep waterhole, and then that hole disappears, nothin’ but water down there! God must of given you kids bungee cords, cuz’ I sure as heck didn’t see you come back up!”
Rose looked around, and sure enough, her troupe of friends had somehow managed to make it to the surface.
“But how? We were 50 leagues away?”
“Hey, kid,” Cid interrupted her thoughts, “since you’re the first one to be awake, you tell me what happened.”
“How can I tell you? I don’t even know myself!” Rose said blatantly.
“Hrm,” Cid scratched his grizzled chin, “Know what I saw? Nah…forget it, just an old man’s eyes playin’ tricks on him…”
“What! Tell me, what did you see?”
“Would ya believe a lion? Big thing, with wings as big as the rotors on this here ship!”
“A-a- lion?” she stuttered.
“That’s what I said, kid, you deef or sumthin’? Nah, you ain’t deaf, you just don’t believe me ‘s all…yep, I’m getting old, but I’m pretty sure…,” he scratched his head, thoroughly puzzled, “that I saw that thing pull you guys out of the water…,”
Taken aback by what she just heard, Rose leaned on the bow of the ship to clear her thoughts.
“Lion? With wings? Did he really see that? But…something like that’s impossible…! I can’t summon Aeons, not like Tempest can! I’m just a…just a red mage…right? I mean, they were only kidding about a lion following me at the Black Magic Forest right? And that Truth mirror…I was seeing things, right? But…Garnet said that the mirror only revealed who we really were…our true selves, and I felt…family when I looked in that mirror.”
She turned back and mildly replied, “I really don’t know what it was that you saw,” she smiled meekly, “but I’ll try and find out for myself…”
“Well, it’s about time we woke up the rest of them anyways…,” Cid muttered.
Using some smelling salts he had stored away for just such an emergency, Cid was able to revive the rest of the group.
“Eh? We’re back on the ship?” Pharda jolted back to consciousness.
“How? What?” Andomiel echoed Pharda’s tone.
“Exactly what I was going to say, Andy,” Fenris chirped.
“What….happened? The last I remember was trying to summon and swim up to the surface, but I blacked out…” Tempest said.
“Rose, you know what happened?” Andomiel asked her in a tone that denoted she knew or thought she knew something.
“I…” she was speechless, “I could tell you what Cid saw, and I could tell you what I believe happened…but I really don’t know for sure…”
“C’mon, Rose, spill it…” Urd tried to be blunt.
“Enough,” Strife interrupted, “If she does not know herself, then she does not know...but dare I ask...Rose, would you like to find out?”
For the first time, everyone else was interested in what Rose had to say. Clenching her hands shyly behind her back and turning away from them, she replied.
“Alright.”
Andomiel stared in shock, he had known Rose to be secretive, even with him, and trying to peel away a layer of her was like trying to tear down a steel door, and yet she was so eager to discover something about herself.
Pharda was the only one who objected, “Wait, what about the stones? We need to get those, don’t we, Strife?”
Strife looked at Pharda deeply, which halted Pharda’s thought processes, “Do you recall what it was that ‘she’ requested we do before we face her?”
Pharda knew what Strife had meant by ‘she’, and he tensed, “We are to train and find out who we are?”
“The greatest lessons tend to be learned from our enemies, Rose needs to find out a little bit about herself, and that is just as pertinent as finding any of the shards.”
“I’m not quite sure I understand.”
“When the war of the braves was fought, the warriors lost their lives, unsure of themselves or their futures, it is my goal to not only train you in the art of combat, but in the wisdom of valuing life. Remember that.”
His last words seemed to be punctuated by a breeze that signified they would need to land away from the coming storm at sea. Striding over to Cid, Strife said calmly, “We leave for Cosmo Canyon,” Cid nodded, then Strife glanced at Rose, “We may perhaps find some answers there...”
Rose blinked, “What could possibly be at Cosmo Canyon?”
The storm seemed to stay behind them as they flew towards the canyon, past a massive crater that had rumored to be where the Legendary Ultima Weapon had been defeated at the hands of a mighty S.O.L.D.I.E.R.
Strife stared out over the bow, silent as usual, as Rose crept up to him.
“I heard you coming a mile away.”
“I guess there’s no fooling you, is there?”
“A friend once told me, ‘you can’t kid a kidder.’ What’s bothering you?”
“That crater is huge…kinda reminds me of my past…” she said rather distracted.
Knowing where this was going, Strife turned to face her.
“Um…,” she began, not used to opening up like this, “Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to help me find out about myself?”
“Because...,” Strife replied, albeit reluctantly, “I was once like you, not knowing who I was...I went on mission after mission, never once questioning who I really was...eventually I became something I was not. It nearly tore me apart, but thanks to friends, I was able to piece together that past, and for once in my life, realize that I was an individual, not some bodyguard or jack-of-all-trades...I was my own man...”
“Then, if you are your own man, why do you hide behind a cloak?” her question pierced his soul like a dagger.
Strife looked off into the dim red horizon, eyes obscured so his face could not be read, “A man like me, does not belong in this era...yet I’m still here...”
Her skepticism rose when she replied, “I knew it…that look on your face…I saw that same look on Pharda’s face…when he said his mother died…only…it isn’t your mother is it?”
Strife turned to look at Rose, his face a block of granite.
“I…see it now, what Pharda knew that he couldn’t tell anyone else…why you’re here…why you’re ‘training’ us…you’re a Brave, aren’t you?”
Strife’s mind was awash with memories…
“Let's make a promise, Cloud, you and I.....”
“Promise me....that when this war is over.....we never shed blood again.....”
"I promise."
“Strife! Hey! I’m talking to you, hello!” Rose waved her hand in front of his face.
Strife caught her hand and leaned forward in the most menacing look imaginable, eyes far away, whispering ever so harshly, “The war, it never did end, did it?”
“Y-you’re hurting me….stop…” Rose said quietly.
“I...I’m sorry...so sorry.” Strife backed away…almost in fear, but shame as well. He began to walk away.
“No! Wait! Strife, don’t run away from me, you’ve been running too long!” Rose called after him.
“…..” she sighed, he’d walked away again trapped in his own thoughts, “….Why don’t you want us to know the truth?”
Pharda was on the lower deck checking his Murasame for kinks when Rose found him.
“Pharda…?”
“Rose…? You….you look like you’ve stared down a lucavi! Are you okay?” His look of concern seemed to calm her for what she was about to say.
“I…wanted to talk with you…about Strife…,”
His eyes seemed to flash a sense of secrecy, but he nodded.
“He’s…a Zodiac Brave…one of the originals…isn’t he?”
Pharda’s eyes widened, but then quickly closed, in thought, “So you figured that out, eh? You only know half of it, you know? I’m not sure he’d want me to tell you the rest…”
“I promise….I won’t tell anyone else…”
“Not even Andy?”
“Not even him…” although the thought had crossed her mind.
“There’s…so much to tell…What do you want to know?”
“He said, ‘the war never did end’ and he had this haunted look on his face, I know why, considering she’s out of the Life Crystal, but…who…is he…and why did he act so strangely to Tempest when we were in that Floating Island Reactor, plus he seemed to know that place very well…?”
“Have you ever heard of the J.E.N.O.V.A. project?”
“Not really, except that that was engraved on one of the glass tubes at the reactor.”
“Well, it seems that a couple hundred years ago--,”
“WAIT! A hundred years ago!! Just how old is Strife?!”
“Shhhh….keep it down, others may hear…”
“Sorry…go on…,”
“A couple hundred years ago, a corporation known as ShinRa Inc. began a military project with a life form discovered to be alien to this planet…Jenova…that being was very powerful and had extreme combat abilities…they tried cloning, artificial insemination…everything…”
“My God…”
“But the thing is, nothing worked, that is, until they harvested cells directly from Jenova. Then they injected the cells into human test subjects, and subjected the subjects to Mako radiation to ensure there would be no cellular rejection…the result was the perfect soldier…Strength Optimum Latency in Direct Injection of Extract Reservoirs…the S.O.L.D.I.E.R. project…but one of the more successful results, a man named Sephiroth, went rogue…”
“Sephiroth, why is that name familiar?” Rose thought for a moment, then gasped when the realization hit her, “he was one of the Zodiac Braves too! But…what does he have to do with Strife?”
“That, I’m not all too sure about, all these events changed when the braves altered the timeline…”
“But what about Strife?”
“Strife was a subject of the Mako/Jenova enhancement process…as far as he’s told me, the Jenova cells in his body have made him cease to age….he…can’t die…”
“That’s…horrible…,” Rose said, an unknown sadness welling up inside her, “But, if Sephiroth has the same condition…then maybe…”
“Yeah, I thought of that theory too…he may still be alive, but I wouldn’t know where…”
“And the fact that that was over a hundred years ago…” Rose sighed and propped up her chin, “So what can we do?”
“…Nothing…that’s what I’ve learned he and Aeris--,”
“What a minute! Aeris…?”
“I…well, it’s hard to say who she is, but…”
“She’s a former brave too, isn’t she?”
“Eh? How’d you figure that out?”
“I don’t know how, but I guessed when you mentioned she and Strife were together…From what you've mentioned it would make sense that they would know each other…I remember you guys talking about how she seemed a lot older than she looked…I figured that too from Strife…what’s her angle in all of this?”
“She’s an Ancient…”
“A what?”
“More specifically a member of the ancient civilization known as the Cetra…”
“You mean that sect of planet-druids that supposedly populated the planet thousands of years ago…you’re kidding…right?”
“…”
“You’re not are you?”
“Don’t ask how those two met, all I know is that she’s lived as long as he has, if not longer…”
“What about Tempest, he seems to have a soft spot in that hard heart of his for her…”
“That, I’m not sure about, but we can’t jump to any more conclusions than we already have.”
“Thanks, Pharda…you’ve helped me understand a lot.”
“Don’t mention it,” Pharda said coolly, “really…,”
“I understand.” She nodded and left Pharda to his solemn thoughts.
Meanwhile, in a lower deck’s hold…
“Get up...” Strife said in one single tone, “Go back to your master...”
“……..” The ninja woman was silent, but a hint of questioning lit her eyes. Strife had cut her loose from her bonds that held her, as the whole incident the day prior seemed trivial compared to what they had dealt with recently…
“Go...,” Strife repeated handing her the Masamune, “There is nothing for you here.”
“….Sensei…” The black shrouded ninja uttered, almost as quietly as the silence in which she did not speak, “…I cannot…”
“You call me teacher, and yet I’ve taught you nothing...why?”
“You once defeated my former master…I wished to test myself against you and your students…by taking the shard you sought…I was defeated…now I am ronin…I seek a teacher…”
“.............” Strife was silent at this, realizing its implications.
The young ninja unmasked herself in front of him, revealing a young girl, still fresh and beauty untainted, white silver hair and Mako-green eyes.
“The resemblance...it’s uncanny...”
“Please, except me as your pupil, master…” the young girl bowed neatly, eagerness in her voice, but seriousness in her face.
Strife paused, in silent and unreadable thought, his face a mix of emotions that could only be read if one looked in his eyes.
“I’ll test you, come to the upper deck without the others seeing you...I’ll begin there.”
Donning her mask once again she nodded in silent assent.
Walking up to the upper deck, Strife walked past Rose, who turned quickly to respond to his approach, but hesitated.
He stopped, never once looking at her. Simply stating, “I wish to be alone on the upper deck, tell everyone to leave me be.”
Somehow, even though Strife spent most his time in solitude, this request seemed different to Rose, she nodded, and went to tell the others to stay out of the upper deck.
His ascent to the upper deck was uneventful after that, but his eyes were watching the movements of a certain ninja within the shadows, observing her movements from port to starboard of the ship, silently making her way upward, no one detecting her presence.
Opening up the deck’s hold door, he peered inside, seeing nothing but shadows, he called out.
“….I am here, master…”
“Very good, you certainly have shinobi in your lineage...”
And, after latching the hold’s door shut, Strife proceeded to take off the crimson cloak that had hidden his face for so many years. Despite his scarred, marred face he stood as a young-looking blonde headed warrior with steel blue eyes. The only contrast to his natural handsomeness was the deathly black leather wing that erupted from his back, a curse from Jenova.
“Draw your blade, ninja!!!”
As he stated this he could hear the unmistakable weapon known as the Masamune scrape out of it’s sheath, prepared to shed blood at a moment’s notice.
“You’ve fought this blade before, master?”
“Whether I’ve fought that weapon before or not is none of your concern, attack me!”
In silent obedience, the female ninja moved toward her target. Strife stood motionless for but a moment…but in an instant his Buster Sword was drawn just before any blow was issued.
“I…how could you deflect that?” she said in surprise.
“There are some things you will never know.”
Strike after strike, blow after blow the battle of shadows and swords continued. Yet after the two opening comments, it was utter silence. After a while, Strife put up his sword, and caught the girl’s sword arm before it struck.
“Enough, I’m satisfied, you can stay as long as you obey me...”
Shocked that anyone could catch her at her speed, she neatly bowed, “Yes, sensei.”
Stepping out into the orange sky of the sunset, Strife and the ninja woman, once again clad in their masks walked toward where the rest of the party were discussing the landing point with Cid.
“Hey, Strife,” Andomiel began, “we were wondering if--,” he stopped as he noticed the ninja standing by Strife, free, and not moving.
“She comes with us, we no longer need doubt her loyalty, she is a member of this party.”
“Huh?” Pharda said, shocked beyond words, “But she stole…,”
“Wait,” Tempest regarded the look in Strife’s eyes, “he’s dealt with her, we can trust her.”
Crossing his arms in doubt, Andomiel said, rather coldly, “So what should we call you…,”
“….Fade…” her voice sounded hollow to their ears, “I will accompany you on this journey of discovery and battle.”
“….Strife….,” Rose wondered what was going on in his mind.
The party landed on a little plateau just south of what seemed to be an observatory, of what, was beyond their comprehension.
A young lion cub came trouncing up to Urd, started sniffing her, and gave a gentle purr, rubbing up on her leg.
“Huh? Well, aren’t you friendly…,” she picked up the little thing as it yawped its approval of her.
“His name is Seto, grandson of a noble warrior…,” a dark skinned man said, “it is considered a good sign that he would approve of strangers…I welcome you…to Cosmo Canyon.”
Pharda glanced about, this strange place seemed to have a calming peace about it, as if nothing had touched it for thousands of years.
Strife took the lead, “We wish to speak with the one called, Red XIII,”
The young man’s eyes widened, “He…he hasn’t been called that since…, I’ll get him for you. Please wait for him by the Candle.”
The party walked up a group of steps toward what was referred to as the Cosmo Candle, or more specifically a fire, that by tradition, was never allowed to be put out.
“We will wait here...”
Andomiel arched an eyebrow and said, “Urd, how can you possibly carry a lion cub in your arms? Aren’t you even slightly afraid its mother will be looking for it?”
“Aw, c’mon, Andomiel he likes me, I couldn’t just sit by and let him alone, now could I? Besides, we’ve tangled with things a whole lot tougher than some lion.”
“So where is this elder named Red XIII?” Rose asked, “Does he know anything about my past?”
“Perhaps...”
Pharda glanced at Strife. He knew something, but refused to show it in his facial expressions. He was almost as enigmatic as the newest member, the ninja Fade, who silently sat beside him, never glancing about, always looking downward towards the fire.
Fenris stretched his wings in anticipation, “I hope they have food here, I’m starved…”
“Always thinking about your stomach, don’t you worry about anything else?” Urd chided him.
“Don’t tease too much, Urd, we all haven’t eaten in a while.” Tempest said, neutrally calm about the situation.
The native who had met them earlier returned with a somber, yet anticipant look on his face. “Red XIII will be arriving shortly, you must be tired from your journey, would you care to eat something in the meantime?”
Fenris elbowed Urd, who smirked in response, the little cub nibbling her ear.
“Yes, please,” Pharda replied, but somehow he felt that food wasn’t the main topic of discussion on everyone’s minds.
