The Terran Rangers/Final Fantasy VII by Heather Ray (summer beach reads txt) 📕

a home on Midgar."

"So, there is a cure to the Space Virus here!" Zack uttered in excitement.

"Well, that's a little tricky," Bugenhagen said, scrunching his nose in thought. "The planet is the cure. The energy of the Lifestream is like a purifying bath, creating a cleansing aura throughout this planet and keeping its inhabitants safe from deadly plagues and the like. If you had brought your friend here, eventually the energy of the Lifestream would have cured her. Yet, I'm afraid it will be far more difficult to bring the cure to her."

Billy frowned. "Aisha is far too weak to be transported here, Bugenhagen. She is dying at an alarming rate."

Zack felt the desperation building within him. "Isn't there anything we can do? Can't we bring Materia of some kind?"

"Well...Materia taps into the Lifestream, so it wouldn't usually work separated from the planet."

Billy perked up a bit. "You said 'usually,'

so when can it work separated from the planet?"

"A very rare kind of Materia is enclosed within itself, and is capable of the purification that the Lifestream itself does. It is called Holy Materia."

A smile of relief crossed Zack's lips. "Perfect! Now, all we need to do is find this Holy Materia."

"That's not as easy as it may sound. Could you please fetch Nanaki and the others?" Bugenhagen requested. "They need to be here for this."

Billy and Zack returned to the platform, while Bugenhagen slightly altered the programming of his observatory image. Hovering in the center of the dome, about ten feet above the platform, was an enormous three-dimensional hologram of the planet Midgar. Bugenhagen then floated into the air, until he was at about the same height as the hologram.

Moments later, the crowd of young heroes arrived within the darkened dome.

"Wow..." Yuffie muttered. "This is amazing!"

"Careful not to watch the planet rotate," Cid mocked. "You might hurl or somethin'."

Yuffie fixed her penetrating gaze on Cid as he laughed hysterically at his rude comment.

"Take it easy, guys," Cloud whispered, turning his attention to Bugenhagen. "What did you figure out?"

"Well, we've determined that the key to saving Billy and Zack's friend is the Holy Materia," Bugenhagen summarized. "But now, it is time to see what the Huge Materia can show us."

"Hurry it up already," Barrett muttered. "We're not getting' any younger here."

Bugenhagen ignored the bitter man's impolite order, and held his hands out towards the red Huge Materia. The materia began to glow faintly with red light, until that inner light intensified, creating a warm, steady glow. Then, a tight beam of red light fired from the apex of the large crystal to the direct central point of the Huge Materia square, stopping at the center. The laser beam remained fixed, just about a foot above the team's heads.

Then, the blue materia began to glow, and fired its own tight beam of energy. The same happened to the yellow and green stones, and four beams of colored energy collided at the focal point. That energy built, until it formed a white sphere with a diameter of about two feet. The sphere began descending towards the ground, causing the assembled heroes to spread out, giving the sphere room. It halted at about eye level with the team, and solidified into a clear glass orb.

"What's this?" Cait Sith asked quietly.

"No doubt it will show us," Vincent responded.

The sphere's clear center flashed once with an eerie green light, about the size of a marble, just off the center. Then, a matching green light appeared almost beside it, and they remained glowing for a short while. Cloud's eyes widened when he realized what he was seeing.

"Sephiroth," he whispered in contempt, as the obscure form took shape. Bright green eyes contrasted to the pale face that formed around them, noble and flawless in appearance. Flowing locks of thick white hair framed his face in soft, ordered waves. Yet, a cold grin was painted on the man's lips, sending chills up both Billy and Zack's spines.

There was a polished malevolence that this being exuded just from this simple image, that made Rita and Zedd's bothersome evil pale in comparison.

The image continued to zoom out, giving the audience a better view of Sephiroth. He was standing tall upon some precipice, his hands held high over his head with his palms facing each other. In the center between his hands, a small opal sphere hovered.

"That is the Black Materia," Vincent explained. "It is the magical force allowing Sephiroth to summon the Meteor spell."

"...and if it weren't for me, he wouldn't have it," Cloud said quietly, his bright blue eyes cast to the floor. Tifa lay her hand gently on his shoulder, but Cloud didn't respond to her attempts to comfort him.

"No point in cryin' over it," Barrett huffed. "It's in the past, and ya can't undo it. But, we can stop him from winnin' in the end."

Then, the image of Sephiroth faded, leaving only the bright green eyes. Then, another image took shape around the eyes. Zack and Billy could make out a new face, decidedly feminine, with a creamy complexion, pink cheeks, and a warm, disarming smile. Two locks of fawn brown hair hung by her ears, while the rest was fashioned in a long braid. As the image pulled back, they were treated to a more complete image of the young woman, wearing a rose-petal pink dress and red jacket.

Whereas Sephiroth exuded pure evil, corruption, and hatred, this girl had an air of purity, calm, and love. She was, in a word, beautiful...and inspiring.

"Who's she?" Billy asked.

"Aeris," Cloud answered quietly, sadness in his voice.

Tifa immediately pulled her hand from Cloud's shoulder. He didn't seem to notice.

The image continued to zoom out further, and the heroes realized that she, just like Sephiroth, was standing atop a precipice, her delicate hands held high over her head, and her long braid and the hem of her dress flapping in the breeze. Between her hands sat a small sphere...milky white in color.

Suddenly, the two images alternated, for an instant flashing Sephiroth, and then immediately after flashing Aeris. The two images continued to change, yet the eyes always remained the same.

"I don't understand..." Zack muttered. He gazed at Yuffie, who was standing behind him. She had an equally befuddled expression on her face.

Tifa's expression wasn't of confusion. Rather, it was of concern. Her tawny gaze watched the sphere for a few moments, and then instantly turned to Cloud.

On some level...she knew what it meant. And she knew Cloud did too.

Cloud's huge blue eyes were wide with alarm. He stood tall, yet completely motionless. His mouth hung open slightly.

"Yo, you okay, Mophead?" Barrett inquired.

Cloud made no response. He continued to watch the image as the shifting grew faster and faster, until it appeared to be one superimposed image. Then, both individuals faded at once, leaving a single crystal orb. It was clear as glass. The orb hung in the air for a few moments, and then fell to the ground, shattering once it made contact.

"Uh..." Yuffie muttered, her brow wrinkled. "Yeah, that made sense."

"Cloud?" Tifa asked gently, watching his motionless form. "Are you okay?"

"No," he said quietly. "No, I'm not. It's all my fault!"

"Here we go again," Cid mumbled, exhaling loudly.

"Don't you see?" Cloud asked, whirling around to face his teammates, "Sephiroth and Aeris were opposites! He was the Cetra of Darkness, she was the Cetra of Light. He had the Black Materia, and she had the Holy. She was the only one who had the ability to stop him! She was supposed to save the world! And it's my fault she's dead!!"

"Cloud, don't do this to yourself," Tifa said quietly. "It's not your fault --"

"If I hadn't let Sephiroth take the Black Materia, then Aeris wouldn't have gone after him alone," Cloud pointed out, "and then, Sephiroth wouldn't have run her through with his saber."

Billy and Zack winced. From the pained tone in Cloud's voice, it was clear that he had witnessed everything he spoke. It must have been a horrible experience to live through.

Vincent watched Cloud for a moment, discerning his leader was on the verge of a breakdown. His crimson gaze even, Vincent turned to Bugenhagen, who still floated in the air above. "Is that what the vision means?" he inquired. "Was Aeris the only one with the capacity to stop Sephiroth?"

Bugenhagen tapped his chin. "Aeris was the only one of Cetra blood left, besides Sephiroth himself. As a consequence, she had power over materia unlike the natives of the world. And, she apparently knew how to find the Holy Materia. So, it was her responsibility to stop Sephiroth. She knew that, which is why she went after him when she did. But she wasn't ready yet for the conflict."

"So, there's nothing we can do?" Cait asked, a pleading tone in his voice. "Tell us there's another option."

"I don't know," Bugenhagen said finally, "The Holy Materia is a very powerful weapon...and it is extremely dangerous to use. I don't know if a non-Cetra can handle the power it contains."

Suddenly, the sphere flashed with energy, and vanished from existence. The four beams of light continued to fire, but instead of merging in the center, they all reached toward the holographic image of Midgar suspended above. The four beams all struck the same point on the globe.

"What's going on?" Zack asked.

Bugenhagen floated up higher, and examined the point on the globe that was indicated. It was on the southern end of the northernmost continent, covered with icy mountains and snowy plains. He tapped his chin again.

"It's pointing to the Sleeping Forest," Bugenhagen announced.

Cloud shuddered. "The City of the Ancients!" he declared.

"But... it's deserted," Red XIII stated. "Isn't it?"

Cloud closed his eyes, cutting away the outside world in order to reflect upon his inner world. He searched his mind for the one vivid memory he had, that he so wished he could expel from his mind for all eternity...

It was only the two of them on the platform, suspended over a pool of clear water. She gazed at him pleadingly, such hope shining in her large green eyes just at the sight of him. He would protect her, just like she always knew he would.

But nothing he could have done would have been fast enough to prevent the sharp steel blade from slicing through her abdomen, tearing through flesh and organs, and ripping through the soft pink of her dress. A stain of dark blood was left to grow as more and more seeped from the mortal wound, absorbed into the material of her garb.

A faint gasp...the last utterance that would ever pass through her soft lips...echoed through Cloud's mind like a somber knell. Then her body, limp and lifeless, slid off the sharp blade, collapsing to the stone floor of what had become a sacrificial altar.

As she fell, her hair ribbon untied, letting her light brown hair cascade around her body in a shining aura.

From her hair bow, a small, pearly white sphere fell to the stone platform, bouncing several times before rolling off the edge. It fell into the pool of water collected below...

"Yes it's deserted," Tifa said, folding her arms. "We searched the entire place when we followed Aeris there."

"Let's get going," Cloud said, opening his