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

It plunged the screaming Dreadkin mercilessly into the lake, pushing through the water, and pressing her firmly through the first layers of saturated soil.

The Black Ranger watched as thick steam poured out from the lake. It didn't take long before the steam stopped, and the lake as calm once again.

Jason waited for a few moments, to make sure he was successful. Then, he slowly pulled his hand back, causing the large, muddy hand to retract. It lowered until it was at eye level with Jason, and then the fingers stretched.

Jason was greeted to the sight of a gray mud, clearly water-saturated clay.

A weak smile on his face, Jason extracted his Earth Sword from the ground. He made as if to sheath it, causing the powerful weapon to blink out of sight.

Then, he tiredly did the same.
Chapter Thirty

Zack absently stared out into the distance. He saw the ocean pass beneath the Highwind, whipping by at a phenomenal speed. Yet, to his constant amazement, it didn't feel like the ship was moving very quickly. The wind didn't bruise his skin, or even cause more than slight discomfort, which he quickly adjusted to.

Pushing himself off the railing, Zack continued walking toward the front of the ship. Cid himself was at the helm, taking over for the pilot for the time being. He was engaged in an argument with Barrett, probably over something trivial by the look of it. On the other end of the bridge, Billy and Red XIII were busy discussing something. Zack decided to approach them.

"...and because of human limitations, a Summon materia can only be used a handful of times in a particular battle."

Billy nodded, glancing at the red orb seated on his lance. "Then, how am I supposed to know how many times I can use the spell?"

"It depends on your physical health and experience," Red answered. "Summoning a magical creature requires a great deal of focus and energy, so if you are wounded or even distracted, it will be very difficult to cast that spell. Also, since you've never used a Summon before, I'd wager that, even in the best of health, you'd only manage to pull it off once. If you tried again, it would draw too much energy out of your body."

"Are all Summons this dangerous?"

"The more powerful the Summon, the more dangerous it is. Knights of the Round, the materia Cid found earlier, is the most powerful Summon known. An amateur attempting to utilize it would easily kill him, and even a skilled materia user would be very spent. Summoning thirteen mythical knights is tiresome work."

At that, Zack stepped beside Billy. "Then, it's probably not worth using a Summon."

Red shook his head. "It depends on the circumstances. Typoon is powerful enough to do a great deal of damage to an opponent, yet simple enough for an amateur to use without too much danger. That's why we decided to give one to Billy. But still, only use it as a last resort, for you will surely need recovery time after its use."

Both Zack and Billy nodded. "I hope it doesn't come to that," Billy commented. Red nodded his agreement.

"Um, Red, do you mind if I talk to Billy for a minute?" Zack asked. Red shook his head, rising to his four feet.

"That's perfectly all right," he answered, "I should go check on Yuffie anyway. She still gets motion sickness."

With that, Zack watched the red wolf bound towards the steps leading to the upper deck. Then, after glancing around to make sure that no one else was within earshot, Zack turned his attention to Billy.

"Zack," Billy said, eyeing his friend carefully. "You don't look too good. Perhaps you should rest some more?"

Zack brushed the advice aside. "I feel fine. I think the Mako energy in the air has pretty much cured me. I'm not tired at all. But...I am worried."

"...about Aisha," Billy finished for him. "Anything specific?"

Zack nodded. "Remember that image on the sphere we saw at Cosmo Canyon? Well, nobody said anything about the ending, and what it meant."

"You mean when Aeris and Sephiroth disappeared, and the two materias merged into a single, clear one?"

"Exactly. And then, that clear materia fell to the ground and shattered. I may be wrong, but I interpret that as meaning the two materia will cancel each other out or something. Holy Materia is the only way to stop the Meteor spell, because it cancels out the power of the Black Materia. But, once its used, it'll be inert or something. It'll lose its powers..."

"...and we won't be able to help Aisha with it," Billy concluded. "Yes, Zack, I've had similar concerns."

"Well, what do we do?" Zack asked.

Billy shrugged. "I don't know. We certainly can't expect Cloud and his friends to risk their entire planet by giving us the Holy Materia. What if, after we use it to cure Aisha, we can't get it back to Midgar before the Meteor strikes? We're talking about billions of lives lost."

Zack sighed quietly. "I know that, and believe me, I don't intend to place an entire planet on the path to destruction. But, there must be something we can do! I'm not giving up on Aisha yet."

"And neither am I," Billy added, rising to his feet. "Perhaps we should speak to Cloud about this now. Maybe he'll inform us of his plan. We still don't know why we're going to the City of the Ancients."

Chapter Thirty-One

Her delicate body crumpled to the floor, the stain of red growing along the pink cotton of her dress. Bright emerald eyes gazed at him pleadingly... desperate for any help he could give.

He couldn't give it.

Slowly, the brightest eyes in the world... so full of hope and energy... faded. The illumination behind them died, like the lights going out that cast light through a stained glass window.

Her eyelids dropped like shutters, forever enclosing those pools of color from the world...

Cloud's eyes sprung open, slightly moist from fresh tears. Forcing a breath through his lungs, his fist clenched tighter around a simple pink ribbon. He swallowed hard, his bright blue eyes falling upon the ribbon.

How many times would he have to relive Aeris' death? How many times would he see the light die out in her eyes, over and over again in his mind? How many times would he suffer...knowing full well that it was his own fault that she died?

The same vision flashed in his mind almost every time he closed his eyes. He didn't even need to be sleeping to experience the nightmare.

It marred his waking thoughts as relentlessly as his dreams.

"Cloud?" came a soft voice. "Are you in there?"

Cloud glanced at the door to the conference room, his trance broken by that familiar, coaxing voice. "Yeah. Come in, Tifa."

Cloud took a seat at the head of the long rectangular wood table, his fingers still running the ribbon between them. The door opened slowly, and Tifa peeked inside. Her eyes narrowed slightly in confusion as they fell upon the pink slip of material that Cloud cradled in his hands.

"What's that?" she asked, closing the door behind her.

"Aeris' hair ribbon," he answered absently, his eyes never wavering from the object. Tifa blinked in surprise, and stopped short clear across the room from Cloud.

"You...you kept it?" she all but whispered.

"It fell from her hair when Sephiroth murdered her," Cloud said flatly. Although his voice didn't display the emotions the thought inspired, Tifa could see the guilt and pain in Cloud's expression.

The haze over Cloud's eyes faded slightly, and he glanced up at Tifa. "I'm sorry...did you want something?"

"Um..." Tifa muttered, her mind searching back for the reason of her visit. "Actually, the crew's been wondering why we're going to the City of the Ancients. Is there something you know that we don't?"

Cloud rose from his seat, his gaze locking with Tifa's for a moment. Then, he approached his childhood friend, gently took her hand, and lay the pink strip in her palm. Tifa's eyes widened slightly, and her tawny gaze fell to the material again.

"You weren't with me when I first met Aeris," he began, leaning against the table. "We were fighting off some of Shinra's soldiers, who were hunting her down because of her Cetra abilities. She had a weapon, but I didn't think it would be enough against all the soldiers, so I offered her a sphere of Fire materia, to boost her strength. She hesitated, saying she didn't know how to use materia. I explained that it was easy, and then she pulled off a white stone from her hair bow, and held it out to me."

Cloud broke off his story, locking eyes with Tifa yet again. "She told me that she had that materia all her life, but it never worked for her. It never told her what it was meant to do, and it never reacted to anything. She kept it as a memento of her mother, who died when she was a child."

Tifa gasped quietly, realization kicking in. "Aeris had the Holy Materia the entire time?!"

Cloud nodded. "She carried it with her everywhere she went. I don't know if she realized it or not, but it was on her head the entire time."

Tifa blinked, glancing back at the ribbon in her hand. "But..where is it now?"

"When she died, it fell into the pool beneath the platform," Cloud explained, "I saw it fall, but it didn't really register...until Bugenhagen explained that the Holy Materia is our only hope.

"We need to get to the City of Ancients as quickly as possible, and hopefully the Holy Materia will still --"

A sharp knock on the door interrupted Cloud's train of thought. "Come in!" he called, as both he and Tifa turned to see the visitor. Zack and Billy entered the chamber, each with a grim expression upon his