Square Wars: The Return of the Paladin A Square Soft Parody of Star Wars:
The Return of the Jedi. By WarChild

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Chapter 1-Cries of Jenova(or Absolute Jenova)

Hello again from Warchild. If you read Square Wars: Leaving a New Hope and
Square War: The Shinra Strikes Back, you'll have a pretty good idea what
might happen here. Enjoy.
Note: Star Wars are the properties of Lucasfilm, and the FF series, CT, and
SOM are properties of Squaresoft.
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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 VI"
"The Return of the Paladin"


"Cecil Darkheart, the rebellion's most "
"famous hero, has decided to return to "
"Corel, to save the great pilot Cid "
"Highwind from the gangster Jenova. "
"But unknown to Cecil, or to the "
"Returner/Avalanche alliance, that the "
"Shinra Empire has begun construction "
"of their newest weapon, a even more "
"powerful METEOR OF DOOM. "
"Once this super weapon of destruction "
"has been completed, it would seem all "
"is lost for the brave band of rebels, "
"aiming to restore freedom to the entire"
"galaxy... "

The words finally scroll away, and the image scrolls down. A Mana Fortress
comes into view. In front of it is the half-built Meteor of Doom. The
planet Mua is underneath the deadliest weapon. A transport space chopper
pops out from underneath the Mana Fortress, as well as some ISFs. They head
towards the space station in progress.
Inside the security chambers of the space station, people monitor the
incoming ships. The chopper's pilots made contact with one of the
controllers.
"Sir, we request entry to the Meteor of Doom." the pilot speaks through the
radio.
"Once we have your clearance code, we will lower the shields and let you
in." the controller responded. The entry code was received, and the chopper
entered the station.

In the hanger groups of SOLDIERs lined up by the chopper. Going through the
middle was Dalton. He just got word that the Dark Knight was going to visit
the station. Now he has arrived. The chopper's back door has opened, and
stepped out was the ominous evil figure, the Dark Knight. The SOLDIERs
saluted the warrior. The warrior went towards Dalton.
"Sir, it's a great pleasure have you with us. We've been expecting you for
quite awhile." Dalton greeted.
"Enough with these greetings! Where are Scarlet and Heidegger?" the warrior
demanded.
"They're overseeing the final stages of construction. They sent me to tell
you the station will be operational as planned." the shaken officer
answered.
"The emperor is still not pleased with your bungling, so he's personally
coming here." the warrior announced. Dalton was left aghast.
"Sir, are you saying that emperor is coming to this station?" he asked.
"Yes, and you better put things back on schedule for his arrival." the
warrior declared.
"Well then. With that kinda news, my men should more vigilant in their
work." Dalton replied. The Dark Knight looked at Dalton straight in the
eye.
"Lets hope so. Bungle this one, you end up like the others who has
displeased me." he warned. Then he went off.

Robo and Cait Sith trekked through the dusty fields of Corel. A large
castle was ahead of them. As of the moment, Cait Sith was complaining to
Robo.
"Robo, why is it I don't get to hear the rest of the plans?" whined Cait
Sith.
"Because, some deem you a very useless character. Besides, you might ruin
them anyway." Robo answered.
"Great. Cloud, Zack, Umaro, and Red XIII are missing, and all I know is
that we must deliver a stupid cutscene to Jenova." moaned Cait Sith. Robo
looked at Cait Sith.
"I wonder why is it that I'm paired up with you?" Robo asked.
"I don't know. But maybe the author wanted like that. Better not question
his choices." Cait Sith answered. They finally arrived at the castle. "You
know this looks like Edgar's castle in FF6." he remarked. The big doors
overlooked the area. Robo found the intercom and pressed the contact
button.

"Who's there?" a voice croaked from the speaker.
"Cait Sith."
"Cait Sith who?" the speaker buzzed. Cait Sith couldn't resist.
"Cait Sith anything. I'm blind!" he laughed at his pathetic attempt to form
a joke. Robo pushed him aside.
"Sorry about my associate, Cait Sith. My name is Robo. We like to speak
with Jenova, please."
"Are you a salesman? She hates salesmen. If not do you have an appointment
with her? She's busy write now." the voice through the speaker buzzed.
"The answer is no to both questions." answered Robo.
"Then give me one good reason why should I bother to let you in?"
"We have a cutscene message to give her."
"Oh goody goody. I love cutscenes! All that wonderful FMV! Come in, come
in!" the voice insisted. The big doors opened up with a loud grinding. Robo
and Cait Sith walked into a dark hallway. In the only light they saw Chupon
escorted by two Ogars(found in CT 600 AD).
"Heh heh! You brought the message? Let me see, let me see!" Chupon
insisted.
"No." declined Robo. "The message must be seen by Jenova herself. You can
see it when she sees it."
"Very well. Guards." He snapped for a few more guards. "Ensure that these
two don't do anything else."

Robo and Cait Sith were escorted to the central room where Jenova and her
cronies gathered around. Many mystics hobbled around, drunk as ever. On one
side of the wall there was a huge display, covered in drapes. Cait Sith and
Robo were brought to the disgusting Jenova-Synthesis. Chupon whispered
something in her ear. Then in her high-pitched voice, she squealed, "Show
me the message!" Robo activated his projection module, and a giant cutscene
of Cecil in Paladin attire was shown. Cecil begins to speak.
"Hello Jenova. My name is Cecil Darkheart, Mana Knight and a friend of
Captain Highwind. I'm also representing the Returner/Avalanche alliance. We
all know you hold Cid Highwind prisoner. As the representative of the
alliance, I seek an audience with you so we can negotiate on Highwind's
life, hoping to come to a reasonable agreement." Jenova laughed loudly as
such a thing. Cecil's message continued on. "To show our respects for you,
the alliance has provided a gift for you. These two useful droids, Cait
Sith and Robo. Actually, I'm not sure Cait Sith is useful..."
"Hey, what's going on here? Who says I'm not useful?" Cait Sith
interjected.
"Well the point is the droids are yours now." Cecil ended. The holographic
cutscene faded. Jenova laughed again.
"There will be no bargain. Highwind belongs to me now! BEHOLD!" Everyone
then faced the draped display. Slash and Flea uncovered the display to
reveal Cid Highwind, still in ice, still in the freezer. Cait Sith started
whining again.
"CECIL! Why are you traumatizing me? The frozen face of Cid Highwind stares
at me, Jenova's gonna enslave me, and you call me USELESS? I'LL SUE!"
"SILENCE!" Jenova demanded. Cait Sith couldn't say anything anymore. Jenova
motioned her guards towards the two droids. "Guards, take these two to
Mother Brain. She'll find some work for them." she ordered.

"I WANNA GO HOME! I WANT MY MOMMY! I'M SCARED! WAAAAAAAAAAA!" The once
always-optimistic Cait Sith started having a breakdown. "YOU AREN'T GONNA
TAKE ME ALIVE!" Robo on the other hand remained calm. The guards took them
to a room where jobs were assigned to the robots in Jenova's organization.
Three computer displays hung from the wall. They emitted a light until the
Mother Brain emerged.
"Ahhh, new acquisitions." it remarked. The computer figure looked at Robo.
"Are you an R-series droid, are you not?" it inquired.
"Yes, I am." Robo answered.
"Does your main processor have the MUX components?" the Mother Brain asked.

"I have a Shintel Quadium II processor with Multi-Use Extensions." Robo
replied.
"Splendid. Our previous translator droid had a malfunction. We've been
lacking a droid with such a capability. Men, fit him with a Slave Crown,
and place him with Jenova." The guards then proceeded to drag Robo away,
making Cait Sith deeper in despair.
"Robo, don't leave me alone. NOT NOW!" The computer figure then looked down
at the distraught Cait Sith.
"WHAT KIND OF ROBOT ARE YOU?" Cait Sith looked up to the image.
"Don't look at me. I'm a useless character." The image frowned.
"Don't you even have any hobbies, anything? You want be totally useless."
Cait Sith thought about this for a second. "Well, I gamble a lot. I know
plenty of card games. I'm part slot machine." The image grinned.
"Good. We've been looking to get into the gambling business for quite
awhile. And you would be the perfect thing for it."

Don Corneo looked around. A band was playing "Johnny C. Bad" and a scantily
dressed girl danced on the floor. The men hooted and hollered. Don loved
working for Jenova. He provided the connections that Jenova didn't have. In
return he could get anything he wanted. "Chickees, and lots of them!" And
why not? Her men enjoyed the shows and morale was high. The only problem
was getting the girls.
Girls have a natural resentment towards Don and his lackeys. So it was no
wonder on that day when the dancer refused to come close to the loony guy.
"Come on, girly. I'm hot! I want you!" he beckoned. The dancer shook her
head. Jenova who was also in the room gave the girl a stern warning.
"Do what he says, or I'll punish you." Unfortunately one of her tentacles
flipped a switch and opened a trap door beneath the girl. The band stopped
playing, for everybody then rushed to a grate that allowed the viewing of
the floor below. There was a loud scream, and a sickening crunch.
"Now look what you done. I have no girl now!" Don whined. Jenova wasn't
paying attention for a few blasts came from the entry hallway. What walked
in were two yellow cloaked figures dragging along Red XIII and Umaro, both
of them in chains. They went in front of the alien gangster. Only their
eyes were visible.

"We have come for the rewards for their capture." one of the clocked
figures said in their own language. Jenova motioned Robo to come in and
translate their words. Robo, reluctantly translated what the cloaked figure
said.
"Ah, we have the friends of Cid Highwind, Umaro and Red XIII. We'll pay you
20,000 gil each." Jenova spoke to the figures.
"We want 45,000 each." the cloaked figure responded. Robo translated that
for Jenova and he received a slap of her tentacles.
"This is an outrage. Why do you want 45,000 gil each?" Jenova growled at
the two. The other figure held a green piece of materia.
"If you don't we'll cast Ultima and destroy this place." the other figure
threatened. Robo nervously translated those words, creating a great hush
all over the room. The Turks, who were also here, prepared to take those
two figures down. Jenova only laughed.
"You are really the lowest scum. I like that kind of people in my
organization. How's this? 32,500 gil each. Take it or leave it." The figure
then replaced its materia, signaling an agreement. The Turks relaxes,
putting down their weapons. Yet they stared at the mysterious bounty
hunters. It didn't matter to Jenova, for the guards have taken the two
furry friends to the prison.

That night, everybody was sleeping in the throne room. The cloaked bounty
hunters moved through the sleeping mystics to the freezer containing Cid
Highwind's frozen body. One opened the freezer door, while the other
pressed the buttons on the freezer's control panels. Slowly the giant ice
block was pushed out of the freezer. One of the figures searched its
pockets.
"The fire materia, I don't have it." it claimed.
"You aren't so smart, are you? Don't you have a master magic materia?" the
other asked.
"Oops. I forgot about that." The first then pulled out a green materia.
With it the figure casted fire on the ice block. In seconds the ice melted
away, and Cid dropped to the floor. He was definitely alive, for after he
hit the floor, he shouted an expletive.
"@#%@#^@#!" The two figures pick him up.
"Shhhhhhhh. Don't make so much noise here." one of them hushed. The voice
was definitely a woman's.
"But goddamit I can't see! I got the stupid blindness status." he
complained.
"You'll be free of the status in no time. But you shouldn't talk so loud,
for we are in Jenova's palace."
"What?" Then he remembered. The last thing he knew that he was frozen in
Cloud's City by Dark Knight's forces. "Who are you?" he asked his rescuers.
Even though he couldn't see their faces, they removed their hoods.
"It's us. Aeris and Tifa." Aeris replied.
"It's great that you guys would come after me." Cid remarked. Suddenly and
ominous shriek filled the hallway. They turned towards the sounds. Jenova
and her cronies were awake, laughing at the three. Cid tried to talk out of
his predicament. "Look Jenova, I was going to pay you, and I got a little
sidetracked. It's not my fault."
"Not your fault?! You've been hanging around with those rebellion friends
of yours since Square Wars: Leaving a New Hope. I say, you dropped the
ball, and are now chocobo dung. Guards, take him away." Jenova retorted.
Too human guards in Shinra uniforms came to take Highwind to the prison.
Don Corneo, who was also in the room, looked at the two girls.
"LOOK! New chickees. I got myself new chickees! Jenova, I want them." A
group of Ogars brought Tifa and Aeris towards the very hyper man. As they
were dragged Aeris and Tifa argued.
"Look, what you have done. Now I'm gonna be on the same level as you."
Aeris shouted.
"Me, what did I do? You didn't do anything to keep Cid quiet." Tifa shouted
back.
"Look. Both of us are going to be forced to wear skimpy outfits. Outfits
like yours." Aeris shouted.
"Do you think I had a choice? I was designed to look attractive." Tifa
retorted. Don was very ecstatic when he saw this.
"OOOOHHHH! I'm a lucky man. Two beautiful chickees, and they are having a
cat fight. I love frisky, wild women."

The two guards placed Cid in the same prison as Red XIII and Umaro. Red
XIII and Umaro quickly heralded the arrival of their now unfrozen friend.
After making sure that no one was watching, the two guards spoke to the
prisoners.
"Hey, guys, it's us, Zack and Cloud."
"Zack? Cloud? What's going on here? Dammit why can't I see?" Cid shouted.
"Cid, calm down. Cecil planned our escape carefully. You don't want to ruin
it." Red XIII explained.
"Cecil, that boy? How can he do anything? He couldn't take care of
himself." Cid laughed.
"But he's been training to be a Mana Knight. He should be able to assist
greatly." Cloud replied.
"Gee, you can't believe anything you hear. Zack, Cloud, how did you get
here?" Cid chuckled.
"We got in by posing as former Shinra soldiers. We couldn't go in as just
mercenaries, since the Turks were in the building. It was the only way we
could spy on them." Zack told their story.
"Cripes. Shouldn't you go back so they won't see you talking to us?" Cid
whined. Umaro responded by given Cid a hug. "Omph. While you at it, can't
you get a TV in here? I MISS THE DUKES!" he added afterwards.

Cecil walked in the entry way with stride. He just had persuaded the door
guard to open up. Now two Ogars with hammers stood in Cecil's path. With a
wave of the hand, he placed them to sleep. The next obstacle was the
sneezing Chupon.
"Achoo! You're Cecil Darkheart. You must leave now." Luckily Cecil had a
Typhoon/Chupon materia in hand. Using that and the powers of Manipulate and
Confuse in his mind, he controlled Chupon to his will.
"You will take me to Jenova, and let me speak with her." Unable to break
Cecil's hold on him, Chupon did as he was requested.
"I will take you to Jenova. Just follow me." Chupon led Cecil too the
throne room. On the end of the room, Jenova and her men slept. On one side
of the room, Don slept in his chair, with Aeris and Tifa, now wearing
scantly dancing outfits, chained to it. Chupon approached his master with
caution. He whispered something into Jenova's ear but then sneezed. The
whole room awoke with a buzz. Robo noticed Cecil in the room.
"Finally, Cecil has come." Jenova became very angry with Chupon.
"I told you not to let him in, you simpleton!" she shouted at him.
"Tell her I must speak with her." Cecil instructed. Chupon whispered
another thing in her ear. She was now really angry with him.
"You let him use the mind trick, on you, didn't you?" He pushed Chupon
aside. She then looked at Cecil. "Don't bother trying to use the mind
trick, because it won't work, boy."
Cecil remained confident. "You haven't listened to my message, haven't you?
We can bargain things out you know. If you refuse, I'll destroy you. It's
your choice, but don't you dare underestimate me."
Jenova chuckled. "What a threat from a mere boy. A boy who's about to DIE!"
With that Cecil used the lifestream to grab a gun out of a guardsman. An
ogar aimed to grab it but Jenova pulled the switch. Cecil and the ogar fell
down the trap door. Everybody then rushed to the grate. Cloud and Zack
rushed to assist Aeris and Tifa. Everybody knew what was down beneath.

Cecil and the ogar stumbled until they fell out of the chute. A giant door
rumbled open, and the Ruby Weapon stepped out. The terrified ogar ran
towards the other side of the room. Unfortunately the Ruby Weapon unleashed
its Ruby Flame on the terrified mystic. The Ogar was burnt to a crisp,
hammer and all. Cecil had to move quickly if he had to avoid being crushed.
He took out his other summon materia.
"Phantom!" The phantom spirit turned Cecil invisible. "Alexander!" The
giant robot appeared and blasted the Ruby weapon. This was annoying the
Ruby Weapon. It blasted its streams of fire and pushed its tentacles
through the ground. Cecil quickly dodged these attacks, and managed to get
the tentacles to attack each other. The Ruby Weapon roared in pain. Now
Cecil tried to find a way to escape. He saw a utility door at the side. He
rushed there and opened only to find a gate and a bunch of rowdy mystics.
The mystics pushed him back into the pit. Cecil had to find a way to stop
the Ruby Weapon, for his invisibility faded. He noticed a switch on the
other side, and the huge door. As the Ruby Weapon went under the door,
Cecil casted Bolt on the switch, destroying it. The chains were released as
a result, and the door fell on the Ruby Weapon, killing it. (I know, but
you which it were this easy.)

Jenova shrieked in anger, seeing that the Ruby Weapon has been defeated.
Tifa and Aeris were smiling. Jenova called out to Cloud and Zack, even
though she didn't know that they were Cloud and Zack. She instructed them
to get the prisoners. Cid and his friends will pay for this act against her
organization. Don, on the other hand, didn't seem to care. He was staring
at the two scantily dressed Tifa and Aeris, drooling.
"Oh mama, I'm so lucky!" he chucked. Tifa and Aeris shuddered.
"EWWWW!" they cringed and they gave Don Corneo a slap.

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Chapter 2-On that day, 20 years ago
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Jenova grinned. They will soon pay for that mistake. With the castle's
technologies she moved it to the swirling sands, where a terrifying monster
awaits in it. There were also the hovering sand ships(like the one in SOM)
that circled the area where the sands swirled. On one of the ships, Umaro,
Cecil, Cid, and Red XIII were guarded by Jenova's men, one who was really
Zack. Inside the castle everybody was partying. The mystics were getting
drunk, and they were gambling their money away, thanks to Cait Sith, who
was appointed a poker dealer. Don Corneo was trying to get Tifa and Aeris
interested in him. But they insisted on watching the supposed execution of
their friends.
"Hey, I think I'm seeing things here. I think I got my vision back." Cid
remarked. Cecil looked at him.
"Look, don't do anything until Umaro, Zack, Red XIII does. I got everything
covered."
Cid was skeptical. "You think so, eh? I think we're gonna die in this
bloody desert."

"Hey, royal flush! I win again!" Cait Sith cheered himself. He's been
winning games as the dealer. The disgruntled mystics watched as he
collected all the gil they bet. Now broke, they left the table. Robo came
over to the table.
"What are you doing here Cait Sith?" Robo inquired.
"Winning a lot of money, what do you think?" Cait Sith answered.
"I think you've been cheating. Besides game time is up. We have to time
ourselves for the attack." Robo replied. He walked over to the window.
"Hey, come back here! You just scared off my customers!" Cait Sith yelled
at Robo. Robo just stood there.

"You there, prisoners of Jenova, are now going to be the ZoneEater's latest
victims. But if you wish to beg for mercy, Jenova is listening now." Robo
yelled to the prisoner sand ship. Hearing this, Cid decided to finally
stand up to that freak of nature.

"Hey Robo, tell that @#%@#%^#@ she's a @#%@#^%@#^, a #@%@##^2@#^@#, a
#@$&#$*$%*, a #$^#$&^#$&, and not to mention a #$^#$&$#&$#&*." he yelled
across the sands. His words echoed pretty loudly.
Inside her goons was saying, "OOOOOOHHHHHH! He called her a @#%@#^%@#^! My,
he's gonna get it."
Jenova was not amused. "How dare he calls me a @#%@#^@#^! He'll suffer
after Darkheart. Men, push him in." One of Jenova's guard poked Cecil to
the platform, where below him the ZoneEater awaited its next victim. He was
then pushed towards the ZoneEater's waiting jaws. But unknown to the
guardsman, Cecil casted a float on himself. At the same time, Robo launched
a Rocketpunch, which propelled Cecil's new Mana Saber into the sky, and
into Cecil's waiting hands. Cecil then leaped back on the sand ship,
ignited his new Mana Saber, and attacked the guardsman who pushed him. The
guardsman fell into the ZoneEater's mouth. Then Zack revealed himself to
the others, and started attacking.

Jenova, angered that their execution was thwarted, ordered her men to
attack the ship. They rushed to the roof of the castle, where guns were
placed. They started shooting at the rouge sand ship, as did the other sand
ships. Cecil had finally undid the bindings on Red XIII, Cid, and Umaro.
Zack was handling the last mystic onboard when some blasts hit the ship.
That sent the last mystic into the vacuum of the ZoneEater and Zack hanging
on the rails. Cid rushed to help his friend, but the Turks, using rocket
packs, blasted themselves to the ship.
"Hey, when do those #$%^#$^ get rocket packs?" Cid swore as the three
landed. Cecil immediately chopped the Turks' weapons.
Reno got ticked when he saw his nightstick slashed in half. "You're gonna
pay, PYRAMID!" Reno encased Cecil in the pyramid barrier. Umaro punched it
to bits, and Red XIII his Stardust Ray limit break. The falling stardust
activated the Turks' rocket packs, and sent them flying into the
ZoneEater's mouth. The Sandworm let out a burp after swallowing those
three. Cecil, with his strength, leaped to another sand ship to clear it of
attackers.

Inside, Cloud also revealed himself. He then shut down the windows, so the
entire castle was dark. Tifa and Aeris took this opportunity to attack Don
Corneo. "Okay, you pervert, you're are gonna get it." Tifa shouted as she
kicked Corneo in his favorite spot. Tifa and Aeris then proceeded to wrap
him in the chains that he attached on them. Corneo's face started to turn
blue.
"Ultros, Flea, attack Cloud!" Jenova ordered. Flea was on one side of
Cloud, Ultros on the other side. Flea casted a Fire spell. But Cloud had a
Reflect on himself, and the fire bounded of him and it hit Ultros.
"Ugh! Not seafood soup again! Flea, you idiot!" The octopus then chased
Flea.
Jenova moaned. "Sigfreid, Slash, get him!" Jenova commanded. Slash and
Sigfreid appeared before Cloud.
"So you think you are a swordsman eh, SLASH!" Slash shouted, as a beam of
white light headed toward Cloud.
"Oh yeah! Blade Beam!" Cloud answered, as he launched his Blade Beam. The
two beams hit each other, and it blasted into Slash and Sigfreid's face.
"Nuts! I'm outta here." Sigfreid muttered as he retreated. Slash followed.
"Blast! Where's the Scorpion Army?" Jenova shrieked.

"So if I pull down your arm, I can win all that money?" the boss asked.
"Yeah. I am part slot machine." answered Cait Sith. So the Scorpion boss
pulled down Cait Sith's arm. Slots was used. What came up was a seven, a
moogle, and a diamond.
"What?! I lost?!" shouted the boss.
"Yeah, in more ways than one! Toy Box!" A Hell House landed on the boss,
crushing him. The goons looked over their fallen leader.
"You defeated our leader! You will pay!" one of the goons shouted.
"Yes, you will pay. Just meet our newest robot, uh... what's its name?" the
other goon said.
"That doesn't matter if reveal its name, which is Kettle Kin. The important
thing is to summon it and crush that droid over there." the first
explained.
"Oh right. Here it is, our second hammer robot." Another robot which looked
like the original Kilroy robot rode in the area. Before it could do
anything, Robo landed an Uzi punch on the robot, demolishing it. The two
goons looked at each other and ran off.

Cecil finished off the mystics on the other sand ship. Then he noticed
their own sand ship. Zack was still hanging on the railing and Cid was
trying to pull him up. He saw the lasers coming from the castle and hitting
the ship. Cecil jumped on the castle wall, trying to climb it. As he did, a
few laser blast caused Cid to lose his footing and started hanging on the
railing, Zack still holding on to him. Zack was getting pretty closer to
being the ZoneEater's next meal. Umaro came up to grab on Cid's feet.

Cloud came over to help the girls undo their chains. Cloud quickly did so,
and the girls finished tying up Don Corneo. Cloud looked at the girls,
really noticing how good they looked. "Say, you both look good in those
outfits." he remarked. Both girls promptly gave him a slap, and started
carrying the chained up Corneo. They placed him on the area where the
trapdoor is, and hit the button. Corneo fell with a scream. After being
slapped, Cloud returned to reality, and headed towards Jenova. "You are
gonna die!" he yelled at her. Jenova just shrieked. Her tentacles then took
a swipe at Cloud. Cloud felt his limit meter go way up. "OMNISLASH!" Swing
after swing after swing, Cloud hacked at the evil alien gangster. Jenova
fell.
"You are all gonna die. In two minutes I'll cast Ultima, and you can't stop
it!" she shrieked.
"Blast! Gotta get everybody out of here. Stupid time limits!" Cloud started
to run everywhere, getting Tifa, Aeris, Robo, and Cait Sith, to follow him
to the roof. A bunch of mad mystics followed.

On the roof, Cecil was trying to keep the guns from hitting the sand ship
his friends were on. The mystics attack him, forcing him to deflect the
shots aimed at him. On the other sand ship Cid had an idea. "Hey, Red, try
to fill the ZoneEater's mouth so it can't suck us in." he called out.
"How?" Red questioned.
"I don't know. Get a rock in there or something!" Cid shouted. Red check
his materia. He had a Contain magic materia, mastered. He used a Break
spell on the creature. The rock ended up in the ZoneEater's mouth,
therefore removing the vacuum. With that, Umaro was able to pull everybody
up. Back on the roof, Cecil finally finished off the gunners. Cloud, Robo,
Tifa, Cait Sith, and Aeris, ran up to him.
"Cecil, Jenova's gonna cast Ultima! We gotta get off of this place!" Cloud
shouted.
"And how do you propose we do that?" Cecil asked. With that, a golden wire
suddenly appeared from the sky, dangling in front of the group.
"Hey, isn't that Barret's golden wire of hope? How did that get here?"
Cloud wondered.
"Nevermind that, just grab it and swing over there!" Tifa said. They all
grabbed on the wire, and swing aboard the sand ship. Just as they got out
the area, Jenova-Synthesis casted Ultima, destroying her castle, her sand
ships, and everything in them. In time they were back in space, Cecil and
Robo in Cecil's Epoch, the rest of the group in the Highwind. Cecil
promised the others that he would rejoin the rebel fleet, but he had
another promise to keep.

The Black Omen with its escort fortresses has finally arrived at the site
of the second Meteor of Doom's construction. A chopper appeared under the
Black Omen, with escort ISFs. The chopper finally landed at the Meteor's
hanger. As usual there were SOLDIERs present, only in greater numbers. At
the front, the Dark Knight, Dalton, Scarlet, and Heidegger were standing.
The chopper's back door opened. The first people that came out were
Gesthal, Zeal, and Palmer. They went to the side and kneels, just as
everybody out did. Then they heard his theme. Sephiroth's theme. Sephiroth,
the great leader of this empire, With is six foot sword, slowly walked down
the steps to his awaiting public. He headed towards his most trusted man,
the Dark Knight. "Rise, my puppet." he ordered. The Dark Knight rose, and
started walking with the evil ruler himself.
"The Meteor of Doom will be finished on time." the evil warrior reported.
"You did an excellent job with this place. Now, I presume you want you
resume your search for that Darkheart boy?" Sephiroth cackled.
"Yes, my master." the Dark Knight responded.
"After you fought him, he has learned much. He has grown strong. This time
though, he will search for you. When he comes you, bring him to me." the
ruler instructed. He then laughed to himself. "This things are coming out
as I have foreseen." He could have continued laughing, but someone let out
something nasty. "What in blazes? Who just cut the cheese?" Everyone turned
to face Palmer, who was eating a burrito. He let out an echoing burp.
Sephiroth turned to the Dark Knight. "Before you do anything, make sure
that stinkin' Palmer goes on a diet!"

"A DIET? ANYTHING BUT THAT!" Palmer shouted. The Dark Knight and a few
SOLDIERs started dragging Palmer to the exercise chambers. Sephiroth
resumed walking.
"Where was I?" He flipped through the pages of the "Return of the Paladin"
script. "Oh, yes, I keep laughing as I walk until scene changes. Very well
then." He then resumed laughing.

Cecil was at the home of his teacher. Cecil looked at his teacher, FuSoYa.
He didn't seem very well. "You don't think me as weak, do you not?" his
teacher asked.
"No. Not at all." Cecil insisted.
"Yes you do. You do at all." FuSoYa answered. Weakly, FuSoYa walked to his
bed, using his staff for support. "Soon, I'll join the others, those who
perished at the hands of the Shinra, and those who died in the meaningless
War of the Magi." He coughed weakly as he entered the bed. "You are now one
of the last, Cecil. You are." Cecil looked at his teacher sullenly.
"Master FuSoYa, you can't die on me. I need to complete the training. I
must become a Paladin."
"It is not training that you will require. You have taught yourself much.
To finally become a Paladin, the Mana Knight of the Light, you must
confront the Dark Knight." FuSoYa said, coughing as he spoke. Cecil
realized what FuSoYa said. He must ask that question now.
"FuSoYa, is the Dark Knight really my brother?"
FuSoYa gathered strength to answer the boy's question. "Cecil, Golbez, your
brother, is the Dark Knight." Cecil was shocked. He thought it was all the
lie. A lie to get to him, because he wanted to save his friend from that
manic. Now he has been told that he's related to one of the emperor's most
powerful henchman.

FuSoYa looked at the boy's concerned face. "I see that you don't believe
it, do you? But remember, a Mana Knight's power flows from the lifestream,
but beware anger, fear, and hate. Those lead to the path of darkness."
Cecil heeded those words. "Beware the powers of the Emperor, for you will
suffer your brother's fate." FuSoYa coughed again. "As you know, your
family is part of the great guardians of the universe, to them the
blessings of Mana are given. Overtime, the numbers had thinned, due to
these recent wars. Only a few now have the skills given them at birth.
Cecil, there is another Darkheart..." FuSoYa said weakly. Those were his
last words. Soon his body vanished, his spirit joining the great
lifestream. Cecil, not knowing what to do, decided to go to the crystal
chamber upstairs. He needed answers and fast.

The crystals hummed with a soft light. Cecil looked up at the ceiling. He
knew someone would come to answer him. "Hear me. I just can't do it. I'm
not sure I can." he called.
"Ho ho ho ho. FuSoYa and I will be with you, always." a voice rang
throughout the room. Then a spirit appeared in front of him. Bugenhagen.
"Bugenhagen! How come you didn't tell me the truth? You said it was the
Dark Knight who killed my brother." Cecil exasperated.
"Your brother Golbez was seduced by the emperor and the dark side. The man
that was once your brother died and was reborn as the Dark Knight. You see,
I did tell you the truth, from my point of view. To tell it like it is, you
couldn't have handled it." Bugenhagen's spirit pointed out. Cecil
understood why. "As you see, Golbez was once a good friend. He was already
a skilled pilot who fought in the Magi Wars twenty years ago, two years
before you were born. I saw his great skills as a pilot, and my pride got
to me. Since he was also part of our great heritage, I thought I could
teach him as well as FuSoYa taught me. I was wrong. Sephiroth, a veteran of
the Magi War, aimed to control everything. He became a convincing man,
convincing enough for your brother to follow him instead."

Cecil, just surprised with this information, asked, "What is it that makes
Sephiroth so dangerous? What powers does he have? Is he one of us?" "No, he
was a experiment of the Shinra, to create an ultimate SOLDIER. They wanted
to a powerful warrior with the ability to use magic without the use of
materia or magicite. Since his birth, he was injected with doses of Mako,
also known as the spirit energy. Trying to augment him with magic powers is
why he went mad. In time, the infusion process made his mind more troubled,
more dangerous. His true goal now is to be one with the lifestream, and
control it all. In doing so he needs great quantities of Mako energy." the
spirit summarized. He had a sad face in doing so.

"The Mako reactors. The Meteor of Doom." Cecil quipped.
"That's right. Those things are actually to help him gather that energy.
But he hasn't told everybody their true nature. Shinra was turning into an
empire only the purpose of getting these things built. For the people,
especially the members ofthe Shinra, were hungry for change and power, and
he used that need to fulfill his own. That's why he must be stopped." the
spirit added.
Cecil realized what that meant. "I can't do it. I can't fight them."
Bugenhagen sensed the resentment in the boy.
"It's your fate, your destiny. You will face the Dark Knight again."
"I just can't. I won't kill my own brother." Cecil said. Bugenhagen looked
at the boy. "So Sephiroth's plan will come to fruition. You were our last
hope."
Cecil then remembered FuSoYa's last words. "What about the other Darkheart?
How could there be another?"
"The other FuSoYa referred to you was your twin sister." the wise spirit
answered. Cecil concentrated on that thought. Then he looked back at the
time he sought help from the Gondola wire. He had called out to her, and
she responded. But why her?

"Aeris? She's my sister?" Cecil guessed.
"Ho ho ho ho. You are quite right. You see after the war everybody was
crying for someone to blame. Sephiroth also knew that there would be people
after him if he tried anything. We knew his true nature and plans, and we
tried to prove that. So he blamed our entire race, ensuring that our words
weren't credible. We were all forced to hide our heritage in order to
escape his murderous grasp. The callers, the master wizards, and the lore
mages, as well as the Mana Knights. He also knew if they had offspring,
there would be a potential for a warrior that would defeat him. His fears
got worse when he converted your brother. He knew if your brother had
siblings, he or she would become a Mana Knight, or even worse, a Cetra."
"A Cetra? Aeris?" Cecil wondered.
"Yes. The Cetra our the most special ones of our race, only born in times
of great need. They would have the ability to hear the planets and
understand them, and feel the auras of everyone. Their magic was greater
than others, for an entire planet's energy was behind them. I also knew
that when you were born, you would be the only ones who the emperor feared
the most. To keep you safe, I separated both of you, keeping your heritage
a secret. Your sister, ended up being a part of the rulers of Nibelheim,
who agreed to take her in. And I handed you to Duane and Kathryn, good
friends of mine. That way you and the others who managed to hide from
Sephiroth can strike back at his evil ways. For he has slaughtered many of
our race. You are one of the last of the few with the power and training to
defeat him." It was all to much for Cecil, yet he knew what to do. This man
had destroyed many members of his race and converted his brother to evil,
all in part of a mad quest for power. Enough power to be a god. He must
stop him and face his brother again.

In space the rebel fleet massed and gathered over the planet Guardia, home
of Nadia, a.k.a. Marle, one of the leaders of the rebellion. Inside the
rebellion's main ship a briefing was to be displayed. Many pilots lingered
around. Cid and his friends were there. Aeris and Tifa was glad to be back,
just so they could return to their normal clothes. Currently Cid was
congratulating Cloud for his new position. "Well, General Cloud Strife,
apparently they think you are worthy pilot enough to lead the attack on
Meteor."
"Well, somebody must have told them about the number I did in Junon." Cloud
replied. Cid raised his hands.
"Don't look at me pal. I didn't do anything, except tell them you were a
very good pilot. Even better than me." Cloud grinned. They went back to
their respective places, as Marle begins the meeting.

"After months of waiting we feel that the time to attack the Meteor of Doom
is now. Thanks to Returner spies we have pinpointed the exact location of
Meteor." As she speaks, the holographic projector in the center of the room
beams out an holographic image of the Meteor orbiting the planet Mua. Some
of the pilots were whispering to each other.

"How is it they hidden the plans?" one whispered.
"I heard it was in the FF8 demo." another replied. Marle continued her
briefing.

"With most of the Shinra fleet spread throughout the universe, the battle
station is quite unprotected. And the most important thing our spies had
told us that the emperor Sephiroth is also on board that station. Many
Returners died to bring over these things." Now there was great murmering
within the room. The great Sephiroth, inside the Meteor? The possibility of
his death was quite great. "Barret Wallace, will you speak now?" Marle
motioned. Barret Wallace stood up.

"You betta be not 'fraid of that last explosion, because the next one is
gonna be bigger! Even though dam' Sister Ray isn't workin', the Shinra
built another one of their planet suckin' reactor on the planet Mua, so
they can put a blasted' shield o'er it! So we can't 'tack it without
blowin' the reactor." The planet disappeared from the holograph, and the
battle station was enlarged. "When we got the dat down, we gonna go inside
and make the station's main reactor go BOOM! Remember, this is the last
dance!" Barret pointed to Cloud. "General Strife has volunteered to lead
our fighters." Then Barret pointed to General Celes. "General Celes Chare,
its your turn." Celes stood up.

"We have stolen an Shinra space chopper, and disguised it as a cargo ship.
Using a sercret code, the strike team will bypass the shield and head
towards Mua. From there, they will attack the Mako reactor before the fleet
arrives." Aeris was amazed by this. She knew that going to attack the
reactor was going to be tougher than destroying the space station. Celes
faced Cid. "General Highwind, is your strike team ready?"

Aeris was surprised, as well as Tifa. This wasn't the Cid they knew of, at
least in the game. "I just need a few more members. I already asked the
members of FF4, FF6, FF7, and CT and that wasn't enough. I need more."
Umaro growled in response, signaling his willingness to join. Red XIII,
Tifa, and Aeris followed. Then Cecil came in.
"I'll join you Cid!" he declared. He came over to Aeris and hugged her.
Aeris noticed Cecil's sad face.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Ask me again. Now is not the time." he answered. As he did so, Robo
volunteered himself.
"General Highwind, I would like to join you." he said.
"Bah! Enough with the general stuff. Just call me Cid!" Cid answered. Cait
Sith looked at Robo.
"What are you crazy? Why do you want to join this?" Cait Sith asked.
"We must do it, if we are to have a future. That's why we're going." Robo
answered.
"If that's so, I'm going just to keep am eye on you." Cait Sith replied.
Marle looked at the active crowd.

"YES! If we work together, we won't be beaten by a bad buy!" she declared.

Cloud and Cid walked together in the hanger, remembering the dogfights they
had in space together. They walked by the Highwind.
"Tell you what Cloud, why don't you use the Highwind? We both know its one
of the fastest ships in the fleet. You'll need it for your attack." Cid
suggested.
"Well, I would have trouble with flying the newer ships. The Highwind is
the ship I know so much about. Hopefully it should survive the battle
without any scratch." Cloud laughed. The two shook hands. Cloud then hugged
Tifa goodbye, as Aeris did with Zack. Cecil also shook hands with Cloud and
Zack. Those two then embarked on the Highwind, as did many others. The
Highwind now has a full crew, thought Cid, as he led his strike team to the
stolen chopper. With no trouble he got the chopper started, and it blasted
off into space, not knowing what they are going to meet.

================================================================================

Chapter 3-The Forests of Mua
================================================================================

Sephiroth was waiting in the throne room. Where was his puppet? "That fool.
He was supposed to be here ten minutes ago." The Dark Knight finally rushed
in.
"Sorry I'm late. But Palmer was lacking motivation." the warrior explained.

"Oh yes. I forgot. We strayed of the script because of Palmer's lack of
manners." Sephiroth chuckled. "Now then, what was it I needed you for?"
Sephiroth took more time thinking on his next lines. "Oh, yes. I need you
to call the entire fleet. Have them on the far side of the planet Mua. They
shall stay there until further notice."
The Dark Knight was surprised at the order. "But what of the Rebel fleet
massing near Guardia?"
Sephiroth didn't flinch. "Nevermind them. Just get the fleet here and
return to the Black Omen, puppet. Also, why don't you send Scarlet and
Heidegger to Mua while you're at it."
"Yes, my master." the Dark Knight responded. The warrior then left the
throne room.

The stolen chopper has finally arrived at the Meteor's construction site.
Cid was marveling at the number of spaceships within the vicinity. The job
now seemed tougher the he originally thought.
"My, if this thing doesn't work we might hafta get our @$$es outta dis
place!" he swore. A voice came in through the radio.
"We have you on our screens. Please identify."
"Transport Chopper Enterprise requesting permission for passage through the
shield." Cid requested through the radio.
"Please then submit clearance codes for access." the voice on the radio
crackle.
"36, 10, 59, and 97. Geez, where do they come up with these codes?" Cid
muttered to himself as he inputted the codes.
Aeris, who was also in the cockpit, answered, "I heard they were taken from
some notes of Professor Hojo."
"Did I ask for an answer?! #$^#$^#$" Cid swore. Umaro growled as they got
close to few Mana Fortresses. While Cid was coaching Umaro on how to fly
like a Shinra transport pilot, Cecil, also in the cockpit, felt a presence.

"The Dark Knight. He's on one of those ships. I feel I shouldn't been on
this mission." he muttered.
"You are just paranoid. He could be anywhere." Cid replied. Then he
returned to telling Umaro where to go. Umaro, watch it!" Cid warned.

But true to Cecil's words, the Dark Knight was on the Black Omen. The ship
was now monitoring those who wished to pass the security shield. Rufus was
looking over one of the controllers. The Dark Knight noticed Rufus and also
decided to view on the most recent ship that has appeared.
"What is that chopper doing here?" the warrior inquired. In response, Rufus
talked through the radio.
"Chopper Enterprise, state cargo and destination." Rufus requested.
Cid's filled the radio. "We're delivering parts and personnel to the Mako
reactor on the planet Mua." Rufus looked up the Dark Knight for a response.

"Does this ship have code for passage?" the warrior asked.
"They do. I am going to clear them." Rufus said.
"Then clear them. And leave them to me." the Dark Knight order. He said
that because he felt Cecil on board that ship. The emperor was right he had
to report this.

Cid patiently, or rather impatiently, waited for a response. Finally the
radio crackled to life.
"Sir, the security shield will be deactivated. You can continue on with
your current course."
"Thanks." Cid responded. "See Cecil, there's nothing here to worry about."
That didn't help Cecil much. The Dark Knight's presence was strong. He was
worrying. Still, the chopper headed towards Mua without incident.

Great big trees surrounded the Rebel group in Mua. The forest was very wide
indeed. As the small strike team moved through the underbrush, a pair of
SOLDIERs was seen up ahead. A set of hoverbikes was nearby. Aeris pondered
on the situation.
"What do we do? Summon the Phantom?"
"We have to conserve our resources. Maybe we should walk around instead."
Cecil replied.
"I say lets sneak up on them and take them out!" Cid declared. He motioned
Red XIII and Umaro to come with him.
"Let's be reasonable about this. We don't know how many are out there."
Cecil insisted. But Cid didn't listen. As he tried to sneak up on one of
the SOLDIERs, he stubbed his toe.
"@#$^@$*@#%^@#^!" he swore. That got the SOLDIER's attention, as Cid tried
to knock him down. Another SOLDIER hopped in one of the hoverbikes and sped
off, only to be stopped by a Quake2 casted by Red XIII. As Cecil and Aeris
joined the group they noticed two occupied hoverbikes. As those two sped
off, Aeris noticed the unused hoverbike and hopped on.

"Aeris, what are you doing?" Cecil declared.
"Come on, we're are going on a crazy hoverbike chase." Aeris answered. The
Crazy Motorcycle Chase theme cues in. Cecil couldn't refuse. He should at
least keep an eye on his sister. So he hopped on, and the two pursued after
the SOLDIERs.
Cid, after finishing of the SOLDIER with Tifa's help, finally noticed Cecil
and Aeris gone. "#$^#$^#$^! Come back here! I wanna do it!"

The Crazy Motorcycle Chase theme kept on playing as Cecil and Aeris pursued
the speeding SOLDIERs on their bikes. Along the way a strange robot with
wheels and an exhaust pipe rolled in next to Aeris' bike.
"The name's Johnny. I'm the MAN. You can't pass the forest without beating
me at a race." the robot declared.
"Go away you stupid cameo from Chrono Trigger." Cecil said, as he ignited
his Mana Saber and cut of Johnny's head, and let the rest of the body fly
into a tree.
"That wasn't nice you know." Aeris remarked.
"Yeah, but he don't wanna end up redoing this entire scene again just
because he beat us in a race. Just make sure those SOLDIERs don't contact
their HQ." Cecil replied.

"I already did that, and now I'm going next to that fella over there." As
she said that, she sped up, carefully weaving by the many trees until their
hoverbike caught up to one of the SOLDIER's. With that, Cecil swung his
Mana Saber at the SOLDIERs, forcing him to jump off. Cecil then jumped on
the hoverbike. As the two chased the remaining SOLDIER, they passed two
more, which joined in the pursuit. Cecil slowed down to go by those two. He
swung his saber and knocked a hoverbike out of commission. Cecil started
chasing the other one, while Aeris kept on chasing the one ahead of her.

Aeris got close to the SOLDIER. Unfortunately, the SOLDIER got out a laser
pistol and started shooting at her. Some of the shots hit the bike and it
careened out of control, forcing Aeris off it before it crashed into a
tree. In retaliation Aeris used the "????" enemy skill on the SOLDIER,
sending him to the ground. With that she fell on the ground, tired from the
chase.

Cecil on the other hand tried to get close to the SOLDIER he was pursuing.
Yet the SOLDIER kept on speeding sideways away from Cecil. So Cecil tried
another tactic. He went way ahead of the SOLDIER's bike and started to ram
it. Nevertheless the SOLDIER forced Cecil's bike to go into a tree. Then
the SOLDIER turned his bike around and started shooting at Cecil. Cecil
reignited his Mana Saber and deflected the shots. Then Cecil chopped off
the steering wheel as it flew by. The bike when out of control as it
crashed into a tree trunk. With the SOLDIER gone, Cecil tried to contact
Aeris with the PHS. Nothing. He decided to rejoin the group.

"Whadda mean you lost Aeris? She was with ya on dat same bike!" Cid swore.
He didn't take the news of Aeris' disappearance very much. "Now we gotta
find her!" He then started ordering the strike team around. He decided to
take Tifa, Red XIII, Umaro, Cecil, Cait Sith, and Robo on the search party
while the other party would meet them later at the Mako Reactor. Hopefully,
they can still blow it up in time. Cait Sith didn't take this too well.
"Why did I come down here anyway? All that occurs is trouble. I don't like
it!" he whined.

Aeris finally woke up. As she looked around to get her bearing, she noticed
a patch of flowers. She smiled. She hadn't seen many flowers since she left
her home. She enjoyed them, planted them, much to the dismay of her royal
parents who said that only the royal gardener could plant flowers. But for
her flowers is much of life as leading a rebellion. She kneeled down to
take a closer look. But behind her a figure approached. Mog the moogle was
patrolling the area for humans. Noticing Aeris, he decided to give her a
poke with his spear.
"Hey, who did that?!" Aeris spun around and saw the moogle pointing a
spear.
"Kupo. You go away. Leave place now!" the creature insisted.
"Hey, you are a cute little fella. You can talk too." Aeris rubbed the
moogle's head. Mog jumped back in response, not knowing what to do with
this human.
"No. You bad like others. They hurt forest. Built evil stuff that bring bad
air. Make allies vanish into thin air." Mog responded.
"Whoa, wait a minute. What allies? How they vanish into thin air?" Aeris
questioned. The moogle kept point his spear at her.
"All Sprites gone. Stuff suck Mana. They have Mana blood. They disappear
for lack of Mana. Humans cause this. Moogles no trust humans." the moogle
explained.
"Look, not the entire human race is bad. I'm part of a rebellion group that
is fighting the Shinra. They are the ones who are behind the bad stuff.
Look, I just need to find a way to my friends and..." Aeris tried to say.
"Me no trust you. Kupo. You go now." The moogle tried to cast a spell, but
it didn't do anything. He had a lack of MP. The moogle shook his head.
"Kupo. Me stupid. Me waste magic." Aeris saw this as an opportunity as to
prove her goodness. She pulled out a can of Turbo Ether. She opened it and
gave it to the moogle.
"Here, take it. It'll give your magic back." Aeris said. Mog refused.
"Me don't trust you. Me think it's poison." Aeris, seeing the refusal,
realized that she had to prove this was good stuff. So she took out a cup,
poured some of the Turbo Ether in it, and drank it. The moogle saw nothing
bad happened to her, so he drank it too. It was good. He felt his magic
powers coming back. Maybe this lady wasn't lying. Then he noticed the
necklace with a white stone on Aeris.
"Kupo, what's that?" The moogle pointed to the necklace on Aeris.
"Oh this? This is materia. More importantly it's supposed to be my real
mother's, as I've been told. I really don't see anything good about it."
Aeris answered.

"Ooooooooooo." the moogle looked in awe at the strange stone. Suddenly a
few shots rang out. The moogle dived in the flowers. In time SOLDIERs
surrounded Aeris. Aeris noticed that nearby two new hoverbikes were in the
area. She had to avoid being captured. As the SOLDIERs took her away, Mog
decided to help his new friend. He jumped out of his hiding places and
stabbed one of the SOLDIERs. That allowed Aeris to knock another one with
her rod. To prevent the other SOLDIERs from escaping, Mog summoned Ramuh to
stop them. The motorbikes were fried, and the SOLDIERs taken care off.
Aeris decided it would be best to move on. Mog insisted that she follow him
to the Moogle village. But unknown to Aeris, her necklace has fallen off
during the battle.

The Dark Knight went to the throne room again. He must tell the emperor of
the Rebel's presence. He with stride walked up to the emperor. But
Sephiroth was not amused.
"I ordered you to stay on the command ship, puppet." he declared.
"But a rebel strike team with my brother has bypassed the shield and
entered Mua." the warrior responded. Sephiroth was surprised.
"Are you sure you felt him, for I haven't." Sephiroth demanded.
"I have felt him. And he's felt mine." the Dark Knight answered.
"If that's so, then go the Mako Reactor on Mua, and wait for him there."
the emperor instructed.
The Dark Knight was skeptical. "He will come to me?"
"Yes, my puppet. He will. Soon he will join us." Sephiroth cackled again.
This will be the pinnacle of his victory.

Cecil looked around. He saw a bunch of charred bikes. Then something
glittered in the grass. He looked down and found it. "Aeris' necklace, with
the white materia." he muttered to himself, as he picked it up.
"Hey Cecil! Get your @#%@#% here!" Cid shouted. Cecil rushed to where Cid
was. Another destroyed hoverbike was found near a tree.
"Apparently there were more scouts then we thought. But she did leave
this..." Cecil showed the necklace, with the white stone shining. Robo and
Cait Sith also reported their lack of luck with the search.
"Our sense materia picked up nothing. Nor did Robo's sensors." Cait Sith
said, shaking his head. Yet Red XIII smelled something.
"She was here alright, as well as few other beings. But something smells
odd..." Red XIII started tracking the scent. The group followed, hoping
that it might be a clue. Instead, all they found was a giant piece of meat
hanging from a tree.
"EEEEWWWWW! It doesn't just smell odd, it smells like @#%@#%@#%!" Cid
complained. But Umaro didn't care. The taste of dried meat didn't appeal to
him anymore. An animal recently dead, was now in reach. He grabbed for it,
only to entrap him and the others in a very large net. "Great @#%@#^@#^@#%!
Umaro, you do nothing but think with ya bloody stomach! @#^@#^@#^&*%^*!"
Cid started swearing.

"Will you stop swearing and figure out of this net?" Cecil responded. But
Robo was already using his Laser Spin technique, which made many cuts in
the net. The group soon realized that they weren't along in these woods,
for a swarm of moogles surrounded them. They were either on the ground, on
a chocobo, or flying in the sky. They brandished their weapons, pointing
them at the group. As they got closer one of them made a grab for Cid's
spear.
"Hey! $#^%#$^#$&*%^(! You already got a spear! So let go of mine!" Cid and
the moogle started a tugging match for the spear. To calm things down,
Cecil insisted that they turn over their weapons until they know what's
going on. As the group stood up, one figure stood out in the group in the
moogle's point of view.
Cait Sith has made his appearance. "Ouch! Umaro, you better lose some
weight!" he sputtered. With his appearance, the moogles gasped and
chattered among themselves. They surrounded this strange moogle-like
figure, bowing before him. "Hey! What are you doing?" Cait Sith demanded.
The chief moogle, who was in the front, said, "Kupo! You be the moogle god!
Kupo!"
Cid, hearing this, asked Cait Sith, "Well great moogle god, why don't you
set us free?" Unfortunately, being declared a god inflated Cait Sith's ego.

"Puny humans. I do not listen to you." Cait Sith declared.
"Kupo. I agree. Besides, you be sacrifices in moogle god's honor." the
chief moogle said.
"Oh $#^#$^#$&$%*#$!" Cid shouted.

That didn't matter, for the moogles dragged Cid and his friends to their
village in the trees, except for Cait Sith. They carried him on a makeshift
chair, till they reached the village center. There, Cid, Cecil, Umaro, Red
XIII, and Tifa were imprisoned in a cage. Robo was tied up elsewhere. To
start the fire for the sacrifice, a group of moogles started dancing. The
dancing ritual was stopped when Mog walked in with Aeris. As she walked in
she asked, "What's going on?"
"Uh oh! I'm in trouble." Cait Sith mused to himself. He knew he would let
his friends be freed at the last minute, but her appearance hastened that
need. "Okay. Okay. Stop the ritual now. I command you." he told the
moogles. The moogles shook their heads, and returned to the ritual dance.
Cecil decided to take matters to his own hands.
"Cait Sith. Why don't you tell them you'll use your magic if they don't do
what you say?"
"Well, I don't want to hurt them, but alright. Hear me my moogles, spare my
friends, or I'll use my magic." The moogles kept shaking their heads. Cecil
closed his eyes and concentrated. The makeshift chair Cait Sith was siting
on was beginning to float. In the air the chair spun around. Amazed and
frightened, the moogle chief ordered the prisoners freed. With that, Cecil
returned the chair to its rightful place, with a shaken Cait Sith. With
quick speed, Cecil rushed over to Aeris. Hopefully, the moogles would
listen to them now.

And they did. Later that day Cait Sith explained why he was "sent" from the
beyond. He told the story of the rebellion and the Shinra. He explained it
was the Shinra who caused the evil acts on the planet Mua. He declared he
was sent with rebellion friends to free the world and the universe from
their tyranny. The moogles were amazed. This strange moogle god had
explained why these bad humans were on the planet and he brought friends to
stop them. With that, they declared they would help the friends of their
"god" and free their planet. It was became a celebration. But Cecil wasn't
in a party mood. He left the village center, Mana Saber in hand. He knew
what had to be done. Aeris, noticing Cecil's departure, followed in to the
outskirts of the village.

"Cecil, what's wrong?" Cecil stopped and faced her. He must explain all.
"Aeris, do you know your mother, your true mother?" It was quite a personal
question, she thought. But it was the only way to find out way he's acting
like this.
"Not much. Except she supposedly gave me this." She pointed to her
necklace. "But frankly, I keep having visions about her. I hear her say I
have a great power, but I really don't understand. I'm not anything
special. But why you ask?"
"My own parents. I hardly knew them. I never really knew much about them."
he replied. This was getting nowhere, she thought.
"Really, Cecil. What really wrong here?" she insisted. Cecil took a deep
breath. The truth must be told.
"It's the Dark Knight. I feel his presence on this planet. I can't stay
here any longer. If I do, I'll endanger the entire mission. Beside, I'll
have to face him." he answered sadly.
"Why is it you have to do this? Why you must face him?" Aeris pressed on.
This is it, Cecil thought.
"Well, he's my brother." he finally answered. Aeris was shocked.
"Your brother?! That can't be! How can it be?" She was in denial, but Cecil
remained calm.
"There is more to explain. But hear me out. If I'm not successful you are
the alliance's, no, the universe's last hope from evil. You are." Aeris
wouldn't believe it.
"I don't understand this. You have powers within you. I don't have any."
But Cecil knew the truth.
"You are wrong. Your mother was right. You have a great power. I come from
a family with a great heritage. A heritage tied to Mana and the lifestream.
All members of my heritage receive a blessing from the lifestream. My
brother did. I did. And so did my sister."

Sister? Was he implying that she was really his sister? Yet maybe he was
right, as well as her mother. "I felt your presence. Stronger than any of
the others. I never told this to anyone but I listen to many voices. A lot
of voices. One keeps declaring itself as the planet. How is it I can speak
to a planet?"
"That's because you are a Cetra. A special magic user born in time of
crisis. A rare one. You were designated as the universe's last hope. Now
you know why I must do it. My brother, he's still in that heartless
warrior. I must save him while I can." With that Cecil gave a goodbye kiss
to Aeris, and went off, using the lifestream to find his way. Aeris sighed.
This was too much for her. Then Cid and Tifa walked out.

"My, are we in luck. We got our weapons back, extra supplies, and a even
better path to the Mako Reactor. We have hit a bonus." Cid declared. But
Tifa noticed Aeris crying and that Cecil was far away. She decided to
comfort her friend.
"Aeris, what's wrong? Where's Cecil?" she asked. Aeris gulped. She couldn't
tell the whole story. She should tell what Cecil's doing at least.
"Cecil said it's something personal. He says he has a score to settle. A
great score to settle." she sniffled.
"Wow. Just like Tellah and Golbez in FF4, and Cloud and Sephiroth and
Vincent and Hojo in FF7. Apparently there's been a lot trauma lately." Tifa
remarked.
"Well, you could say that." Aeris replied. The three looked out at the
horizon, not knowing if Cecil should ever return.

In time, he found the hidden Mako reactor on the planet Mua. We walked up
to it and surrendered himself. He knew they would take him to his brother.
In time, the security guards let him inside. His brother was waiting.
"What do we have here?" the dark warrior inquired.
"We found him outside the reactor. He surrendered to us, yet he has
declared he's the only one here. I request permission to search the area
for more rebels." the guard replied. The other took out Cecil's only
weapon, and handed to the Dark Knight. "This is his only weapon, my lord."
The Dark Knight looked at Cecil, then to his men. "Good work men. Leave him
with me. You are allowed to carry on with the search." he instructed. The
two SOLDIERs bowed and left. Now brother and brother were the only ones
left. "The emperor has been expecting your arrival." the warrior spoke.
"I know, brother." Cecil responded. It would have seemed the boy accepted
the truth.
"So, you have finally accepted the truth about me..."
"I only accepted the fact that you were once my brother Golbez..." Golbez.
He had no use for that name anymore.
"I have no need for that name now." Cecil was in denial about that.
"Yes you do. It's your true self that you've forgotten. There's still a
conflict within you. The emperor hasn't driven it from you fully. That's
why you won't kill me, or take me to that mad man." Cecil tried to search
his brother's soul. Something was in that part-man, part-machine figure.
Nevertheless, the warrior ignited Cecil's Mana Saber, and inspected it.
"It seems you gotten yourself a new Mana Saber. This proves you are a
powerful warrior as the emperor has seen." He extinguished the saber,
looking at Cecil for a response.
Cecil tried to reason with his brother. "Don't follow the emperor, brother.
He has deceived you. Everything that he's told you about him is all a lie.
You have no need for him. He's just using you. There's more to him than
what he had said to you."
"He's my master. And I follow him. And now, he's your new master." the dark
warrior ended. Cecil looked at the warrior's face. The helmet has covered
every last bit of humanity in that man.
"So, my brother is truly dead." Cecil remarked. A few SOLDIERs come in, and
escorted Cecil and the Dark Knight to his chopper. Sephiroth would be very
pleased.

======================================================================================

Chapter 4-Judgement Day, for whom?
======================================================================================

Mog and the moogle chief lead the small group of rebels to the Mako
Reactor. Ahead of the group was the landing platform. A chopper started to
leave. Aeris felt Cecil in that chopper. But she had to let it go. The
current problem now was to get in the reactor. The two moogles chattered
among each other. Then they faced Cait Sith.
"Kupo! We go around. There be back door!" Mog declared.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Lead the way!" Cait Sith insisted.

In space over the planet Guardia, the rebellion fleet massed together.
Flying through the massive capital ships and the Big Whales was the
Highwind, piloted by Cloud and Zack. Also in the Highwind, a bunch of
crewmembers maintained the ship and manned the guns. Cloud looked outside
at the starfighter-filled space. Everyone seemed to be here. The attack was
to begin.

"Barret, all the fighters are here." Cloud spoke into the radio.
"Dat thing is ready now! Now, let's go in da hypa'space!" Barret's voice
crackled through the radio.
"Okay, we're moving out!" Cloud replied.
"You know, I'm gonna time this offensive we're planning. I bet its pretty
short." Zack remarked. Cloud just pushed a bunch of switches. The Highwind
jumped into lightspeed, as did the other rebel crafts.

The group finally reached the reactor's back door. It was a maintenance
entrance. At least four SOLDIERs guarded the entrance. Cid found the rest
of his strike team in another part of the forest. Now the question is how
to get in. As the human members discussed this, the moogle chief spotted a
bunch of hoverbikes. Intrigued the moogle move towards them. Cait Sith, who
wasn't in the discussion, notice the moogle running towards the bikes.

"No. Don't do that! They'll find us." he said. The moogle didn't listen. As
he started the bike he was on, the SOLDIERs noticed him.
"What the? Get him!" one of the SOLDIERs said. Only three started chasing
the moogle, for the moogle has taken the bike for a spin. And there were
only three bikes left. With the three SOLDIERs gone, only one was left
guarding.
"Well, what do ya think about dat? That furball was more useful than I
thought?" Cid remarked.

The Crazy Motorcycle Chase theme played again, as the three SOLDIERs
pursued the rouge biker. They shot at it with a few laser blasts. The
moogle chief, having enough biking for his entire life, started flying into
the air and out of the sights of the SOLDIERs, still chasing the runaway
bike.

Back at the back entrance of the reactor, the lone SOLDIER was forced to
surrender. Jessie deciphered the code for the main entrance. The strike
team, with Cid, Tifa, and Aeris in the lead, walked in, not knowing what to
expect.

The elevator was going up. Cecil was about to meet the evil emperor, a man
whose real ambition was to be a god. With the Dark Knight escorting him, he
had no choice. The doors opened. A group of SOLDIERs lined the entryway.
Cecil and the Dark Knight walked through the SOLDIERs. Up ahead, he was
seen. His theme was heard. Yes, the heartbeats, the bells, and the choirs.
Sephiroth was there. As the two walked up to the ruler, Sephiroth dismissed
his SOLDIERs. Face to face, Cecil stared at the silver-haired man.

"Welcome, young Darkheart. I've been waiting for you." The Dark Knight
kneeled before his master. The emperor looked at the young warrior. Cecil
had a set of bindings on him. With a snap of Sephiroth's fingers, the
bindings fell to the floor. Then the evil ruler set his gaze on the young
man's eyes. "I've been waiting for you for a long time. I aim to complete
your training. In time you will look to me, as your new master."
Cecil was defiant. "You'll never be my master. I will not be so easily
convinced like my brother has."
Sephiroth chuckled. "No. In time you'll respect me. You'll see things my
way." The Dark Knight walked up to his master, and handed over the Mana
Saber to him. "Ah... what's this? A Mana Saber, the choice of weapon for
Mana Knights. It looks just like your brothers. Just remember, your brother
can never be good again. His soul is now tainted by darkness. He'll always
be my puppet. And so will you."

Cecil kept still, feeling that the emperor must fail. "You'll not have time
for this. We'll all be destroyed."
The evil ruler just laughed. He knew what was coming. "Oh, you're taking
about your planned attack on this battle station? Why don't you look
outside?" Sephiroth pointed his sword outside. The Cecil saw it. The entire
Shinra fleet was stationed outside. "I have known you rebels will come
after us. Why do you think I allowed the information to fall into their
hands?" It was a trick, he thought, as he kept listening. "You see, your
friend will never destroy the Mako Reactor. The shield will still be
standing. The rebellion will soon end." Sephiroth now started cackling on
the spot. All was coming to place.

The strike team finally blasted to the reactor's control center. Cid lead
the charge.
"Everybody get the @#%@#% out! We're taking over this joint!" he barks out
to the personnel. But outside the entrance a platoon of SOLDIERs entered
the base, having been hidden from the strike team. Robo, Cait Sith, Mog,
and the moogle chief witnessed this occurring. Seeing their friends
captured, the two moogles talked between each other and left the robots
alone. Cait Sith wasn't pleased.
"Hey, come back here!" he declared, but the moogles kept on walking. Inside
the strike team was on their way to the generator when SOLDIERs surrounded
them. There were hundreds of them. No way they could fight them out. The
only viable choice was to surrender.
"Freeze you rebel scum!" the commander ordered.
"@##^@#&$#&#! Dang it! We're SCREWED!" Cid swore, as the strike team was
let out.

The rebel fleet finally left hyperspace. Up ahead of them was Mua, and the
new Meteor of Doom.
"Let dat lifestream guard us! Gotta save the universe from dyin!" Barret's
voice rang in the airwaves. Cloud smiled. As the fleet approached the dealy
space station, Cloud remarked about the sight.
"My, I never knew how big these things are. Shall we go in and blow it up?"
he asked his copilot.
"Let's make things formal. Check for a shield of some type." Zack replied.
Cloud shrugged. It wouldn't make much of a difference. So he used the
ship's instruments to analyze for a force field of some sort. It didn't
seem to work.
"What the? Why isn't the sensor's working?" he demanded.
"Well, maybe they would be jamming our materia sensors." Zack replied.
"Why would they be jamming us. They would only jam us if they..." The words
sunk into Cloud's head. What if they did knew? "Wedge, try to see if you
can scan for a presence of a shield." He spoke into the radio.
"I can't get a reading. What now?" a voice crackled through the speakers.
Cloud was now sure. They were going on a collision course.
"Wedge, lead the fleet away from Meteor. The shield's up!" he spoke. Barret
was monitoring communications between the pilots. Cloud wouldn't lie. The
fleet was in danger of being destroyed.
"@#%@#%! Meteor still hav' da shield! Change course! Change course!" he
declared on the airwaves. Then Banon came up to him. He seemed a little
frantic.
"Sir, we report enemy ships in the area. Hundreds of them!"
"#@%$@#%@#%! We've been made foos!" Barret replied. As it was, the fleet's
new course was in the direction of the Shinra's fleet.

Sephiroth again pointed his sword out the window. "Look Cecil. See what's
happening." Cecil watched intently. The larger Shinra fleet was there,
launching fighters on the rebel fighters. Even though the Mana Fortresses
didn't participate, the ISFs were still causing trouble. He felt great
agony. "Look at that. Your pathetic rebellion friends did come. Now witness
their destruction!" Cecil felt it. His anger towards the emperor was great.
Not just because of the many killing he has done, but also his tyrannical
acts now. He felt the urge to kill the emperor. His saber was on the chair.
"Good. I feel your frustrations. You want to kill me." That's what he
wanted. Killing out of anger would make him a dark knight. He must resist.
He must not end up like his brother.
"No. I will not give in so easily." he defiantly replied. Sephiroth just
laughed. The time will come soon enough.

The rebel strike team was forced outside the back door. During their
capture, many SOLDIERs came to beef up security, as well as a bunch of
Proud Clods. A Proud Clod walked up the group. Its hand moved to the
cockpit opening. The cockpit opened, and two figures walked on to the hand.
It was Scarlet and Heidegger.
"Gwa ha ha ha! You're all doomed!" Heidegger laughed.
"Kya ha ha ha! You're done for." Scarlet laughed. She looked at the strike
team. It members really varied. "Looks like we got some white mages, black
mages, regular mages, ninjas, thieves..."
"That's TREASURE HUNTER!" Locke declared.
"Whatever... engineers/mechanics, kung-fu fighters..."
"It's not KUNG FU!" Yang, Saban and Tifa declared.
"Silence! A yeti, pilots, artists, a vampire..."
"..." said Vincent.
"A caller, swordsmen, and a mute!" Scarlet finally said.
"I'm not a mute!" Crono declared. Heidegger laughed.
"Gwa ha ha ha! You are now. Silence!" Crono lost his voice.

Hiding in the woods, Cait Sith and Robo looked over the situation. They
were trying to figure out what to do.
"You're the one with the brains. You figure it out!" Cait Sith shouted.
"What? The 'god' can't do anything by himself? That's a shame." Robo
replied. The whole thing turned into a shouting match. That brought the
attention to the SOLDIERs, as well as Heidegger and Scarlet. She sent out
the SOLDIERs to see what was the noise. They uncovered the fighting droids,
who stopped as they realized they were spotted.
"Oops." muttered Cait Sith. Scarlet looked at their new guests.
"Hmm. We have robots too. Couldn't I asked for anything more?" he laughed.
Then without warning, a bunch of armed moogles ambushed the SOLDIERs. In
another part of the area, Mog and the moogle chief appeared, with more
moogles behind them.

"Kupo. Start attack now!" the moogle chief declared, as the moogles blared
their horns. Then from out of nowhere, hundreds of moogles popped out of
the grass, came from the air, rode in on chocobos. SOLDIERs were sent to
halt the invading attack. The rebel strike team took advantage and attacked
their oppressors. Cid, Aeris, and Tifa ran to the entry door. The other
members ran through the forest.
"You puny fools. Nothing can stop Proud Clod!" Scarlet laughed, as she and
Heidegger reentered their Proud Clod. The other Proud Clods started moving
through the forest, hunting for moogles and rebels. SOLDIERs on hoverbikes
also joined in. While the moogles took down many SOLDIERs, they had to
retreat because of the approaching Proud Clods. They tried various dances
to slow down the hulking robots, but the robots were unfazed.

Cid on the other hand was trying to reopen the reactor's back door.
"Circle, Square, X, X." he muttered, as he inputted the password. The door
didn't open. "@$#%@#^! Aeris, get Robo here! I'll hold these freaks off."
Aeris got out her PHS while Cid blasted incoming SOLDIERs with fire spells.
Hopefully Robo can get here open up the door.

Out above in space, Cloud and the other pilots struggled with the
dogfighting of hundreds of ISFs, which continually attacked the large rebel
ships.
"Man, these guys don't know the meaning of the word quit." Cloud muttered.
"Us or them?" asked Zack. Sometime the copilot can be annoying. Zack took
notice of the Mana Fortresses outside. "Hey, why are they just standing
there? Shouldn't they be attacking?" Zack wondered.
For a second time in a row Zack said something useful. "Hmm. That is
strange. They seemed to be waiting for something..." Cloud responded.

Inside the Black Omen's bridge, Rufus looked at the battle outside. Zeal
comes up to him.
"Sir, we are in attack position. Shall we fire?" Zeal announced.
"No. Not yet. The emperor has a grand surprise for us all." Rufus smirked.

Sephiroth saw it. The boy was strong. But he hasn't played his wildcard
yet. Maybe he should do it now.
"You keep seeing it but you still denying it. Your friends are losing. Now,
you witness this. See the firepower of this battle station destroy your
friends!" Has the rebellion been trick? Even though half-completed, the
station could still generate a planet destroying beam? It would seem so as
Sephiroth said, "Fire at will, commander." through the comlink.

In the control tower Dr. Lugae and Dalton oversaw the charging of the new
Sister Ray.
"FIRE!" Dalton commanded. Dr. Lugae hit a few buttons, and the energy was
released. The shot hit and destroyed a rebel cruiser. Cloud witnessed the
destruction.

"What the? That laser came from the Meteor. We're sitting ducks!" Cloud
declared.
"I kno' foo'! Why we don't retreat?" Barret's voice crackled on the radio.
"We can't! Cid's down there. Just give him some time." Cloud replied.
"What about Marlene?!" Barret shouted back.
"Look, just get the ships to attack the Mana Fortresses. The beam is pretty
large. The empire doesn't want to risk hitting their own ships." Cloud
tried to convince Barret.
"If we get outta here alive, I'm gonna shoot ya! Okay men, attack da
#$@%^#@$@ Fortresses!" Barret's voice rang through the airwaves.
"Sure you will." Cloud laughed, as he directed the Highwind towards the
menacing Fortresses.

Aeris, Cid, and Tifa tried to clear the entrance area of SOLDIERs. Cait
Sith and Robo would be coming in soon. Hopefully they should crack security
and bust in the place. Robo and Cait Sith did make it. But Robo became a
sitting target for a SOLDIER when he tried to force the computer to open
the door. With one shot Robo was trashed.
"Omigosh! What are we gonna do?" Tifa asked, avoiding gunfire.
"Screw the computer. I'm gonna rewire that @#$@#% thing!" Cid shouted.

Outside in the forest the other rebels and the moogles kept retreating the
advancing Proud Clods. It would take a working plan to stop these things.
Despite the star chucking from Edge and Shadow, the pummeling from Sabin
and Yang, the mystifying from Relm and Edward, the stealing from Locke and
Yuffie, and the using of powerful magic from Tellah, Strago, Rosa, Palom,
Porom, Terra, and Rydia, the SOLDIERs marched on, backed by the many Proud
Clods. Yet, Red XIII, Umaro, Edgar, and Vincent started to formulate a plan
with Mog and the moogle chief.

Sephiroth smiled. Things were going his way. Now for the finishing touches.
"Well Darkheart, I feel your anger rising a lot. You're rebellion will soon
quickly end as it began. And all your friends, they shall join those who
perished beneath me." Now he was beginning to taunt Cecil. "Come on. Take
your weapon. I won't move. Strike me, and make yourself a warrior evil."
Cecil couldn't stand it. He must vent his anger. He must. Enraged, he
pulled his weapon, ignited it, and aimed to slash the evil emperor down.
The Dark Knight ignited his saber and blocked the blow. Now the battle
between the two brothers has finally begun. They both knew, this isn't
going to be a regular sibling feud.

The plan was simple. While Edgar and Vincent cut down trees for the moogles
to make traps, Umaro, with the help of Mog and the moogle chief, will
hijack a Proud Clod. The three sneaked behind a Proud Clod, and the two
moogles flew onto its back, tying a long rope to it. Umaro then scaled the
rope until he reached the top. It was up to Mog to distract the pilots.

Scarlet and Heidegger was in that Proud Clod. They enjoyed terrorizing the
rebels. Suddenly a moogle appeared in the window.
"!!! Heidegger, get that thing off this machine." Scarlet insisted.
Heidegger stopped the robot and opened the cockpit door, only to be pulled
out by Umaro. Scarlet, wondering what happened to Heidegger, also got
pulled out after she looked out. Both were tossed to the ground, and Umaro
and the moogles made themselves comfortable in the cockpit. This Proud Clod
was theirs. The first thing they did with it was to blast another Proud
Clod to pieces with the back cannon. Then they started terrorizing the
SOLDIERs that were pursuing their friends.
The traps for the other Proud Clods were set. A few logs were used to smash
the Jamar Armor by swinging into them with vines. The destruction of the
armor allowed more damage to be dealt. More logs were used to trip Proud
Clod walking through the forest. The tide of battle has turned to the
rebels, for they were able to now concentrate their attacks on the
SOLDIERs. Yuffie finally distributed the materia and weapons she stole from
SOLDIERs. Sabin used his Fire Dance blitz more often. Shadow and Edge
started aiming their stars at SOLDIERs. The mages were able to use more
attack spells than support and restoration spells. The Proud Clods were now
trash, except for the one Umaro controlled. They drove them back to the
Mako Reactor.

At the reactor Cid tried his best to rewire the console so the doors were
opened. Instead he only succeed to close another door. Cid shrugged and
tried again. But Aeris, who was detracted when the door closed, got shot in
the knee. Tifa, and Cait Sith immediately respond to her cries, trying to
cure it. As they did the SOLDIERs surrounded them.
"Well, looks like this is it." Aeris remarked. But it wasn't so, for Red
XIII charged through the SOLDIERs. That allowed Tifa to give them a good
punch. Then it came. A Proud Clod walked in with its hands aimed at the
group. But luckily it was Umaro who popped out of the cockpit, growling.
"Umaro, it's glad to see you." Cid said.
"We hijacked this thing to blast out other Proud Clods. So far, we don't
know what we can do with it." Red XIII replied. Cid then had a big grin.
"I know what we can do." he chuckled.

The battle was getting furious between the two warriors. Cecil and his
brother, the Dark Knight, were evenly matched. But sometimes Cecil got the
upper hand. He once pushed his brother down the stairway to the emperor's
throne. Realizing what he did, he extinguished his saber. He was fighting
aggressively. Sephiroth wanted that.
"Yes. Yes. Allow the hate to consume you. Become part of the dark side." he
said. Cecil tried to relax, but his brother only made it hard.
"Well, Bugenhagen did train you very well." the Dark Knight responded.
"I won't fight you brother. I swear I won't." Cecil defiantly said. The
Dark Knight walked up the stairs, and took a swing at Cecil. Cecil was
forced to reignite his saber to block the blow. After they exchanged a few
more swings, Cecil leaped up to a catwalk above the throne room. "I swear
there is still good in you. There is a conflict within you."
"I have no conflict." the warrior replied.
"You aren't able to destroy me now. Not today, not ever." Cecil declared.
"You underestimate the power of lifestream in the hands of darkness. So you
won't fight, then let's meet your fate." With that, the Dark Knight throws
his saber, cutting a support pillar, and his saber returned to him. The
catwalk fell, sending Cecil to the ground. Sephiroth laughed again. The boy
was going to crack soon.

In space, the rebels finally had some success. Even though there were some
casualties, they inflicted heavy losses on the Shinra fleet. Cloud looked
out at the scene. He was getting tired of the scenery.
"Cid, it would be good if you knock those shields down." he muttered to
himself, dodging an incoming blast.

Thanks to the Proud Clod, Cid was able to fool the inside that he was a
Proud Clod pilot requesting assistance. With that the remaining SOLDIERs
within the building moved out, leaving the back door open. When the
SOLDIERs got out though, they found themselves by a giant group of moogles
and the rebels. They immediately surrendered, and the rebels reentered the
reactor. Now it was a matter of time when Tifa would set the timer and the
whole thing would explode.

Cecil remained in the darkness, trying to avoid fighting again. Yet the
Dark Knight taunted him.
"You can never hide from me forever, Cecil."
"I shall not fight! I will not come out!" Cecil declared.
"Don't you see? Turning yourself to the dark side is the only way out. You
must do to save your friends. You have strong feelings for them, especially
for..." The evil warrior concentrated, trying to find what had Cecil held
so dear so recently. "Aeris. She's our sister, isn't she? To be more
specific, your twin sister. Bugenhagen was smart enough to both of you from
me. Now he has failed. I knew she was a special being ever since I capture
her. I have felt since from the beginning she was one of our kind. If you
don't want any part of the dark side, how about her?" That really
aggravated Cecil. Aeris, was a Certa. She would never betray to the
darkness of the emperor. In a fit of madness, he came out of his hiding
place, and forcefully attacked his brother. In time the dark warrior was
forced to retreat, Cecil overpowering him. They ended up near a deep shaft,
only blocked by some railings. Cecil swung furiously at his brother, until
he chopped of his brother's mechanical hand, sending the hand and the Mana
Saber down the deep chasm. The warrior was getting weaker. The emperor
walked over near the two chuckling.

"Well, I knew you could do it. Now, take down your brother, and become my
new puppet." Cecil looked at his brother's right mechanical arm. It was
missing a hand. Then he looked at his right hand. It's now mechanical
because his brother cut his hand off. No, he wasn't going to end up like
his brother.
"No. I won't do it. I won't kill him." he willingly said, tossing aside his
weapon. "I'm a Paladin, a Mana Knight of the Light, like my brother before
me."
With that Sephiroth's glee turned into rage. The boy has defied him. "So be
it, Paladin!"

"Get outta here! You betta mosey 'cause she's gonna blow!" Cid screamed to
his strike team members, as they rushed out of the Mako Reactor. Seconds
afterwards, the Mako Reactor exploded with a shockwave. The shield is now
finally down, as Barret saw it on his console.

"Cloud! Get ya @$$ in da Meteor! Da shield is down!" he announced over the
airwaves.
"Roger, Barret. Red Wings, Green Wings, all fighters follow me!" Cloud
responded. The Highwind then lead the charge towards Meteor. They are
finally going to do what they came here in the first place. Destroy the
Meteor of Doom.

================================================================================

Final Chapter-Redemption and Final Resolution
================================================================================

Sephiroth looked at Cecil very gravely. That boy wasn't going to give in.
Now that boy will pay dearly for his mistake.
"So, you dare defy my will, will you? If you will not be my puppet, you
shall be destroyed!" Sephiroth declared. He grabbed his sword, the
Masamune, and pointed at Cecil. Electrical shocks came from the sword,
striking Cecil. Despite the MBarrier that Cecil had placed, the shocks were
still to overwhelming. Cecil fell in pain. The Dark Knight, struggling with
a damaged air pump, stood up by his master. Sephiroth walked to the boy.
"You have made the greatest mistake, and you will suffer for it." More
shocks were emitted from Sephiroth's sword with great intensity.

Cecil cried for help. "Brother, don't let him win. Please help me." The
Dark Knight looked at his brother in pain, and his master in anger.
Sephiroth then briefly paused.
"Now young Darkheart, you will die. Vengeance is mine!" Now summoning all
his energy, he concentrated on the one thing that kept him from total
victory, Cecil. "You are the reason. You have defied my dreams. I WILL BE A
GOD! I WILL BE THE ULTIMATE SENTIENT BEING! AND YOU CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT
IT! I SHALL REIGN OVER THE UNIVERSE FOREVER!" Has his master gone mad? The
Dark Knight faced his master.

"Master, have you gone mad? What are you doing?" Sephiroth kept shouting.
"NO ONE EVER DEFIES ME AND LIVES! I shall be one with the lifestream, and
become master of the ENTIRE UNIVERSE! WHY DO THINK I HAVE THIS STATION
BUILT? It's not to strike fear, but it's to release great mana energy from
many planets. I have sought to be master of the universe, ever since the
Magi Wars. But you people, your kind, kept interfering. Now, YOU MUST DIE!"
The Dark Knight looked at his master's eyes. He didn't look human anymore.
In a bold move he stepped in between his master and his brother. "WHAT ARE
YOU DOING, PUPPET? YOU ALSO DARE DEFY ME?"

"When you had these things built you never spoke of this madness. You never
said you wanted to be a god. These things has gone too far." the weakened
warrior retorted,
"You think, I gone too far. How's this for too far?" The enraged Sephiroth
stabbed the Dark Knight in the chest, damaging his artificial respirator
more. "Puny fool, not even you can beat me!" Electrical shocks flowed from
the sword into the Dark Knight's body. In a surprise move the Dark Knight
got the sword out of his chest, and lifted the evil emperor by it. "This
can't be!" Then he tossed the wicked ruler by the sword over the railings
and into a deep chasm. The greatest tyrant ever known in this universe's
history, a mad man who now admitted he really want to be a god, has been
defeated. Cecil, wounded by the electrical attacks, struggled to his
brother, a man who rescinded on his evil ways. Both weakened, both barely
alive.

After dodging many turbolasers on the Meteor of Doom's surface, the
Highwind, escorted by Wedge's Epoch, and several other rebel fighters, flew
into the superstructure of the Meteor. Still in pursuit, a few ISFs
followed them, trying to shoot down the rebel ships. It would be a matter
of time when they find the main reactor.

Outside the battle still raged between the two space fleets. But it seemed
the rebel fleet got the upper hand. Mana Fortress after Mana Fortress was
being knocked out of space. In the rebel's command ship Barret over looked
the battle. Then he transmitted a message to all rebel starfighters.
"Dam' foo. Give dam fightr' more time! Destroy that stupid Black Omen." he
announced.

With that, a flurry of starfighters attacked the Black Omen. Its massive
volley of lasers blasted the ship's bridge deflector shields. Inside, Rufus
was getting nervous.
"Can't you people do anything right? Keep those rebels from destroying the
bridge! Counterattack, for goodness sakes." Rufus shouted to Zeal. It
wouldn't have mattered, for a out of control FF8 jet was about to crash
into the bridge, right where Rufus was standing. "OH NO! NOT AGAIN!" he
screamed, as the FF8 jet crashed in. The bridge exploded into flames. The
Black Omen lost control, and rammed into the side of Meteor, making a
spectacular explosion.

Inside the Meteor of Doom, it was time to evacuate. They knew it would be a
matter of time when the rebels would destroy this station. For explosion
and explosion echoed the hallways. In the midst of the scurrying SOLDIERs,
commanders, and high officials, Cecil struggled to carry his brother to
safety. But in vain, he had to get both of them out of everybody else's
way. Cecil looked at his brother.
Golbez, still struggling to breathe requested, "Cecil, remove my helmet
please." Cecil refused.
"No, I can't. You will die. You can't leave me!"
"Nothing will change that matter. Soon, I'll see our father's people. And I
cannot return to a world in which I destroyed the lives of millions. No one
would forgive me. For now, I want to see you without this thing." he
pleaded. Cecil thought deeply. It would be true. His brother was going to
die. But he hasn't seen his face. With difficulty, he managed to remove the
helmet. Underneath it was his brother's face, almost like an aged version
of his own. "Please Cecil, save yourself. Leave this place." he coughed
weakly.
Cecil was still in denial. "I can't. I won't let you here. I must save
you."
"You have saved me, in more ways than one. Just let me go, let me see our
father. One other thing Cecil."
"Yes?"
"Tell our sister that you were right all along." Golbez finally slipped
into death. The Dark Knight and his evil have been banished. What soul that
has remained is now gone too. Cecil started to weep. His brother is now
truly gone.

Cloud looked through the cockpit window. There it was, the station's main
reactor, using a Mana based energy source.
"Wedge, take out the power regulation tower, then head out of here!" he
called out to Wedge on the radio.
"Roger, General Cloud." Wedge fired on the tower. With it gone, great
amounts of Mana energy gathered at the center of the station. Cloud looked
at his co-pilot Zack. Zack looked back. It was going to be hell getting out
of this place. Without a second thought, the Holy bomb was launched towards
the Mana energy. As the Highwind started towards the exit, the bomb
ignited, and Holy was released.

The main hanger of the Meteor of Doom was falling apart. But with no
trouble, Cecil piloted an escape chopper out of the station. Within seconds
of his escape the hanger blew.

Wedge's Epoch finally exited out of the station, as the rebel fleet
retreated. As for the ISFs, they were consumed by Holy. Then there was the
Highwind. Holy energy almost surrounded them. It was time for desperate
measures. Cloud got up from his pilot seat.
"Cloud, what do you think you're doing?" Zack asked.
"Look, just stay with the controls. I'm gonna to get us outta here." Cloud
instructed. Cloud search around the cockpit room till he found it. "I'm not
definitely gonna say @#%@#% for this scene like Cid." he added. It was the
emergency lever. Without doubt, he pulled hard on it. The Highwind's back
blew, as its engines were blown of to uncover more powerful ones. The blast
gave the Highwind enough speed to shoot out of the Meteor. With Holy
surrounding Meteor at all sides, Meteor exploded.

On the forest of Mua everybody saw the spectacular explosion. The moogles,
the rebel strike team, the two droids, and of course, Cid, Aeris, Tifa,
Umaro, and Red XIII. Aeris, still tending a wounded knee, looked up to the
sky. Cid looked up and remarked, "Well, I hope Cloud, Zack, and Cecil have
escaped from that deathtrap."
"Cloud..." Tifa murmured. Aeris looked at the two.
"Don't worry. I felt them. They are alive. Of those three I feel Cecil the
most." Aeris responded. Cid look at Aeris funny.
"You say you could feel Cecil the most? Huh. Do you two have anything
between each other?"
Aeris laughed. "It nothing like that. I actually like Zack. It's just that,
well, I'm really Cecil's twin sister."
Cid and Tifa's jaw dropped. "WHAT?"
Red XIII shook his head. "Actually, that would have made a lot of sense."

Cecil looked at the lake. It was cool, fresh, clean. He has taken the
robotic suit off his brother's body, and wrapped him in robes. He waded in,
lying his brother on the water. With sorrow in his face, he let his brother
Golbez, sink into the lake floor.

In the sky fireworks lit with glorious colors, thanks in part to Taban.
News has spread all over the universe that the Shinra has been defeated.
The wall market in Kapio instantly held a big sale, since the taxes the
Shinra gets has now been eliminated. At Cloud's City, it was the grand
reopening. It became more glamorous than the first one. Then at Midgar, the
capital of the now departed Shinra, it citizens reveled into their newfound
freedom.

It was night on the planet of Mua. In a joyous celebration the
Returner/Avalanche alliance gathered at the Moogle village. There were
great bursts of happiness when its members saw each other again. Cloud
instantly came to Tifa. Zack headed for Aeris. Cecil walked over to Cid and
shook hands. Then Cecil gave a great hug to his sister. Other people came
in. Barret, Marle, and Celes. They all congratulated the generals on the
jobs well done. During this Cecil saw them. FuSoYa, Bugenhagen, and his
brother Golbez. He saw their spirits, smiling. Aeris then brought Cecil to
real life, as the moogle danced around. It was truly a good day to do a
victory dance.

Fanfic Completed on August 28, 1998
Revised on March 9, 1999