PROLOGUE

Deep below the surface of Gaia, a woman stood in a unusual cave with no exit or entrance. She was looking into a pool, glowing star shaped crystals floating around her face. Those crystals were everywhere, but they were thickest around the pool, as if they were waiting for her to do something. If there had been anyone else in the cave at the time, they might have found her a bit strange. Even if you managed to ignore the luminous eyes, shining green in a hue more like emeralds than the dull grey-green that was all most humans could manage, there was still the matter of her slightly pointed ears. There was also the fact that her steps sometimes seemed to carry her much further than humanly possible; as though gravity itself was far beneath her notice. She moved with a kind of self-conscious grace that would normally be associated with castles, great echoing hallways and enormous ballrooms, rather than this damp cave.

She turned away from the pool, with a angry and upset look on her face. "Chaos, again!?", she muttered angrily, slapping the pedestal. She made a sour grimace, then crossed her hands over her chest. "Changing the winds of fate this time...why did that monster ever get reborn here? I managed to perform the ceremony to put events in motion long ago--so that the horror would come to an end...but now?" She spun around, glaring at the pool's reflective surface. "Things have gone too far..." She started to cry a little. "I hate this! I can't help him directly...I know that. This time, I can't even help him INdirectly!" She made a sound that was half-growl and half-sob, and pounded the edge of the pool in frustration. "If I do nothing...I'll be breaking two promises and my oath to protect reality in this system. If I did help directly, I'd be breaking my oath. I don't believe this! I'd be breaking my oath either way! There has got to be another wa...wha?"

She straightened her back and looked straight ahead, far beyond the purely physical plane, with tear-misted, unseeing eyes. "Cousin?" she muttered to no one in particular. "You want to talk to me...oh?" She gasped; then her eyes shone with hope. She wiped away her tears. She continued muttering, "You think there is a way to solve my problem with the help of one of your world's saviors? You'll help me get him on this world...thanks but I want him here where I am...What? You think I'm crazy for wanting to bring him into my home? Yes, he might. But the humans are people too--they deserve a choice as much as we do. I'm willing to take a slight risk to solve this--I can always call you and send him back if he won't see reason. Hopefully he won't be so angry that I can't convince him to listen to me. You know I've had experience with regular mortals."

She nodded to the air.
"Okay, my dear little cousin Tara. Do what you can to get him to where you can send him; I'll be ready. I'll hold my end, don't worry."

Chapter 1

...I was only going after a engagement ring for Tifa since I'd planned on asking the question that night at a big date we'd planned on. I'd started early yesterday afternoon so I could get back home in time to get cleaned up first. I didn't think anything could go wrong since everything had gone so well up until then. Yet something did. I was riding my best gold chocobo, Goldie, home from Rocket Town after I bought the ring and stayed overnight. Cid had let me stay at his place night before last. He'd asked me to remember to invite him to the wedding; when I get back I'll do that once we set the date(if Tifa says yes. I've got my fingers crossed). I had started out early this morning (I admit I was taking the scenic route back home, which ran right past Mideel since I had thought to get a new materia too while I was about my business) when I saw this very strange looking woman teasing me. She was waving at me and shaking her skirt at me in a most annoying fashion. That seemed a bit weird; from the looks of her, I would've imagined something like that would be just about the last thing she would've done. Got a little too curious for my own good and followed her, leaving Goldie behind as I went into Mideel. She led me behind the new Pharmacy they'd built when they rebuilt the town last year around that lake and...well...she opened a portal of light and Lifestream, which I was promptly sucked into. Little did I know what a little curiosity would get me into...I should've realized that lady was up to something fishy, or so I thought at the time.
~~From Cloud's journal

Why do I get into messes like this? Cloud thought. He was also somewhat peeved, for this was the third time he'd somehow left his homeworld without wanting to. And right before the night that he was going to pop the question on Tifa! That strange lady was certainly up to no good at all...

Lights swirled and suddenly everything became solid again. He was in a cave with no exit. Cloud began to wonder just how the hell he was going to get out of there. There was a woman here who looked remarkably similar to the one who'd lured him behind the store and opened that portal. She also had the same regal air about her. That rousted his temper quite a bit more.

The woman turned and faced him.

"I apologize for bothering you, but..."

Cloud growled. He'd had it. This woman had lured him away from home for the third time and was surely up to something nasty...enough was enough. A star-shaped crystal touched his hand...he brushed it away. He swore he heard whimpering as it floated quickly away. He drew his blade and advanced on the woman. With a loud yip, she popped away and reappeared on a tall pillar in the cave, well out of Cloud's reach. Cloud wished he wasn't alone; someone with a gun could of hit her! He tried using the most powerful Fire spell he could cast but she nullified it completely somehow. He tried again with the strongest Bolt spell he had, but with even less effect. Yet Cloud didn't see or sense any spell casting...all the lady did was raise one hand and the spell was nullified. He tried using Bahamut Zero in desperation, but the summon failed to work. It felt like he had mentally slammed into a wall instead of a connection sliding into place and Bahamut Zero gruffly asking him, :What?:. He shook his head to clear it; that had hurt!

"Please stop this nonsense! Do you want to destroy someone else's world!?", the lady screamed.

Then again, Cloud thought, what does she mean? His grip loosened a little on his weapon.

"What do you mean, lady!?" he snarled. "After you lured me behind the Mideel Pharmacy and YANKED me here...wherever here is..."

The woman shook her head sadly. "I wasn't the one who lured you behind the Pharmacy; that was...well...my cousin. People say we are twins, though there is a large age difference between us. She helped me get you here, for it takes two of my people to hold open a dimensional gateway. I apologize for this trouble. I wish I didn't have to bother you; I know my cousin feels the same way. However, I don't have a choice in the matter if I want to keep this system in one piece. My cousin knew there was no other way to help me than to disrupt the melody of your life. That is why she offered to link with me and send you here. The other reason you shouldn't be doing this is I'm one of the pillars on which the reality of this system rests. If you destroy me, it'll fall apart. I am your only way to get home, too..." She looked at him pleadingly.

Revenge isn't worth it, Cloud thought. He was still very suspicious, but he sheathed his sword, since it seemed useless to fight her as she was out of reach and she could nullify any magic he threw at her anyway. Besides, he couldn't even call Bahamut Zero. She also was his only way home; if she was telling the truth. "Why'd you and your cousin bring me here, lady?! I was about to go home and propose to my girlfriend!" he yelled. He shook his fist at the woman, since he was still somewhat ticked off.

She answered, "Because I need to ask a favor of you. However I'll give you a choice if you'll promise not to try to attack me anymore. Hear me out first, then you can either stay and solve a small problem I can't solve by myself, or I'll send you home if you wish. Either way you won't be gone more than thirty minutes in your world...that should be enough time to blame on a delay without it being excessive--unless you want to tell your friends about it of course. That is all right now. The choice is yours to tell your friends why you were gone or not."

Cloud considered that. She was being pretty fair, but something still bothered him. By now his anger had pretty much vanished; he was still a little suspicious of her however. He wondered: Why's it okay now and not earlier to tell Tifa or the rest of my friends about something like this? He wasn't sure if this woman was lying, but he wanted to know.

"Lady, why couldn't I tell my friends about this earlier?"

"I was thinking about before the time you and your friends saved your world; you wouldn't have seen one of my kind before that time, so you wouldn't of known who did this to you. We can't show ourselves, speak with, or directly help anyone who is--or will be--a savior of a world until after they have saved their world. In no way can we allow our very existence to be known to any world's saviors in any way before that happens. Those are two of the laws of the universe that my people and I must obey. I know it's been two years since you and your friends saved Vida. My people tend to be very shy and rarely show ourselves for caution's sake; that is why you have never seen one of us before. I'm something of an exception to the rule; I've been teased for being a 'daredevil' rather often. I think I'm the only one of my race who has the courage to talk to someone like you without being forced to do so."

Cloud thought about what she had just said. It seemed to make sense, considering the other two times he'd been pulled away from Vida. He sure hadn't seen anyone like this woman before anywhere; when he had been pulled into a different world the last time, he had just been dumped there with no explanation. He knew the first time it had been Sephiroth's fault, not this woman's people. This woman seemed to at least be trying to treat him with respect by giving him a option to go home after he heard what she wanted to ask him to do.

Cloud knew why she was calling his world the less common name of 'Vida' instead of 'the Planet'; it was so she didn't get confused about which world was which. Every world could be called 'the Planet' technically. He'd found that out the hard way on Ramza's world. He felt it was less confusing to tell people from other worlds that his homeworld was 'Vida' anyway.

There was one thing that was really bothering him though, so he decided to ask her to take care of it if it was possible. He thought she might be able to.

"I don't want this to happen again...I've had enough of this kind of nonsense...Promise me that I won't get called away again!"

"I can and I can't."

"Why can't you just promise it won't happen again?!" Cloud shook his fist at her in frustration. She was really being infuriating...why?

"I promise I won't do so without sending you a message first through my cousin; however, I'm not the only one of my kind. There are many of my people, and they are quite a few of them that have taken a certain oath and are joined to worlds. I can't speak for all of them. I can't even speak for my cousin, who is quite soft-hearted and can easily be convinced to help open a dimensional gateway." She thought a few minutes. "Maybe there is a way. Can I trust you not to hurt one of my people, ever? Or try to hurt me if I come down from here?"

"Huh?"

"With the help of my cousin, since she knows how things work on Vida, I can give you the ability to summon my kind should you end up on a world that one of us is joined to. I would be shunned if I gave that such capabilities to anyone who would hurt or kill one of my people. I'm made fun of too much as it is."

Cloud considered that. No wonder I've been pulled away from Vida three times if almost every world out there has one of this race joined to each one! Even though I know it was Sephiroth the first time... he thought. He sighed. However, this lady did seem to be trying to be fair about it and was making a effort to find a way to solve this problem. Cloud knew he couldn't promise anything for his friends, so he realized that that is probably true with every large group of people or friends.

"You have my word; I won't do either. And if you're trying to lie to me, you'd better forget about it and send me home right now!"

She shook her head. "Our kind usually communicate mind to mind across the void. It is impossible to lie with one's thoughts, for mental contact relies on such. I'm one of the few of my kind that knows what a lie is, for a long time ago before the chaos arrived on this world, I used to walk among the ordinary people of this world as one of them many of your centuries ago, because I hated being alone. Even with mind-to-mind contact with the rest of my race, it gets boring and lonely."

Cloud thought about that a minute. What she had said made logical sense, so he saw no reason to not go along with her for the moment. He nodded to her and said, "After you do what you can about my problem, I'll hear you out, I promise. Also, what's your name, if you have one? 'Lady' just doesn't sound right..."

The lady nodded back, and answered, "My name is Nora." Then she floated down from the pillar.

Then Nora's eyes unfocused. She held out her hands. A ghostly image that looked similar to her, yet was not quite the same, as Cloud quickly realized, faded in. The ghost held her right hand over Nora's hands and with the other reached behind her back. A strand of Lifestream flowed through the ghost lady's left hand, over her shoulder and down her right arm. When it reached the ghost's right hand the Lifestream seemed to become...well...as real as it ever was on Vida. Then it puddled as Mako in Nora's hands. In a moment the ghost brought her left hand over to join her right. There was a flash of light, and then in Nora's hands was a orange materia.

Nora nodded at the ghost and it disappeared. She turned toward Cloud again. "Here is the way to call my people. This should solve your problem. With this you can summon the member of my race that called you to any world, tell him or her off, and talk him or her into sending you home. Don't try to lend it to anyone else, however. You are the only one who can use that materia. My people would severely punish me if just anyone could summon us. Most of my people just don't like to be bothered since they are very shy. Now a days, I don't go into populated areas any more or walk around as a normal person. It's just too dangerous."

Cloud nodded pensively and took the odd materia. He sensed it was very powerful, and its color seemed to suggest that it was half a command and half a summon. The summon allowed him to call the member of Nora's people that was joined to the planet he was standing on, wherever that might be. The command half allowed him to communicate mind-to-mind with the member of her race that he had summoned. For one thing, this showed Cloud that she was indeed telling the truth. This also showed that her kind had a lot of power, which made Cloud think a bit. She could block his most powerful spells with a flick of her hand! Why was she frightened of going out of this place and solving her own problem? She obviously was powerful enough to defend herself if she got into trouble. Obviously there was a way out of this cave even though he couldn't see one. Nora knew how to get out or she wouldn't say she had left this cave before.

"Why don't you just take care of your own problem?" Cloud asked. "It shouldn't be too dangerous for you. Why, you can easily block the strongest spells I can cast!"

"No, I can't do that. Those who wield the power of chaos here would do anything they could to kill me if they knew I existed, for they think they have already gotten rid of the one who was joined to this system. What they killed was actually my uncle, who was my working partner and friend--it was very lucky that when he died at their hands this system didn't fall apart." She shook her head sadly. "Remember the laws of the universe I told you about earlier that I cannot disobey? They apply here too. The future heroes of the world are out there. I know who they are. I would be taking too much of a risk if I went out there now because chaos is still there; they haven't saved the world from it yet. I suppose you wonder why I don't just do it myself and get it over with: If I tried, I'd wipe away all life in this system; my people can't control that kind of horrible power. That power follows its own will when it is unleashed. For that very reason we never use the powers of destruction, as we can control the powers of creation much better than their opposite. Now, the favor I must ask of you involves one of those who are destined to save this world."

"Just a second...the chaos you've been talking about that'll be destroyed by the future heroes of this world. It doesn't have to do with Vincent, does it?" Cloud hoped that wasn't true. Vincent was someone you didn't want to meet on a dark night, but Cloud was sure he wouldn't be causing trouble on other worlds.

"No, no. Vincent isn't involved with the chaos on this world. He is not even here. He only ended up with a neutral shard of Chaos's original power, my cousin told me once. He is a lucky man. Most of the shards of Chaos's old power are contaminated with darkness. He could have ended up with a shard that was contaminated with Chaos's evil. Then he would have turned on you, for that evil stains anything it touches like ink, turning the unlucky recipients of those shards to darkness. The original Chaos was reborn here and has managed to restore his power. He used another method, however, to do it, though he still draws from the same wellspring that your friend does. His original powers were scattered as shards thoughout the universe when my people thought he had been destroyed... Please, no more. I don't want to dwell on that right now."

Cloud nodded, glad Vincent wasn't mixed up in this; the former Turk had enough trouble to deal with as it was. She then motioned over to the pond, where a lot of the crystals like the one that had briefly touched his hand were floating about. She walked over that way and Cloud followed.

"Listen, warrior who helped destroy the -creature- that was trying to destroy Vida for its own ends. There is one here destined to save this world as you saved yours. However in two weeks time at noon he is going to get into a fatal fight, if someone isn't there to save him from his tormentors! Also I'm afraid he needs one friend who can understand him and his feelings right now...I think you might be the person who can be that one, despite the age difference."

She waved one hand toward the pond. It glowed. Curious, Cloud leaned over to have a look. A boy, who looked to be about ten or eleven, was reflected in the pond. What was odd about this boy though was he had a monkey tail, though the rest of him seemed fairly normal. Judging from his surroundings, the boy seemed to be in a very fancy town, sometime after sunset. The town itself seemed to be a little odd; there wasn't any streetlamps to speak of except a couple of either gas lights or lanterns. The boy was looking around for something. Suddenly some kids and a few teens jumped out of a nearby alley and pulled the boy into it. He did his best to fight back with everything he had, including...a dagger? He was pulled, kicking and fighting, deep into the narrow alley, where it widened out quite a bit. It was only wide enough for three people to walk shoulder to shoulder except at that point. Ten or eleven more kids joined in while the monkey-tailed kid did his best to fight back or get away. Then the view cut away to the entrance of the alley. There was a lot of screaming, yelling and the sounds of a very nasty fight, then silence.

"That's what will happen if something isn't done. If things happen as they are likely to, the hope of the world will die with him, for he is the key person to save it from chaos..."

Cloud's eyes widened. This incident looked on the surface like what had happened to him after the incident in the caves of Nibelheim. Someone had insulted him, he'd called the person...well...some rotten name which was too hazy to remember now, and he ended up pretty badly beat up after it was over. Once it was over, Cloud would always throw the first punch, for he didn't want to be the one beat up. But beating someone to death...!

Damn bullies!, Cloud thought. Now that I look back, I realize I was being dumb. I just turned into one of them. Should've just learned how to duck better until it blew over; then I wouldn't have become a bully myself. But this boy--Cloud mentally tagged him as "Kat" since Cloud thought the boy moved kind of like a pussy cat. Cloud looked again as another scene played in the pool. Kat looked fairly tough, like he'd grown up on the mean streets; however in the scene he looked very tired...Kat deserves a chance to live, same as I had!, Cloud thought. No matter what, he needs someone who can teach those idiots a lesson they won't forget. And this lady's asking me to what? Pull Kat's um...can...out of the fire? And be a friend to him?? Nora's powerful enough to block spells with a flick of her hand and has an idea of the future--and goodness knows what else she can do--and she's asking me to help her?? I'm only one person..and who's "Kat" really anyway?

Cloud brooded a moment more on this, then he said, "What are you and who's that kid, anyway?"

"My people are known as the Kinaari. I am known among my people as a thaaryi-rechak --the word doesn't translate well, but the closest is 'Guardian of this world', or 'Guardian' for short. To become one is considered a great honor among us Kinaari. Only certain people among those who ask to take the Guardian's oath ever become one--it takes a special person to be able to handle the power that comes with it without becoming corrupted. On the rare occasions when people see one of us, they sometimes call us oathbound ones "Mother Earth", "Green Mother", or "Gaia", as they've often mistook us for the spirits of their respective worlds. As for that boy..well..I dare not tell you his name at this time for I assume you'll have to gain his trust if you choose to stay and be his friend. It is better that you learn such things for yourself, but one thing you should know now. He was not born on this world, but on this planet's sister world. Just remember not to tell him that for he cannot learn that now; the truth may destroy him, and prevent him from fulfilling his destiny."

"Sister world?"

"This is a very unique system. Two worlds, three dimensions, and a shadow realm where this system's 'summon creatures' gather; all interacting somewhat with one another and balanced with great care. If the balance was ever broken reality here would fall apart. I am only one of the pieces that hold reality together and balanced, and I'd rather not talk about the others right now."

That's interesting., Cloud mused. So Kat wasn't born here, either, but guess he's under her umbrella so to speak. Cloud thought that it was obvious why she couldn't help him, though he could. The law was the law and she couldn't break the laws of the universe, for there were likely some serious consequences for doing so. Such consequences must be severe indeed if she couldn't or wouldn't mention them!

She continued, "If you decide to help me and save that child, I'll do what little I can behind the scenes to help you. However, keep in mind that he is older than he seems, for he's more mature in mind than he is in body in several ways. I beg you also, do not reveal the existence of my people to him or to anyone else unless you have a chance to ask me first; I know who everyone is that will be in the group that will save the world. If any one of them knew, it would disrupt the paths that they would have otherwise followed."

Cloud stewed over this for a while. After several minutes, he finally made up his mind.

"I'll do it. I'll also give you my word that I won't tell him about your people--or anyone else without asking you about it, no matter what happens. Poor boy..he's going to go though worse bullying than I went through, isn't he?"

"If you were bullied when you were young then yes, he's probably going to suffer much worse if nothing is done. However for your trouble I can offer you two wishes, whatever you may desire that is within my power. One is an apology and the other is a reward for helping me fix this...problem."

"I understand about a guilt-gift, but I don't need or want the other one. Why?"

"As for the 'guilt-gift', my people feel that if we inconvenience someone that we are willing to talk to, we must make some kind of amends. And the other...I just think I ought to give you something for your trouble."

Cloud nodded. It was a good answer, though he didn't really want a reward this time. "You know what got Sephiroth to try become a god by trying to destroy the world? Professor Hojo injected Jenova cells into Sephiroth before he was born. Jenova eventually made him into what he became...I don't wanna become something like that. Is there any way you can...get rid of the Jenova in me?"

"I apologize, for that is beyond my powers, since Jenova is as much a part of you as your hands.", was her answer. Cloud bowed his head in disappointment. "But I can disable the Jenova in you to the extent that it will never again be able to take control, no matter how much you doubt yourself. It won't be able to manipulate your memories any more as well. Other than that you'll be the same person you always have been. I sense that you wish that Jenova had never manipulated your memories like it has. I'll ask Tara, who is the Guardian on your world, to offer to repair your memories when you get back so that they will be no longer be altered. I can't do that since it is beyond my power, as I am not Guardian of your world; I might make it worse. Your past, as well as your future, is mostly opaque to me because your roots are not here; if I can't see your past, I can't repair your memories properly. Disabling Jenova is no problem to me, though."

Cloud nodded and smiled. "That'll do."

"This is going to hurt quite a bit, though you will not be wounded at all. This is because I have to make changes to something buried within your cells. Please try not to scream."

Cloud nodded again. Nora stretched her hands out toward Cloud. Next thing Cloud knew, he felt like his whole body was burning from the inside out. It hurt...Oh how it hurt! Cloud clenched his teeth, clamping down hard on the instinct to scream. After what seemed like an eternity, it ended. Cloud wasn't really hurt at all, he found, it had just been extremely painful. He didn't feel any different than he did before, which showed she was being honest. Cloud knew there were ways of hiding the truth without lying, and he didn't doubt that she knew them all.

"I really don't want anything else...I just wanna save that boy from experiencing what I went through...that's reward enough..."

"Oh, don't worry. I'm sure you'll find a use for that wish one day. Oh, one more thing..." She raised her hand. A ball of soft light filled her hand and she dropped it on Cloud's head. Nothing seemed to happen offhand, but Cloud guessed she'd done something.

"What'd you do?"

"I froze your aging for the time being. If I must send you back in time when I send you home, you must not be any older. Otherwise people will notice since you most likely will be here longer than thirty minutes. I'll undo it when you're ready to go home. I don't know how long this will take; it may be years before things are settled. Do not worry about a paradox, for as long as you don't come back to Gaia during the time you were here, there won't be one."

Cloud nodded again. He understood why she had done that. I overheard two ShinRa scientists once who were talkin' about a theory of two 'selves' from different times meeting each other--they said the theory was it would cause a paradox, which would destroy reality., he thought. That idea gives me a horrible headache; I'm glad she won't try to prove those scientists right.

"Anything else you think you might need before I take you to the surface?", she asked politely.

"Yeah. I'd better get s'more of my materia from home, as well as a few other things. I guess there's monsters up there?"

Nora nodded. "Yes, there are. I'll call Tara and with her help, we'll fold space for you so you can get them without anyone noticing. I don't need to tell you to be careful which ones you get do I? Tara told me about materia..."

Cloud shook his head. "Nah, you didn't have to remind me! But I'll get what I need."

Nora nodded, her eyes unfocused, and she held her hands out. There was a bit of a...warping...of the area in front of her, and then Cloud distinctly saw his bedroom. Cloud boldly walked into the warped area. He noticed that his world's Guardian, Tara, was doing the same thing Nora had been doing; she was holding her hands out toward the warped area with her eyes unfocused. He nodded to her and went into the hall, moved a picture, and got a locked box out of a cubby in the wall. Taking the keys out of his pocket, he opened it. Inside was many materia of all kinds.

He considered the summon materia he had. Cloud suspected the reason Bahamut Zero hadn't worked was that there was no equivalent on Gaia. He guessed that the best bet he had was to stick with summon creatures that had a equivalent on Ramza's world. That probably would be safer. He put aside any summon materia that he hadn't seen a equivalent on that world. He also left the Master Summon alone; he didn't want to find out the hard way which summons didn't work if he had any choice in the matter. Bahamut Zero had been bad enough.

He knew since that gang of bullies were picking on Kat in a narrow alley in a town, he'd probably would have to fight them there if things went wrong. He hoped he would manage to scare them away since he didn't want to fight if he didn't have to. If he had to fight them, he'd need a summon for sure--summoned creatures were a lot smarter than a spell in that situation. There was just too many of those bullies for a person alone without some kind of magic, especially if Kat couldn't help fight them off. If Kat was going to be killed in that fight eventually, then he probably would be disarmed or disabled early on. A spell would just hit Kat along with the bullies, considering the way he'd have to use it. The only way to do it without killing the bullies (even if he used a weak spell) would be to cast the spell in a very unfocused fashion. He could explain to a summoned creature that Kat was a friend so he wouldn't be hit by its attacks and that the "enemy" didn't need to be destroyed. They weren't much for conversation, though.

He considered the remaining summon materia carefully, remembering what he had seen in Nora's pool. Bahamut's no good in that situation., he thought. Most of that alley is a little too narrow for him to swoop down and scare those idiots. Besides, he'd rather do something other than sit on the wall and look dangerous. He'd think that'd be stupid. I think I'll take that one anyway since I might get a chance to summon him later when the area isn't so cramped. He would really scare those bullies if they dare try again. That's just the way bullies are--they never give up easily. Leviathan would make a mess too. He always goes for overkill-- especially in a tight spot like that. He'd flood the street; that alley I saw looked too narrow to get outta the way in time easily. Everybody would just get swept out into the river in the backwash, including me and Kat, even if Leviathan was careful. I dunno if I could get us both out of that easily, especially if Kat was hurt. Ifrit...no, he'd definitely cause a fire. He has a terrible temper. Odin? Odin wouldn't have any room to move, let alone attack, in that alley. His horse is too big, and I know he won't fight afoot. That's beneath him. Ramuh? Nah...I didn't see any lightning rods on those buildings; he might cause a fire. When he first appears, his lightning bolts go everywhere; he can't help it. He told me that once. Titan? Nope, not only is he too big for that alley, but the resulting earth tremor would scare everyone near that part of town. Not only that, he might knock some buildings down. Shiva? That's the one for that fight! She'd only ice the street a little..that'ud melt fast, especially if the weather is warm! And she wouldn't cause a big ruckus either! She also has a cool head in a fight; she wouldn't go for overkill! No one likes to be frozen...So, making up his mind, he removed Bahamut Zero out of his Crystal Bangle and replaced it with Shiva, and he placed Bahamut in an empty slot for good measure.

He already had a Master Magic, so he didn't get any magic materia, though he linked it with his most powerful All materia just in case.

He relocked the box, put it back, and pulled the picture over its hiding place. He leaned against the wall for a moment, thinking about his actions. Having come to respect Nora, he now wished he'd of let her finish that first sentence instead of losing his temper. He now realized that she had been trying to treat him courteously. A female Instructor in SOLDIER had told him once that one should be careful to not make judgments about ambiguous situations by one's first impression. Cloud wished he'd remembered that when this had started.

Cloud also wished he could remember the name, or just the face, of the Instructor who had given him that advice. Strangely, all he could remember was she was his favorite instructor as well as one of his very good friends there besides Zack. He also remembered she'd always used two large daggers instead of the usual two-handed sword. Maybe when this was over and his memories were repaired he could introduce that old friend to his newer ones from AVALANCHE, if she was still alive. He'd always hoped she'd gotten the hell out of old Midgar before Meteor hit. He would of liked to cross weapons with her in a practice session sometime, and catch up with the news.

Cloud was curious as to what was so special about that boy, besides the monkey tail and that he was destined to save the world. Why's Nora so intent on getting Kat a possible friend and protector?, Cloud wondered. However, with the way Nora evaded telling Cloud much about Kat, he didn't think he'd be able to find out why she favored him. Why, she wouldn't even tell him Kat's real name! Cloud felt it was better to think of him as "Kat" until he found that out. Never mind Kat was "older mentally than he was physically"...he was still a kid as far as Cloud was concerned.

Cloud moved away from the wall. Nodding to himself, he went back to the bedroom. Before he went through the warped area, he made sure his cell phone was placed in his pack where it was unlikely to be stolen or noticed and that he'd taken out the battery pack and put it in a drawer, since he knew he could always get a charged spare in Mideel later. He did that because he guessed there was a good chance that cell phone wouldn't work on Gaia. There wasn't as much technology there from what he had seen in Nora's pool. He also reached under the bed and got out some medicine he kept there. He hadn't thought he'd need all of it earlier since he was only going to ride Goldie to Rocket Town to get the ring, not do something dangerous. He knew he would probably need that medicine now.

When Cloud got back, Nora nodded and lowered her hands. Her eyes focused again.

"Did you get any summon materia?"

"Yeah, I did..I got Shiva and Bahamut. Why are you asking?"

"Good choices, both of those. I asked because the summoned creatures here are different than any you have ever seen. They are called Eidolons here. The Eidolons whose summon materia you bear are joined to a particular summoner; however, that summoner is terrified of her summon power and never uses it. So the Eidolons are bored and probably will listen to you this time. Just remember, when you use either one, concentrate harder on the Eidolon than the attack, or the Eidolion will not come. After you summon Shiva and Bahamut for the first time...well...they will judge individually if he or she will let you summon him or her again or not."

"Gotcha.", Cloud said. He hoped Shiva and Bahamut would find him worthy. He knew he might need the help if things went wrong. He wondered why that summoner who could call those two Eidolons was terrified of her summoning powers. However, he was afraid that he wouldn't get a straight answer out of Nora about the matter, so he didn't ask.

"Anything else you need to know?"

Cloud shook his head.

"Then let's go!" Nora said. She held out her hand. Cloud took it. The world swirled again; the next moment they were in a misty area, near a plain. At Cloud's back in the distance was some kind of large gate made out of stone. To his front was some woods.

Nora pointed toward the woods. "That way is the dark city Treno, where you will find the boy two weeks from hence at noon. He's been searching for something very unwisely. You decide what to do about that."

Cloud nodded. He got the idea. Kat had been wandering for a while he guessed, looking for whatever it was, and either what he was searching for wasn't smart or he wasn't being smart about searching for it. Why's this town called the dark city Treno?, he wondered. I'll probably find out., he thought. "Thanks! I'll contact you when I get this straightened out!" He stepped off toward the woods.

Nora called out after him, "Don't hesitate to use that orange materia to call me if you get puzzled about something or need some advice. I'll always answer you, even if you're not ready to go home, I promise. I won't appear if you're with someone or in a city, but I will answer! If you haven't already guessed, that's not a normal summon materia!"
Cloud turned, nodded, saluted her, and then went on his way.

Go to Chapter 2?