Five hundred years ago, Avalanche had saved the world from Meteor and

thus prevented Sephiroth from becoming one with the Planet.  Lives were

sacrificed five hundred years ago, but in the end, good ultimately won

over evil and that is the way it should be.  However, evil never truly

dies, it just merely hides to recover its strength...



  Red XIII and his two children sat on top of a cliff that overlooked

the vine covered Midgar.  It had been five centuries since Midgar had

been destroyed.  Mako no longer was drained from the Planet by Shinra,

ever since President Shinra and Rufus Shinra had both died.  Another

factor was that Midgar was destroyed, where the technology of Mako was

created.

  The inhabitants of Midgar had been killed and washed away in the

Lifestream.  It was sad but it was Holy's way of protecting the Planet,

from the people.  Eventually though, Aeris and the Lifestream had 

protected the people living on the Planet from Holy and the Meteor.  It

was Aeris' sacrifice that made the existence of humans ultimately

possible.

  Red XIII studied the vacant city when something caught his eye.  His

eagle eye vision pin-pointed something important down in the vine

entangled Midgar.  There was something down there that would threaten

the world once again.  The object was moving...It was a person.  Even

with Red XIII's vision, he could only see a white blurred object and

could not tell who it was.

  "What is it, father Nanaki?" one of the cubs asked.

  "I can't quite make out what it is," Red XIII replied as he narrowed

his eyes.  "We better go back to Cosmo Canyon...this doesn't look too

good."

  Just then, the white figure glowed red and rose out of the rubble.

It then proceeded to fly right past Red XIII at a tremendous speed.

  "In the name of God!" Red XIII gasped.



  Kalm wasn't that much different from five hundred years ago.  It was

still a small quiet town with a population of about forty residents.

At the center of the town was a calm fountain that gushed water and was

a popular place for the residents to relax.  Sitting at a bench was man

with red hair.  His hair spiked upwards but curved down at the end, 

hanging over his bright blue eyes.  The man was currently sitting at 

the bench reading the newspaper when Red XIII and his offspring rushed

into the town.  The villagers had not seen Red XIII's species in quite

a long time and it was natural for them to stare.  Red XIII slowly

trotted toward the man at the bench who still hadn't noticed the new

tourists.

  "Rain?" the huge canine-like creature cleared his throat.

  The man looked up and folded the newspaper.  "Hey Red XIII!  Why are

you here?"

  "There's a survivor at Midgar," Red XIII shook his head.  "The 

problem is....he's Hojo."

  "Hojo survived!?" Rain instantly leaped to his feet, revealing his

attire.  He wore a blue jacket over a white turtleneck and was 

outfitted in matching blue leather pants.  His boots were made of brown

leather.  The most noticeable thing however was the huge sword strapped

to his back.

  "You look so much like your ancestor," Red XIII shook his head.  

"Even more so than his own son.'

  "Oh, you mean Uncle Cloud," Rain smiled happily.

  What Red XIII was saying was true however.  The only difference was

that Rain's hair was red and spiked out a little shorter and curved

down in front of his face.

  "Well, what do you need from me?" Rain asked.  "I'm not as strong as

Uncle Cloud was - there has been no reason to train for quite a while."

  "You underestimate yourself, child," Red XIII chuckled, his gray

beard quivering.  With that, Red XIII instantly leaped for Rain's 

throat.

  Instantly Rain dived out of the way, clumsily.  "What do you think

you're doing!?"  Rain narrowed his eyebrows and panted heavily.

  Red XIII chuckled.  "Come on boy, unsheathe that sword and lets see

what you got.  You underestimate yourself."  Red XIII charged with his

head forward and knocked Rain off of his feet.

  The descendant of Cloud picked himself off of the floor and breathed

heavily, not noticing the crowd that had gathered.  "Alright, you asked

for it!  I don't care if you helped Uncle Cloud!  You're mine!"  Rain

unsheathed his massive sword and held it out in front of him.  Rain 

then jumped up into the air with his sword above his head and came down

with the blade of his bastard sword but Red XIII just barely strafed 

it.

  "See, you aren't that bad," Red XIII grinned.  The two cubs sat on 

their hind legs and watched inquisitively.  Nanaki charged again but

Rain sidestepped it and struck down with the flat of his blade, 

slamming Red XIII to the floor.  "That definitely hurt...See Rain, you

aren't as weak as you make yourself out to be."

  "Just because I'm strong doesn't mean I'm strong as Cloud," Rain

replied.

  "Alright, but we need to find Hojo!" Red XIII said grimly.  "I saw

him going south so he's probably headed to Junon...We need to figure

out what Hojo is up to..."

  "I'll go," Rain said thoughtfully.  "But one question, how did Hojo

survive five centuries?  And even then, I thought the Avalanche killed

him."

  "Not true," Nanaki shook his head.  "Hojo's mutated form was killed.

The scientist still lived, although barely.  As for surviving for five

hundred years, I imagine that he took shelter in the ruins of Midgar

to recuperate."

  "No, I mean how did he live that long?" Rain interrupted.

  "His Jenova cells, probably," the huge creature explained.

  "Okay, I get it now," Rain nodded.  "Let me get ready to go to 

Junon and find a place for my children to stay."



  The two companions had managed to pass through the Mithril Mines just

fine when Condor came to view.  The tower was wrecked and even still,

small pieces of the brick that used to hold it up were falling off.

Rain shook his head.

  "So that's what's left of the Phoenix' roost," Rain sighed.

  Nanaki nodded and didn't say anything.  As they walked through the

lush green grass, they noticed an ox-like beast charging toward them.

It was a monster with the upper half of a minotaur but from the torso

down was a bull's body, much in the same way of the centaur being 

half-human and half-horse.

  "What the Hell?" the young man stopped in his tracks.

  "Monsters..." his companion muttered as he got into fighting 

position.

  "Monsters!?" Rain exclaimed.  "I thought they died out years before I

was born!  Something must be bringing them back!"

  "Not something," Red XIII replied.  "Someone."

  "Hojo..." Rain trailed off.

  The monster put his head down and charged straight at Rain but the

man from Kalm was too quick and jumped away, unsheathing his bastard

sword.  Red XIII rammed into the side of the disfigured creature, 

sending it to the ground.  The monster opened his eyes and squinted

from the sun when he saw Rain coming down at him, blade first.  That

was the last thing he saw.

  "I'm guessing all monsters are aggressive like this one," Rain 

managed to breath out.  He was not used to physical performances that

were even as small as this.

  Red XIII nodded and motioned to continue on to Junon.  Soon the city

appeared, only without its cannon.  That had been destroyed long ago

when Holy and Meteor had devastated Midgar.  The two companions finally

entered the city.  It was lively place with villagers bustling about

trying to buy things.  Then Nanaki spotted Hojo and two imp-like 

monsters dashing for the elevator.

  "There!" Nanaki whispered.

  Hojo and his companions made it to the elevator and were already on

their way up before Red XIII and Rain could catch up.  The two got on

the next lift and went to the second level.  Nanaki spotted Hojo once

again and led the way for Rain to follow.  At the first intersection

Hojo and his companions split suddenly.  Hojo went one way and the

imps the other.

  "I'll follow Hojo!" Red XIII informed Rain.  "You follow his 

friends!"

  The two companions split into different ways.  Rain ran after the imp

like creatures without taking notice of his surroundings.  All of a 

sudden, a huge airship appeared in the distance.  It was like a modern 

war boat, only with small glider fins to the side.  "Highwind II" was 

printed in big bold letters on the side of the airship.  The propellers

started to spin just as the imps dived into the airship.

  "Shit!" Rain muttered.  "They're getting away!"

  The young man ran even faster, desperately trying to get to the 

airship before the imps could escape.  With one final leap, Rain dived

into the opening on the side just as the Highwind II was lifting off.

Rain looked frantically around for the green imps and spotted them, 

running up the stairs toward the bay.  The descendant of Cloud quickly 

followed but was too late, the imps were already overpowering the 

pilots of the ship.  There were only three pilots in blue uniforms, 

similar to the old Shinra army gear.  The pilots desperately tried to 

fight off the invaders but the monsters were cutting them up badly with

their claws.  Rain rushed to the battle but the pilots had already 

fallen wounded.  In one smooth movement, Rain unsheathed his sword and

sliced into the side of one imp who hadn't seen Rain yet, killing it 

instantly.  The other imp took notice of the new passenger and lunged 

forward with his claws at Rain's neck.  Rain was knocked to the floor 

just as the pilot-less Highwind II dipped forward, sending Rain, the 

imp, and the pilots sliding down to the front of the bay.  The dead imp

fell off over the side with two of the pilots.  Rain managed to grab a 

hold of the grate that protected the pilots from falling off when the 

Highwind II was upright.  The last imp was holding on firmly to Rain's 

leg.  In one of Rain's hand was the heavy sword.  In one sweep, he cut 

the imp's arm off, sending it to its doom.  Then with acrobatic skills,

Rain swung himself back onto the tilted Highwind II which was heading 

straight into the ocean.  The young man looked desperately for the 

controls.  He finally found a steering wheel type contraption.  With 

sweaty hands, Rain grabed the steering wheel and pulled back hard. 

The Highwind lurched upwards, sending the remaining pilot into Rain's 

knees.  Rain looked down and saw that the pilot's uniform had caught 

onto one of the levers and thus saving him from falling off the 

airship.  Rain took the controls and took the Highwind II to a rough

landing near a waterfall.  It was time to rest and organize again.

  "I gotta find Red XIII," Rain said to himself as he looked for food

on the Highwind II.  When he found none, he went back to the bay only

to find that the pilot was very much alive.

  "Where...am I?" the pilot asked as he took off his helmet, only to 

reveal he was a she.

  "You're alive?" Rain was shocked.  Even more so that she was a 

female.  Female pilots were rare.

  "Yes," the pilot replied.  "Where am I?"

  "You're on the Highwind II," Rain explained.  "I didn't even know an

airship existed since the time of Sephiroth.  I'm Rain...and you are?"

  "I'm Fiona," the pilot answered.  "This airship was just finished 

today and was going on a test flight when two monsters attacked...I 

take it you're the one who salvaged this ship from the monsters."

  "And why was another airship like the original Highwind built?" Rain

asked suspiciously.

  "I don't know the exact details," Fiona replied.  "I'm just a test

pilot.  All I know is that there's some rivalry going on between Rocket

Town and Junon."  The pilot then released her hair from the pony tail

it was in and took off her jacket, revealing a shirt that had "Junon"

scrawled on it with a picture of the Highwind II.  Her long blond hair

fell to her waist.

  "Can you get us out of here?" Rain asked.  "I only landed this ship.

I don't know how to navigate or expertly fly this thing."

  "Sure can," Fiona replied as she folded her jacket.  "Gimme a sec."

  Rain nodded and sat down against one of the control panels.  He

looked up into the blue sky.  The golden sun.  He would have to find

what had become of Red XIII and Hojo.  All of a sudden three peacock

like birds hopped onto the airship and charged.

  "Chocobos?" Rain wondered.

  "Not Chocobos, cockatrices!" Fiona yelled as he stepped back and took

out a pistol.

  "Dammit, not more monsters," Rain muttered as he took out his blade.

  All of a sudden, four more cockatrices appeared from the other side

of the airship.

  "This is not good," the young man growled.

  The three cockatrices on the first side rushed the two.  Fiona shot

a round of bullets, knocking one of the cockatrices out of commission.

With a quick spin, Rain downed the other two cockatrices.  The four

monsters behind the passengers of the Highwind II attacked.  Fiona fell

as a cockatrice pierced her in the back.  Rain struck one cockatrice 

but the other two overpowered him, sending him into the grate.  Fiona

quickly jumped up and shot a few more bullets into the cockatrice that

had attacked her.  One of the bullets pierced its head, killing it 

instantly.  The remaining two cockatrices overpowered Fiona, knocking

her down by Rain.  Rain tried to pick himself up but was sent over the

grate and down into the grass covered ground by a cockatrice.  Fiona

quickly shot the rest of the rounds left in her gun but hit nothing.

  "Rain, I need help!" Fiona screamed as the two cockatrices closed in

on her.

  Rain got up and looked frantically for his sword.  He then looked up

at the bay of the Highwind II and saw that his sword was still up

there.

  "Shit!" Rain cursed as he dashed toward the door on the side of the

Highwind II.

  From the bushes appeared two more cockatrices.  All seemed lost when

gunshots rang out.  The bullets killed the cockatrices that surrounded

Rain.  More gunshots rang out and the cockatrices up on the bay fell.

  "Who...?" Rain studied his surroundings when a man caught his eye.

The man had long brown hair and wore a maroon cape over a black suit.

His boots were silver and pointed at the end.  The savior's hair hanged

down in front of his maroon bandanna.  The most noticeable feature was

that in one hand the man held a pistol while the other hand was a claw.

  The savior said nothing but instead threw his pistol onto the bay

of the Highwind II, toward Fiona.  Rain blinked and the savior was 

there no more.

  "What the...?" Rain was certainly confused.

  "Who was that?" Fiona yelled down to Rain as she kicked the corpses

of the cockatrices to the ground below.

  "I have no idea..." Rain replied, shaking his head.  "We gotta get

back to Junon!"

  "Right!" Fiona agreed.

  Rain entered the Highwind II and the airship was off.



  Sweat dripped down the gray beard of Red XIII as he stood in front of

a demon.  The demon had red scales and the head of a raptor.  His claws

were those of a falcon.  The white lab coat was now stained with dirt

and shredded.  It was Hojo.  Red XIII leaped up as Hojo pounced.  The

two warriors clashed in the air and then sprung back.  With a swift

charge, Red XIII knocked Hojo off his feet.  Nanaki then rammed Hojo

in the side, sending the demon sprawling even further.  Laughs rang

out as Hojo's pointy teeth shine.  All of a sudden, the evil demon

erupted into a purple flame and took the form of Jenova, a headless

beast.  Red XIII gasped as red lasers shot through him, shredding his

fur.



  The Highwind II swooped down near Junon, sending gusts of wind 

throughout the city.  The airship was now only three yards above the

streets of the city as the civilians frantically dived out of the way.

  "There!" Rain yelled as he pointed to where the battle was taking

place.

  The Highwind II zoomed by as Rain jumped off, landing right by his

original companion.

  "Red XIII!" Rain exclaimed.  "Are you okay!?"

  "I'm fine," Red XIII growled as he limped toward Hojo.  "Hojo's taken

the form of Jenova....we have to stop him!"

  Rain nodded as he charged forward with his blade.  Rain claved with

his mighty blade but Hojo only slided away and whipped out its

tentacles, tripping the descendant of Cloud.  Red XIII tried to ram

Hojo in the side again but was also tripped up.  Fiona ran down the 

streets toward Rain as she shot several bullets into Hojo.  The gun

that Vincent had given her didn't need to be ever reloaded.  The form

of Jenova whirled around and spotted the new fighter.  Red lasers shot

out, striking Fiona in the belly.  Fiona dropped her gun as she was

knocked backward.  Rain jumped up from behind with bastard sword in 

hand.  A stab was sent through Jenova's spine, inflicting critical

damage.  Jenova quickly spun around and wrapped around Rain with its

tentacles.  With a quick squeeze, the sound of Rain's bones breaking

were heard.  Red XIII bounced upwards and sliced through the the 

tentacles holding Rain with his fangs, sending the prisoner to the

hard pavement.  Meanwhile, the pilot of the Highwind II had picked 

herself up and was now shooting at Jenova once again.  Several bullets

shot through Jenova's back as the monster battled Nanaki.  When that

had no major impact, Fiona ran toward the lifeless body of Rain.

  "Rain!" Fiona yelled.  "Are you alright?"

  "Yeah..." Rain managed to say.  "But my bones aren't.  Argh..."

  "Don't worry, that wolf friend of yours is fighting that monster

right now," Fiona said as she tore off a piece of her jacket to wipe

the sweat off of Rain's forehead.

  "Help him..!" Rain spat out blood.

  Fiona nodded and turned around.  Red XIII and Jenova were evenly

matched and with a little help, they could overcome Hojo's latest

incarnation.  Fiona aimed her pistol at the creature.  She fired once.

Then twice.  Then thrice.  Three bullets pierced Jenova's cells in the

exact same place, creating a noticeable hole.  Pink slime leaked out

of the wound as Red XIII headbutted Jenova in the belly.  The monster

was sent flying backwards as the pink blood continued to leak out.

Red XIII continued to bash the fallen beast while Fiona continued to

attack with her pistol.  All of a sudden, Jenova could take no more.

A brilliant red flash occured, blinding everyone in range.  When Nanaki

could see again, in the place of Jenova was Hojo.

  "Heh heh," Hojo grinned.  "I'm not stupid...You cowards have to take

me on three at a time!  Until you can fight me one on one, I'm outta

here!"

  Red XIII pounced but was too late as Hojo flew away.



  Rain woke up at one of the houses in Junon.  Surrounding his bed was

Red XIII and Fiona.

  "Is...Hojo gone?" Rain asked.

  "No, he got away," Fiona shook her head.

  "Red XIII..." Rain muttered.

  "Yes, child?" Red XIII raised his head.

  "Me and Fiona crashed near a waterfall..." Rain explained.  "We were

attacked by an overwhelming number of monsters.  Then some guy 

appeared...he saved us."

  "Waterfall?" Red XIII raised an eyebrow.  "Vincent.....Rest up Rain,

we're going to go to Rocket Town tomorrow.  We need to establish a

friendly relationship between Rocket Town and Junon."

  "Why did Hojo try to attack the airship?" Rain asked.

  "To cause disruption and confusion," Red XIII replied.  "The

villagers of Junon would've thought that Rocket Town had sabotaged the

Highwind II.  We need to put an end to this suspicion."

  "Okay, thanks for explaining everything to me," Rain muttered as he

drifted off to sleep.

  "Fiona, you get some rest too," the red dog ordered as he left the

house.



  Soldiers of Rocket Town raced into Junon, attacking the villagers and

guards.  The army of Junon was caught off guard as they were barely

equipped.  Gunshots were fired and shells were shot.  Fiona, Rain, and

Red XIII raced out onto a stairway outside of the house just as a shell

destroyed the shelter they had taken.

  "What the Hell?" Rain exclaimed.

  "Its Rocket Town!" Red XIII growled.  "They're attacking Junon!"

  "Damn this is not good!" Rain muttered as he leaped down with sword

in hand.

  "Don't attack!" Red XIII yelled.

  "What?" Rain looked up at his companion.

  "They're beating us!" Fiona observed.  "We've got to stop them!"

  "Very well then," Red XIII said grimly.  "Just try to wound the 

soldiers of Rocket Town...don't kill them!"

  Fiona nodded as she jumped down after Rain.  She and Rain raced down

the streets with the soldiers of Junon as the Rocket Town soldiers

advanced.  Rain jumped up and threw his sword down into the clumps of

the opposing army.  It hit no one but the soldiers steered clear of the

sword in fright.  Rain ran into the clearing, taking the sword out of

the pavement.  Two soldiers shot at him but Rain was took quick,

spinning to avoid the bullets.  The young man counterattacked with a 

swift roundhouse kick, knocking down both of the soldiers.

  Fiona had already lost Rain.  She shot the oncoming warriors of

Rocket Town in the feet, causing them to lose their balance.  Even with

Fiona and Rain not fatally wounding the soldiers, there were already

many dead.  A Junon guard standing by Fiona shot his rifle into the 

onslaught, blowing the head off of one of the Rocket Town soldiers.  

  The battle raged on for the rest of the day.  By dusk, the whole army

of Rocket Town had fallen and over three-fourths of Junon's forces were

wiped out.  The streets of Junon were bathed in red blood and filled

with corpses of the fallen soldiers.

  Meanwhile, the party had gone to the runway.

  "Such a shame," Fiona shook her head slowly.

  "Lets go to Rocket Town before the sun rises again," Red XIII 

ordered.  "We don't want to risk Rocket Town sending another attack

here.  Junon won't be able to hold it."

  Fiona nodded as she walked into the Highwind II, followed by Red XIII

and Rain.  The propellers started to spin and the airship was off.

It flew west, toward the Rocket Town which had grown into a city in

the past centuries.



  The Highwind II landed by the old launch pad, sending rusty bolts

flying everywhere.  The party of three stepped out of the airship and

headed toward the Mayor's house.  The people sneered as the visitors

from Junon arrived.  The party entered the Mayor's house, finding an

old man sitting at the table, drinking some tea.

  "My!" the Mayor leaped out of his chair.

  "We are not here to harm you," Red XIII assured.  "We have come to

ask some questions."

  "Sure!" the Mayor replied, still trembling.  "Anything!"

  "Why did you send the forces of Rocket Town to Junon?" Red XIII

growled.

  "Those bastards from Junon sabotaged our latest project!" the Mayor

replied, gaining more confidence.  "The hovercraft!"

  "What?" Rain looked up.  "No one from Junon came here....it was the

deed of an incredible monster.  He is trying to brew trouble between

the two cities."

  "I..." the Mayor looked down.  "I'm sorry for any inconvenience.  My

name is Aaron Highwind.  I am Cid Highwind's great grandson."

  "You must be pretty old," Rain stroked his chin.  "Still, I hope 

you'll be happy to hear that Junon's airship was named after Cid."

  "They wouldn't have if they knew he was originally from Rocket Town,"

the Mayor replied sadly.  "They seem to forget where Cid originally

came from."

  "Well, do you know where the people who wrecked your hovercraft

went?" Rain asked.

  "I know where he went," Red XIII interrupted.

  "Huh?" Rain raised an eyebrow.

  "He went north, didn't he?" Red XIII asked the Mayor.

  "Yes, he did," the Mayor said, recalling his memory.  "And oddly

enough, he flew north!"

  Red XIII nodded and motioned for his companions to leave.  Soon the

Highwind II was off and heading north.  



  Deep in the Ancient City a man stood.  His hair was now oily from all

the fighting he had gone through and he had surely lost his mind.  Hojo

started to laugh as he looked down into the pool.  Down there...Holy was

down there.  All he had to do was destroy it and carry out Sephiroth's

plan.  His son was brilliant and had planned it out very carefully.

Becoming one with the Planet would give him the ultimate power.  Hojo

leaped up to dive into the pool when Red XIII appeared out of nowhere,

tackling him back onto dry land.

  "Damn you!" Hojo screamed.  "You're always chasing me around!"

  From behind Rain struck Hojo who was still in human form.  The blade

cut cleanly through Rain's spine.

  "I...." Hojo's eyes went dim as he fell.

  "He wasted all his strength back in Junon," Red XIII explained.  "He

doesn't have enough power to create anymore monsters or become one

himself."

  Rain nodded as he sheathed his sword.  An explosion came from Hojo's

body as Hojo's soul appeared, in a green mist.

  "Gwahhhh!" the soul screamed as it stretched itself to unbelievable

limits.

  "Holy shit!" Rain yelled as he gaped in awe.

  Blue flames appeared everywhere, exploding out of the ground.  Rain and

Red XIII were sent flying as the explosions rocked the ground.

  "Oh crap, he's stronger than Jenova!" Rain yelled out.

  Red XIII said nothing as he jumped to headbutt the ghost.  The red wolf

just passed through the ghost like it was nothing but smoke.

  "What in the...!?" Red XIII exclaimed.

  There was a blue flash as a sparkling blue dome started to build up,

engulfing the two companions.  A huge explosion occured, blasting the two

heroes.  Rain flew backwards and right through a large shell.  Blue

waves of electricity took form in the air and started to crackle.  

However, Nanaki was an intelligent animal as he dived into the pool of

water.  The spirit of Hojo gave chase but just as it hit the water, Nanaki

leaped out.  There was a tremendous explosion as the electricty and water

mingled, electructing the spirit.  Soon the undead creature was truly

dead.  Red XIII's sides heaved as he breathed heavily.  Rain emerged from

the broken shell pieces.

  "Is Hojo gone?" Rain asked.

  "Yes," Red XIII nodded.  "I think...Hojo is truly dead now."

  "I certainly hope so," Rain agreed.

  The Highwind appeared above them as a ladder dropped down.

  "You guys alright!?" Fiona yelled down to them.

  The two companions nodded as they climbed the rope ladder to a well

deserved rest.