Darkness Falls Prologue 1
By Gemini83
Disclaimer: Most characters...yada, yada, yada...belong to Square. [insert all that legal copyright mumbo jumbo here] I don’t own FF7, if I did, I’d be rich and laughing at all of you. The story and all new characters are mine, all mine...mwahahahahahahaha...uh...just ignore that!
It had been three months since Meteor had nearly destroyed the Planet. In that time, peace had finally come to the lands. Barret had taken his daughter Marlene from the wreckage of the Midgar slums, and now lived as a real family in North Corel. Marlene had developed a deep bond with ‘Auntie Elmyra,’ and visited her often. Barret’s home town had become a boom town once again, now that fossil fuels and solar power were being used to provide energy around the world. Midgar was being rebuilt, under leadership of President Reeve of New Shinra Enterprises. Already, Sector 5 and several others had been renovated, no longer the slums they once were. Cloud and Tifa...they married, opened up a new ‘7th Heaven’ bar in Costa del Sol, near Villa Cloud, their new home.
And Red XIII, what of him? The Cian warrior had gone home again, where his kind and humans had lived for centuries. Now he was the last of a proud race. But Red could not find it in him to be consumed by sadness, for he had lived a relatively happy life, and found new friends. He thought of them often, about how all their lives had changed after the fall of Sephiroth. Wutai had once again become a center for trade. Last Red had heard, Yuffie Kisaragi and her father had become the heroes of their home. Cid Highwind had married Shera, and after fixing the Highwind, became a skipper for hire, as well as head of the aeronautics division of the New Shinra Corp., thanks to Reeve. Vincent, true to character, had disappeared. And what had Red done? He had become the elder of Cosmo Canyon.
If he had been told years ago, he would never have believed it, he, Red XIII, elder of his people...
“Master Nanaki!”
...Also called Nanaki to those who knew him well. This particular visitor was one of the children who lived in the Canyon. Ever since his return to the village, he had become a favorite among the young ones.
He smiled, “What is it child?”
“Master Nanaki, may I watch you work today?” she pleaded.
“Of course Aleana, please sit.”
The little girl took her seat as Red began to commune with the planet. Red went forth to his Grandfather’s machine, a holographic map of the planet and all its surroundings.
“Grandfather Bugenhagen...what wonders will your device show me today?”
As Red activated the hologram, he was immediately immersed in a multitude of colors, resolving into the shapes of planets.
“Everything seems in order, let us take a closer look.”
Upon zooming in on his home planet, Red heard an eerie sound. It was a shrill cry that could still send shivers down his spine...the Cry of the Planet.
Managing to regain his wits, Red studied the matter further. “Computer...why is the Planet crying out again?”
Bugenhagen’s device began to search for an answer, when it finally found one, Red could see a message show itself on-screen.
‘PLANET ANOMALY, LIFESTREAM IN FLUX...REFERENCES IN THE SCROLLS OF THE ANCIENTS...CROSS REFERENCE...KEY TO THE LIGHT...END’
Red immediately shut down the machine, lowering himself back to his study, concern etched in his face.
Aleana, sensing Red’s discomfort, went to him. “What’s wrong master?”
“I’m not sure...Aleana, could you bring me the Scrolls of the Ancients?”
“Of course...”
When Aleana had brought him the scrolls, Red promptly began his search. “Something is stirring the planet, causing imbalance.”
When he found what he was looking for, his discovery sent chills down his spine. The scroll read:
‘I BUGENHAGEN, HAVE FOUND THESE NEW SCROLLS, UNLIKE ANY I HAVE EVER SEEN BEFORE, THEY SAY:
IN THE YEAR OF THE GREAT CALAMITY, THERE WILL COME A TIME WHEN THEY WILL COME ONCE MORE, WHEN WE AS A RACE HAVE CONQUERED THE DARKNESS, ONLY TO BE CONSUMED BY AN EVEN GREATER DARKNESS. THE ANCIENT WARRIORS WHO HAVE FALLEN SHALL RISE AGAIN. THE WALKER OF THE PLANES SHALL RETURN, COMPLETING THE CYCLE. THE KEY TO THE LIGHT WILL BE FOUND. AND IN ITS WAKE WILL COME THE DESTRUCTION OF WAR ANEW. BLOOD WILL HAVE BLOOD. CHAOS SHALL HAVE ITS DAY.
THIS IS WHERE THE RECORDS BECOME UNDECIPHERABLE. THE ANCIENTS FORESAW A GREAT EVIL. I CAN ONLY HOPE THAT WHATEVER FOLLOWS CAN BE STOPPED. IF SOMETHING CANNOT BE DONE, THE PLANET SAVE US ALL...’
Red felt as if his heart had stopped.
“A great war? Warriors will rise again? What in the name of Holy is happening?”
“Master,” asked Aleana, “what is going on?”
“Trouble is afoot. It says within a year of the ‘Great Calamity,’ that must mean Meteor.”
“But Meteor came three months ago...”
“Yes child, that means that we have six more months until...” Red trailed off.
“Until what? Master, what will happen?”
“...Child, go and play with the others,” said Red, smiling at the girl, “nothing will happen.”
‘I hope,’ he thought to himself, ‘just this once grandfather, please be wrong.’
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Author’s note: I made up a name for Red’s species, I call them the Cian. I am sorry if I got it wrong or if you all hate this name. If you have any suggestions, I will be glad to consider them (gemini_reactor@hotmail.com). Also, I will try to use this name as little as possible. In addition, I am neither a Tifa fan, nor an Aeris fan. In fact, I was debating whether or not to have Cloud go with Tifa for nearly a week before I wrote this. So I’m just using what I think would be logical if Aeris had died and Cloud was left to live his life. I mean, come on people, Tifa was his childhood sweetheart. With Aeris out of the picture, it isn’t like he has a whole lot of hang-ups about hooking up with Tifa. By the way, this is my first fan fic attempt, so please go easy on me.
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