Chapter 17: The Hidden Paradise
I woke up, realizing I was still in Mother’s arms. I looked around to see where we were, but I didn’t recognize anything. There were waterfalls of some kind of thick black fluid mixed with green, and puddles of black water all over the place. I asked “Uhh, Mother… where are we?” Mother replied “A special place only me and one of my children can enter. We’re inside of Reunion Cave.” I said “Is that why everyone else had to go back and you had to come here alone?” She nodded, and said “Yes. This is a unique place that is inaccessible to humans and all creatures except those who share my blood and power. However, even if you are family to me, I am needed in order to approach this cave. Without me, it remains inaccessible even to my own kind.” I moaned, carefully slipping out of her arms, and she helped me get down “What happened..? I cant remember anything except that Big Brother and everyone else went back to our forest hideout…” Mother explained “You tried to protect Hojo during an unexpected encounter with Zeta Weapon. When you shot the beast with your revolver, it reacted with rage, and unleashed a powerful mako beam that left you with mako stigma due to radiation. Most likely, that illness is why you don’t remember what happened. I took you here to prevent the disease’s advance, and to bring you back to full health. You took a nasty hit from sickness, and wound up with a very bad fever within seconds. I heard the news from Hojo. Can you walk, Yazoo?” I took a few steps, and managed to stay on my feet despite my muscles feeling weak “I think so… but it feels so hard…” She said “Hold on… I know what to do.” Mother picked me up again, and I realized she was flying, heading downward to a lower level of the cave. I was shocked “You got your wings back, Mother?!” She answered “No. This pair is not my actual set. I only have these wings of white light when I begin to approach Reunion Cave; they are temporary, and only bolt if my natural metal wings are ruined. I’m sorry to disappoint you, my son. But I cant lie to you.” I sighed “It’s alright… it was an accident, right? Just like when we tried to get the core and Cloud broke it. I mean, of course he did that on purpose, but we didn’t plan for those things to happen… just like when Shinra’s specimen containment protocols destroyed your wings.” She agreed “You’re right, my son. Shinra has been a major interference with my plans for countless years. I see they still don’t fret to meddle with us. Just like Cloud. But just like Sephiroth said, neither of them have any right to take their grudges out on you and Kadaj and Loz; they should be going after me and Sephiroth instead. I don’t like this cowardly acting of theirs. It’s pathetic to get young children involved in a mess like this.” I replied “I cant say you’re wrong about that… Cloud didn’t even try to fight Sephiroth when he came and got us. He just ran away without a word… what the heck. I don’t even know what he wanted from us!” Mother sighed “I thought he captured you three as bait to lure me and Sephiroth right to him, but if he escaped like that then that cant be right. It wouldn’t make sense to lure someone to you and then just run off like that. I know the man well enough to say all of this without question. I had even kept outside Midgar for backup, as me and Sephiroth immediately expected this to be a trap, but to my surprise, we were wrong.” I added “You know, is it just me or have there been a lot of really strange things happening lately..? And with each thing that happens, it just makes less and less sense… what’s going on?” Mother shook her head, and landed on a floor of shiny black rock, and said “I’ve been having trouble with Intel myself… my recon systems must be acting funny since I don’t have my wings anymore. My wings also serve an important function with my overall powers, aside from their varying combat abilities they equip me with. Without them, my recon systems either don’t work or give me inaccurate results… that is, my ability to see things that have yet to happen. My radar is no good unless I have my metal wings…” She gently put me down and I shook my head “Ohh man… that really is bad… We’ll never be able to track Cloud like that. I didn’t realize they were that important for your powers, Mother… I’m really sorry…” Mother comforted me “Don’t blame yourself, Yazoo. You arent responsible for me losing them. Go in the water over there. You’ll feel better in no time.” I obeyed, and stepped into a thick pond of black and green. I tried to sit down, but it was too deep for me to keep my head out, so I ended up standing instead. Mother stepped in with me, and sat down, taking me into her lap “Here you go, sweetie.” I laughed “Thanks, Mother.” All of a sudden, I didn’t feel overheated anymore, and I felt like I was fully awake too. I felt myself becoming heavily charged and sighed in relief “Phew, that’s more like it! I don’t feel sick anymore.” Mother let me go, and I tried to walk around, and ended up running back and forth a couple times “It worked! I can get around now.” Mother asked “You don’t feel too overcharged?” I shook my head “No, I’m fine.” Mother got up and stepped out “Good… you don’t want to soak for too long in here. If you do, your JENOVA cells will overcharge, and well… that can make strange things happen, but they arent life-threatening, luckily. Only me and Sephiroth are strong enough to soak for long times in here. Kadaj might be able to do it once she grows enough, but you and Loz should be careful. The cell water is too powerful. That’s why I only come here if one of you needs urgent healing. It’s too strong for lesser ailments.” I realized the ground was a shiny pitch black and said “Mother, the ground is the same exact color as those tall rocks I accidentally spawned when Hojo made me mad on our walk… what is it?” Mother explained “So you did awaken that power from anger… I didn’t expect it to happen so soon. This is a kind of magic crystal filled with my cells. If touched by another race, it can drain their life force within a matter of seconds. And the process only takes the slightest touch to be completed. These are very fatal to humans.” I wondered “What happens if you hit them really hard? Will they break or explode?” Mother answered “Neither; unless they are touched by the caster, they will feed on damage and multiply, growing more and more with each attack sustained. Leave them be if they arent your own, or you could bring about disaster. Even to your own kind.” I felt fear well up inside myself but forced it away “What are these called?” Mother replied “These… are known as Reunion Staves. However, they are only rock with what you see on the ground. Only the staves that your rage births possess the powers I described. The floor here may look alike, but it lacks the powers of what was created by your anger.” I grew nervous “Ohh man… imagine what wouldve happened to Hojo if Loz didn’t push him out of the way! He… he wouldve died!” Mother said “Calm yourself, my son. All it takes is one simple touch from you, and they will vanish. So will any that multiplied from the originals. They should be relatively easy to contain, so long as you arent enraged when some appeared in the past and werent eliminated.” I laughed “Phew, thank goodness Loz doesn’t have that power… He’d make a really big mess if he did.” We both laughed, and Mother suggested “Let’s go home. Sephiroth and the others are waiting for us.” I nodded in agreement, and she picked me up again, then flew down a straight path of black rock. It seemed long at first, but a white open space appeared quickly some ways ahead, and Mother began to pick up speed. Before I knew it, she was accelerating uncontrollably, and passed through the white hole. When we were through it, I saw a vast ocean all around us, and some grassy land came into view quickly. I was smiling “Wow, this is amazing! I never knew you could fly so fast, Mother!” She giggled and said “That’s right, I can hyper-accelerate. My metal wings were also very sturdy and wouldn’t even dent when I go this fast. In fact, they would glow silver and illuminate silver rays when I reached a certain speed. Sephiroth always loved seeing that and said it was a beautiful sight…” She sighed, but didn’t go any further. Dang… Mother’s pretty sad without her wings, I thought. I said “Kadaj might’ve gotten hurt too while we were out… she said it felt like something was cutting through her back and her stomach, like some kind of small blade or something…” Mother gasped “What..? Oh no! We need to hurry back to her!” I was confused “What? But why? I don’t get it…” Mother explained “If this is what I think it is, she was pushed to a nasty extreme during your encounters with Cloud. She has a special core planted inside of her that reacts to stress. If Kadaj gets too scared, it will trigger a dangerous weapon called the bladework system, revealing several large silver blades from her back that are capable of destroying anything. The bad thing about this is if this power is triggered, she will go completely feral, attacking anything in sight without discrimination. These blades react to the user’s thoughts and have nasty homing and variable capabilities.” I turned angry “What?! Mother, why? Tell me why you put something so horrible in her! Please!” I felt drops of fluid on my back, and realized she was crying “I had to… the blade core is the only thing strong enough for her to reach or even exceed Sephiroth’s potential when placed inside of a Cetra youngling. I’m sorry, Yazoo…” I forced myself to calm down and asked “So it will break when she’s done growing?” Mother replied “Yes, it should. Her physical growth will drain its power and increase her own, so it is only a temporary problem. But the consequences of triggering it are deadly. We need to get back. I’m the only one who knows how to turn it off and stop her rampage.” I panicked “Are we too late?!” Mother answered “No… We may be just on time… I hope.” We reached the land, and she put me down. The white wings of light on her back vanished, and we began running as fast as we could. I asked “But if we turn it off, will it hurt Sister?!” Mother answered “She might go unconscious since the reaction also causes a forced evolution, but she should be ok if we are quick enough.” Luckily our hideout wasn’t that far ahead, and I hoped “Come on, make it..! We cant be late..!” The ground shook heavily, and we both fell down. I quickly got up and looked around “No, not that thing again! Please no..!” I stopped, and gasped in disbelief. I saw Sephiroth fighting several ways ahead, using his masamune to block large silver blades that looked to be connected to something. I looked up, carefully tracing what they were tied to, and saw a woman in the center of countless ones who looked just like Sephiroth. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing “No way! Sephiroth cant fight those off?!” Mother was standing behind me and seemed concerned “That’s… no..!” I panicked “That’s my Sister?! You’re kidding me! That woman looks nothing like her!” Mother replied “That’s her forced evolution caused by the bladework core! Those blades are too strong for Sephiroth to keep fending off! Yazoo, stay put! This is too dangerous. I’m going in!” I realized I was crying again. I couldn’t believe this. Mother managed to get behind her without being noticed, and revealed a thick metal bar that looked hollow and had ragged edges, almost as if it was torn from something else. Mother struck Sister in the back with it, and bursts of electricity came from where she was hit. Sister stopped attacking, and fell to the ground, the silver blades all vanishing when she fell. Seconds later, she returned to her usual form, and I ran to help. I cried “Sister!” Sephiroth was gasping for air nearby and seemed confused “What happened to her? She just changed all of a sudden and went wild. I had to lure her out here in order to protect Loz and Hojo.” I turned her over to see if she was still breathing “Kadaj… Kadaj, say something! Anything!” She moaned and shook her head, barely opening her eyes “Yazoo..? I’m sorry… forgive… me…” I turned serious “No, stop it! It wasn’t your fault!” She managed a smile and said “Thanks… for always helping me… and Loz…” She closed her eyes and wouldn’t move after that. I was crying heavily “No… no!! Don’t you dare die!” I was sobbing, unable to control my hurt “That core… I hate that stupid core! She would’ve gotten strong without that piece of junk!” Sephiroth knelt down and felt her neck “She’s still breathing. I think she’ll be alright, Brother. She’s only unconscious.” I suddenly calmed down and said “Let’s go home already. I’ll carry her this time.” I picked her up, getting to my feet, and started walking back to our forest hideout. Sephiroth sighed “I don’t think he’ll get over this one easily… He’s too young to understand yet…” Mother didn’t say anything, but I figured she stayed with Sephiroth since I was still walking and she didn’t follow me yet. By the time it was night, everyone was asleep except me. I couldn’t sleep; all I could do was look at Kadaj, desperate for her to wake up so I’d know she’s ok. The image of her in that forced evolution state, with all those silver blades around her when she was fighting Big Brother stuck to my mind like glue. I couldn’t stand it. I was crying quietly “I cant leave her with anyone else like that again… except Mother. I don’t want this thing to kill her. I have to make sure she doesn’t get that scared again until we’re all grown up enough that it wont matter…” I forced myself to calm down, and began thinking about Loz. If Sister Kadaj has the bladework core that responds to fear, and I have the power of Reunion Staves through anger… then what horrible power is hiding in Loz? I thought sadly. I didn’t even wanna know the answer to that question. I hated this more than anything; I didn’t want us to have powers that dangerous. I was afraid, even after knowing how they are triggered. What I feared was these powers would end up having us destroy each other instead of our enemies. I shook my head, trying to force away the fear. I turned serious “I’ve gotta find a way to help us control these powers… if I don’t, we wont live long enough to defeat Zeta and then finally defeat Cloud.”
Not so long ago, where Yazoo’s first Reunion Staves appeared...
Reno was out on a walk, searching for traces of Yazoo’s gang, and stopped to glance at the tall black rocks that now had faint streams of green glowing inside of them. Curious about what they were, he looked up and wondered “Whoa, what are those? I’ve never seen anything like em!” He began to approach them, reaching out a hand to touch them, but a brief tremor startled him out of doing so. Reno was confused “Huh? What’s goin on?” Suddenly, the rocks began multiplying in number, more and more of them bursting from the ground beneath. Surprised and uneasy, he turned and began running away as fast as he could “What in the world?! Something’s wrong! They just… keep coming?!” He turned to look back as he continued fleeing, and saw them quickly gaining on him. He turned another direction and fell down, quickly getting back to his feet “Ohh man! Did this have to happen now?! I got no backup!” He suddenly stopped, realizing nothing was coming, and turned to look where the rocks new rocks had appeared “Holy balls of fire! What even just happened? I need to report this to Rufus, pronto! This cant be a good thing.” Reno pulled a phone from his pocket and called Rufus, who answered immediately “It’s me. What’s going on?” Reno hastily replied “Yo, President! You’re not gonna believe this! I just came outside to look for those three, and then these giant rocks just start breaking outta the ground for no reason! It’s like they were targeting me! I mean, they stopped now, but yikes… that was close.” Rufus said “Hmm, very well. I suppose this calls for a new investigation. I’ll send a team to your location to study these. Send me your coordinates right away.” Reno agreed “Right, got it.”
To Be Continued…
I woke up, realizing I was still in Mother’s arms. I looked around to see where we were, but I didn’t recognize anything. There were waterfalls of some kind of thick black fluid mixed with green, and puddles of black water all over the place. I asked “Uhh, Mother… where are we?” Mother replied “A special place only me and one of my children can enter. We’re inside of Reunion Cave.” I said “Is that why everyone else had to go back and you had to come here alone?” She nodded, and said “Yes. This is a unique place that is inaccessible to humans and all creatures except those who share my blood and power. However, even if you are family to me, I am needed in order to approach this cave. Without me, it remains inaccessible even to my own kind.” I moaned, carefully slipping out of her arms, and she helped me get down “What happened..? I cant remember anything except that Big Brother and everyone else went back to our forest hideout…” Mother explained “You tried to protect Hojo during an unexpected encounter with Zeta Weapon. When you shot the beast with your revolver, it reacted with rage, and unleashed a powerful mako beam that left you with mako stigma due to radiation. Most likely, that illness is why you don’t remember what happened. I took you here to prevent the disease’s advance, and to bring you back to full health. You took a nasty hit from sickness, and wound up with a very bad fever within seconds. I heard the news from Hojo. Can you walk, Yazoo?” I took a few steps, and managed to stay on my feet despite my muscles feeling weak “I think so… but it feels so hard…” She said “Hold on… I know what to do.” Mother picked me up again, and I realized she was flying, heading downward to a lower level of the cave. I was shocked “You got your wings back, Mother?!” She answered “No. This pair is not my actual set. I only have these wings of white light when I begin to approach Reunion Cave; they are temporary, and only bolt if my natural metal wings are ruined. I’m sorry to disappoint you, my son. But I cant lie to you.” I sighed “It’s alright… it was an accident, right? Just like when we tried to get the core and Cloud broke it. I mean, of course he did that on purpose, but we didn’t plan for those things to happen… just like when Shinra’s specimen containment protocols destroyed your wings.” She agreed “You’re right, my son. Shinra has been a major interference with my plans for countless years. I see they still don’t fret to meddle with us. Just like Cloud. But just like Sephiroth said, neither of them have any right to take their grudges out on you and Kadaj and Loz; they should be going after me and Sephiroth instead. I don’t like this cowardly acting of theirs. It’s pathetic to get young children involved in a mess like this.” I replied “I cant say you’re wrong about that… Cloud didn’t even try to fight Sephiroth when he came and got us. He just ran away without a word… what the heck. I don’t even know what he wanted from us!” Mother sighed “I thought he captured you three as bait to lure me and Sephiroth right to him, but if he escaped like that then that cant be right. It wouldn’t make sense to lure someone to you and then just run off like that. I know the man well enough to say all of this without question. I had even kept outside Midgar for backup, as me and Sephiroth immediately expected this to be a trap, but to my surprise, we were wrong.” I added “You know, is it just me or have there been a lot of really strange things happening lately..? And with each thing that happens, it just makes less and less sense… what’s going on?” Mother shook her head, and landed on a floor of shiny black rock, and said “I’ve been having trouble with Intel myself… my recon systems must be acting funny since I don’t have my wings anymore. My wings also serve an important function with my overall powers, aside from their varying combat abilities they equip me with. Without them, my recon systems either don’t work or give me inaccurate results… that is, my ability to see things that have yet to happen. My radar is no good unless I have my metal wings…” She gently put me down and I shook my head “Ohh man… that really is bad… We’ll never be able to track Cloud like that. I didn’t realize they were that important for your powers, Mother… I’m really sorry…” Mother comforted me “Don’t blame yourself, Yazoo. You arent responsible for me losing them. Go in the water over there. You’ll feel better in no time.” I obeyed, and stepped into a thick pond of black and green. I tried to sit down, but it was too deep for me to keep my head out, so I ended up standing instead. Mother stepped in with me, and sat down, taking me into her lap “Here you go, sweetie.” I laughed “Thanks, Mother.” All of a sudden, I didn’t feel overheated anymore, and I felt like I was fully awake too. I felt myself becoming heavily charged and sighed in relief “Phew, that’s more like it! I don’t feel sick anymore.” Mother let me go, and I tried to walk around, and ended up running back and forth a couple times “It worked! I can get around now.” Mother asked “You don’t feel too overcharged?” I shook my head “No, I’m fine.” Mother got up and stepped out “Good… you don’t want to soak for too long in here. If you do, your JENOVA cells will overcharge, and well… that can make strange things happen, but they arent life-threatening, luckily. Only me and Sephiroth are strong enough to soak for long times in here. Kadaj might be able to do it once she grows enough, but you and Loz should be careful. The cell water is too powerful. That’s why I only come here if one of you needs urgent healing. It’s too strong for lesser ailments.” I realized the ground was a shiny pitch black and said “Mother, the ground is the same exact color as those tall rocks I accidentally spawned when Hojo made me mad on our walk… what is it?” Mother explained “So you did awaken that power from anger… I didn’t expect it to happen so soon. This is a kind of magic crystal filled with my cells. If touched by another race, it can drain their life force within a matter of seconds. And the process only takes the slightest touch to be completed. These are very fatal to humans.” I wondered “What happens if you hit them really hard? Will they break or explode?” Mother answered “Neither; unless they are touched by the caster, they will feed on damage and multiply, growing more and more with each attack sustained. Leave them be if they arent your own, or you could bring about disaster. Even to your own kind.” I felt fear well up inside myself but forced it away “What are these called?” Mother replied “These… are known as Reunion Staves. However, they are only rock with what you see on the ground. Only the staves that your rage births possess the powers I described. The floor here may look alike, but it lacks the powers of what was created by your anger.” I grew nervous “Ohh man… imagine what wouldve happened to Hojo if Loz didn’t push him out of the way! He… he wouldve died!” Mother said “Calm yourself, my son. All it takes is one simple touch from you, and they will vanish. So will any that multiplied from the originals. They should be relatively easy to contain, so long as you arent enraged when some appeared in the past and werent eliminated.” I laughed “Phew, thank goodness Loz doesn’t have that power… He’d make a really big mess if he did.” We both laughed, and Mother suggested “Let’s go home. Sephiroth and the others are waiting for us.” I nodded in agreement, and she picked me up again, then flew down a straight path of black rock. It seemed long at first, but a white open space appeared quickly some ways ahead, and Mother began to pick up speed. Before I knew it, she was accelerating uncontrollably, and passed through the white hole. When we were through it, I saw a vast ocean all around us, and some grassy land came into view quickly. I was smiling “Wow, this is amazing! I never knew you could fly so fast, Mother!” She giggled and said “That’s right, I can hyper-accelerate. My metal wings were also very sturdy and wouldn’t even dent when I go this fast. In fact, they would glow silver and illuminate silver rays when I reached a certain speed. Sephiroth always loved seeing that and said it was a beautiful sight…” She sighed, but didn’t go any further. Dang… Mother’s pretty sad without her wings, I thought. I said “Kadaj might’ve gotten hurt too while we were out… she said it felt like something was cutting through her back and her stomach, like some kind of small blade or something…” Mother gasped “What..? Oh no! We need to hurry back to her!” I was confused “What? But why? I don’t get it…” Mother explained “If this is what I think it is, she was pushed to a nasty extreme during your encounters with Cloud. She has a special core planted inside of her that reacts to stress. If Kadaj gets too scared, it will trigger a dangerous weapon called the bladework system, revealing several large silver blades from her back that are capable of destroying anything. The bad thing about this is if this power is triggered, she will go completely feral, attacking anything in sight without discrimination. These blades react to the user’s thoughts and have nasty homing and variable capabilities.” I turned angry “What?! Mother, why? Tell me why you put something so horrible in her! Please!” I felt drops of fluid on my back, and realized she was crying “I had to… the blade core is the only thing strong enough for her to reach or even exceed Sephiroth’s potential when placed inside of a Cetra youngling. I’m sorry, Yazoo…” I forced myself to calm down and asked “So it will break when she’s done growing?” Mother replied “Yes, it should. Her physical growth will drain its power and increase her own, so it is only a temporary problem. But the consequences of triggering it are deadly. We need to get back. I’m the only one who knows how to turn it off and stop her rampage.” I panicked “Are we too late?!” Mother answered “No… We may be just on time… I hope.” We reached the land, and she put me down. The white wings of light on her back vanished, and we began running as fast as we could. I asked “But if we turn it off, will it hurt Sister?!” Mother answered “She might go unconscious since the reaction also causes a forced evolution, but she should be ok if we are quick enough.” Luckily our hideout wasn’t that far ahead, and I hoped “Come on, make it..! We cant be late..!” The ground shook heavily, and we both fell down. I quickly got up and looked around “No, not that thing again! Please no..!” I stopped, and gasped in disbelief. I saw Sephiroth fighting several ways ahead, using his masamune to block large silver blades that looked to be connected to something. I looked up, carefully tracing what they were tied to, and saw a woman in the center of countless ones who looked just like Sephiroth. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing “No way! Sephiroth cant fight those off?!” Mother was standing behind me and seemed concerned “That’s… no..!” I panicked “That’s my Sister?! You’re kidding me! That woman looks nothing like her!” Mother replied “That’s her forced evolution caused by the bladework core! Those blades are too strong for Sephiroth to keep fending off! Yazoo, stay put! This is too dangerous. I’m going in!” I realized I was crying again. I couldn’t believe this. Mother managed to get behind her without being noticed, and revealed a thick metal bar that looked hollow and had ragged edges, almost as if it was torn from something else. Mother struck Sister in the back with it, and bursts of electricity came from where she was hit. Sister stopped attacking, and fell to the ground, the silver blades all vanishing when she fell. Seconds later, she returned to her usual form, and I ran to help. I cried “Sister!” Sephiroth was gasping for air nearby and seemed confused “What happened to her? She just changed all of a sudden and went wild. I had to lure her out here in order to protect Loz and Hojo.” I turned her over to see if she was still breathing “Kadaj… Kadaj, say something! Anything!” She moaned and shook her head, barely opening her eyes “Yazoo..? I’m sorry… forgive… me…” I turned serious “No, stop it! It wasn’t your fault!” She managed a smile and said “Thanks… for always helping me… and Loz…” She closed her eyes and wouldn’t move after that. I was crying heavily “No… no!! Don’t you dare die!” I was sobbing, unable to control my hurt “That core… I hate that stupid core! She would’ve gotten strong without that piece of junk!” Sephiroth knelt down and felt her neck “She’s still breathing. I think she’ll be alright, Brother. She’s only unconscious.” I suddenly calmed down and said “Let’s go home already. I’ll carry her this time.” I picked her up, getting to my feet, and started walking back to our forest hideout. Sephiroth sighed “I don’t think he’ll get over this one easily… He’s too young to understand yet…” Mother didn’t say anything, but I figured she stayed with Sephiroth since I was still walking and she didn’t follow me yet. By the time it was night, everyone was asleep except me. I couldn’t sleep; all I could do was look at Kadaj, desperate for her to wake up so I’d know she’s ok. The image of her in that forced evolution state, with all those silver blades around her when she was fighting Big Brother stuck to my mind like glue. I couldn’t stand it. I was crying quietly “I cant leave her with anyone else like that again… except Mother. I don’t want this thing to kill her. I have to make sure she doesn’t get that scared again until we’re all grown up enough that it wont matter…” I forced myself to calm down, and began thinking about Loz. If Sister Kadaj has the bladework core that responds to fear, and I have the power of Reunion Staves through anger… then what horrible power is hiding in Loz? I thought sadly. I didn’t even wanna know the answer to that question. I hated this more than anything; I didn’t want us to have powers that dangerous. I was afraid, even after knowing how they are triggered. What I feared was these powers would end up having us destroy each other instead of our enemies. I shook my head, trying to force away the fear. I turned serious “I’ve gotta find a way to help us control these powers… if I don’t, we wont live long enough to defeat Zeta and then finally defeat Cloud.”
Not so long ago, where Yazoo’s first Reunion Staves appeared...
Reno was out on a walk, searching for traces of Yazoo’s gang, and stopped to glance at the tall black rocks that now had faint streams of green glowing inside of them. Curious about what they were, he looked up and wondered “Whoa, what are those? I’ve never seen anything like em!” He began to approach them, reaching out a hand to touch them, but a brief tremor startled him out of doing so. Reno was confused “Huh? What’s goin on?” Suddenly, the rocks began multiplying in number, more and more of them bursting from the ground beneath. Surprised and uneasy, he turned and began running away as fast as he could “What in the world?! Something’s wrong! They just… keep coming?!” He turned to look back as he continued fleeing, and saw them quickly gaining on him. He turned another direction and fell down, quickly getting back to his feet “Ohh man! Did this have to happen now?! I got no backup!” He suddenly stopped, realizing nothing was coming, and turned to look where the rocks new rocks had appeared “Holy balls of fire! What even just happened? I need to report this to Rufus, pronto! This cant be a good thing.” Reno pulled a phone from his pocket and called Rufus, who answered immediately “It’s me. What’s going on?” Reno hastily replied “Yo, President! You’re not gonna believe this! I just came outside to look for those three, and then these giant rocks just start breaking outta the ground for no reason! It’s like they were targeting me! I mean, they stopped now, but yikes… that was close.” Rufus said “Hmm, very well. I suppose this calls for a new investigation. I’ll send a team to your location to study these. Send me your coordinates right away.” Reno agreed “Right, got it.”
To Be Continued…
