Fort Condor 8:20
Reeve moved down the corridor, not knowing where he was going, and not really caring.
How could he have been so stupid?
Thanks to him, Yuffie’s life was just about ruined now.
Pregnant. How could she be pregnant?
How?
Why did this happen?
Sex with her had just been a momentary thrill. Just a passing pleasure. He had never even thought about children. Such things had been inconceivable.
But now they were real. Yuffie was pregnant and he was going to be a father.
He hated himself. He never thought about anyone or anything other than himself. When Midgar was destroyed something in him had changed.
Something had gone wrong.
Hell, he hadn’t even known that she had loved him. He had always thought...
He realised he was standing outside her room. Before his mind could tell his body to stop, Reeve opened the door and walked in.
Yuffie sat on the bed. She was crying: Godo’s death had hit her very hard.
“Yuffie?” he said gently.
She looked up at that and Reeve honestly thought she was going to kill him.
“Reeve.” Her lip trembled.
“Yuffie...” he trailed off. Finally, after a long silenvce, he took a deep breath.
“I’m sorry.” he said. It sounded pathetic. Worthless. Stupid.
She shook her head. “Is that all you can say?”
He was silent.
“I guess that means yes. Let me tell you something, Reeve.” she said hoarsely. “What you did was wrong. You used me. We did something wonderful together and you corrupted it. When you cried out ‘I love you’ you never meant it. And now I pay the price. The baby pays the price. What kind of life will this child have, Reeve? I’ll bring it up, but it will never have a father there. Never.”
Reeve was suddenly angry. “I’m sorry, Yuffie. What more do you want? Would you like it in writing? Would you like me to drown in my own guilt? I’m sorry Yuffie, I’m ready to make it right, but are you?”
“Get out!” screamed Yuffie. “Don’t ever touch me again, Reeve! Never again!”
With tears in his eyes, Reeve slammed the door shut and ran down the hall.
A few seconds later the door opened again. Yuffie, her back to the door, said out loud: “Reeve, if you value your life then get out right now.”
There was a yelp from behind her.
“Excuse me, Miss Yuffie Kisaragi...”
She turned to see a young woman in the doorway. Quickly wiping her tears away, Yuffie stared at her coldly.
“What?”
“My name is Galana. I’m from Wutai, and a man named Fry asked me to give this to you. He said it was from your father.”
Immediately, Yuffie looked up.
“Can I have it?” she asked.
The woman smiled. “You may.”
She brought out a box and gave it to Yuffie. Then she turned to leave.
She paused by the door and turned around.
“Your father saved us.” she said softly. “He saved us all. I never knew him, but he must have been a good man.”
Yuffie nodded numbly.
The woman left.
Yuffie sat down and opened the box, a weird sense of trepidation came over her. Inside was a note, and a round object the size of a golf ball. She opened the small piece of paper.

Carefully she put the parchment down and picked up the ball. Her breath caught in her throat as she realised what it was.
A Leviathan egg.
-

Fort Condor Research Lab 10:32
Nicholas sighed and held his head in his hands.
The task he faced was daunting. Impossible, if he was to tell the truth. So far, he had found ways to stem the flow of the cancer, but these required vigorous and demanding preparation and application.
The door opened and Anthony walked in, he smiled briefly at Nicholas.
Not that there was anything to smile about.
He turned to face the cage that held Craig, then looked back at Nicholas for an explanation.
“We have sedated him.” said Nicholas. “Me and the others could not work with all his snarling.”
Anthony became more sober.
“You have not found a vaccine?”
“We have not.”
He looked wistfully towards the sleeping Craig.
“We are not going to save him, are we?” said Anthony softly. “He will rot and die.”
Silence. Nicholas dared not, could not contradict him.
Anthony continued like Nicholas was not even there.
“I have known him for a long, long time. We were Shin-Ra soldiers together.” There was a short laugh. “He got in to SOLDIER when he was about your age. I never made it passed the test. They wouldn’t take me in because I used a gun instead of a sword. And Craig... well, he used both. I was so jealous of him.”
Nicholas looked on in sympathy at the pained man. “He was a great fighter, wasn’t he?”
A nod. “Oh, yeah. One of the best.” Bitterness suddenly over-powered Anthony’s voice. “But he could not defeat the mighty Sephiroth, it seems.”
Nicholas was silent. There was nothing to say. It was enough just to hear, to see. It was enough to hold Anthony while he cried, while the tears trickled off his chin and fell on Nicholas’ white overall.

-
Harvey Oswald was the first to see it.
He described it to his Captain as ‘something big’. In less than two minutes, the garrison’s Commander was informed. Barrett Wallace swore under his breath and walked out in to the undergrowth to confront the ‘thing’.
-

Fort Condor Plains 10:38
With a squad of men following him, Barrett readied his gun arm and moved silently through the grassy plains.
Already he could see the thing faintly in the distance. Whatever it was it was moving, and fast.
He ordered the men to spread out and engage the creature, there was no point in hiding. If this was a Jenova, then it would already have seen them by now.
Running swiftly forward with the men, Barrett spoke in to his comm. From the other end Elena listened in.
“It’s not a Jenova, that’s for sure.” grunted Barrett as he struggled to keep up with the younger soldiers. “It’s way too small.”
“Don’t get cocky.”  replied Elena, thoroughly unconvinced. “What if Sephiroth infected a dog or something?”
Barrett tried to laugh, but only just managed a snort as he fell further behind.
“Wait up, yer damn rookies!” he panted. “Wait fer me!”
A man turned round and regarded him for a second before breaking off in to a full sprint again.
Barrett could just about see the thing now, a large, dog-like shape running a full speed toward them.
“Stop!” cried Barrett. “Who the hell are you?”
The creature almost fell over in surprise at Barrett’s challenge. It let the men surround it before letting out a deep chuckle.
“Barrett.” boomed Red XIII. “I am Nanaki, son of Seto, and I’m back.”
-

Wutai 11:12
Sephiroth laughed as he approached the shattered staff of Duane.
“Dear me, and you had so much potential.”
He kicked the staff away. It skid acorss the pavement and hit the side of a house.
“Such a shame, I could have used him.”
Sephiroth moved into the Civilian Co-ordiantion Building. Ironic that, as before it had helped the organisation of the civilian placements, now it would serve as the new Hive Room for the Jenova.
Sephiroth smiled gleefully as he saw the Jenova babies working to turn the building over. He was amazed some of the babies had lasted as long as they had. Even so, Sephiroth could not suppress a grimace as he passed several dead babies rotting in the corner.
He sat down and immeadiatly a hundred thin purple tentacles snaked down from the room. It was these synaptic fibres that would connect with his brain and create a direct link to the hybrids.
How mant of the humans have been infected? he asked the Jenova.
The answer was immeadiate. Out of fifteen, nine-hundred and eighty-one thousand original inhabitants, two thousand seven-hundred and seven have escaped, five thousand, three-hundred and ninety-four have been killed. Seven thousand, nine hundred and eighty have been infected.
How long will it take for them to be developed?
Another instant answer. Three months.
There was a moments pause. How many ‘special’ humans have been procured?
He laughed. ‘Special’. He liked that term.
And they were. They were very, very special...
Five. Five have been infected.
Bring them to the Hive Room. I want them to be exposed to the Cancer in it’s purest form.
Sephiroth thought for a while. It had been about three months... his current crop of hybrids were beginning to die.
I will start new with the civilians we have infected. he told the hybrids.All Jenova from Junon will attack Fort Condor.
The synaptic links writhed out from his skull and dissappeared from the ceiling.
He sensed movement as twelve-hundred hybrids began to move.
-

Highwind Airship, six hundred feet over Junon 11:48
Cid muttered a groan as Reno came running up on deck.
God, I hate this kid.
Snatching his binoculars, Reno grinned at Cid.
“Hiya, Cid!” he said. “Better lower the Highwind so we can get a look at Junon.”
Cid shot him a sour look and started to descend.
“Don’t tell me how to fly me own goddamn ship.” he snarled back.
Reno shot him a surprised look and opted for a tactical retreat.
“Okay, I better get back up on top; we can probably see by now.” lied Reno.
Quickly, he ran up the metal stairs.
Rude and Elena stood waiting for him. Rude chuckled started to chuckle as Reno moved over to the far side of the deck and sat down heavily.
“He doesn’t like you, Reno. Face it.” said Elena.
For a moment she thought of adding a “no one does” but decided against it when she saw the hurt look on Reno’s face.
“I don’t understand it.” cried Reno. “Everyone likes me.”
There was a loud snigger from Rude which was quickly silenced by a look of pure venom from Reno.
Elena sighed. The truth was, people liked Reno because he could kick their ass if they didn’t. But his annoying and immature attitude meant that he had very few real friends. Elena found it rather sweet.
Soothingly, she put an arm round him.
“It’s alright, Reno. Everyone does like you. Who cares if Cid hates your guts?”
Rude stopped laughing behind his hand and swore.
“Guys!” he yelled. “Look at that!”
Reno broke off from his mood and shot up, catching Elena off guard and knocking her over.
“Woah!” cried Reno. “That’s incredible!”
Elena got up, rather annoyed and ready to have a go at Reno.
Her breath caught in her throat when she saw what was happening below her.
Purple strands of light were distorting the air around Junon. Black space gaped out before her, giving her a rare glimpse into infinity. Like a wormhole, the hole fluctuated and spat out a Jenova hybrid. It roared and then set off at incredible speed toward Fort Condor.

Fort Condor 11:49
“Condor 1 to Control, this is Condor 1. We have a code red situation. I repeat, code red.”
Commander Danith woke with a start from his daydream. He hurriedly stuffed on the microphone and spoke back.
“Condor 1, this is Control. What is the situation?”
There was a long burst of static.
“Control, we have an estimated twelve-hundred hybrids heading straight for us.”
Danith let his discipline slip. “Oh, shit.”
Condor 1 grunted a sound of acknowledgement.
Quickly gathering himself, Danith asked: “How long before they get here?”
“Twenty-two hours.”
Danith muttered a “Control out” and ran off to tell his superior.
-

It took an hour for everyone to get organised. There was a lot of panic from the civilians which Cloud had had to suppress. He grimaced. Five years ago, he was responsible for AVALANCHE’s safety. Now, the fate of the entire human race lay in his hands.
He strode down the corridor and in to the Council Room. Already inside were Barrett, Tifa, Yuffie, Grissom, Reeve, Anthony, Nicholas, General Hamilton and Red XIII. Cloud grinned at Red XIII as he entered the room.
“Welcome back, Nanaki.” he said.
Red XIII looked uneasy for a moment. “Cloud...” he began.
Dismissively, Cloud waved his hand. “It’s in the past, Red. The main thing is your back.”
There was a silence in the room as the others observed them. Then Hamilton rose and spoke up:
“Everybody, listen up.” he announced. “We have received word, as you may already know, that a force of well over a thousand hybrids are headed our way. As Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, I suggest that make a tactical retreat in to the Mythrill Mines.”
There was instant uproar.
“Shut yer hole!” bellowed Barrett. “We only got a day before they start comin’. Ain’t no way that we’d be able to get all of the people away in time.”
“I’m with Barrett on this one.” chirped Yuffie. “If we keep running, then we’ll never get anywhere.”
Red XIII growled his agreement.
Hamilton, however, remained silent and waited for the atmosphere to die down.
“I have extensively studied our current position, and it is this: We have a force of six thousand troops who have had no experiences with Jenova. We are poorly defended here at Fort Condor. If you do not heed my words, then this outpost will fall within sixteen hours of the hybrid attack.”
He turned toward Cloud and looked at him imploringly.
“Please, Cloud.” begged Hamilton. “Get as many people away from this place as you can. We might still find a vaccine-”
Nicholas spoke up with eyes like fire.
“We have accomplished nothing!” he cried. “The Cancer is too strong. Given time...”
Tifa walked over to Nicholas. “How long?” she asked softly.
The was a pause. “Well, I cannot say for sure-”
“How long, Nicholas?” interrupted Tifa.
Nicholas looked at the floor, a defeated look in his eyes.
“Years. We need at least Five years to get anywhere near a cure. And that is optimistic.”
There was a shocked silence. No one had realised the situation was as bad as this.
“We cannot run in to the mines.” said Anthony. “The Midgar Zolom’s in the marshes are infested with the cancer. We would not last a week in there.”
The oppressive mood was broken by the opening of the door, and Cid and the Turks burst in.
“Hey, what’s the matter?” asked Reno. “It’s not me, is it?”
“No.” Cloud shook his head. “It’s nothing.”
He spread his hands wide. “I have made my decision. We are staying here.”
Hamilton rose from his seat. “You have condemned us all to death!” he shouted angrily.
He waited for an answer, but Cloud just shrugged glumly.
“If what Nicholas has said is true, then we’re all essentially dead anyway.”
-

Hamilton formed the six thousand strong army in to a tight circle of five layers around Fort Condor. Packed inside the Fort were almost three thousand Civilians. Swooping above like a massive Eagle, was Cid and the Highwind, bristling with missiles.
On Hamilton’s orders a huge trench had been dug around the circle of men and petrol was poured inside. Tifa stood with a lighted torch ready to set alight the wall of flame that was to surround the Fort.
Grissom stood out of the circle, feeling the wind on his face.
“Where are you, brother?” he whispered. “Is your soul free in the Lifestream, or are you doomed to forever pay for the sins you have done in this life?”
Grissom held Illiac tightly as a tear fell from his cheek to the floor.
“I will see you soon, my brother.”
The wind on his face and the rising heat of the afternoon answered him.
-
Fort Condor 10: 50
They came in to view.
Twelve hundred creatures the size of giants. Running forward, they smashed through the trees and straight in to Hamilton’s trap.
“Light it!” he bellowed.
-

As Tifa flung the burning torch in to the petrol, she saw at least ten hybrids fall in to the blaze. There was an unrivalled stench of burning flesh as the Jenova were slowly incinerated.
Snarling and screeching in a confused rage, the Jenova pushed forward in to the inferno, leaping through it as though it was not even there.
Then the soldiers started to fire.
-

When Owain saw the Jenova burst through the wall of fire he knew he was going to die.
Pressing his finger down on the trigger so hard that it turned white, Owain emptied the entire magazine in to the hybrids. There was a deafening noise of gunfire as a thousand semi-automatic assault rifles opened up on the front rank of Jenova. Owain grabbed a grenade from his belt and threw it forward. It exploded amongst the hybrids, throwing them in to confusion. Owain saw that from left to right the rest of the soldiers were doing the same.
The Jenova ran forward steadily, coming within tens of meters to Owain when they started to step on the mines. He saw purple blood gushing from tattered bodies as explosion after explosion decimated the enemy.
Owain clipped another magazine into his rifle and opened fire. The hybrids were through the mines now and were swarming over the barbed wire. Someone next to him screamed and ran back to the next line.
Owain gritted his teeth and fired in to the Jenova once more.
How many of them were there? he asked himself. He had seen about fifty fall to the floor. Fifty dead. Out of twelve hundred. He slapped another ammo clip in and continued to fire.
Fifty metres to his left the Jenova broke through, falling upon the helpless soldiers and massacring them in seconds. Vaguely, Owain felt liquid well up in his mouth. He forced the vomit back down. His vision blurred and his mind span. It was a strange, almost surreal feeling.
Reality took a hold on him once more as he realised his gun had jammed. He threw it away. It was useless now. Taking out his sword he rushed forward and started to hack up the Jenova caught in the barbed wire. The tight formation crumbled as men ran forward and back, trying to hold off the hybrids.
Something wrenched in his arm and he cried out in pain. He turned to see that he didn’t have it anymore. The limb was lying disembodied a metre or so away.
There was a thud and Owain went spinning through the air. He hit the ground in a twisted mass.
The Jenova that had killed him snatched him from the ground and threw him at a squad of troopers moving toward it. Owain’s body impacted on the front rank and sent it sprawling. Kennedy suddenly found himself coated with someone else’s blood. He struggled to his feet and fired at the monster. The hybrid flung itself on to the squad and tore the men apart. Kennedy lobbed a grenade at the Jenova and then retreated back.
There was a huge explosion as Kennedy stepped on a mine. It was mirrored by another blast as the grenade Kennedy had just thrown killed the hybrid.
Anthony and Nicholas saw the explosion from far off and ran in to the muddy crater it had created. Nicholas brought his shotgun to bear and shot the head off a standing Jenova several metres away. Furious, it galloped toward them and jumped up high in the air, aiming a slash at Anthony.
Swooping down from above, the Highwind arrived just in time. A barrage of pulse missiles killed half a dozen of the Jenova. The hybrid attacking Anthony fell down in a blackened heap.
At that moment the artillery barrage started.
-

“Dammit!” screamed Hamilton as he surveyed the carnage from the Fort. He smashed down on the table with his fist.
It was just as he had predicted. The Jenova had completely massacred the first line of defence and the mines were killing more men than hybrids. Admittedly, the thick barbed wire he had laid down was stemming the flow of Jenova, but it was nowhere near enough.
He watched another brigade charge to their deaths and the Highwind tirelessly charge down another score of the monsters. There was another explosion and Reeve rushed up the stairs with a worried look on his face.
“Almost eighty-five per cent of the outer line is gone!” he cried. “We’ve lost over nine hundred troops and it’s not even been fifteen minutes!”
Hamilton gave him a tired look. “Tell things I don’t already know. Like how many hybrids have we killed.”
“We can’t be sure,” replied Reeve crisply, “But we think we’ve killed around two hundred.” There was a silence.
“Mainly thanks to Cid and the Highwind.” added Reeve.
Hamilton said nothing. The words had stung.
Reeve didn’t look the slightest bit sorry. “The Commanders want to know what you want to do.” he said.
Hamilton shook his head. There was another explosion down on the battlefield as the second circle engaged the Jenova.
“Hamilton, the Commanders await your orders.”
Hamilton stood silent.
“Hamilton, get a grip!” Reeve walked up to him and struck him hard against the face.
Gasping, Hamilton dragged himself back to reality.
“I’m sorry.” he said softly. His apology was not directed at Reeve, but at the soldiers. “I had not other choice.”
“General?”
“Fire the artillery.”
-

Tifa flipped up on to the back of a Jenova and drove her fist down on it’s spine. It screamed and hovered silent for a second before crumpling to the floor.
The soldiers behind her cheered and moved forward steadily, pressing to the attack. A squad of Barrett’s soldiers joined them and pressed forward in to the ranks of the monsters.
Jenova after Jenova fell as Tifa sent punch after punch upon them. Barrett appeared in the distance and started wreaking havoc on the hybrids converging upon Tifa and her troops.
Then the sound of guns echoed through the air and fiery destruction rained down on the battle field..
The hybrid next to her was obliterated as a shell fell on it’s head. Tifa’s reaction were good, but not good enough. She twisted away from the blast, but the shockwave caught her off-guard and she fell in a heap on the floor. A Jenova reared up in front of her and exploded. She was wet with purple blood.
She looked back to see all of her squad dead. Shells falling all around her, Tifa picked herself up and ran full speed back to the last line.
Thousands of men were doing the same but as she ran she saw over a hundred bodies lying twisted on the ground. Her thick-soled boots slipped and slided over the sea of mud that the artillery was creating. Reaching the front line, she hurled herself over the barricade. Barrett came flying over close a few seconds later.
“What is Hamilton doing?” screamed Tifa over the din of the barrage. “He’s killing more men than hybrids.”
“I don’t know.” bellowed Barrett. “But whatever plan he had just ain’t working.”
Barrett was right. The Jenova were taking heavy losses but, undaunted but the shells, were pursuing men as they fled. Tifa estimated that more than a thousand, a quarter of the total army, was now dead.
It had taken less than twenty minutes.
-

Grissom sliced the head from a hybrid and wiped his blade clean. Illiac flamed white hot as it cut easily through the cancerous flesh of the Jenova.
There was and explosion to the left of him and suddenly everything was a blur. He found himself running full pelt back to the last line of defence while shells rained down form the sky.
Grissom felt the carnage as man after man was slaughtered. At that single point he knew that defeat was inevitable. He knew that there was only one hope for humankind’s survival.
The Lifestream.
Summoning his magic for one final stand, Grissom let the Lifestream fill his body. Strands of green light began to weave out of his fingertips.
The knowledge of the Planet flowed through his brain and Grissom let himself go. Rising high in to the air, the searing green light burned in to his mind and cascaded from his body to the battlefield beyond.
The Lifestream reached the pinnacle of it’s power and erupted from Grissom like a volcano of energy. His mind shattered in to a million fragments and Grissom felt no more.
-

Unknown.
He stood on the valley watching the lush green hills roll gently away.
He was home.
Grissom saw a figure approach him.
“Duane. Is it really you?” he whispered.
“The Cancer is gone!” cried Duane, holding up his hand. “I am my own master because of you.”
Grissom found no words to say. Instead, he took Duane’s hand and walked down the slope towards the house. Faintly he could hear his mother singing softly.
“Am I dead?” asked Grissom.
The sky cast it’s glow over both of them as the dawn continued to brighten.

-
Fort Condor 11:18
Cloud found Grissom’s body after ten minutes of frantic search.
 “Goodbye, Grissom.” whispered Cloud. “Thank you. You saved us all.”
They buried him under Fort Condor the next day, along with the rest of the men who had perished.
Cloud couldn’t remember much of the speech, but bits of it seemed to stick in his mind:
“Grissom was not a god. Though he was different from the rest of us he was still human. And he fought, and he died, for us. He gave up his life because he  believed that the human race was too important to just fade away.
So when you think that there’s no point to life, when you think like giving up and when you think of running, all I can say is this: remember those who gave their lives for you yesterday. Remember Grissom.”
-

Fort Condor Office Wing 4:21
The door to Cloud’s room opened late in the afternoon and Barrett walked in.
“Cloud?” he said softly. “Cloud, can I speak with yer?”
“Barrett, I’m a little busy right now, so could it wait-”
“No, I can’t bloody well wait!” shouted Barrett.
Cloud sat up immediately. “What is it, Barrett?” he asked.
“It’s Tifa.” said Barrett quietly. “She got the Cancer.”
-

Fort Condor Medical Wing 4:22
Tifa sat in the Medical Wing second floor. Cloud rushed up to her with tears in his eyes.
“Tifa, oh shit, Tifa.”
“Hi, Cloud.” she croaked.
He couldn’t find the words to say. He couldn’t describe how he felt.
“Tifa... how?”
She smiled. “Oh, it’s no big deal.”
But he saw the tears in her eyes.
“Tifa, where’s the doctor?” cried Cloud.
She shook her head. “I don’t want you to bother them, Cloud, there are people a lot worse then me-”
Cloud’s anger flared. “Where is he?” he shouted. “I want to see him.”
A small man in a white coat came running up to him.
“Can I help?” he asked in a friendly tone.
“Yes.” said Cloud sharply. “How long has she got?”
“Excuse me?” said the puzzled Doctor.
“How long before she changes?” snapped Cloud
The Doctor’s face became lined with sorrow. “I’m sorry. Miss Lockheart has a very strange case. Many people sustain just one concentrated wound of the Cancer. Unfortunately, Miss Lockheart was covered with infected blood which was then absorbed by her pores. The cancer is spread throughout the whole of her body and is multiplying at an increasingly fast rate. I’m afraid that she has less than two weeks before we have to terminate her.”
Cloud was shocked. “What?”
The Doctor regarded him coolly for a moment before answering. “Since there is no cure, and no real way for the infected to be contained, all patients are to be terminated when their status is considered to be more Jenova than human.”
“Under whose orders?”
“Commander Reeve.”
Cloud stood there in silent rage. “Reeve...”
“Pardon, sir?”
Cloud snapped out of his daze. “I’m ordering you to counteract this order.”
The Doctor shook his head. “I am sorry, sir. But not even you have the authority to override Reeve on this one. And even if you did, then where would we put them? There is no way we’re giving them to Sephiroth.”
“Can you do anything to stop the growth?”
The Doctor looked uneasy. “yes, but it only prevents the inevitable. And it takes a long time. Without an order-”
“It is an order. Stem the growth of the cancer.”
“But, sir-”
“I said do it!” shouted Cloud.
“... Of course.” said the Doctor. “I’ll set to work immediately.”
“Good.” Cloud turned to walk away.
“Many people will die because of this.” called the Doctor. “I will not be there to save their lives.”
Cloud ignored him and walked out of the door.
-

Reeve’s Office 4:25
Storming in, Cloud grabbed Reeve by the throat and hoisted him up in the air.
“Reeve!” yelled Cloud. “Reeve how could you do that to people.”
Reeve let out a strangled curse. “What are you talking about?” he croaked.
Cloud only pressed down harder on his throat. “The Doctor told me it was under your orders to kill anyone who was infected.”
Reeve looked more annoyed than frightened. “Cloud, it’s the only thing we can do! There simply isn’t any way to keep them alive and out of Sephiroth’s hands!”
Cloud’s face softened. His grip on Reeve’s neck started to loosen.
“You really don’t know, do you, Reeve?” said Cloud.
“No, I don’t. Would you mind enlightening me?”
Cloud turned away. “I just went down to the Medical Wing. Tifa’s got the Cancer, Reeve.”
There was a speechless silence. Reeve stood still for a moment as the words sunk in.
Then, softly, he said: “They- they can’t heal her, then?”
“No.”
A pained look came across Reeve’s face. “I’m sorry Cloud.”
There was a silence.
“No, Reeve, you’re not.”
Another pause. Maybe Reeve wasn’t denying it because he was just too shocked. Maybe he wasn’t denying it because it was true.
“Tifa was a friend to me, too.” he said, hurt.
Cloud said nothing and walked out.
“Cloud, there’s nothing I can do!” called Reeve. “Don’t keep looking to me as if it’s my fault!”
His cries fell on deaf ears.
-

Fort Condor Research Room 2:22
Much to Nicholas’ annoyance, Yuffie interrupted his busy schedule, insisting that she needed to ‘chat’.
Nicholas sighed. He found Yuffie’s constant bickering and inconsistent mood almost impossible to bear. Resignedly, he sat down heavily on a chair and waited.
“Well,” began Yuffie in a surprisingly cheery mood. Nicholas was taken aback: since Godo died he hadn’t seen her smile once.
Without even noticing the bemused smile upon his face, Yuffie continued in her own little way. “Well, Nicholas, I think I might just have something for you that could be of some interest.”
She smirked and waited for the words to sink in.
Unfortunately, and much to her disgust, Nicholas did nothing. He figured it was something unpleasant.
Yuffie’s face turned sour and his fears were confirmed. She raised a hand to slap him, but instead of hitting him, she brought her fist down to within an inch of his face. She was holding something in the palm of her hand.
“There.” she cried triumphantly. “What do you think of it?”
Nicholas, who had just thrown up his hands in a protective stance, stopped flinching and looked down to the small object that lay a few inches in front of him.
It was round, a rough ball in shape, and about four or five centimetres long. There was a dark and speckled blue tint to it’s colour. He looked at it, puzzled, for over half a minute before he looked up at Yuffie’s beaming face.
“Well?” he asked. “What is it?”
She looked at him crossly. “I thought someone smart like you would be able to figure it out.”
“Unfortunately not.”
“Gawd, you’re so slow!” said Yuffie, jubilant that she’d been able to confuse Nicholas. “It’s a Leviathan egg!”
Nicholas could not suppress a laugh. He chuckled for a good half a second before he saw the look in Yuffie’s eyes.
“You cannot be serious, Yuffie. A Leviathan egg?”
“Of course I’m serious.” she pouted. “My father gave it to me. It’s the Guardian of Wutai.”
“But Yuffie, it is common knowledge that, although Leviathan did perhaps once inhabit the Planet, they were a pre-historic species of reptile. That any of them survived to this day is total nonsense.”
“Run a test then!” she cried. “Look inside the egg with one of your science gadgets! Then we’ll see who’s laughing. It’s a Leviathan egg, I tell ya!”
Nicholas sighed. “Yuffie... this is wasting valuable time-”
“Look.” said Yuffie excitedly. “Leviathan’s were around age and ages and ages ago, right? So couldn’t they have been there when Jenova first arrived on the scene? What if they hold some secrets as to how to defeat the Cancer?” She looked at him pleadingly. “Isn’t it just worth a shot, Nicholas? C’mon. Please?”
He sighed and took the egg from her.
“OK, Yuffie. I will test the egg.”
She jumped up high in the air. “Whoopeee!”
“And Yuffie?”
“Yeah?”
“Get out, you are starting to annoy me.”
“Okay. Anything you say. Just test the egg.”
“Hey!” called Anthony. “Hey Zanzer, come over here!”
An old man with thin white hair hobbled over.
“Yes, Nicholas?”
“Zanzer, have a look at this egg. Just do it, it’s a long story.”
“What am I to look for?”
Nicholas paused and laughed again. It still sounded impossible.
“I know this is crazy, but look for a Leviathan.”
Zanzer stood there for a minute. Then a deep, rumbling laugh emitted from his lips.
“A what? Are you having me on?”
-

Zanzer developed the film of the egg. He snorted. That young Nicholas kid was insane.
Everyone knew the only place you could see a Leviathan was in a Materia Summon. Apart from that, no one had ever seen one alive. They were thought to have died out aeons ago.
He printed the photographs from the laser scanner and pasted them out on to the supercomputer.
“Oh my God!” he cried as the picture came out on to the screen. “The kid was right!”
-

News about the Leviathan egg spread faster than the news that the mighty Tifa Lockheart had caught the Cancer. In two hours every single man, woman or child on Fort Condor had heard of the mythical creatures return. None, however, knew what it meant.
Cloud and General Hamilton held an emergency meeting of all the War Council where Nicholas presented his and Zanzer’s findings.
“Firstly, I would like to say a big thank you to Miss Yuffie.” began Nicholas. “If it had not been for her persistence, I would have dismissed the Leviathan and we would not be where we are now. As it stands, I believe we are on the threshold of a major discovery. What we have found may well be the key to solving the Jenova crisis.”
There was a resounding cheer and Yuffie blushed from head to toe. Cloud waited for everyone to quieten down before asking Nicholas to continue.
“Of course.” he replied. “So far, what we have found is limited as the Leviathan is yet to be born. However, what we can deduce is this: after taking tissue samples from Craig and implanting them in to the unborn Leviathan, we observed that the Cancer was completely eradicated. Completely. The cells in the Leviathan are one-hundred per-cent resistant to the Jenova Cancer.”
He had to stop there as Rude and Reno started to cheer. Cloud let out a sigh of relief and closed his tired eyed. After four months the nightmare was finally beginning to resolve.
“Wait!” cried Nicholas sharply. “There is something you must know.”
The atmosphere in the room turned immediately sober.
“The cells of the Leviathan were massively damaged as a result of fighting off the infection. This is because that only the white blood cells were immune to the cancer. This meant a large part of the Leviathan cell sample was killed off, and because of this we cannot make a vaccine from the Leviathan tissue alone.”
Cloud stood up. “But can you make a vaccine? What do you need?”
Nicholas looked uneasy. “In theory, yes. But in practice... it would be almost impossible for you to procure the cell samples that we need.”
“I don’t care what it is!” growled Barrett. “Tell me an’ I’ll get it for yer.”
“I’m with Barrett.” said Cloud. “I’m not about to let Tifa go.”
He shot a look at Reeve.
Nicholas nodded. “OK. But it will not be easy. The Leviathan came from an era where the cancer was rife and a natural immunity was needed for everyday survival. We need genes from two other creatures who were around when the Leviathan was. Or if not, then descendants of those species.
There are not any normal animals who were around at that period. Does anyone have any suggestions?”
Nanaki spoke up.
“Well, we’ve already got one creature.” he barked.
Everyone turned to face him.
“What are you talkin’ about?” asked Cid.
“Isn’t it obvious?” said Elena. “Nanaki means himself.”
“Oh, yeah!” said Rude. “I get it.”
“It certainly seems plausible.” said Anthony. “Red’s species must have been around for a long, long time.”
Nicholas nodded. “I agree. Well, we will run some tests and see if they turn out positive. But what about the third creature?”
There was an uneasy silence. Cid thumped the table in defeat.
“No idea.” he said.
“My head hurts.” cried Barrett.
“Haven’t a clue.” sad Reeve.
“I don’t think. It’s bad for me.” Reno said glumly.
“Beats me.” agreed Elena.
“And me.” chimed Rude.
“Well, I’ll give it some thought...”said Hamilton.
“I can’t think of one.” said Yuffie.
“What about Sephiroth? He doesn’t seem affected by it?” suggested Anthony.
“But the chances of getting him are effectively nil.” sighed Nicholas.
“I could ask Elder Hargo?” said Red. “But I don’t even his records go back that far.”
All eyes turned towards Cloud.
“I know.” he said
“Who?” said Cid immediately.
“She saved the Planet once, and now, she’ll save it again.” whispered Cloud. He paused before speaking in a louder, more vibrant tone. “It’s perfect. Aeris. The last Ancient.”

END OF BOOK ONE

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