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TREE OF LIFE

By EVA_beatrice

© May 2023.

I. KETH'AAR

AS A FIRST CLASS SOLDIER, Sephiroth was the shining beacon of the army and sent on many missions within Gaia, and using the sword Masamune managed to have his name and feats spoken of throughout the entire world.

In the name of his mother Jenova he took down enemies and completed missions with ease, and along the way paved a path of success with the rapier of Genesis and the Buster Sword of Angeal following close behind; even as the group of three became two and finally one, Sephiroth always stayed triumphant and undefeated, an impeccable diamond amongst the rust from the very start.

So why has Cloud Strife of all people been able to get the best of him?

The blond is a faceless amateur barely able to even keep up in a low position filled with grunts and the talentless, and yet he dared and succeeded in throwing him into the pits of Mako, even after he was impaled on his ōdachi, even when Zack was unable to land a fatal blow, even as Nibelheim burned to the ground…

Most of all, he has tainted the cells of Sephiroth’s precious mother.

If it wasn’t for Cloud Strife, all of Jenova would be with Sephiroth, and if it wasn’t for Cloud Strife, he would’ve succeeded in becoming one with Jenova, and if it wasn’t for Cloud Strife, he’d make from the mana of the planet a catalyst for him to rule over with his creator by his side.

Corrupting the beauty of Sephiroth’s precious Jenova—mother—and less worthy than bronze, Cloud Strife has poisoned gold with poor mercury.

He is a puppet trying to become a real boy.

That is why as almost all of his blade pierces straight down into Aerith’s chest as she finishes praying in the attempt to summon Holy and stop the Meteor, Sephiroth makes sure to look—smile, grin, laugh—right in his direction, for if he wishes to continue to be a puppet in desperation to gain emotions, Sephiroth will just have to keep burning and goring anything that he tries to keep dear to his wooden false heart and remind him of his true place.

Only Sephiroth has the right to be a king amongst the jesters, and in turn, only he will be allowed to answer and hear the divine whispers of the spiritual world.

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II. CHOCC'MAH

When Nanaki was younger, every full moon his grandfather would take him to the pinpoint of the highest canyon on their tribal lands to look at the night sky, and before midnight would point out the star that would always shine the brightest and closest to the moon.

“If you wish upon the Evening Star, you can find what you seek the most in the deepest fragments of your heart,” Bugenhagen often told him, “and if you listen close enough, you can just lightly hear the Planet’s voices as they beg for the sun to make its promise to rise once more.”

Bugenhagen had always spoken like that, giving him metaphors in every word and lessons in every sentence, much like the other members of the tribe even if Bugenhagen was human while Nanaki and his long deceased blood kin were red-coated felines that danced and bled with flames, but as Nanaki got older his grandfather became more secluded inside the observatory to eye the lands outside their dwellings, watching for any approaching attack from thieves and scavengers.

Most of all, that of the rival Gi tribe, whose attacks led to the death of many, like Nanaki’s mother.

The Gi had also taken down Nanaki’s father, leaving him a petrified state of stone that Nanaki never knew for years, instead believing his father abandoned him and his mother until his grandfather took him to the cave that his father defended to the very end even as poisoned arrows were reeled and launched into his mane, fur, limbs, and eventually his tail to extinguish his fire.

His father was courageous even as his blood splattered and the rage of hundreds came upon him, and it is that bravery that inspired Nanaki to join a quest around the planet with his saviors that spared him from being Red XIII for Doctor Hojo’s experiments, and then later on he is inspired by the words of his grandfather when he rejoins the party several months later to stop the destruction of Gaia.

“If you have any mission in life, it is not to defend this valley…look at the withering mountain grass, listen to the warbles of the newborn chocobos, and look always to the eternal time which is far greater than the human life, for it will teach you more than staying here in the valley, and what you will see eventually shall become part of the Lifestream—for my children and your children, please, Nanaki, go with Cloud, and with your eyes and ears...”

Right before he succumbed to his illness that he gained traveling to the Forgotten City, his grandfather had given him the Limited Moon relic that was once owned by Nanaki’s father Seto, and in his final breathes wished for Nanaki to explore the world to the best of his capabilities.

So, after the Planet is saved and the members either go their separate ways or in some cases stick together, Nanaki did just that, sometimes visiting Cid, Vincent, and Yuffie but most of the time moved alone as he traveled through green forests and thick, salty rivers hours and days away from the Valley of the Fallen Star that was once the only place he had ever known, the ecosystems colorful and pure compared to the empty, red-stained tubes and facilities that Shinra kept him in for months as they took his blood and measured his abilities and orchestrated his movements.

Centuries later, when he reunited with Deneh, Nanaki made sure that every full moon and the morning after he showed their cubs what Gaia has to offer beyond their settlements, and told them what could come true if one were to wish upon an Evening Star.

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III. BINAH

For years, almost every sector and region of Midgar knew only poverty, their complaints and cries of their already struggling neighborhoods being demolished or infested with chemical poisons ignored in order for a new materia power plant or shopping mall by Shinra Inc. to rise.

No matter how many towns and commoners ended up being exploited until they were bare and with nothing to give to either outsiders or themselves, Shinra continued to expand their company’s campuses and divisions, and in fact, for each cry and protest demanded more of villages where they implemented constructions to gain resources from the Lifestream.

Eventually, there were fewer and fewer vast and juicy lands to bear fruit of the substances that granted the people of Gaia their spells and incantations, and with the rise of Avalanche, decisions from higher-ups and President Shinra started to focus on the idea of destructing sectors from their barely hanging roots and reforming them to be more mako-oriented.

The Head of Shinra’s Urban Development, Reeve Tuesti, would always try to be a voice of reason and warn his colleagues and the president of the possible consequences if they went as far as damaging the innards of the planet and decreasing the population, as well as how blaming rebellious causes against the company could possibly only lead to more backlash and calls for their projects to be stopped and seen as a punishable crime.

In response, President Shinra would always dismiss him, Scarlet would always mock him, and Heidegger would always reprimand him.

✦

✦  †  ✦

✦

At the Golden Saucer, if one were to look close enough one would see a happy, smiling, and giggling cat on top of a giant moogle, and if one were to listen for just a few seconds, one would be able to hear a prediction for one’s future.

He might not always be correct on his comments on what next is awaiting his customers but the cat always manages to get at least a few visitors to come back every time they visit the amusement park, most noticeably curious children dragging along their parents or desperate civilians wondering if they’ll be able to move to a better sector.

For special clients, if enough GP is exchanged with or for Gil, one day one might be able to obtain a lifetime ticket, so one can always come for free to play around the rides and get readings of what will become of one and those around one.

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✦  †  ✦

✦

As a high-level worker for an entire development within Shinra, Reeve Tuesti’s words receive criticism and shutdowns.

As a mere robotic device known as Cait Saith, however, his words can inspire the most curious youth or the readiest sword-wielder. 

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IV. DA'AT

Project Jenova, Experiment #14; Final Notes: Subject Jenova has been in Shinra’s hands for three months now, and Professor Gast and I’s initial theories of the subject being a Cetra hidden within the North Crater seems at least 98% accurate at this time.

Jenova Project S, Experiment #9; Final Notes: Subject Lucrecia’s labor has been successful, and “Jenova Project S” has so far reached milestones and predictions at a faster rate than Dr. Hollander’s “Jenova Project G”, the only dissatisfaction being the sex of the fetus, as a first-generation female embryo would’ve had a higher chance in producing further offspring to give Jenova cells.

Jenova Project S, Experiment #17; Final Notes: Subject Sephiroth, born XX/XX/1980, has shown above-average skills in writing and reading for the age range of seven, and his lack of questioning of his paternal ancestry compared to other subjects and acceptance that his maternal ancestry is “Jenova” further leads to my conclusion that Subject Lucrecia’s disappearance is a benefit that will prevent any setbacks to Subject Sephiroth’s evolution.

Jenova Project S, Experiment #32; Final Notes: Subject Vincent has had positive reactions to tests involving body metamorphosis, strength endurance, and comatose resurrections, with mentions of the words “Dr. Lurcrecia Crescent”, “love”, “missing”, and “son” causing the most of what little emotional and mental reactions Subject Vincent exhibits, although much to my chagrin as a result his behavior often turns antagonistic and enraged towards me.

Project Cetra: I&A, Experiment #44; Final Notes: Subject Ifalna is officially deceased and Subject Aerith’s whereabouts are unknown, possibly leading to the end of the Centra race, the fault of Dr. Gast’s idiocy in pursuing a relationship with Ifalna and with it putting ideas of humanity into the pureblood Centra’s mind, though if Subject Aerith is found perhaps my colleague’s choice to create an offspring with Subject Ifalna will yield more results than the current experiments I’m conducting with Subject Ifalna’s corpse.

Jenova Project S, Experiment #70; Final Notes: Subject Sephiroth has defected SOLDIER—and therefore Shinra Inc.—burned down Subject Town Nibelheim and its residences, and is suspected of being behind the missing or confirmed dead status of multiple SOLDIER members, and while the casualties and damage to the land and its citizens do show proof of strength formed by Jenova cells, it is disappointing that it took 22 years for Subject Sephiroth to discover his true origin despite his high rankings in intelligence and successful missions, and furthermore that Subjects Zack and Cloud gave such disappointing results when given Jenova cells.

Jenova Project SC, Experiment #10; Final Notes: Subject Sofia’s status became deceased following an experiment on flame endurance, and Subject Einni’s convulsing and body deterioration has continued, but she is still alive; it seems right to conclude that putting too many Jenova cells in humans already born that haven’t reached adulthood is dangerous even if the Subjects are female, and that implanting them during conception is the method that ensures the highest survival rates as long as origins of conception are not revealed or found out.

Jenova Project RXIII-Cetra, Experiment #1; Section 3: Subjects RED XIII and the half-Cetra have unfortunately been freed before at least even production of a possible offspring could be conducted and examined, which is quite a shame considering the longevity in life years a Cetra descent with both appropriate parents and the modern science of 007 could’ve given, and that once again Subject Aerith has left my grasp without being utilized.

Jenova Project SC, Experiment #149; Final Notes: Former Subject Cloud apparently is not as much of a failure and let down as initially thought, and if he survives another interaction with Subject Sephiroth might need to be captured for individual research, or furthermore captured with Subject Aerith for an experiment of when Cetra blood is mixed with a mako-poisoned human fused with Jenova.

Jenova Project SC, Experiment #150; Final Notes: Subject Sephiroth has proceeded with the Meteor, and Shinra Inc. is on its last hinges trying to defeat it considering President Shinra Jr.’s likely deceased; I am certain that should this subject be successful the blossoming results of my research will be magnificent and in books and programs for years to come, and thus I have injected Jenova’s cells into me to increase the probability of Sister Ray’s cannon being launched into the North Crater, and therefore give Subject Sephiroth further mako energy to execute his plans.

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V. CHESED

Ever since she was a young child, Aerith has been able to speak to the spirits that form and protect Gaia, and when she was still within Shinra’s science labs she would draw images of the promised land where flowers always bloomed and the air was pure and lacking any residue smell of waste and chemicals.

Although she lost the ability to control most of her Centra abilities as she got older, she never lost the power that enabled her to hear the cries of the world’s spirits that begged for its people to cease their overexertion of natural minerals, and to listen to the tears of the essential beings as materia was extracted from the roots until nothing was left, and as the last standing person with Centra ancestry, although a half-blood Aerith had done all she could to pray within the forgotten temple in the forgotten city to summon Holy so that salvation could come and the promised land could still be a dream that Gaia’s people could achieve.

By the time the last word of the sanctuary prayer left her lips her heart had been torn apart from mighty mako-infused steel, and after bemoans of her murder Cloud and the others had sent her away into the water in a land long abandoned at the very least with Holy being successfully commanded, flowers nearby in her demise.

Now, she travels as an angel of the lifestream, giving closure to those still stuck in limbo.

She first helps the grieving souls of Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge, ensuring them that their efforts in Avalanche to make a better life for Sector 7 weren’t pointless, and then Barret’s best friend Dyne, letting him know that Marlene will spend the rest of her years protected and smiling, Aerith waving to him as he reunites with his wife in the afterlife with the promise of being reunited with his daughter one day.

Good conclusions for good people—of course, not everyone who wishes they were still alive did respectful things for life, and she realizes that when she meets President Shinra who only brags about the accomplishments he obtained as CEO of his company and mocks her in contrast impoverished upbringing in the slums of Sector 5 even as he’s dragged away to obscurity, and Doctor Hojo who cares more about his experiments and her father’s more empathetic side to Jenova and test subjects—the world—than Doctor Hojo does his own death; a shame that both men never let go of the very things that led to their downfall and demise even as they became one with the essence.

To her total shock, she sees Zack—poor sweet Zack who convinced her to start selling flowers and gifted her the pretty pink ribbon she always is wearing—as a man no longer living, the black-haired former SOLDIER aiding her as she restores Tifa and Cloud back to prosperity to defeat Sephiroth, a bittersweet reunion and farewell where at the very least Aerith could part ways with Zack knowing he’ll be safe in the lifestream and with Cloud knowing that she got to meet the real, genuine him.

One by one, the passage to nirvana is granted to all, and for a great finale the spirits of men, women, children, and animals alike join together as one with her to stop the Meteor, a last act succeeded gracefully and elegantly.

After years of being ignored in its cries for preservation, Gaia is now saved.

Smiling at Cloud and the rest of the party, Aerith disperses into the lifestream with a fulfilled heart and soul.

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VI. GEVURAH

Tall like a tree and strong as a bear, Barret was the shield of his people and their voice of reason, his home a wall against any thief or greedy company looking to turn Corel from a small mining village to a wastebin exploited by the elite.

He spent his days working in the caves and helping neighbors with constructing sheds for their farm animals and playgrounds for the children, his afternoons eating with his colleagues and his nights taking care of his sick wife Myrna before playing a game of poker with Dyne and the rest of his buddies.

The town was small and not the richest, but it made up for it with the heart and hospitality of its citizens, and no matter what happened everyone stuck together, Barret at the front and center in case anything went wrong.

Then, she came to Corel.

Blonde with a red slit-open dress, breath of sweet cigar and letting out words of even more sugary honey—tempted with the idea of proper medicine to cure dear Myrna, Barret let down his guard against that woman and allowed Shinra Inc. to place several buildings and workers into the town, and before long, the mako reactor installed poisoned the lands’ corps and weakened the health of multiple men and women, including his already bedridden wife.

When the people started living in fear, Barret could take it no more and aided Avalanche in their rebellious attack against Shinra, believing it to be the way to bring everything back to how it was.

In response, she burned it all to the ground and dealt away with Barret and Dyne’s hands when they stood against her through it all.

In the ashes, none survived except Dyne’s little Marlene, and taking the girl as if she were his own, Barret traveled around towns until arriving in Midgar, working his way up from living on the streets to working for Seventh Heaven and eventually owning it and with a separate new division of Avalanche in Sector 7, and everything soon afterwards become almost steady for once—but then Sector 7 too fell.

He failed his hometown, and he failed Sector 7; he will not fail the rest of the world.

Cloud, Aerith, Tifa, Yuffie, Vincent, Cid, and even the damn cat—he may not see eye to eye with all of them sans mostly Tifa but, for a better life for everyone, for the commoners of the remaining Sectors, for Marlene, he’ll make sure this time to lead headstrong with no mistakes, and she will perish in the next fire she creates in her tyranny, or else he won’t deserve the allowance to have Myrna’s and Dyne’s names mentioned on his tombstone years from now.

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VII. TIFERET

In all honesty, Tifa is not the most extravagant person, and she’s more likely to blush if someone were to call her cute or pretty than quickly say thank you and continue the conversation.

She can often be more critical of herself than is granted and if under enough stress have self-esteem low to the floor, sitting in silence at the peak of the night wishing upon a star, and trying her best not to break down crying over her parents or the suffering of Midgar’s less fortunate, unable to speak the words she wishes so much to tell those she loves.

In the art of fighting, however, things are different.

With her fists, she will showcase the strength of prevalence, her kicks performed in the swiftness of a defense and offense, her eyes an eagle amidst the toxic air of Midgar’s slums and the tricky scenery of the other areas of Gaia filled with creatures and materia created divinations turned curses.

Under the training of Zangan, she has implemented the beauty of martial arts and protecting those close to one’s heart, a speeding bulldozer out to be the heavy hitter against the mightiest boars and roughest summons, whether she is protecting the youngest of the gang such as Marlene and Yuffie or throwing jabs and blocks alongside Barret.

A porcelain doll made of stone, a stone-built woman with looks as captivating as porcelain.

There are days when the battles get so dangerous and bloody Tifa’s afraid she’ll tumble and meet her end, and there are days when she’ll defeat the enemy so easily she has to be wary to make sure there’s no final and hidden trump card about to explode in her face by a materia trickster.

One day, everything becomes so cathartic and lethal that it ends with Cloud comatose, and like a corrupted motion picture, everything stops and turns into disarray.

Soon, to avenge his fall she’ll possibly have to put her very own life on the line—just as she did against Scarlet after escaping the gas chambers where she almost faced a public execution in Shinra’s new headquarters, just as she did when Sector 7 was approaching being detonated, just as she did when she charged forward in the attempt to stab Sephiroth with his own sword after she found her father impaled on it at the Nibel Reactor, just as she did when she had to stand tall and brave after the death of her mother—and this time might not come back.

Today, however, she continues to sit by the side of Cloud, waiting for the day he recovers and she returns to her role as a mighty warrior with an iron first.

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VIII. NETZACH

ONCE UPON A TIME, THERE WAS A SIMPLE MAN WHO LIVED ONLY TO GIVE AN ANSWER TO THE COMMANDS OF HIS LEADERS, MUCH LIKE HIS FATHER BEFORE HIM, AND HIS FATHER’S FATHER BEFORE HIM; HE HAD BEEN BORN AND RAISED FOR SUCH A THING, AND NO MATTER HOW MUNDANE IT BECAME HE WENT ALONG WITH IT WITHOUT CONTEMPT OR YEARNING.

ONE DAY, HOWEVER, HE STUMBLED UPON A WOMAN WHO FLOURISHED AT THE PEAK OF THE MOON, WHO KNEW OF THE MAGICS THE PLANETS COULD GRANT, AND ALTHOUGH INITIALLY HESITANT BETWEEN THEM BECAME A BOND THAT COULD’VE, ALMOST, SHOULD’VE BECOME LOVE.

HOWEVER, IT WAS NOT MEANT TO BE—SHE KNEW TOO MUCH OF HIM, AND HE OF HER, AND SHE BECAME THE WIFE OF ANOTHER, THE MOTHER OF ANOTHER, WHICH HE HAD ACCEPTED ALBEIT WITH A STRAINED HEART.

HE COULD NOT, HOWEVER, ACCEPT THE ACT OF A BABY BEING TURNED INTO A CATALYST FOR EVIL.

SO, IN DESPERATION HE HEADED FOR THE TALL TOWER, BEGGING AMONGST THE PEOPLE FOR A BETTER HEART, A BETTER PATH, AND EVENTUALLY CAME FACE TO FACE WITH THE MAN THAT HAD TAKEN ALMOST EVERYTHING FROM HIM, AND BEGGED, “DO HEAR ME, SPARE THOU SON SEPHIROTH BORN, LEAST HE AND OTHERS GROW DOWNWARDS UPON BRANCHES OF A FATHER’S AND THE PEOPLE’S SIN, THOU WIFE ALREADY ACCURSED TO AILMENT!”

ON HIS KNEES HE HAD PLEADED, AND ON HIS KNEES HE HAD BEEN STRICKEN.

THE SIMPLE MAN HAD THOUGHT HE’D END UP DISPERSED WITHOUT HIS GOALS COMPLETED AND ATTEMPTED TO PREPARE HIMSELF TO MEET HIS FINAL MOMENTS IN REGRET AND PAIN, ONLY TO FIND THAT HE LIVED AS MUCH AS HE WAS DECEASED, AND WHEN THE MAN THAT HAD TAKEN ALMOST EVERYTHING FROM HIM NOTICED TOO, HE CONTRIVED TO SEE IF HE COULD TAKE THE FINAL THING HE HAD NOT STOLEN FROM THE SIMPLE MAN YET—THE STATE OF HIS HUMANITY.  

TEAR UPON TEAR, CUT ON CUT, SLASH UPON SLASH, SKIN BECAME MUSCLE BECAME BONE AND REPEATED AND STRENGTHENED, BUT NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES IN THE HIDDEN DEPTHS THE MAN THAT HAD TAKEN ALMOST EVERYTHING FROM HIM CONFIGURED AND PLAYED WITH THE TUNES OF THE SIMPLE MAN’S BODY THE SIMPLE MAN PREVAILED, AND OUT OF ANGER THE MAN THAT HAD TAKEN ALMOST EVERYTHING FROM HIM LEFT HIM ALONE TO ROT, WHERE THE SIMPLE MAN STAYED UNTIL THE FAIRY IFALMA WHO SMELT OF RED ROSES AND GOLDEN ORIENTAL LILLIES AND COULD HEAR AND SPEAK TO THE GOSSIPS OF THE WORLD'S SPIRITS ONE DAY HAPPENED UPON HIM.

“OH, POOR MAN, I SHALL ATTEMPT AS MUCH GRANTED TO HALT THE PAIN INFLICTED UPON THOU,” IFALMA HAD WHISPERED IN HIS EARS BEFORE PLACING WITHIN HIM PROMATERIA FOR THE DAY HE SHALL RISE AGAIN, BUT AFTER SHE DEPARTED BETWEEN HER WEEPS HE CHOSE TO ONLY ENTER A COFFIN WITHIN THE UNDERGROUNDS OF THE MANSION THE MAN THAT HAD TAKEN ALMOST EVERYTHING FROM HIM ONCE DWELLED IN, SHEDDING TEARS NO ONE WOULD WITNESS FOR YEARS AND YEARS.

IN THE COFFIN, THE SIMPLE MAN NEVER STILLED SANS MORE AND MORE MOANS OF ANGUISH FOR THAT WHICH WAS LOST, HIS ONLY COMPANION THE NIGHTMARES HE ACCEPTED FOR ATONEMENT FOR HIS SINS UNTIL THE DAY HIS REPRISE OF REPENTANCE WAS APPROACHED BY A BLOND KNIGHT WHO USHERED A SINGLE WORD— “SEPHIROTH”.

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IX. HOD

brought to life in the

burst of november, yuffie is

the gem of the wutai

she is shaped up on

the tales of her people who

fought amongst the gods

but by the time she

is of age, all the mystic

allure is gone, shinra in its place 

colonizers and 

thieves they loot her land of its

roots, culture, strength, men

the symbolic star

shuriken of the village grinded,

turned, cut, ruined, sold

tourists with no knowledge

they buy and buy until soon

relics and omens are vast

with the anger of 

all scorpios yuffie swipes herself

her mother’s old shuriken

becoming the thief

to end all thieves and in time

travels with others

victims turned allies

turned friends, they fight against the

cruel colonizers

so pebbles of her 

father’s land becomes stone for

thousand years once more

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X. YESOD

ROCKET TOWN NEWS, XXXX XX 19XX, LOCAL CHILD WINS ANNUAL SPACE MATERIA CONTEST: Eleven-year-old Cid Highwind has won first place in the annual Space Materia contest, with his artwork of a proposed rocket launcher that would also turn fuel into valuable resources, Highwind’s parents claiming that his love for the galaxy has been a part of him since the moment he was able to speak, his first word being “Rocket”.

ROCKET TOWN NEWS, XXXX XX 19XX, LOCAL YOUTH WINS SCHOLARSHIP WITH SHINRA SPACE PROGRAM: Local youth Cid Highwind who previously won the annual Space Materia contest has received a full-ride seat in the Shinra Space Program, his feats so good that while for most prodigies gifted into the program they’re in a group of dozen and have to still pay ¾ of the tuition, Cid Highwind was the only one of this year to win, and also only has to pay ¾ of the tuition for the first three years.

SHINRA NEWS, XXXX XX 19XX, THE RISE OF A STAR: Beginner Cid Highwind’s project Little Dipper may have ended up in fourth place in the competition but, according to recent polls, the new student within the Shinra Space Program has been catching the most eyes and favor amongst scientists, researchers, and pilots around Midgar.

SHINRA NEWS, XXXX XX 00X, UPCOMING SHINRA SPACE PROJECTS: “Cid Highwind’s Tiny Bronco and Highwind are very magnificent,” a representative for President Shinra said, “and with the proposed unique structures of planes and airships like that, it is very indeed possible that more ways to obtain materia within the atmosphere or beyond could be the norm.”

BREAKING NEWS, APRIL 11TH, 003, THE END OF A ERA: To the shock of many, Shinra No.26 has exploded in a malfunction; unfortunately, creator Cid Highwind and his assistant Shera did not wish to speak to any press, with the former threatening one news reporter that tried to follow him to his presumed residence.

SHINRA NEWS, XXXX XX 005, SHINRA NO.32 TO BE LAUNCHED—CAUTIONARY WARNING FOR VILLAGERS OF XXXX: Shinra No.32 will be launched in the outskirts of XXXX, and like the past few Shinra rockets have been placed in protective materia that will freeze the rocket in place should a malfunction occur to prevent another incident like the infamous April 003 explosion of Shinra No.26 by Cid Highwind.

ROCKET TOWN NEWS, XXXX XX 006, POTENTIAL DOCUMENTARY IDEA SCRAPPED: Last month, we proposed a possible documentary concerning local man Cid Highwind, the man who had it all but lost it with a simple mistake, but Shinra Inc. refused to participate and Highwind first refused to open the door and then barricaded his home to prevent strangers from easily entering, his assistant Shera then sent by Highwind to warn news reporters that "next time there’ll be bigger consequences" for bothering him again.

ROCKET TOWN NEWS, XXXX XX 007, A POSSIBLE CHANGE OF HEART OF THE FORMER BOY WONDER: “There’s no way in hell I’m ever speaking any more than a few words to you dolts, but if some kid decides they somehow want to see my blueprints I guess I won’t hesitate if they want a scrap or two of my older works to help them for a little school project,” Cid Highwind briefly said to one news reporter before slamming the door in her face, a rude but expected action to come from the former Shinra Space Program intern.

SHINRA NEWS, DECEMBER XX 007, WANTED FUGITIVES: …The airship the fugitives who escaped their executions used has been reported to have a design similar to airships created by the failed prodigy Cid Highwind, who has likely become an enemy of the state in retaliation for his own fault in failing to succeed in his long-since died career and goals as a rocket launcher, and thus we advise citizens to call XXX-XXXX-XXXX if they have any leads to the whereabouts of the following people and their suspected accomplices…

BREAKING NEWS, JANUARY XX 008: The world of Gaia is saved by a group of several people including a former SOLDIER, two Avalanche members who escaped execution, and the Wutai Village’s princess; a rocket ship similar in appearance to the infamous Shinra No. 26 was said by witnesses to be seen flying above some of the aftermaths of the prevented Meteor Disaster, and a man similar in build to Cid Highwind within it was reportedly waving happily to the witnesses below.

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XI. MAALKAD

Cloud Strife had always found his small neighborhood Niblheim to be a boring little place in the middle of nowhere, one of the worst places to end up stuck in if you wanted to make a real name out of yourself unless you chose to try to join SOLDIER.

Most of his childhood was spent watching other kids play but not being brave or feeling cool enough to join them, talking to his mom before and after she cooked dinner, playing in his room or the backyard, repeating the actions over and over again, so mundane and consistent it was that he used to wish for a meteor or something big to just come down and rain on everything already so he could do something, something with his life.

When Tifa ended up in a coma because of him, he joined SOLDIER only to be amongst the lowest of the lowest ranks, and a few years later the village he once took for granted turned into ashes with little to no survivors—his mother amongst the dispersed casualties—he would regret his lack of appreciativeness of Niblheim's simplicity for years to come.

Covered in the cinders of his neighbors and traveling through the smoke as he carried the body of Zack through unknown terrain in his final moments, Cloud became Zack and Sephiroth and then none, a blank slate who confused whether he was a clone or himself, whether he was a mighty SOLDIER or a boy pretending in vain to be a hero, and faced multiple visions, dreams, and nightmares belonging to others entering his mind and tormenting his strained, wounded soul.

Had it not been for Tifa helping the repairment of his mind, as well as his meeting with the brutal but hidden heart of gold having Barret, the kind Aerith, the ambitious Cid, the glory-chasing Yuffie, and many more, he probably would’ve been stuck in that dark, lonely shadow, unable to hear himself think and even more at odds with how to move on when he’s stuck in an unclear past he wasn’t able to even confirm was truly his.

He also wouldn’t have come to a realization of the truth—the real truth.

He was not a clone, and he was not a failure; there was no kingdom of Jenova come, and as long as he was still standing the end of Gaia would not be done.

Sephiroth was a soul whose doom was orchestrated from the start by the hands of his father and is aiming to create a false world where he is a maker orchestrating the dooms of the innocent and weak.

That is why as Sephiroth is in his final, corrupted, monstrous form, ignoring all the wounds and pain and anguish on himself Cloud continues to strike at him with the Buster Sword, not letting himself be slowed down or distracted by the strength of Masamune and Sephiroth himself at his peak.

Cloud is not a diamond within the rust, nor a king amongst the jesters, and prior to 002 his time with SOLDIER and as a fighter weren’t anything to look twice at, but he will do his very best to end Sephiroth—for the promised land is one that should be granted to men regardless of their class and upbringing, and to ensure that, the one-winged angel must be stopped.

[FIN.]

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