Final Fantasy VII: The First Crisis

Chris looked to the pilot after buckling Xanatos in, then herself. "Can you take us there please?" Turning to look at Xanatos, she shook her head. "I couldn't just abandon you, Xanatos. I'm in SOLDIER because of you. I already achieved what I had gone to Midgar to do. Become a SOLDIER."
 
The pilot gave a quiet nod. He could tell that whatever Xanatos had come here to do had left him wounded and that they had no interest in returning to Midgar. "So much for no missions this time and no crazy flight schedules, huh?" He asked with a forced laugh before prepping the plane for take off. "We'll be in Cosmo Canyon in four hours." He said as the helicopter began it's ascent.

Xanatos looked over at Chris with a small smile. "Thank you, again." He said as he leaned back into his seat. Less than a month ago the girl had been a fresh recruit with zero combat expertise, now she was a steadfast warrior with a will of her own. She wasn't just another warrior now. She was an equal and a friend. Something Xanatos had almost forgotten the meaning of.
 
Chris sighed, nodding slightly. "Yeah.. I'm really sorry about doing this to you again so soon."

She had so many questions she wanted to ask Xanatos, but didn't dare. She would wait till they had reached Cosmo Canyon, and whoever it was that they were going there to meet up with.
 
Four hours passed without any form of problem. The helicopter began it's descent into the canyon just outside the path leading up to the astronomy tower. "We're here." The pilot said quietly. Xanatos stirred from his uneasy sleep when the pilot spoke.

"If anyone asks, we held you hostage." Xanatos said as he climbed from the helicopter. They were already going to be wanted criminals, there was no sense in getting the pilot in any undo trouble.

Xanatos began slowly limping his way towards the gate to Cosmo Canyon.

The pilot put his hand on Chris' shoulder. "I'll still be expecting ya at my boy's birthday party." He said with a friendly smile. "You take care of yourself." He wrote his cell number down on a pad of paper and gave it to her. "Call me if ever the two of you are in a jam. I can't do much but fly the chopper, but even that's got to count for something."
 
Chris followed Xanatos out of the helicopter, stopping when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning to the pilot, she nodded, taking the slip of paper from him. "Thank you. I'll definitely be there for your son's party." She reached for her bag, and headed off after Xanatos. "What did Hojo do to you, Xanatos?"
 
Xanatos walked towards the gate with his hand over his stomach. "Which time?" He asked as they walked. "Me and Elochai were just his play things." Xanatos spat at the ground as he walked. He gave a nod to the guard at the gate who allowed them to pass when he recognized Xanatos. "I'd have been able to recover from this bullet wound if the degradation hadn't progressed this far." He said as he moved over to where the large bonfire known as Cosmo Candle was located. He sat down on a log and released a sigh.

"If what Hojo says is true, than I'm Elochai's clone. Which is why my name is Elochai's last name spelled backwards." Xanatos closed his eyes. "But none of that matters now. All I care about is avenging Elochai's betrayal and setting straight the wrongs Hojo has committed."

"Oh ho ho..." The typical laughter of Bugenhagen came as the aged keeper of the observatory approached. "I see that you've brought a friend with you this time." Bugenhagen turned and offered a warm smile from under his beard to the young woman. "I am Bugenhagen. It's nice to meet you. Oh ho ho..."
 
Chris followed him, her eyes widening a bit as he told his story. "You don't look anything like Elochai though.. How can you be his clone?" She sat down next to him, digging into her bag for her sword, which still had the Cure Materia embedded in it. "Here.. This might help you some."

She glanced up when she heard laughter coming from the door of the observatory, smiling as Bugenhagen introduced himself. "Hello, sir. I'm Chris."
 
Xanatos accepted the cure materia and manifested it's magic to try to heal the bullet wound. A small sigh of relief came as the wound slowly sealed itself. "Thank you..." He said in a nearly inaudible whisper.

Bugenhagen gave another hearty laugh. "Of course you are!" He was clearly an eccentric man. " Welcome to Cosmo Canyon my dear." He said as he turned to face Xanatos. "I was worried you would show these same signs." He said as he reached out and touched Xanatos' graying bangs.

"I've been hearing his voice." Xanatos said after a moment of silence. "Maybe I'm losing my mind. Maybe the degradation is worse than I thought..." He trailed off as Bugenhagen tried to shush him.

"Oh ho ho... No... Elochai still speaks. He is one with the planet now and the planet speaks to anyone who has time to listen." Bugenhagen said aloud.
 
Chris watched Xanatos use the materia to heal the bullet wound, smiling at him.

Glancing between her friend and the old man, she listened to their conversation. "I heard his voice too. He told me that you had been in the mansion, Xanatos, right after I had arrived in Nibelheim."

"Back in Nibelheim, Hojo referred to me as 'the songbird'." She remembered the poem that she'd found while searching the office back in Midgar, wondering if she was an experiment too, just like Xanatos and Elochai had been. "The poem I found the other day... It's about us, isn't it?"
 
Xanatos looked over at her with concern. "That would make Elochai the Gestalt." Xanatos said with a quiet sigh. "So I am a copy..." He said in an almost saddened tone. That would be why he suffered memory flashes from a life that wasn't his own. He was seeing Elochai's life prior to coming to Shin-Ra.

"Oh ho ho..." Bugenhagen began before looking to them both. "Elochai was one of the Cetra." He said aloud. "If you are truly his clone than that means you also carry the blood of the ancients." Bugenhagen leaned in closely to the woman. "If you are also capable of hearing voices from the planet, than you too must be descendant of the Cetra." He examined her eyes for a moment. "Behind the gleam of Mako I can see the truth of your lineage."

Xanatos breathed heavily due to his exhaustion. "Can we discuss this once we're rested? I'm finding it difficult to carry my own weight." Xanatos knew his body was weakening due to degradation. If he was Elochai's clone than the degradation was in Elochai's blood and carried over when he was cloned. He was almost happy that Elochai was killed before he could truly suffer from the disease.
 
Chris glanced over at Xanatos, worry very clear on her face. "I'll help you get inside" She got up to help Xanatos, looking to Bugenhagen. "We can talk more about this once I get him to a bed."
 
Bugenhagen gave a nod in agreement. "Yes, yes of course." He pointed at the massive observatory at the top of the settlement. "I'll be in the observatory when you want to talk."

Xanatos accepted her help, shifting most of his weight onto her shoulders. He tried to minimize how much he was making her carry but he was extremely weak. It was getting to be demoralizing having to be carried around and rescued all the time. He had to find away to get rid of this degradation or else it was going to be a problem.
 
Chris nodded to the old man before helping Xanatos to the inn. Once her friend was resting in a bed, she laid down on the one next to his, turning over onto her side to face him. "Do you think he's right? About me being a Cetra?"
 
Xanatos groaned with pain as he laid down. "I don't know..." He answered. "I never paid much attention to legends and poems." He admitted as he looked up at the ceiling. "Bugenhagen is a wise man. He's never lied to me before, and I've never known him to be wrong." Xanatos closed his eyes and breathed slowly to try to ease some of his pain.
 
Chris sighed, turning over to stare at the ceiling. She still had a lot of questions to ask, but knew that Xanatos needed to rest and recover his strength. She hadn't even been aware that she was tired, and before she knew it, she was fast asleep.
 
Xanatos had awoken with the rising of the sun that morning. Though he was still in a great deal of pain it had lessened enough for him to capable of keeping it disguised. He left his soldier uniform neatly folded at the foot of the bed and was instead wearing one of the local tribal clothing patterns. In consisted of a pair of bracers, light fabric pants, and a skirt like drape that hung around his waist. A pair of well crafted sandles replaced his boots. He wore no shirt and his neck was decorated with the beaded necklaces that some of the people there provided. He still wore his SOLDIER belt, both for the protection it provided and because his gunblade was sheathed on it.

There was a enough fear of Shin-Ra in the world, he didn't need to frighten them further by walking around dressed as a SOLDIER 1st class operative. Xanatos was seated outside by the Cosmo Candle by himself. His eyes were closed as if in deep thought.
 
Chris had been awakened by the sound of Xanatos moving around the room as he got dressed in the local garb. She didn't open her eyes however, until after he had left. Sitting up, she stretched before getting out of bed. Grabbing her bag from where she'd left it by the door, she pulled out one of the outfits she'd purchased before leaving Midgar for her vacation.

Once she was dressed, she left the inn to go join Xanatos by the Cosmo Candle. "Did you sleep well, Xanatos?"
 
Xanatos' eyes didn't move from the flame as she approached. His body ached from head to toe, but he hid the pain well. He shook his head as he heard her voice. "No. Nightmares..." He closed his eyes in thought. "For as long as I can remember, I've allowed myself to follow the orders of others. Now that my life is my own... I have no clue what I'm supposed to do." He said with a sigh. "My body is falling apart before it's time. My friends are all dying around me... I'm not sure what's left..."
 
Chris sat down beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'm not sure what I am going to do now either. I'd wanted to get into SOLDIER so bad, I never gave any consideration to what else I could possibly do." She gave his shoulder a light squeeze, shaking her head. "Not all your friends are dying around you. I am still very much alive and healthy, Xanatos."
 
Xanatos looked up at her. His hand moving up to touch the hand that was resting on his shoulder. "I wish I had your confidence." He said quietly. He wasn't sure how long his body would be able to last, nor was he sure if a cure even existed. It was impossible for him to disguise his failing morale. He closed his eyes and exhaled an uneasy breath. It was getting painful to breath. Something had to be done and soon. He looked up at the Observatory. "I hope Bugenhagen has the answers I need."
 
Chris stared into the fire, moving her hands to rest in her lap. "We'll find a way to restore your body to its original strength, Xanatos. I don't know how yet, but there has to be a way."
 
Xanatos had never been afraid of anything before. He always had control and could always fight his way out of any predicament. But degradation wasn't a foe he could cut down with his blade. He was frightened by it. It was something he had no control over. He wanted to believe what Chris had said, but he was finding it difficult to have faith in her words. He gave a quite nod. He pushed himself to stand and turned to face the observatory. "Let's go see what Bugenhagen has to say."
 
Chris watched him a moment before standing up as well. "Alright. Do you need help getting to the observatory?" As much as she liked the feeling of being needed, she wanted him to get stronger, to be the man she knew him to be. Smiling weakly at him, she held her hand out to him.
 
It pained Xanatos to accept her aid. But it was getting to be painful to move. He accepted her aid in crossing the short distance to the observatory. Each step was reflected in a painful wince on his face. He knew it was only going to get worse. Between the degradation, and Hojo's misdeeds, he was beginning to understand Elochai's slip into insanity.

As the door to the observatory opened he could hear Bugenhagen's laughter from the top floor. He walked down from the top floor and gave a smile to both of them. "I've spent the night researching your problem, and I may have found a solution. The only problem is, that it involves a dangerous journey."
 
Chris held onto Xanatos as they headed into the observatory. "Hojo will not get away with the things he's done. I will make sure of it"

She glanced up when she heard the old man's laughter, watching him come down the observatory stairs. "I will do whatever is needed to see that Xanatos doesn't die from whatever is doing this to him."
 
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