Final Fantasy VII: Echoes from the Lifestream

OOC thread: Click

LIGHT

Spoiler

Half a year has passed since the Deepground incident and a year and a half since the remnants. Life for the former AVALANCHE members has been relatively quiet – Cloud, Tifa, Marlene, and Denzel all live together as a family, with Cloud running deliveries and Tifa managing the bar with Shelke’s help; Barret is still prospecting for alternative fuel sources; Yuffie and Vincent help the WRO when the need arises; Red XIII watches over Cosmo Canyon but also travels frequently; Cid and Shera are in the airship business; and Reeve runs the WRO while sometimes communicating with the others as Cait Sith. Life is good, and life is peaceful. Reports of monster attacks are far less frequent and Edge has been rebuilt.
The Shinra Company has publicly apologized and assumed responsibility for much of the world’s destruction and has spent the time assisting in rebuilding what was lost. Towns are coming back, roadways are repaired, and people are slowly and reluctantly accepting Shinra’s apology. The company is still under watch by the WRO despite this. Rufus has remained relatively under the radar, with his Turks rarely seen among the crowds of Edge. Some have said they’ve seen a Turk or two venture into old Midgar, but almost all of these reports came in at night and are unconfirmed.

ECHOES

Spoiler

But suddenly, out of nowhere, the peace shatters. Somehow a rumor is leaked from Shinra HQ that a new danger is on the rise – mysterious monsters are appearing several miles away from Midgar and Edge, reportedly near impossible for the average man to kill and horrifying just to look at. Shinra releases no information on this. On one of Cloud’s late-night returns home, he encounters some of these monsters only to discover they are disturbingly human-like, and once killed they seemed to dissipate into fragments of the Lifestream. The next morning he and Tifa go to Aerith’s church to see if they can find answers. To their surprise, Zack and Aerith are already waiting for them. They explain that there was recently a massive disruption to the Lifestream, one caused by someone still living. Zack tells Cloud and Tifa that the living being is none other than a legendary SOLDIER named Genesis. He says that in an attempt to bring back the former glory of SOLDIER, Genesis wanted to revive his old comrades – Angeal and Sephiroth. While searching for them in the Lifestream to bring them back to the world of the living, he caused the spirits of the dead to flow back to the Planet.

BETRAYAL

Spoiler

Shinra is not innocent in this situation. Rufus and the Turks are knowledgeable of classified information about the whereabouts of Genesis and the influx of zombie-like monsters. Research has been going on for months, shortly after Deepground, mostly at night in Old Midgar. Unseen by the public, the Turks examined hundreds of classified files about the three legendary SOLDIERS and know almost all there is to know about them. Rufus has instructed his men not to reveal any details to anyone, for fear of widespread panic and intervention by the WRO. But this has caught up with him now, and people are getting hurt and killed by these monsters that are a result of Genesis. He has since reassigned the Turks to find and detain Genesis to prevent Sephiroth’s return because the combined power of the two would likely be more than enough to destroy the Planet.

REDEMPTION

Spoiler

The returning and restless spirits are what the new monsters are – the living dead, inhabiting new bodies. Zack says that he and Aerith will look for Angeal to combat the possibility of Sephiroth brought back while Cloud and the others fight off the new threat and search for Genesis, and that Shinra may be withholding information once again. Cloud and Tifa agree and inform their friends about this. Marlene, Denzel, and Shelke are sent to live with Shera while the others prepare for a new battle, one that they pray will be the last against ghosts from the past.

RULES
1. No godmodding/powerplay. Two strikes, you’re out.
2. Basic knowledge of the series is required, but details can be referenced from the Final Fantasy Wikia or another source.
3. Try to post at least three sentences per post with decent English.
4. If you use a post template, be considerate and make sure others can read it.
5. Content is limited to what is allowed on the forum; romance is PG-13, keep swearing in moderation.
6. Currently I have no plans for OCs, but if most of the primary characters are taken, I will add a form for it.
7. Two characters per person, again if we get a fair number of people OC forms will be allowed.
8. More rules may be added if necessary.


NOTES
1. The dead cannot cross over the Planet unless there is a living being in the Lifestream, i.e. Sephiroth, Zack, Angeal, and Aerith can appear as “visions†on land and speak to characters, but cannot physically touch or harm any living person.
2. The dead are not “godsâ€, meaning they can’t will something to happen and have it happen.
3. The Lifestream looks exactly like the Planet to the deceased and they can see the living, but to the living the Lifestream is white light.
4. The undead/Lifestream-infused monsters are much stronger and will take more than just an attack or two to defeat, but normal lower-power monsters still exist and are more common.
5. You can use Limit Breaks, but in moderation.
6. Put “ghosts of the past†in your first post.
7. Primary characters will be marked with a * - this means they are fairly vital to the story and would be best if taken first.

AVAILABLE CHARACTERS

The Good
*Cloud Strife - Fayt-Harkwind
*Tifa Lockhart - DPWolf
*Barret Wallace - Bushy-Brow-1992
*Vincent Valentine - AwkwardFailure
*Red XIII - DPWolf
*Yuffie Kisaragi - Aqua101
*Cid Highwind -
Cait Sith/Reeve -

The Questionable
*Rufus Shinra - TwilightBlader
Reno - Cat<3Sora
Rude -
Elena -
Tseng -

The Neutral
Marlene - kingdomhearts530
Denzel - kingdomhearts530
Shera –
Shelke - Aerith G.

The Dead
*Zack Fair - AwkwardFailure
*Aerith Gainsborough - Aerith G.
*Angeal Hewley – Cat<3Sora
*Sephiroth - TwilightBlader

The Unknown
*Genesis - Guardian_Soul

 

Barret Wallace waited for the dialling tone to end and go onto voicemail, just like it always did when he tried to call this guy.
"Yo Spikey!
Why can'tchoo jus' pick up the phone for once man?!
I'm getting close so you tell Tifa to get things ready and let Marlene know I'll see her soon, kay!
You let her know! Awight?!" he hung up and pocketed his phone.
He sighed to himself and smirked as he continued on his way to 7th Heaven.
That Cloud ain' ever gonna change..

 

Tifa looked up from her position at the sink behind the bar. She's closed early today, knowing they were likely going to be gone for a while. Sighing - and noticing how eerily quiet it was without the kids around - she shouted upstairs, "Cloud! Your phone was ringing, come and check who it was," before turning back to the sink and drying her hands.

 

Turning away from his desk, Cloud headed from his room to the bar below where his phone and Tifa where. He picked up his phone and flipped it open seeing his messages listed. Pressing the select button and putting it to his ear he heard Barret's message. Once it concluded he closed his phone and put it away in his pocket.
"Barret's almost here", he told Tifa as he leaned against the bar.

 

Angeal looked out to his home. He always felt like he had a strong connection to Banora Village. As he saw the children playing around the tree of Banora White apples, he recalled his childhood with Genesis.
How things have gone this far south is beyond me...
He looked up at the sky, as if he was waiting for something, or someone, to fly by.
"Genesis... what ever happened to you... to us...?"

Man, this is really getting to be a drag.
Reno looked out the window at Midgar thinking of all the things he could be doing right now.
I hate just sitting around in some dusty old apartment. I wanna get out and have some fun...
He knew Rude and Mr. Shinra had heard of some of his late night "outings" but he wasn't afraid to take the risk.
He sighed and smiled.
"Man, nobody's gonna be happy about this..."
He slipped out into an alleyway to get some fresh air. Being in an abandoned place on the edge of town could get a bit... dull, after a while.

 

Tifa nodded. "Alright," she said, moving around to the front of the bar where Cloud was. She stood next to him, then nudged him playfully, saying, "You know, now that you answer your phone, the next step is keeping it with you."
She grew more serious though, thinking of the kids and Shelke. "Hey Cloud...do you think the kids will be okay? I know they're with Shera, but I can't help but worry..."

 

"They'll be fine. If anything happens I have my phone with me", Cloud replied. He knew that they would be safe with Shera for the time being, as long as any threats didn't get larger they wouldn't have to worry about the kids or anyone else.
Patting his leg where his pocket was he made certain he put his phone there. He couldn't afford to lose it at a time like this.

 

"Angeal, Sephiroth, and Genesis" Rufus Shinra quietly said as he stared down at the three folders in his hand. "Three of the greatest SOLDIERS, all subjects of the Jenova project. Angeal was said to have been killed, Genesis was said to have vanished, and Sephiroth..." Rufus said stopping mid sentence as he let out a chuckle, recalling all that Sephiroth has done to the world. Tossing the folders onto a near by table, Rufus took a seat on a nearby chair and stared out of the window "if measures are not taken then there will be yet another tragedy" Rufus said

 

Shelke sat on the couch in Cid and Shera's house while Marlene and Denzel were somewhere else in the house. She hoped everything was going alright with Cloud and the others. With a sigh, Shelke laid down on the couch and looked up at the ceiling.

~

Aerith sat in the flower field of the Lifestream. Ever since she died, it had been become her favorite spot. She wasn't worried for Cloud, Tifa and the others, she knew they would be alright and save the world, but looking for Angeal and trying to stop Sephiroth once more is what worried her. She sighed and looked around, wondering if Zack would come and visit her.

 

Barret walked up to the door of 7th Heaven and knocked a few times. Although... he needn't have as a few seconds later he just walked right in anyway.
"Guess who's back!
I told ya'll I was close." he announced, seeing Tifa and Cloud at the bar.

 

Zack casually walked along, swinging his arms back and forth. He thought about Cloud, Tifa, and all the other back on The Planet, but he knew they would come through in the end, he had no doubt about that. He had his doubts about other things though, but it was no time to worry about that now. He saw Aerith and sped up his pace just the slightest, waving and walking right next to Aerith, turning to the direction she was facing and sitting down next to her.

 

Aerith looked at Zack and smiled, "Hey, there." She started to pick some flowers and began to wove them together, making a garland of flowers. "Zack, do you think we can find Angeal? I mean, you used to know him, right?" Her voice expressed the worry she had.

 

Zack looked down at the flowers, "Angeal's hometown is Banora Village, so you figure he would visit there at some point, right?" his voice sounded the slightest of unsure, but he looked up at Aerith with a slight look of determination on his face, "I think we can find him."

 

Aerith smiled and nodded. "Right, I'm sure we will. And Cloud and the others will take care of things on the Planets." She looked out and smiled, trusting in Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and the others. Laying the garland down on her lap, Aerith smiled and looked at Zack.

 

Angeal thought of all the good times he and the other firsts had before Genesis went rogue. Those had been some his favorite times, next to his childhood here in the village.
Well, i've been here for quite a while. There are plenty of other places I could go to, and with all the monsters popping up around Midgar...
He thought about all the craziness in Midgar... after he began to believe that he was a monster, it seemed like there was no hope for him. He even believed that he was doomed to die a dishonorable death. Luckily that hadn't happened. He looked up again and willed out his wing.
"Hmph. I wonder what you've been up to, Zack..."
He began to fly upwards until he could see the whole village. He smiled, remembering what Zack had said about wings. He flew out to find him, hoping he would be back in Midgar.

"Ah, this is the life. I just wish I could live it more often..."
Reno looked around the alley. Nobody was near. This was an abandoned part of town. All the turks had been split up and given a single phone each to contact one another if any information on the strange beasts or Genesis' whereabouts should arise. He breathed in and looked at the phone he had in his hand.
Well, I could always go digging for information in a bar... Hell, maybe even THAT bar. It'd be a good excuse to get out of here.
He thought about what everyone else would say, or do, if they found out. That bar wasn't exactly in an inconspicuous location, and what's more, HE would probably shut the door on him.
Ah, well... it's not like my suit is attached to my body. Maybe I can just...
He went back inside to take off his jacket and change his pants. He did so quickly, if he knew Cloud, there wasn't a moment to waste.

 

Zack nodded, "We have our job to do, and they have their job. We're counting on each other, right?" he smiled, looking upward I wonder what Angeals been up to. he thought, Yeah. He'd definitely go to Banora Village at one point, or he's already been there. He had a quick flashback of when he first met Gillian in Angeals home, That feels like so long ago. So much has changed since. he thought, looking at Aerith and smiling, just happy to be with her. "I think that I should go off and find Angeal. After all, even if Angeal isn't in Banora Village I could always find some kind of hint of his whereabouts."

 

Tifa looked towards the door when she heard the knock, and greeted Barret as he entered. "Are you two ready to go? The others are already in Midgar, so we should probably look around Edge's borders with the wasteland," she said.

----

"Vincent, Yuffie, over here," Red XIII said, nose twitching slightly from the dust in the air. "Even though Deepground is gone, we would do well to stick together."
He padded over to the other two, tail flickering in the early afternoon light. He didn't sense any immediate danger, but the ruined city still made him feel uneasy.

 

"Why don't you hold up?" Yuffie climbed over some fallen boulders. She looked around to see if there was anything wrong. "Vincent, what do you think it is we're looking for exactly?"

 

Vincent exhaled deeply, moving up a little bit behind Red XIII. He looked around at the ruined city, and although it was tragic, it was to be accepted, because there was no way to change the past. He looked around, expecting anybody or anything to pop out at any given moment, but until that happened he could just simply keep his guard up. "I believe we're just surveying the area, looking any danger." he said, "Although it may be safer to stick together we could cover more area in less time if we split up." he added to Red XIII, continuing to walk onward.

 

"Ya know it.
Guess AVALANCE jus' never goes outta business." Barret said while flexing his Machine arm.
"Hope tha' over sized butter-knife o' yours is as sharp as ever Spikey." he jested at Cloud for old times sake.