The Terran Rangers/Final Fantasy VII, Heather Ray [desktop ebook reader txt] 📗

leaned against the railing, and looked out at the city in awe.

"It's amazing," he said quietly.

Vincent didn't respond. Instead, he pulled his hand out from under his cape, and held out a crystal armband, with six materia slots in it. Zack blinked, and looked at Vincent questioningly.

"This is the Crystal Bangle," he explained. "It is your armlet."

Zack's eyebrow rose. "How's that puny thing supposed to protect my whole body?"

Vincent couldn't resist a small smile of amusement. "That's the magic of its design. It basically constructs a sort of energy field around your skin, which increases the density of your skin to significantly limit battle damage. Also, it has some materia on it."

Zack accepted the bangle, and looked at the three shiny gems upon it. One was yellow, another purple, and the third green.

"What do they do?" he asked.

"The yellow is Deathblow, which empowers your weapon for a single mighty hit. You should put that one on the weapon you intend to use in battle. The purple is Enemy Away, which should decrease the percentage of monsters that try to attack you. And finally, the green is a magic materia Comet. If you feel in dire need, use it to attack all enemies with falling meteors created magically."

Zack frowned. "How do I know the Comets won't hit my allies."

"Such is the nature of materia," Vincent responded coolly. "It knows what you want it to do, and that's what it does. It is relatively simple to use."

A shadow crossed Zack's expression. "I wish finding this cure was that simple."

Vincent nodded, and turned again to the scenery below them. He bowed his head slightly. "You fight for a noble cause," he said finally, "I wish you success, for her sake as well as your own."

Zack blinked. "Huh?"

Vincent turned to Zack again, his red gaze boring into Zack's soul with unnatural perceptive power. "I was once where you are now, at a crossroads in my life. The life of the woman I loved hanged in the balance, and I was the only one who could save her from the eternal night. I tried, but I failed, and her innocent flame of light flickered and died before her time. It is my gravest sin, and it will forever torment me. When Lucrecia perished, two lives were destroyed. Hers, as well as mine. And of the two, she is the lucky one. She is at least at peace, where I shall never know that bliss. My sin can never be atoned."

Zack looked at Vincent for a moment. Vincent stood stiff as a board, his eyes locked in a faraway gaze that not only looked a great distance in physical surroundings, but also a great distance in time as well. Perhaps, to a nicer time. Zack remained in silent amazement, reflecting on what Vincent had said. The stoic warrior of the night bore his soul to Zack, in the hopes that he could somehow prevent his great pain from being suffered by another. Zack found it astounding that after spending only a handful of hours with this crew of heroes, he was already confronted by two crew members on the subject of his relationship with Aisha. Was there something he was missing, that was plainly visible to everyone else he encountered?

"Zack, Vincent," Cloud said, ascending the final steps leading to the deck. "We've been looking for you."

"How do you feel?" Billy asked, coming to a halt beside Zack. Zack noticed that Billy too was equipped with a Crystal Bangle, and his Partisan reflected the bright sunlight. He also noted that Billy had materia on him as well. There were two green spheres on his bangle, and a red one on his lance.

"I feel better," Zack answered finally. "So what've you got there?"

"These are Shield and Time materia respectively," Billy explained, pointing to the two green materia, " and this is a summon called Typoon. Shield creates different kinds of shields around allies, and Time can slow down an opponent, completely freeze him in place, or hasten an ally. Interesting materia, indeed."

"Yeah," Zack said, glancing up at the others. On the deck, all the members of Cloud's team were standing, their weapons at the ready, waiting for the airship to land.

"Okay, team, here's the plan," Cloud said. "We can't land anywhere on the canyon itself, so we're going to land on the grasslands, and walk over. It's no more than a quarter of a mile, so we should be okay. The monsters in this region aren't particularly dangerous, and considering there are ten of us, they don't stand a chance. Now, we need to carry the four pieces of Huge Materia, so Cid, Barrett, Cait Sith and I will carry the materia, while the rest of you travel in a circle around us, and ward off any attackers."

"Sounds like a plan," Cid said, dropping his cigar onto the deck and stomping it out with his heel. "Let's move out!"
Chapter Seventeen

The sound of deafening silence greeted the Black Terran Ranger as he materialized in a parking lot just outside a large corporate building in Angel Grove. As soon as the teleportation was complete, Jason took a defensive stance, and looked around for the monster he was to fight.

"It's too quiet," he decided, his eyes scanning the empty lot. There was obvious battle damage -- crushed cars, trees on fire, broken windows -- but there weren't any people in sight. Nor were there any monsters.

"Black Ranger," said a voice in a purposefully slow manner.

Jason whirled around, and saw a short, slightly overweight man standing before him. He was dressed in a business suit, and he carried a briefcase.

"Are you alright, sir?" Jason asked, approaching the man. "Did you see where the monster went?"

The man smiled, and opened his briefcase. Bright light leapt outed knocking Jason back several yards, and causing him to crash into a parked car. Slightly shaken from the impact, Jason steadied himself on his feet. When he looked at the man, he was stunned to realize that where he was standing earlier, a dozen people stood, all glaring at him with violet eyes.

"What the --" he uttered, just as the men and women released laser fire. Instinctively, Jason leaped out of the way, and rolled away from the car, which would likely explode if exposed to too much firepower. Yet he found himself in the middle of an empty parking lot with no protection.

"Time to use these Earth powers of mine," he muttered, holding his palms to the asphalt. A wall rose from the ground beneath him, blocking the laser beams effectively. Jason leaned against the wall, and carefully looked out of the side. The people were closing in, continuing to fire energy from their hands and eyes.

"That monster somehow put a spell on all these people!" he declared in surprise. "Now what am I gonna do?"

Inside the building, surrounded by injured and unconscious civilians, Nirvana giggled excitedly, twirling a lock of curly snow-colored hair. "My powers are working perfectly against him. He hears, sees, and feels exactly what I want him to! Now, the perceived pain he'll feel at the illusionary laser fire will weaken him enough for me to finish him off."

Chapter Eighteen

A column of gold energy landed amongst the chaos of hundreds of shoppers running frantically from a skeleton creature, who was randomly firing blasts of energy from his sword. He cackled insanely as he continued to wreak havoc, his continuous laughter halted only by the occasional sneeze.

He was so wrapped up in his random violence, he didn't notice the searing bolt of lightning headed for him until it penetrated his back, sending a painful shock through his entire skeleton.

"Give it up, Rito," the Gold Ranger said, her Thunder Bow poised with another bolt of lightning aimed and ready. "You're obviously not cut out for a strategic assault."

"Oh, hey, it's the Gold Ranger!" he said, waving his sword in greetings. "Here to join the party? I thought you'd be laid up or something."

"Well, you thought wrong," she returned. "Now, are you going to leave peacefully, or do I have to hurt you first?"

In response, Rito's body vanished, his head floating in the air. Kim was so surprised by this, she didn't notice his body reforming behind her.

"Um...I'll take choice number three," the head said, vanishing from sight. At the same time, his head reappeared atop his neck, and head-butted Kim in the back. She sprawled forward, dropping her bow in her descent.

How'd he do that?!

she marveled silently, rolling along the ground to make some space between herself and her opponent. He snuck up on me!

Kim rolled onto one knee, and fired a pulse of telekinetic energy in Rito's direction. He managed to teleport before the pulse reached him, his head spinning in place just above where the energy passed.

"Hmm," he muttered, "now, where did I put my body? Oh yes..."

Kim felt the presence behind her, but wasn't able to react before she felt the blunt side of Rito's large sword slam into the small of her back as if it were a baseball bat. She flew through the air with the force of the attack, and groaned as she struck the side of a building, unable to slow her descent with her telekinetic powers.

"Now I'm steamed!" she shrieked, leaping to her feet again. She held her hand forward, summoning her Thunderbow to return to her grasp telekinetically. Once she caught the weapon, she prepared to fire again. Yet once again, Rito had vanished.

This is too weird!! How is he blocking my telepathic powers? Is his mind so vapid that I can't track him?!

This time, Rito failed to get the drop on the Gold Ranger. A tell-tale sneeze warned Kimberly of his proximity, causing her to whirl around and fire her Thunderbow instantly. The electricity struck Rito's sword, forcing him to drop his weapon for fear of being burned again. Still, Rito wasn't out of options. His hands flashed slightly with