Endless Wandering {Open/Cloud}

[Celes Chere]

Celes had been wandering to her felt like months around the continent attempting to gain her bearings. After leaving Figaro she had regained some hope of someday finding her friends again but she would find her own path as she had when she had awoken within the World of Ruin. This had been a bad turn though as she was wandering inside of a rather barren section of a long stretch of wastes that she was attempting to find the sea by following.

She wiped her brow as she had stopped at a small oasis she found within a small grove on her wandering. Sitting down against a tree she was thinking to herself about what was going on. :: How did this happen again.... It feels just like yesterday that I casted myself off that cliff in despair only to be saved and find Lockes bandanna upon that bird. But now I have found nothing of anyone... Not even a shread of them being alive. Other than Figaro standing in the middle of that swamp it is as if nothing of my world exists here... ::

Her deep thoughts would make her close her eyes as she took a drink from her waterskin and would open them after finishing the thoughts. Casting her eyes across the area she would feel the calm of this small spring and area make her feel calm and ease her feelings.

[Cloud Strife]

The sun beat down on the barren waste; it was part of what made it barren in the first place. The hot temperatures and lack of shade meant people avoided it; however like everything in life sometimes this place could not be avoided. For Cloud Strife it seemed that luck was no on his side when he awoke here, he awoke with nothing but the cloths on his back and his sword of course. There was no fenrir for him to ride across this wasteland, no map to help him find his way to the nearest town or city. He had wasted no time in heading off into the wasteland, his current direction unknown even to him just a gut feeling telling him which way to go. He trusted this feeling because it was all he had to go on, and for all he knew it might even be the working of Aerith telling him how to get back home Midgar.

The sun rays beat down on his skin, at least the sunglasses on his face protected his eyes from both dirt and rays of sun. Black combat boots left soft imprints of his feet in the dirt as he walked, there wasn't time to make sure nothing followed him and if anything did he could easily take it out with his sword. In all his travels Cloud had never seen a place like this before, no place he had ever visited even came close to this place. Which raised a few questions in the spikey blondes head; the first being where was he the second one being how was he to get home when he didn't even know where he was. A soft shake of his head cleared his head; there was no time to doubt himself. Dilly Dally Shilly Shally the words echoed clear in his head, they also brought two faces into his head one was that of the kind hearted flower girl Aerith the other was of the feisty bar owner Tifa.

If Tifa saw him now doubting himself she would probably punch him one, as for Aerith knowing her she would say something just as sweet as she was and offer all kinds of help. The thoughts of his friends drove him to keep walking, the fact that they might be somewhere out here alone also gave him a drive to push forward under the heat. As he came over a small dune of sand and dirt he noticed two things, the first was the oasis the second one was the young woman sitting under one of the trees. A gloved hand reached back to adjust his sword to make sure it was ready to be used, he didn't think he would need to fight her however at this uncertain time and location he wasn't sure what might happen.

As he approached the oasis he remained as calm as ever, there was no need to start anything or even a need to bother each other really. The slight shade the trees provide combined with the cooler air that seemed to drift around the water was soothing, he was glad to at least have found a place with water and some shade. Cloud wasted no time in kneeling down near the water’s edge; cupping his hands together he placed them into the water. It was cold to the skin and another time might cause him to pull his hands away, however he had just spent an unknown amount of time out in that barren wasteland and anything was better than that. He kept the woman in his sight just to be careful, however he acted just as casual as he always did. Drinking some of the water and even wetting his face and hair however his hair remained true to its nature and the spike did not die down.

Once he felt the water start to take affect and cool his body down he looked up at the woman, his right hand rose to remove his sunglasses. Bright green eyes with the soft glow of make were almost unnatural, but to everyone from Midgar they were used to those eyes. "Do you happen to know where we are at all?" Cloud was not one for long winded sentences or beating around the bush, he was more to the point type of man and right now he just wanted to know where he was and how to get home.

[Celes Chere]

A few breaths in and out and for Celes she was relaxed and was fitting herself into this nothing that surrounded her. It was several minutes after that she heard some type of footsteps heading her way. Turning her head ever so slightly she saw a man approaching the oasis. Her right hand had went down to her blade's hilt just in case she would need it. Her generals instinct was taking over at this time and she was going to make sure she survived in this world. Watching each of the movements of the man she was making sure that nothing in aggression was coming her way.

As she felt the calming air kept her looking somewhat calm toward the man yet her instincts kept her on edge. When he had finished taking a drink from the water and looked at her she saw his eyes first and foremost. ::Was he infused with Magitek? It feels as if he went through the same process as I have. I wonder how it is he came to the same magical enhancement as I have... :: Clearing her head quickly she heard him speak to her a simple question.

At this she would raise her head and look at him with her own magically blue tinted eyes. Looking at the man she spoke up. "Where this is I do not know... Last time I knew where I was located was the castle of Figaro. That was several days or is it weeks travel to the north of here. How about you sir do you happen to know where it is we are?"

[Cloud Strife]

Make infused eyes inspected the woman, from the way her body moved to the things she carried on her. He could see a sword which told him she at least knew how to fight, her build was not that of a normal woman which also drew him to the conclusion that if this woman and he did have a problem sword would be drawn and they would be used correctly. His arm rested on his upper thigh, with the hand holding his sun glasses swaying between his legs. As she had no straight away drawn her sword and attacked him he was somewhat sure, that there would be no need for them to do battle.

However her cloths were far different from anything he had seen before, in fact her outfit reminded him of something you might see in those old fairy tales they read to children. The ones about a princess and a prince set in some far off castle, children stories always had the most strangest settings and characters it was easy to see how sometimes children would want to live in their little fantasy worlds. Cloud refocused his thoughts back onto her strange cloths, perhaps she was a traveling performer or something similar to that. Although he would not ask her about it, he was sure in due time he would get a response that would help him piece together where this blonde haired woman came from.

As she turned to face him the first thing that he saw was her eyes, her blue eyes that had a sort of glow to them similar to his own. Cloud studied them for some time; she had eyes similar to his however he couldn't ever recall seeing a blonde woman in the Shinra solders before. In fact he couldn't recall a woman ever joining their ranks; most of the people who joined were men trying to prove themself and those genetic experiments that Professor Hojo made. She too had no idea where they were, however the place she mentioned Figaro was not known to him. There was no place in his world called Figaro; the name didn't even fit in with any of the towns or villages he had ever visited. "No I don't, I woke up here with nothing to tell me how to get back to Midgar". Her manner of speech was very formal; again it struck him as odd a woman who spoke in such a formal manner out here alone.

Cloud stood up to his full height, it was not a intimidation tactic it was more he just hated kneeling down close to the ground it made it harder to strike someone who might try and sneak up behind you. His eyes never left the woman, he was still unsure about her and since her eyes held the same glow as his he knew to be more careful. "Names Cloud" he might as well introduce himself to her, since it looked like they would have each other’s company for some time it would at least but them both at ease if they gain some ground with each other.

[Celes Chere]

As she stood there she took in the look of the man. He looked like some type of person that was a troublemaker in her eyes. Mostly as his large sword and it seemed to her that he was from some outlying town far from the center of the world that she was used to. As she looked at his eyes her thoughts went back to what her father had told her that only two people that had been through the Magitek process and only I have ever been through it successfully. ::I do not believe I have ever seen a soldier like him inside any of my units... Especially in the ranks of the generals of the Empire. ::

Her own thoughts went away after he started talking once again. Speaking of some city called Midgar, which she has never heard of, The name of the city seemed like it had to be some type of larger city as the way he spoke of it others should of known it easily. Her hand was on her sword again as he rose to his full height and looked over at her. When he was at full height she figured she might as well stand as well to at least give her a chance should he attack. As she stood her hand would not leave the hilt of Lightbringer as no matter what she could not trust one who she had just met.

She then heard him mention a name. ::Cloud? Well I have heard odder names in my days in the military. Guess I owe him a formal introduction then... :: Giving Cloud a nod in response to his name she spoke up her tone staying calm as she spoke. "It is a pleasure Cloud. I am Celes Chere, former general of the Vectorian Army. You spoke of just waking up... That is strange because the same thing occured to me but I was inside the place mentioned earlier. The last thing I remember before awakening there was being on a friends airship and running into what seemed nothing more than a large patch of clouds... How about you what is it that you remember from right before awakening here?"

[Cloud Strife]

He tilted his head to the side a little; the faint sound of a crack broke the silence between them. A gloved hand then ran softly over the back of his neck, he was still rather stiff from only recently waking up. It reality it felt like he had been asleep for much longer than ever thought possible, his body felt like it hadn't been in use in some time. Cloud could feel her eyes watching him; however he thought nothing of it as he was watching her just as close. It seemed they were both on edge around each other, unsure if the other could be trusted and neither willing to let down their guard at the moment. Cloud had no intention of being the first to lower his guard, there had only been one person with a similar glow to his eyes that he would ever trust and sadly he was dead.

So the fact her eyes were like his sent warning signals to his head, for he had met so many who had gone mad with power and killed countless people for no reason other than their own personal goals. For all he knew she could be another one of Hojo's experiments gone wrong, or even Jenova anything was possible as he had come to learn so many years ago. Just because someone was supposed to be dead didn't mean they were, just because you had memories of something didn't mean they belonged to you. Mako could do strange things to people, so who knew what powers this woman had or just what she could do.

The woman, Celes was her name as she explained in her rather formal introduction. However the rest of what she said made him draw to a conclusion, Celes was form a place he had never been before. He had never heard of the Vectorian Army, and even more so any army that was led by a woman with blonde hair and glowing blue eyes. If she was telling the truth it meant she was a strong fighter, you didn't become a general without proving you were one of the best around just like Sephiroth. The only thing she spoke about that he actually knew was airships, ok that was a good sign they had something in common here they both had been on airships that was something at least.

His hand dropped back to his side as his straighten his neck back to normal, his neutral face held no emotion as he thought over how to answer her question. He was also trying to recall what he did remember before he woke up, he recalled going to the city of the ancients to find Kadaj and his crew. "I was going to see someone" he wasn't one to explain things in great detail to a stranger, only a few people ever got close enough to Cloud for him to share stuff with them. "The places you mentioned, I have never heard of them on Gaia before.......where are they located" it was a rather serious question to him, for Cloud had no idea just what had happened to his worlds and the other worlds.

[Celes Chere]

As she studied the man and watched his movements she was assured this man had been out of it at least as long as she has been, Each movement was still closely watched but her guard was slowly lowering as she realized that if he truly was a threat he would have to draw his sword and one that large and unwieldy would be easy to parry or dodge. As she knew this in her mind she would move her right hand off the hilt of her sword and down onto her hip as she listened to his explanation. :: Searching for someone... I wonder what he was searching for. Perhaps to rescue someone, no that could not be the reason. He strikes me as someone who would head out and blindly fight someone for revenge. But for some nagging reason I feel that what he spoke of had to be motivated by some good within his heart. ::

Thinking had always been one of the strong suits of Celes and in a situation like this with a new person in front of her it kept her level headed and from attacking the person. That is when she heard him state that he had never heard of any of those places on Gaia. A dumbfounded look crossed her face as she looked at him. "You mean you never heard of the great Esper hunts of Emperor Gesthal or hell even the total destruction of the world by a singular madman with a complete penchance for insanity? It makes no sense for you to not hear of either... Cause if you are from anywhere upon my world you would of been touched by both of these events... But I can say I have never heard of this Midgar you spoke of either..."

[Cloud Strife]

Make infused eyes looked up at the sky to watch the clouds pass by, if only he was as free as those clouds above. There would be no need to wonder this wasteland lost, he could simply drift along the wind until he found the place he needed to be. However that was day dreaming, all things in life had to be worked for nothing came to you on a silver platter it was what made things in life worthwhile. When you worked for something and got it, it tasted that much sweeter and you could enjoy it much more because you knew that you worked for it. Well that was just how Cloud saw things, it was how he lived his life too when he wanted something he went out and worked towards gaining it.

As Cloud cast his eyes back onto the woman, he wondered what she was thinking about. Was she planning something, or perhaps she too was just as confused about the current situation. He had never come across someone who spoke of places he had never been before, and it was even stranger that her eyes were like his yes they were a different colour but the glow was still there. When Celes spoke again, she added to the confusion my mentioning things he had never even heard of before. There were no emperors in Gaia everything was run my big companies these days, To top it off she had never heard of Midgar, everyone knew Midgar it was were the Shinra companies head office was and the city that caused so much trouble for their planet.

"Nothing like that ever happened on Gaia, how can you not of heard of Midgar it is one of the largest cities on the whole planet. You know the city that was sucking the life stream out of the planet to turn it into power". Cloud had a feeling that him and this woman did not come from the same world, yes they were both standing here talking to each other. However they both spoke of a different world it seemed, while he spoke of Gaia and Midgar she spoke of some other world and places like Vector and great Esper hunts. Just where had he woken up, and more importantly where were his friends.

[Celes Chere]

Her head now hurt badly. Celes would bring her swordhand up to her forehead and would rub it attempting to remove this headache she was starting to get. ::He speaks of places and things I have no idea what they are... He is just like that woman back inside Figaro Castle speaking of places and people I have no idea what any of it is... This hurts to even think about... :: Scrambled and fast came her thoughts so fast that she could barely keep track of each as she attempted to calm herself. Leaning back against the tree she had been sitting against a few minutes earlier she continued trying to sooth her now aching head.

"Alright let us get this out into the open... You do not know of Vector, Kefka's complete annihilation of the world using his Light of Judgement, or of anything that I know. I do not know anything about this Midgar and its draining the Lifestream as you call it for power. Before I continue that technology scares me... Draining the life of the planet to power itself is almost as bad as draining the life from living creatures to power suits of armor as the Empire had before its destruction..." As she spoke Celes had her eyes closed and was still trying to quell the headache she was gaining from the conversation.

"Now that we have what we do not know out into the open can you tell me do you know anything about magic, fighting beasts, or any sort of military practices from your world? As I can tell you where I came from powerful beasts where rampant. In order for people to even live in this world there where powerful magus fighting these beasts... If you do not believe me then I can show you if you wish?" As she spoke she would release her hand from her head and open her eyes looking back at Cloud. ::IF he is not from where I am then perhaps someone else stumbled upon a similar technique to my fathers and used it on him... ::

After finishing talking she would stand back up straight and look at Cloud once again. A serious look on her face as she was trying to maintain some type of personal inner strength without her friends anywhere nearby.

[Cloud Strife]

Cloud only watched as the woman seemed to struggle with her thoughts, he was not the type to rush over and tend to a stranger. Even though he had come to the conclusion that she would not just attack him, he didn't know the woman and their conversation had brought up many questions and left those both slightly confused. This would be so much easier if I had Tifa around, I bet she could make heads or tail of this situation in no time Cloud was a smart guy, however Tifa was more social and would have found it easier to talk to Celes and gather a lot more information in the same amount of time as he had been speaking to Celes at this moment. In fact he would even settle for Yuffie right now, the girl might be loud and annoying but even she was good at gathering information when need be she was a ninja or at least she claimed to be one.

As Celes went on to make clear of the situation, Cloud only watched on and gave a small nod when she was finished talking. "That technology was part of everyday life all over Gaia, no one really feared it" he felt like he should just clear that up to, the fact she feared the technology he had lived with for so long was a sign that they were from two different worlds. Cloud placed his sunglasses back on his face as the clouds moved, the sun rays had started to face his direction and he didn't care to have the sun blinding him out here with this woman and possibly hindering his eye sight.

The next topics Celes brought up were things Cloud knew, however as she went on to explain about large beasts and the need for a magus it seemed slightly different then his. Well maybe he had no idea what a Magus was, or what they even did for that matter. "Everyone can use magic, fighting beats was a common things as they ran wild outside of towns and cities" he cut short the part about Midgar's military. If the technology he knew scared her, he had no idea how she would react to them making monsters and infusing people with Mako energy to make super solders to fight. This raised a question in his mind, if she was not from the same place as he was then why did her eyes glow just like his.

However all his questions would be answered in due time, the fact he was talking to her was a rather amazing feat. He just had to wait and see when the right moment was to ask her about her eyes, for he had never had anyone ask him about because back on Gaia everyone knew what they meant. So with this woman who seemed to come from a strange land, he had no idea if her eyes were normal or some sort of strange power or even if she was an outcast because of them.

[Celes Chere]

Standing in place like she was she felt the suns rays beating on the back of her head. It was then she watched him place the sunglasses back upon his face. Listening to him speak it was as if everyone in their world had just accepted this technology without question, and the perhaps her response had become misconstrued. Speaking up quickly she would clear the air about what she meant. "I meant that draining the very planet itself seems like a scary proposition... I mean I have know of coal and other fuels being used but not the planet itself..."

It was not long after she quickly interjected her words that she would hear him speak of magic and fighting beasts where common in his world as well. ::I wonder how it is they used magic as there was only four ways I know of to use magic. The first was the magicite, second was to be born with it, third was to a descendant of the Magi, and then theres.... :: Her thoughts ended when she got to how it is she gained her powers. The process she had learned was basically infusing herself with the magicite of a dead Esper. Knowing full well though that her silence was doing nothing for the situation at hand Celes would think for about a minute or so attempting to think of what to say and to explain her own world. ::I notice he left out the military from his talk... Must be where he gained those eyes from. Just does not make any sense though as what two militaries split by what seems to be worlds would come up with the same technology... I guess nothing is wrong with showing him and then telling him what occured to me. I am an abberration to nature after all. ::

"I am sorry for my silence there Cloud but I was thinking of how to approach this topic and explain it in the same breath... But I decided that telling you and then showing you what I mean would be the best option. See within my world the Vectorian Empire before it was destroyed was testing a new style of experiment upon magically powerful beings known as Espers. They would drain them of all their strength and then kill them... After freshly killing the Espers they would 'infuse' an infant child with the Espers latent magical powers... There where only two successful transfusions in the history of that program. The first was a boy who became the madman known as Kefka."

As she neared this point she would cough a little and clear her throat to accentuate the point. "The second and only transfusion that was fully successful was done to me when I was but an infant... My entire life I was raised a soldier with a unique gift. Cause my world before the destruction wrought by Kefka had little to no magic within it and the sword and armor made the man. My unique gift was to do this..." Raising her hand at the end of her talking she would form a simple Blizzard spell on her palm and have it hit the sand directly outside the oasis freezing the ground solid.

Bringing her hand back to her side without taking her eyes off Cloud she would rest it back at her side and then finish speaking. "I have told you my secret as to why I have the same eyes as you do now tell me how it is you have the same eyes yet do not know of Espers..."

[Cloud Strife]

The woman confirmed that their worlds were very different once again, her people had never even thought about using the world as a power source. As where Shinra had found it easy to start converting the lifestream into energy, people had accepted it once they had been assured it was safe for them to use. When he looked back on it now he noticed how easy people accepted that change, very few people stood up for the planet and were happy to keep living happily as long as they were not the ones who had to suffer. "It sounded like a good idea at the start I guess, or Shinra made us believe it was a good idea" he just wanted to wrap that part of the conversation up, people in power could always convince their people of anything all it took were the right words really.

Her world seemed to not be as advanced as his was, however she had confirmed a place form her world had been where she awoke. So why had he awake in a place he had never been before, well it almost reminded him of the barren wasteland that surrounded Midgar? The dry and crusty earth that held no plant life what so ever, it looked exactly like this place really perhaps that was why he woke here. It was in a place like this that he first ran into Kadaj and his brothers, was this all some sort of strange test or something none the less he would push forward to get back to Midgar. Tifa would be waiting to smack him one for disappearing on her again, since he assumed he did not come here of his own free will and more or less just appeared here.

Celes began to speak again and all his attention was now focused on her, her formal speech was easy to understand and made it easy for Cloud to piece together her information. At first he had no idea what she was trying to explain to him, however as she went on he soon understood as clear as day just what she was trying to say. These Espers she spoke of must be like the Aeons he knew, however they were all sealed away in materia to allow anyone to use them. But that was nothing compared to what she said next, they had infused these powers into infants, just as they had done with Jenova cells and the solders. It was strange how two worlds completely different in many ways, could find a common factor in the fact they both fused the powers of great entities into children to make super solders to fight for them.

Her explanation came to an end, she even showed him some of her magic a simple ice spell nothing to impressive however he had an idea that as she was once a general that she would have much stronger spells at her fingertips. He cleared his throat with a soft grunt, adjusted his sunglasses one time and then looked back up at her. "Espers I assume would be like our Aeons, like Shiva, Ifirit and Bahamut" he wanted to make sure he was right on that fact, he was trying to find out how much their worlds have in common. "As for my eyes, Shinra found that if they infused their solders with the cells of a great entity known as Jenova that they would have heightened abilities, it also means I have had a high exposure to Mako energy or the lifestream as it is supposed to be called". He shortened everything as he always did; there was no need to give a rather large explanation on how many people had the Jenova cells in them or just how many had eyes like his. They were all facts that were not important at the current time.

[Celes Chere]

Hearing him speak of the lifestream and how people thought that it was a good idea in the beginning made her heart sink a little as she pushed the thought away. She would not pursue the line of questions anymore though as she went on to bigger more important things. Mostly explaining her past and then hoping that he would respond in kind. Which he did to her amazement. When he mentioned the names of his 'Aeons' she would give him a anod and a quick "Funny we had Espers with those names... Shiva and Ifrit where the first to turn to magicite before my friends and Bahamut was being held by the beast that killed him its name was Doomgaze."

Hearing him explain what and how it was he came to his colored eyes she listened intently. It was something interesting as for her as it was similar to the same process that she had to go through. "It seems that we are more similar than expected especially for two strangers from different worlds it seems. So Cloud can I assume you have had quite a number of those soldiers go insane have you not? As my own experiments had a 50% insanity ratio and I do not feel like it was truly not just ingrained within the procedure."

[Cloud Strife]

Cloud had never heard of any of these places or things; however that didn't stop him from believing her. The way she spoke, and her body language was as clear as day that this is what she knew and what she believed in. He had heard of stranger things, like Jenova the great calamity that fell from the sky. She also came from another planet, she came to Gaia looking to suck the life out of the planet and then destroy it. However he didn't think this woman was the same, however the connections between their two different worlds was something interesting. "Ours were inside of materia which allowed anyone to use them, there was never a chance of anyone killing them" Cloud made a point to point out the differences, just to see how much they had in common and how much they didn't.

His make blue eyes drifted from her to the area around them, he was checking to make sure nothing had come around unnoticed. She explained the insanity ratio of their technique, to think it was things like this they would have in common it made him rather annoyed. Not at her, more so at how idiotic these worlds seemed to be putting the cells or souls of dead creatures into their bodies. "There were a couple cases, or sometimes the person ended up as a monster" he could still remember seeing one in the Mako reactor. The strange human beast, with eyes just like his.

[Celes Chere]

Each word from the yellow haired man was something interesting for Celes to listen to. It seemed to her that he came from a world where technology was not just the richs plaything, but widely accepted and used. Shaking her head as if she dwelled on it anymore her mind may fritz out and she would be just a useless dummy for a few hours. "So your summoned beasts take the form of materia whilst mine take the form of...."

As she spoke Celes would turn and grab her backpack. Opening it she would be rummaging inside as she looked for something. Finding it she would pull out a large green crystal that had a large red streak within it. "This is one of the last magicite... When we defeated the madman Kefka the magics of our world started disappearing and most of these vanished. For some reason Tritoch here did not vanish along with the rest as if it was holding onto something."

As she spoke of the crystal she would look over it and run her fingers down it as if she was entranced by the magicite. Snapping out of her trance like stare she managed to hear about some of his people becoming mindless monsters. That sent a shudder through her as there was nothing worse than becoming a mindless abomination. "I am assuming most of those that turned into monsters where put down?"

Her words short and to the point. At times Celes would be verbose but other times she would be short and direct.