Chapter 10 - First Phase of Mission

3:30 Am, Nevada,

"This is it? Is this where it should be?"

"Probably, maybe it's that fighter plane? One of these. Let's check them out."

"Right," Tifa was about to walk away when three of them came to a stop and looked towards one of the planes, "Who?"

"That is what I should be asking; who are you?"

Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith looked at the older woman, "You must be Wendy Lawson."

"You know me, and I know you too," Wendy pointed a gun at them, "Coming out of nowhere, turning a Scorpio into a binocular or a broom into a bike? Riding at more than 400km/hr? From where are you?"

Cloud opened his fingers, about to summon the Keyblade, narrowing his eyes when Aerith put her palm on his letting out a sigh. She calmly stepped forward, "Miss Wendy Lawson…No, maybe I should call you Mar-Vell. Did you see all that from the base above the Earth?"

"So you know where my lab is and who I am? Which planet are you from?" Wendy narrowed her eyes, placing her finger on the trigger.

Aerith bowed forward in elegance, holding a constant smile, "I am Aerith Gainsborough, and I am the seer who saw you die in three days."

"What…? You think something like that would fool me?"

"No, your plane would be shot down in three days, and Mr. Yon-Rogg's bullet will pierce your heart."

Aerith could see the tremble in her hand, and she knew what was on the line, so she shrugged. She raised her hand. A warm air surrounded them before plants broke through the thick concrete surrounding her, "Believe me. There is nothing that escapes the planet, and it told me everything about your goal, the people you are trying to save."

Mar-Vell's eyes were darting around, seeing the vines and flowers surrounding Aerith, narrowing her eyes when she heard the young man speak.

"I am tired of this."

Mar-Vell tightened her grin, turning to point towards him, only to feel the gun in her palms change to a rat, which she was squeezing, "Ahhh!!!!"

She let go of the rat, and it scurried away before looking towards the young man, but he was not there. Her arm got pulled backward, put behind her back.

"Cloud, you shouldn't do that; I talked," Aerith pouted.

Cloud shot a look at her, and she froze up, slowly moving sideways, hiding behind Tifa, "We have to talk too."

Aerith gulped, hugging Tifa, "Tifa…."

Tifa shrugged, "I already told you you should tell him."

"Find the Light Speed Engine; even though they might be confused about why lights aren't coming back, it won't take long before they come to check this place."

"It's that one," Aerith pointed at one of the planes, "But according to the plans, t's not complete. Its core is in her base."

She puffed her cheeks, "That's why I took so much time explaining everything."

Mar-Vell narrowed her eyes, "Say, if you didn't know she was a Seer, how did you even know about Light Speed Engine?"

"Uh…"

Tifa parted her lips before bursting into a chuckle, "She got you there, Cloud."

Cloud pressed his lips in annoyance, letting go of Mar-Vell, "Fine, we'd do this your way. Aerith."

"Yes," she took out her wand, "Repellio Muggletum."

A wave of her magic spread out, covering them before she nodded, "That should do it."

"We have twenty minutes, so talk it out," Cloud stepped away, walking towards the light-speed engine fighter plane to see what would happen.

He placed his palm on it, narrowing his eyes when digital screens appeared in front of all three.

[Light Speed Engine, being Analyzed.]

[Light Speed Engine has been Analyzed.}

[Light Speed Engine is missing its core.]

[Collect energy from the Light Speed Engine's Core.]

[New Coordinates for Fast Travel are available on the Map.]

Cloud opened the world map, zooming out to see the whole Earth and the spaceship on top of it. The place where they had to go next.

"Oh," Aerith smiled, "How about we continue this somewhere much more private?"

She took Marvell's hand, teleporting with her, right after Tifa and Cloud appeared on the spaceship bridge.

Mar-Vell watched the changes in her surroundings and sighed, "Fine. I agree that I am outclassed. So, what do you want?"

Cloud's eyes were fixed in one direction, he could feel the hunger in his cells, but more so, he could tell where the Core was. He walked towards the door, only for Mar-Vell to stop him.

"You might have been able to come here, but this is my Ship. You are going nowhere unless I allow you to."

Cloud glanced back at her, and a smile appeared on his lips. He put the palm of his hand on the door, and it vanished, disappearing from existence, "Keep dreaming."

Mar-Vell tightened her jaw, watching him leave, and let out a sigh of relief. She narrowed her eyes, "That guy, he's dangerous. My instinct for self-preservation has been going wild since he appeared."

"Sorry about Cloud," Aerith put her hands together, apologizing, "But he wouldn't hurt you. Rather, he was the one who first said that he wanted to save you…though not in so many words."

"No, Aerith," Tifa appeared before Aerith, clenching her fingers to make a fist, "That is not what she means."

Mar-Vell didn't waste any moment since she had figured out they were using something like magic. She wasn't sure how it was possible, but she didn't plan to give them a chance.

She punched them, only for Tifa's foot to hit her cheek, but she managed to resist the strength.

Tifa narrowed her eyes, "She's strong, inhumanly so. Stay back, Aerith."

"Yes," Aerith softly smiled, taking a step back, only to see Tifa pull her leg back and slam it against Mar-Vell's face, pivoting, raising her other leg, and slamming her heel.

Mar-Vell stepped back, she had power, but she couldn't close it, "You are trained."

"Yes, Magic has never been my strong suit," Tifa moved at the same time as Mar-Vell, dodging the arm that was moving to hold her down with pure power; she punched Mar-Vell's stomach, then another of her face before she jumped up, rotating in the air, landing on the ground.

Before anyone reacted, she was already within the range with a barrage of attacks that kept Mar-Vell in her place. Every time she even tried to fight back, another one of Tifa's hands or legs stopped her in her place.

If it weren't because she was stronger, more durable, then she would have been beaten to the point where she couldn't speak, and then, abruptly, the attacks stopped coming.

Aerith leaned forward, with her hands tucked behind her back, "Do you have the idea?"

"Yes, she's really strong, even though she's not even a fighter," Tifa sighed, "I can't beat her the way I am not. Not through sheer physical strength."

"We'll think of something," Aerith gave a pressed smile, taking out the wand, pointing at Mar-Vell, "Immobulus."

Mar-Vell's body stopped, but that didn't last long; she could still move and talk slightly. She implored Aerith, "Aren't you a Seer…? Don't you know why I am making Light Speed Engine? Do you wish to take their hope away and leave them dead?!"

"I think you are misunderstanding something," Tifa gazed at Mar-Vell, "We aren't here to destroy the Light Speed Engine; instead, we already analyzed it and have it. As for the Energy Source, we don't plan on destroying it, just taking some of the energy from it, and if that means it would be destroyed."

"You might not believe us, and we can understand why," Aerith looked into her eyes, "You are alone, in a foreign world, and if the inhabitants found out who you are, you'd become the enemy. It wouldn't matter how many bonds you have made, and that is not all. With what you are doing, you don't even have the place to go back to; you can't even go back home since your people are your enemy."

She stepped forward, taking her hand, which was stiff because of the spell, "I understand; we understand how much is on your shoulder and how much this works means to you and for that race. It saddens me to say, in three days, the fate decree's that you will die, and Light Speed Engine must be destroyed, and it's one that I am not sure we could change. That is why we are preparing a backup in case of your death if we fail to save you. We'd have something that could help those people make this trip. It might be a one-way trip without the whole energy source."

Mar-Vell looked at the earnest eyes of the girl, the one that was talking about her death, and it didn't feel real. Well, she doubted anyone would feel honest about their alleged predicted death, but for some reason, she believed it.

"Then, you shouldn't be worried about me, but about that guy that came with you."

"Mm?" Aerith tilted her head, and a green wind rose from the ground, entering her ear, making her widen her eyes, "Oh, no! Cloud!"

*BOOM*SCREETCH*THUMP*

A minute ago, in front of the lab entrance,

Cloud looked at the cat sitting in front of the gate, and the cat watched him. He raised his hand, and she leaned forward to glare at him, silently warning him not to come closer.

Cloud took a step back to make more space between them, even though he could see it was a cat, but she did make him feel a certain sense of danger. When his foot touched the floor, the cat opened her mouth, transforming its face. Numerous tentacles came out, attacking him, attacking the walls, screeching past them, slamming in front of him.

He was in the middle of a back jump, rotating in the air, with his legs facing up and his head towards the ground when the tentacles reached him. With little time, he summoned the Keyblade, blocking the attacks, but since he had no footing, his body got pushed back towards the cat's mouth, and more tentacles came out to pierce him.

Cloud used the Keyblade to use the magic, "Flipendo!"

He knew that Keyblade could conduct magic, but he didn't know how strong it was, the spell blasted out from the Keyblade, sending him back, but it also pushed the cat back, causing her to slam against the gate before she fell. The tentacles were lying on the ground, and her face was still transformed, though she didn't move at all.

"Cloud!!!"

Cloud woke up from the sudden change when he heard the voice, forcefully changing his center of gravity in mid-air to rotate and land on the ground, "I am fine. I should have known there would be some protective measures."

Tifa sighed in relief, "You aren't hurt?"

"No."

"That thing?"

"Probably fainted; it hasn't died," Cloud glanced around at the tentacles, and the creature sprawled over on the floor before placing his hand on the wall, vanishing a part of the wall.

He looked inside, and the hunger in his cells increased; at the same time, there was another message from the system.

[Warning! Warning! It is suggested that Cloud Strife does not come into contact with the Energy Source!]

[Warning! Warning! It is suggested that Cloud Strife does not come into contact with the Energy Source!]

"I think we are late," Cloud wasn't sure how much time had passed, but he was sure that about ten minutes should have passed, maybe even fifteen, which meant they were running out of time.

"Cloud, wait outside; we'll take the energy from the Source," Aerith smiled, stepping inside the lab, and Cloud walked away.

He wasn't sure how long he would be able to control himself, or he might even throw himself at the Source in hunger. He walked back to Mar-Vell's, "You don't have to keep acting as if you are still under the effects of magic."

"Hm?" Mar-Vell watched him, smiling, "When did you figure it out?"

"There was nothing to figure out," Cloud walked to the window, and it was as if the person standing there had changed, the one with a blurry and muscular physique and slick black hair; even his voice felt heavier, though that feeling was like an illusion that washed over Mar-Vell.

"Since the beginning, you were an alien, which meant there was a chance that your physical capabilities are above that of humans, and it was confirmed the moment we met you. Rather, they were much higher, and the time that spell could stop you drastically decreased. Still, you are a Spy, a good one; you were able to plan yourself here, create a lab in space, and not let the humans you work for realize anything. So that made your choice obvious. If you get the chance, you will try your best to get more information. That spell was never meant to stop you; it gave you the chance to gain information and buy us the time we needed."

"Does that mean everything that she told me was a lie?" Mar-Vell narrowed her eyes.

Cloud looked at the Earth, turning his eyes to see her reflection in the mirror, standing there with her arms crossed, "Hm. Do you believe that is so?"

"That girl…" Mar-Vell sighed, "I doubt she can lie to save her life."

A displeased smile appeared on Cloud's lips, "Oh, she can lie. Or at least, she can not tell the truth."

Mar-Vell blinked, seeing his irritated face, chuckling, "Kid, you are not helping your case."

"Right, that cat of yours, she fainted. Shouldn't you…?"

"Goose!" Mar-Vell hastily ran out towards the door, only to step back, barely stopping herself from colliding against Aerith, who was carrying Goose.

"No worries, Miss Goose is fine now," Aerith walked in, hugging the cat in her arms, ticking her, enjoying her purring.

"Goose?" Mar-Vell tilted her head in confusion, wondering if it was her cat, "Usually, she doesn't take to anyone, and even if she does…no one can make her make that face."

Aerith petted Goose's head, "Oh, Miss Goose is so amazing, so soft, I want to keep her. But she likes you more."

Goose turned over in Aerith's arm, using them as a foothold to jump on Mar-Vell's shoulder, lying down peacefully.

Tifa walked into the room, "I am done too. We should leave, or we'd be late."

"Right," Aerith took Cloud's hand and Tifa's, "We'll be back in a few hours, about six or seven, and then we can sit and talk things over."

Mar-Vell nodded, only to find three of them had disappeared without any sign. She raised her eyebrows, going to her computer, which was much more advanced than anything on Earth, furrowing her brows, "Their every action leaves a sign, energy, but how they come and go. What is this energy? Who are these people? Are they really from Earth? No, the way that girl talked, it was as if they are too from another planet."

Forbidden Forest, Hogwarts,

"That went according to plan," Tifa sighed in relief, now that the transfiguration was over she was back in her child's physique.

"Not really," Cloud shot a look at Aerith, who froze in her place, "Is there something that you want to tell me? Since Tifa seem to already know."

"I'll tell you, I'll tell you! Just don't get angry," Aerith puffed her cheek, acting cute, only for Cloud to stretch her cheeks out.

"It won't work.'

"Cloudd~~!! Sworrry~~!!!"

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FFFF – Final Fantasy Fun Facts.

Angeal Hewley is known to be the second most skilled First Class SOLDIER in Shinra's history, on par with Genesis Rhapsodos and surpassed only by Sephiroth to the point that alongside his friend, they were the only ones skilled enough to earn the friendship of Sephiroth.

In terms of abilities, he had the ability of Jenova Cells that allowed him to become a two-way conduit. He could take in the abilities of others, and implant them with his own abilities and will.

In the first timeline, after his death, a copy of him, a winged canine that he implanted with his cells appeared in the church and protect Aerith (His student's lover.)