Dimensional Whiplash - REVISION - Chapter 01 - Three Years Later

TITLE: Dimensional Whiplash
This is the working title
ABBREVIATED TITLE: DW
Part: 1/? ("Three Years Later" )
AUTHOR: Cardinal Syn/Jamie Carlson
RATING: PG-13 for Language and Adult Themes
SPOILERS: Misc. Final Fantasy VI and VII spoilers
DISCLAIMER: The Final Fantasy Franchise belongs to Squeenix (SquareEnix). The characters Aleenia and Samuel Rheese belong to me and are (c) 2000 to present.
NOTES: This is a total rehaul of a fanfiction that I started many, many years ago. I really like the basis of the original story, but will be removing several elements and adding more. References to the Street Fighter universe will be completely removed. The triangle that started to develope between Sabin, Alie and Shadow will be explored further, and any confusing elements (such as Edgar's seeming attraction toward her at the beginning when he only has eyes for Terra) will be removed. Ages will be correctyed and the timeline altered to allow for the Advent Children events for the FF7 world, and so that Relm is the correct age (I found out that she's only 10 - 11 during events in the game).
WARNINGS: Language and adult themes.
PAIRINGS: Locke/Celes; A weak Cloud/Tifa; Yuffie/OC; Edgar/Terra; a weak OC/Sabin or OC/Shadow (we'll see how this developes).
MAIN CHARACTERS (in order of most prominent in the story): Heroes from FF6 and 7, except for Aerith (as she is pretty solidly dead), Umaro, or Gogo. SUMMARY: Alie Rheese had never expected her love of science and technology to get her in trouble. When a new device at her place of employ backfires due to an accident, she and her brother end up in two separate worlds, very different from their own...
EXTENDED SUMMARY: Alie Rheese had never expected her love of science and technology to get her in trouble. When a new device at her place of employ backfires due to an accident, she and her brother end up in two separate worlds, very different from their own... When Alie wakes to find herself in Figaro desert, brotherless and without the modern technology she needs to rebuild the machine and find her way home, she suffers depression. Sam is driven by his anger and his drive to find his sister. In the meanwhile, players behind the scenes manipulate happenings in both worlds, and Alie and Sam find themselves caught up in a plot to capture the megaverse... FF6/FF7 crossover with new characters and minor AU or expansions.

Story Originally Created: May 31, 2001

Story Reworked: February, 2008

Story Notes (added February 3rd, 2008): I have decided that this story was a good idea and written surprisingly well (except for some inconsistencies and short chapters) for 2001... so I have now decided to expand the story and give it the attention it deserves to warm my writing skills back up. I don't write fanfiction anymore, but I can't help but be driven to finish this story, as it has played out in my head over the last 7 years and I just like the ending and the possibilities too much to ignore it.

"Dimensional Whiplash"
By Jamie M. Carlson
(Cardinal Syn on One - Three Years Later...

Cloud Strife brushed a hand through his spikey blonde hair.

It had been a year since the battle with Kadaj's gang, and his epic battle with the revived Sephiroth. Three years since the death of Aerith Gainsborough.

Although things had improved - his delivery business had been booming, Barret and Marlene were doing extremely well thanks to his discovery of an oil well, and Seventh Heaven had been seing more business - Cloud still felt a little empty inside. He had been warming up to his friends, not going off on his own anymore. The lone wolf had come home to stay.

But regret still weighed in his heart. He thought frequently of Aerith and Zack - he had seen them there, in the light. Aerith.. the beautiful mother of the Planet. He was sure she was now watching over everyone. He was sure she had everything to do with the healing of the Geostigma.

He gazed up at Seventh Heaven from the back of his still motorcyle. He had just arrived from a trip to Kalm. Midgar had rebuilt the buildings and monument destroyed by Ultima.

A light voice to his right made him turn.

"Moping, are we?" The voice belonged to Tifa Lockheart, a brown-haired fighter. She had her hands in the pockets of her black leather apron. The back of her skirt whispered, leather on leather. Her shorts hugged her thighs, and the black leather-over-white-cloth tanktop hugged her ample chest. In the bright sunlight, her black hair shone, sleek and silky. She was a vision, her pretty, gentle face and kind eyes belying the raw power she contained in her body. She was a miracle in form... and yet...

"I'm fine," said Cloud. "I was just about to come in."

"How did the delivery go?" Tifa asked, casually leaning against the monstrosity that was Cloud's custom bike. She absently knocked on the compartment that carried his many swords.

"No problems. A couple of monsters on the way, but nothing too difficult." Cloud pulled his leg over the side of the bike, careful not to kick her as he dismounted. He went to remove the saddlebags where he kept his deliveries, now empty. "Any more orders?"

"No, I put them on hold for a week. We're supposed to be having a celebration, remember? A reunion? Everyone's here - can't have you zooming off on your bike now."

Tifa wrapped her arms around him. Cloud returned her embrace, but it was stiff. He looked down at Tifa's long hair. She loved him, he knew... but he questioned himself: did he really return her love? Of course he cared about her; he loved all his friends in one way or another. But she loved him in a way Cloud wasn't sure he could love her. His feelings for Aerith had never really subsided, and try as he might, seemed to outshine anything he could feel for his longtime friend.

"Come on," Tifa said into Cloud's shirt, her cheek pressed against his chest. "Barret and the others are waiting in the bar."

"Yeah," Cloud answered.

Tifa took one of the saddle bags so she could clasp his hand and lead him toward the bar. The rebuilt bar was a bit larger than the last one, cleaner, and in what could be considered a "better area" of Midgar, once the reconstruction had been completed after the fall of the plate that crushed her old bar... and took their friends Jesse, Vicks and Wedge along with it. The building also acted as the headquarters for Strife Delivery Services.

Tifa dragged Cloud into the building. Cid Highwind sat at a table, brown-booted feet resting on the table's smooth surface, his lance, Venus Gospel, propped up against a wall near him. Tifa walked up to Cid, whose eyes were closed, and tipped him back in his chair, a devious grin spreading across her lips.

"What the hell?!" the pilot cried, flailing his arms wildly and knocking over his drink. His cigarette somehow managed to stay clamped between his teeth.

"I've told you before, Cid, keep your muddy boots off the table!" Tifa chided playfully. Deep laughter filled the room. Cid glared at the large black man sitting at the bar, a small white girl in a soft blue and white sundress dress on his lap. Barret Wallace laughed at Cid's expression, loud belly-laughter. The little girl hid a smile behind her hand, clinging to her foster father's broad shoulders.

"Enjoyed that, eh, Marlene?" Barret rumbled between bursts of laughter. His mechanical arm replacing the lower portion of his right arm, lost in an accident long ago, held Marlene in place as he swivled his stool toward his friends.

"Very funny," Cid growled.

Nanaki lay near Yuffie Kisaragi, who had shrugged her sleevless hoodie off. She was checking her Conformer for any damage and shining its four points. Nanaki, also called Red XIII, shook his shaggy mane and looked up at Cloud as he came near the two to settle into a chair at one of the many tables.

At the far right corner of Seventh Heaven crouched a man in an oversized red duster. He had long, purplish-black hair, and one of his arms was a goldish attachment, one of the many momentos of the surgery that was done on him, turning him into a monster. In his holster was the powerful gun called Death Penalty. Vincent Valentine stood, sweeping his tattered read cloak behind him. He nodded to Cloud, his red eyes intense as always.

Reeve - in the flesh, to Cloud's surprise, rather than in the form of Cait Sith - sat near Barret at the bar. He smiled crookedly and gave a little wave. It was rare for Reeve Tuesti to give an appearance. He was rather busy with the WRO, all in all.

TIfa pated Cid on the shoulder and smiled, righting his glass before moving to the bar to grap a cloth to clean up his spilled drink.

"Sorry, I just couldn't resist it," she told him, winking, as she poured him a new drink.

"It's good to see everyone again," Reeve noted, sipping on his own drink, which appear to be a burboun. "I hope you don't mind me coming in place of Cait Sith...?"

"Of course not," Yuffie replied, standing up and setting her weapon on Cloud's table, careful not to poke him with it. "It's great to see a familiar face." Yuffie put her hands on her hips. She had filled out a bit in the last three years, going from the tender age of 16 to a spunky 19.

"Look at you, all grown up!" Reeve laughed. "Three years..."

"It feels like so much longer.. like we've all known each other for a decade or more..." Tifa murmured, looking down at the bar, where her hands rested, palms flat on the surface.

"Some of us have."

She looked up to see Cloud's bright eyes focused on hers. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

--------------- ----------------

In another World...

Two Years Ago

Terra Branford sat up, green-blue eyes wide, identically colored hair tussled from sleep. Light had filled her room, a pulsating light. Her skin crawled. She knew this feeling, this light. It was...

"Terrrrrra Branforrrd..."

The half-Esper woman tossed her covers off. Her simple, modest white nightgown covered her from neck to foot. Her chest rose and fell with rapid, frightened breaths. She could see almost perfectly in the soft blue light bathing her. It was focused in the center of the room, around the vague figure of what appeared to be a person in the light.

"You are...?" she whispered softly.

"Terra Branford, daughter of Maduin, child of magic..."

"No.. magic has gone from this world," Terra whispered, her gentle voice barely audible.

"Magic lives yet within this world, but cut off from all. It must be restored.. it is of utmost importance. The children of this world must be able to protect themselves... from what is to come."

Confusion shone in Terra's eyes, and she took a shaky step toward the burning light. Suddenly, what seemed to be an electric charge jumped between Terra and the faceless, glowing figure. An aura of blue surrounded the frightened former Magitek Elite. She winced, but no pain came. It was a familiar, gentle feeling. Calming, healing. Terra felt a part of her stir, seeming to be preparing to wake.

"Magic lives in your veins. You hold the utmost understanding of its nature, being what you are, half-Esper child... You must teach magic to the children in your care here in the villiage of Mobliz."

Terra shook her head. "But, magic, the Espers, everything - "

"Magic does not come from the Espers. Magic in its purest form resides in the world itself. The Espers were mearly children of it. You can call it back up. I will grant it back to you - and revive the powers of the Espers whose forms remain here in the form of Magicite."

"I don't understand.. you can restore the ability to use magic? Who are you? Why would you do this, when men had nearly destroyed the world, twice, with its power?"

"I have faith in the hearts of humanity. If you start with those who are innocent and teach their hearts to move against the path of darkness, then it can be controlled. The Warring Triad has been disabled; such things are the folly, objects, material things that possess great power which anyone can use. No, magic from the heart of a person is pure, and is not so easily used to destroy the world. No, this magic will reshape it, and heal it."

The blue light opened its arms.

"Please... I am not forcing this upon you. It is your decision. I ask that you consider it - please, Terra, be the mother to the child that is the new world... and help us protect it.. I will return to you in ten days."

The light faded away.

The decision is yours...

Terra sat heavily upon the floor, feeling that part of her fall back into sleep.

"Why? Who are you?"

Over the next seven days, through pigeon courrier and with the use of Setzer's airship, she met with her friends - the King of Figaro, the former Imperial general Celes Chere, the old wizard Strago and his granddaughter, Relm. They were all unsettled by the vision's words. Some danger the world would be in? Some threat? Something so dangerous that magic needed to be reintroduced so the world could defend itself?

Terra sat outside of her house where she tended the orphans of Mobliz. A soft breeze blew strands of her long aqua hair against her cheek. She wore it loose today, as it was a sweltering summer. The old planks of the porch creeked under her weight as she shifted on the steps, leaning forward to put her elbows on her drawn-together knees. She looked down at her hands, feminine but calloused from wielding a sword for so long. She had laid her sword down in exchange for a peaceful life here.

A small child came up to her. A little girl with her brown hair in high pigtails, a sweet little girl named Kaylee.

"What's wrong, Mama Terra?"

"Oh.. I have to make a really big decision, and I'm not sure what to do," Terra responded, smilling her gentle smile. The little girl tilted her head and peered at her.

"What is it?"

"It's nothing for you to worry about, Kaylee," Terra responded quietly. She pulled the little girl into her lap and hugged her close. "You could say... someone wants me to be a mother of sorts, to everyone, not just to you kids."

The little girl looked up at Terra. Her brown eyes were solemn, a strang look on a child. She nodded, once, slowly. "You should do it then."

Terra blinked, surprised by the child's response.

"What do you mean?"

"You're a wondeful Mama.. You would be very good at it."

The child didn't really understand what she was saying, nor what Terra was being asked to do. But the faith, solid and certain, that the child showed the half-Esper moved her. Tears stung her eyes as she embraced the child, falling to the top of the girl's head.

"Thank you, Kaylee."

It was three days later that Terra sat waiting in her room, her hands clasped in her lap as she perched on the egde of her bed. Around the same time as before - midnight - blue light filled her room. She steeled herself.

"Terra Branford... what have you decided, child?"

"If you will only explain to me what it is you need, and why it is you need it... I will do it."

Terra could feel the relieve and grattitude from the being rather than see it in its features, as it really had none. The soft blue light brightened and she felt its joy, pure and unrestrained.

"Thank you, Terra Branford. All I can tell you is that we feel a strong, dark presence coming. We do not know when. It is slow, sluggish, but may gain momentum at any time. We fear for the children of our world, and we wish to give them the means to defend themselves."

"What are you? Who are you?"

"We are the spirits of the world. We are the heart of the planet. We are the souls of those who have come before and have become one with the world, with the universe."

Terra's eyes widened.

"We are..."

Today

A young woman stood, her back to the magnificent airship which was waiting for her to board, owned by a friend of hers. She had sparkling gold hair that was almost white, a striking platinum. Around her shoulders was a long white cloak. She wore tight yellow leggings leading down into white, gold-accented boots, a pair of yellow sleeves slit at the top and tied with a black cord, and a pirple tank top tucked into a sword belt, scabbard, and sword hung at her side. Striking blue eyes gazed forward, searching, her once-fair, now-tanned skin glistening with moisture from the late-night fog.

"Celes! Come back inside! If she makes it, she makes it!" came a rough but genteel voice from inside the airship Falcon.

"Yes, I'm coming, Setzer," The former Imperial Forces general Celes Chere-Cole turned and re-boarded the Falcon. She paused at the top of the ramp, turning back and gazing back over the grassy plains at the rendezvous point outside of Tzen. "You're late, Terra. If you don't get here by dawn, we'll leave without you." She turned again on her heel, and strode into the airship. She made her way to the lounge.

Waiting inside were her friends, Cyan Garamonde, Shadow, Strago Magus, Relm Arrowny, and Setzer Gabbiani. Setzer had agreed to pick everyone up for a surprise visit to Figaro Castle, to celebrate three years of peace after the defeat of Kefka, and celebrate the return of Magic into the world.

"Where is Terra? I hope she didn't decide not to come! This is a really important gathering!" wailed the twelve-year-old, smart-mouthed artist, Relm Arrowny. Strago harrumphed and knocked her on the top of her head with his walking stick. She yelped and rubbed the her scalp through her swathe of scarves adorning her head.

"Don't be so impatient," the old man retorted. "Terra has been a very busy woman, running a school to teach magic in Mobliz. She's been dealing with a lot lately and was hard pressed to find a suitable stand-in from Thamasa."

Cyan, the elegant warrior, placed a large hand on the pouting girl

"M'lady, Terra shall not be left behind. Thy worries are misplaced, I assure thee. She shall arrive shortly, of this I am sure."

A breath later, the door to the lounge squealed open. A ramp slid down, and up that ramp came an aqua-haired young woman with gentle eyes wearing a red dress with shoulder guards and gauntlets in a reddish bronze with gold detailing. A lavendar sash was tied at her waist, and she wore jewelry of red, purple and gold orbs. Her thick, wavy hair was pulled into a ponytail high at the back of her head. Her long legs were encased in reddish tights with gold and purple detailing and designs, and the heels of her red and gold boots clack on the metal floor. Terra Branford entered the airship with a grin.

"And I was starting to think we'd be leaving without you come sunrise," said Setzer, smiling a crooked card-shark smile.

"I'm sorry, I wasted a lot of time by running through an entire checklist with the new teacher in Mobliz. I have become overprotective of the children in these three years. I see everyone else is here, but where is Locke?" Terra asked in her whispery voice.

"Oh, he's already at Figaro. He went the other day to speak to Edgar about raising chocobos for racing," the Celes said with an indulgent smile. Her husband of six months, Locke Cole the adventurer, was running out of places to explore, and had been convinced by Setzer - the Wandering Gambler - that it would be a great idea to start racing the man-sized yellow birds.

After greetings and hugs were exchanged, Setzer gestured to the door leading upward to the deck of the airship. "I do believe it is time for us to depart, ladies and gentleman. Get ready."

---

Next Chapter: We introduce the ill-fated siblings, Alie and Samuel...