So... How's everyone been? I've been busy, myself. I'd have to be to already have a sequel in the works! And yet, I can't seem to bring myself to work on Hiding Secrets... Hm...

This is the second of two ideas for a sequel. I was working on both in the last week, and decided this one was much better; the other one strays from the two main characters, and I couldn't have that. In fact, none of the original FFVII cast has much part in the other one... (shifty eyes to the right) But as I said, this was much better, I thought, and I'm quite enjoying writing it as much as you may enjoy reading it. Time will tell, ultimately.

Without further ado, here's the first chapter of the sequel to The Galian, Of Crystals Born. -Spiritslayer

After the event people referred to as Meteorfall, the only visitors the Northern Crater had received were the Turks. It had been two years since they had visited, however, and times change.

For a new visitor was steadily approaching the enormous crater, long silver hair billowing behind as they walked. Their green eyes weren't the same cat-like eyes Sephiroth, Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo had, but rather round. The figure emitted a powerful aura, one that could very well have intimidated anyone with ease. In the figure's left hand rested a wicked-looking staff, one that looked as though it were intended for melee combat.

A soft, feminine voice cursed quietly as she nearly lost her footing. She gave a small sigh and spun the staff around in her hand, holding it reverse grip. She positioned it near her feet and channeled an exceptionally powerful Float spell into an orb upon the staff's tip. The orb glowed and she stepped onto the staff's crescent, tilting the staff forward slightly. It began moving down the crater, carrying its wielder with it as she went. She came upon wind barriers and gave a small, inward smirk, passing through them effortlessly.

She was determined to find the location of the final battle, even if it took her days on end to accomplish. She had to find where the great Sephiroth had been supposedly crushed.

Although he may not remember her, she remembered him. She remembered their time together, however short it may have been.

The Float spell began faltering and she pulsed a new one into the staff's orb, urging it along faster. The spell stopped faltering, at least for a little while longer. She knew she'd probably have to do it at least ten more times before she found the great Sephiroth himself. Or rather, where he fought.

A sudden burst of wind rode her sleeves up her arms, revealing arms heavily laden with Geostigma. She glanced at the reminders of her past and actually smiled. Her Geostigma still being there meant he was calling to those with it. A pity she was probably the only one left with Geostigma.

As she floated toward the crater's center, she recalled the last exchange she had with Kadaj, Loz and Yazoo.

"Brother, you mustn't do this! Not yet!"

Kadaj gave her a contemptuous look. "If we don't act upon Mother's will now, then who knows what will happen!" he retorted, glaring daggers at her. "Sister, why do you insist on stopping us? Do you not wish to see Mother again? Do you not wish to see him again?"

She sighed slowly, head falling forward slightly. "Of course I do. But..."

"But what, sister? What could possibly deter you from our Reunion with them? Is it fear?"

She looked up at him, eyes narrowing. "How dare you suggest I'm afraid, Kadaj!" she hissed at him. "I'm simply not sure now is the time to answer Mother's call to us. His call to us."

Yazoo and Loz were watching almost amusedly at the two arguing. Loz was easily sided with Kadaj, whereas Yazoo was more or less on their sister's side. "Say, Kadaj. Why do we need to act now?" Yazoo offered quietly. "Perhaps our sister is right; perhaps we're better off waiting a while."

Loz snorted, smirking at his other brother. "Not you too," he mused. "Look, if we don't answer Mother's call now, who knows what she'll do to us later. What if someone else answers the call before us and finds Mother? What will we do when he comes to find those of us who didn't answer it?"

Yazoo shook his head. "But we're the only ones who knows what this is. We're the only ones who realize this is Mother calling to us."

Kadaj turned on his heel and walked away. "I'm going, with or without you."

Loz ran to join his brother, turning to Yazoo and their sister. "You two coming as well? Or are you going to sit back and wait for him to approach you, intent on making you pay for not answering?"

Yazoo hesitated, then looked to his sister. "We shouldn't let them do this alone, sister. We both know how incapable they can be."

She looked at Yazoo sadly. "Don't do this, brother," she whispered. "You don't have to..."

He gave her a gentle, caring hug, one that was almost reassuring. "We'll be fine. There's no sense worrying over us, and I suppose Loz has a point. If we don't do this, what will happen to us?" He slowly released her. "Come with us?"

She held her ground. "No," she replied flatly. "I'll act when the time is right. And it's not yet the right time."

Yazoo closed his eyes slowly. "As you see fit," he muttered, turning and walking toward his two brothers.

She shut her eyes quickly, absentmindedly channeling a new Float spell into the staff. "Yazoo... you said you'd be fine..." She opened her eyes, eyes lining with moisture. "But our big brother beat all of you. He even fought Sephiroth and won," she whispered to no one in particular, hand gripping the staff tightly.

"No, he won't be allowed to live any longer," she suddenly said, face set with determination. "He took my brothers from me. He took Yazoo from me, took Kadaj, took Loz. He can't be allowed to live any longer." She tilted the staff forward a little further, urging it to move faster.

She reached the central part of the crater, eyes searching it. She spotted the crystal Sephiroth himself had once inhabited, and drifted up toward it, hand brushing against it gently. She closed her eyes once more, as though doing so would allow her to sense Sephiroth all the more. She felt the Geostigma respond to something, and she slowly opened her eyes. A small gasp escaped her lips.

She was floating in darkness, still perched upon the staff's crescent. She wasn't sure if she dared step off for fear of falling into an abyss, but knew her magical capacity would wear thin shortly. She focused another Float spell onto the staff's orb and attempted to discern solid ground from air. She was unsuccessful, and decided to try her footing with one foot.

She slipped one foot off the staff and allowed it to venture below her, searching for solid ground. She bent slightly, reaching with her toes. They brushed something flat, and she felt her heart leap. She carefully stepped off the staff and onto solid ground, dispelling the Float spell in her staff.

A voice said something, but she couldn't discern the words. She looked around slowly, trying to find the source of the words. Utter black met her eyes, yet she continued looking around.

The voice spoke again, this time a little clearer. She still couldn't make out the words, and spoke words of her own. "Is that...?"

"You are..." she heard right next to her left ear. She turned her head to face to the left, and saw...

Nothing. She reached out and felt nothing.

"I see..." she heard next to her right ear this time. "So you are..."

She reached for the right ear quickly and again, felt nothing. Omniprescence? she wondered to herself. "Are you the great?" she asked slowly and clearly.

The black world before her slowly started vanishing, a mysterious, red structure appearing before her. She examined it closely and saw she was standing on a small piece of it. The piece was a fair distance away, however, and she wondered what had happened. "This is where..." she said slowly, the realization suddenly hitting her.

A bright light suddenly filled the structure, blinding her for a moment. Her eyes slowly adjusted, and she saw eight people laying around it. Before her sat...

"You..." she hissed, eyes narrowed, fixed upon the figure of Cloud Strife. "What have you done to my brothers?"

He seemed to not hear her. They all rose slowly and the person she wanted to see most appeared before the bright light. She bowed her head to him.

"Sephiroth..." she said quietly. "Is this... what happened four years ago...? Are these the people that stopped you...?"

The scene vanished, but the structure remained in her sight. The voice spoke into her left ear again. "That was the past, my dear," she heard the voice say softly. She felt hands rest on her shoulders, and she started to relax. She rose her right hand and placed it upon her left shoulder, not exactly caring that her hand made no actual physical contact with the hand touching her shoulder.

"We have the future," she murmured. "I will do whatever you require of me."

The hands slid closer together, arms gently wrapping around her and pulling her back into a chest. She knew full well she couldn't touch it for one reason or another, but tried to anyway. "Your brothers were foolish," she heard the voice say. "They didn't listen to you. You told them that wasn't the time. You were right."

"But... they found Mother," she said quietly. "Kadaj... he became one with her, and his body..." She recalled the scene she could only barely see two years ago. She recalled seeing Sephiroth vanish, Kadaj falling to the metal surface that was the old roof of Shinra. She saw him try to attack Cloud, and she watched in disbelief as Kadaj vanished into nothingness. Yazoo and Loz followed shortly thereafter, taking Cloud with them. And yet, he lived somehow...

She could've almost sworn she felt lips brush against her ear. "You don't need Mother for what I require," the voice whispered. "I intend to take this planet with you at my side. It won't do if you become one with Mother."

She closed her eyes slowly. "What must I do?"

A chuckle sounded softly from next to her. "Nothing," came the reply. "You mustn't do anything. Everything will work itself out in time, my dear, all in time. When the situation is right..." She felt an arm slip from around her and to her staff, pulling the orb back slightly. "Only when the situation is right will we begin reclaiming this planet."

She hadn't been expecting to hear this, and made a barely audible noise of protest. "But--"

She suddenly felt nothing and a blinding flash erupted from the orb of her staff. She looked away quickly to avoid actual blinding, and looked back when the light died. She gasped at what she was seeing now.

The orb had gone jet black. Her hand brushed it slowly in amazement, and heard the voice again, this time inside her mind.

"Have patience," it said. "Believe in me, and everything will be fine."

She gave a small nod of understanding, clutching the staff closer to her body, resting her forehead against the orb. "Thank you," she whispered.

"I thank you, Lizu," was the response. "Let us go now."

She slowly flipped the staff over in her hand, once again resting her feet in the crescent. She began channeling a spell into it, but the staff glowed of its own accord. The world around her was pitched into darkness once more, and she watched as she found herself drifting outside the crystal once more.

"Take a piece of the crystal about the size of your fist with you," she heard the voice urge in her mind. "It will serve us well once the situation is proper."

She gave a nod, bending at the knees. She leapt off her staff's crescent and spun around once, bringing the outer edge of the crescent crashing down on the crystal. The impact shattered it, pieces falling to the ground below. She fell as well, positioning her foot upon the staff carefully. It slowed the fall and she stepped off it onto the ground, eyes examining the pieces of crystal scattered on the ground. She clenched a fist and her eyes darted to the nearest piece. "Perfect," she murmured to herself, reaching down to pick it up. She looked at the remaining pieces and decided there'd be no harm leaving them as they were.

The staff glowed once more, and she positioned her foot upon the crescent once more, using it to leave the small area. The wind outside whipped her face gently, and she smiled, an almost cruel smile. She tilted the staff forward and began her journey out of the crater.

She knew what the crystal she now carried was capable of, and knew exactly what to do with it. But only when the time was right. Only then.

Aw, no Vincent and Tifa? Heh, not yet. Had to put forth a small sense of foreboding first. The two main characters are in the next chapter, I assure you.

Lizu is an OC, one I made up on the spot. Usually, I do a character bio for an OC, but I figured 'what's the point this time?' and just put her in here. I apologize ahead of time if she doesn't quite turn out the way you would like her to, but I think she'll turn out beyond what you expect. And whose voice is that she's hearing...? Well, I'm sure you've all figured it out by now. It's really not that hard, I think, but if you don't figure it out, don't worry about it.

Lizu's weapon is a staff, one I've come to call the Spiked Crescent. I'd put up a picture of it if it weren't so... out of the way to do, so I'll just describe it here. The staff itself is fairly long, the bottom of it ending at an extreme point. The other end, the tip, is where it's design is slightly complicated. About eight inches from the tip of the base, a crescent spans out one side, curving approximately 245 degrees and ending in a point. The inside of the crescent is smooth but slip-resistant, allowing the wielder to set a foot inside it and, with the proper magic, float above the ground and possibly fly; it all comes down to the wielder's magical strength. The outside of the crescent is adorned with six triangular blades, each one spaced apart approximately six to eight inches. These blades are razor sharp and, owing largely to their placement, can be used to slice through anything but diamond, which would require two or three more slashes from the staff to actually slice through it. And the excess tip of the staff's base? Adorned with an orb which is roughly six to eight inches in diameter. This orb acts as an amplifier for magic spells, which usually results in the wielder channeling the spell into the orb and releasing the spell shortly thereafter at the corresponding target. The entire staff is made of pure silver with a powerful enchantment upon it that makes it difficult to destroy, even with repeated blows from a weapon coated in diamond. The staff's weakness? The orb; shattering this will dispel the reinforcing enchantment and make it much easier to destroy.

I hope that paints a picture out well enough for you; if you're still unsure of what it looks like in your mind and have a SecondLife account, PM Vilius Aichi (that be me) and I'll send you a picture of it.

A little bit of random trivia for you. The Spiked Crescent is actually the weapon of one of my other OCs (!!). Kinda makes one wonder what Lizu did to the poor guy if she has his staff...

I'll put up the next chapter tomorrow, unless something happens between now and then. Like I suddenly have somewhere else to go or something else to do.

Let me know what you think so far! -Spiritslayer