Codon Stream (JSXFF)

Story
John is floating in green water, seemingly in a trance. Several bubbles come by, with scenes from his life. He sees himself looking down at Vilgax and his Bioid army, watching Aggregor kill a man, Eirene dying in his arms. He then sees an image of Julie, scoring a point off him in a game of tennis. This scene snaps John out of it, and he wakes up, and starts to choke from the environment.

Azmuth: Oh, please. Can’t you tell when you’re not actually drowning? (John stops flailing, and inhales deeply.)

John: Huh. (John turns to face Azmuth, who was floating, legs crossed.) What are you doing here?

Azmuth: I’m not here. Your mind has been damaged and parts of your memory locked away, so your consciousness formed me to help, “pick up the pieces” as they say.

John: Then let’s start with where am I?

Azmuth: The Codon Stream of course. It has been sheltering you while you recover from your injuries.

John: Injuries?

Azmuth: You almost died when your energy was drained.

John: It revived Phantom. But, I don’t recognize anyone else, even though I should know them like I did with Phantom and Lucci.

Azmuth: As you may have guessed already, this is an alternate dimension. It was created as a result of your collision with the Silver Surfer in that cosmic storm. Your memories were used to form its residents.

John: But, Silver Surfer turned into my form Super John.

Azmuth: He was consumed, just like this planet will be.

John: Explain.

Azmuth: The To’kustar in that cosmic storm was Galactus, destroyer and eater of worlds. When creating this alternate dimension, Galactus was sucked in, and has been searching for substance. He could track the Surfer wherever he went, and when you absorbed him.

John: Galactus got the signal. He’s coming here. How do I stop him?

Azmuth: Oh, I think you already know that. (Azmuth fades away, as John tries to swim upward, but he doesn’t move. He then falls back into his trance, the bubbles appearing again.) End Scene

Kai and Gwen ride Grace to the outskirts of Kalm.

Kai: That was a foolish and stupid thing to do. You could’ve died.

Gwen: So could you! No more secluded Hunter stuff. From now on, we work as a team. We need you.

Kai: Thanks.

Gwen: That woman, she seemed familiar.

Kai: How?

Gwen: She had no mana, just like the cloaked figure from the Crater. (They arrive at Kalm, and get off Grace.)

Kai: Take care. (Grace clucks happily, and runs off. The Highwind then appears overhead, lowering itself low enough for a rope ladder to reach them. The two climb up, as the airship takes off.)

Kai and Gwen join Kevin, Ian and Logan on the bridge, Sunder flying the airship.

Gwen: Whoa. It’s incredible.

Kevin: I know, right. Finally got my hands on this beauty.

Sunder: If you're lucky, I’ll let you fly it sometime.

Kevin: (Sarcastically) Oh, ha ha.

Gwen: Kevin, how did you escape from Shinra?

Kevin: I didn’t. At the Crater, I was knocked out. The next thing I knew, I was in a cabin with Chopper, saved by a Paradox dude. End Scene

The scene flashes back, where Kevin, Chopper and Paradox are standing near the wreckage of the Tiny Bronco.

Kevin: My plane.

Paradox: After everything I just told you, you’re still complaining about your plane? The world is at stake.

Chopper: Yeah! He said that they’re going to kill Logan and Sakura in 6 days.

Kevin: And the others are in jail, I get that. But, how the heck do we stop them? I mean, it takes days just to walk across the continent. How are we supposed to get to Junon and set up a plan in time?!

Paradox: Why, you fly, of course.

Paradox pulls out a pocket watch, opening it. Strapped to the top was a red materia, which glows. Clockwork appears there, and fires a time ray at the plane. It lasts for a few minutes, then the plane is completely restored, and Kevin runs up to it, hugging it.

Kevin: My baby! She’s brand new! Thank you so much!

Paradox: Better get moving. Time is not on your side. Also, Chopper. (Chopper perks up.) When the time comes that you need my power of healing again, I will be waiting for you at Cosmo Canyon. See you then. (Clockwork stands next to Paradox, and the protrusion on its head starts to spin. A green circle forms around Clockwork and Paradox, and they disappear into the light.)

The Tiny Brocho flies east, landing outside Costa del Sol. They hide the plane, and Kevin and Chopper go into town, sitting at the bar at the inn.

Chopper: So, how do we stop the execution, and break the others out of prison?

Kevin: Not sure. They’ve probably have made specialized cells for them, magic resistant for Gwen, probably have Kai chained down to a troll or something. We could split up, but that make it more dangerous, and neither of us would have a method of escape.

Alviss: You are friends of Gwen? (Kevin and Chopper turn, seeing Alviss approaching.)

Kevin: What’s it to you?

Alviss: Gwen is an old friend of mine. I had met up with her and John a while back.

Chopper: You did?! Will you help us?!

Kevin: What can you do?

Alviss: I’ve got a friend in Midgar that could let me in. I could make it to HQ, get arrested and thrown in the Null Void, find Gwen and any others and get them out.

Kevin: A friend, huh? Wait, (Kevin snaps his fingers, as if realizing something.) I’ve got a friend! He works on the airship, the Highwind! I hate the vermin for achieving my dream, but perhaps he could help us get the ship.

Alviss: Sounds like we have a plan.

Kevin: First round of drinks on me. Tomorrow, we put the plan into action. End Scene

Back on deck, Gwen looks upset at the mention of Alviss, turning away.

Logan: Well, thanks for saving us, kid. But what do we do now?

Ian: It doesn’t mean a thing that we’re back together. We’re just as powerless as before.

Gwen: Maybe. But we know someone who has the power to fix this, John.

Logan: We don’t even know if he’s alive. After what that traitorous reptile did.

Kai: Wait, (Everyone turns to her.) What happened with Vector?

Logan: Oh, so now you talk? Well, I’ll tell you what happened. He attacked us, and left John with that cloaked figure. He’s probably dead.

Ian: If that were true, then maybe we should look where the Lifestream breaches the surface.

Gwen: That spirit river thing?

Ian: We were looking for it on the Northern Continent. Maybe he was sucked in, alive, sent through the planet. It’s the best lead we’ve got.

Sunder: In that case, I’ll set the course to Mideel. It’s famous for the Lifestream being close to the surface.

Logan: That would’ve been nice to know before almost dying in the north.

Sunder: You didn’t have a captain that knew that before.

Kevin: In that case, lead the way.

Sunder: Yes sir! End Scene

The Highwind lands on the island, as Gwen, Ian and Kai disembark from the airship, heading into the town of Mideel. It is a hot spring town with several wood buildings.

Ian: Are your powers strong enough to sense him?

Gwen: (Focusing) No. The presence of the mako is too much in my weakened state.

Kai: Chopper couldn’t track anything with such heavy mako. Perhaps it’s an adverse affect.

J.T.: Did you hear about that guy that washed up in the town? (The group turns, seeing Cash and J.T. talking.)

Cash: Yeah. Apparently they took him to the hospital. (Gwen grabs Cash, holding him in the air.)

Gwen: Where is this hospital?!

Cash: Get your hands off me!

J.T.: It’s just down the road! (Gwen drops Cash, as she runs off. Kai and Ian follow her.)

Cash: What was her problem?

At the hospital, the group is beside John, who is unconscious in a bed.

Doctor: He washed up about a week ago with a severe case of mako poisoning. He’s in a coma now, and I’m not sure how long it will last. To be honest, I don’t see how he’s alive now.

Gwen: Is there anything we can do?

Doctor: No. And don’t worry. We’re doing everything we can. (The doctor walks off.)

Ian: Now what?

Gwen: I’m staying. Maybe my mana can heal him, or remove some of the toxins in his system.

Kai: One cannot defy death.

Gwen: I can still try.

Kai: Very well. We’ll be back when we can. Ian, let’s head back to the ship.

Ian: Agreed. We can’t do anything here. Take care, Gwen. (Kai and Ian leave the hut, Gwen using her mana to heal John.)

Characters

 * John Spacewalker
 * Ian
 * Gwen
 * Kai
 * Logan
 * Kevin
 * Highwind Crew
 * Sunder
 * Cash
 * J.T.
 * Paradox (flashback)
 * Azmuth (hallucination)

By Paradox

 * Clockwork (first re-appearance)

Trivia

 * It's revealed that Paradox fixed the Bronco.
 * It's revealed that the collision of Super John and Silver Surfer created this alternate dimension.
 * Gwen stays to care for John, who has mako poisoning.
 * This reduces the group on the Highwind to four.