Wow, seven reviews. AWSOME!
Le: Moron, get to work.
Ty: (shakes head) Let her be, she does not torture us when she rants.
Too late. I own nothing but the new guys, the old guys and this lovely hack saw. Read and review people. I will not update unless I get enough reviews. Consider this a threat.
"ow" talking
'ow' thoughts
ow memories and dreams
"Yo, Cloud! Come 'ere, come 'ere, come 'ere!!" Yuffie proclaimed, rushing over to grab the soldier's hand. The ninja tugged the blond into moving. The ninja beamed at the blond as he moved faster to keep from being pulled off his feet.
The ex-soldier turned a long suffering glance at the red clad man tailing the two. Vincent rolled his crimson eyes at the two; happy it was not him Yuffie was hanging on. It was amusing to see one of the strongest warriors in the world being pulled around by a sixteen year old hyper active ninja girl.
The fact that the girl was about to pull Cloud off his feet troubled Vincent. Unlike what Cloud thought, Vincent had not let the issue drop. There was something troubling the blond man, Vincent could see it in his posture and, more sure then anything, in the glowing blue pools of Cloud's eyes. Vincent had every intention of cornering the boy that night.
For Cloud's part, he had most definitely not forgotten his problem. Not a single night went by that he did not return to the Shinra Mansion. Metal and grinding and the sickly swirling mass of mako that made up five long years of his life. Cloud could honestly say that he missed the time after the escape, when he had thought he was Zack. It had saved him from dealing with the reality of his life.
"See, this is so awesome!" Yuffie proclaimed as they reached her destination.
Both men's eyes widened at the sight of a rather impressive motorcycle. The machine was impressive, a sleek black mass of iron and plastic fit together into the most beautiful shape of power. It was something any young man would die to have. For the first time in days, Cloud's eyes glowed brightly. A rare smile crossed the pale face as he ran a hand over the smooth black paint.
"I thought you would love this," Yuffie smiled at the look on Cloud's face. The blond looked like an exited teenager in front of the motorcycle.
Vincent sighed, "I hate to interrupt you two," Vincent waved his metallic claw at the blond leader and the bike, "But I really think we should deal with the monsters."
"Ah," Cloud blushed lightly. He glared at the ninja as she giggled at his expense. "Yes, we should get this over with quickly."
Darkness crept through the sky outside of inn windows. The world outside of the glass barrier slowly turned inside, retreating from the coming cold. The smell of smoke fell from the many chimneys. Every now and then the wind would draw the remaining stench of blood from the woods, where an uncounted amount of monsters littered the ground. Only one person remained outside, golden hair bleached blood red from the setting sun.
"Cloud,"
The young man looked up at the towering gunner. "Vincent."
Vincent sat down on the wall, beside the blond. The two sat in silence, watching the color drain from the land.
Vincent was the first to break the silence, "How are the dreams?" The younger man stiffened, not looking at the gunner. "I know nightmares." Vincent stated.
Cloud glanced at the older man, finding crimson eyes boring into his own. Those haunted eyes burned into him, seeing into the darkest corner of Cloud's soul. This was the part where Hojo still ruled over the life of a frightened teenager with needles and drills.
"You should be honored." The sound of a saw filled the air, "You just may become better then Sephiroth one day."
Hot tears fell down pale cheeks, soundless cries stuck in the back of the teenager's throat.
"Hey! Hey, you freaky quack! Leave the kid alone! Let me out and see how you fare" The dark haired man floating in another tank, facing the table, Zack slammed a fist against the glass.
Hojo leaned forward, a strand of dark hair tickling the boy's wet cheek, "If you are a good specimen," the scientist whispered into Cloud's ear, "I just may leave Specimen A alone for today."
Vincent did not miss the shiver that ran through the blond, nor the vacant look that clouded those blue eyes. For that moment, Vincent saw Cloud as a child in a grown up body. 'It made sense,' Vincent thought, 'the boy only reached his teens before his life was stolen by that Hojo. Just like mine.'
Vincent let the silence continue for a moment, "I may know what is bothering you," Vincent looked at Cloud, gauging his words affect. "I can help."
Cloud chuckled softly, "That was a bit clichéd Vince."
Vincent shrugged, "I am not the best talker," again the boy chuckled shakily.
"What is it?" Vincent leaned back to look up at the vast field of stars. If there was one thing the former Turk had come close to missing during his sleep, it had been the stars. It suited the gunner, a creature of darkness.
"What makes you think there is anything wrong?" Vincent could here the defiance swell up in Cloud's voice. It may make the swordsman unstoppable in a fight, but it was making an already difficult situation worse.
"Did you talk to Hojo that way? He would have loved that." The comment had only been an offhanded thought, drawing from Vincent's own vivid memories of those hours of torment.
But the words had obviously struck a cord. Cloud stood up abruptly, standing straight. "I don't think I understand you. Excuse me." And before Vincent could say anything, the boy was gone into the dark streets.
"Perfect, Valentine." Vincent shook his head as he watched the darkness.
'Gods, I am so stupid!'
Cloud threw his head back lightly, tapping the back of his skull against the massive trunk of the tree he was propped against. It was impossible to tell how long he had been sitting in that spot; the shifting leaves overhead hiding the sky from the forest floor.
'If I wanted to keep my secret,' Cloud thought, 'that was not the way.'
Maybe this was what he wanted though, maybe Cloud wanted Vincent to figure it out. While else would he be acting like an idiot?
'I wish Zack was still here.'
"Cloud, buddy," Zack looked through the side of the tube to the blond teen. He could just see the boy suspended in the swirling green haze, curled into himself, attempting to disappear.
Zack leaned his forehead against the glass, "Hey, I remember how me and Seph trashed the labs at Shinra Inc." the blonde's head turned ever so slightly, "Yeah, it was just awesome. I took a whole can full of food coloring and turned every one of the SoB's lab coats pink. Then we took this spay foam I found in a joke shop and drew smiley faces over every surface."
Zack watched a small smile tug at Cloud's mouth. A broad smile crossed the First Class Soldier's face as he kept talking.
Zack was always the strong one, the one who could take anything. 'I wish I really was him.'
Towering grey masses of metal and concrete littered the equally bleak area. The putrid stench of smoke and decay clotted in the longs of those few living bodies picking through the broken husks of buildings. This was the remains of Midgar, an appropriate death for such a dilapidated creature.
But it was only two people standing inside one of those skeletal structures that mattered.
"How could you let them escape," one man, tall and thin, growled. It was impossible to take this act serious for the sickly white pallor, as well as the sheer lack of mass, assured that this man had no means to back up any threat. Dark brown hair hung around this man's thin face in greasy strings. A splash of white was already working its way into the temples.
"I fail to see the problem," this man, on the other hand, looked capable of crushing his companion's skull in one massive fist. Shorter then the other man, this one had the build of a tank, a rather vicious axe hanging from his muscular back. "Those boys looked ready to keel over. I can find them easily."
The taller man sighed at fighter' words, looking at the scattered papers littering the brown floor, old blood stained into the scuffed ground. All this brilliant work, left to rot, the man thought as he started gathering them into his arms. "I seriously doubt that Azel, they have Jenova cells in them. They will be long gone within hours, half dead or not."
"I need Jenova cells to continue the research. The only ones I could get were in the clones and you-" the man stopped, looking at the slip of paper in his hand. A thin smile crept its way onto his peaked face.
"What has you so happy Dr. Anders?" Azel asked as he bent forward to glance at the paper.
"This," Dr. Anders turned the paper over to show the picture of a spiky haired blond. "This is what we need to find."
Longer chapter, now REVIEW MY LOVELY LITTLE DUCKIES!!
