On The Move
Cloud entered the church and saw Denzel and Marlene waiting for him. As he stepped on the hard wooden floor the two turned their heads towards him and ran to him giving him a hug as they reached him. "Cloud! There's something you need to see!" Marlene exclaimed and Denzel capitalised with "Yeah! Yuna's at the bar! Tifa just told me on the phone!" which made Cloud's lips flicker.
Cloud couldn't hold back the smile and he crouched down to meet them at eye level. "Well then what are we waiting for? Let's get to the bar!" he enthused however they were interrupted. The doors of the church were kicked open and three people stood at the entrance. As they walked in further their appearance became more clear and while their faces weren't familiar, the uniform definitely was. SOLDIER uniforms, first class uniforms in fact.
"Run!" Cloud shouted to Denzel and Marlene as he drew his fusion sword and quickly blocked an incoming attack. Another member jumped in and swung his sword which Cloud stepped backwards to avoid. A lower attack then came in from the first member which Cloud barely blocked. The two members were working as a unit which put Cloud on the defensive, there was no way to turn the fight around. There was also another concern on Cloud's mind, what was the third member doing? After some quick thinking Cloud slid along the floor and went in between the two members which caused them both to attack at the same time. At the last possible moment Cloud jumped over them both which made them slash each other across the chest. There was no time for celebration. Cloud spotted the third member running to the exit carrying the case full of materia. That materia could not fall into the wrong hands. Quickly Cloud defused one of the smaller blades of the sword and threw it at the member which then impaled his back causing him to fall to the floor.
Cloud ran to the case and opened it. Empty. Another member must've sneaked in and switched the cases. "Shit!" Cloud said under his breath. As fast as he could he ran to Denzel and Marlene. "Are you two all right?" he asked and they responded by nodding. "I'm taking you two to the bar. Lock the doors and stay in there, only answer to Tifa. You got it?" Cloud said and once again they nodded.
!~!
"Everyone get over here!" Tifa yelled urgently. It wasn't long before everyone gathered around and realised what was going on. People outside were running away for their lives as SOLDIER members with Mako Madness ran through the city. "We need to get out there!" Rikku exclaimed which nobody disagreed with. They all ran outside to the centre of the sector where most of the members were. Cid and Red (who had Cait Sith on his back) took the left side Tifa Vincent and Yuffie took the centre which left Yuna, Rikku and Paine who took the right.
There were a lot of members however Yuna noticed there were no first class members judging by the uniform colours. The battle went on for a while, but after a few minutes all of the members retreated for some reason. In the very centre there was a monument dedicated to the Meteor crisis and on top of that monument stood a 1st class member. He raised his arm in the air and something shot into the sky. Did he just use a summon materia?
"Oh shit!" Cid shouted, Yuna also noticed the others from AVALANCHE had worried looks. "What's going on?" Yuna asked to which Tifa said "They just summoned Bahamut Zero! Only Cloud should have that summon which means they stole it from him!"
Bahamut hovered in the sky and shot a huge energy ball at the group which sent them all flying. While they were on the ground Bahamut was about to strike again until he was stopped by several bullets. "What the hell is goin' on? Marlene better be safe!" Barret said as he entered the battle to save everyone. "It's a long story." Red said "Tell me later. Now let's go kill that thing!" Barret replied as they all ran in to fight the ultimate summon.
Yuna, Vincent and Barret had taken high ground in order to shoot Bahamut from a distance while those skilled in close combat took Bahamut closer. Not everyone attacked at the same time though. When someone showed signs of fatigue someone jumped in to take their place so that they could rest and heal up. The tactic was going well until Bahamut got really angry. He flicked his tail at the pillar that Yuna was standing on and followed through hitting Rikku Paine and Tifa which sent the four of them to the floor. Furthermore he followed up with sending an energy ball at them which YRP managed to get away from fairly quickly by going right. Tifa went left and barely dodged it however the energy ball hit a building on the left which sent dibris falling down directly above Tifa. "Tifa!" Yuna shouted as the three girls were then encountered with the 1st class SOLDIER member that summoned Bahamut.
Cloud saw a scene of chaos and destruction. Images of Zack and Aerith came to his mind when he saw Tifa, Yuna, Rikku and this Paine girl. He may have been too weak to help them but no matter what he was not going to let those girls die. Cloud took out his fusion sword and threw it at the member which cut him down and turned the heads of the three girls in his direction. The sword span around and came back to Cloud like a boomerang which he then used to cut through the falling debris. As fast as lightning he dodged all of the debris and picked up Tifa putting her on the back of the motorbike. "Sorry it took me so long, I had to put Denzel and Marlene in the bar." Cloud apologised to Tifa who shook her head "That's all right. You know, Yuna is here." "Yeah I know. Do me a favour, when I fight Bahamut keep those three out of danger." Cloud said which Tifa agreed to.
When Cloud dropped Tifa off she ran to the three girls and as she did Cloud made eye contact with Yuna. The two exchanged a quick smile before Cloud rode into battle. He looked up and saw an energy ball heading straight for Barret. Quickly he jumped up and grabbed Barret's collar then releasing him on a pillar that was out of the line of fire. "The hell have you been!?" Barret questioned which Cloud ignored. He fused all of his swords together and dived in.
Everyone had stopped attacking and let Cloud do what he does best. Cloud swung his sword a few times and couldn't pierce the armour of Bahamut however he jumped off of him and came back down slamming his sword on him as he did which sent him flying down into the ground. Despite this Bahamut didn't stay down for long and began to ascend into the sky. Cloud jumped up in pursuit, however it was clear that he wouldn't be able to get high enough. Luckily Barret was there to help him out. "Alley oop!" Barret shouted as he grabbed Cloud's hand and threw him up. Cloud reached Bahamut and struck him however Bahamut anticipated this and blocked his attack then sent him back down to the ground. Cid was there this time to help Cloud out. He span around then as Cloud landed on his spear he put all his effort into hitting him back up. "Giddyap!" Cid shouted as Cloud shot back up into the sky. Cloud's ascend was then assisted by Red and surprisingly Cait Sith who shouted "There you go!" in that Irish accent of his. Yuffie then cuffed her hands under his boot and pushed him upwards grunting as she did. It was Vincent this time who simply grabbed Cloud's hand and threw him up saying "Fly!" in that cold voice of his. Finally Tifa grabbed his hand and said "No giving up!" as she threw him up into the sky. With one final atempt to stop Cloud Bahamut shot an energy ball at him. Cloud rose to his challenge and entered the energy ball. As he entered he heard Yuna call his name. Would that be enough for him to get through this? He could feel his strength fading. Just as he was about to pass out he saw something up ahead. There were two people waiting for him holding out their hands. Cloud blinked. Was that really them? Zack and Aerith? It didn't matter, he took their hands which filled him with strength. Feeling invincible Cloud shot out of the energy ball and dodged Bahamut's attack which gave him an opening. Cloud jammed his sword into the exposed part of Bahamut and ran along his body before taking his sword out. "Argh!" Cloud shouted as he jumped off. Bahamut dissolved into red streams and the battle was won.
As Cloud came back down to the floor he landed on his motorbike. He wasn't close to anyone so he took out his phone and called Tifa. "Tifa, get Denzel and Marlene from the bar then find a truck. Meet me at Kalm, it's not safe here anymore." Cloud told her to which she replied "Alright, but why can't you just come with us?" Cloud didn't answer straight away and Tifa could hear some grunting noises over the phone. Was Cloud fighting while driving and talking to her on the phone? "Could you hang on a second," Cloud said as more grunting could be heard. "I can't come with you because I have to talk to Rufus first, he might finally have some answers." Cloud finally said which Tifa didn't like but she had no choice "Just be careful."
!~!
Cloud entered Rufus's hideout hoping that he and the Turks had finally found something useful. "Cloud, we've been waiting for you." Rufus said a little uneasy. It wasn't like Rufus to be so shaken "What's wrong?" Cloud asked and Reno replied "Well, there's some good news." "And some bad news." Rude finished. Tseng then stepped forward explaining "The cause of the Mako Madness, it is something a lot worse than we thought. The reason the members of SOLDIER are doing these thing is because... Jenova still lives. She is commanding them through the use of her cells inside of them." Cloud just looked down. Jenova was still alive? "This is Jenova's true power? Her true self? Then how am I not affected by such a powerful being?" Cloud asked which was answered by Elena "Fortunately that is the good news, we can answer your question. As you already know you are a Sephiroth clone, therefore your Jenova cells are different from the regular SOLDIER members. This means she can't control you because they aren't her pure cells."
So one of Cloud's most traumatic experiences turned out to be his saviour. "What about Jenova? Surely if we defeat her then this will all stop, do you have any idea where she is?" Cloud asked which was met with silence. Rufus stepped forward and said "We'll work on it. Right now you should go to your friends and make sure they are safe. I assume you will also want to see this Yuna girl as well." which made Cloud scowl. "How do you know Yuna is here? How do you even know about her?" he asked demanding an answer. Rufus pursed his lips then replied "When you started working with us I had Elena keep a close eye on you. I had to make sure you weren't taken out." "You mean you wanted to spy on me in case I held back any information. This is life and death, why would I hide anything!? I'm leaving, if you find anything I expect a call." Cloud shouted as he slammed the door shut while walking out.
!~!
Yuna sat on the edge of a wall letting her legs dangle down over the side. So this was Kalm? Just as Cloud has described it, so peaceful, so old fashioned. It was certainly a big contrast compared to Midgar. Yuna had been waiting for over an hour now for Cloud to return. Why was fate being so cruel? It was like everything was against her, like the world didn't want them to reunite.
"Yuna," Tifa said from behind her "You've been waiting for a while now, I thought you might be hungry." she continued to say as she carried two plates with food on them. "Thank you." Yuna said as Tifa handed her a plate and sat beside her on the wall. The two ate in silence for a moment until Tifa said "I'm sorry Cloud couldn't come with us. Sometimes he works too hard." "That's all right, you couldn't have done anything about it." Yuna replied. She liked Tifa, she was the kind of person who would always try to help you even if there was nothing she could do or change.
"You know, Cloud didn't stop working when he got back. He's been trying so hard to find a way back to Spira, you must be special." Tifa said which made Yuna blush. "I don't know about that, but that does sound like something Cloud would do. Back on Spira he would always try his best to do what he could to help everyone out." she replied which made Tifa giggle a little. "He may act tough, but on the inside he's just like a baby chocobo. He wouldn't last two days without us!" she said which then made Yuna giggle and soon enough the two girls were in stitches.
"Hey chuckle sisters! It's late!" Barret yelled from the bottom of the wall. Tifa turned to Yuna and said "He's right let's go back to the room, alright? We can wait for Cloud there." "Ok, I guess I'll be able to get to know you all better that way anyway so it's for the best." Yuna replied as the two girls walked to the inn.
!~!
Cloud pulled up just outside of Kalm and saw a big truck. That was a relief. He sat on his motorbike for a moment and puffed out his cheeks. On the way to Kalm all he could think about was the threat of Jenova. In her true form Cloud was worried not just for the girls from Spira, but the AVALANCHE gang as well. There was also the matter of his decision to stay or leave. The girls had gotten here somehow so they must know how to get back which meant Cloud had a lot less time to decide now. Cloud closed his eyes and covered his face. "What am I going to do?"
Regaining his composure Cloud got off of his motorbike. It was the middle of the night and nobody was on the streets. Despite not seeing where his friends were, he knew exactly where they would be. Cloud walked into the inn just in front of the entrance to the town. "I'm looking for some of my friends. They booked a room here." Cloud said to the inn keeper who replied "Mr. Strife, is it? They're waiting for you on the second floor, room 2."
Cloud walked up the stairs. His heavy boots made the floor boards creek and echo throughout the inn. At last he got to the top of the stairs and opened the door of room 2. Everyone was awake and turned their heads to him as he entered. Instantly Cloud was greeted with the feeling of soft lips pressing against his own. Cloud didn't care what the others would say, He had been waiting for this moment for over 2 years now, he wasn't going to let it go to waste. "I love you!" Yuna said as tears of joy fell from her eyes. Cloud put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. One blue the other green, he had missed those eyes. He brushed his hand on her face wiping away the tears and said "I love you too."