Where Are They?
Author's Note: Finally, Chapter four! Sorry, I'm concentrating on two stories at once each day as long as my head would let me.
Reno: Good thing that I'm not-
Tashasaurous: Shh! Don't spoil it! Okay, shall we?
Cloud: Tashasaurous doesn't own anything from Final Fantasy VII.
Reno: All rights belong to Square Enix only.
Tashasaurous: Now let's begin the next chapter!
Chapter Four: Barret and Shalua.
After dropping Marlene, Denzel and Katie to Cosmo Canyon where both Elmya and Nanaki promised to keep the children safe, Tifa travelled with Cisseni and Haruto to Corel to pick up Barret who would no doubt want to join in the fight against Deepground and save the world again for Marlene's sake. The problem was, the Turks would be around and trying to convince him that the helicopter is the fasest transport to WRO would be challenging.
If DeepGround didn't invade yet there already, however. That's another problem.
"Hey, Cissnei?" Tifa called up.
The young urban Turk glanced at the other woman from the co-pilot's seat and replied, "Yes, Tifa?"
"I've been wondering since we escaped Edge." Tifa began, "How is it that you know about Cloud's Mako poisoning and how you know him?" she wanted to ask the question since it was bugging her a lot. She wanted to know so that she can be at ease, no matter what the answer was.
Cissnei looked very uncomfortable, as she glanced at Haruto, who eye-glanced at her and nodded silently. The younger former Turk glanced back at Tifa again, and began, "Are you familiar with Zack?"
The female martial artist nodded, "I met him eight years ago. He...came with Sephiroth and Cloud to Nibelhiem. I didn't know him well, and I...I shouldn't have shouted at him for Nibelhiem's destruction when he was trying to help us and stop Sephiroth, and took care of Cloud before he died."
"Zack's always one to help others without second thought." Cissnei agreed, "Even though he was a ladies man," she giggled at the memory of Zack flirting any pretty girl possible, "he was very sweet, kind and caring. He was also strong young warrior, a skilled swordsmen, and, he always wanted to help out friends. He was possibly the only SOLDIER that the Turks actually got on with."
"Sounds like my friend Aerith before she died." Tifa thought. "And that explains why Cloud was close to him. Other than me, Cloud never really had any friends growing up."
"You know how they both escaped, right?"
"Yes. Zack got himself and Cloud out." Tifa nodded.
Cissnei sighed, before continuing, "The Turks were ordered to hunt them down. I happened to found them first outside Nibelhiem, but, when I saw how badly infected Cloud was...I risked my job and let them escape twice. The second time was in Zack's hometown, and I was off duty at the time, and this was the same time that us Turks were becoming fugitives ourselves."
"Why is that?" Tifa curiously asked. "How is it that you became fugitives while Tseng, Reno and Rude didn't?"
"They too were included in the fugitive list." Haruto answered before Cissnei could speak again. He continued, "It's due that Veld's daughter Felicia whom was named Elfe by the original AVALANCHE and she was one of the leaders. However, Fuhito, the scientest of AVALANCHE, was using them in order to forge the most deadly summon, Ziconiade, in four special summon materia, and use it to destroy all life in the world."
"When Kalm was burned down before it was rebuilt," Cissnei took over, "Veld was informed that his family was dead, but in reality, they, including Veld himself, were taken in to be used for Hojo's experiments. Our former director was the only one to go free, having the metal arm in replacement of his original arm which he lost."
Tifa was stunned, "Sephiroth, Vincent, Lucrecia, Veld, Zack and Cloud...and all of those people...how could Hojo do such horrible things!?" then she realized something and said, "Wait...Felicia was alive, though, right?"
"Yes, and Hojo implanted one of the pieces of the materia inside her body before she escaped and was found by AVALANCHE who tried to end ShinRa in many possible ways. They were much more organized than the one you and the others were in, Tifa. And much more dangerous too." Cissnei explained.
"How did Veld take it?" Tifa asked again.
Haruto sighed, "Not too well, I'm afraid. Felicia had strength that matched Sephiroth's. When we confronted AVALANCHE, Veld saw his daughter for the first time and learned that the materia inside her was draining her life energy. So he left the Turks under Tseng's command in order to try and revive her."
"We couldn't take it well either." Cissnei added, "Despite the orders to execute Veld, Tsen instead ordered us to find the rest of the materia to dig out the last part as well saving Felicia's life. It didn't go according to plan, because not only the company wanted Zack and Cloud dead, but they also thought that since we were aiding Veld just for the promise and honor of our mission, that we were to be executed too. Every last one of us."
"Tseng, Reno and Rude tried their best to rescue Veld, while the rest of us risked our lives to kill Fuhito and destroy Ziconiade before it was fully completed. We succeeded in saving the world, but Tseng and the others were conered by Shinra, and if it weren't for Rufus, despite him having funded AVALANCHE in the first place and was under house arrest until that point, the Turks would've been dead and forgotten. While he made the situation worse, Rufus did save our lives in the end. Tseng had to shot Veld and Felicia, but he made it look like he killed them, but they were still alive so that they could escape, while he, Reno and Rude sacrificed their freedom to remain in ShinRa." Haruto continued.
"And the rest of us went into hiding, until the day Midgar was Evacuated. All of us Turks, including Veld, returned to aid Tseng, Reno, Rude and Elena, and then went back to our lives outside Shinra. I was living in Gongaga to take care of Zack's parents after meteorfall three years ago, since Zack asked me to take care of them and they asked me to join the family." Cissnei concluded.
"Zack's parents asked you to live with them?" Tifa asked.
Cissnei giggled, "They were very nice. Plus, Zack's mother was worried that he'd never get a wife, and," her smile faded as she admitted, "I was abandoned as a baby and lived in the orphanage until I was eight, when Shinra came and raised me. Gongaga was the last time I ever saw Zack..."
She felt a tear fall from her eyes and she quickly wiped it away, before concluding, "I never even got to tell him...my real name."
"Your name's not Cissnei?" Tifa asked, suprised.
"I renamed myself to make my life easier for myself." Cissnei answered. She then added, "Come to think of it, after I let Zack and Cloud go for the first time, I returned to Nibelhiem where I found Veld, and we both investigated the ShinRa manor, and...met Vincent."
"And Vincent didn't join you?" Tifa asked, then thought, "So let me get this straight. You were with the Turks, but due to the old AVALANCHE and Hojo, you were in trouble, and you risked everything to help Zack, Cloud and try and save the world and protect and save another person's life which lead most of you into exile while after that, Cloud, the others and I didn't know and had to fight Tseng and the others?"
"The Planet's true enemies were Rufus' father, Fuhito, Scarlet, Heidegger, Hojo, Sephiroth, and now DeepGround." Haruto said.
"And to think Rufus betrayed all of you, then later save you..." Tifa then realized and remembered the bitter relationship Rufus had with his father and how he already took position as President after Sephiroth killed his father. "Wow. Rufus must've really hated his father. I guess I can't blame him, since the old president was cruel."
"All the former President cared about was world domination and money. He never had time for family." Haruto agreed. "I dare say that some of the bit of caringness Rufus has comes from his mother. He was very clever and mature as a child."
"Even to come up with an escape route at the age of five." Tifa giggled.
Cissnei giggled in agreement. Suddenly as she and Haruto looked ahead again, they both gaped in horror as below them, where Corel is, there was a massive breakout going on, just like in Kalm and Edge.
"Tifa! Get ready to fight! Deepground's here!" Cissnei called out.
Tifa gasped in horror hearing this, then knew that the young former Turk was right. Plus, she was worried about Barret.
Things were not looking too good. DeepGround came here unexpectedly and began to attack, both human army and weird dog-like mutant things, all attacking the innocent and either dragging them into large containers or killing them if they had Geostigma.
But Barret wasn't going down without a fight. He fully armed his machine-gun arm and fired as many enemies as he could.
"I didn't help rebuild Corel so that it was to become trash again!" Barret shouted at the top of his lungs, as he continued to fire while dodging incoming attacks as well. He wasn't fast, but he sure as hell is the master of machine-gun fighting, even if he's literally attacted to one.
However, he realised too late as a DG helicopter flew behind him. Barret turned around and could only stare in horror as the chopper was about fire at him.
It seemed to backfire, though. Because surprising, the chopper was attacked and shot at, by a familiar ShinRa helicopter which was firing at the enemy chopper, while hovering in the sky, and the side door opened, two familiar people standing on the side, ready to leap out and join in the fight.
"Cissnei! Tifa! I'll hold them off! You go and help the others on the ground!" Haruto ordered while concentrating on his firing.
"Got it!" Cissnei nodded. Then she and Tifa both jumped out at the same time, and landed safely and skillfully on the ground, before joining in the fight.
The female Turk threw her Shuriken-Rekka-in the air and it hit two DeepGround soldiers before returning to her. Tifa then punched and kicked in lighting speed at a tall and bulky DeepGround shoulder, immediately knocking him out, before going for others. Barret, seeing one of his friends there, got over his shock and rejoined the fight.
Despite driving most of DeepGround off, one chopper escaped with a cargo full of people and flew away. Tifa and the others witnessed this but were unable to do anything for now.
"Teef!" Barret called out as he approached the said woman who turned to face him.
Tifa then asked, "Barret, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, though can't say the same thing about Corel." Barret sighed in frustration. Then he asked, "Where's Marlene?"
"I took her and the other kids to Cosmo Canyon for safe keeping." Tifa replied, "And Cloud went to WRO to speak with Reeve about the situation."
Barret then noticed Cissnei and realized that he only recongised her because of the suit. When she approached, he asked, "You a Turk?"
"I was once with the Turks, but I can assure you that we're against DeepGround as well." Cissnei informed.
"Deepground?" Barret asked, "You mean those blue-mako suited guys?"
The two women nodded, just as Haruto landed the Chopper on the ground behind them, the side door still open.
"Barret, I know you still don't like the Turks, but we need help in beating DeepGround. They've taken over Edge and Midgar." Tifa requested.
After a few moments of silence, Barret sighed and replied, "I sure as hell ain't gonna let those DeepGround pieces of s*** to take over or destroy the world. I'll try and be on my best behavior."
"Thanks, Barret." Tifa smiled.
"Thank you, Mr. Barret." Cissnei smiled as well.
Barret looked at the urban woman and cringed, "Who're you calling Mr. Barret? That don't sound right! Aerith called me that once too." remembering how while escaping the ShinRa building that Aerith thanked him and called him "Mr." too.
"Sorry." Cissnei giggled while trying to hide it. "My name's Cissnei. It's nice to meet you."
Once aqquinted, the three of them boarded the chopper, and Haruto closed the side-door and flew it back towards WRO HQ.
The older Turk then took time to glance at Barret in the back and said, "I gather that you're Barret."
"And don't you forget it!" Barret replied, "So who're you?"
"I am Haruto. Pleasure to meet you." Haruto replied.
"At least you're better than redhead." Barret sighed.
Haruto chuckled, "You mean Reno? He and I never got on very well either despite being comrades."
"And you always lost to Rude whenever he goes into 'big-brother' mode on us and when you wanted to teach a new female member something new and he takes over." Cissnei added.
The specked man sighed while remaining silent and just concentrating on flying. Barret and Tifa glanced at each other, now seeing the new side of the Turks, possibly while they were not on duty in ShinRa.
Meanwhile, Cloud had arrived back in Edge where everything's completely silent, and it was dark and raining, on top of everything else. He knew that DeepGround had took over and had to be careful.
He then spotted a woman with long orange-red hair tied up in a ponytail, in a lab coat and blue high-heeled shoes. He then approached her, but the woman noticed him and he saw that her left eye was closed andher left arm was replaced with a mecanile one, just like Veld's.
Cloud then took notice of the ID badge she was wearing. "You're with WRO?" he asked.
"Why do you say that?" The woman asked coldy.
"My name is Cloud Strife." Cloud introduced himself and replied, "I've been sent by Reeve to check on our friend Vincent Valentine."
The woman paused, then relaxed, and replied, "My apologuies. I'm Shalua Rai of WRO. The Commissioner told me much about you and Vincent, Cloud."
"Do you know where Vincent is?"
"You just missed him. He arrived earlier, and should be fighting against DeepGround as we speak." Shalua explained.
"I have to find him." Cloud said, "He's in danger, because DeepGround wants to capture him."
Shalua was caught off guard by this, and asked, "Why is that?"
"I don't know." Cloud replied, "I have to find him and warn him about all this." he sighed, admitting, "I don't even know if anyone besides myself and my family managed to get out before DeepGround invaded."
"Your family?"
"Tifa, Denzel, and Marlene." Cloud answered.
Another moment of silence, then Shalua then said, "Then I guess we should go and find Vincent, and then we part ways from there. I have other business to attend to."
"Other business?"
"Searching for my reason to live." was Shalua's reply, before she began to walk away.
Cloud stood there for a moment, uncertain on what the woman he just met was talking about. Deciding to forget about it for now, he followed her in hopes in finding Vincent before DeepGround did.
As they moved on, they suddenly heard a loud boom, and a little up ahead, a strange red light forming before it faded. Cloud and Shalua then both raced to where it came from, and once they reached it, Cloud gasped in horror.
Just a little head of him, was a familiar man in a red cape, standing in the rain, before collasping onto the ground. Shalua approached him slowly first.
Eventually, Cloud approached as well, then quickly bend down and checked up on the man before him. It was Vincent, and the ex-Turk was unconscious!
"Vincent? Vincent!" Cloud cried out, but his friend was out cold.
"What in the world happened?" Shalua asked, also shocked to see Vincent's unconscious form, seeing the strange beast that took over his body briefly before returning to normal, and was even more shocked on how Cloud was brave enough to confront the man who was clearly more than human now. How long, though, Shalua didn't know.
"I don't know." Cloud sighed, "Vincent hardly ever used his demon forms that often unless it's in case of emergency."
"Demon forms?" Shalua asked.
Cloud sighed bitterly, "Hojo experimented on him 30 years ago, around the same time Sephiroth was born. Hojo was the true monster and the Planet's real enemy."
"Sounds like you know him more than you speak." Shalua figured, then suggested, "We should get Vincent to WRO for recovery. I'll call for a ride."
"Thanks, Shalua." Cloud nodded. While the woman made a phone call, Cloud checked on his friend again, and whispered, "Was that Chaos Vincent turned into? If it was...why did cause him to lose consciousness? It never happened before."
Either way, Cloud knew that he wasn't getting any answers at the moment, and he was worried that he may never at this rate.
For that he and his friend had no idea that the sitation was just as worse as they would ever believe in.
Tashasaurous: There you have it! Vincent makes an appearence, though he's sleeping at the moment.
Vincent: (suddenly appearing) *Ahem* I happened to be unconscious, due to Chaos inside me.
Tashasaurous: Right, sorry. Anyway, to Copper Moon, I hope you don't mind that I burrow the name "Haruto" for this story(and along with Aven for my Sailor Moon Continuum if you wanna check it out).
Reno: Now can I say that it's a good thing that I wasn't in this chapter?
Tashasaurous: You just said it, but yes, you can. Okay, where were we?
Cloud: Don't forget to review before you leave.
Tashasaurous: Thanks, Cloud, and welcome abord, Vince.
Vincent:...