Final Fantasy VII: Another Story

By:

Mystwalker

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII.

A/N: Guys, Cissy's fine! Promise! I just ran out of space in the last chapter and decided to end in a cliffhanger. It just happened to be in her scene. I didn't mean to put her in mortal danger again. Here! Let me put everyone else in mortal danger to even it out—wait, what? Enjoy!

Thanks go to SpiritDreamWarriors, Irish-Brigid, JazzQueen, Draconic, Riku Uzumaki, Eavenne, DJ Meltdown of Ground Xero, Symphony's Feather, and Angelwrath for the reviews and support! Glad you guys enjoyed the Cloud scene, he's definitely going to take a bigger role in this "book" than in the previous one. And yes, the machines were field tested against Zack, and this is one of their higher leveled ones (so an upgrade of some of the older ones field tested against Zack. ^^)

XxXxX

File 039: The Great Glacier

Cissnei shoved off of the rooftop as the blast shot towards her, feeling herself falling through the air. The blast struck the rooftop above her, and she felt the heat from the flames across her skin as she dropped, hugging her arms close to herself and trying to tuck her head. She landed in a snowdrift, the snow slowing her fall but sending a shock of cold shooting through her system. The ex-Turk rolled over, shaking snow from her hair. She got her hands under her and pushed, groaning as her leg protested against the movement. Her ears still rang from the force of the explosion earlier, making all sounds seem garbled and far off, but instinct rather than her senses made her jump back, getting out of the way just as a volley of bullets plowed through the snowdrift.

The infantrymen guarding the war machines had noticed her, and they were opening fire. She darted around a corner, pressing herself flat against the wall as bullets pinged against the stone in her wake. In the air above her head, she heard the whirring sounds of the drone searching for her. So much for stealth.

Cissnei glanced upward, trying to hone in on the sound. With her ears the way they were, she couldn't tell how far the drone was, but it didn't matter. It was close. Thankfully, that model only carried one missile that size, unless Shinra had upgraded their arsenal since their second visit to the Gold Saucer. Not so thankfully, it still had guns, although Cissnei was willing to be thankful for small miracles. In spite of the situation, Cissnei found herself smiling, her heart pounding in exhilaration as she stole a few quick breaths.

Without a plan, she'd have to improvise. And no one improvised like a Turk.

She reached for her Regen Materia, feeling the healing wash over her. There was no time to check for shrapnel in her leg wound—which would have been ideal. Now that she didn't have a plan, she needed to be as whole as she possibly could. That meant having two working legs, and working ears. Cissnei ran out through the other side of the alley, hearing the infantrymen shout after her as they ran in her direction. They would split into two groups, one to cut off her escape at the front, the other to chase after her from behind. Sure enough, Cissnei saw the first signs of infantrymen round the corner in front of her, rifles propped up on her shoulders. She heard the sounds of boots on snow behind.

Foot soldiers, she thought, her smile widening. Always so predictable.

She leapt onto the wall beside her, grabbing hold of a windowsill with one hand and stabbing Rekka through the bricks with the other. Bullets struck the ground at her feet, missing her by a hair.

They never thought up.

She stabbed Rekka into the wall above her to get a better handhold, pushing herself up and maneuvering herself onto the rooftop. Cissnei landed in snow and rolled, bullets pinging uselessly against the eaves as she moved away. The drone, still circling the rooftops, raised its guns towards her, but she was ready for it this time. Rekka flew from her hand, separating the machine's motor from the rest of its body. It fell to the ground, guns still firing as it crashed into the snow. She heard the men below shout a warning as the machine fell among them, but she didn't look to see if they had been struck by friendly fire, catching Rekka in her free hand and running across the rooftop. She hoped that any civilians in the area had the presence of mind to stay inside while all of this was going on, but she didn't particularly doubt it.

That was the fun thing about Shinra's regime. Despite all the company's efforts to present a kind face to the general public, there were a surprising number of civilians who knew how to keep their heads down and stay out of the way.

She ducked as bullets flew overhead, throwing herself into the snow. The soldiers below were just reaching—they couldn't possibly see her at this angle, but a lucky shot would still hurt as much as an aimed one. As she landed, she glanced at her watch, wondering how much time she had.

Five minutes.

It would have to do.

She pushed herself to her feet as the sound of gunfire died down, running towards the war machines. There were still a handful of soldiers guarding them, but the majority were thankfully on the other side of the building, shooting at her. It wouldn't last. They would eventually figure out the deception and come around. But for her purposes, it would do just fine.

There wasn't enough time to think, nor was there really enough time to look for a better way. Cissnei launched herself from the rooftop, landing on top of one of the war machines. Her feet skidded out from her as she landed—the machine's surface had frosted over, but she managed to grab on to one of its corners, her fingers finding a purchase as her feet dangled over the edge. She'd struck the metal hard enough for her to feel thoroughly rattled, but she grit her teeth, managing to keep her mind clear as the confused soldiers guarding it finally turned around and leveled their rifles at her.

She dropped out of the way as gunfire started, dashing toward the man with the controls as bullets tore up the snow behind her. The infantryman swore as she approached, and he fumbled with the controls in one hand, reaching for his gun with the other.

Too late. Cissnei reached him, grabbing him by the arm and spinning him around so that the two of them were behind the second war machine, protected from the shooters. She kneed him in the gut and turned, her hand shooting out to strike a disabling blow at his neck. As he crumpled, she grabbed the controls, bullets pinging uselessly at the war machine behind her. There wasn't enough time to figure them out, so instead she pressed the power button and shifted the first war machine into automatic, dashing into an alleyway.

Behind her, the machine's sensors came on, scanning the area around it. It turned, wheeling its cannons around towards the soldiers, who had stopped firing and were now scrambling out of the way. Automatic mode meant that the machine would hunt whatever it considered a threat, which unfortunately included the infantrymen currently shooting at it to get at the ex-Turk behind it. She felt a twinge of guilt as the machine came to life, launching one of its cannons at the alley in the direction of the shooters. The explosion rocked the ground, and soldiers screamed.

She rounded a corner and pressed her back against a building wall, hoping that the rogue machine would distract the infantrymen long enough for her to figure out the controls. They seemed simple enough—not too much appeared to have changed since she had been in the Turks. If she could get a clearer view of the battlefield, it wouldn't take too much to designate the other machine as a target. She was just getting started on reprogramming the thing when a pair of infantrymen rounded the corner, and she looked up.

Cissnei tucked the controller under her arm, spinning quickly and kicking up loose snow with her boot. The snow fell onto the infantrymen's faces, distracting them long enough for her to throw Rekka. It caught the first infantryman across the shoulder, the second swatting it away with his rifle before he could strike him. In his panic, the gun fired, bullets slamming into the corner of the building on the other side of the street. She jumped into the air, catching her shuriken and using the distraction to run into another alley.

Her breath came in heavy pants as she ran, sweat trickling down her face and getting into her eyes. The day was starting to take its toll on her, the hours of running, and fighting and hiding beginning to wear her down. Her leg throbbed, warning her that she probably shouldn't have healed it. She glanced behind her, listening for signs of pursuit. The pair of infantrymen were already charging, the one she'd wounded signaling for back-up.

This was impossible. There were too many—

A shape flew overhead. Cissnei looked up sharply, her eyes drawn to the sound of rustling feathers. She caught sight of Sephiroth flying across the gap between the rooftops, the sun gleaming against his sword and his shoulder pauldrons. He didn't seem to see her, and was heading towards the meeting place.

Fifteen minutes. She guessed that that was over already.

Taking a chance, she hurled Rekka into the air, the red and white throwing star spinning as it burst out into the gap between rooftop and alley. She didn't have enough energy to shout, and wasn't even sure she could manage the climb, but thankfully, her signal worked. Sephiroth banked, flying back towards her. His sword flashed as he went into a dive, aiming at something behind her. Cissnei caught Rekka and turned to follow him with her eyes, watching as he cut down her pursuers in one swoop, their rifles firing uselessly into the air around him. He flicked the blood off his sword and into the snow, and looked back at her.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

She nodded mutely in response, not trusting her voice. He reached her, hooking his right arm around her waist, and she felt the ground jerk suddenly away from her as he flapped his wing, hoisting both of them into the air. Cissnei rested her head against his shoulder, pausing for a minute to catch her breath as Icicle Inn grew smaller and smaller below them. With one hand, she maneuvered the controller out from under her arm, holding it in her hands as Sephiroth banked suddenly, a missile exploding into the air behind them. Cissnei looked down to see that some enterprising infantryman had activated the second war machine, and its cannons were aimed directly for them.

"They're in pursuit," said Sephiroth, his arm tightening around her waist as he turned sharply to the other side. Her stomach lurched, her hand tightening around the controller.

"No, they're not," she said, pressing a button.

The first war machine turned, moving away from the soldiers. It locked onto the machine beside it, its cannons firing. Explosions rose up from the ground below, along with shouts of confusion. Sephiroth dodged one last blast, then glanced down at her.

"I've been busy," she said in explanation, letting out a sigh of relief as the sky finally grew quiet around them.

"I can see that," said Sephiroth in reply.

She closed her eyes, resting her head against his chest again and focusing on catching her breath. Now that she was away from the battle, the adrenaline rush was fading, leaving complete exhaustion in its wake. "Just fly," she muttered into his shoulder. "And wake me when we land."

If he said anything in reply, she didn't hear it. No sound but the rush of the wind filled her ears, as she drifted into dream.

XxXxX

Yuffie collapsed against the wall of the cave, taking deep breaths as she fell to the ground. The air was so cold that it seared her throat with each breath, but she drank it down greedily. She'd almost forgotten how hard it was to move in snow—Wutai's winters were nothing like this. She wondered again how anyone could live out here.

"Everyone alright?" she asked, dropping her weapon to the ground beside her. It was a metal boomerang called a Hawkeye, something she had…erm…liberated from Icicle Inn on their way out. The weapon wasn't quite like the four-pointed shurikens she was used to, but it had its merits. It flew farther, and had more Materia slots than her shuriken too. That proved to be useful in the battles they'd fought just to get into this cave—it meant she didn't need to run around as much as she normally would have.

"We're fine," said Zack, standing near the mouth of the cave. Yuffie cracked open an eye, glaring at him. He was grinning. She decided she hated that. He had no right to be grinning when they were freezing their butts off in a frozen wasteland hours from civilization. Stupid SOLDIERs and their stupid mako enhancements.

He unslung a water container from over his shoulder, tossing it to her. Yuffie caught it with one hand, nodding in thanks.

"How are you doing?" he asked, as she reached up with one hand to unscrew the top. Knowing her luck, the water would be frozen solid. That was just what they needed.

"I'm cold, I'm tired, and I'm starving," said Yuffie. "Is that really the time to ask me that question?" She took a swig of water, surprised to find that it was still liquid. Yuffie blinked, then pulled the canteen away from her mouth, looking for the manufacturer's logo.

Shinra. Of course. She made a face.

Zack grinned. "Hey, you have to admit, they make good stuff," he said. He stepped towards her, holding out a hand. "Come on. Aerith's starting a fire. It might give us away, but we won't last long without it. You might as well get warm.

Yuffie glared at him, but took his hand anyway, letting him pull her to her feet. "Don't start treating me like a kid, Zack Fair," she said. "I'm the team leader, remember?"

"Right," said Zack, leading her towards the center of the cavern, where Aerith was sitting on her heels, her hands out towards a small pile of whatever kindling they had managed to scrape from the landscape near Icicle Inn. Yuffie caught parts of what might have been a snowboard or two scattered amongst the straw and broken up planks. They'd come across a cart that had broken down on the surface of the Glacier. Yuffie had no idea what had happened to its original users, but whatever had happened to it, it made for good firewood now. She could already feel the heat starting up and closed her eyes, savoring the feeling. Leviathan, would she ever be warm again?

"Does our team leader want some hot chocolate?" asked Zack, smiling at her.

Yuffie returned the smile with a glare, but dropped down onto the blankets beside Blaire, who was huddled underneath one with her arms wrapped around her knees. "Yes, please," she muttered, grabbing one of the blankets and draping it over herself.

The fire sprang to life, sending waves of warm heat wafting over her. Yuffie exhaled in relief, peeling off her sodden boots and socks and holding her feet closer to the heat. As Zack busied himself with getting the meal ready—she noted with disgust that he was actually carving up chunks of the Bandersnatch they had killed on their way into the cave—she pulled the map Cissnei had drawn out for her out of her pocket, studying it. It was a map of the Great Glacier, with a location encircled in black ink. She bit her lip in thought, pulling a pencil out of her bag and beginning to work on mapping their progress, all while making sure the blanket didn't slip.

"Is that where we are, Miss Yuffie?" asked Blaire, sidling up to her and watching from over her shoulder as she encircled a wide portion of the caves, after much thought. Yuffie smiled, turning towards the little girl.

"Yup, I think so," she said. "So if we head north and east a little bit tomorrow, we should make Holzoff's house in no time."

"So we won't have to spend another night out here?" asked Blaire.

"Not if I can help it, kiddo." Yuffie reached out, ruffling the girl's hair affectionately. Blaire looked down at the map, then nodded, pulling away from Yuffie and going back to sit by the fire. Yuffie noticed that she placed a hand on the katana beside her, as though she was checking to make sure it was still there. That gave her pause. Blaire had actually had to use Yoshiyuki during their flight from Icicle Inn, despite all their best efforts at keeping her with Aerith in the center of their formation. Thankfully, it had only been monsters, and not people, and she'd actually done well, but in Yuffie's opinion, she was a little too young to be having to fight for herself.

Alright, so Yuffie had been nine when she first started wandering around Midgar and messing with Zack. So, what? She hadn't actually been in any danger. Zack had done all the fighting for her!

She wondered if she could trick him into doing it again.

"What?" asked Zack, noticing she was staring at him.

"Nothing," said Yuffie, quickly looking back down at her map. She frowned, making a few more notes as Zack and Aerith started working on those disgusting Bandersnatch steaks. The smell of cooking meet quickly filled the cabin, and despite her misgivings, Yuffie's stomach growled. Hunger was making it difficult to concentrate.

And she had to concentrate. Despite all her brave words to Blaire, she really wasn't too sure about where they were or where they were going. The circle she'd made on the map actually encompassed a wide area—her best guess considering the terrain they'd moved through and the direction they'd taken upon leaving Icicle Inn, but she wasn't really sure. Navigating in these conditions was more difficult than running around in a forest down south, and the fact that they were so close to the poles meant that compasses were screwy and bearings were hard to figure out just from looking at the sun—it was at the point where the thing was starting to circle in the sky rather than actually set. And they couldn't spend another night out here, not without a fire. The cart had been a lucky break, but soon there wouldn't be anything to burn. Zack and Blaire might last a bit longer, with all that mako pumping through their systems, but the rest of them…

Yuffie shook her head, forcing those thoughts away. It was hard, but impossible. And they had Aerith. That had to count for something.

"Can you feel where we're going?" she whispered to Aerith, when Blaire was sufficiently distracted by hot chocolate.

The small nod she got in return was reassuring, but it didn't make her feel that much better. They still had a long trek ahead of them tomorrow, and if they didn't make it, it would be all her fault.

Leadership was hard. Maybe she'd give Seph an easier time when they finally got out of here.

Yuffie smiled to herself, tracing a route for them to follow tomorrow onto the map.

Nah.

XxXxX

Nanaki padded across the wasteland outside of Icicle Inn, the frost crunching beneath his claws as he led his group forward. The freezing air seared the inside of his noise, but he'd caught their companions' scents. Behind him, Vincent, Cid, and Shalua walked, Cid leaning against Shalua to support himself. He'd finally given in about two hours ago and accepted help, when the ground became too slippery for him to prop himself up with the butt of his spear. He sniffed the ground again as he waited for them to catch up, then raised his noise in the air, catching the breeze.

The warrior pawed at the ground, his claws leaving indentations in the snow. Something was wrong. It was difficult to separate the confused tangle of scents—the soldiers and fire coming back from Icicle Inn, the scents of his companions heading steadily northward, and something else, something darker that lingered in the background.

He looked back over his shoulder, watching as Vincent approached.

"Something wrong?" asked the gunslinger, coming up towards him. Nanaki glanced behind and saw that Cid and Shalua were still catching up. Night had already fallen, and they would need to find shelter soon. He was fairly certain that he and Vincent could survive out here for an extended period of time, if they needed to, but humans weren't quite so lucky.

Not, he supposed, that he would call Vincent lucky.

"There's something else here," said Nanaki. "Another scent I can't quite catch. It's close, and it's heading north. I don't like it."

"Genesis?" asked Vincent, his hand sweeping back underneath his cloak to rest on the handle of his gun.

"It's possible," said Nanaki, sniffing the air again. The other ex-SOLDIER had been his first guess, ever since catching the odd scent and remembering that they would likely be on their way up here. But it was impossible to confirm. The cold air didn't hold scents for very long, and the chaos in Icicle Inn overpowered just about everything else. "It's heading north."

"We'll find out soon, then," said Vincent, stepping forward. He paused, looking back at Cid and Shalua. "Is there shelter near here?" he asked.

"Caves," said Nanaki, inclining his head to the left. "I think some of ours might have gone that way. I smell Aerith and Zack."

And Yuffie.

If the news meant anything to Vincent, he didn't show it. Instead, he considered for a while, then simply grunted in response, nodding his head. He stepped forward, turning in the direction Nanaki had indicated, and leaving him to explain what had happened to Cid and Shalua. Nanaki looked back at them, waiting for them to catch up.

"Shelter," he said, turning his head towards Vincent. "That way."

The two of them didn't speak, simply nodding and continuing on. Nanaki watched, concerned, as they trudged through the snow. The cold had to be getting to them. Even as he was, he was starting to feel it. But there wasn't much they could do, besides continue on. As long as they continued on this path, they would find shelter. He was sure of it.

The question was, what else would they find?

Nanaki sniffed the air again, and then, unable to find any answers, continued on.

TO BE CONTINUED