*sigh*
Sirius: What's up with you? I'd have thought you be grateful for a day off work and class.
I can't spend my free day with my girlfriend.
Sirius:*snicker*
Harry: Sirius, I wouldn't...
Sirius: *chuckles. Cor pulls his twin pistols.*
Something to say, Sirius?
Sirius: *gulps* No, nothing.
Alride den.
The drive toward the mountains in the distance was a drive made in silence. "We're approaching...Nibelheim."
Well, almost.
"Hm?" Harry glanced at Cloud. "Is something wrong?"
Cloud met his gaze, then shook his head. "No, nothing. But...you won't be able to bring the buggy."
Harry frowned. "Well, I suppose we could always sell it. The money may come in handy."
"You're assuming that the town was rebuilt, Harry," Red admonished.
Harry brought the buggy to a stop. "That's because it is." He pointed.
"WHAT...!" Tifa gasped. "But Cloud...this was all supposed to be burnt down, right?"
"I thought so," Cloud nodded solemnly.
They got out of the buggy and stepped into the plaza. An old, slightly-decrepit well stood proud in the center of the small square, and the houses looked exactly as they did in Cloud's description of five years ago. "It all looks...just like you said it did, Cloud."
"My house is still there, too..." Tifa muttered.
"Something's strange..." Aeris agreed.
"I'm not lying!" Cloud shook his head. "I remember...the intense heat of the flames..."
"We're not doubting you, Cloud," Red remarked. "Maybe we should ask the townspeople? Surely Tifa and Cloud cannot be the only survivors."
The group split up; Harry went with Cloud, Aeris with Barret, Red and Cait Sith with Tifa. Harry and Cloud pushed through the door to the inn. "Hi, welcome!" the innkeeper called cheerfully.
"This town...it was supposed to have burnt down five years ago," Cloud spat. "What the hell is going on?"
The innkeeper blanched. "Sir, don't say such awful things. I was born and raised in this town. What you say never happened."
What I wouldn't give for some Veritaserum right now... Harry mused. "You're lying," he said aloud.
"EXCUSE ME...that's so rude," the innkeeper snapped. "If you're going to talk like that to me, I'm going to have ask you to leave."
Harry glanced at Cloud, who looked about ready to rip the keeper limb from limb. Harry put his hand on the merc's shoulder and pulled him outside.
"Harry!" Cloud snapped at him.
Harry blinked. "You called me 'Harry,' Cloud," he said quietly, pulling a Luna.
Cloud blinked at him, the quietness of the statement derailing his chain of thought.
"Any luck?" Aeris asked, stepping out of the store with Barret. Harry shook his head.
"No, I had to pull Cloud away before he went mad on the bloke," Harry motioned toward the inn. He noticed Cloud walking away toward a one-story house next to a two-story house. From his description in Kalm, Harry recognized it as his mother's home. He, Aeris, and Barret followed him quickly.
They pushed through the door a second behind Cloud, who was trembling with anger. "What is it?" a voice asked. Harry looked, and scowled. Standing there at the stove and looking at them disapprovingly was a slightly plump woman, dark wooden spoon in hand.
"I lived in this house until I was fourteen...seven years ago," Cloud explained. He looked at the floor in sadness. "No, but this town was burned down five years ago..."
"Are you sick...saying those things?" the woman snarled, brandishing her spoon. "Get out of here!"
Harry, for once, lost his temper. He would not be threatened with a wooden spoon! "Excuse me, lady, but what do you think you can do with a bloody spoon!?" he snapped, showing off the hilt of his sword. He didn't draw completely.
"Harry!" Aeris admonished.
"G-Get out!"
Harry's eyes narrowed. "Ain't even worth the bloody effort." With that, he turned and stomped out, his comrades following him. They ran into Tifa, Red, and Cait Sith.
"No luck, huh?" Tifa asked, seeing their expressions.
"No, not unless you count almost killing two villagers as 'luck,'" Harry snorted.
"The Shinra Mansion, for some reason, escaped the blaze," Cloud remembered. He looked to the north. "It's still standing."
"There might be information there," Red reasoned. "We should search the place."
"Oh, before I forget..." Tifa, who had been given the key to the buggy, handed Harry a bag bulging with gil. "I did manage to sell the buggy for a very good price."
Harry nodded. "Right." He turned to everyone. He glanced at the bag. "Should we split this?"
"It was your buggy, Harry," Red remarked, shaking his head.
"Keep it, kid," Cloud agreed. Barret nodded.
Harry shrugged. He did try, at least. He tucked the bag into a pocket - and pulled out the Materia orb he'd found the Canyon cave. "Where'd that Materia come from?" Red asked.
"The cave behind Cosmo Canyon," Harry answered. "Let's see..."
Elemental Support Materia. When linked to a Magic or Summon Materia with an element, this Materia applies that element to offense or defense. In the case of defense, damage received from that element is halved. At later levels, received damage is negated or absorbed and added to the wearer's strength.
"It's Elemental," Harry said at last. He slid into the open slot linked to the Shiva materia. "Shiva is an ice elemental, right?" Cloud nodded. "I'll be safe from cold, then, I guess."
A few minutes later, they stood before the door to Shinra Mansion. "There could be places where the wood has rotted away," Cloud warned, "so watch your step."
They stepped into the foyer. Many surfaces were covered with grime, mold, and moss. Harry had the urge to sneeze, but he resisted it; Red, on the other hand, did sneeze.
They climbed the steps carefully, wary of falling through, and went to the fireplace in Cloud's memory. He pushed the brick he remembered, and the secret passage opened. They climbed down the spiral staircase and walked down the corridor, stopping once only to bat away bats intent on gorging on their blood. When they entered the library, Harry noticed two test tubes in the corner of the room right away. He went up to them and noticed some scratches on the inside. He tilted his head, trying to read them, but he was interrupted when Cloud cried, "Sephiroth!"
Harry jerked around and saw the platinum-haired man standing at the end of the hallway. "Being here brings back memories." He turned his green-blue eyes on Cloud. "Are you going to participate in the Reunion?"
"I don't even know what a Reunion is," Cloud replied.
"Jenova will be at the Reunion. Jenova will rejoin the Reunion, becoming a calamity from the skies," Sephiroth explained.
"That doesn't explain what a 'Reunion' is," Harry commented.
"Jenova, a calamity from the skies?" Cloud repeated. "You mean she wasn't an Ancient?"
Sephiroth studied the blonde merc momentarily. "I see. I don't think you have the right to participate." He paused. "I will go north, past Mt. Nibel. If you wish to find out...then follow..."
Cloud crossed his arms and took on a thoughtful expression. "Reunion...? Calamity from the skies?"
Sephiroth threw a green Matera orb at Cloud. Harry's seeker reflexes kicked in and he snatched it out the air before it smashed into Cloud's nose. They all ducked when Sephiroth rose into the air and flew at them, leaving the library. Harry handed the Materia to Cloud, who looked at it closely before shrugging and putting it in a Materia bag.
"Well, we have a new lead," Tifa whispered.
Harry nodded, then, his eye catching on the tubes again, he went back to them. "What is it, Harry?" Nanaki asked.
"There were...marks on the inside of this tube," Harry replied. He searched the glass. "Strange...but I can't find them, now."
"Hm...?" Cloud came over, placing his gloved hand on the glass. Harry looked up at him, and noticed his eyes were glazed over.
"Cloud?" When the mercenary didn't answer, Harry gripped his shoulder and shook him lightly. "Cloud?" he called again, more loudly.
Cloud jerked back. He smiled sheepishly at everyone. "Sorry...Alright...let's go to Mt. Nibel."
*Cor stretches and yawns* I'm already tired. Hrm...
Harry: You really like having me act Out of Characterly, don't you?
I dunno. I am trying to keep In Character with all the characters...and with a sarcastic sense of humor for Harry.
Sirius: A Slytherin's sense of humor, you mean?
...Perhaps...