Serah's POV
The gate throws us out in a wild and remote land surrounded by a sharp ring of mountains. The long grass spans as far as my eyes can see, and reaches my waist. The tall grass tickles and cuts my legs, but I'm keen to explore the land. I hear what I thought was the rustle of the flora, but Noel quickly grabs my arm and pulls me back to safety as a Chocobo rushes past with a man on it's back.
"Flank it from the west!" The man shouts.
"On it!" Another shouts back as several more Chocobo riders become visible.
"Look, that's their prey." Noel points to the distance, where a grey beast with huge fangs runs for it's life. "They seem desperate. Like they gotta get this one, or there'll be nothing else left to eat."
"Really? I guess you have to be a hunter to tell." I say, surprised at his ability to read the situation.
"Let's introduce ourselves." Cloud says, much to the hunter's joy.
We travel in the direction of the hunters, across the dark and dreary land. I was sure there was a sun up there somewhere, but the thick blanket of clouds let only the slightest of light through. We walk for a little while, but Noel eventually spots the hunter's village, which sits high upon a ridge, making it an ideal vantage point to spot potential prey.
"Right that's it.. I want answers.." Cloud growls as he marches off into the village.
"Hey, wait!" I shout. "Where's he going?"
"Haha.. Look." Noel points. "Chocolina."
"He really doesn't like her, does he." I laugh.
Me, Noel and Mog rush after Cloud, who's now in front of Chocolina and demanding answers. She doesn't look even remotely bothered by the blonde's angry tone, which I think is actually making him even angrier. Instead, she just smiles and flits with him in her own weird way. I hold in a laugh to avoid that unimpressed look that the blonde wares often and listen to their conversation as I get closer.
"How the hell do you keep appearing wherever I go?" Cloud demands.
"I love it when you get all assertive- Oh, you're looking more and more like your sister each time I see you! Oops.." Chocolina says as she spots me approaching, but quickly tries to reel her words back in.
"Wait, you know my sister?" I ask.
"Oh, no! Looks like the jig is up!" The feathered saleswoman flaps. "Lightning send me to aid you with items or equipment that you might need!"
"Help? Have you seen the price of some of your stuff?" Noel huffs.
"You know how much it costs to look this fantastic?" She says, flaunting her half naked body at the blonde, who takes a step back in discomfort.
"When did you see Light last?" Cloud asks.
"She spoke to me in a dream around about the time that you two arrived at New Bodhum."
"And that was the last time you heard from her?" The blonde asks with great disappointment.
"Uh huh." Chocolina nods.
An enormous sigh erupts from Cloud as he continues his way up to the village. I give Chocolina a warm smile, grateful for her help and follow Noel, who's jogging after Cloud with excitement. I guess these villagers have about as much in common with him as anyone else on earth right now. By the time I've caught up with the two boys, we'd passed the Chocobo stables and walking along a flat platform made of wood and corrugated metal sheets. Noel heads straight for the highest structure, which looks like it serves no purpose other than a lookout post. Inside is a tattooed man with long blonde hair that was tied back in a bun.
"You new around here? We could do with extra arms." The man says to Noel. "If you're here to hunt, find someplace else."
"You guys aren't exactly haulin' it in. Prey getting scarce?" Noel asks.
"Yes. Ever since that storm blew up. These lands where teeming with game before that. Friends came to investigate the storm but they never came back."
"What brought on the storm?" Cloud asks.
"My friends are out assessing the situation now, but even I I knew, I wouldn't tell anyone who wasn't a hunter."
"But Noel's a hunter." I plead.
"Don't look so surprised." Noel says defensively. "She's right you know."
"Really? Then you wouldn't mind if I put you to the test. Let's see what you can do." The hunter leader says. "There's been a pack of monsters harassing us when we go out to hunt. Think you can get rid of them for us?"
"Sure." Cloud answers, causing us all to turn to him.
"You sound more keen than usual." The hunter jokes.
"The storm could be like the eclipse.." He answers, suggesting that it could be a paradox without actually saying the words in front of the stranger. "Let's go monster hunting."
"Here. Take this map. I've marked the position of the monster's last known location." The man says, handing me a tattered map.
Noel takes the map off me before I get the chance to read it and quickly spins around on the spot. I don't protest, but instead watch in fascination as he quickly gets his bearings and heads off back through the village. With Cloud with us, he always took the lead, but even he conceded to Noel's hunting skills and allowed him to do his own thing. The hunter stopped periodically to consult the map and to check the ground for tracks. He tried his best, but he couldn't suppress the happy smile that was on his face.
"He's in his element." I say to Cloud, who was silently studying the man, learning all of his tricks and secrets.
"He'd doing something he was born to do." The blonde answers.
"And what were you born to do?" I ask. "What's your purpose in life?"
"I ask myself that question every day.."
"Hey, don't you go all moody on me again." I scald playfully. "You wanna know what your purpose is?"
"Hmm?"
"To make my sister happy." I tell him. "You think you can do that?"
"I... Yes." He nods assertively.
"Good- Hey, Noel. What's that?" I ask, pointing it a metallic red object shining in the grass.
The three of us walk up to the object which looks like a statue of a weird cactus. Cloud looks at it suspiciously with his arms folded as Noel walks around it, expecting every little detail. In the end, Curiosity gets the better of the hunter, and he reaches out his hand to touch the metallic red statue.
"Don't!" Cloud roars, gripping hold of Noel's arm as he touches the object.
In an instant, the two boys vanish before my eyes, and I'm left alone in a never ending sea of waist high grass. I debate touching the statue myself, but the sound of rustling grass catches my attention. Mog turns into my bow when he senses trouble, and I spin on the spot to find the source of the noise. Something hard hits me in the back, knocking me face first into the ground before scuttling off back into the grass. Staggering back to my feet, I turn my bow into a sword and stand silently with my eyes closed. Whatever was attacking me was shorter than the grass, so I have to rely on my other senses.
The sound of the wind rustling through the grass was a distinct and peaceful noise, and I focused on any disturbances in the sound. The noise comes from all directions, meaning these was more than one. I resist the urge to turn around when the grass rustles behind me and instead wait until one of the creatures comes close. A couple of seconds later, one of the monsters leaps out of the grass, but I spin on my heels and cut it in half before I even see what it was. The two halves of the creatures body fall to the ground, and I look down at the goblin like creature, making my first mistake. Forgetting that there were more out their, I'm knocked to the ground.
Cloud's POV
"What the hell did you touch it for!?" I roar at Noel when I find myself stood in the hunter's camp.
"I was just-"
"Save it, we need to get back to Serah." I growl.
I don't waste time snaking through the village. Instead, I leap straight of the high ledge and down into the grass below. The long, leafy blades try their best to entangle us as we run, but nothing was going to stop me getting to Serah. In less than thirty seconds, I think I see the pinkette in the distance, turning and rolling through the grass. She was in trouble.. Drawing my sword, I fire a beam of energy in her direction, ripping up the foliage and creating a path straight to her. I see blood dripping from her cheek and her arm, but she holds out her hand, ordering us to stop.
"I'm Okay! I can do this!" She shouts, just as a short, humanoid creature bursts out of the grass next to her.
My hand dives for my materia, but by the time it's in the palm of my hand, the pinkette had rolled out of the way and slashed through the monster, before turning her moogle weapon into a bow and firing into the grass. Although we couldn't see it, all three of us heard the sound of something else dying in the grass where she had fired. Serah drops to her knees, but gives us a big, victorious grin. Although I was still concerned about her, it was pride that took over.
"Where did you go?" She pants.
"Back to the hunter's camp, thanks to Noel's curiosity.." I huff.
"I did good, didn't I?" She asks with a faint voice as the exhaustion takes over and her eyes close.
"You did great.." I smile as I scoop the pinkette up and carry her back to the village.
The walk back to the village was peaceful, but carrying the pinkette in my arms brought back the memories that started it all. I'm almost convinced I can feel the mako her sister was soaked in burn my arms as I carried Serah. To think I could have just walked past her tank and left her, feeling nothing more than pity. I still don't know why I rescued Claire, but I'm glad I did. I guess Aeris was right.. Some things just happen for a reason.
"Lightning.." Serah mumbles.
"Sorry, you're still stuck with me for the time being." I tell her as she opens her eyes. "We're at the camp."
Serah motions for me to put her down, and the three of us walk back up to the lookout post to tell the village's leader that we had completed his task. He looks at the pinkette with an impressed gaze, but must have been watching the whole time, because he doesn't question her once.
"I have to hand it to you, you're stronger than you look." The hunter says.
"Time to start talking." I tell the man, reminding him of our agreement.
"Right. We've found the storm is connected to the weather. The storm only comes when it's really hot and sunny outside."
"That seems like a weak reason." Noel answers. "We can't just wait here until the weather changes."
"No, the idiot won't sit around waiting for us for long."I agree.
"You don't have to wait. We can control the weather." The hunter tells us.
The three of us look at each other in disbelief. It seems that none of us thought it was possible to control the weather. Serah folds her arms just like her sister and demands a proper explanation, just like her sister would have; all be it in a slightly less condescending tone. The hunter doesn't falter and shows us the machine I had my eyes on when we first arrived, and shows us how it works.
"Why don't you just set it to hot and sunny and try to find the source of the problem?" I ask.
"Because when we do, large and powerful monsters appear. There was originally two hundred people in this camp. Now there are only sixty. With the Faeryl on the prowl, we didn't stand a chance.."
"The Faeryl?" Noel questions.
"A huge dragon that sucks in Flan by the hundred. It rains down lightning and fire."
"Sucks in Flan? Are you two thinking what I'm thinking?" Serah asks.
"This is your lucky day. I'm gonna sort your dragon problem." I tell him.
"Ha! You might be able to beat few goblins, but this thing is something else entirely."
"You sort us out with somewhere to sleep and some food, and I'll kill the dragon. You have nothing to loose." I continue.
"Sure.. But remember, this was your idea.."
We're lead into what is essentially a small shack that contained two sets of bunk beds and a small desk. The sheets where crisp and white, but this couldn't be described as luxurious by any stretch of the imagination. The Nomad tells us he will return shortly with food, and within a few minutes he does. It consisted mostly of vegetables I've never see before and a slither of meat from their latest kill. A far cry from Tifa's cooking, but it was hot and filling. We quickly finished and climbed into bed, but I had no intention of sleeping. As soon as the other two had fell asleep, I'd take care of the monster on my own.
"Goodnight, Cloud. Goodnight, Noel." Serah yawns.
"Night." I reply, climbing into the bottom bunk.
I close my eyes and listen to the breathing patterns of my two room mates. With no windows in the shack, the only light comes from the faint pink glow of the Moogles's antenna. The hunter falls asleep within minutes; and in this silent room, it was easy to tell with his slowed heart rate and breathing. Serah took longer, and I could feel my own eyes getting heavy as I waited for her to sleep.
"You're not thinking of fighting a big, scary dragon on your own, are you?" I hear Aeris ask.
"I don't want to risk Serah getting hurt. She's still recovering from today."
"She's stronger than she looks. Just like me." The flower girl laughs.
"How do you keep on laughing?" I ask her.
"Because I'm happy, silly. You shouldn't worry about everything. You can't take on the world by yourself. It doesn't matter how strong you are."
"Aeris, You can see the future.. And you gave me the white materia. Am I going to loose someone else?" I ask her, terrified of her answer.
"Don't dwell on what might be. The timeline changes with every decision you make. I could tell you yes, but tomorrow that could change."
"...Does everyone go to Valhalla if they die?" I ask finally, out of morbid curiosity as my mind concocts a sinister plot.
"You don't belong here. You don't belong to the planet's flow of life, so please get that idea out of your head. Life is too precious to just throw away." She scalds, in a tone harsher than I've ever known.
"I understand. I think it's time to slay a dragon." I tell her as my eyes shoot open.
Cid's POV
"Cid, I think we should-" Yuffie starts to speak, but I quickly cut her off.
"HEY! This ain't no democracy. It's a dictatorship!" I bark. "I make the plans!"
"You put the dick in dictatorship.." The squirt mutters.
"ENOUGH!" Barret roars. "Get me to Corel, or I'mma start shootin' people!"
"I set a course for Corel ten minutes ago, numbskull. We'll be there in 4 minutes." I tell him as I pull out a cigarette.
"Cid, those things will kill you." Nanaki tells me.
"I'm not that lucky.." The kid mumbles.
"We're going to war with Sephiroth and the Shinra, and you're worryin' about some smoke?! Button your traps or I'll make you swab the decks!"
My baby get's us hoverin' over Corel in next to no time, but Barret is determined to save the dump from another Shinra balls up. I look around the bridge, quickly picking Vincent out as our third guy, on the basis that people that rarely speak will rarely piss me off. After threatening the others with a slow and painful death, if they didn't keep my ship safe, we leave the Highwind and head through the shanty town. The train lines start at the north east of the village, and snake between the mountains for as long as the eye could see. If I could have got the airship closer, I'd have saved my legs from a killer walk.
"There she is." I say, pointing to the Mako reactor in the distance after a good hour's walk.
"Do we even know what it is we're lookin' for in there?" Barret asks.
"Well it's called huge materia, so I've got a pretty good idea what it's gonna look like." I mock.
"It will be in the heart of the condenser core." Vince chirps up. "I fear we may be too late." He adds, just as we get to the reactor door.
"How the hell you know?" I ask, genuinely curious.
"The train tracks.. The top is shiny. Something was here recently. It's not had a chance to re-oxidize."
"I knew that. Was just testin' ya- hey, you feel that?"
"The ground is shakin' a bit." Barret agrees.
Not a second later, the reactor doors burst open and a train rockets out. Vince pulls me off the tracks just in time, but the force of the train rushing past, blows my cigarette away. Shinra guards that sat on the train's engine open fire, and we all quickly jump onto the back of one of it's coal carts. Bullets burst through lumps of coal, sending clouds of black soot in the air. Thankfully, the steel carts make a perfect shield from the bullets, which do little more than ring against it's surface.
"Cid, stick your head up and count how many soldiers there are." Vince says calmly.
"Why does the best lookin' one gotta risk his face?!" I protest.
"Me and Barret have guns. We need something.. Annoying... That they will shoot at."
"Barret, surely you got a better idea?" I plead.
"I ain't got shit. An we outta time. We gotta stop this train, Cid!" Barret tells me.
"Right, fuck it. Here goes nothin'!" I sigh as I pop my head over the cart "I'm over here you Shinra mutts!"
Gunfire erupts in an instant, and the whole cart of coal is vaporized by bullets, covering my handsome face in a black film. I duck back behind cover to find Barret laughing, and even Vince is doing his idea of what a smirk looks like.
"What?!" I roar.
"How many soldiers where there?" Vince asks.
"No idea! I got a face full of coal!"
"There's three, Cid. We just wanted to see if you'd stick your head up." The dark skinned jerk laughs.
"Keep laughin'! You two are walkin' from now on!" I roar.
Vincent leaps onto the top of the cart while firing three shots. The three bullet casings hit the ground before his fancy gold boots do, convincing me ever more that he was some weird ghost. I peer over the edge again to find the three guards slumped over the controls of the engine. Their blue uniform slowly turns crimson as we climb up and jump between the carts, which rattle around on the ancient tracks. Mercifully, we reach the engine, and I unceremoniously throw the three guards over the side.
"What? They where dead anyway." I huff.
"You know how to stop this thing, Right?" Barret asks.
"Does a Behemoth shit in the woods?!" I growl. "Out of the way."
I familiarize myself with the controls, and read the mass of pressure gauges that are staggered between the mass of staking copper pipes. The design was old, but I'm sure I could figure it out. Taking a lever in each hand, I pull one back and push the other forward, hoping to release the pressure and
slow the train. To my embarrassment, the train picks up speed and the pressure spikes.
"Cid!" Barret roars. "I can see the fuckin' town! Stop the damn train!"
"I'm tryin'! Shut ya traps!" I shout, pulling back both levers, which releases all of the pressure. Slowing us down, but not quickly enough. I spot a smaller, red handled lever in the corner of the cabin and pull it towards me. The brakes engage, rattling the train, and sparks erupt from both sides of the cockpit. The shanty town gets closer and closer, but the grin on my face only gets wider, because I know we'd stop in time.
"And that is why I'm the greatest!" I congratulate myself when the train shudders to a stop.
"You lucky son of a bitch." Barret breathes a sigh of relief. "Well done, Cid."
"All skill, baby. All skill." I laughing
"The materia?" Vincent questions.
"Hmm." Barret hums as he dumps his hand into the closest coal cart. "Got ya." He says, pulling out a large, reinforced plastic case from the depths of the coal.
"Open it." Vincent commands, not happy until his eyes see the stone.
Barret hands him the case and walks off into the village, leaving me and Vincent alone. Both of us are eager to see what we've just nearly got shot over, and when the moody ex-Turk opens the box, we're not disappointed. A large, sapphire blue crystal is sat in the foam lined case. It was Jagged and much larger than a normal, spherical materia, and it glowed with untold power. Satisfied that we got what we came for, Vince closed the box and we went in search of Barret, who's surrounded by the villagers.
"Shit. Come on, I don't think these people are Barret's biggest fans." I tell the ex-Turk.
A/N: Not a lot to say really. Next chapter will have a lot of fighting in, and I may do another little Light vs Caius section. I do have a question though. As you know, this is a CloudxLight fic. Yet it has a distinct lack of CloudxLight haha. Do we want another 20+ chapters of this, or shall I skip/ summarize the less important stuff to reunite them a little quicker? I love reading all of your reviews and I try not to ask for them, but when it comes to a possible change in the story, I'd like as many as I could get. Purely on the basis that I don't want to change the story based on a couple of reviews when another 50 readers might want something different, but don't review. Thanks for reading
Wolf
