Chapter 51: Snowboarding fun and meeting Holzoff
"Cloud, are you still blaming yourself for Aeris's death?" asked Angelina as she glance at Cloud (who still had a sad/grim look on his face) after the both of them and Vincent came out of the Item shop and stop in their tracks outside the Item shop (after they managed to purchase some X-potions, Ethers, Somas and some warm coats from the Item shop to help them on their journey).
"Yeah, Angie." replied Cloud in a small and sad tone of voice. "I'm still blaming myself for what happen to Aeris. I should have sensed Sephiroth's presence from above us and I should have rushed forward to protect Aeris from him, instead I just stood by and watched silently as Sephiroth fell down from above her and impaled her through her stomach with his Masamune blade, which ended her life."
"Cloud, what happen to Aeris a few days ago back in the City of the Ancients was a tragedy and all of us were very sadden for her death and very angry at Sephiroth for killing her in front of all of us. But even so, Cloud… don't blame yourself too much for what happen to Aeris." said Angelina, trying to console Cloud.
"Angie, I appreciate that you're trying to console me with your kind and reassuring words but it's not going to work." said Cloud with a small sigh. "It doesn't change the inevitable fact that Aeris is no longer with all of us. The last image of the look of surprise and fear which I saw in Aeris's eyes when she saw Sephiroth sword coming out through her stomach before Sephiroth pull his sword out of her and Aeris close her eyes and fell into death is branded in my memory."
Both Cloud and Angelina then lapsed into silence after Cloud say those words out for a short while before Cloud, Angelina and Vincent (who remained silent throughout their conversation) began walking away from the Item shop, joined up with both Laina and Kunsel (who just came out and walked away from a house) before all 5 of them walked past the other houses in the snowy village toward the inn where the rest of their friends/companions were waiting.
When Cloud, Angelina, Laina, Kunsel and Vincent walked through the front door into the inn, all 5 of them saw the rest of their friends/companions huddled around a large fire near the front door of the inn and absorbing the warmth of the fire (after they had their foods and drinks and pay for it). When Tifa, Barret and the others turn their heads and saw Cloud, Angelina, Laina, Kunsel and Vincent came into the inn, they reluctantly stood up and pull themselves away from the warm fire to joined up with Cloud, Angelina, Laina, Kunsel and Vincent (who quickly gave each of them warm coats to wear on to avoid the cold outside and they thanked the 5 of them for it) before all of them turned around and left the inn.
After Cloud, Angelina and the rest of their friends/companions left the inn, they turned to their left and walked down a snowy path which leads to the village's only exit between several tall pine trees with snow on its leaves to the north at the top of the slope leading toward the snowy northern mountains. As Cloud, Angelina and their friends/companions walked on the snowy path, they soon saw a short black hair man wearing a dark green T-shirt, dark blue jeans with a black jacket over his dark green T-shirt is walking briskly back and forth near the exit to keep himself warm. The man look up and saw Cloud, Angelina and their friends/companions approached and when he saw them began to walk past him toward the exit, he quickly ran over and intercepted them before they could take another step further.
"No, don't, all of you!" yelled the man in a worried tone of voice to Cloud, Angelina and their friends/companions (who stop in their tracks to glance at him). "It's a steep and dangerous downgrade, past this exit here. So please turn around, go back to the village and don't go any further!"
"We're still going, so step aside." said Cloud in a cold tone of voice to the man.
"Damn, what a cold attitude you got there, young man." said the man to Cloud with a disgruntle look on his face. "And here I was being nice to you…" the man lapsed into silence when he look over Cloud's right shoulder at the village entrance and take a step back. "What the? Who are those people coming through the entrance into the village over there? Looks like trouble!"
Cloud, Angelina, Laina and the rest of their friends/companions turn around (while the man immediately turn to his left and run into the pine trees for safety) to glance at the village's entrance and they soon saw a group of 4 Shinra infantrymen marching through the snow into the village, with Elena marching at the front of the group of 4 Shinra infantrymen with her black suit uniform dark and damp due to the snow, her short blonde hair clammy and strewn across her pale-looking face and red cheeks.
After Elena (who sighed in relieved when she saw the warm glows of fires coming from inside the houses) marched into the village with the group of 4 Shinra infantrymen, she saw Cloud, Angelina and their friends/companions standing on the snowy path near the exit of the village, watching her and her group of 4 infantrymen. Elena then turned around to glance at the 4 infantrymen standing behind her.
"There they are, hurry!" Elena yelled in a commanding voice to the 4 infantrymen before she turned away from them.
"Yes, ma'am!" yelled all 4 of the infantrymen back to her before all 4 of them run behind Elena as she quickly run toward Cloud, Angelina and their friends/companions (who didn't make any attempts to run away from Elena and the 4 infantrymen who followed her since they're no major threats to them). When Elena and her group of 4 infantrymen finally reached Cloud, Angelina and their friend/companions, they stopped in their tracks and Elena put her hands on her damp and tired knees and panted heavily.
"Cloud…. Angelina… huff… wheeze…" panted Elena as she glance at them. "I won't let the 2 of you and your friends/companions go any further!"
"And why not, Elena?" Angelina asked her, crossing her arms.
"What's down there behind us?" Cloud asked Elena as he shrugged his shoulders.
"It's a SE-CR-ET." replied Elena in a smug tone of voice and with a haughty look on her face before she raised and waved her left hand dismissively. "But that doesn't matter to me! You and your friends/companions got a lot of guts doin' my boss and my fellow Turk member in like that!"
"Your boss and your fellow Turk member?" said Angelina with a slightly confused look on her face.
"Are you talking about Tseng and Mark?" said Laina as she remember about both Tseng and Mark who lay injured on the altar floor near the entrance of the Temple of the Ancients after Sephiroth attacked them both.
"That wasn't us." Cloud interjected hurriedly to Elena. "Sephiroth did it. He's the one who attacked and injured them both."
"No! I don't believe you!" barked Elena to Cloud as she shake her head and clench her hands into tight fists. "Don't think that you can fool me with that petty excuse, you lying SOLDIER man!"
"I'm not lying to you…" said Cloud with a small sigh and a dismay shake of his head to Elena. "It really was Sephiroth."
"Cloud's telling the truth." said Angelina. "We were all there and we saw Sephiroth attacked them both…"
"Enough! I don't want to hear any more of your lying words!" yelled Elena loudly and angrily at Cloud, Angelina and their friends/companions while her body began shaking with rage and a look of hatred appear on her face.
"Oh, man…" Cloud groaned and scratch his head when he realised that Elena would not back down (while Angelina scowled at Elena's angry attitude).
Elena ceased talking, crossed her arms and tapped her right foot thoughtfully in the snow. "Looks like talking alone won't cut it. You're going to have to feel some pain!" said Elena to Cloud with a nod of her head before she raised her tightly clench fists in a kind of clumsy looking martial arts stance.
"Just you… and me!" said one of the infantrymen standing behind Elena before he began to stepped forward.
"No, there's no need for you to do it! I can handle him by myself!" interrupted Elena as she thrust her left arm out to prevent the infantryman from stepping forward. "There's no way that he can avoid my punch."
"W-What? Yeah…" said the infantryman with a dubious look on his face under his helmet at Elena before he stepped backward to give her some space to punch Cloud (while exchanging a few mocking glances with his fellow infantrymen).
Cloud, Angelina and their friends/companions watched as Elena prepared herself to strike/punch Cloud and just as Elena swung her right fist toward Cloud's face, he swiftly dodged to the side to avoid her obvious and inexperience punch. After Cloud dodged to the side to avoid Elena's punch, Elena began to waved her arms frantically when she realised that she placed too much weight on her back foot in her forward momentum, trying to keep herself from falling down to no avail. She then tried to reach for both Laina and Kunsel, who were standing nearest to her but they stepped backward, out of her reach and soon Elena lose her balance and fall face-down into the snow. Right after Elena fell face-down into the snow, she was unfortunately caught by the gradual decline of the village's path to the exit and began rolling down the snowy path, away from Cloud, Angelina and their friends/companions (some of them had amused looks on their faces when they saw Elena rolling down the snowy path) and the group of infantrymen until she turned/rolled to her left and finally disappear through the exit and out of the village.
"Ele… Elena!?" one of the infantryman cried out when he and his fellow infantrymen (who had bewildered looks on their faces under their helmets) saw Elena fell and roll down the snowy path, away from them and their enemies standing to the side in front of them through the exit and out of the village and they began to run down the snowy path past Cloud, Angelina and their friends/companions, through the exit and out of the village in pursuit of Elena.
Right after Elena and her group of infantrymen had left the village, the man who hide in the safety of the pine trees came out of his hiding place. "What the…? Those people sure are weak for Shinras." said the man to himself before he resumed his walk near the exit of the snowy village while Cloud, Angelina and their friends/companions gather together to discuss and ponder deeply about their next course of action, which is on how to get the proper transportations for all of them to ride down the snowy slope before all of them turn to their right and head back to the village to search and purchase some needed transportations.
15 minutes after Cloud, Angelina and their friends/companions head back to the village and split up to search and purchase some needed transportations, all of them managed to find their own transport solutions to their own travelling dilemma. Both Cloud and Angelina managed to get 2 bright reddish yellow-coloured snowboards from 2 twin boys (who lose interest in their 2 snowboards after they got their knees injured while riding down one of the small snow slopes near the village) inside a single-storey wooden house standing in the middle of the village, Laina, Kunsel, Vincent and Cid managed to find 4 more snowboards (which is dark green, purple, white and black in colour) that the owner of the Accessory shop is willing to give away to them. Barret, Tifa, Selwyn, Nina, Carter, Cait Sith and Red XIII managed to find some sturdy-looking wooden sledges for them to share and sit on inside the Weapon shop while Yuffie herself managed to find a pair of wooden skis as well as a map for the "Great Glacier" hanging on the wall inside the Item shop (which she gave to Laina, who took the map from Yuffie before she folded it and put it into her right pants pocket under her long velvet blue coat).
Once Cloud, Angelina and their friends/companions had obtained their own snowboards, sledges and skis in the village, they turn to their left, walked away from the village down the snowy path past the man (who's still walking briskly back and forth near the exit), through the exit and all of them halted in their tracks at the top of the snowy slope.
Cloud, Angelina, Laina, Kunsel, Vincent and Cid then kneel down to fasten and check the brown-coloured leather straps around their feets on the snowboards to make sure the straps were fitting and tight enough. Once they were absolutely sure the straps were fit/tight enough around their feets, they stood up and Cloud, Angelina and Laina turn their heads to glance at the others. Barret, Selwyn and Carter were sitting on the sturdy-looking wooden sledges (which they managed to obtain inside the Weapon shop) with Red XIII sitting behind Barret, Tifa sitting behind Selwyn and both Nina and Cait Sith sitting behind Carter while Yuffie stand on the wooden skis which she managed to obtain inside the item shop (after she check and strap her feets firmly on the wooden skis).
"Is everyone ready?" said Cloud to Angelina, Laina and the others.
"I'm ready, Cloud." replied Angelina.
"Same goes for me and the others." replied Lainawhile Tifa, Barret and the others nodded to Cloud.
Cloud nodded back to them before he look away from them, cautiously slid himself forward while using his left foot to push the snowboard forward until he stopped at the edge of the snowy slope, look down and gulped a little when he saw how deep, far and steep the snowy slope is.
"You're not getting cold feet now, are you, Cloud?" teased Angelina when she noticed the slightly pale look on Cloud's face.
"O-Of course not, Angie!" replied Cloud. "Let's go!"
Soon after Cloud say those words to Angelina, he pushed himself and his snowboard away from the edge and down the snowy slope and Angelina, Laina and the others quickly pushed themselves and their own snowboards, sledges and skis down the snowy slope behind him. Soon after they descended down the deep and steep snowy slope with their snowboards, sledges and skis, they instantly got hit by a harsh, cold and snowy arctic wind and within minutes they began to felt stinging cold pains on their entire bodies as the harsh, cold and snowy arctic wind pierced into their skins (except for Laina, Kunsel and Vincent who's completely unfazed by the harsh, cold and snowy arctic wind blowing at their faces and bodies).
As Cloud, Angelina and their friends/companions continue sliding down the snowy slope, some of them managed to turn their snowboards, sledges and skis to their left or right to avoid huge snowmens with blue buckets on their heads, huge penguins who sat on the snow, huge light grey-coloured moogles with skis on their feets as they slide back and forth on the snow slope in front of them, some wooden logs covered with snow (some of them shouted with joy as they slide down the snowy slope on their sledges and skis like Selwyn, Tifa, Carter, Nina, Cait Sith and Yuffie), slide through several narrow tunnels and a forest of snowy pine trees (some of them collided with the snowy pine trees head-on and let out a few cursing words after the collision before they get on their snowboards/sledges and resumed sliding down the snowy slope) until they saw a sudden Y-turn in front of them and before either Cloud or Angelina could yelled and warned their friends/companions behind them about it, both Cloud and Angelina quickly turn their snowboards to their left to avoid getting themselves hit by the cliff face and slide down the Y-turn left path.
Behind both Cloud and Angelina (after they slide down the Y-turn left path), the rest of their friends/companions were having similar problems when they saw the sudden Y-turn in front of them and each of them turned their snowboards, sledges and skis in different paths to avoid getting hit by the cliff face. Laina, Kunsel, Vincent and Yuffie slide down the left path after both Cloud and Angelina while Barret, Tifa, Selwyn, Nina, Carter, Red XIII and Cid slide down the right path, separated from the Cloud, Angelina and the others.
Both Cloud and Angelina decided to turn their heads to risk a glance over their shoulders behind them to see their friends/companions and they only saw Laina, Kunsel, Vincent and Yuffie sliding down the snowy slope behind them. Both Cloud and Angelina had annoyed looks on their faces when they saw that Barret, Tifa and the others went down the Y-turn right path and turned their heads back to focused their attention back on the snowy slope in front of them.
Cloud, Angelina, Laina, Kunsel, Vincent and Yuffie continue sliding down the snowy slope, turn their snowboards and skis left and right to avoid some more huge light-grey coloured moogles sliding back and forth on their skis, some huge round-shaped snowballs which rolled back and forth and some icy igloo houses until they saw the end of the snowy slope in front of them which became thin and sloped suddenly upward into the air above a long drop and all 6 of them braced themselves on their snowboards and skis for the jump.
Once Cloud, Angelina, Laina, Kunsel, Vincent and Yuffie reached the edge of the snowy slope, all 6 of them slide over the edge of the snowy slope and upward into thin air before they all lowered their heads to look below them and saw with surprised/worried looks on their faces at how far the snowy ground is below them before they began falling down rapidly. As they began falling, Laina quickly uses her "Telekinesis" on herself and on the others to lessen the impact/damage they'll have on their bodies before all 6 of them landed face-down on the snowy ground with loud thumping sounds (while their snowboards and skis under their feets broke apart upon impact on the ground).
For a few minutes Cloud, Angelina and the others didn't move from their spots before they slowly rolled onto their backs, open their eyes and take a few deep and cold breaths (which make Cloud, Angelina and Yuffie winced a little due to the coldness) before they slowly sat up and unclip the leather straps of their now broken snowboards and skis away from their legs. Once the snowboards and skis was off of their feets, Cloud, Angelina and the others slowly stood up from the snowy ground and proceed to brush off the snow which covered their clothes.
"Ugh…" Cloud groaned as he felt his body ached from the impact of the fall (after he's done brushing the snow away from his clothes).
"Are you all right, Cloud?" Angelina asked him in a concern/worry tone of voice.
"I'm fine, Angie." replied Cloud in a reassuring tone of voice to her before he glance at Laina, Kunsel, Vincent and Yuffie. "I guess we're still in one piece. Is everyone all right?"
"Yeah, somehow." said Laina with a nod of her head.
"I'm fine." said Kunsel, nodding as well.
"So do I." said Vincent.
"That was awesome! Can we do it again?" said Yuffie in a happy tone of voice to them.
"No!" said Cloud, Angelina, Laina and Kunsel (while Vincent stay silent) as they scowled at her (which make her pouted in disappointment).
"So, where did we land now?" said Cloud to Angelina and the others before he, Angelina and the others take a look at their surroundings and they saw that they are standing on a snowy path with huge rocky walls covered heavily with snows on both sides of the snowy path while a cold and strong blizzard wind blows all around them.
"Looks like we've jumped pretty far from the snowy slope…" said Kunsel.
"And we got separated from Tifa, Barret and the others and had no idea where they're now…" said Laina with a small shake of her head.
"Don't worry, Laina. I'm sure that we'll find Tifa, Barret and the others soon enough." said Angelina as she turn to glance at Laina. "Besides, don't you have the "Great Glacier" map which Yuffie gave to you?"
"Yeah, I did." said Laina as she pull the folded up map out of her right pants pocket and gave it to Cloud, who took the map from her with a grateful nod of his head.
"It sure is getting colder now." said Cloud to Angelina and the others. "We'll freeze to death if we stay here any longer."
Angelina, Laina, Kunsel, Vincent and Yuffie nodded in agreement to Cloud and they watched as Cloud opened up the "Great Glacier" map which Laina just gave to him and looked down at it for a few seconds before he folded it up, put the map into his right pants pocket, turned to his right to walked down the snowy path, with Angelina and the others following behind him.
Soon after Cloud, Angelina, Laina, Kunsel, Vincent and Yuffie left the snowy path and stepped out into the wide open plains of ice and snow around them, they walked on the wide open plains of ice and snow for a while (and they fought/killed off some Shreds, Frozen Nails, Bandersnatches, Ice Golems, Lessaloploths, Magnades monsters and a Snow Woman monster which lives inside a solitary cave and which had an "Alexander" summon materia which Cloud take after they defeat the Snow Woman monster) before the temperature of the cold and snowy blizzard became too much for three out of the six group of people (even with the warm coats they wear on their bodies).
Both Angelina and Yuffie were the first 2 to fall victims to the cold blizzard before they fell face-down onto the cold snowy ground. Cloud, Laina, Kunsel and Vincent saw them fall and both Laina and Kunsel quickly approach and kneel down near them to try to woke them both up while trying to rubbed their arms and legs to warm them up to no avail. As they do so, Cloud was the next one to fall victim to the cold blizzard before he fell face-down onto the cold snowy ground near them. The last thing Cloud saw before he pass out was Vincent's sabaton feet as he approaches him.
XXXX
A few hours after Cloud, Angelina and Yuffie passed out from the cold and snowy blizzard, the 3 of them woke up to the sweet smells of hot chocolate and butter biscuits coming from nearby them before they slowly stood up from the ground which they're lying on (they look down and saw that they're standing on a kind of thick and warm sheet of wolf's furs which sprawl out on the wooden floor and which done the job of warming their cold bodies nicely) and saw that they're now inside a small bedroom with a small square-shaped cupboard against the wall to their left, a staircase next to the cupboard which leads toward the second floor/loft above their heads.
"You 3 awake now?" said an elderly man's voice suddenly from above them and Cloud, Angelina and Yuffie looked up and they saw as an elderly grey-haired, pale blue eyes man (who's wearing a white-coloured long sleeve T-shirt with a red-coloured vest over it, long brown pants and bronze-coloured shoes on his feet) came walking down the wooden staircase, reached the bottom of the stairs before he turned around to glance at them (and they saw that the elderly man is carrying a wooden tray with 3 cups of hot chocolate and a plate with several butter biscuits on it).
"The 3 of you collapsed at the Great Glacier. It's a miracle that you 3 are all right, thanks to your other 3 friends who carry you 3 on their backs until they met me." the elderly man explained briefly to Cloud, Angelina and Yuffie before he approach and gave them the cups of hot chocolate and the plate of butter biscuits to eat and drink (which they thanked him for it).
"Thanks." said Yuffie to the elderly man as she take and drank her cup of hot chocolate.
"Who are you, sir?" asked Angelina as both she and Cloud glance at the elderly man (after they drank some of the hot chocolate from their own cups).
"My name is Holzoff, young lady." answered the elderly man named Holzoff. "I've been living in this house near the Great Glacier for 20 years now. If you 3 and your other friends are planning to head North, you 3 and your friends better listen to my story first. Why don't we go to the next room and sit down in the living room? Your other friends are waiting for you 3 there." Holzoff told them before he, Cloud, Angelina and Yuffie turn around, walked up the short staircase out of the bedroom and into the living room (where Laina, Kunsel, Vincent, Tifa, Barret, Red XIII, Selwyn, Cid, Cait Sith, Nina and Carter were and they were relieved to see Cloud, Angelina and Yuffie had woke up).
6 minutes later…
"Do all of you ever heard about those who were brave enough to challenged the snowy cliff?" Holzoff asked Cloud, Angelina and the rest of their friends/companions after they settled down in the living room and waiting to hear Holzoff's story.
"No, we don't, unfortunately." replied Cloud with a shake of his head.
"There's an old legend that says something fell from the sky right into this place a long time ago." Holzoff began telling them. "That's what's supposed to have pushed the land up and formed this huge snowy cliff. 30 years ago, me and my friend, Yamski took this cliff head-on to see what was on the other side. But, we weren't fully prepared for it. We did expect the temperature to be very low but…" Holzoff lapsed into silence for a few seconds before he raised his arms above his head. "On that cliff, there's always a biting cold wind blowing at you. The cold air lowers your body temperature." Holzoff lowered his arms and turn to look away from them. "My friend, Yamski, was below me. He cut his own rope… and I didn't even notice…"
"Oh dear…" said Angelina, Tifa and Nina with a sad/pity look on their faces.
Holzoff turn back to glance at them with a serious look on his face. "Ever since then, I've settled here… continuing to challenge the cliff and provide warning, foods, drinks and shelter to other fellow climbers. If all of you are going to climb up the cliff, there's 2 precautions that all of you'll need to take."
"And what are those 2 precautions we need to take?" asked Carter.
"Firstly, check your route… It's hard to find one because of all the thick snow and cold blizzard." answered Holzoff. "Secondly, once all of you get to a rocky ledge, all of you must make sure that you warm yourselves up. Understand?"
"Yes, sir." said Cloud with a nod of his head.
"We got it, Holzoff." said Angelina, nodding her head as well.
"All of you must have used up a lot of stamina/energy to get up here… Why don't all of you get some rest here for the night and head out tomorrow?" Holzoff told them.
"Really? Thank you very much, kind sir!" said Nina, smiling at Holzoff.
Holzoff smiled back at Nina before Cloud, Angelina and their friends/companions finish their cups of hot chocolates and plates of butter biscuits (they thanked Holzoff for the butter biscuits and hot chocolates). After they're done eating and drinking, both Laina and Tifa helped Holzoff in washing/cleaning up the cups and plates in the kitchen next to the living room before all of them went off to sleep on various different corners inside Holzoff's house.
