BOOK TWO: PURSUIT

ONE

Kalm was a small but nevertheless bustling town sitting within the shadow of Midgar, which wasn't much more than a dark blot along the southwestern horizon. A high stone wall surrounded Kalm on all sides, with an open gate to the west. As I passed inside with Aerith and Red, I saw stately avenues paved in bluish-gray cobblestones. Rows of modest homes and shops, all with peaked, slanting roofs of blue shingles, lined the roads. People walked to and fro, and a car or truck drove down the road here and there, but it was much quieter than Midgar.

An inn, the Silver Dragon, stood nearby. It was larger than most of the other buildings in the area, but like them it had a slanted, shingled roof and white walls framed with dark wooden beams. Two stories tall, it featured a number of windows that looked out onto the street before us, and above the door hung a handcrafted wooden sign engraved with a detailed carving of a dragon with wide, outstretched wings and above it, the name of the inn in thin, sweeping letters. I waved when I caught sight of two familiar figures waiting for us there.

Tifa smiled and waved back. "Hi, guys!"

"'Bout time you showed up," Barret grunted, but he was grinning. "We was gonna go eat without ya."

Aerith laughed. "Oh, don't mention food! I'm starving!"

"You didn't have to wait for us," I added.

Tifa shrugged. "It's alright, Cloud. We figured you wouldn't be very far behind us, so we didn't mind."

"Got us a table over at that place across the street," Barret said. "So now that you're here, let's all go an' eat. Also got us all rooms at the inn for tonight. Figured we could use a good night's sleep before we started chasin' after Sephiroth."

I nodded. "Good idea. We'll need to get supplies, too."

"Yeah, we'll get to that later. But first, after we're all done eatin', let's come on back here an' you tell us 'bout Sephiroth an' what he's tryin' to do to the planet an' the Promised Land."

"Right," I agreed. "You all need to know what we're up against."

With that settled, we all walked over to the small restaurant Barret had mentioned. Smells of hot food drifted out the door, and I realized I hadn't eaten since dinner with Barret and Tifa in Wall Market the other night. My stomach rumbled as we stepped inside the place. As soon as we did, the host up front saw Red and blinked.

"I'm sorry, but we don't allow pets in here," the man said.

Red glanced pointedly at him. "I am no one's pet, good sir. And I'll go where I please."

The man's eyes widened. "Oh, of… of course! M-My apologies, sir! Right this way, please."

"You enjoyed that," Aerith giggled as we walked.

Red winked at her. "Maybe a little."

After our long walk from Midgar, it felt good to finally sit down for a while. We ordered, talked, and ate, forgetting for a little while all that had brought us here and simply enjoying the moment. It was a chance to catch our breath and renew ourselves before we set out in pursuit of Sephiroth tomorrow, so we took it, and gladly. But as I sat there at that long table with everyone, more listening than talking, I remembered a request Biggs had made before he died.

I held up my glass. "To absent friends. Biggs, Wedge… and Jessie."

"Absent friends," Barret raised his own glass, his voice thick.

The girls did likewise, and Red used both his forepaws to hold his glass up as well. I was surprised, since he had never met the others, but I was grateful nonetheless. We all clinked our glasses together and then drank, and for a moment it was quiet. Then Aerith asked us if we could tell her more about Jess and the guys and what they had been like, and so we did. Well, Barret and Tifa did most of the talking since they had known them longer than I had. But I added a few things here and there from the short time I had spent with them.

As we all talked, I noticed that Barret and Tifa seemed to relax, the pain that had been lingering within their eyes lessening as they spoke. I found I didn't feel quite so bad myself. Talking, telling stories about our lost friends and who they were, seemed to help, and I couldn't help but admire Aerith's cleverness and compassion. She had known right away what we needed without any of us saying a thing and had used her own curiosity as a pretext to give it to us.

When we were finished, we all went back over to the Silver Dragon and headed upstairs. It was a modestly decorated place with a common area and several doors leading to different bedrooms along the hall and the stairway leading back to the first floor. As we all sat down in chairs across the room except for Red, who simply picked one corner and laid down with a yawn, I felt everyone's eyes on me and knew it was time. I had a lot to tell them, and it wouldn't be easy listening.

Barret leaned forward in his chair. "So, let's hear your story, Cloud. You know, 'bout Sephiroth an' the battle for the planet."

"Right," I agreed. "Let's see, where to start…"

"Let's hear it all," Barret said.

I had to admit he had a point. So I began. "I used to want to be just like Sephiroth, so I joined SOLDIER. After working with him on a few missions, we became friends."

Barret frowned. "You call that a friend?"

"Yeah, well…" I said. "He was older than me and hardly ever talked about himself. So I suppose you'd call us war buddies. We trusted each other. Until one day…"

Tifa looked as though she were about to say something, her mouth slightly open, but then she closed it again. What was on her mind? She was listening intently, but the expression on her face was unreadable. I didn't know what to make of it. Did she believe me? And why wouldn't she have? She had been there too, after all.

"One day…?" Aerith asked.

I nodded. "After the war with Wutai, it was SOLDIER's duty to put down any further resistance against the Shinra. That was five years ago, and I was sixteen…"

"It sure is raining hard."

From where I stood in the back of the truck, I stared out through the front windshield and watched as the drops splattered endlessly across the glass in thick sheets. I could hear them plunking on the roof of the truck's cab and wondered how long it would last. I didn't like the rain, but there wasn't much I could do about it, either. So I turned to look around at the others who were with me.

Two Shinra soldiers in blue uniforms and domed helmets sat nearby on a pair of small crates. One of them didn't look too good, with his arms wrapped around himself and a tinge of green on his face, or at least what I could see of it. I went over to him, wanting to encourage him and make sure that he would be alright.

"Hey, how are you doing?" I asked.

He waved me off. "I'm fine."

"I wouldn't know…" I shrugged. "I've never had motion sickness. But hang in there, okay? I'm sure it'll pass pretty soon."

He nodded. "Thanks, Cloud. I will."

I grinned at him, patted him on the shoulder, and went over to check on the other soldier. "Hey. Everything okay?"

This one didn't answer, but I didn't mind. I didn't know him as well. So I just went back to pacing back and forth along the length of the truck bed, my skin tingling with excitement as I did a few squats and pondered the mission ahead of us. I didn't know very much about it or even where we were going, but it didn't matter. As long as it was dangerous and I got to see my commander in action, that was enough.

"Hey," he ordered. "Settle down."

I paused for a moment and looked at him. Sephiroth. He was sitting down on another wooden crate, but if he'd been standing, he would have had to bend over, because he was over six feet tall. Long, straight strands of silver hair flowed down past his shoulders and hung below the waist of his jet black cloak. All of his clothes were made of the same black leather, including his pants, tunic, boots, and gloves. Only his high gray shoulder guards were different, and his pale green eyes glowed with the light of the mako infusions that were a part of SOLDIER.

I showed him the two colored orbs in my wrist guard. "They gave me some new materia. I can't wait to use it!"

"Just like a kid…" he muttered.

"You going to brief us about this mission?" I asked, more than eager to get started. I wanted to impress him.

Sephiroth nodded. "This isn't a typical mission."

"Good!" I pumped my fist.

He raised an eyebrow. "Why do you say that?"

"I joined SOLDIER because I wanted to be just like you," I explained. "But by the time I finally made First Class, the war was already over. My hopes of becoming a great hero like you ended with the war. That's why I always sign up whenever there's a big mission. It's kind of a way to prove myself, you know? Say, how do you feel, mister Sephiroth?"

"I thought you wanted a briefing?" he reminded me, his eyes cold.

I nodded. "Oh, um… yeah, sure."

Sephiroth's frigid gaze held me fast. "Our mission is to investigate an old mako reactor. There have been reports of it suddenly malfunctioning and producing brutal creatures. First, we'll eliminate the monsters. Then we'll locate the problem and neutralize it."

"Brutal creatures? Where?"

"The mako reactor at Nibelheim," he answered.

My mouth dropped open. "Nibelheim… that's where I'm from."

I hadn't been there in years, but I could still remember the cold air of the mountains, the quiet of the place, and how small it was. The night I'd made my promise to Tifa under a thousand twinkling stars. Would I see her? I hoped so. I also hoped that she would be as impressed as everyone else that I had gotten into SOLDIER.

"Hmm…" Sephiroth mused. "Hometown…"

Suddenly there was a huge jolt, and the truck shuddered and nearly fell over as something slammed into it. The truck righted itself at the last minute with a heavy thump and settled back down onto the tires. I'd had to grab onto one side of the cab in order to stay on my feet as the soldiers barely managed to keep from sliding off their crates. Sephiroth, however, hadn't budged so much as an inch.

"Sir…" the driver called out. "S-Something really strange just crashed into the truck!"

Sephiroth nodded. "That would be our monster…"

He got up, and we headed outside, our boots splashing into the mud as the rain poured down around us. The two soldiers followed us a short distance away, their rifles ready, but what stood before us was way more than they could possibly handle. I reached back and pulled out my sword as Sephiroth grasped his own weapon firmly in his hands. A slim, curved blade of flawless, polished steel almost six feet long. Almost as legendary as its wielder, the katana he called Masamune had an edge so sharp that it was said it could cut through anything. I hoped that someday, my own sword, Buster, would become just as famous as his was.

In the meantime, though, we had a monster to slay. It was a dragon, huge and green and angry, and I hefted Buster, more than eager to show Sephiroth what I could do. The creature snarled at us, opening its mouth to spew out a stream of fire, but it never got the chance. Sephiroth saw to that. He was much too fast, his movements graceful and deadly, and all I could do was gape in awe as he struck.

Sephiroth closed in on the dragon in far less than a heartbeat, slicing Masamune first one way and then the next, again and again so fast that my eyes could barely follow. He was a rapid blur of motion, a whirlwind of death all in black, his silver hair flying out behind him, and as I stood there and watched, I suddenly realized that the rain didn't seem to touch him at all, as though he repelled it somehow. And with every sweep of his sword, the steel katana seemed to resonate with an eerie hum at the peak of each slashing blow. Sephiroth cut as much through the rain as through the monster, and neither one could stand in his way.

I looked at everyone as I finished telling them about the battle with the dragon, wanting to drive home just how dangerous our enemy was. "Sephiroth's strength is incredible. He is far stronger in reality than any stories you may have heard about him."

"So… where do you come in?" Aerith asked.

"Me?" I answered. "I was mesmerized by the way Sephiroth fought. Nothing could touch him."

I remembered it, all too well. How fast he had moved, slashing and slicing and dodging as if he'd been carried by the wind itself, or as if he were the wind. A living hurricane, cutting down anything in his way. A spinning cyclone of destruction that no man or monster could survive. And yet… somehow, I had. I still didn't know how. But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. So let's get back to where we were before I confuse you any more than I probably already have.

Barret frowned. "So how do we beat him?"

"I don't know," I sighed. "We'll have to figure that out on the way. It won't be easy, though."

"We'll find a way," Tifa assured us.

Aerith nodded. "Yeah. So tell us more, Cloud."

"There wasn't much left after the battle," I went on. "So we got back in the truck and drove on. And then we reached Nibelheim."

"How does it feel?" Sephiroth asked.

I stopped as we approached the gates of Nibelheim, a little startled by the unexpected question. The two soldiers stood at attention right behind me, and Sephiroth had paused a few yards in front of me just outside the edge of town. The smell of mako burned my nose, and off in the distance, the Nibel Mountains rose up like a line of jagged teeth.

I blinked. "What do you mean?"

"It's your first time back to your hometown in a long time, right?" he asked without turning around.

"Yeah," I agreed. "It's been a few years."

It had been two, actually. Two years since I had left home after I had made my promise to Tifa at the water tower and told everyone in town I was joining SOLDIER. Two years since I had passed through this gate to start my journey to Midgar. It all seemed so long ago now. The town was quiet but didn't seem much different than I remembered.

Now Sephiroth did face me, but his gaze was distant. "So how does it feel? I wouldn't know because I don't have a hometown…"

"What about your parents?" I wondered.

"My mother is Jenova. She died after giving birth to me. My father…"

He trailed off then, overcome by a sudden fit of laughter. It was cold, though, utterly humorless, and I had no idea what he had seemed to find so darkly amusing. I just stood there and watched, not feeling any sort of mirth myself, until Sephiroth finally composed himself.

"What does it matter?" he shrugged.

Sephiroth turned away again but didn't move right away. Ever since we had arrived here on the outskirts of town, he hadn't seemed quite like himself. He seemed preoccupied, almost. His pale green eyes wandered to the mountains as if he was looking for something. The reactor, maybe? It was why we were here, but… I wasn't so sure. I didn't have a clue what it might be, though, so I decided not to worry about it.

Instead, I decided to talk with one of the soldiers, the one who'd been struggling with motion sickness back on the truck. He seemed better now, but still a little nervous. What was his name? I tried to recall it, but I just couldn't remember. We were friends, had been for a while. I knew that he wanted to join SOLDIER, so I always tried to help him when I could and show him the ropes.

But why couldn't I remember his name?

Maybe it's simply the passage of time. I'm not sure. This all happened several years ago, after all. But I still feel as if I should know it somehow, like it's hanging just out of my mental reach. I don't like the thought that I simply forgot a friend's name. But at least I still remember the guy, even if I can't recall what ever became of him.

Well, those were my thoughts when I first told the others about what happened in Nibelheim. I know the truth now, but we're a long way from talking about that yet. But I wanted to show what was in my mind then, so that when we do get there, you'll understand things better. Confused? Sorry about that. I know how this all sounds. But sometimes how you get to the truth is as important as what that truth is.

I patted my friend's shoulder. "Hey. How are you holding up?"

"Alright, I guess. But if you keep wandering around here, you'll get in trouble. I don't think you want that."

"I'll be fine," I grinned. "Don't worry about me."

Just then, Sephiroth motioned to us. "Alright. Let's go. And be sure to watch yourselves. The mako smells pretty bad here."

"Tell me about it!" I agreed. It really did.

Without another word, Sephiroth headed through the gate, and after a moment, I followed him, the two soldiers just behind me, one on either side. We had no idea what was in store for us, or the nightmare that this mission would eventually become. Or that Nibelheim itself and everyone in it would be gone in the next few days.

"Yo, wait a minute!" Barret cut in.

I frowned. "What is it?"

He scratched his head. "Sephiroth's mother. Her name was Jenova, right? I remember now. That's that damn headless spook that was livin' in the Shinra Building."

"That's right," I nodded.

There was definitely a connection, of course, but I hadn't gotten to that part yet. And I wasn't going to if I kept getting interrupted. I knew he was trying to figure it all out, but I wasn't even halfway through the story yet. Apparently, Tifa saw it as well because she raised an eyebrow at him and fixed him with an angry glare.

"Barret, would you please just let us hear what Cloud has to say?" she sighed. "You can ask questions later."

He blinked. "Tifa, I was only–"

"Enough, Barret!" Tifa snapped, abruptly cutting him off. Then she looked back at me. "Okay, Cloud. Continue."

Aerith and I exchanged a startled glance. She looked as puzzled as I felt, and at first I didn't say anything. What had gotten into Tifa all of a sudden? She seemed agitated, leaning forward in her chair and biting her lip as she sat their frowning with her fists clenched in her lap. Why was she so on edge? I didn't think it was just because Barret had been a little impatient. It seemed like there was more to it than that. But what that might have been, I didn't know. It couldn't have been easy for Tifa to hear about Nibelheim again, though, especially after all we had just been through. Maybe that was it. Anyway, I tried not to worry about it as I continued my story.

The town was quiet as we walked up to the inn. Everyone was inside their houses, afraid of monsters. Or maybe they were afraid of us. I don't know which it was. Maybe both. The town didn't look very different than I remembered. The old water tower still stood in the middle of the square where it always had, and a cluster of homes and shops with slanted roofs of red shingles and dark wooden beams framing white walls sat around it with lights glowing in the large windows.

Beyond all that loomed the old Shinra Mansion, and it looked just as creepy and abandoned as ever. An iron fence surrounded it, and past the large clearing nearby stretched the winding path leading outside town to the mountains and the mako reactor that had been built atop Mt. Nibel. That was our destination, but it was getting late now and I knew that we wouldn't be going up there today.

Sephiroth turned to us. "We leave for the reactor at dawn. Make sure you get to sleep early. All we need is one lookout, so you others, get some rest. That will be all."

I nodded. "Understood."

He started to head inside, then stopped and looked back at me. "Oh, and… you may visit your family and friends."

Then he was gone, and one of the soldiers went with him. The other one stayed outside on lookout duty. Since my own house was nearby, just on the other side of the town square, I decided to go and see my mom for a bit. I walked around the water tower to the other side and approached the door, strangely nervous without knowing why.

I don't know if you'd call us a family. My father died when I was still young. An accident up in the mountains, or so I heard. I don't remember much about him. Just his face, stern but kind. My mom lived alone in the house, the same one I'd grown up in, and she was still there when I came inside after opening the door. She was a vibrant woman, hadn't changed at all. Her hair was as blond as mine and pulled back into a bun like she always had it, and a white apron was fastened around her bright orange dress. When I saw her, she was fine.

But a few days later, she died. Along with so many others.

"Uh, hi…" I said.

She looked up from where she'd been cooking something at the stove. Mom loved to cook, and she'd been pretty good at it, too. "Yes?"

I didn't know what to say at first. Then her eyes widened. "Cloud!? Is that you? Welcome home, Cloud!"

"Hi, Mom," I replied before getting cut off by a hug.

She took a step back and smiled. "Come here… Let me take a look at you! You look so handsome. So this is a SOLDIER uniform?"

"Mom, I…" I began, laying down on the bed.

"My, how you've grown," she marveled, sitting nearby. "I bet the girls never leave you alone."

She went on, her lips pursed. "I'm worried about you. There are a lot of temptations in the city. I'd feel a lot better if you just settled down with a nice girlfriend."

I rolled over on my side, not wanting to talk about it. "I'm alright."

"You should have… an older girlfriend, one that'll take care of you. I think that would be the best kind of girl for you."

"I'm not interested," I told her.

"Are you eating right?" she went on.

I sighed. "I'm fine. The company takes care of me."

"Is that so?" Mom raised an eyebrow. "I know you can't cook, Cloud. I've been worried sick about you. Now you just rest right here for a while and I'll go and get dinner ready. It'll do you good to have a home-cooked meal or two while you're here."

And so it went, Mom fretting and worrying about me like she always did. But the food was as good as I remembered. When dinner was over, I excused myself and left, promising to come back and see her again before I had to return to Midgar. The sun was sitting low in the horizon as dusk crept over the town, but there was one other place I wanted to go before I headed back to the inn, someone else I wanted to see.

I swallowed as I knocked on her door, more nervous than I had been in front of my own house. There was no answer, though, and I wondered if she just hadn't heard me. Reaching out a hand that wasn't quite steady, I tried the knob, and it turned easily. The door swung open with hardly a sound when I gave it a light push, and for a moment I simply stood there trying to decide what to do.

Finally, I took a tentative step inside. "Hello? Tifa?"

Silence greeted me, broken only by the ticking of a grandfather clock in one corner of the family room. In another corner stood a pantry made of polished wood, and a small mahogany table rested against the wall on the other side of the room near the base of the stairs. The hardwood floor was clean, and a small rug lay on it in front of the open doorway leading into the kitchen and dining room. I peeked through it for a moment, but nobody was in there, either.

Was Tifa in her room? I had thought she might be home, so I walked up the dark wooden stairs, each step loud in my ears. Two doors led into the bedrooms on the second floor. Ahead of me, the first opened into her father's room, but he wasn't there. I was glad for that. He had never liked me, though I hadn't really cared. The second door was on my left and led into Tifa's room. My heart pounding, I went inside.

But she wasn't there. Up against the wall across from me stood a tall wooden dresser, and next to it was her desk. A large double window with a set of soft brown curtains dominated the front wall, and at the bottom of the room, just around the corner from the door, were Tifa's bed and an upright piano. I started to leave, but then my curiosity won out instead. I walked over to the piano as memories of the lessons that Mom had given me when I was a kid filled my mind.

Yeah, I can read music. I'm a bit out of practice now, but I suppose if I were to put a little work into it, I could learn to play again. Tifa's gotten back into it over the years, and she's actually pretty good at it. She said if I was ever interested, she'd teach me. Maybe I'll take her up on that, now that I think about it. After all, who says that a sword-swinging, monster-slaying warrior can't be a musician, too? Pretty interesting combination, don't you think?

Anyway, after playing a few chords on the piano and listening as the notes filled the air, I left Tifa's house and went back outside. It was nearly dark now, so I went over to the inn and stepped inside. The old man that all of us kids had always called Gramps stood behind the counter, and he looked up at me as I came in.

"The whole inn's booked up by Shinra for the night," he started, then his eyes widened when he saw who I was. "Cloud? Is that you?"

I nodded. "Yeah, Gramps. It's me."

"It must've been two years since you left. Say, you've really moved up in the world, being under Sephiroth's command."

"Thanks," I said. "Where is he, by the way?"

Gramps pointed to the steps. "Upstairs. Hasn't come down once since he got here earlier."

I wasn't surprised. Sephiroth wasn't really a sociable sort. Taking my leave of Gramps, I started to head toward the stairs but stopped as I saw another old man standing at the opposite side of the room, near the door to the kitchen. He wasn't familiar, though, and I was sure that we'd never met before. I walked over to see him.

He was older, his hair and beard shot through with gray, but he was as fit and muscular as any man half his age could hope to be. His clothes were simple, just a sleeveless leather vest, white pants, leather gloves, and a dark red cape. His blue eyes found me immediately.

"So, is Shinra here to get rid of the monsters?" he asked.

I responded with a question of my own. "And who are you?"

"I'm Zangan," he replied, not at all deterred by my directness. I liked that. "I travel all around the world teaching children martial arts. In this town, a girl named Tifa is my student."

"Did you say Tifa?" I blinked.

He smiled. "Yes, indeed. She has good sense, and she'll be a powerful fighter. Oh, and while you're here, I'd be interested in seeing some Shinra techniques. And if you see anything of mine you can use, you might want to incorporate it into your fighting style."

"I'll keep that in mind," I told him as I walked away.

I found Sephiroth in the upstairs hall just outside our rooms, gazing pensively through a large window that looked out over the town and the mountains beyond. He didn't look at me as I approached. He didn't even move. He just kept staring out the window, and I wondered what was on his mind. I had never seen him so troubled before.

"What are you looking at?" I asked.

"This scenery…" he murmured. "I feel like I know this place."

I looked out the window with him. "How?"

"I don't know. It doesn't really matter. I've hired a guide to the mako reactor. I've heard that she's young, so I hope we can rely on her. We have an early start tomorrow. You should get some sleep soon."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Let's get some sleep."

I went into one of the rooms that had been reserved for us, put down my sword, and slipped off my boots. Then I laid down, more tired than I wanted to admit after the long day, and tried to fall asleep. I was excited about the mission, but a strange sense of foreboding had come over me as well, and I found I couldn't shake it. Tomorrow would see the start of our mission. And the beginning of the nightmare.