Disclaimer: All Final Fantasy 7 characters, places and things all belong to Squaresoft and other involved companies. I own none of it. This fanfic is purely for the fun and enjoyment of others and myself. I make no money from it.
SHARDS COLLIDE
CHAPTER 26
A relieved smile rose to Aeris face when she saw Tifa's nimble form rushing back towards her and the rest of the group. However that smile quickly died when she realized Cloud wasn't following her. The building was dangerously unstable now and with each minute that passed they felt the terrible shaking of the support beams below giving way as the massive structure prepared for its inevitable fall.
"Tifa where's Cloud?" She asked, rushing up to the dark haired woman.
"Everyone listen up!" Tifa said, eyes dancing with frantic anxiety. "Cloud's got a plan. He wants all of us to go up to the second floor."
"What?" Barret shouted in surprise and disbelief. "What do you mean go up? We'll only screw ourselves over more if we go up! What the hell is that spiky haired little bastard thinking?"
"Look Barret there isn't any time to explain. Lets just do it ok?"
"What and go to an early grave by putting our trust in some mercenary who's obsessed with dying cause his friend got wasted?"
This earned an angry glare from both women and Tifa had to speak in controlled tones to keep her anger in check. "Look… Barret… Just shut up and get to the next floor! If you have problems with Cloud's decision, take it up with him when we get there! As for right now, we don't have time for a debate."
Barret mulled over his decision but suddenly felt a rough nudge on his leg. He looked down to see Red 13 hitting him with his tail. "Don't think about the consequences, just do it!" The red tiger said, shoving the dark man even more. "We don't have time for idle thought!"
Barret paused for a second then nodded angrily. "Fine, let's go. But when we get there you better believe I'm gonna have words with that blond haired punk."
Not responding to his macho display of giving in, Tifa rushed up towards the nearby flight of stairs. Everyone else quickly followed after her, Barret being the last to go. Tifa ran as fast as she could and within a matter of seconds they were nearly at the auto department on that floor. Tifa heard the sounds of engines revving up.
Once they turned the corner towards the auto display they all gasped slightly in surprise.
"Oh you have got to be f#cking kidding me!" Barret said angrily. "There's no way I'm agreeing to this."
"Cloud?" Tifa asked nervously.
Cloud, now seated atop a Shinra advanced, tactics motorcycle, looked back towards his companions with a sharp glare in his eyes. "There's no time for questions. Look the only way out is by busting through that window over there. If we time it just right, we should be able to make it to that bridge below. Otherwise we'll be trapped in this building until it blows up. Either do or die! Trust me guys… we'll make it!"
Tifa was silent for a moment then nodded slowly. "…Ok, I trust you Cloud."
"Me too." Aeris nodded, running towards the nearby truck. Tifa got behind the driver's wheel and started the engine's while Red13 jumped into the back. At the last second she noticed Barret was still lagging behind with a scowl on his face.
"Barret get in the damn truck right now!" She screamed.
Barret looked away stubbornly.
"Damnit Barret, this isn't the time to be stubborn. If you want to die fine but don't forget about the responsibility you owe to Marlene! Your daughter!"
Something indescribable flashed across the dark man's eyes and he grudgingly ran towards the truck, hopping into the back compartment alongside Red13.
Cloud revved his engines loudly, his bike shaking beneath him until he knew the engines couldn't take it anymore. At the last minute, he let go of the brakes and the cycle roared down the halls crashing through the windows. The blond haired merc could feel the winds beating on his face and the exhilaration was breathtaking. Cloud prepared himself and suddenly his tires crashed down hard against the solid concrete of the streets below. Not long after, the truck followed, hitting the pavement more recklessly then the bike but efficient none the less.
Cloud continued to ride at maximum speed, pushing his engines to the limit. He heard the loud sounds coming from the distance and he pushed his engines even more.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM
The force was enough to push his bike even further down the streets yet this time he was flying at an odd angle. The bike curved and suddenly he was tipping over from the impact.
'Shit' Cloud's mind reeled as he tried to figure out a way out of this. He angled his body the other way as hard as he could, leaning Zack's buster sword with the rest of his weight. At the last possible second the impossible happened and his bike straightened itself out, once more riding smoothly on the concrete. Cloud sighed in relief then looked back in time to see the very top of the Shinra building engulfed in flames and explosions. The very same floor they had left Zack's body in was now alight in flames and debris. Now Zack truly was gone.
Cloud shut his eyes tightly, not wanting to think about it right now. He looked towards the truck, now trying its best to drive along side him. He could tell it took some damage from the explosion as the rear fender was falling off and the expression on Barret's face was proof enough that the man was sufficiently shaken up. Cloud could see, from the expression on her face through the windshield, that Aeris too had been thinking about Zack when they saw the top floor of the Shinra building alight in flames.
'I'm sorry my friend. There was nothing I could do.'
Cloud sped up a bit, now determined to get out of this hellish city. Suddenly a new noise invaded his sense. A noise he knew all to well.
"Shit!" He seethed. "Could anything else possible go wrong?"
A squad of Shinra squad vehicles quickly sped their way. Cloud revved his engines more then signaled a thumbs up to Tifa telling her he would take out some while they got any that slipped through. Tifa nodded and then Cloud broke off from the rest, decelerating so that the Shinra's could catch him first.
Two Squad cycles came his way. A small grin rose up to Cloud's face as he unsheathed Zack's buster sword. He veered right suddenly, ramming into one of the Squad motorcycles then drove the sword deep into the machine's gas tank. The man sped out of control. Cloud accelerated a bit as his vehicle crashed into his partners blowing them up in a huge ball of flames and fire.
Cloud sighed in relief at the unexpected turn of events. The fire had effectively cut off the rest of the group. Suddenly bullets rained down on his position and he hit the engines once more. "Damn… forgot all about the helicopters!"
Cloud lined up with the truck, riding close enough so that he could talk with them. "They'll have us pinned with those damn helicopters. We gotta lose 'em somehow! Barret do you think you can target them with your gattling gun?"
In response, the dark man stood up shakily as the vehicle swerved left and right. "I'll do my part!" He said, a hint of nervousness in his voice. "You just make us a way out of here." And with that the big man opened fire on the helicopters. To Cloud's surprise, he didn't miss a target and one by one, each of the helicopters began falling rapidly from the skies. Cloud had to give the man credit. He was efficient in his work.
Cloud narrowed his eyes, prepared to uphold his side of the bargain. He accelerated until he was a ways ahead of his companions. Just as he had suspected, more Shinra vehicles were heading towards them from the front. Cloud smiled at their stupidity. Their cycles were bulky and more flashy then maneuverable. Cloud had them beat. He rode up to them then extended his sword arm out.
He zipped by one cycle, slicing its rider in half with the buster sword. He then veered left at an angle, arching his sword low then yanked it up and forward swiftly, tearing away the next man's tire. The rest of the Shinra riders pulled out their automatics, intending to take the blond haired man out from afar. Cloud put the petal to the metal and twirled his sword in front of him until it was whirling around in rapid circles. The bullets penetrated the sword but were deflected by the makeshift shield.
Cloud continued this until he was close enough. At the last second, he stopped the flow of his blade then thrust it forward impaling the first man through the face. Not wasting a second, he forcefully ripped the sword free then swung it across his other side decapitation the second man. Now there was only one soldier left. This man knew he didn't have a chance with an automatic as he quickly pulled out his own sword. His bike was positioned in front of where the bridge cut off and Cloud knew that was where he needed to be.
Cloud brought his bike to a complete stop as he saw the man in front. His opponent did the same. Cloud smirked wickedly. 'So it's a duel then.'
Each fighter revved his engines to the bursting point. Cloud released the throttled and sped towards his opponent. The Shinra guard did the same. Each man headed towards the other with his sword extended. Suddenly Cloud clutched the brakes, skidding to a slanted stop right in front of his adversary. The man was shocked out of his mind and tried to brake as well but this only threw him deeper into Cloud's plan. The Blond released his brake at the last second and shot off to the side wildly but not before he swung his sword across taking the man out when he passed by.
Cloud stopped again, surveying his work as the now dead body rode atop the still moving motorcycle until the machine fell over depositing its lifeless resident.
Soon the truck came into view and Cloud smiled once more. He knocked the kickstand out and got off his bike as the truck came to a complete stop in front of him. Tifa rushed out of the front seat towards him while Aeris lagged behind a bit, casting a healing spell on Barret's arm. Red13 also walked up towards the blond man.
"What happened to him?" Cloud asked throwing his thumb towards Barret.
"He took a shot in the arm from one of those helicopters. It's nothing serious."
Cloud nodded slowly. "I think we lost them. But there's no way of knowing how long that'll last. I suggest we get to the lower levels and hightail it out of this city as fast as we can."
"But the bridge cuts off. How will we get there without having to backtrack down the road we came from?"
Cloud looked out towards the horizons then trained his eyes downwards. "It's not too far of a drop below. If we can get some rope we can shimmy our way down."
Tifa shivered. "All the way down there? By rope?"
Cloud shrugged nonchalantly. "There's really no other option left to us."
"I saw some rope in the truck." Aeris offered as she was now walking towards them. Barret's arm was now completely healed. "It's long enough I think. If we use that we can get down to ground level easily."
Cloud nodded. "Great. Let's get to it then. Barret is your arm in working order."
Barret nodded sagely. "Don't worry about me. Thanks to the healer over there, I'll be alright."
Cloud gave a crisp nod then walked over to the rope. "Good. Help me get this cord tied up then."
****
In no time at all they all finished their trek down to the bottom of the rope and reached the entrance of Midgar. Tifa, Red and Barret began discussing the next step to take.
Cloud simply looked across the horizons, the familiar scene of the entrance of Midgar bringing back memories of a time not too long ago.
Aeris walked up next to him. "I still can't believe it you know?"
Cloud glanced at her holding his gaze on her eyes. "Yeah… I know what you mean."
Aeris turned her gaze skyward, watching the horizon as the sun began to set. "…I miss him…I wish things could have been different…"
Cloud closed his eyes softly allowing the winds to brush across his face. "Me too… He was my best friend… more then a friend, he was like a brother to me. And now he's gone."
Aeris head fell in sadness. "…He told me something once…something about letting things be. Whatever happens happens. I… I think he would have wanted us to move on. I don't think he would have liked to see us like this."
"I know…" Cloud said softly. "He was that kind of guy…" Cloud was preparing to say more when suddenly Tifa, Barret and Red13 all walked up to them.
"So… what's our next move?" Tifa asked timidly. "Barret says we should move on towards Cosmo Cayon. He says he needs to pay his respects to his lost companions and that's the best place to do it at."
Cloud nodded. "That sounds good but I'm afraid I wont have too much time for mourning yet. Sephiroth said something about helping his mother in destroying the world. I'm going to track him down first and then deal with the other business later."
"Revenge huh?" Barret asked skeptically.
Cloud looked at the dark man for a moment then shook his head slowly. "I want to say yes but this goes far beyond revenge. There's something about his presence. Whatever he's planning, we can't take it lightly…"
Barret turned his eyes skyward. "… I guess your right. For the most part, Shinra's finished. But my mission's not over. If Sephiroth is threatening the planet then he's my new enemy. I'm going with you."
"I'm with you all the way too Cloud." Aeris said. "I have nowhere else to go you know… and beside, I want to make Sephiroth pay for what he did too."
Cloud nodded his thanks and smiled slightly. "Tifa?"
"You know I'm with you. We're life long friends remember? There's no way I'm letting you out of my sights."
"I've decided to travel along with you as well."
Cloud turned with surprised eyes. "Red? I don't know what to say. I'm surprised you want to come. You really don't have any stake in any of this."
Red sighed in his own rugged way then shrugged. "I'll follow you as far as Cosmo Canyon."
Cloud nodded. "Good enough. Thanks for the help."
"'Course we need a leader!" Barret chirped in. "I guess I'll be taking charge."
"I really doubt that…" Red13 said under his breath.
Barret shot the red tiger a glare.
"Actually… I agree with Red." Said Aeris. "I think Cloud's a much better leader for the job."
"I second that." Tifa said.
Barret scoffed but said nothing more.
"I guess it's settled then." Cloud said, somewhat flustered by the majority decision.
"So where to now?" Aeris asked. "Where do we start looking."
Cloud shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine… but it think…we might find some clues in the place where this whole nightmare with Sephiroth all began."
Tifa gasped slightly. "You mean…"
Cloud nodded sagely. "Yeah… next stop is Neibleheim…"
::::::::::To Be Continued::::::::::
Author's note: Thanks for reading and please stay tuned for 'THE END'??? Find out more in the next installment.