Final Fantasy 7: The Hojo Clone
By Co V Schuler
Part 2: The Second Cetra
Chapter 10 (Continued 8 days after the end of Chapter 9)
Cloud turned his back, and walked away, gritting his teeth. Tifa was such a…such a…Cloud kept walking. He asked her if she was going with him to start blowing up Mako reactors. All she said was, "I will go where Cloud Strife will go." Cloud asked her again, this time making sure that she knew she might get killed. She said the same thing. Cloud then asked, "Okaaay…oh, are you going to watch Marlene for that the next two weeks?"
Tifa stopped. "Yeah…but I want to go…"
"So which one is it? I will be living a long time. Marlene is young and hasn't seen you for along time and she needs some attention from someone she knows. Not to mention you promised Barret."
The whole matter was stupid and Cloud knew that. But man he was mad. Cloud went outside of the Highwind and started walking toward the city Kalm, where Marlene was. In two days, they were going to make their first assault on Shinra, attacking the first supply route that they were using. They were going to build Neo-Midgar. Hauling supplies in from the Mythril Mines and the mountains nearby, its estimated completion will be in a year-and-a-half.
Neo-Midgar was using every Shinra force in the world to build it. Except the forces near Nibelhiem, where the first reactor modifications were being made. Security was so tight there that Cloud didn't want to chance it yet. Instead they would attack a convoy carrying supplies for Neo-Midgar. Cloud was doing this as a strategic move; Shinra knew that Avalanche lived, and if Cloud could give Shinra the impression that they were going to stop Neo-Midgar, then the first reactor that they were converting would probably let their guard down.
Cloud figured it would work well. As long as this attack was successful. The Highwind was parked in the middle of a range of mountains barely visible from the air and ground. In fact, it took them four days to find the spot. No one would find it; it was impossible to climb the mountains on foot. And who would go there anyway?
They barely landed the Highwind without hitting nearby trees. It was perfect for a ground base. And the city of Kalm was about eight miles away so they could easily by supplies and haul them back. It was perfect.
Cloud started jogging, his thoughts on Yuffie and Vincent. Vincent had taken off two days ago, leaving two sentences of explanation. It said: "Dear Avalanche, I have been thinking about my past with Shinra and have decided to return to Nibelhiem and think about it. Please do not pursue me for at least a week, that is all I ask."
And Yuffie, the girl took off with their Materia again but this time she only got a mile away before we noticed. This time, Cloud did not just let her stay with them. This time he sent her to Shinra prison in Junon. They dropped her out of the Highwind and she either had to parachute, or die. She parachuted but wasn't taken without fighting. Cloud sent Cid to bail her out; which he did last night and was on his way to their secret area on foot. It would take three days to get to Highwind, if Shinra didn't spot them. Which they wouldn't if Cid followed Cloud's instructions.
Cloud started sprinting, letting out all his anger into his running. He ran as fast as he could and up a hill and when he reached the top he slowly went back to jogging. He could see Kalm now, about three miles away. He was going to see Marlene and ask her if she remembered Aeris. If she did, they would talk for awhile.
Cloud needed to cool down anyway. Tonight, the convoy that they target will be stopping at Kalm to break. Barret, Cloud, Red XIII, and maybe Tifa would be on top of the trucks when they leave the town. Avalanche had to meet at Kalm anyway so might as well go there now.
*
Yuffie followed Cid through the trees at adrenaline speed. A Shinra patrol spotted them and was chasing them through the thick woods. They were in the mountains and had run into a mining site where Shinra was getting supplies for Neo-Midgar. The guards were Turks and they weren't about to let two supposed spies get away.
The Turks weren't anyone Cid knew, but man they were tough. After killing four of them, Cid and Yuffie had to run. "Let's take…them one Cid," Yuffie yelled.
Cid looked behind him at her and yelled, "You can but I'm running. There are at least ten of those guys back there." Yuffie's face filled with fear as he ended the sentence. "Its okay," he started to say, still looking at her, when he realized that he wasn't running anymore. Cid's arms started flapping as if he could fly.
"Shit," Cid yelled, looking down. He had jumped off a cliff into a small lagoon. A beautiful waterfall was forty yards in front of him, the small lake below him. He hit the water with such force that he went about twenty-five feet deep. Cold, was his first thought. He started swimming up and up until he surfaced, gasping for air.
Oh no, he thought. Yuffie is still up there. Not good if she gets captured. Dumb bitch.
About forty feet above Cid, standing on a ledge was Yuffie. Her head turned to look behind her at ten men, running after her with faces that looked like they were going to kill. Her head turned to look down at the cold lake below. Again she turned her head and then…an idea! She faced the waterfall and jumped off, pulling out her basic Twin Viper weapon and, as she was falling, pushed it into the soft dirt wall behind her.
It sank in and her body was flung up against the dirt wall. I really hate Cloud now, she thought. Her weapon started sliding down the wall; the weapon reached a mud layer and just started falling. She looked down at the lake; it was about fifteen feet below her. I will not get wet. She started falling and suddenly her Twin Viper hit a rock layer. She was about eight feet from the surface. She looked to her right and saw a small mass of land.
She swung her body to the left and as it topped the swing of the right, she let go of her Twin Viper and flew onto that landmass. Then, she used her Ninja Magic and slowly brought the Twin Viper back to her (all Wutai ninjas have Magic, just a different kind; Yuffies' is Levitation Magic, even though it hasn't been developed that much, she can levitate light things).
Then she jumped onto the sandy shore of the basin and started running again. The Turks were looking for another solution to getting them but couldn't find one, so they started jumping in. Cid was just reaching shore, shivering. "Run," he yelled at Yuffie, and she started. He started to go but the cold had weakened him significantly.
He couldn't run and make it. He started running down a different path than Yuffie, and when he reached a large tree, he attached a rope to the end of his spear and threw the spear over a branch. The spear flew true, and Cid knew that he had about one minute before the Turks would reach him. All right, he thought. He tried to climb up the rope but realized he needed more weight. Crap, he thought.
"This way," he heard a deep voice say. Shit shit shit, Cid thought. What do I do? Then he decided to abandon the spear and rope and he dived into some thick some rose bushes ten feet from the path. He was able to turn and face the tree, thorns scratching at him on every part of his body, and he could see the path and tree.
Six Turks appeared and then four more, all studying the rope and spear. "What the hell…," one of them said. Cid smiled as he thought; maybe it helped me after all.
The Turks all started searching the tree's huge branches for any sign of Cid. "There is no one here," one announced from the top of the tree. The Turk climbed back down and said, "No sign that anyone has ever been there."
"It's a distraction," one of them said. "We've wasted time, let's get down the trail. You-," he pointed at a black Turk, "-Stay here in case he gets by us and comes back."
Cid studied the big man; it wasn't Reno; that was for sure. But man, that guy looked tough. Cid looked back at the tree and wondered how long it might take him to run out and grab his spear and kill that bitch of a Turk.
It figured it would take eight seconds. The Turk looked around for a second, and then turned around and walked of into the woods. Cid heard running water other than the waterfall a few seconds later. Cid smiled, having an idea. Let's play ghost, he thought. He emerged from the rosebushes and ran to his spear. He untied the rope and took his spear. He jumped back into the bushes just as he heard someone coming back up the trail.
Cid watched the Turk walk around the tree, softly whistling. Only when he stepped on the rope did he notice that the spear was gone. "What the f-," he started to say when Cid jumped out of the bushes and stabbed the man through the back. The man let out a cry of pain and slumped down to the ground; not dead but very hurt. Cid then pulled the spear out and jammed it into the man's neck.
"I live a dirty life," he said and lit a cigarette.
*
Yuffie kept running until she reached the plains. She hadn't looked behind her the whole way, thinking that if she did, she might stumble and the Turks would get her and…probably rape me, she thought. She shivered. "I could've taken them on…but not today."
She started down the hills, the other mountain range a few miles away. The beginning of it anyway. She had the directions to the Highwind's hiding place and it would take her one more day to get there, if she jogged the way there.
All of this just because I took some Materia, she thought grumpily. Punishment didn't have to be this bad. She griped for a little while and then stopped to look at the setting sun. She would travel through the night and get to the Highwind at noon. Then I can rest, she told herself. I just had to keep moving.
*
Cloud saw Barret, Red XIII, and Tifa coming into the town. "Well Marlene, it was nice talking to you," he said, Marlene looking at him with a cute face. "Do you have to go now," she asked.
Cloud nodded. "But I promise that I will come back to talk to you again. Okay?"
She nodded and gave him a hug. "Don't get hurt Cloud," she said and he left the room. He went down the stairs and out the door. Barret was talking to Red XIII and Tifa's face brightened at the sight of Cloud. Cloud mentally sighed. Ever since he had said Aeris never put a spell on him, Tifa had been kissing him and doing all these things as if she just wanted to whole world to know she liked Cloud. Cloud hated it. Literally hated it.
Right now, he felt like he could take on every Shinra soldier and still take on some Turks. Cloud felt like he wanted to go kill anybody. He thought about that for a second and shivered. He was scaring himself. He had all this energy…
"Hey," Barret was saying. Then he lowered his voice and said to Cloud, "That convoy is almost here to stop for a meal. We need to hide and get on the trucks."
Cloud nodded and said, "Lets go out the backdoor of your house (Barret had bought a house in Kalm) and meet past the first hill. Is that good?"
"Sure," Barret replied, as if he wasn't paying attention. His eyes were focused at the edge of town. He said, "Might want to hide now." Cloud took a few steps over so he could see…Shinra. About eight to ten trucks were driving toward Kalm, slowing down as they approached. Better go, Cloud thought.
*
One Hour Later…
"Tifa decided to watch Marlene."
Cloud replied, "Good, I didn't want her to come anyway." Barret agreed and then said, "Where is Red…Nanaki?"
Cloud pointed past another hill and said, "Nature call."
"Oh." Barret blinked and then sat down. The stars were out now, and very little light from the sun remained in the sky. Suddenly, Cloud saw light in the corner of his eye and he turned to face it; it was Red XIII coming back.
"Are you ready to go," he asked the other two. They nodded and Cloud added, "I don't know why, but I want to go kick every Shinra ass alive right now."
Barret laughed and said, "Lets go, before Cloud starts jumping up and down. He's been like this for a few days."
Nanaki watched Cloud through the corner of his eye; Cloud seemed really hyper. Cloud really didn't seem like Cloud for the past two days. Cloud kept talking about beating everybody up, and yesterday, he and Barret got in a fight. Cloud moved so fast that his sword was at Barret's throat in seconds. Nanaki tried to remember what Cloud said when he could've killed Barret. He said: "I might twitch, so don't mess with me… freak."
Now, Cloud seemed exactly like he did yesterday. Full of energy and…dangerous.
They moved silently, the stealth mission not going quite well. Nanaki's flame tail was a little bit of a giveaway, but that would change it a couple of minutes. The plan was for Cloud and Barret to get on the back truck and make there way up the convoy. Red XIII would give the distraction. Cloud started to move faster and suddenly…
"There they are! GET THEM!" The three of them frantically looked around and no one was… oh SHIT! "Run," Barret yelled.
Barret turned to run but behind him there were tanks and Shinra too. Red XIII was looking around and started to jump up but…BAM! A tank fired and Red XIII flew back from the impact. Cloud stood still, the Ragnnarok in his hands. "Let's get them," he whispered to Barret.
Barret gave the 'are you insane' look. "There is no freakin' way we can take them on and live Cloud. Have you lost the pathetic excuse for a brain?"
Cloud ignored him. Cloud looked around. About four hundred Shinra soldiers…and about eight tanks. I can take them on. No problem.
And then Cloud rushed forward, running for the nearest soldier…in an attack run.