Final Fantasy 7: The Hojo Clone
By Co V Schuler
Part 2: The Second Cetra
Chapter 15 (Continued right after the end of Chapter 14)
Cloud came back downstairs, beginning to sweat. Something was happening to him and he wished he knew what it was but he couldn't. Cloud emerged from upstairs and saw Tifa sitting next to Marlene, watching TV.
"Hey Marlene," he said, with excitement in his voice. He had to talk to her after what happened at the bar today. Truly a horrible thing.
She turned around and looked at him. "Cloud? Are you okay?" She got up and ran over to him and said, "Thank you Cloud. Those mean men…" She drifted off.
"Your welcome Marlene," he replied, trying to sound happy when the TV flashed and Tifa gasped. "What it is Tifa? Something wrong?"
She motioned to the TV and Cloud and Marlene looked at it. There was a Shinra reporter, in the city of Kalm (?!) reporting on what seemed to be a serial killer. She was saying, "And now, a special report. Earlier today, a group of men arrived in this peaceful, calm village. They went to the bar and after a few hours became seriously drunk. When a young girl and a seven-year-old girl entered the bar, the serial…"
"The man has been wanted in towns all over for either killing or raping. And here, he nearly killed two young girls but a young man came to save them…but not pleasantly." The camera walked over to the bar and entered it. Cloud frowned and started losing breath. The camera showed heads lying all over the place, peoples arms and legs scattered…Cloud closed his eyes and he picked up Marlene and covered her eyes.
The reporter started talking. "With no eyewitnesses except the two victims and…strange hero, no one wants to come outside, for fear of being killed by the young man. I'm…" The reporter gave her name and then it shut off.
Cloud had no words. He couldn't think straight. How did I do that? I didn't even have a weapon! Suddenly Tifa was crying and hugging him. "Its all right, Tifa. It's going to be alright."
His words didn't stop her crying.
*
Yuffie saw the report and her jaw was dropped as she realized that Cloud had caused the bloodbath. How could Cloud have done such a thing…? There were arms without torsos and heads alone…Yuffie ran to the bathroom and threw up. Sick; something was definitely wrong with Cloud.
Like the fact that he was a botched, constructed-from-scientists freak.
Yuffie left the bathroom and looked back at the TV; the report was over and now they were back to afternoon shows. Yuffie turned off the TV and went to Clouds room. She walked in…nothing appeared different.
Something was wrong with Cloud, and even though Yuffie knew she shouldn't be doing it, she was sneaking into his room to find…something. Yuffie shrugged as she pulled open his dresser drawers. Nothing but clothes in all of them. He had a small sofa and she checked under the cushions for anything out of the ordinary; nothing but Gil that had fell out of his pockets.
She walked over to his bed and checked under the pillow and under the bed. Nothing but nothing…Yuffie smiled. Clever Cloud, she thought as she saw a slit in the mattress. She reached in and felt…two picture frames and…paper. She pulled them out and looked at them. One picture had Tifa's optimistic smile and her pretty face.
Yuffie nodded approvingly, a very nice picture. The other picture was a picture of Aeris. Yuffie grimaced when she saw it. Aeris. The flower merchant, the Ancient, the one person that could've summoned Holy…
Yuffie felt a tear run down her cheek. She did miss Aeris; Aeris was the only one in the group that befriended Yuffie. Yuffie put the pictures back and held up the paper.
It said: The Debate. The other is betraying my feelings. One will say one thing that will make me wish for her, the other the same right after that. I can't choose. It's like a debate between one girl and the other girl. Aeris always said something that would make me want to 'I love you' a thousand times…but then Tifa would do the same thing only say something else.
It ended like that and Yuffie frowned. She turned it over to find a few more lines.
Why? Why did you do it? Sephiroth! Right when I have chosen whom, right when I have decided who will win the f****** debate, you KILL HER! WHY? You could've of taken me or someone else but…
It ended abruptly. Yuffie closed her eyes. Poor Cloud…if I ever lost Vincent…what would I do?
Yuffie jumped, frightened by her own thoughts. I just thought about Vincent…what in the world…Yuffie put the paper back in the mattress and lay down on the clean carpet.
Her head rolled to one side and she closed her eyes. Am I in love with a vampire, she asked herself. How could a cold-hearted vampire fall for a Materia thief? Does he even like me?
Yuffie opened her eyes and there, under the sofa, was a little thing. Yuffie raised an eyebrow. She reached for it and pulled it out. It was a needle machine, the kind of thing nurses use in advanced hospitals in Midgar…well, what was Midgar.
It was like a gun, only you jab the needle into someone and pull the trigger, and the liquid or medicine or whatever goes in. Then it hit Yuffie. Cloud is on drugs!!!
*
"Is the army there yet?"
"No, but they are on schedule and should be there any minute. They will then contact you and wait for your order to bombard."
The anxious President Tanner paced back and forth. He almost had Avalanche. Just a few more minutes and I will rule the world with my new atmosphere reactor. No, the reactor wasn't modified yet, but if Avalanche was destroyed, it might as well be called finished. "Good."
Scarlet watched him pace back and forth. She was no longer as beautiful as she used to be, not since the time that she confronted Avalanche with the first Proud Clod. She was lucky too; all she got was a scar on her neck, running all the down to her left thigh. It came from debris, when the first Proud Clod blew up.
But now, revenge was at hand. The new Proud Clod, equipped with Huge Materia, was almost to Kalm, almost to Avalanche. And they would pay for screwing up her beauty.
As if he was reading her mind, Tanner said, "You know Scarlet, you are a beautiful woman. And after you have your revenge with remotely controlling the Proud Clod 2, would you like to celebrate?"
Scarlet was at a loss for words. She had always had interest in someone else…but he didn't like her so she might as well. "Uh…what do you have in mind, Mr. President?"
"Dinner, maybe candlelight and maybe a little dance…" He let it drift.
She smiled. "Okay, it's a deal. But what if we don't get Avalanche? What do I get to do to you if we don't win?"
Tanner looked shaken. "Uh, umm, I don't know. That's your choice."
She smiled, "Deal. For the first time, though, I am hoping someone else wins." They laughed and the intercom suddenly sounded. "Sir, they are in position and have not yet been detected."
Tanner walked over to the speaker, pressed and held down a button while saying, "Good. Have your scouts found any sign of the other ambush convoy?"
The intercom cackled a moment and then the Commander said, "Yes sir…it wasn't pretty. Everyone was dead and there was no sign of Avalanche."
"Damn," Tanner said, then, "Give Scarlet a few minutes to get the Proud Clod 2 going and then, report when it's moving."
It cackled and then, "Yes sir." Tanner looked at Scarlet and nodded. She left the room and Tanner thought about what he was about to do. When Kalm would be destroyed, people would question Shinra. And Tanner knew exactly what he was going to say.
He pictured it in his mind, the people cheering outside on a large Junon airstrip. Him standing at a podium, announcing that the people of Kalm were traitors, and had sided with Avalanche. And they were planning to destroy Neo-Midgar.
Tanner smiled. And the people would cheer.
*
Outside of Kalm, about six miles away, the Commander was anxiously looking around. He himself had seen the massacre at the field where the ambush had taken place; the four hundred dead men…he shivered.
He looked up at the huge machine in front of him. It was about twenty stories tall; it's huge arms about ten stories long. The pathetic rebels would have to face the Proud Clod 2, the biggest machine ever built by Shinra.
The Commander smiled a grim smile. Good luck Avalanche; I'm not on your side, but even I don't want to do this. Suddenly the Proud Clod 2 took a step forward and turned to look at him. "Report to the President, Commander."
Commander nodded and talked into a speaker. "Sir, we have all artillery ready and the Proud Clod 2 is successfully maneuvering."
"Good," came the reply. "Begin bombardment. After twenty rounds, stop and send in the Proud Clod 2. Over and out, Commander."
"Yes sir," he said, knowing he about to kill many innocent lives for just one group of people that were trying to save the world. "Begin bombardment," he yelled, and cannons began firing.
*
Tanner was giddy with excitement. He had a night with Scarlet coming up, Avalanche is dead and…then a thought hit Tanner.
Avalanche thinks the Planet is dying. Where could they get information like that? Mako certainly doesn't kill a Planet; its there to make Shinra money. Tanner shook his head. Focus, he told himself. Where could Avalanche find out about the Planet?
He called in Heidegger and asked him, "Where could Avalanche find information on our Planet?" Heidegger looked puzzled. He too, was scarred from the Proud Clod 2, not like it made any difference to his looks (he has always been ugly). "Hmm," he thought. "Oh yeah! When I worked for the school in Old Midgar, we took a field trip to Cosmo Canyon! There we learned-," he was cut off by the President.
"Cosmo Canyon is the same place I was thinking…after they destroy Kalm, send hovercrafts to the beaches north of Old Midgar and have the armies board them. Take the armies to Cosmo Canyon, and when they get there, report to me."
"Gya ha ha ha ha ha! We are going to make sure no more Avalanches group show up! Gya ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
"And remember Heidegger. Destroy ALL of Kalm, and Cosmo Canyon…and we'll be rid of Avalanche."