As soon as she got back home, she got straight to work. In Cloud's room, she dug out his journals (consisting of 6 huge hardback books). She then went to the local library, and borrowed a book about the late Shinra period, in particular, focusing on the Meteor incident. Then, after fixing up a few bowls of snacks and plenty of drinks, she sat on the sofa in front of the TV, turned it on (keeping the volume down low) and stared at the huge collection of books before her. Okay, now what?
Reading would probably be the best solution, and her history was a little rusty, so she started with the book focusing on the Meteor incident. Of course, she found lots of stuff on Cloud and Sephiroth, and the fact that Cloud was a clone, and lots of pictures of Midgar, the Highwind, Avalanche and so on. Of course, she was a little bit surprised that there was practically no mention of her in the book. I was part of Avalanche, and I may have only been 4 years old, but I should get some credit!
Disgusted, she put the book down. So, Cloud was a clone of Sephiroth, however, he was classified as a failed experiment, so he wasn't given a number. Apparently, the other clones went mad and died on the Northern Crater, from the breakdown of their DNA...She thought for a second. But Cloud isn't the only one of Hojo's experiments that is still alive...
To continue, she needed access to the WWN (World Wide Network). The WWN was a huge source of information, which had originally been used by Shinra to allow the main headquarters of the company to send data to it's stations all over the world. After Shinra collapsed, someone had the idea of expanding it, and so the WWN was born. To access it, all a person needed was a computer, and was within range of the satellite signal, which is what Marlene's computer could do.
After an agonizing wait for the computer to tune into the WWN, and a good few minutes of frustrated searching, she finally found a suitable page on genetic experiments. There, she found out about some of Hojo's other experiments. Two names stood out among them, Vincent Valentine and Nanaki (experiment codename: Red XIII).
Intrigued, she investigated them further. Vincent had disappeared shortly after the Meteor incident, and he hadn't been seen since. Nanaki currently resided in Cosmo Canyon.
Through more searching, she found out more info. There was a secret laboratory in the basement of the Shinra mansion in Nibelheim. However, the building burnt to the ground under mysterious circumstances five years ago. Another option was Hojo's lab in the ruins of Midgar, which (according to the information she had), was still standing.
She now had two leads. I could go straight to Midgar, but I really need a guide as I don't really know my way around, or I could go and see some creature that is probably displaying the same symptoms as Cloud is, and would probably be a waste of time to visit...
She was stuck. She didn't have a guide, and she currently had no way to get to Midgar, as no ships would be sailing for a week due to it being a national holiday for the sailors. Why did they have to have their stupid holiday now?
Still, even if she had to commander a boat, she would get there. She packed as quickly as she could, taking some of Cloud's money, some of his materia and a few supplies. She stood in front of her wardrobe, wondering if she should take a spare set of clothes with her.
"Going somewhere?" She turned to see Cloud standing in the doorway, dressed in a hospital gown. He looked quite sick. He looked as if he was in constant pain, and he looked very pale.
"You should be in bed!" the words blurted out of her mouth. "You should be in hospital! You shouldn't be here..."
"Do you really think that I could let you go on some fool hardy expedition on your own?"
"I'll manage," she said, recovering from the momentary shock. "Besides, if you come with me, you'll slow me down and worsen your condition."
"Just because I'm at death's door doesn't mean I'm going to walk through it willingly!" He winced for a second, put then he seemed to gain a boost in his determination. "And besides, I can't let some little girl try to save my life when her own life is more important!" He turned away from her, and walked towards his room. "Now get your stuff together and be ready to leave in thirty minutes."
"Where are we going?"
"Cosmo Canyon"
"How are we going to get there?"
Cloud grinned at her. "Wait and see..."
Reading would probably be the best solution, and her history was a little rusty, so she started with the book focusing on the Meteor incident. Of course, she found lots of stuff on Cloud and Sephiroth, and the fact that Cloud was a clone, and lots of pictures of Midgar, the Highwind, Avalanche and so on. Of course, she was a little bit surprised that there was practically no mention of her in the book. I was part of Avalanche, and I may have only been 4 years old, but I should get some credit!
Disgusted, she put the book down. So, Cloud was a clone of Sephiroth, however, he was classified as a failed experiment, so he wasn't given a number. Apparently, the other clones went mad and died on the Northern Crater, from the breakdown of their DNA...She thought for a second. But Cloud isn't the only one of Hojo's experiments that is still alive...
To continue, she needed access to the WWN (World Wide Network). The WWN was a huge source of information, which had originally been used by Shinra to allow the main headquarters of the company to send data to it's stations all over the world. After Shinra collapsed, someone had the idea of expanding it, and so the WWN was born. To access it, all a person needed was a computer, and was within range of the satellite signal, which is what Marlene's computer could do.
After an agonizing wait for the computer to tune into the WWN, and a good few minutes of frustrated searching, she finally found a suitable page on genetic experiments. There, she found out about some of Hojo's other experiments. Two names stood out among them, Vincent Valentine and Nanaki (experiment codename: Red XIII).
Intrigued, she investigated them further. Vincent had disappeared shortly after the Meteor incident, and he hadn't been seen since. Nanaki currently resided in Cosmo Canyon.
Through more searching, she found out more info. There was a secret laboratory in the basement of the Shinra mansion in Nibelheim. However, the building burnt to the ground under mysterious circumstances five years ago. Another option was Hojo's lab in the ruins of Midgar, which (according to the information she had), was still standing.
She now had two leads. I could go straight to Midgar, but I really need a guide as I don't really know my way around, or I could go and see some creature that is probably displaying the same symptoms as Cloud is, and would probably be a waste of time to visit...
She was stuck. She didn't have a guide, and she currently had no way to get to Midgar, as no ships would be sailing for a week due to it being a national holiday for the sailors. Why did they have to have their stupid holiday now?
Still, even if she had to commander a boat, she would get there. She packed as quickly as she could, taking some of Cloud's money, some of his materia and a few supplies. She stood in front of her wardrobe, wondering if she should take a spare set of clothes with her.
"Going somewhere?" She turned to see Cloud standing in the doorway, dressed in a hospital gown. He looked quite sick. He looked as if he was in constant pain, and he looked very pale.
"You should be in bed!" the words blurted out of her mouth. "You should be in hospital! You shouldn't be here..."
"Do you really think that I could let you go on some fool hardy expedition on your own?"
"I'll manage," she said, recovering from the momentary shock. "Besides, if you come with me, you'll slow me down and worsen your condition."
"Just because I'm at death's door doesn't mean I'm going to walk through it willingly!" He winced for a second, put then he seemed to gain a boost in his determination. "And besides, I can't let some little girl try to save my life when her own life is more important!" He turned away from her, and walked towards his room. "Now get your stuff together and be ready to leave in thirty minutes."
"Where are we going?"
"Cosmo Canyon"
"How are we going to get there?"
Cloud grinned at her. "Wait and see..."