WHERE ANCIENTS FEAR TO TREAD
CHAPTER 6
Tifa sagged heavily as she continued placing one foot in front of the other. She was beat tired, feeling as if she had been walking for years instead of merely a few days. She glanced over towards her companions and noticed they were suffering under the same plight she was. After rescuing the baby gold chocobo, the trio decided to return to the others as fast as possible to inform them of the recent events. However, Tifa was beginning to regret having to move so soon. It took them two days to even get out of the tunnels. With the absence of the whole time loop factor which sephiroth had laid out for them as a trap, their journey back was long and tiresome.
Tifa growled in annoyance, developing yet another reason to hated the platinum haired SOLDIER.
"Hmm I can see the glade now." Red mumbled, lifting his head slightly from its previously drooped position.
This brought a smile to the female fighter's face. "Really? That's the best news I've heard all day. The first thing I'm gonna do when we get back is take a nice long bath!"
"You're gonna have to wait in line for that!" Aeris intervened. "I've got first dibs."
"Says who?" Tifa challenged playfully.
Red13 sighed at the antics and continued along. "Regardless of who gets first dibs, we still need to inform Cloud and Barret of the recent events before we can do anything. And there's also the issue of the baby Chocobo. We still don't know what to do with it."
"Why don't we keep it?" Aeris asked. "She's such a cutie and besides she's all alone and needs attention."
"How do you know it's a she?" Tifa asked.
"It's a she." Red assured her. "But aside from deciphering the Chocobo's gender, I must disagree with us keeping her."
"Why?" Aeris asked in a distraught tone of voice. "We saved her didn't we?"
"Yes but there's no way we could take care of her. Do not forget we are still on a mission. A very dangerous mission. We would not have time to care for an infant during this time of conflict."
"Red's got a point there." Tifa agreed, albeit in a not too happy tone of voice.
"The old farmkeeper and his son could do a better job of raising the baby chocobo then we could."
"I guess your right." Aeris agreed. "But we can still visit right?"
"I'm sure Cloud would not object to that." Red answered her.
As if on cue, Tifa nearly screamed in delight as the familiar form of the old farm came into view. "Hey I see it! We're back!"
Despite her fatigue, Tifa launched herself into a full sprint towards the slightly battered shack. Red and Aeris did their best to keep up but they too were extremely exhausted and thus could only hobble along after her.
Once she reached her destination, Tifa flung the barn door open and peered inside. "HEYYY! BARRET! CLOUD! YOU GUYS'LL NEVER BELIEVE WHERE WE'VE BEEN!"
However, unfortunately as she looked around, she noticed that the area was empty. Curiously, Tifa slowly made her way inside, looking around. She nearly jumped out of her skins when she suddenly felt a firm hand on her shoulder.
Tifa whirled around in alarm at the new figure holding a bag over his shoulder. "What are you doing back here?" The dark burly figure asked her.
Tifa's eyes nearly watered with relief. "Barret! Geeze it's good to see you! Why are you carrying that duffel bag? Anyway, you'll never guess what just happened to us ya big lummox! Where's Cloud at? We can tell him about it too!"
The big man said nothing but simply continued to stare intently into her eyes with a deep frown.
Now Tifa's eyes reflected concern. "What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Just then, Red13 and Aeris filed into the barn.
"Hey Barret." Aeris greeted pleasantly. "Why the glum face?"
Barret observed the trio silently, then slowly closed his eyes and made his way towards a chair and sat down sagely. "I'm surprised the three of you decided to come back."
"Huh? What are you talking about Barret?" Tifa asked in confusion.
Red studied Barret's face then sighed heavily. "I see… So you believe the three of us deserted then?"
Barret nodded his head purposefully. "Again I ask. Why have you returned?"
Aeris and Tifa were both beginning to feel apprehensive now.
"Barret, where's Cloud?" Aeris asked in a concerned voice.
Barret shrugged his shoulders, not bringing his eyes to meet her gaze. "He's gone. A few days ago some strangers came up to him and presented us with the opportunity of tracking Sephiroth down. They said they were on a quest to find him but they didn't reveal much. At first they mistook Cloud for him then afterwards they said they had reason to believe Sephiroth was heading towards the Junon region. Their stories seemed cryptic and to say I didn't trust them would be an understatement. Ultimately, I stayed behind, telling Cloud anyone who blindly fell for a story like theirs was a fool. Cloud didn't care. His obsession with going after Sephiroth is clouding his judgement. He left me behind saying that if need by, he would take on Sephiroth by himself."
"And you just let him walk away?" Tifa asked in alarm.
"What was I supposed to do? Follow along and go with them into what could very well be a trap? Hell I made a pledge that I would defend the planet! I never made any promises about going on no suicide missions!"
"But Cloud may need our help!" Aeris argued. "How could you have just let him go alone like that? What kind of coward are you?"
"Hey!" Barret seethed, anger rising in his voice. "I'm not the one who walked away in the fist place! You didn't have to put up with his indifference! You didn't have to put up with his obsessive ranting and raving! I DID! I had to hear every last drop of his scorn and hatred towards Sephiroth. Nothing I said could have changed his mind and had I gone along with him, it would have only resulted in my death! I'm not crazy! I aint gonna die for some loony with a vengeance streak! The rest of you can go chasing after him if you want. I'm done with him and the rest of you. I'll continue to fight my own fight in my own way. I aint nobody's chess piece to be moved about at someone else's whim."
"Barret…" Tifa's eyes held concern and a hint of fear in them. "We never left the group. We were lured into a trap by Sephiroth! He was-"
"I don't care!" The big man retorted vehemently. "I don't give a flying $hit what your excuse is! I'm done! I've told you this already. The three of you got lucky catching me at this time. I was just heading out."
Aeris eyes were beginning to water. "Barret… you can't be serious. How can you just abandon us like this?"
"It's easy." The big man said, then hefted his brown duffel bag back over his shoulder. "I learn from the best." And with that the big man walked past the trio and out the doorway, shutting the solid wood loudly on his way out.
"Well that went well." Red said in a sarcastic voice.
"What do we do now?" Aeris asked in concern. "We still have the whole issue of Cloud running off. We don't even know where he's at."
"I do."
The trio all turned to see the slightly haggard form of the barn elder making his way into the room. "I overheard your earlier dispute. You folks sure got a lot of drama going around in your lives. Young folks like yourselves shouldn't be worrying so much."
"Sir do you know where Cloud's run off to?" Tifa asked in a slightly desperate voice.
The old man simply sighed and leaned heavily against the side wall. "Yeah. Before he left, he and his friends requested some chocobo's from me for their trip."
"Why would they need chocobo's?" Aeris asked.
"Simply." The man responded. "Only one place in this area you cant go to without the aid of Chocobo's. The most deadly place I know. The sand dunes of the great snake."
"Sand dunes?" Red looked questioningly towards the old man.
"The worst place to be sonny. They plan on crossing the sand dunes. Only problem is that anyone who's ever attempted the trip aint never come back alive…"
****
"So how much further until we reach our destination!" Cloud yelled up over the roar of sand and dirt as his Chocobo continued sprinting through the desert-like area. Both Cid and Vincent flanked the blond haired mercenary on either side.
Cid Highwind turned his head towards his blond companion and smirked slightly. "Not too much further now. We reach the mountain caves pretty soon. These chocobo's are built for speed so we'll be flying. Be prepared to stop hard when you see the landscape pilling up."
Cloud nodded slightly. "You still haven't told me what your whole stake in this is. And your partner hasn't even traded any words at all."
Cid chuckled. "All in good time kid. Just know that we aint your enemies."
Cloud narrowed his eyes. He was going to say more until suddenly, he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. "Wait up! I just saw something moving!"
"It's just your imagination kid!" Cid yelled back. "Lets keep going!"
Cloud grumbled under his voice. "I don't imagine things like that."
Cid ignored the snide remark and urged his chocobo faster through the sandy marsh.
Suddenly, as if on cue to Cloud's suspicions, a huge pointy tail burst forth from the ground heading straight towards Vincent.
In a split second, the huge tail embedded itself deep into the heart of Vincent's chocobo, killing the creature instantly. In a flash, Vincent leapt skillfully from the yellow creature, sumersaulting in the air before turning around and aiming his enclosed pistol straight at the huge object.
BLAM BLAM BLAM
Vincent fired three materia enhanced shots deep into the rugged, brown/ green flesh of the tail which had attacked them. A couple seconds later, his feet finally touched the ground, landing expertly then standing straight upright, the dark haired man fired two more shots into the now twisting tail.
Cloud could barely believe what he had just witnessed. Any other person would have died as soon as the tail struck, impaling both the chocobo and its rider. He was shocked that Vincent had the reflexes and agility to not only dodge the attack, but deliver his own counter attack as well and still be in the air while doing it.
Cloud quickly shook his head to erase his astonishment. Despite the recent exploits, 5 shots were apparently not enough to kill the creature as the tail was still wagging to and froo in a dangerous gesture of pain and anger.
Once again, the sandy floor burst open in a huge explosion of grim and dirt. Cid cried out in alarm and anger as he was suddenly lifted from the ground. Cloud nearly fell over in shock at the sight before his eyes. Cid was now perched atop the center of a Huge snake head. The snake was angrily trying to devour both the chocobo and its rider.
"$hit!" Cid screamed out as he tried to regain control of his own footing. The snake lurched its head back and in one snap, it sunk its teeth into the lower half of Cid's chocobo. It was all the blond haired pilot could do to hoist himself up slightly so that his legs weren't also incorporated in that swift bite.
Cloud reacted instantly. He sped his chocobo up as fast as he could then unsheathed his huge Buster sword. The snake momentarily took its eyes off of the prey it was currently devouring and turned its attention towards the new meal heading its way.
Unheeded by the beady eyes staring straight at him, Cloud urged his chocobo on faster then stretched his sword out, making sure he had a firm grip. The snake lunged forwards however Cloud was faster. He urged the chocobo for more speed and just narrowly missed the snakes frustrated bite. The missed attack cost the snake as Cloud sunk his blade into the creatures flesh creating a long incision across its mid section.
The creature screamed out in pain, lurching its head back up while green blood splurted everywhere, showering the yellow sand in a dark green pool of liquid. Cid continued to sway back and forth from the creature's sudden movements.
"I've had enough of this $hit!" the gruff pilot seethed. In a flash of skill, Cid jumped from his perched position atop the snakes upper tooth then angled down towards the back of its head. Grunting, he grabbed hold of the back of its head then unsheathed his lance.
"Raaghhhh!!" He screamed, ramming the lance as hard as he could into the middle of the snakes head. The creature screamed in agony, swinging back and forth.
"Get outta there!" Cloud yelled, watching the gruff blond man trying to tame his target.
"Shut up kid!" Cid screamed in retort. Just then the creature flung its head back once more. Cid's eyes snapped open in alarm. The solid perch his lance had in the creatures head suddenly dislodged and he was now falling back, heading straight towards the earth.
Cid closed his eyes and concentrated. He quickly arched his body so that his arms were thrust out while his legs where still in front. "IFRIT!!" The man yelled loudly.
Cloud narrowed his eyes in confusion. 'Ifrit? What's that?'
His thoughts were interrupted when suddenly the gruff man disappeared where only seven multicolored orbs remained.
"What the hell?" Cloud called out.
The ground burst open while flames spewed out. Molten lava flowed freely from the ground then a huge beast streamed forth.
"$hit!" Cloud grumbled then brandished his buster sword once more.
A firm hand grasped his. Cloud looked over and saw Vincent standing there, shaking his head with a glint of warning in his stark red eyes.
Cloud hesitated then lowered his arm. He watched in awe as the fire beast continued to roar in rage. It suddenly reared its head back and expelled fiery breath towards the huge snake. The snake screamed in pain and agony as it slowly crumbled to the ground.
Once the snake was down, Ifrit looked around vaguely then disappeared. In its place, Cid re-materialized and fell limply towards the ground. In a flash, Vincent leapt into the air without saying a word and deftly caught the falling man. Landing smoothly, Vincent deposited the heavy weight unceremoniously onto the sandy earth.
Cid let out a low groan then slowly sat up. "Nice to know you care Vinny." He said then rubbed the back of his head. Vincent said nothing, simply walking a few feet away to observe the left over remains of the snake.
Cloud ran up to Cid, anxiety and confusion dancing in his eyes. "What the hell was that back there?"
Cid chuckled then brought himself up to his full height. "That was a sand snake. I thought you would have heard of those by now."
"Not that." Cloud said, narrowing his eyes.
Cid closed his eyes wearily then brushed his pants legs, wiping sand away. "It was a summon spell. An advanced form of materia, summoning mystical beasts to do your bidding for a short amount of time."
"That's incredible." Cloud breathed in shock. "I never would have imaged humans could harness such amazing power."
"It's not for the weak at heart kid." Cid grunted. "Only the most skilled of warriors can use materia. You gotta be ready for the consequences. If your too weak, your summon will know that and it will suck the very life out of you. Even I am weak after using one. There's always a price for requesting service from your summons."
"So they make you weaker every time then?" Cloud asked, beginning to understand.
"Exactly. If you ever get some and can control them, use them sparingly kid. If you don't, your summons will eat you alive. There'll be nothing left of you if you're too weak. Such is the price you pay when requesting their services."
Cloud narrowed his eyes, looking skyward. "I will master them." He said in a silent promise to himself. "I will gain their power and then Sephiroth will pay for his crimes."
"Just make sure you save some for us." Cid interjected.
Cloud lowered his serious eyes to rest on Cid's. "When I'm through with him, there will be nothing left. That, I assure you."
::::::::::To Be Continued::::::::::
Author's note: Thanks for reading and please stay tuned for chapter 7.