Chapter Three
Into the Darkness Once More
Nearly four hours passed, and Clouds search had turned up nothing. There was no sign of them at all! Cloud had gone full circle around the deserted city several times, each time looking over everything and shouting out the names of his children. They were no where to be seen, and Clouds heart was pounding along like a train over the hills. Still, he kept on hollaring and searching on into the night. He was inexhaustable!
"Aeris! Zack! Where are you!"
Still, the echo was his only responce.
"Hey, Aeris! Zack! Come on out!"
Silence fell upon the streets once more.
"Ar-r-r-r-r-r-r-ies! Za-a-a-a-a-a-a-ack"
"Cloud?"
He stopped dead in his tracks, unsure if he had heard right. He remained still, waiting for a second call.
"Cloud is that you?"
"Tifa?"
"Where are you?"
"Umm..."
Now sure it was Tifa he was talking to, Cloud glanced about him for anything that could be used as a sign. Tifa often wandered the city during the day time, looking for things she could salvage and use at home, so he thought she could find him that way. Soon, he spoted an old chopper which had long since ceased functioning.
"I'm near an old Shinra helicopter. It's all beat up, musta' crashed years ago. You know where that is?"
"Yeah, stay there! I'm on my way!"
Cloud sat down on the tail of the old bird whose wings had been clipped nearly a decade ago. After a while, he heard the bounding footsteps of his wife as she came around the corner. To his surprise, she was all decked out in her old fighting uniform, although she wore a long black cloak over it due to the cold. Like Clouds weapons, they had been set aside for so long. From her brass knuckes right down to her red hair ribbon, she was the exact image of how she looked when they met in Midgar that first and fateful day.
"Ah, thank God!" she exclaimed, "I thought I'd never find you or the kids in this hell hole of a city!"
"So you haven't seen them either, then?"
Tifa sighed and her head hung low.
"No, not a clue to be found. They've got to be here somewhere! I mean, no one can disapear!"
"Yeah," sighed Cloud and turned around to face the streets, "C'mon, let's get goin'! We've gotta' find them soon, like you said, no one can disapear!"
Cloud started down the road, followed closly by Tifa.
"Do you think they're just playing some sick game with us? I mean, that they're hiding in some building, giggling as we walk miles and miles in circles looking for them while they giggle and snicker!"
Cloud thought this over in his head as he poked his head around a corner alley. There was nothing, so he turned back to Tifa.
"Honestly, I don't think so. I mean, I know they misbehave a lot, but they've got enough common sense to realize what they're putting us through. I put more trust into them that that, you know."
Tifa sighed and started to walk again.
"You're right, but even though they might have come when we called, that doesn't mean they're not out here at night when they're supposed to be in bed!"
"Yeah, I know. When we find them, we're going to have to make sure they don't do this again!"
"Right!"
The conversation was pretty much halted there and limited to only sighs of despair and curses of desperation. Mainly, they just walked back and forth down they streets of Midgar, calling out the names of thier kids. Cloud was worried, but very confident that they would soon find them. Tifa was very worried, and she showed it in her voice and her walk. She often wavered and nearly fell when her cries and calls came unanswered. Cloud comforted her.
"It's gonna' be all right. We're gonna' find them soon, then we're all head back to the house and go to sleep, OK honey?"
She nodded solemnly, but then her head went sailing up as if it was caught in a burst of wind of hurricane propertions. To Cloud, it seemed her eyes were transfixed on a certain point slightly up and to the left. He turned from her and tried to pinpoint the place of her gaze.
"What? What is it? Do you see something?"
Still, she was silent. Before Cloud could say anything else, she had dashed of in front of him like a mad animail. Cloud jogged after her.
"Tifa? What is it? What do you see? Answer me, Tifa!"
Tifa had mounted a short flight of stairs and was standing in front of an old beaten doorway which had it's door blown of by some blast ages ago. Soon, she bent over and disappeared from Clouds vision. Dashing around a large obsticale in his path, Cloud ran over to where Tifa was on her knees. He jumped up the stairs, taking three at a time, and was soon standing over her and looking down upon her with a face of worry and deep interest.
"Tifa? What is it? What have you found?"
She stood up, something small clasped in her hand. Cloud wanted to jump in the air and scream. The suspense was killing him. Still, he controlled himself and calmed down.
"What is it? What'd you find there?"
"This," she said solemnly, and opened her. It took a while for Cloud to realize how it held any significance to the problem at had. It was a small red piece of cloth, and was torn around the edges like it had been ripped of something quickly. Suddenly it hit Cloud, and his eyes widened like two new full moon! It was a piece of cloth from Aeris's dress which Tifa had personally sewn her for her seventh birthday last year. Still, why hadn't Tifa bolted through the doorway. Something told Cloud she knew what in there and didn't like it, but what was it?
"Right, well, they must be in there then! C'mon honey, let's go get them!"
Cloud took a bold step past Tifa, but she put her hand on his shoulder.
"Cloud, before you go in there," said Tifa with a great sense of fright in her voice, "don't you know what's in there?"
"Well, Zack and Aeris for starters, and that's reason enough for me!"
"No, what I mean is, don't you recognize this place?"
Cloud stepped back outside and looked over the surroundings. Even with age and years of decay, he found Tifa was right. All this looked very familiar. However, Cloud just couldn't put his finger on what it was and call up memories for it.
"I'm drawing a blank dear. What is it?"
"Mako Recactor No. 7."
Clouds heart skipped a beat. She was right! This was the reactor he had raided with Barret and the other members of Avalanche. True, when it exploded, it tore all that was inside to pieces, but as it appeared, the top had survived nearly intact from the first blast. Cloud hadn't thought that dead Mako reactors where that much of a worry, and that it was only the live ones that were the problem. What could be the problem with a hunk of metal?
"Tifa, c'mon. What's the matter? It's just an old building we blew up years ago! There's nothing wrong with it that's not wrong with everything else in this city."
Tifa was silent for a moment."
"Yeah, I guess your right," Tifa said, and Cloud started to head it, "but ya' see..."
Cloud whirled around and faced her.
"What is it?" Cloud spoke with a very slight, but still appearant, hint of anoyance.
"Well, I get this bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something's wrong about this place, and I don't like it. There's evil here."
"So what? We're just going to let the kids rot in there? The hell we are!"
Cloud was mad. He had hardly ever been mad at Tifa, if that is, he had ever, but she was standing here talking about bad vibes and evil spirits while their children could be in real danger just beyond that door.
"Look, Cloud," Tifa spoke emploringly, and Clouds anger subsided, "all I'm saying is we should watch out backs in there, that's all."
"You watch my back, I'll watch yours."
"You got it!"
Drawing his old buster sword, Cloud entered the old reactor once more and began to desend into the darkness once more...
Into the Darkness Once More
Nearly four hours passed, and Clouds search had turned up nothing. There was no sign of them at all! Cloud had gone full circle around the deserted city several times, each time looking over everything and shouting out the names of his children. They were no where to be seen, and Clouds heart was pounding along like a train over the hills. Still, he kept on hollaring and searching on into the night. He was inexhaustable!
"Aeris! Zack! Where are you!"
Still, the echo was his only responce.
"Hey, Aeris! Zack! Come on out!"
Silence fell upon the streets once more.
"Ar-r-r-r-r-r-r-ies! Za-a-a-a-a-a-a-ack"
"Cloud?"
He stopped dead in his tracks, unsure if he had heard right. He remained still, waiting for a second call.
"Cloud is that you?"
"Tifa?"
"Where are you?"
"Umm..."
Now sure it was Tifa he was talking to, Cloud glanced about him for anything that could be used as a sign. Tifa often wandered the city during the day time, looking for things she could salvage and use at home, so he thought she could find him that way. Soon, he spoted an old chopper which had long since ceased functioning.
"I'm near an old Shinra helicopter. It's all beat up, musta' crashed years ago. You know where that is?"
"Yeah, stay there! I'm on my way!"
Cloud sat down on the tail of the old bird whose wings had been clipped nearly a decade ago. After a while, he heard the bounding footsteps of his wife as she came around the corner. To his surprise, she was all decked out in her old fighting uniform, although she wore a long black cloak over it due to the cold. Like Clouds weapons, they had been set aside for so long. From her brass knuckes right down to her red hair ribbon, she was the exact image of how she looked when they met in Midgar that first and fateful day.
"Ah, thank God!" she exclaimed, "I thought I'd never find you or the kids in this hell hole of a city!"
"So you haven't seen them either, then?"
Tifa sighed and her head hung low.
"No, not a clue to be found. They've got to be here somewhere! I mean, no one can disapear!"
"Yeah," sighed Cloud and turned around to face the streets, "C'mon, let's get goin'! We've gotta' find them soon, like you said, no one can disapear!"
Cloud started down the road, followed closly by Tifa.
"Do you think they're just playing some sick game with us? I mean, that they're hiding in some building, giggling as we walk miles and miles in circles looking for them while they giggle and snicker!"
Cloud thought this over in his head as he poked his head around a corner alley. There was nothing, so he turned back to Tifa.
"Honestly, I don't think so. I mean, I know they misbehave a lot, but they've got enough common sense to realize what they're putting us through. I put more trust into them that that, you know."
Tifa sighed and started to walk again.
"You're right, but even though they might have come when we called, that doesn't mean they're not out here at night when they're supposed to be in bed!"
"Yeah, I know. When we find them, we're going to have to make sure they don't do this again!"
"Right!"
The conversation was pretty much halted there and limited to only sighs of despair and curses of desperation. Mainly, they just walked back and forth down they streets of Midgar, calling out the names of thier kids. Cloud was worried, but very confident that they would soon find them. Tifa was very worried, and she showed it in her voice and her walk. She often wavered and nearly fell when her cries and calls came unanswered. Cloud comforted her.
"It's gonna' be all right. We're gonna' find them soon, then we're all head back to the house and go to sleep, OK honey?"
She nodded solemnly, but then her head went sailing up as if it was caught in a burst of wind of hurricane propertions. To Cloud, it seemed her eyes were transfixed on a certain point slightly up and to the left. He turned from her and tried to pinpoint the place of her gaze.
"What? What is it? Do you see something?"
Still, she was silent. Before Cloud could say anything else, she had dashed of in front of him like a mad animail. Cloud jogged after her.
"Tifa? What is it? What do you see? Answer me, Tifa!"
Tifa had mounted a short flight of stairs and was standing in front of an old beaten doorway which had it's door blown of by some blast ages ago. Soon, she bent over and disappeared from Clouds vision. Dashing around a large obsticale in his path, Cloud ran over to where Tifa was on her knees. He jumped up the stairs, taking three at a time, and was soon standing over her and looking down upon her with a face of worry and deep interest.
"Tifa? What is it? What have you found?"
She stood up, something small clasped in her hand. Cloud wanted to jump in the air and scream. The suspense was killing him. Still, he controlled himself and calmed down.
"What is it? What'd you find there?"
"This," she said solemnly, and opened her. It took a while for Cloud to realize how it held any significance to the problem at had. It was a small red piece of cloth, and was torn around the edges like it had been ripped of something quickly. Suddenly it hit Cloud, and his eyes widened like two new full moon! It was a piece of cloth from Aeris's dress which Tifa had personally sewn her for her seventh birthday last year. Still, why hadn't Tifa bolted through the doorway. Something told Cloud she knew what in there and didn't like it, but what was it?
"Right, well, they must be in there then! C'mon honey, let's go get them!"
Cloud took a bold step past Tifa, but she put her hand on his shoulder.
"Cloud, before you go in there," said Tifa with a great sense of fright in her voice, "don't you know what's in there?"
"Well, Zack and Aeris for starters, and that's reason enough for me!"
"No, what I mean is, don't you recognize this place?"
Cloud stepped back outside and looked over the surroundings. Even with age and years of decay, he found Tifa was right. All this looked very familiar. However, Cloud just couldn't put his finger on what it was and call up memories for it.
"I'm drawing a blank dear. What is it?"
"Mako Recactor No. 7."
Clouds heart skipped a beat. She was right! This was the reactor he had raided with Barret and the other members of Avalanche. True, when it exploded, it tore all that was inside to pieces, but as it appeared, the top had survived nearly intact from the first blast. Cloud hadn't thought that dead Mako reactors where that much of a worry, and that it was only the live ones that were the problem. What could be the problem with a hunk of metal?
"Tifa, c'mon. What's the matter? It's just an old building we blew up years ago! There's nothing wrong with it that's not wrong with everything else in this city."
Tifa was silent for a moment."
"Yeah, I guess your right," Tifa said, and Cloud started to head it, "but ya' see..."
Cloud whirled around and faced her.
"What is it?" Cloud spoke with a very slight, but still appearant, hint of anoyance.
"Well, I get this bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. Something's wrong about this place, and I don't like it. There's evil here."
"So what? We're just going to let the kids rot in there? The hell we are!"
Cloud was mad. He had hardly ever been mad at Tifa, if that is, he had ever, but she was standing here talking about bad vibes and evil spirits while their children could be in real danger just beyond that door.
"Look, Cloud," Tifa spoke emploringly, and Clouds anger subsided, "all I'm saying is we should watch out backs in there, that's all."
"You watch my back, I'll watch yours."
"You got it!"
Drawing his old buster sword, Cloud entered the old reactor once more and began to desend into the darkness once more...