Chapter Eleven: Marching Onward
Cloud decided that it would be best to rent chocobos before they set out for Junon Harbor. The large birds were excellent runners and would give them a quick mode of transportation. The nearest chocobo farm wasn't far from Kalm, and the owner sold Cloud five hardy chocobos for a reasonable price.
The party, now mounted on chocobos, made it to the Mythril Caves in a decent amount of time, but it was still nearing sundown by the time they reached them. The Mythril Caves separated the rest of the east continent from Junon Harbor, and had to be traveled through to get from one end to the other. In front of the caves was a swamp. It was inhabited by a monster known as the Midgar Zolom, a gigantic snake-like creature that was incredibly tough to kill.
Cloud took a chance fording the swamp on the backs of the chocobos, but they made it across quickly enough that there was no danger. When they reached the other end of the swamp, they dismounted from the chocobos, which instinctively ran back to the farm in which they had been breeded.
Aeris gasped as they approached the entrance to the cave. In front of it there was a huge wooden spike stuck in the ground. There was a Midgar Zolom impaled on it. Its thick red blood covered the ground beneath the spike.
"Who could have done this?" She asked under her breath.
"Sephiroth is the only man one the planet that could possibly be strong enough to do something like this." Cloud answered. "He must have come this way. I wonder if he was heading for Junon too."
They entered the cave only to find the Turks walking down one of the routes. They were all there except for Reno.
"Hey those are the sons of bitches that cut Reno!" Rude yelled. "And that dog thing took a chunk out of Professor Hojo's neck!"
He was about to run at them but Tseng, the leader, held him back.
"We don't have time, Rude. We'll deal with them later." He warned.
"Yeah, we're going after Sephiroth." Elena spoke up. "He killed that Zolom outside the cave."
"Elena!" Tseng yelled at her. "If you'll please, do not tell Avalanche what our mission is!"
"Oops." She said, blushing. "Sorry."
"I suggest you all leave now." Tseng said to Cloud and his companions. "Rufus was merciful with you when you appeared at the Headquarters but I don't think he'll do you the same courtesy twice in a row. If you know what's best for you, you'll turn around and go back to where you came from."
Cloud opened his mouth to retort, but Elena beat him to it.
"Yeah, we're going to Junon 'cause that's where Tseng thinks Sephiroth is." She said.
Cloud was beginning to get the impression that the blond woman wasn't all that bright.
"Perhaps you didn't understand what I told you before, Elena." Tseng admonished.
"Ooh, sorry." She replied, blushing again.
"Forget it. Come on, we're pressed for time." He said, and then turned to Cloud once again. "I'm warning you, do not pursue us. I won't hesitate to kill you if I see you again."
With that, he turned around and walked off followed by Elena and a very hesitant Rude.
"Do you really think Sephiroth is at Junon?" Barret asked, after the Turks had left.
"I don't know." Cloud replied. "But he's definitely been this way, so that's probably where he's headed if he isn't already there."
"Then let's go!" Aeris encouraged them. "We don't have any time to waste!"
She ran forward the way that the Turks had gone, and the others followed her. Before long they had exited the cave on the other side, and they could see Junon Harbor off in the distance.
Junon was the Shinra's only major naval base, and for that reason it was heavily armed. It was built into the side of a cliff that bordered the water, and the city sprawled up the entire cliff face. It was built in a similar manner to Midgar, with the military base on top and the poor living in slums beneath it. In the front of the base there was a gigantic cannon which could be fired to hit a target halfway across the world. It hadn't been used since the Midgar-Wutai war, but it was still very intimidating.
When they finally reached the harbor they had to enter through the slums. A few poor beggars approached them and Barret insisted that Cloud give them some money. Cloud said they would only use it to buy alcohol and that he should give them food instead, but he wound up giving them a few Gil anyway.
To the west of them was the beach, and Cloud decided to head there to see if any boats were available. Unfortunately, the beach was covered by structures holding up the base above. There were no boats at all, and the only person in the dirty water was a young girl.
"Do you know where we can find a boat to rent?" Cloud asked her. She looked quite young. Maybe eleven or so.
"Leave me alone. I'm trying to play with my dolphin." She answered.
"Charming isn't she?" Aeris commented.
Now that she had said it, Cloud noticed that there was a dolphin swimming around in front of her.
"That's your dolphin?" Cloud asked. "That's interesting. I've never seen one tamed like that."
The girl turned around from petting her dolphin to look right into Cloud's eyes.
"I told you to leave me alone." She said.
Cloud shrugged.
"Alright, whatever." He said. "Enjoy your dolphin you little brat."
She scoffed and then turned back to her dolphin. Cloud turned around and beckoned for everyone else to follow. They were on their way back to the town when they heard a shrill scream come from behind them.
"Help!" A voice screamed. It was the voice of the young girl.
"Did you hear that, Cloud?" Aeris asked. "It sounds like that girl is in trouble."
"Everyone who thinks we should ignore her raise your hand." Barret said, raising his hand. Aeris smacked him lightly in the arm.
"That's a horrible thing to say, Barret!" She said. "We have to help her! Come on Cloud."
She ran back to the beach, towing Cloud behind her by the hand. Tifa and Red XIII ran after them, and Barret finally walked back behind them, albeit reluctantly.
The girl had fallen into the water and had been swept out far enough in the water that she couldn't swim her way back. She had screamed as hard as she could, but by the time Cloud got there it was silent. She had sunk beneath the surface.
He ran up to the shore, pulled off his shoulder armor and shirt, and dove into the water. He swam out to where the dolphin was frantically swimming in a circle around its fallen companion. He swam downward and grabbed her arm and pulled her to the surface. Then he dragged her behind him as he swam back to the beach where everyone else was waiting.
Trudging out from the water, he placed her unconscious body on the sand. An old man had run down to the beach after hearing the screaming.
"Priscilla!" He yelled. "Priscilla are you okay?"
"Is that her name?" Cloud called back to him. He nodded as he ran toward her.
He tapped lightly on her cheek.
"Priscilla? Priscilla are you okay?" He asked her unmoving body. She did not answer. He tilted her head back and put his ear to her mouth, looking at her chest. Then he placed two fingers at the top of her neck, right where it met with the chin.
"She isn't breathing but she has a pulse." He said to the old man. "I'm gonna try to give her rescue breathing."
"Please, sir, do whatever you can." The man replied nervously. "She's only twelve years old."
Cloud nodded, and then tilted her head back again. He placed his mouth over hers and gave two breaths.
"One and two and three and four and…" He said, in between breathing into her. He kept doing it for a minute or so, the others nervously waiting to see if she would be okay. Finally, she began to cough up water all over her chest. Cloud backed off to give her room to breathe.
"Are you okay?" Cloud asked.
"Yeah, I'm alright." She managed to choke out between labored breaths. "Did you…save me?"
"Yes he did." The old man answered for him. "He saved your life, Priscilla. You should thank him. He's a real hero."
"Thank you." She said quickly, and than ran off toward the town.
"I'm sorry." The man said to Cloud. "She has a little trouble dealing with people. Her social skills could use a little work."
"It's okay." Cloud replied. "I couldn't let her just die out there."
"Well, I'm glad you knew how to save her. I don't think I could have done as good a job myself." The man said. "Listen, if you want you can spend the night at my home. It's nothing too special, but I can give you all a place to rest and some good food. What do you say?"
"That's a pretty hard offer to pass up." Barret said. "I don't think we can refuse."
"Well come on then." He said, smiling. "You folks from around here?"
"No." Cloud replied. "We're actually here because we're trying to find a way to get to the West Continent. You don't happen to know where we can find a boat there, do you?"
"No, I'm sorry but I really don't." The man answered. "Most of us here are too poor to even think about leaving."
"That's alright." Cloud replied. "We'll see if we can find anything in the morning."
The old man nodded, and then led them to his house. He had a very cozy cottage that was actually much nicer than most of the other houses in the town. The girl lived in a house that was built above his, similar to an apartment style with a stairway connecting the two buildings. The man never said anything about it, but Cloud got the impression that he was her grandfather.
He gave them all a very good meal, and then gave them beds to sleep in. They were all exhausted from their trip from Kalm and they fell asleep quickly. Even Cloud fell asleep early, and he would remember that as the best night's sleep he'd ever had.
He woke up early the next morning to the sound of loud music coming from above. Curious, he woke up the others and told them to get ready.
"Rufus got here last night." The old man told him when he asked about the music. "He's taking a boat over to the West Continent. The military folk up there are giving him a bon voyage party or something like that."
"If we can find a way onto that boat, that'll be our ticket to Cosmo Canyon." Cloud said. "I say we go to the base and sneak our way aboard."
"That won't be easy, young fella." The old man warned. "They have pretty tight security. But then again, Priscilla figured out a way once. She's a bright young girl, you know."
"And so polite too." Barret said sarcastically. A sharp look from Tifa kept him from saying anything else.
"Let me talk to her." She said to Cloud. "Maybe I can get her to help us."
Tifa walked out of the old man's house and went up the stairs to Priscilla's house. Within moments, she came back out of the house with Priscilla behind her.
"Priscilla says she thinks she can help." Tifa said, as she approached Cloud. Priscilla ran ahead toward the beach.
"How'd you get her to come?" Cloud asked, once Priscilla was out of hearing distance.
"I had a little girl to girl talk with her." She replied. "You know…female stuff."
Cloud looked at her skeptically.
"Come on, what did you really do?" He asked, smiling.
"Ok fine." She admitted. "She said she wanted to help, and she was on her way out when I got there. She even thanked us about saving her, but kind of under her breath."
"I thought so." Cloud said. "You haven't gotten any better at lying since you were a kid."
Down by the beach Priscilla had met up with her dolphin friend and was petting him again. When Cloud reached the beach, she got up to talk to him. Tifa wasn't far behind and the others were on their way.
"I can only send one of you up there." She said. "My dolphin gets kind of tired."
"You're dolphin?" Cloud asked.
"Yup. If you go swim in the water and whistle to him, he'll flip you up with his nose. Then you can grab onto that metal thingy up there and climb the rest of the way up."
"You mean that girder over there?" Cloud asked.
"Yeah, whatever. That thingy."
"There are electrical lines running up there. I could get shocked if I hit one."
"So don't hit one!" She yelled impatiently.
Cloud was starting to get angry, but Tifa put her hand on his shoulder to calm him down.
"Okay, Priscilla. We understand." She said. "Cloud are you gonna go up?"
"Yeah, I'll go. I'll see if I can find a way to get you guys up there once I reach the top." He replied.
He swam out to about the same spot where Priscilla had sunk beneath the water. It was right beneath the girder that he needed to grab onto. When he got there he started to tread water.
"Ready?" Priscilla called to him. He nodded. "Okay, here goes!"
She put her fingers to her lips and let out a sharp whistle. The dolphin immediately swam toward where Cloud was treading water and dove beneath him. It got its nose firmly beneath his feet and flipped him upward toward the girder. With arms outstretched, he grabbed onto the girder and pulled himself up.
"See you at the top, Tifa!" He called down to her. She gave him a thumbs up, and then he turned around to climb the rest of the way.
It wasn't a particularly long way to the top, and he got a good view of the sea on the way up. When he reached the top, he pulled himself over and found that he was at the landing pad. Not far from where he was standing, the huge Shinra airship was hovering over the pad, tethered to it with long metal rope. Huge propellers spun above the top keeping it afloat, and he could see guards walking around on the canopy.
To his right was a lift. He got on it and took in downward. It led him into the base itself. There were Shinra guards and soldiers running all over the place rushing to get ready for the parade. A commander dressed in red was running past him when he stopped in his tracks and turned around.
"Why are you so wet, soldier?" He asked.
"Uh…uh." Cloud searched for an excuse. "I had a little accident in the bathroom. I think the sink is broken."
"Well, we'll have to have someone fix it. Now go get dressed, the parade is starting in five minutes!"
Cloud nodded, and then the commander continued running in the direction from which he'd come. He walked over to a nearby room and walked inside. It appeared to be a locker room. There were a couple of soldiers sitting on a bench in the middle of the room, frantically getting into their uniforms. Cloud walked over to a locker that was halfway open. There was still a uniform inside it. He dried off his wet clothes with a towel inside the locker, and then put the uniform on over them. The hood which all soldiers had to where fit over the face, covering their features. It would do an excellent job of concealing his identity.
"I remember when I used to get a thrill every time I put this uniform on." Cloud thought to himself. "What was I thinking. It doesn't even look nice."
He looked at himself in a mirror real quick to make sure he didn't look too conspicuous. The bright blue uniform really was ugly, but it would fit his purposes for now. He grabbed the standard issue rifle that was also in the locker and turned around. The other two men left the locker room, and he followed them out. They ran through a door on the right side of the corridor outside of the locker room, with him right behind them.
The door led outside to a large runway. There were soldiers lining the sidewalks, and camera crews were scattered across the whole area. The base was elevated high above the ground and Cloud could see for miles from where he was. He almost wished he could just enjoy the view without having to go anywhere.
The parade had already started, and there were rows of soldiers walking by through the runway. The formations broke at regular intervals to make room for a car carrying a Shinra military official of some importance. Cloud guessed that the car at the head of the parade was carrying Rufus. It was probably headed for wherever the boat was docked.
He ran up to the sidewalk and tried to blend in with the other soldiers standing there. He wondered why they were standing there, but he realized the reason when the next formation walked by on the runway. Quickly and gracefully the soldiers on the sidewalk moved into formation behind those already on the runway.
He waited for the next formation to approach, and then he ran into formation. He had done this a few times when he'd been in Soldier so he knew the routine. As soon as he fell into formation he walked in pace with the rest of them, holding his gun in the proper position over his chest.
The parade didn't extend for that long. It ran around the perimeter of the base and at one point passed beneath the cannon, which up close was an amazing sight to see. When the front of the line finally reached the dock, the parade ended and the non-military audience began to walk onto the runway and mingle with the soldiers. From the gist of the conversations going on around him, Cloud could tell that Rufus was going to give a farewell speech and then board the boat. He didn't have much time.
Dodging in and out of the people around him, Cloud pushed his way forward to the front of the crowd. He could see Rufus walking up to a podium, and behind him the large boat was opening up a cargo door on it back end.
"Ladies and gentleman, if I can have your attention please." Rufus began. "The members of the military that are now present are all aware of the current situation, but I don't think the facts have been made entirely clear to the general public. For that reason, I am going to explain them before I leave so that those of you watching at home may understand a little better what has happened."
He paused for a moment, just as he'd seen his father do hundreds of times, and then continued.
"The Shinra Headquarters in Midgar was invaded by an intruder a few nights ago. Many of our best employees were murdered by an as yet unidentified assassin. In his wake he left the Headquarters in a shambles, and he took the life of our great President. As his son, I am now heir to his company.
"I know that the media has been criticizing the fact that I am accepting the position instead of appointing someone else, because of my young age. I must assure you that I have a great deal of experience from working with my father. I intend to lead the Shinra company into a new age, and revolutionize the industry to make all of your lives easier. I also intend to find the man who murdered my father, because I trust that like myself you'd all like to see that man tried and executed.
"Now, before I overstay my welcome let me bid you all adieu, as my father used to say. I want to thank the Shinra military corps. for the wonderful parade, even after such short notice that I was coming here. And on that note, I'll be leaving you. For those of you not stationed here at the military base, enjoy the rest of your stay in Junon."
He descended from the podium and entered the ship's cargo doors to a round of loud applause. Heidegger got on the podium and dismissed the soldiers to return to their posts, and invited the civilians and members of the media to a luncheon. Cloud saw his opportunity and ran toward the open cargo doors to the boat. With the chaos of soldiers running back to wherever they were supposed to be, he figured he could go unnoticed.
"Psst. Hey Cloud!" He heard from the inside of the boat. It was a familiar voice.
"Tifa? Is that you?" He called over the noise around him.
"Yeah! Come on, get on the boat before it leaves!"
He did at she had told and hopped onto the boat just as the doors began to close. Tifa grabbed him and pulled him behind some cargo boxes.
"Hey, wait for me!" Heidegger yelled, seeing that the doors were closing. He ran inside just as they were about to close. He brushed himself off, and then walked upstairs and out of view.
The boat shook as it detached from the dock and began to pick up speed. Cloud looked around him as the boat rumbled to life beneath his feet. They were in a large cargo area. It was littered with boxes. On the other end of the room was a door, and in front of it a large stairwell that led upward. Save for himself and Tifa, the only other person he could see in the room was a guard standing in front of a door near the stairwell.
"How did you guys get in the boat?" Cloud asked.
Tifa was wearing a blue Shinra uniform just like Cloud's. She took off the hood, and Cloud did the same.
"We bribed the guy that was guarding the elevator to the base back in town. He let us take the elevator to the base, and then we found a locker room where we got dressed." She answered.
"Did you hear Rufus' speech back there?" Cloud asked. She nodded.
"Sounds like he's after Sephiroth too." She said. Cloud nodded.
"Where's everybody else?" He asked.
"Aeris is in here somewhere. She hid behind a different crate." She answered. "Barret and Red XIII went up those stairs. Everybody is wearing Shinra uniforms so they might be hard to find.
"I'll do my best." He said. "I'm gonna try to find the others. You stay here and try to look like you're supposed to be here."
"Will do." She said cheerfully. "Good luck finding everyone.
Cloud got up from his hiding spot and put on his hood. He rose to his feet, carefully looking to see if the guard realized that he'd been hiding behind the box. The guard saw him but it didn't seem to phase him. He walked forward, glancing at the boxes to his sides. Finally, he saw Aeris hunched over behind one of the smaller boxes.
"You okay down there?" He asked.
"Yeah I'm fine. Just a little seasick." She answered.
"I'm gonna go to the main deck to look for Barret and Red XIII." He said. "Do you want to come with me? The fresh air might help a little."
"No thanks, Cloud." She replied. "If I close my eyes and concentrate on something else I don't notice it as much."
"Well, okay. Stay there and try to feel better. I won't be far if you need me." He started to walk toward the stairs, but she stopped him in his tracks.
"Cloud?" She called softly.
"Yeah?"
"Thanks." She said. He smiled and nodded to acknowledge her, and then turned back toward the stairs.
The stairwell led to a raised platform on the main deck of the boat. He had an excellent view of the ocean from there. He could see the rippling water that surrounded them on the small boat, and Junon Harbor looming in the distance. He could still see the huge cannon hanging out in front of the base.
He looked around on the main deck. There were a few officers fixing equipment in the back of the boat. There was an observation platform toward the front end of the boat. A Shinra guard seemed to be lumbering around on it. At first it looked as though he was limping severely, but then Cloud realized who it was. He ran over to the other platform to speak to the "man."
"Red XIII?" Cloud greeted him.
"Cloud, is that you?" He asked. He stopped lumbering around, and immediately fell over. "They told me to put on one of these stupid uniforms and pretend I was human. I must look ridiculous."
"No offense, but you do." Cloud said. "I think you should go downstairs before somebody sees you walking like that and starts to wonder."
Red XIII nodded and head toward the stairwell from which Cloud had come.
"Hey, do you know where Barret is?" Cloud asked as Red XIII started to leave.
"I think he's by the bridge. I saw him go that way."
"And one more thing. How'd you learn to walk on your hind legs like that. It was pretty cool.
"Something I learned to do when I was younger. It's quite a lot of fun for a quadruped like myself, to be honest." He answered. Then he turned around and again headed for the stairs, on all fours as usual.
Cloud headed for the bridge at the front of the ship. There was a window on the side, and he found Barret there with his hood off, peaking into the window.
"You really should keep that hood on, Barret." Cloud said.
Barret jumped.
"Cloud is that you?" Barret asked. "You scared the shit out of me, man."
"Sorry." Cloud replied. "What are you doing?"
"I'm looking at that Rufus piece of shit and that fatass. I think his name's Heidegger." Barret answered. "They're having an argument or something."
Cloud nodded.
"It gets me so pissed off." Barret continued. "They're both right there, on the other side of that thin piece of glass. All I have to do is raise my arm and I could blow away both of those motherfuckers. But I can't because that wouldn't accomplish anything in the long run. It still pisses me off though."
He growled, and then beat his chest with his fist and gun-arm. Cloud put his hand on his shoulder.
"Calm down, Barret. It's not a big deal." He said. "You'll get your chance."
"I hope so." Barret replied.
At that moment an alarm began to sound.
"Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!" Pounded out of the speakers scattered around the ship. Through the window, they could see Rufus and Heidegger spring to attention.
"Shit! They found us." Barret said.
"Intruder Alert! All Shinra officers be warned! There is an intruder in the lower control decks! Repeat: There is an intruder in the lower control decks!" The speakers shouted.
"What the…?" Barret said, dumbfounded.
"It's not us." Cloud said, confused. "None of us went into the lower control decks. There must be somebody else here."
"I say we find everybody else and figure out what the hell is going on." Barret suggested. Cloud nodded, and they head back for the stairwell. Rufus and Heidegger remained safely in the bridge.
They were about to reach the stairwell when Aeris, Tifa, and Red XIII came up first.
"What was that all about?" Tifa asked.
"Somebody else is on this ship, and I think I might know who it is." Cloud said.
"No, you don't think…?" Tifa didn't finish the question. Cloud knew what she was going to ask anyway, and he replied with a nod.
"I'm going down there. Anybody who wants to come, let's go." Cloud said. He ran down the stairs, and not surprisingly everyone else followed.
The guard who had been in front of the door near the bottom of the stairs was gone. The cargo room was completely deserted. Cloud quickly kicked open the door and headed down the small flight of stairs. There wasn't anyone on the control deck either.
"Where the hell did everyone go?" Cloud asked, to no one in particular.
"Maybe he got them all already." Tifa suggested.
Cloud nodded. It certainly was a possibility. He ran forward to another door, and headed inside. There was a man standing at a platform toward the other end of the small control room. He was wearing a captain's uniform.
Cloud sniffed at the air.
"Something smells funny in here." He said. "Almost like…blood."
He walked over to the captain, who had not moved at all since they'd gotten in the room. He put his hand on the man's shoulder, and he immediately slumped to the ground. He had a large stab wound in his chest.
"Where are you Sephiroth?!" Cloud cried out, gently laying the man's body on the floor. "I know you're down here. What do you want? Why are you killing innocent people?"
A maniacal laugh seemed to come out of nothingness and reverberate through the whole deck. At the sound, Tifa and Aeris inched closer to Barret, clearly frightened.
"Innocent! I think not!" A voice cried out. It was a familiar voice. A voice that sparked thousands of pleasant and unpleasant memories in Cloud's mind.
Suddenly, a man appeared floating in the air in front of them. He was wearing a long black cape, and he was carrying a bloody mass under his arm. In his other arm he held a long, elegant sword. His long, silver hair flowed behind him as he stayed their hovering before them. It was a man who Cloud had not seen in years. It was a man that Cloud thought he would never see again. That he hoped he would never see again. It was Sephiroth.
"You human fools. Always thinking you're so innocent. If you only knew the meaning of the word." He spoke.
"Please, Sephiroth. These people haven't done anything wrong. It's the ones at the top, like Rufus, that are hurting the planet." Cloud said.
"You speak like you think you know what you're talking about." Sephiroth sneered. "But of course you don't."
"Don't you recognize me?" Cloud asked. "I'm Cloud Strife. We fought together many years ago."
"I never knew anyone named Cloud." Sephiroth answered. "You are of no use to me."
"What is it that you want, Sephiroth?" Cloud asked.
Sephiroth said nothing. He looked like he was preoccupied with something else. Finally he just smiled. He slashed at the air with his sword, and then disappeared just as quickly as he had appeared in the first place.
"Where the hell did he go?" Barret asked.
"He is the most powerful man in the world." Cloud replied. "He can control any kind of magic. If he wants to float in mid-air or disappear whenever he wants, he can do it."
"He still had that disgusting Jenova thing under his arm." Aeris said.
"Yeah, that guy's a pretty sick fuck." Barret said. "What the hell is his problem anyway? I thought you said you knew him?"
"I did." Cloud answered. "But that was before he went insane. There's no reason left in him now. He's going to keep killing innocent people until he's stopped."
"I don't understand, though." Aeris said. "If he went into hiding for so long when people thought he was dead, why did he decide to come back right now. He went and grabbed his mother from the Headquarters, killed the President, and now he's on a killing spree. It doesn't make any sense."
"I wish I knew the answer to that, Aeris." Cloud said. "I hope Red XIII's grandfather can give us some answers."
"Hey, if the captain is dead than aren't we going to crash into the dock?" Tifa asked nervously.
"Looks to me like everyone is dead." Cloud said. "But Rufus and Heidegger are still at the bridge. They can probably pull us into the dock."
"Well then let's get on the main deck so we can get the hell out of here as soon as we dock." Barret said. "I don't want to stick around while that sicko is still here."
They head back the way they'd come and made it quickly to the main deck. Rufus was still in the bridge area with Heidegger, manually pulling the boat into the harbor. Looking around the boat, Cloud could see that they had reached the West Continent. In front of the boat was a small dock and what appeared to be a beach resort for travelers.
The boat was very slow to dock, but when it finally did they jumped off the front and landed on the wooden dock. There were people in bathing suits roaming around the boardwalk, looking curiously at the boat that had just docked. There were a few waverunners docked next to the large boat. Men in sunglasses that were sitting on their waverunners stared at the boat with the same curiosity as everyone else around.
"Damn it's hot here." Barret said.
The dock was an extension of a large beach resort. Not far from them was a small beach right on the water that was filled with sunbathers. A few people were swimming in the ocean. Above the beach area there were several bars, a few shops, and a motel. There were a lot of people around, and it appeared to be very popular. The sun was beating down heavily, and Cloud was already starting to sweat.
"Cloud, can we stay here for the day?" Aeris asked. I want to get a tan.
"Oh me too!" Tifa agreed.
"Yeah, alright." Cloud said. "But stay out of clear view. Rufus is gonna come out of that boat soon and I don't want him to see any of us."
"As long as we're here I'm gonna go to the bar and get a drink." Barret said. "Wanna come with me?"
"Yeah sure." Cloud replied. "You girls are gonna go to the beach right?"
They nodded.
"What about you, Red?"
"I think I'll just go lay down in the shade." He answered.
Cloud shrugged.
"Suit yourself." He replied.
Barret started to walk in the direction of the nearest bar, and Cloud went to follow him. Tifa ran off toward the beach. She hadn't swam in the ocean in years, and she was anxious to do it again. Aeris approached Cloud before he could walk off.
"Hey, Cloud. Do you think I would look good with a tan?" She asked.
"Sure. I mean, not that you don't already look good." He answered, a little nervously. "But I do think you'd look good with a tan."
She smiled.
"Okay, thanks." She said, and then followed Tifa to the beach. Cloud headed off in the direction that Barret had gone. He was in the mood for a good drink, to take his mind off of Sephiroth. Everyone else seemed to have already forgotten about it, but he couldn't let go of it. There was something very disturbing about seeing him again.
As Cloud left to head after Barret, Rufus and Heidegger walked to the front of the boat and gently dropped to the ground. Rufus had brought the boat into the dock the wrong way, so they couldn't exit through the back door. There was a helipad not far from the dock, and a Shinra helicopter was landing in the distance and Rufus looked around him.
"Are you sure you checked the whole boat?" He asked Heidegger.
Heidegger gave one of his hearty, chest shaking laughs.
"I told you three times." He said, laughing. "I checked the whole boat. They're all dead, even the captain."
"That isn't funny, Heidegger." Rufus admonished. "My father might have tolerated that stupid laughter, but I'm not going to. It's probably the most annoying sound I've ever heard."
That wiped the smile off of the larger man's face.
"Sorry." Was all he could say.
"You checked all their bodies right?" Rufus asked. "You're sure it was Sephiroth?"
"Yeah, it had to be." Heidegger replied, being uncomfortably serious.
"Alright, let's get on the helicopter." Rufus said. "I don't know how to handle this. I think this is gonna be a serious problem."
He walked toward the helicopter without saying another word. Heidegger cursed himself for offending the young President. As he walked off to follow his boss, the men in sunglasses stared after them as though they were from another planet. Shinra executives did not generally come to the dock. They were an unusual sight indeed.
***
Cloud and Barret were able to find a decent, air-conditioned bar despite the fact that the resort was quite crowded. He found out from a waitress that the resort was called "Costa del Sol." He'd heard of it before, but he didn't realize it was so popular. He bought several drinks while he was in the bar, but he had a high tolerance for alcohol and it didn't affect him much. It did help him take his mind off of Sephiroth for awhile.
After a few hours the girls got tired of sunbathing and found Cloud and Barret in the bar. Tifa approached Cloud first and told him to come talk to her.
"Do you remember that scientist from the Shinra Headquarters? The one that you said kidnapped you?" She asked.
Cloud nodded.
"You mean Professor Hojo."
"Yeah, that's him." She replied. "I think he's at the beach down there."
"Are you serious?" Cloud said, very surprised. "Let me go take a look."
He walked down to the beach and began to scan for a recognizable face in the crowd. Sure enough, he quickly spotted the old scientist lying on a beach chair, drinking a daiquiri.
"Professor Hojo?" Cloud greeted him as he approached the old man. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Hojo pulled his sunglasses over the top of his head to get a good look at Cloud.
"You're the man who made me give up the Ancient!" He said. "You know, you really were quite rude to me back there."
"Am I supposed to care? After what you've done to me?" Cloud retorted.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Hojo brushed him off. "Please, leave me alone. I'm on vacation."
"How did you manage to get away from the Shinra for a vacation?" Cloud asked.
"They let me take some time off to rest and heal from the bite that the escaped laboratory creature gave me. He took quite a chunk out of my shoulder, you know." He said, pointing to a large white bandage near his upper shoulder and neck.
"Besides," he continued, "I need to be on the West Continent for the Jenova Reunion anyway."
"The what?" Cloud asked.
"Oh, don't even bother asking. You wouldn't understand." Hojo replied. "All I'll say is that Sephiroth didn't just decide to come out of hiding now for no reason. I could have told them that he'd appear right around now, but I wasn't sure of the exact time. I'm still not completely sure when it's going to happen, but I think the Reunion will be soon."
"I don't get it." Cloud admitted.
"Forget it. It isn't important." Hojo replied.
"Alright, whatever." Cloud said. "All I'm gonna say is that you're lucky I don't kill you right now. I have a feeling that a lot of the things you did in the past were more the fault of the Shinra than your own so I'm not going to."
Hojo ignored him, and Cloud decided it wasn't worth the effort. He had more important things to concentrate on.
"Did he say anything important?" Tifa asked when Cloud returned.
"Only that Sephiroth has come out of hiding for a reason. He wouldn't really explain what it was. All he said was that there is a reason." Cloud answered.
"Well, that guy creeps me out." Tifa said. "I say we stay away from the beach."
Everyone else agreed, especially Red XIII who was a little afraid of what Hojo would do if he saw him again.
They all decided to eat at a restaurant right on the water. It was a beautiful view, and it really helped to calm everyone and relieve the tension they were all feeling. They knew they had a lot of traveling to come if they were going to get to Cosmo Canyon anytime soon, but for now they were able to just relax.
Afterwards, Cloud found a motel vacancy and rented a nice room with a balcony. Everyone was tired from the events of the day, but they couldn't resist sitting on the balcony for awhile and talking, with the warm night air soothing their bodies. Overhead, the stars could be clearly seen in the absence of the city lights.
After awhile everyone went to bed except for Cloud. He stayed up for a little while longer, wondering how he was going to deal with Sephiroth. He had no idea how to reason with an insane man. He wondered if it was possible. He tried to calm himself, and the atmosphere did help. He finally fell asleep when his thoughts started drifting toward Aeris again. In the near distance, the sounds of small waves breaking on the shore broke the silence of the night.
Cloud decided that it would be best to rent chocobos before they set out for Junon Harbor. The large birds were excellent runners and would give them a quick mode of transportation. The nearest chocobo farm wasn't far from Kalm, and the owner sold Cloud five hardy chocobos for a reasonable price.
The party, now mounted on chocobos, made it to the Mythril Caves in a decent amount of time, but it was still nearing sundown by the time they reached them. The Mythril Caves separated the rest of the east continent from Junon Harbor, and had to be traveled through to get from one end to the other. In front of the caves was a swamp. It was inhabited by a monster known as the Midgar Zolom, a gigantic snake-like creature that was incredibly tough to kill.
Cloud took a chance fording the swamp on the backs of the chocobos, but they made it across quickly enough that there was no danger. When they reached the other end of the swamp, they dismounted from the chocobos, which instinctively ran back to the farm in which they had been breeded.
Aeris gasped as they approached the entrance to the cave. In front of it there was a huge wooden spike stuck in the ground. There was a Midgar Zolom impaled on it. Its thick red blood covered the ground beneath the spike.
"Who could have done this?" She asked under her breath.
"Sephiroth is the only man one the planet that could possibly be strong enough to do something like this." Cloud answered. "He must have come this way. I wonder if he was heading for Junon too."
They entered the cave only to find the Turks walking down one of the routes. They were all there except for Reno.
"Hey those are the sons of bitches that cut Reno!" Rude yelled. "And that dog thing took a chunk out of Professor Hojo's neck!"
He was about to run at them but Tseng, the leader, held him back.
"We don't have time, Rude. We'll deal with them later." He warned.
"Yeah, we're going after Sephiroth." Elena spoke up. "He killed that Zolom outside the cave."
"Elena!" Tseng yelled at her. "If you'll please, do not tell Avalanche what our mission is!"
"Oops." She said, blushing. "Sorry."
"I suggest you all leave now." Tseng said to Cloud and his companions. "Rufus was merciful with you when you appeared at the Headquarters but I don't think he'll do you the same courtesy twice in a row. If you know what's best for you, you'll turn around and go back to where you came from."
Cloud opened his mouth to retort, but Elena beat him to it.
"Yeah, we're going to Junon 'cause that's where Tseng thinks Sephiroth is." She said.
Cloud was beginning to get the impression that the blond woman wasn't all that bright.
"Perhaps you didn't understand what I told you before, Elena." Tseng admonished.
"Ooh, sorry." She replied, blushing again.
"Forget it. Come on, we're pressed for time." He said, and then turned to Cloud once again. "I'm warning you, do not pursue us. I won't hesitate to kill you if I see you again."
With that, he turned around and walked off followed by Elena and a very hesitant Rude.
"Do you really think Sephiroth is at Junon?" Barret asked, after the Turks had left.
"I don't know." Cloud replied. "But he's definitely been this way, so that's probably where he's headed if he isn't already there."
"Then let's go!" Aeris encouraged them. "We don't have any time to waste!"
She ran forward the way that the Turks had gone, and the others followed her. Before long they had exited the cave on the other side, and they could see Junon Harbor off in the distance.
Junon was the Shinra's only major naval base, and for that reason it was heavily armed. It was built into the side of a cliff that bordered the water, and the city sprawled up the entire cliff face. It was built in a similar manner to Midgar, with the military base on top and the poor living in slums beneath it. In the front of the base there was a gigantic cannon which could be fired to hit a target halfway across the world. It hadn't been used since the Midgar-Wutai war, but it was still very intimidating.
When they finally reached the harbor they had to enter through the slums. A few poor beggars approached them and Barret insisted that Cloud give them some money. Cloud said they would only use it to buy alcohol and that he should give them food instead, but he wound up giving them a few Gil anyway.
To the west of them was the beach, and Cloud decided to head there to see if any boats were available. Unfortunately, the beach was covered by structures holding up the base above. There were no boats at all, and the only person in the dirty water was a young girl.
"Do you know where we can find a boat to rent?" Cloud asked her. She looked quite young. Maybe eleven or so.
"Leave me alone. I'm trying to play with my dolphin." She answered.
"Charming isn't she?" Aeris commented.
Now that she had said it, Cloud noticed that there was a dolphin swimming around in front of her.
"That's your dolphin?" Cloud asked. "That's interesting. I've never seen one tamed like that."
The girl turned around from petting her dolphin to look right into Cloud's eyes.
"I told you to leave me alone." She said.
Cloud shrugged.
"Alright, whatever." He said. "Enjoy your dolphin you little brat."
She scoffed and then turned back to her dolphin. Cloud turned around and beckoned for everyone else to follow. They were on their way back to the town when they heard a shrill scream come from behind them.
"Help!" A voice screamed. It was the voice of the young girl.
"Did you hear that, Cloud?" Aeris asked. "It sounds like that girl is in trouble."
"Everyone who thinks we should ignore her raise your hand." Barret said, raising his hand. Aeris smacked him lightly in the arm.
"That's a horrible thing to say, Barret!" She said. "We have to help her! Come on Cloud."
She ran back to the beach, towing Cloud behind her by the hand. Tifa and Red XIII ran after them, and Barret finally walked back behind them, albeit reluctantly.
The girl had fallen into the water and had been swept out far enough in the water that she couldn't swim her way back. She had screamed as hard as she could, but by the time Cloud got there it was silent. She had sunk beneath the surface.
He ran up to the shore, pulled off his shoulder armor and shirt, and dove into the water. He swam out to where the dolphin was frantically swimming in a circle around its fallen companion. He swam downward and grabbed her arm and pulled her to the surface. Then he dragged her behind him as he swam back to the beach where everyone else was waiting.
Trudging out from the water, he placed her unconscious body on the sand. An old man had run down to the beach after hearing the screaming.
"Priscilla!" He yelled. "Priscilla are you okay?"
"Is that her name?" Cloud called back to him. He nodded as he ran toward her.
He tapped lightly on her cheek.
"Priscilla? Priscilla are you okay?" He asked her unmoving body. She did not answer. He tilted her head back and put his ear to her mouth, looking at her chest. Then he placed two fingers at the top of her neck, right where it met with the chin.
"She isn't breathing but she has a pulse." He said to the old man. "I'm gonna try to give her rescue breathing."
"Please, sir, do whatever you can." The man replied nervously. "She's only twelve years old."
Cloud nodded, and then tilted her head back again. He placed his mouth over hers and gave two breaths.
"One and two and three and four and…" He said, in between breathing into her. He kept doing it for a minute or so, the others nervously waiting to see if she would be okay. Finally, she began to cough up water all over her chest. Cloud backed off to give her room to breathe.
"Are you okay?" Cloud asked.
"Yeah, I'm alright." She managed to choke out between labored breaths. "Did you…save me?"
"Yes he did." The old man answered for him. "He saved your life, Priscilla. You should thank him. He's a real hero."
"Thank you." She said quickly, and than ran off toward the town.
"I'm sorry." The man said to Cloud. "She has a little trouble dealing with people. Her social skills could use a little work."
"It's okay." Cloud replied. "I couldn't let her just die out there."
"Well, I'm glad you knew how to save her. I don't think I could have done as good a job myself." The man said. "Listen, if you want you can spend the night at my home. It's nothing too special, but I can give you all a place to rest and some good food. What do you say?"
"That's a pretty hard offer to pass up." Barret said. "I don't think we can refuse."
"Well come on then." He said, smiling. "You folks from around here?"
"No." Cloud replied. "We're actually here because we're trying to find a way to get to the West Continent. You don't happen to know where we can find a boat there, do you?"
"No, I'm sorry but I really don't." The man answered. "Most of us here are too poor to even think about leaving."
"That's alright." Cloud replied. "We'll see if we can find anything in the morning."
The old man nodded, and then led them to his house. He had a very cozy cottage that was actually much nicer than most of the other houses in the town. The girl lived in a house that was built above his, similar to an apartment style with a stairway connecting the two buildings. The man never said anything about it, but Cloud got the impression that he was her grandfather.
He gave them all a very good meal, and then gave them beds to sleep in. They were all exhausted from their trip from Kalm and they fell asleep quickly. Even Cloud fell asleep early, and he would remember that as the best night's sleep he'd ever had.
He woke up early the next morning to the sound of loud music coming from above. Curious, he woke up the others and told them to get ready.
"Rufus got here last night." The old man told him when he asked about the music. "He's taking a boat over to the West Continent. The military folk up there are giving him a bon voyage party or something like that."
"If we can find a way onto that boat, that'll be our ticket to Cosmo Canyon." Cloud said. "I say we go to the base and sneak our way aboard."
"That won't be easy, young fella." The old man warned. "They have pretty tight security. But then again, Priscilla figured out a way once. She's a bright young girl, you know."
"And so polite too." Barret said sarcastically. A sharp look from Tifa kept him from saying anything else.
"Let me talk to her." She said to Cloud. "Maybe I can get her to help us."
Tifa walked out of the old man's house and went up the stairs to Priscilla's house. Within moments, she came back out of the house with Priscilla behind her.
"Priscilla says she thinks she can help." Tifa said, as she approached Cloud. Priscilla ran ahead toward the beach.
"How'd you get her to come?" Cloud asked, once Priscilla was out of hearing distance.
"I had a little girl to girl talk with her." She replied. "You know…female stuff."
Cloud looked at her skeptically.
"Come on, what did you really do?" He asked, smiling.
"Ok fine." She admitted. "She said she wanted to help, and she was on her way out when I got there. She even thanked us about saving her, but kind of under her breath."
"I thought so." Cloud said. "You haven't gotten any better at lying since you were a kid."
Down by the beach Priscilla had met up with her dolphin friend and was petting him again. When Cloud reached the beach, she got up to talk to him. Tifa wasn't far behind and the others were on their way.
"I can only send one of you up there." She said. "My dolphin gets kind of tired."
"You're dolphin?" Cloud asked.
"Yup. If you go swim in the water and whistle to him, he'll flip you up with his nose. Then you can grab onto that metal thingy up there and climb the rest of the way up."
"You mean that girder over there?" Cloud asked.
"Yeah, whatever. That thingy."
"There are electrical lines running up there. I could get shocked if I hit one."
"So don't hit one!" She yelled impatiently.
Cloud was starting to get angry, but Tifa put her hand on his shoulder to calm him down.
"Okay, Priscilla. We understand." She said. "Cloud are you gonna go up?"
"Yeah, I'll go. I'll see if I can find a way to get you guys up there once I reach the top." He replied.
He swam out to about the same spot where Priscilla had sunk beneath the water. It was right beneath the girder that he needed to grab onto. When he got there he started to tread water.
"Ready?" Priscilla called to him. He nodded. "Okay, here goes!"
She put her fingers to her lips and let out a sharp whistle. The dolphin immediately swam toward where Cloud was treading water and dove beneath him. It got its nose firmly beneath his feet and flipped him upward toward the girder. With arms outstretched, he grabbed onto the girder and pulled himself up.
"See you at the top, Tifa!" He called down to her. She gave him a thumbs up, and then he turned around to climb the rest of the way.
It wasn't a particularly long way to the top, and he got a good view of the sea on the way up. When he reached the top, he pulled himself over and found that he was at the landing pad. Not far from where he was standing, the huge Shinra airship was hovering over the pad, tethered to it with long metal rope. Huge propellers spun above the top keeping it afloat, and he could see guards walking around on the canopy.
To his right was a lift. He got on it and took in downward. It led him into the base itself. There were Shinra guards and soldiers running all over the place rushing to get ready for the parade. A commander dressed in red was running past him when he stopped in his tracks and turned around.
"Why are you so wet, soldier?" He asked.
"Uh…uh." Cloud searched for an excuse. "I had a little accident in the bathroom. I think the sink is broken."
"Well, we'll have to have someone fix it. Now go get dressed, the parade is starting in five minutes!"
Cloud nodded, and then the commander continued running in the direction from which he'd come. He walked over to a nearby room and walked inside. It appeared to be a locker room. There were a couple of soldiers sitting on a bench in the middle of the room, frantically getting into their uniforms. Cloud walked over to a locker that was halfway open. There was still a uniform inside it. He dried off his wet clothes with a towel inside the locker, and then put the uniform on over them. The hood which all soldiers had to where fit over the face, covering their features. It would do an excellent job of concealing his identity.
"I remember when I used to get a thrill every time I put this uniform on." Cloud thought to himself. "What was I thinking. It doesn't even look nice."
He looked at himself in a mirror real quick to make sure he didn't look too conspicuous. The bright blue uniform really was ugly, but it would fit his purposes for now. He grabbed the standard issue rifle that was also in the locker and turned around. The other two men left the locker room, and he followed them out. They ran through a door on the right side of the corridor outside of the locker room, with him right behind them.
The door led outside to a large runway. There were soldiers lining the sidewalks, and camera crews were scattered across the whole area. The base was elevated high above the ground and Cloud could see for miles from where he was. He almost wished he could just enjoy the view without having to go anywhere.
The parade had already started, and there were rows of soldiers walking by through the runway. The formations broke at regular intervals to make room for a car carrying a Shinra military official of some importance. Cloud guessed that the car at the head of the parade was carrying Rufus. It was probably headed for wherever the boat was docked.
He ran up to the sidewalk and tried to blend in with the other soldiers standing there. He wondered why they were standing there, but he realized the reason when the next formation walked by on the runway. Quickly and gracefully the soldiers on the sidewalk moved into formation behind those already on the runway.
He waited for the next formation to approach, and then he ran into formation. He had done this a few times when he'd been in Soldier so he knew the routine. As soon as he fell into formation he walked in pace with the rest of them, holding his gun in the proper position over his chest.
The parade didn't extend for that long. It ran around the perimeter of the base and at one point passed beneath the cannon, which up close was an amazing sight to see. When the front of the line finally reached the dock, the parade ended and the non-military audience began to walk onto the runway and mingle with the soldiers. From the gist of the conversations going on around him, Cloud could tell that Rufus was going to give a farewell speech and then board the boat. He didn't have much time.
Dodging in and out of the people around him, Cloud pushed his way forward to the front of the crowd. He could see Rufus walking up to a podium, and behind him the large boat was opening up a cargo door on it back end.
"Ladies and gentleman, if I can have your attention please." Rufus began. "The members of the military that are now present are all aware of the current situation, but I don't think the facts have been made entirely clear to the general public. For that reason, I am going to explain them before I leave so that those of you watching at home may understand a little better what has happened."
He paused for a moment, just as he'd seen his father do hundreds of times, and then continued.
"The Shinra Headquarters in Midgar was invaded by an intruder a few nights ago. Many of our best employees were murdered by an as yet unidentified assassin. In his wake he left the Headquarters in a shambles, and he took the life of our great President. As his son, I am now heir to his company.
"I know that the media has been criticizing the fact that I am accepting the position instead of appointing someone else, because of my young age. I must assure you that I have a great deal of experience from working with my father. I intend to lead the Shinra company into a new age, and revolutionize the industry to make all of your lives easier. I also intend to find the man who murdered my father, because I trust that like myself you'd all like to see that man tried and executed.
"Now, before I overstay my welcome let me bid you all adieu, as my father used to say. I want to thank the Shinra military corps. for the wonderful parade, even after such short notice that I was coming here. And on that note, I'll be leaving you. For those of you not stationed here at the military base, enjoy the rest of your stay in Junon."
He descended from the podium and entered the ship's cargo doors to a round of loud applause. Heidegger got on the podium and dismissed the soldiers to return to their posts, and invited the civilians and members of the media to a luncheon. Cloud saw his opportunity and ran toward the open cargo doors to the boat. With the chaos of soldiers running back to wherever they were supposed to be, he figured he could go unnoticed.
"Psst. Hey Cloud!" He heard from the inside of the boat. It was a familiar voice.
"Tifa? Is that you?" He called over the noise around him.
"Yeah! Come on, get on the boat before it leaves!"
He did at she had told and hopped onto the boat just as the doors began to close. Tifa grabbed him and pulled him behind some cargo boxes.
"Hey, wait for me!" Heidegger yelled, seeing that the doors were closing. He ran inside just as they were about to close. He brushed himself off, and then walked upstairs and out of view.
The boat shook as it detached from the dock and began to pick up speed. Cloud looked around him as the boat rumbled to life beneath his feet. They were in a large cargo area. It was littered with boxes. On the other end of the room was a door, and in front of it a large stairwell that led upward. Save for himself and Tifa, the only other person he could see in the room was a guard standing in front of a door near the stairwell.
"How did you guys get in the boat?" Cloud asked.
Tifa was wearing a blue Shinra uniform just like Cloud's. She took off the hood, and Cloud did the same.
"We bribed the guy that was guarding the elevator to the base back in town. He let us take the elevator to the base, and then we found a locker room where we got dressed." She answered.
"Did you hear Rufus' speech back there?" Cloud asked. She nodded.
"Sounds like he's after Sephiroth too." She said. Cloud nodded.
"Where's everybody else?" He asked.
"Aeris is in here somewhere. She hid behind a different crate." She answered. "Barret and Red XIII went up those stairs. Everybody is wearing Shinra uniforms so they might be hard to find.
"I'll do my best." He said. "I'm gonna try to find the others. You stay here and try to look like you're supposed to be here."
"Will do." She said cheerfully. "Good luck finding everyone.
Cloud got up from his hiding spot and put on his hood. He rose to his feet, carefully looking to see if the guard realized that he'd been hiding behind the box. The guard saw him but it didn't seem to phase him. He walked forward, glancing at the boxes to his sides. Finally, he saw Aeris hunched over behind one of the smaller boxes.
"You okay down there?" He asked.
"Yeah I'm fine. Just a little seasick." She answered.
"I'm gonna go to the main deck to look for Barret and Red XIII." He said. "Do you want to come with me? The fresh air might help a little."
"No thanks, Cloud." She replied. "If I close my eyes and concentrate on something else I don't notice it as much."
"Well, okay. Stay there and try to feel better. I won't be far if you need me." He started to walk toward the stairs, but she stopped him in his tracks.
"Cloud?" She called softly.
"Yeah?"
"Thanks." She said. He smiled and nodded to acknowledge her, and then turned back toward the stairs.
The stairwell led to a raised platform on the main deck of the boat. He had an excellent view of the ocean from there. He could see the rippling water that surrounded them on the small boat, and Junon Harbor looming in the distance. He could still see the huge cannon hanging out in front of the base.
He looked around on the main deck. There were a few officers fixing equipment in the back of the boat. There was an observation platform toward the front end of the boat. A Shinra guard seemed to be lumbering around on it. At first it looked as though he was limping severely, but then Cloud realized who it was. He ran over to the other platform to speak to the "man."
"Red XIII?" Cloud greeted him.
"Cloud, is that you?" He asked. He stopped lumbering around, and immediately fell over. "They told me to put on one of these stupid uniforms and pretend I was human. I must look ridiculous."
"No offense, but you do." Cloud said. "I think you should go downstairs before somebody sees you walking like that and starts to wonder."
Red XIII nodded and head toward the stairwell from which Cloud had come.
"Hey, do you know where Barret is?" Cloud asked as Red XIII started to leave.
"I think he's by the bridge. I saw him go that way."
"And one more thing. How'd you learn to walk on your hind legs like that. It was pretty cool.
"Something I learned to do when I was younger. It's quite a lot of fun for a quadruped like myself, to be honest." He answered. Then he turned around and again headed for the stairs, on all fours as usual.
Cloud headed for the bridge at the front of the ship. There was a window on the side, and he found Barret there with his hood off, peaking into the window.
"You really should keep that hood on, Barret." Cloud said.
Barret jumped.
"Cloud is that you?" Barret asked. "You scared the shit out of me, man."
"Sorry." Cloud replied. "What are you doing?"
"I'm looking at that Rufus piece of shit and that fatass. I think his name's Heidegger." Barret answered. "They're having an argument or something."
Cloud nodded.
"It gets me so pissed off." Barret continued. "They're both right there, on the other side of that thin piece of glass. All I have to do is raise my arm and I could blow away both of those motherfuckers. But I can't because that wouldn't accomplish anything in the long run. It still pisses me off though."
He growled, and then beat his chest with his fist and gun-arm. Cloud put his hand on his shoulder.
"Calm down, Barret. It's not a big deal." He said. "You'll get your chance."
"I hope so." Barret replied.
At that moment an alarm began to sound.
"Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert!" Pounded out of the speakers scattered around the ship. Through the window, they could see Rufus and Heidegger spring to attention.
"Shit! They found us." Barret said.
"Intruder Alert! All Shinra officers be warned! There is an intruder in the lower control decks! Repeat: There is an intruder in the lower control decks!" The speakers shouted.
"What the…?" Barret said, dumbfounded.
"It's not us." Cloud said, confused. "None of us went into the lower control decks. There must be somebody else here."
"I say we find everybody else and figure out what the hell is going on." Barret suggested. Cloud nodded, and they head back for the stairwell. Rufus and Heidegger remained safely in the bridge.
They were about to reach the stairwell when Aeris, Tifa, and Red XIII came up first.
"What was that all about?" Tifa asked.
"Somebody else is on this ship, and I think I might know who it is." Cloud said.
"No, you don't think…?" Tifa didn't finish the question. Cloud knew what she was going to ask anyway, and he replied with a nod.
"I'm going down there. Anybody who wants to come, let's go." Cloud said. He ran down the stairs, and not surprisingly everyone else followed.
The guard who had been in front of the door near the bottom of the stairs was gone. The cargo room was completely deserted. Cloud quickly kicked open the door and headed down the small flight of stairs. There wasn't anyone on the control deck either.
"Where the hell did everyone go?" Cloud asked, to no one in particular.
"Maybe he got them all already." Tifa suggested.
Cloud nodded. It certainly was a possibility. He ran forward to another door, and headed inside. There was a man standing at a platform toward the other end of the small control room. He was wearing a captain's uniform.
Cloud sniffed at the air.
"Something smells funny in here." He said. "Almost like…blood."
He walked over to the captain, who had not moved at all since they'd gotten in the room. He put his hand on the man's shoulder, and he immediately slumped to the ground. He had a large stab wound in his chest.
"Where are you Sephiroth?!" Cloud cried out, gently laying the man's body on the floor. "I know you're down here. What do you want? Why are you killing innocent people?"
A maniacal laugh seemed to come out of nothingness and reverberate through the whole deck. At the sound, Tifa and Aeris inched closer to Barret, clearly frightened.
"Innocent! I think not!" A voice cried out. It was a familiar voice. A voice that sparked thousands of pleasant and unpleasant memories in Cloud's mind.
Suddenly, a man appeared floating in the air in front of them. He was wearing a long black cape, and he was carrying a bloody mass under his arm. In his other arm he held a long, elegant sword. His long, silver hair flowed behind him as he stayed their hovering before them. It was a man who Cloud had not seen in years. It was a man that Cloud thought he would never see again. That he hoped he would never see again. It was Sephiroth.
"You human fools. Always thinking you're so innocent. If you only knew the meaning of the word." He spoke.
"Please, Sephiroth. These people haven't done anything wrong. It's the ones at the top, like Rufus, that are hurting the planet." Cloud said.
"You speak like you think you know what you're talking about." Sephiroth sneered. "But of course you don't."
"Don't you recognize me?" Cloud asked. "I'm Cloud Strife. We fought together many years ago."
"I never knew anyone named Cloud." Sephiroth answered. "You are of no use to me."
"What is it that you want, Sephiroth?" Cloud asked.
Sephiroth said nothing. He looked like he was preoccupied with something else. Finally he just smiled. He slashed at the air with his sword, and then disappeared just as quickly as he had appeared in the first place.
"Where the hell did he go?" Barret asked.
"He is the most powerful man in the world." Cloud replied. "He can control any kind of magic. If he wants to float in mid-air or disappear whenever he wants, he can do it."
"He still had that disgusting Jenova thing under his arm." Aeris said.
"Yeah, that guy's a pretty sick fuck." Barret said. "What the hell is his problem anyway? I thought you said you knew him?"
"I did." Cloud answered. "But that was before he went insane. There's no reason left in him now. He's going to keep killing innocent people until he's stopped."
"I don't understand, though." Aeris said. "If he went into hiding for so long when people thought he was dead, why did he decide to come back right now. He went and grabbed his mother from the Headquarters, killed the President, and now he's on a killing spree. It doesn't make any sense."
"I wish I knew the answer to that, Aeris." Cloud said. "I hope Red XIII's grandfather can give us some answers."
"Hey, if the captain is dead than aren't we going to crash into the dock?" Tifa asked nervously.
"Looks to me like everyone is dead." Cloud said. "But Rufus and Heidegger are still at the bridge. They can probably pull us into the dock."
"Well then let's get on the main deck so we can get the hell out of here as soon as we dock." Barret said. "I don't want to stick around while that sicko is still here."
They head back the way they'd come and made it quickly to the main deck. Rufus was still in the bridge area with Heidegger, manually pulling the boat into the harbor. Looking around the boat, Cloud could see that they had reached the West Continent. In front of the boat was a small dock and what appeared to be a beach resort for travelers.
The boat was very slow to dock, but when it finally did they jumped off the front and landed on the wooden dock. There were people in bathing suits roaming around the boardwalk, looking curiously at the boat that had just docked. There were a few waverunners docked next to the large boat. Men in sunglasses that were sitting on their waverunners stared at the boat with the same curiosity as everyone else around.
"Damn it's hot here." Barret said.
The dock was an extension of a large beach resort. Not far from them was a small beach right on the water that was filled with sunbathers. A few people were swimming in the ocean. Above the beach area there were several bars, a few shops, and a motel. There were a lot of people around, and it appeared to be very popular. The sun was beating down heavily, and Cloud was already starting to sweat.
"Cloud, can we stay here for the day?" Aeris asked. I want to get a tan.
"Oh me too!" Tifa agreed.
"Yeah, alright." Cloud said. "But stay out of clear view. Rufus is gonna come out of that boat soon and I don't want him to see any of us."
"As long as we're here I'm gonna go to the bar and get a drink." Barret said. "Wanna come with me?"
"Yeah sure." Cloud replied. "You girls are gonna go to the beach right?"
They nodded.
"What about you, Red?"
"I think I'll just go lay down in the shade." He answered.
Cloud shrugged.
"Suit yourself." He replied.
Barret started to walk in the direction of the nearest bar, and Cloud went to follow him. Tifa ran off toward the beach. She hadn't swam in the ocean in years, and she was anxious to do it again. Aeris approached Cloud before he could walk off.
"Hey, Cloud. Do you think I would look good with a tan?" She asked.
"Sure. I mean, not that you don't already look good." He answered, a little nervously. "But I do think you'd look good with a tan."
She smiled.
"Okay, thanks." She said, and then followed Tifa to the beach. Cloud headed off in the direction that Barret had gone. He was in the mood for a good drink, to take his mind off of Sephiroth. Everyone else seemed to have already forgotten about it, but he couldn't let go of it. There was something very disturbing about seeing him again.
As Cloud left to head after Barret, Rufus and Heidegger walked to the front of the boat and gently dropped to the ground. Rufus had brought the boat into the dock the wrong way, so they couldn't exit through the back door. There was a helipad not far from the dock, and a Shinra helicopter was landing in the distance and Rufus looked around him.
"Are you sure you checked the whole boat?" He asked Heidegger.
Heidegger gave one of his hearty, chest shaking laughs.
"I told you three times." He said, laughing. "I checked the whole boat. They're all dead, even the captain."
"That isn't funny, Heidegger." Rufus admonished. "My father might have tolerated that stupid laughter, but I'm not going to. It's probably the most annoying sound I've ever heard."
That wiped the smile off of the larger man's face.
"Sorry." Was all he could say.
"You checked all their bodies right?" Rufus asked. "You're sure it was Sephiroth?"
"Yeah, it had to be." Heidegger replied, being uncomfortably serious.
"Alright, let's get on the helicopter." Rufus said. "I don't know how to handle this. I think this is gonna be a serious problem."
He walked toward the helicopter without saying another word. Heidegger cursed himself for offending the young President. As he walked off to follow his boss, the men in sunglasses stared after them as though they were from another planet. Shinra executives did not generally come to the dock. They were an unusual sight indeed.
***
Cloud and Barret were able to find a decent, air-conditioned bar despite the fact that the resort was quite crowded. He found out from a waitress that the resort was called "Costa del Sol." He'd heard of it before, but he didn't realize it was so popular. He bought several drinks while he was in the bar, but he had a high tolerance for alcohol and it didn't affect him much. It did help him take his mind off of Sephiroth for awhile.
After a few hours the girls got tired of sunbathing and found Cloud and Barret in the bar. Tifa approached Cloud first and told him to come talk to her.
"Do you remember that scientist from the Shinra Headquarters? The one that you said kidnapped you?" She asked.
Cloud nodded.
"You mean Professor Hojo."
"Yeah, that's him." She replied. "I think he's at the beach down there."
"Are you serious?" Cloud said, very surprised. "Let me go take a look."
He walked down to the beach and began to scan for a recognizable face in the crowd. Sure enough, he quickly spotted the old scientist lying on a beach chair, drinking a daiquiri.
"Professor Hojo?" Cloud greeted him as he approached the old man. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Hojo pulled his sunglasses over the top of his head to get a good look at Cloud.
"You're the man who made me give up the Ancient!" He said. "You know, you really were quite rude to me back there."
"Am I supposed to care? After what you've done to me?" Cloud retorted.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Hojo brushed him off. "Please, leave me alone. I'm on vacation."
"How did you manage to get away from the Shinra for a vacation?" Cloud asked.
"They let me take some time off to rest and heal from the bite that the escaped laboratory creature gave me. He took quite a chunk out of my shoulder, you know." He said, pointing to a large white bandage near his upper shoulder and neck.
"Besides," he continued, "I need to be on the West Continent for the Jenova Reunion anyway."
"The what?" Cloud asked.
"Oh, don't even bother asking. You wouldn't understand." Hojo replied. "All I'll say is that Sephiroth didn't just decide to come out of hiding now for no reason. I could have told them that he'd appear right around now, but I wasn't sure of the exact time. I'm still not completely sure when it's going to happen, but I think the Reunion will be soon."
"I don't get it." Cloud admitted.
"Forget it. It isn't important." Hojo replied.
"Alright, whatever." Cloud said. "All I'm gonna say is that you're lucky I don't kill you right now. I have a feeling that a lot of the things you did in the past were more the fault of the Shinra than your own so I'm not going to."
Hojo ignored him, and Cloud decided it wasn't worth the effort. He had more important things to concentrate on.
"Did he say anything important?" Tifa asked when Cloud returned.
"Only that Sephiroth has come out of hiding for a reason. He wouldn't really explain what it was. All he said was that there is a reason." Cloud answered.
"Well, that guy creeps me out." Tifa said. "I say we stay away from the beach."
Everyone else agreed, especially Red XIII who was a little afraid of what Hojo would do if he saw him again.
They all decided to eat at a restaurant right on the water. It was a beautiful view, and it really helped to calm everyone and relieve the tension they were all feeling. They knew they had a lot of traveling to come if they were going to get to Cosmo Canyon anytime soon, but for now they were able to just relax.
Afterwards, Cloud found a motel vacancy and rented a nice room with a balcony. Everyone was tired from the events of the day, but they couldn't resist sitting on the balcony for awhile and talking, with the warm night air soothing their bodies. Overhead, the stars could be clearly seen in the absence of the city lights.
After awhile everyone went to bed except for Cloud. He stayed up for a little while longer, wondering how he was going to deal with Sephiroth. He had no idea how to reason with an insane man. He wondered if it was possible. He tried to calm himself, and the atmosphere did help. He finally fell asleep when his thoughts started drifting toward Aeris again. In the near distance, the sounds of small waves breaking on the shore broke the silence of the night.