Chapter 2
The well tempered blade of the Buster Sword shone brilliantly in the afternoon light.
Cloud Strife admired it with a pleased smile, pausing briefly to buff away a last errant smudge
from the blade. It certainly wasn't his most powerful sword, but it did have sentimental value.
Replacing the sword in it's rack on a nearby wall, Cloud stretched and strode to a window,
gazing tiredly down at the bustling town of Costa Del Sol. He and Tifa had moved into a villa
there three years ago, after the meteor 'incident.' Neither of them could bear the thought of
returning to Midgar or Nibelheim, which even now still bore the scars. At least here there wasn't
even the vaguest sign of the incident, save by occasional word of mouth or the harsh flashes of
memory. He still saw it in his dreams every night...the vicious thrust of Sephiroth's sword
through Aeris' vulnerable form......Jenova's writhing, alien body, her hatred seeping through the
very air itself......Sephiroth's cool, even voice penetrating the innermost layers of his mind.......
Cloud shook his head viciously, struggling to force away the ghosts of the past. This
was the present. Sephiroth was dead. Jenova was dead. The planet was safe. But why didn't it
feel like it? Why now, after three years of relative peace, was something nagging at the back of
his mind? Something simply didn't feel right....
"Cloud!" Tifa's voice rang from the far hallway, pulling Cloud from his thoughts again.
"..Yeah?" he asked, turning slowly to see Tifa standing impatiently in the doorway. She
was dressed in her martial arts gear, even now tightening the lace on one elbow guard.
"Have you seen my gloves? I have a class to teach in ten minutes and I can't find them
anywhere." she asked, staring deploringly at Cloud. Together they had started a martial arts
school, each teaching separate classes on their own respective styles. They didn't really need
the money, but they desperately needed the distraction it provided from the everyday
monotony. After adventuring for so long, settling down was perhaps one of the tougher
challenges yet.
"Did you check the laundry? I think Vincent carried it all down to the washroom this
morning." Cloud offered. Vincent had been living down in the basement of the villa for the past
two years. Cloud and Tifa had practically forced him to stay when he'd stopped by for a visit
one year after they'd all gone their separate ways. The man had been aimlessly wandering the
countryside, devoid of any purpose whatsoever. Now he was running a local weapon repair
shop, and seemed at least a degree or so happier than he had been. He certainly wasn't as
gloomy as he used to be, Cloud thought with a smile.
"Hmm.....I didn't think to check there. That's probably where they ended up, thanks
Cloud. I'll see you in an hour!" Tifa exclaimed as she dashed off to fetch her gloves.
"Bye Tif, don't hurt them too badly." he replied with a wry grin.
"Ha ha, very funny..." she muttered as she disappeared from sight.
Cloud returned his gaze to the window, his mind once again attuned to the nagging
sense of some imminent disaster. "I wonder if anyone else has felt anything?" he wondered idly.
All of the others had returned to their respective homes; Yuffie to Wutai, Cid to Rocket Town,
Barret to Corel, and Red to Cosmo Canyon. Of all of them, perhaps Red XIII was the only
one who would have noticed if something truly was out of place. Cloud sighed and stared out
the window, the warm shades of sunset playing along his face. Come what may, he thought.
-----
((
Screams, horrible piercing screams assaulted his sensitive ears. And monsters,
slithering, hideous beasts like nothing he'd ever seen before clawed at his flesh, tearing
away knots of fur when he was too slow to leap to safety. In their midst, something
metallic and completely alien loomed......some strange blend of machine and grotesque
life. Red shivered, backing away from the horde of seething monstrosities. Behind them a
single man stood, grinning madly as the beasts surged around him like ocean waves.
Red whirled in fear as a deep, wicked laughter filled the air. It was also oddly
familiar......Then a figure stepped forth from the darkness, blending perfectly until a
shock of white separated him from the shadows, and a pair of brilliantly glowing green
eyes opened. A bright blade flashed for a second, and Red XIII froze.
"...Sephiroth...?" Red whispered, but the phantom only laughed and stepped
aside as another figure emerged from the shadows. Cloud.
"Cloud, what...?" he began, but the phantom Cloud was now bearing down on
him, the hilt of the masamune clenched in his fists, the swords long, deadly blade
whistling through the air. Red tried to run, but the phantom was too quick, and the blade
flashed downward.......
))
Red awoke with a startled yip.
"what the...?" he muttered softly, struggling to shake away the remnants of the
nightmare. Why now, after so much time, had he dreamed of Sephiroth? And what about
Cloud, obviously under the madman's control once again? Red growled in dark frustration. It
was a warning. Something was going to happen, and very soon things would get ugly. And if it
had to do with Sephiroth, he knew someone who had to know immediately. Cloud.
Red XII dashed out of the cave and towards the chocobo stables. Words couldn't
express the hatred he felt about riding on those stupid birds....it was awkward, if anything, but
he felt that urgency was a necessity, and he had no quicker means by which to get to Costa Del
Sol. He paused only once on his way out of the canyon, to alert the sentries to his sudden
departure, and then was riding off into the night.
::Listen, I knwo it would have been easier for Red to use a PHS...but as I'll mention in the next chapter, he
doesn't have one. I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible.::
The well tempered blade of the Buster Sword shone brilliantly in the afternoon light.
Cloud Strife admired it with a pleased smile, pausing briefly to buff away a last errant smudge
from the blade. It certainly wasn't his most powerful sword, but it did have sentimental value.
Replacing the sword in it's rack on a nearby wall, Cloud stretched and strode to a window,
gazing tiredly down at the bustling town of Costa Del Sol. He and Tifa had moved into a villa
there three years ago, after the meteor 'incident.' Neither of them could bear the thought of
returning to Midgar or Nibelheim, which even now still bore the scars. At least here there wasn't
even the vaguest sign of the incident, save by occasional word of mouth or the harsh flashes of
memory. He still saw it in his dreams every night...the vicious thrust of Sephiroth's sword
through Aeris' vulnerable form......Jenova's writhing, alien body, her hatred seeping through the
very air itself......Sephiroth's cool, even voice penetrating the innermost layers of his mind.......
Cloud shook his head viciously, struggling to force away the ghosts of the past. This
was the present. Sephiroth was dead. Jenova was dead. The planet was safe. But why didn't it
feel like it? Why now, after three years of relative peace, was something nagging at the back of
his mind? Something simply didn't feel right....
"Cloud!" Tifa's voice rang from the far hallway, pulling Cloud from his thoughts again.
"..Yeah?" he asked, turning slowly to see Tifa standing impatiently in the doorway. She
was dressed in her martial arts gear, even now tightening the lace on one elbow guard.
"Have you seen my gloves? I have a class to teach in ten minutes and I can't find them
anywhere." she asked, staring deploringly at Cloud. Together they had started a martial arts
school, each teaching separate classes on their own respective styles. They didn't really need
the money, but they desperately needed the distraction it provided from the everyday
monotony. After adventuring for so long, settling down was perhaps one of the tougher
challenges yet.
"Did you check the laundry? I think Vincent carried it all down to the washroom this
morning." Cloud offered. Vincent had been living down in the basement of the villa for the past
two years. Cloud and Tifa had practically forced him to stay when he'd stopped by for a visit
one year after they'd all gone their separate ways. The man had been aimlessly wandering the
countryside, devoid of any purpose whatsoever. Now he was running a local weapon repair
shop, and seemed at least a degree or so happier than he had been. He certainly wasn't as
gloomy as he used to be, Cloud thought with a smile.
"Hmm.....I didn't think to check there. That's probably where they ended up, thanks
Cloud. I'll see you in an hour!" Tifa exclaimed as she dashed off to fetch her gloves.
"Bye Tif, don't hurt them too badly." he replied with a wry grin.
"Ha ha, very funny..." she muttered as she disappeared from sight.
Cloud returned his gaze to the window, his mind once again attuned to the nagging
sense of some imminent disaster. "I wonder if anyone else has felt anything?" he wondered idly.
All of the others had returned to their respective homes; Yuffie to Wutai, Cid to Rocket Town,
Barret to Corel, and Red to Cosmo Canyon. Of all of them, perhaps Red XIII was the only
one who would have noticed if something truly was out of place. Cloud sighed and stared out
the window, the warm shades of sunset playing along his face. Come what may, he thought.
-----
((
Screams, horrible piercing screams assaulted his sensitive ears. And monsters,
slithering, hideous beasts like nothing he'd ever seen before clawed at his flesh, tearing
away knots of fur when he was too slow to leap to safety. In their midst, something
metallic and completely alien loomed......some strange blend of machine and grotesque
life. Red shivered, backing away from the horde of seething monstrosities. Behind them a
single man stood, grinning madly as the beasts surged around him like ocean waves.
Red whirled in fear as a deep, wicked laughter filled the air. It was also oddly
familiar......Then a figure stepped forth from the darkness, blending perfectly until a
shock of white separated him from the shadows, and a pair of brilliantly glowing green
eyes opened. A bright blade flashed for a second, and Red XIII froze.
"...Sephiroth...?" Red whispered, but the phantom only laughed and stepped
aside as another figure emerged from the shadows. Cloud.
"Cloud, what...?" he began, but the phantom Cloud was now bearing down on
him, the hilt of the masamune clenched in his fists, the swords long, deadly blade
whistling through the air. Red tried to run, but the phantom was too quick, and the blade
flashed downward.......
))
Red awoke with a startled yip.
"what the...?" he muttered softly, struggling to shake away the remnants of the
nightmare. Why now, after so much time, had he dreamed of Sephiroth? And what about
Cloud, obviously under the madman's control once again? Red growled in dark frustration. It
was a warning. Something was going to happen, and very soon things would get ugly. And if it
had to do with Sephiroth, he knew someone who had to know immediately. Cloud.
Red XII dashed out of the cave and towards the chocobo stables. Words couldn't
express the hatred he felt about riding on those stupid birds....it was awkward, if anything, but
he felt that urgency was a necessity, and he had no quicker means by which to get to Costa Del
Sol. He paused only once on his way out of the canyon, to alert the sentries to his sudden
departure, and then was riding off into the night.
::Listen, I knwo it would have been easier for Red to use a PHS...but as I'll mention in the next chapter, he
doesn't have one. I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as possible.::
