Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters, cities, creations, or their ideas. I do not get money or make profit from this fan fiction. This is just a fan fiction written for personal enjoyment and the enjoyment of readers.
Warning: This fan fiction contains extreme violence, swearing and mature themes. If you are under 17 or are offended by this, please do not read this fan fiction. If you are above age and are not offended, please sit back and enjoy.
-=Differences in Opinions=-
Written by: Isrea
--=Chapter Two=--
---A Night on the Town---
With a weary sigh the Turk
flicked the butt of his cigarette out onto the sidewalk and watched over the
rim of his sunglasses as it burned itself out, the red embers smouldering
against the concrete. Leaning his back on the wall outside the bar he ran a
hand through his hair, the neon light of the sign reading 'Midnight Mayhem'
flickering across his face and illuminating it for those coming in and out of
the place to see. He had come down here to have a drink, but he really just
didn't feel like it anymore, not after the news Strife had so kindly bestowed
on him. So instead he settled for standing outside and smoking in the warm
night air. He'd called Reeve earlier to confirm Cloud's words about fieldwork,
and was happy, yet frustrated to find out everything the older man had said had
been true. Yes, he was doing fieldwork again. And yes, he was going with Cloud.
"Gee, thanks Reeve." he muttered as he lit up another cigarette with
a low level Fire spell, which caused a nearby trashcan to catch afire. Not that
the bums were complaining, Reno mused, as they crowded around the warmth the
rapidly heating tin can offered. He shrugged his shoulders and puffed on the
long cylinder of white between his lips, small wisps of grey smoke escaping as
he exhaled. It was close to midnight, but he didn't feel the least bit tired.
A drunk stumbled out the door beside him and out into the street -or rather had
been thrown out- singing a rowdy song that had to do with women. Reno didn't
pay much attention until the same drunk stumbled back toward the bar and
latched onto his arm, begging for money. He was a scruffy man wearing rags that
barely passed as clothes but had a surprisingly good grip as the Turk tried to
shake him free. "Ja' got some cash?" the drunk slurred. "Buy
mesh a drink!"
Disgusted, the Turk shook him off finally. Even he didn't go around
bugging people on the street for money when he was drunk. "Get the hell
out of here!" he snarled at the man, irritation evident in his voice.
The drunk persisted by latching this time onto Reno's leg. "Come on buddah
o'l pal... Buy mesh a drink!"
"What do you think I am, a charity worker?" with a kick he sent the
drunk face first into the sidewalk, then delivered another swift kick to the
guys rear end to send him on his way. Shoving his balled hands deep into his
jacket pockets in agitation he started to grumble. This just wasn't his day.
Another puff on the cigarette calmed his nerves slightly.
"Gotta smoke?" he heard to his left and he turned his head to look,
red strands of hair falling over his shades. A woman was standing beside him,
dressed in a rather expensive looking low cut red dress lined with fur along
the top that revealed most of her shoulders and he imagined her back as well.
Her hair was dark and thick and her face painted, but nothing like the hookers
that doted every corner of the sector three slums. She had a black purse slung
over her right shoulder and her heels made her look three inches taller then
she actually was but besides all that she had an air of refinement about her
that made her seem almost dangerous.
Reno raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Sure." he mumbled and pulled
out a small white box with the logo and words "Midgar Light" painted
across the front from his jacket's breast pocket. Pulling out a smoke he handed
it to her and watched as she lit it with a small, fancy lighter designed to
look like the head of a dragon.
"Nice lighter. Custom?" Reno asked in an attempt to make conversation,
sliding the pack back into his pocket.
"Yes. Its pretty isn't it?" the woman replied, sticking the lighter
back into her purse. "Made by the Wutainies. Its very expensive."
"I bet." he replied calmly, eyeing the woman with calculating interest.
"Interested in some work, Reno?" he raised an eyebrow and she cleared up
silent his question. "Your reputation precedes you. I can guarantee you a lot
of money." she continued, the conversation going from casual to business
in the blink of an eye.
"What kind of work?" Hidden behind his sunglasses his green eyes
flashed with curiosity, though he showed no outward sign of emotion. He slipped
into the indifferent businessman role as fluidly as water.
"Turk kind of work, baby." she leaned closer to him and took a long
drag on her otherwise neglected cigarette. "But before we make any deals,
my employer wants to meet you. To make sure you are as good as you are supposed
to be... If you get my drift." The woman smelled like expensive Wutai
perfume, he noted. Exotic stuff. She motioned to a black Mustang parked across
the street from them and his gaze followed her gesture before returning to the
woman before him.
Reno thought about if for a moment as he studied her more closely from behind
the safety of his shades. He wasn't getting much fieldwork out of Reeve and the
stuff he did get he sure as hell didn't want. Like Cloud for example... But he
wasn't stupid enough to just agree to this without knowing some more details,
however. The Turk shrugged and slid his shades up to his forehead with his
index finger, where he rested them in his firery red hair, keeping his bangs
pushed back and away from his eyes. "What's your name?"
"Patricia Montclair." she supplied, taking a second drag off the
white cylinder between her middle and index finger.
"Well Miss Montclair. I don't make deals until I know all the facts. And
until I know all the facts, I don't move from this spot..."
For only a brief moment irritation flashed in her brown eyes. "We want
someone dead."
"Who."
"I can't tell you here. Its not a secure location." she looked around
in perfect mimic of someone afraid of being overheard.
"Who is your employer?"
"I can't tell you that either." The neon sign flickered off and cast
shadows across Patricia's face, hiding the smirk she let play across her lips.
When the light flickered back on she was as calm and collected as she had been
a moment ago.
"This isn't getting you any closer to convincing me..." he declared
in a some what bored tone.
"Then stop asking questions I can't answer." she countered. Reno
chuckled.
"Why me?"
"Because they say you're the best, Hun."
Indeed. Reno raised one crimson eyebrow at her statement and chuckled softly.
Yes. Perhaps he was the best. He held no delusions of what he could and could
not do, and there was little he couldn't do when it came to Turk business.
"What if I refuse?"
"My employer is a dangerous man, Reno Sinclair."
Reno, unfazed by the threat or use of his last name, gave a soft chuckle.
"So am I Miss Montclair. So am I..."
For tense moments he said nothing, content to scan her features as she studied
his. Suddenly he said "Alright." effectively breaking the silence.
"I'll go meet this mysterious boss of yours, but there's no deal I'll do
it as of yet. Understand?"
"Understood."
The two of them turned in unison and headed across the street at a steady,
unhurried walk. Flicking a glance over at Patricia he caught sight of a tattoo
on her back out of the corner of his eye. A rose was imprinted clearly on the
skin in black and red right down in the middle of her back, the dress indeed
cutting low, as he had thought. Unnervingly he was reminded of the strange girl
in the elevator, her words about being busy... and her warning. He was suddenly
glad he had his nightstick holstered at his waist and his gun strapped in place
just below the shoulder under his jacket. Walking around to the other side of
the mustang he opened the door, which gave a little 'click', and shot a glance
over his shoulder and then slid into the passenger seat, closing the door after
himself with yet another soft click. It might have been his imagination but the
sound of that last click almost seemed to have a hint of finality about it.
* * * *
With ease born of practice he
brought the motorcycle to the curb, turned off the engine and flicked the
kickstand down with a swift movement of his foot.
Ever since the incident in Midgar with the bike Cloud had had a fascination
with the vehicles and owned two. One, the one he was riding right now, was an
exact copy of the one he had stolen from ShinRa so long ago while the other sat
at home in his garage in pieces. He'd just gotten some new parts and hadn't had
time to put it all back together again after Reeves call. Running a hand
through his blond hair he looked around. Bars and pubs lined the street and
Cloud sighed, thinking he could really go for a drink right about now.
He'd been just about to dismount his bike when a sudden flash of red caught his
eye. Turning to look he found Reno walking across the street with a woman in
red. Curious he continued to stare. Probably just Reno off with some hooker. He
was notorious for being a Rake of sorts. As he continued to stare a feeling of
dread began to rise as the woman turned and he caught sight of her face.
Something stirred within his mind when he saw her but he didn't know what it
was. That all too familiar feeling caused him to become edgy. Something told
him he knew that woman but he couldn't remember her. Not even a name came to
mind. But he did know one thing.
That woman was definitely
trouble.
Shrugging under the implication that Reno could handle himself he turned away,
only to have the ghost of words echo through his mind.
Follow him.
Who?
The one with the emerald eyes.
Cloud turned back again, only to see Reno looking over his shoulder in certain
anxiousness. The ex-leader of AVALANCE was surprised to see that the Turk's
eyes were bright green, even from this distance. The color of emerald. Cloud
had never had reason to look at the man's eyes before and this certainly
startled him.
What if he hadn't imagined everything in the ShinRa corridor? Now Cloud was not
a completely superstitious person, but you can't grow up in a backwater town
like Nibelheim and not be at least somewhat superstitious. And this was
starting to freak him out, something that was happening regularly today.
He didn't have much time to think about it however. Reno had entered the car
and it was pulling away from the curb. Making up his mind Cloud revved the bike
and kicked up the kickstand, guiding his bike from the curb only seconds later.
The car had led him on a merry little chase through the sectors, and Cloud had
nearly lost them three times because he didn't want to be seen. He'd had to
swerve several times to avoid being spotted. But finally, satisfied that they
weren't being followed -to their knowledge- they turned into sector six and
headed straight for a familiar building.
Don's old place.
The building was no longer different colors of yellows, oranges and reds. The
building was now painted dark grey, the door black and the windows shuttered.
With a shudder Cloud thought, it reminded him of the Nibelheim mansion.
With a growing dread he pulled up to the curb around the corner from the place
and shut off his bike. Pocketing the keys and quickly scanning the area he
picked out a fire escape on the building shielding him from view. Glancing
around the corner he watched the black mustang pull up to the door. As quickly
as possible he dashed to the fire escape and started to climb. The result
landed him on the roof, where he watched Reno and the strange woman get out of
the car. Not for the first time he wondered what Reno was doing with her. She
cast a look over her shoulder then they entered through the front door, leaving
Cloud alone with his thoughts.
* * * *
Patricia led him deep into
the dark mansion of her employer. Don's old place; yet it wasn't colorful
anymore, as the last resident had kept it. The place looked more appropriate to
mourn in then to do business. But still, Reno sighed, it was better then
looking like an over decorated carnival tent.
The dark haired woman led him up another set of stairs and through a set of
double doors, both of which were painted not black, like every other door, but
dark navy blue.
The guy liked his dark shades.
As the doors closed behind him locking out all light Reno waited in the
darkness, his mako tinted eyes giving off an almost unnoticeable glow.
His hand itched toward his nightstick after another moment of silence. His
movement however went unnoticed, for a voice finally sounded. "Hello, Mr.
Sinclair. Patricia told me you would come." It was male, definitely, and
sounded deep. He could deduce nothing of the owner of the voice. Only its sex,
and that it was somewhere in front of him.
"Cut the crap and turn on some lights. Am I here to talk business or
not?" His hand closed over the hilt of his nightstick.
"Business, of course." the man responded. In the darkness Reno felt
the strange woman Patricia move away from him, her footsteps loud in the
silence. "I just need some confidentiality, you understand."
Reno snorted. "Confidentiality my ass, your just playing games. I know how
this works. I'm not going to sit here in the dark, so you either turn on the
lights or I'm going to turn around and walk out of here." he declared,
fully intent to do as he had said he would. This whole darkness thing was
getting old fast.
"As you wish."
The lights flickered on. Reno was now able to see a man, not exactly tall, but
not short either, with the build of the average working man. He was decked out
in a dark grey suit and was sitting a distance in front of him behind a large
mahogany desk. The man had deep brown hair that was cut short in neat business
like fashion and had eyes so dark brown they were nearly black. Behind and to
the left of him was the woman Patricia and to the right there was another man,
larger, bald and much more dangerous looking then the one sitting at the desk.
He wore the same type of grey suit except a shade lighter, and reminded Reno
slightly of Rude. The desk was clear except a few blank pieces of paper, a pen
and a glass of water. The room, Reno realized as he scanned it, had two more
black doors. One to the left of him and another to the right. "Now, down
to business." the man at the desk continued. "And you can stop
clenching your weapon, Mr. Sinclair. I'm not going to jump you."
"Indeed..." Reno replied cautiously, letting his hand fall away from
the hilt of his nightstick. "Alright. Who are you and what do you want me
to do?"
"My name is John Dennisin. I work for a man named Steven Sharper."
the man behind the desk said, opening one of his drawers. "Tell me, have
you ever seen one of these before?" from the drawer John pulled out a
large hollow glass orb the size of a tennis ball. He held it out in his palm
for the Turk to see better and Reno was amazed that it hadn't broken the minute
the man had touched it, the glass was so thin it looked as though even tapping
it would cause the thing to shatter.
Stepping up closer Reno scrutinized it. "Never." he said simply,
trying to mask his curiosity and failing miserably.
"It's called a Pheron Sphere. There are only two in the world. We have
one." Patricia supplied, crossing her arms over her chest.
"The other?"
Patricia shrugged. "Stolen."
"We want you to get it back for us." Mr. Dennisin paused and then
continued in a rather unexpected way. "Catch."
The glass ball was tossed from John's hand toward Reno and the Turk took a
sharp step forward, arms outstretched, to try and save the item from a certain
death upon the hard wood floor. Catching it with both hands he halted himself
and straightened. He opened his mouth to say something nasty but a red light
suddenly illuminated the room in swirling color. Surprised he looked down.
Between his hands the glass orb was radiating a red light from the depths of
its centre, emanating from that point within the hollow ball with vigour few
materia could match. "What the hell?" left his lips as he continued
to look down, eyes wide.
And because of his inattentiveness he missed the significant glance the man
behind the desk shared with the woman Patricia, and the smirk that played
across the woman's features. She made a signal with her hand and the other man,
who had remained mute, moved forward. The doors on either side of the Turk
exploded inward and grey suited men started filing into the room. Reno looked
up at the sounds and cursed, reaching for his nightstick instantly.
The large mute man was faster then he seemed, however, and Reno found his wrist
locked in one of the man's meaty fists while another caught him across the
face. Reno uttered an oath as he was sent skidding backward, free of the man's
grip. A devastating blow nailed him in the gut and he doubled over in pain. The
man backed away for a moment and Reno had just enough time to recover. He
juggled the glass orb to his left hand as his right drew out his nightstick and
flicked the switch, electricity stirring in the long rod. The red glow made the
room look as though it was bathed in blood and he got the eerie feeling that he
wasn't going to make it out of the room with his hide in tact. He was
surrounded on all sides, outnumbered, and already had taken a hit or two. It
was as that thought went through his head the men in grey all seemed to leap
forward as one, drawing out swords and other assortments of weapons, intent
upon their prey standing in the middle of the rapidly closing circle.
"Fuck this!" he shouted and hit the button, letting loose a couple hundred
volts of electricity into the room from the end of his nightstick, flooding the
red washed room with a sparking blue-white.
Unfortunately these men had come prepared to fight him especially and quickly
erected barrier spells stopped most of the attack. He cursed his luck, shoving
the glass ball into his pocket. They again charged and Reno met them head on,
beating through waves of grey clad fighters with his nightstick fully charged
and frying any unlucky bastard who got on the wrong end of it. Screams that
quickly changed to bubbling gurgles erupted around him as he fought through the
waves of attackers. His other hand reached inside his jacket and pulled out the
handgun he rarely used and started firing, his opponents being close enough and
the room so crowded that he didn't even need to aim. Shots rung out one after
another. The sounds of warfare were echoing through his ears as his blood began
to rush in his veins. Adrenaline was kicking in now and he was fighting off of
battle rush.
At some point someone had caught his arm with a sword swipe, causing a deep
gash just below the shoulder. Reno didn't notice, so engrossed in the melee
that pain affected him little. Red soaked through his blue jacket and caused
his shirt to stick to his arm.
Suddenly there was a man was by his side and jumping into the fray, his massive
sword cleaving through the attackers and cutting a bloody path in their ranks,
glowing mako blue eyes fierce. "Strife?!" Reno choked out in
surprise at his sudden rescue.
"The one and only. Now lets get the hell out of here!" he shouted
over the noise as he cut through another wave of attackers, their blood
splashing onto the older man's clothing with gruesome determination not to have
him leave unclean. Cloud soon found himself as soaked as Reno. The Turk was
covered in both his own blood and that of his opponents and a large bruise was
evident on his face, purpling just along the jaw. Some of the opposing force
was fleeing in face of Cloud's Ultima Weapon, while others were slaughtered as
the Turk and ex-mercenary cut and blasted a path toward the navy blue doors.
The Ultima Weapon sliced through the air with awesome speed and power, severing
bodies and heads and splashing blood across the walls and floor. Nothing was
left standing in the wake of one of Cloud's swipes. It was almost frightening.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Reno shouted back, confusion and
irritation evident on his face. Even though he was being rescued he didn't
understand it. This was Cloud Strife. Maybe that was why he was
irritated. Having being rescued by Strife was enough to make his stomach turn
worse then the blood was.
"I saw you with that woman and followed you. And your damned lucky I did!
But now's not the time!" the blond haired man exclaimed as they exited
into the hallway and started down the dreary corridor with the utmost speed.
They could hear footsteps behind them, but not very many and not moving very
fast. Obviously their attackers thought it better to stay alive then try to
follow the escaping pair and be cut down brutally instead.
When the pair came out on the street unbothered the darkness pressed in on them
like a morbid dome and the buildings loomed high above them. Cloud led the way
quickly to his motorcycle, sheathed his sword and kicked up the kickstand.
With a quick and rev he turned the bike's front wheel in preparation and turned
to the blood soaked red head before him. Reno didn't waste any time with
prideful thinking but got on the bike behind Cloud and held on as the bike lunged
into traffic and two blood clad fighters raced out into the street with it,
leaving the mansion and their attackers far behind them.
Minutes later Cloud pulled over to the curb in front of an apartment building
that seemed to be about middle class. Reno got off the bike and stretched his
wounded arm, trying not to wince at the pain it caused.
* * * *
Half an hour later Cloud pulled the bike up to the curb of a different location
and Reno swiftly dismounted, taking a few steps onto the sidewalk. The street
was deserted. They were in the middle of the residential district on the upper
plate, in front of a large ground level apartment building. The thing was
connected almost like town houses and created a strange zigzag pattern across
the lot.
"What the hell was all
that about?" Cloud asked, pulling off his brown gloves to massage his left
hand. He had obviously hurt it in the fight, though Reno saw no blood. Rocking
back into the seat of his bike and crossing his arms across his chest Cloud
gave Reno a look that said he wanted answers. With another quick move of his
foot the kickstand was down and he was leaning his weight on the bike, the only
light coming from a flickering street lamp above their heads and the single
headlight on the front of his still running bike, creating a circle of faint
radiance around the two of them.
"How the hell should I know?" The read head threw his hands up in
exasperation, wincing at the movement of his arm.
"For Holy's sake!" Cloud muttered and cast a Cure spell absently on
the Turks, the green materia in the bracer wrapped around his left wrist
sparking to life at the cast. "Don't you have any Restore materia on
you?" he criticized.
Reno shrugged, relieved that it didn't hurt to do so. "I left them at
home." he said simply. He had really thought he hadn't needed them. After
all, he had only planned on going out to the bar. Letting his arms fall to his
sides his left arm brushed against something large in his pocket and pulled out
the Pheron Sphere, the thing glowing a bright red in his hand. "It didn't
break?" he asked himself in astonishment, blinking against the light. With
one hand he flicked down his shades.
Cloud put up a hand to shield his eyes from the light. "What the hell is
that?"
"A Pheron Sphere. Here." Reno supplied as though he knew more then
Cloud did and shrugged, tossing it to the other man. As soon as the orb left
his hands it stopped glowing, and it sailed through the air empty and lifeless.
"A what?"
And then Cloud caught it and the light sparked itself anew.
Only this time it was a blue light that shone from the depths of the sphere,
banishing the darkness around the two as the red light had done. "Does it
always glow like this?" he muttered, holding the thing as though he were
afraid he'd break it any moment.
"Seems to." Reno shrugged. "You keep it. That thing gives me the
creeps. And frankly, if those guys come looking for it I don't want to have
It." he shrugged and turned toward the apartment building. Breaking into a
run toward the entrance the red head soon disappeared without even a thank you
or good-bye, leaving a stormy faced Cloud alone with the happily glowing orb
and the flickering streetlight for company
"What a day…"
* * * *
Cloud ran a hand through his
hair as he climbed the steps to the ShinRa building, content for now to let his
mind wander to other things. What was Tifa doing right now? He could picture
her humming softly as she sat in her favourite chair, sewing one of his shirts
he'd torn at work, or in a fight. The light from early morning would cast its
rays upon her face and hair and all would be quite save her softly hummed tune.
He smiled unconsciously. Tifa and he had moved to Kalm together after the
Sephiroth incident and had started dating. He had to admit he was happy for the
first time in his life. He'd actually been able to relax, even the dreaded
dreams that consumed his sleep seemed less frequent in her company.
Dreams that haunted him for days after he had them. Dreams that scared him like
no others had yet he couldn't remember what had frightened him because when he
awoke his mind would be blank of anything but fear. They were dreams that had
had him wake in cold sweats, long forgotten names on the tip of his tongue yet
he couldn't speak them, and faces that seemed blurred in his vision, ones that
he knew but couldn't identify them.
Dreams Tifa knew nothing about, and would remain that way if he had anything to
say about it.
Reaching into his pocket he felt the small black box under his gloved fingers.
Inside that box was a gold ring with a sapphire set in the centre, words
engraved around the band in fancy lettering. To my only desire. Tifa. With
a sigh he slid his hand out of his pocket and pushed open the doors to the
building and entered. He still hadn't gotten up the courage to ask her yet.
He could fight Sephiroth face to face, take down Jenova, save the world... But
he couldn't say four simple words.
He chuckled to himself at the irony.
Looking around he was suddenly reminded of the time Barret, Tifa and he had
stormed the building to rescue Aeris. A familiar pain struck his heart. Aeris.
What had gotten into him? He'd come to terms with Aeris's death long ago... His
earlier good mood plummeted to rock bottom as he hit the button for the
elevator and waited as the doors slid open.
Why was Aeris on his mind? He hadn't thought about her in nearly a year.
Another 'ding' sounded his floor and he stepped out of the elevator with an
irrational need to be doing something to take his mind off the dead woman. Its
not that he loved her any more. He didn't. He loved Tifa, that he knew. Then
why the pain at her memory?
Because I loved her once... the irritatingly rational little voice in
the back of his head said. Of course it would hurt to think about her.
Cloud paused outside Reeve's office and thought about that. Yes, it was only
lingering grief. Pushing the doors open he wasn't surprised to find Reno
already waiting for him. Reeve and Reno had been talking but halted as he
entered, both turning to look at him.
"Cloud. Your here early." Reeve stated, a welcoming smile lighting up
his tired face. Cloud raised one blond eyebrow at the other man's condition.
His clothes were terribly wrinkled and his hair was barely neat. His posture
spoke of near exhaustion and was it him or did Reeve look thinner?
"Reeve, have you been getting any sleep? You look horrible."
"Three straight nights of work does that to a person." the new
president of ShinRa replied, leaning back in his chair.
"Get some sleep tonight. You'll be no good to anyone if you over work
yourself." the ex-mercenary replied, giving his friend a stern look and he
stepped up to the President's desk.
"You and Reno have been talking, haven't you?" Reeve muttered,
shooting a glance at the Turk who was trying to act as innocent as possible.
Which was a comical scene, because Reno was anything but innocent.
"He said much the same thing." Reeve informed before Cloud could ask.
"The only decent thing I've heard come out of his mouth, then." Cloud
crossed his arms over his chest and motioned toward the door. "Come one
then. I assume Reeve already told you what we're doing."
"Right away Mr. High-and-mighty." Reno retorted, giving Reeve a half
hearted salute before exiting and leaving the two of them alone.
"I'll have your bike transported to Kalm for you Cloud. Your gold chocobo
waits in the stables." Reeve said, pushing back his chair to stand up.
"Sorry about it being such short notice and all... And Nibelheim-"
Cloud held his hand up to silence Reeve's confession. "I know already. Its
fine." the other man gave him a puzzled look. "Don't worry about it
alright." Walking to the door Reno had used just a minute ago he looked
over his shoulder and gave Reeve a reassuring smile that didn't quite reach his
eyes. "I'll be fine. And thanks."
Reno was already waiting for him in the chocobo stables by the time Cloud got
there, the Turks black chocobo Lyan waiting and saddled, the red head holding a
bag of greens to the chocobo's beak as it ate hungrily.
"What took you so long?" Reno asked in his usual infuriating way,
though he had been only minutes ahead of the blond.
Cloud didn't say anything as he moved to the stable that he knew held his own
chocobo, Xion. He couldn't stop thinking of Nibelheim now that they were about
to leave. He dreaded the visit in truth. Opening the stall gate he patted the
chocobo on the neck with affection before putting the reins on it. He set the
saddle on its back, secured the saddlebags and checked the clinch before
leading the mount out of its stall and grabbing up a bag of Sylkis greens from
his bags to hold before the chocobo's beak. Xion started on them without
hesitation.
Seeing the way Cloud's gold went for the food Reno snorted. "God Strife,
don't you ever feed that thing?"
Cloud raised an eyebrow in growing amusement as Lyan started to choke on a
green that went down the wrong way in its haste to consume it. Reno quickly
removed the bag and helped his chocobo from choking to death; his movements
near panic as he helped the giant bird cough it back up by massaging the
throat. The black coughed one more time as the green came hurtling out of its
beak to splat against the pavement and Reno shot a seething glance at Cloud as
the older man burst out laughing.
"Your one to talk." he managed after he calmed down enough from his
fit of laughter to speak coherently. "The thing nearly killed
itself!"
"Shut up!" the read haired Turk growled.
Cloud continued to chuckle, not interested nor caring at what Reno thought of
that.
But the small diversion only managed to take his mind from the looming
destination of Nibelheim for a moment and he found his thoughts roaming to that
little village of his birth, and his rebirth...
Noticing the look on the blond's face Reno wondered what could be bothering the
man. It's not like his company was that bad? They had worked together
before and Cloud hadn't minded it nearly as much as his expression now
indicated. Or was that really what was bothering the man? Was there something
going on that Reno knew nothing about? Turning to his own chocobo he put the
bag of greens away and took Lyan's reins and followed as Cloud led the way to
the road that led to the lift, which went down to the surface level from the
plate by way of descending platform. Lyan resisted very little at his masters
pull on the reins and he was proud of that, as most chocobos fought the reins.
The Turk was surprised however to find that Cloud's own chocobo didn't even
need to be held on to. The gold walked beside its master like a chick following
its mother, the reins thrown back over its head.
So the guy was good with chocobos. Big deal.
The sombre party made their way in silence along the highway until they cleared
the city, where they mounted and started off at a brisk pace into the open
countryside. Both were thinking of the trip ahead, their eyes focused on the
road before them. Neither spoke –neither had anything to say to the other.
They stopped to camp just past the Midgar Zolom territory in Fort Condor,
getting across without incident, and planned to pick up again early the next
morning and head toward Junon where a ShinRa boat waited to take them across to
Costa del Sol. Then they would take the road near Gongaga, go by Cosmo Canyon
without stopping and take the pass that lead to Nibelheim.
Cloud gave a worried glance in Nibelheim's direction and started to stare off
into space, his mind wandering to long forgotten memories and not so forgotten
experiences. Reno looked over at him with a raised eyebrow and then looked off
in the direction his reluctant companion was staring, recognizing immediately
that was the general direction where Nibelheim lay. Even a continent away
Strife was already dreading their destination... Why?
Author's Notes:
1. Well, chapter two done. That turned out pretty well too in my opinion. A lot longer too then chapter one was. A little bit of fighting, some intrigue and a mysterious object... Find out what all this means in the chapters to come!
