The vast plains soon gave way to the deep valley, bordered on the north and south by a tall chain of several snow-capped mountains.
Already far in the east, the faintest hint of night could be seen, and the first few bright stars were starting to make an appearance on the horizon. Even the large, near-full moon was hanging low in the sky, hiding behind the mountain range.
"(Our first night out of Midgar, I didn't think we'd ever come this far. I thought for sure, at one time or another, that Shinra would be the death of us all)," thought Cloud.
This time, he was more than glad to be wrong.
Behind them, the stars were being blotted out by oncoming storm clouds. No doubt there was a huge thunderstorm shaking Midgar to its core right now.
The storm would sweep over Kalm by dawn tomorrow, and hit Cloud and the others that afternoon. Hopefully, they could find the Chocobo Ranch before the storm broke over them.
A Chocobo wouldn't be cheap, but it would greatly speed up travel. They might even manage to catch up to Sephiroth before he got to Junon.
"I think I can just about see the Chocobo Ranch from here," Tifa said, pointing eastwards.
The very top of a large, white barn could be seen against the sun over the next hill. Nodding in agreement, Cloud started off over the hill.
The Choco Bill and Choco Billy Chocobo Ranch was a family-owned business that had prospered for generations between the family line.
The large white barn with the crude Chocobo painted on the front took up a large part of the farm, and the fresh smell of newly cut grass and a mixture of Gysahl and Mimet Greens wafted from the open double-doors.
In front of the barn was the Chocobo pen, where four wild Chocobos were prancing about on their tall, skinny legs, 'warking' at each other and scratching at the ground.
Off to the side was a small house, with a long trail of smoke pouring out of the chimney. A well sat in the front yard, full of clear spring water.
Cloud's memory flashed back to the Chocobo training he had gotten all those years ago while in SOLDIER. Chocobos themselves were about seven to eight feet tall, and were covered in bright yellow feathers.
Almost all of them had either sparkling blue or dark almond eyes, and made a "wark" sound whenever they spoke (obviously they couldn't talk).
Their long, skinny legs were bent backwards, making them overall look like rather large, yellow, very cute, but extremely fast birds.
"Big damn chickens," said Barret, as he looked around at the Chocobos.
Aeris looked extremely fascinated as she watched the Chocobos, and Barret, Tifa and Red XIII also waited by the Chocobo pen while Cloud went off to buy a Chocobo.
Inside the small house, Cloud found a short, balding man with a black cap on, pouring over several stacks of papers. Notes were being scribbled down, and some ugly curses came from the table. This man was Choco Bill.
When Choco Bill heard Cloud come in though, his mood lightened almost immediately, and he greeted his customer with a warm smile.
"Well hey there, what can I do for ya? Thinking of crossing the marshes?" asked Choco Bill.
"Well, yeah. I guess so," replied Cloud, shrugging.
"Then it will be safer for you to get a Chocobo. That way, you can zip through the marshes with the Chocobo. It's the only way to avoid being attacked by the Midgar Zolom," explained Choco Bill.
"Midgar Zolom?" asked Cloud, confused and bewildered.
"It's a massive snake-like creature, over thirty feet tall! It picks up on footsteps that enter the marshes. And then…BAMM, it attacks! To avoid that, buy a Chocobo at the Choco Bill and Choco Billy Chocobo Ranch. To purchase a Chocobo, please talk to my grandson. He's in the Chocobo stables in the barn. By the way, there was another person heading towards the marshes as well. Without a Chocobo, the Midgar Zolom probably got him. It was a man in a black cape," explained Choco Bill.
Cloud's eyes widened in surprise and shock.
"Which way did he go!?" asked Cloud, urgently.
"Across the marshes into the old, abandoned Mithril Mine," replied Choco Bill.
"Alright then, that's our next destination," said Cloud, turning face to the others, who had all just come in. They all nodded in response.
Cloud quickly ran out of the small house, as Tifa, Aeris, Barret and Red XIII all followed him. They all went into the barn, and they soon found Choco Billy (Choco Bill's grandson) at the stables, just as Choco Bill had said.
Choco Billy, a short kid with straw-coloured hair and a load of freckles, looked up at them all, and he grinned pleasantly up at them, but Cloud couldn't help but distrust this kid slightly, suspicious of his business motives.
"Do you want to buy a Chocobo here or something?" asked Choco Billy.
"Yeah, give me one," replied Cloud, firmly.
"You old folks are out of luck!" said Choco Billy, laughing slightly and slapping his knee.
"Old folks?" asked Cloud, confused and bewildered.
"We're fresh out of Chocobos right now. I'm taking care of all those ones out there for someone else who's already reserved them all. You know, if ya really want a Chocobo, you should go out and catch one. Want to know how to catch a Chocobo?" asked Choco Billy.
"How do I catch one?" asked Cloud, curiously.
"A wild Chocobo always appears out in the wilderness with other creatures, which are usually always monsters. But, ya won't be able to catch it because of the other creatures there are bound to interfere. That's why you must quickly defeat them first before ya can catch the Chocobo. Also, wild Chocobos are really cautious. They'll run away from the slightest things. But if ya use plants, they'll focus on that instead, and they won't run away from ya while they're busy eating. Well now…shall we get down to business? I'll sell you the Chocobo Lure Materia for two thousand Gil, right now," said Choco Billy.
"W-What?! That's insane! We'd be able to rent a boat from Bone Village and sail to Junon for cheaper than that!" snapped Cloud, angrily. Choco Billy simply shrugged.
"Well, if that's how you feel…" said Choco Billy.
"No, wait! We'll take it," said Tifa.
Cloud was about to protest, but he realised there would be no use talking Tifa out of it anyway. Cloud reluctantly brought the Chocobo Lure Materia from Choco Billy for two thousand Gil.
"Thanks! It wouldn't hurt to buy some plants, either. How fast a Chocobo will eat depends on what type of plant you feed it," said Choco Billy.
Cloud brought three Gysahl Greens from Choco Billy. They were green Planets (or vegetables) that Chocobos eat, costing one hundred Gil each.
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Meanwhile, Sephiroth was now entering the marshes and travelling through them, simply walking through them by himself, his Masumane sword shining brightly at his side, since he had managed to get it back from the Shinra Headquarters by simply levitating it back to him with his mind.
Sephiroth crossed the swamp about halfway when he saw a dark ripple in the water only a hundred yards from him, and closing fast.
Sephiroth simply held his ground as the long, massive form of the Midgar Zolom reared up out of the water, slithering as it stared down at him, ready to strike.
Sephiroth simply held his ground, staring up at the huge, gigantic snake coldly, not even the very slightest bit worried or concerned. He drew his Masumane sword from its sheath.
The Midgar Zolom lowered its head to strike, but before it could even blink or move an inch, a blinding flash flew across its line of sight.
Sephiroth was attacking the thing with amazing speed, strength and accuracy, slicing the Zolom under the chin, down the belly and finally stabbing it through the head.
It took only a split second for Sephiroth to kill the Midgar Zolom, and the creature was dead before it had even realised what had happened.
Blood dripped from the Masumane and from the dead snake's body, turning the greenish swamp water to dark red.
Sephiroth simply dipped the Masumane in the clearer water behind him, and wiped it off with a cloth from his pocket, and then sheathed it.
Sephiroth calmly picked up the body of the thirty-foot long dead snake, and carried it along behind him as if it weighed to him no more than an empty bag.
Sephiroth walked along the swamp, dragging the huge, dead body of the Midgar Zolom along with him, which he did with ease, even though any other person wouldn't have been able to move the snake even an inch.
On the other side of the swamp, there was a small pocket of dry land tucked back into the mountains that was the entrance to the cave. It was there Sephiroth was headed. He was suddenly bending back a tall, slender tree.
Not an old thick one, but not a small thin tree either, not by any means. It bent back to the breaking point, and his Masumane severed it from the trunk the rest of the way, then he set about chopping the branches from it, making a long thin spear.
Sephiroth set one end in the ground, and he floated up to the top, holding the Zolom's head, and impaled it on the sharper end of the makeshift pike. More dark blood ran down the length of the pike, and pooled around the base, where its long body was coiled around the trunk of the tree.
Sephiroth knew that AVALANCHE was following him, so he was simply using this as a warning. After setting up this little display, Sephiroth simply walked on, out of the swamp, past the mountains, and onwards to the city of Junon.
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Meanwhile, Cloud, Tifa, Aeris, Barret and Red XIII soon left the Chocobo Ranch, and they quickly made their across the plains, away from the Chocobo Ranch and towards the marshes, but they needed to find something first.
Cloud had equipped the Chocobo Lure Materia to his sword, but after the group searched for what seemed like hours, no Chocobos seemed to be appearing. After a while, Cloud's patience finally ran out.
"Damn it! Does this stupid rock even work at all!? Some bright idea this was," said Cloud, angrily, glaring at Tifa.
"Don't give up just yet, Cloud. I'm still sure that this is bound to work. Just give it some time," said Tifa, patiently.
"Time!? We've been looking for hours! How much more time do you expect this thing to work!?" snarled Cloud, irritably, and he threw the purple Chocobo Lure Materia to the grassy ground in anger, fuming.
Shaking her head slightly, looking both hurt and defiant, Tifa bent down to pick up the Chocobo Lure Materia when it suddenly glowed brightly, a shiny purple glow that matched its colour. Tifa picked it up and stared at it, attaching it to her fighting glove.
"What do you think it's doing?" asked Tifa, staring at the purple Materia as it still glowed brightly.
"Well, I would say it's having its effect. Look over there," said Red XIII, pointing across the field with his paw. The others all followed his gaze.
Just in front of them, was none other than a Chocobo itself, which had been walking slowly towards them, staring transfixed at the glowing Materia.
But as the glow of the Chocobo Lure Materia finally went out, the Chocobo stopped immediately, and became fully aware of the group of people that stood in front of it. The Chocobo now stood dead still and stared cautiously at them with an unwavering gaze.
Just nearby, however, were also two Elfadunks, which instantly snarled and attacked the group on sight, charging towards them.
Elfadunks looked like small, blue but mean, nasty elephants with large razor sharp tusks. The Chocobo could sense that a fight was going to break out, and bent its legs slightly, preparing to run for it.
Seeing this, Cloud quickly and frantically threw a Gysahl Green towards the Chocobo before it could run for it, and the Chocobo watched as it landed just before its feet, and looked down at it.
Its company forgotten for a moment, the Chocobo lowered its head, and happily chewed the contents of the greens, while the Elfadunks charged menacingly at the warriors.
Aeris quickly launched into action as an Efladunk charged straight towards her, and holding her weapon tightly and thrusting it in front of her, she attacked the Efladunk with her quarterstaff, hitting it hard, breaking its skull and killing it in one blow. The Elfadunk fell with a crash to the ground, dead.
Having finished eating its greens, the Chocobo glanced back up at the warriors and the monsters, and it suddenly sensed a strong urge to retreat from this conflict, something that Cloud, with his Mako enhanced senses, instantly noticed again.
Cloud quickly threw another Gysahl Green at the Chocobo, and the big yellow bird watched as the greens landed at its feet, and once again, the Chocobo lowered its head and chewed happily on the greens, its troubles forgotten again.
With a furious roar, the other Elfadunk quickly raised its trunk, and water shot right from it, and hit Cloud with surprising force, but he just about managed to protect himself for the most part with his sword by shielding it right in front of him.
Cloud could see that the Chocobo was almost finished eating the greens, and Cloud had no more left to feed it, so the Chocobo would soon run away for sure. Cloud decided that he urgently needed to finish this fight now.
Red light suddenly burst from the ground at Cloud's feet as he ran up to the Elfadunk, and slashed it with three powerful blows, slicing it to pieces and killing it instantly.
They had managed to catch the Chocobo, which had finished eating the greens, and was apparently under the impression that the danger had passed, as it walked over to them, 'warking' happily, and it certainly seemed to be quite friendly all of a sudden.
Aeris smiled happily at the Chocobo, and patted it softly, and it seemed quite as fond of her as she seemed to be of it, as she played around with the Chocobo for a moment, as Barret and Red XIII watched her and the Chocobo, bemused.
Cloud and Tifa stood facing each other, and Cloud felt both stupid and ashamed, while Tifa seemed to be patiently waiting for an apology, her gaze unwavering as she stared back at him.
"I still can't believe that you made us sell that much money just for that rock," muttered Cloud, glancing at the Chocobo Lure Materia that Tifa was putting away into her backpack.
"It just seemed like such a good idea at the time. And it worked too, didn't it? You just had to give it some time, that's all, like I was telling you from the start," said Tifa.
"Yeah…yeah, I know. Tifa, I…I'm sorry…for taking my anger out on you, back there. It's just that…if we waste too much time, Sephiroth will get further and further away from us, and then it will be too late to stop him succeeding in whatever plan he's up to," said Cloud.
Tifa smiled softly and laid a hand on Cloud's shoulder.
"It's okay, Cloud, I understand how you feel. Don't worry, we will find Sephiroth and stop him, we just have to stay optimistic and work together on this," said Tifa.
Cloud nodded, his gaze still not leaving Tifa's, and her gaze not leaving his either, and they both stared at each other, both transfixed by the other's gaze, and finding themselves moving closer and closer…
"Hey, you guys, what the heck do you think you're doing, eh?" snorted Barret, laughing slightly, and Aeris was giggling as well, both of them clearly amused, while Red XIII just lay impatiently on the grass with his paws in front of him, and the Chocobo just stood still, looking at them all.
Startled by this reminder that they had company, Cloud and Tifa both jumped backwards and broke their gaze, while Aeris and Barret still sniggered.
Tifa's head was bowed, but Cloud still noticed the crimson that had suddenly flushed her face, and Cloud tried his best to keep his composure as he looked at them all.
"Anyway, now that we have the Chocobo at last, we should get going right now, to the marshes. We'll be able to avoid the danger there, on this Chocobo, so there'll be nothing to worry about. So come on, let's get going," said Cloud.
The others all agreed, and they soon got back to journeying across the fields again. Cloud, Tifa, Aeris all got on the Chocobo and sat firmly on it, while Barret and Red XIII walked alongside it, and they headed straight towards the marshes.
They managed to get past the marshes without running into the Midgar Zolom, but strangely, it also didn't seem to be there either, as there was no sign of it. Cloud and the others got past the marshes and they went along the path once again.
Several long, painfully boring hours later, the Chocobo stopped to rest as night appeared.
Barret was snoring loudly, much to Cloud's annoyance. Red XIII was not asleep, but howling at the moon. Aeris was snoozing peacefully on the grass. Tifa was close to joining her, but Cloud sat with his face buried in his knees, muttering to himself.
"(So much for fast travel)," thought Cloud, bitterly. He could almost see Sephiroth roaring with laughter at him right now.
When they all woke up, it was well into the morning when the steady beat of the Chocobo's hard feet against the soft grass turned into a squelch when it hit the marsh weeds.
Clumps of weeds reaching Cloud's knees sprouted up out of the ground, and the marsh was littered with dead trees, most of them had toppled over with deep grooves in the trunks.
Tifa had fallen asleep on Cloud's shoulder, and Aeris had also dozed off shortly after that. Both of them were snoozing peacefully and ignoring the marsh weeds as they tickled their legs. Barret and Red XIII were alert though, and walking either side of the Chocobo across the marshes.
Cloud blinked and shook his head, keeping the fuzzy feeling in his eyes out of mind. He was due for a long rest himself, and it seemed like every movement had to be carefully thought out.
Thinking was also blocked by a thick fog, and he seemed distant from himself, separated, as if moving his hands were the result of somebody else moving them for him. He had to sleep before he passed out on the Chocobo, and steer them to who knows where.
From the north, the storm rolled lazily and loudly around the mountains surrounding the marshes, and began to close in on the swamp as well.
Thunder boomed ominously behind Cloud, and silvery forks of lightning shot down from the sky, striking the marsh and setting dead, dry trees alight with tongues of red and orange flames, but luckily, none of it reached the group.
Looking up, Cloud saw the thick grey clouds gather overhead, and with a massive crash of thunder, the sky opened up and let the rain come in cold, grey sheets.
The Chocobo skittered nervously at the sound of the pouring rain and booming thunder, but "warked" softly and kept on going nevertheless.
As the marshes slowly receded, the storm seemed to increase in its intensity. No wonder, the mountains curved around to the far west shore of the continent and come to a bowl where the Mythril Caves were. No doubt, the storm had gathered here, blocked by the mountains, and was now settled here. It might rain here for days.
Cloud gently shook Tifa, who awoke with a groan and looked around, blinking. With a yawn and a stretch, she awoke Aeris, and hopped off the Chocobo.
"Where are we?" asked Tifa, rubbing her eyes.
"Mythril Caves," replied Cloud, flatly, dismounting.
He gave Aeris a hand off the large bird and then gave it a final pat on the head before setting it loose. Warking happily and nipping Cloud's ear, the Chocobo ran off back into the storm.
A sudden, horrified scream from Aeris made Cloud whirl around in the soft grass and pull his sword free in one fluid motion. He took two great strides to plant himself in front of Aeris and gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.
Looking around, he saw nothing but the storm and the edge of the marshes. Nothing until Aeris pointed at what she was staring at, and just managed to stifle another scream.
Cloud and the others immediately saw what terrified her, and they all felt nasty chills crawl down their spines, as they all gaped in shock and disbelief at the sight in front of them.
Impaled at the throat of a tall, dead tree was a huge, gigantic, dead black snake. The Midgar Zolom. Its smooth scales shimmered in the flashes of lightning behind it, and the rainwater caused a trickle of blood-tainted mud to pool into several puddles at the roots of the tree.
The Midgar Zolom's mouth was dangling open uselessly, both fangs snapped in half and lying on the ground, half-buried in the mud.
Green venom was still spraying from the hollow tubes inside the teeth, sizzling the ground where it hit and sending a strong stink into the air.
"Did Sephiroth do this?" asked Cloud, astonished and stunned, feeling a nasty chill of fear.
"Amazing…" gasped Tifa, speechless, her mouth hanging open in shock and disbelief.
"Holy shit! I guess we don't have to worry about the snake no more, huh?" said Barret, obviously shocked, and even he was spooked at the sight he was seeing.
Aeris clung to Cloud's arm in fear, shaking wildly.
"Our enemy is someone that can do this?" said Aeris, in disbelief, her eyes wide and fearful.
Cloud nodded, a dark, grim expression on his face.
"Only Sephiroth is that strong. There's no doubt that this is his work. And even this is level of power is nowhere near of what he's truly capable of. If the words of Palmer at the Headquarters and Choco Bill at the Ranch weren't good enough for you, I'm sure that the sight of this is. Sephiroth is very much alive, and he's heading for Junon," replied Cloud, grimly, fully serious.
But despite this warning, despite them all being scared witless by it, neither Cloud or any of the others refused to give up hope, and none of the others would not leave Cloud by himself, so they continued along the path, and they soon came to a cave, though all of them were still stunned and horrified by what they had seen back there.