The Mythril Mines were dark and foreboding. Streaks of lightning shot down from the stormy skies outside, illuminating the caves for a split-second, and casting long shadows across the silvery walls that were packed full of metal and coal. Crates of old mining tools were lying about, abandoned long ago due to the increase in monsters across the area.
Cloud didn't see how any of the miners from Kalm could get down here unless they had Chocobos. Then again, most things had seemed much less surprising after leaving Midgar.
The storm raged outside, causing the very mountains to shake with each crash of thunder as it rolled across the sky and slammed into the mines like a giant hammer. The sharp, chill wind that blew in from the entrance did nothing to improve the already-cold, stale air inside the mines.
Cloud's breath froze in front of him in small clouds, only to disappear into thin air after hitting the low ceiling. Already, his nose and ears were beginning to turn numb.
Behind him, there was much sniffling and shivering from Tifa, who was definitely not dressed for this kind of weather in her shirt and short skirt, and there was plenty of angry cursing coming from Barret.
Aeris, though, was seemingly untouched by the chill, and Red XIII had his red fur to keep him warm. Whereas Cloud's nose and ears were beginning to turn red, Aeris looked like she had just walked out of a warm spring day rather than a pounding storm, probably because of her abilities as an Ancient.
Suddenly, Cloud thought he heard something. The others clearly heard it too.
"Did you hear that? Sounds like voices. Are there any miners left in here?" asked Tifa, anxiously.
"I don't think so. This mine has long been abandoned. It could be spies from Shinra," said Red XIII, grimly.
Peering down the next long corridor in the cave, Cloud seriously doubted it was anybody from Kalm. Even Junon was too far away for a miner to come here.
A snarl crossed the Cloud's face as he stepped out into the corridor and spotted two of the Turks. Rude and Elena (who was a new Turk and the only female Turk) were standing just in front of the other entrance of the cave that would lead to Junon.
Elena wore a dark blue suit (a Turk uniform), which was neat and tidy, not a bit out of place, and she had blond hair and brown eyes. She worked for Shinra, just like the other Turks.
Elena had just recently joined the Turks, and she was now working with Rude, Tseng and Reno. She had a special talent of throwing any type of grenade or bomb flawlessly, with amazing accuracy, so she never missed her target when throwing a grenade or a bomb.
"Just a second!" shouted Rude, sharply, as he spotted Cloud and the others, who all immediately came to a halt in front of him, and stared coldly.
"By any chance, are you…one of them?" asked Aeris, suspiciously.
"Do you know who I am?" asked Rude, curiously. Cloud nodded, with a snarl.
"You're from the Turks, right? You're that guy I need to get revenge on for the elevator incident," replied Cloud, flatly.
"Well then, if you know me, then this won't take too long to discuss. It's quite difficult indeed to explain what the Turks do," said Rude.
"Kidnapping, right?" snarled Cloud, darkly. Rude frowned.
"To put it crudely, I guess you could say that. But that's not all there is to it anymore," said Rude.
Suddenly, he fell silent, as if he wasn't too comfortable with saying anything else. Then a female voice spoke up
"It's alright, Rude! I know you don't like speeches, so don't force it!" shouted Elena.
"Alright then, Elena. In that case, you try and explain it to them," ordered Rude.
"Of course. I'm the newest member of the Turks. My name is Elena. Thanks to what you guys did to Reno at Sector 7, we're short of people at the moment. But because of that, I got promoted to the Turks. It's a mixed blessing, I guess. In any case, our current job is to find out where Sephiroth is headed and what he's up to. And also to try and stop you guys every step of the way. No…wait a minute; it's the other way round. You're the ones who are getting in our way," explained Elena.
Suddenly, Tseng arrived, stepping through the other entrance of the cave, shaking his head irritably.
"Elena, you talk far too much," said Tseng, scornfully.
"M-Mr Tseng!?" said Elena, jumping in surprise, startled to see him.
Tseng, of course, was the leader of the Turks, so he was also Elena's new boss as well. Elena secretly admired Tseng and she even had a crush on him too, though he was completely obvious to it.
"There's no need to tell them about our orders," said Tseng, sharply, his eyes narrowed.
"Sorry, Tseng," muttered Elena.
"I thought I gave you other orders. Now, go. Don't forget to file your report," ordered Tseng, sharply.
"Oh, right! Very well, Rude and I will go after Sephiroth, who's heading for Junon Harbour!" declared Elena.
"Elena, you don't seem to understand. Stop revealing our orders and information to the enemy," said Tseng, sharply, his voice icy.
"Oh! I-I'm sorry," stammered Elena, embarrassed as she realized her mistake.
"Go! Don't let Sephiroth get away," ordered Tseng.
"Yes, sir!" said Rude, saluting.
"Yes, sir!" said Elena, also saluting.
With another glance at Tseng, Elena quickly ran off to Junon Harbour and out of the cave. Rude was about to follow her, but then he stopped as a thought occurred to him, and he glanced back at Cloud, his expression firm.
"Reno said that he wanted to see you after the injuries you gave him healed. He wants to show his affection for you all, with a new and improved weapon," said Rude.
Without another glance at them, Rude ran out of the cave, and ran towards Junon Harbour. Tseng walked towards Cloud and the others, turning to face Aeris.
"Well then…Aeris, long time, no see. It looks like you've got away from Shinra for a little while, now that Sephiroth has reappeared again. Shinra won't be concentrating on you until he is out of the way," explained Tseng, coolly.
"So what are you saying? That I should be grateful to Sephiroth?" asked Aeris, sharply and suspiciously.
Tseng frowned slightly, raising an eyebrow.
"No, of course not. Well, I won't be seeing too much of you for quite a while of course, so just take care," said Tseng, gently, smiling slightly at her.
"Strange, I would never have expected to hear something like that from you," said Aeris, surprised and taken aback, staring at Tseng, while he looked back at her.
"Well then, just stay out of Shinra's way and don't interfere," said Tseng, warningly, and he walked out of the cave towards Junon Harbour.
Cloud waited a moment after watching Tseng go, then lifted himself up to the exit followed by the others, and they all stepped outside. The skies were once again blue and clear.
The dark wall of storm clouds was breaking up to the southeast; they would reach Junon Harbour and disappear completely.
The sun hung high in the sky overhead, burning down and drying up the water that was soaked into the muddy grass. The warmth felt good against Cloud's skin after being in that cold cave, and he was glad to see the sun again.
Sighing, Cloud continued along the plains towards Junon, followed by Aeris, Tifa, Barret and Red XIII. Junon Harbour was far to the east from here, and even in this good weather, it would take several days to get there, at best.
Cloud began to wish he still had the Chocobo that they released on the other side of the Mythril Mines; it would certainly make the journey a lot faster.
Cloud and the others began to make their way across the fields, heading straight for Junon, where Sephiroth was supposed to be going to, as the words of the Turks had confirmed.
Suddenly, as they were still travelling along the fields to Junon, they suddenly saw a mysterious girl charging towards them, clutching a gigantic four-spiked boomerang in her hands, and as she reached Cloud and the others, she raised her arm up with her weapon, and prepared to swing it down to strike.