Barret yawned as he leaned back in his seat and propped his legs up on the dashboard of the buggy. The hot, sticky desert air was split by the cool breeze that came from the speed of the buggy as it flew across the sand, and it felt good in the middle of the afternoon.
There were even some Chocobo tracks here and there, but the big, quick birds themselves were nowhere to be seen, apparently aware of them, and ran so quickly away that they weren't seen.
Cloud, meanwhile, was thinking that if he ever saw another Chocobo again, it would be far too soon for him. Besides, he had plenty of other problems to worry about.
Sephiroth was headed for Gongaga and that wasn't too far from Cosmo Canyon. What could be there that he might want? To learn more about the Planet?
If he was an Ancient, it shouldn't be that hard, he'd just have to ask the Planet for advice. And just how did Jenova fit into all of this? Cloud had met it twice now; in the Shinra Headquarters, and at the bottom of the cargo ship.
"How much farther is it now until Gongaga?" asked Aeris, wearily, yawning slightly.
She propped her elbow up against the door and leaned on her hand, trying not to let the soothing hum of the buggy lull her to sleep.
Across from Aeris and separated from her by a sleepy Cait Sith and a snoring Yuffie, Tifa slumped down in her seat, also weary, and sighed.
"Not too far. The desert's starting to edge away now, and I can just see a river not too far from here. Gongaga's just past that river and the Gongaga village is right in the middle of a jungle," explained Tifa.
"A Mako Reactor explosion occurred in the Gongaga village once. A few years ago, not too soon before Corel. The Gongaga Mako Reactor went up in an industrial accident, and killed almost everybody in the town. It's not even that much of a village anymore. Just a bunch of poor folks living in huts, kind of like North Corel in a way, except they live in dirty small houses rather than tacky tents," explained Barret.
"Still, it sure sounds whole a lot like North Corel to me," said Yuffie, grumpily, with a disappointed sigh.
The dunes flew by the buggy, completely silent, save for the constant droning of the engine. Slowly, the sand mounds levelled out and the bleached bones became more and more scarce as tufts of grass began to spring up out of the sand.
By late afternoon, the Corel Desert came to an abrupt end at the Gongaga River, which flowed from the Corel Mountains far to the north and emptied out into the vast Southern Sea.
Across the river, fields of lush green grass that spread from horizon to horizon, seeming to touch the vast blue sky on both sides, replaced the hot, golden sand.
Several tall, grassy plateaus that had erupted from the ground and stretched high into the sky only briefly interrupted the serene pasture.
Raw Mako energy that was pumped from the bottomless depths of the Planet and pushed to the surface in the living rock, now came out in a flood in the middle of nowhere thanks to the life-sucking capabilities of the Gongaga Reactor.
Past the looming rocks and settled in the midst of a dense jungle, the top half of a charred rubble pile could be seen poking through the canopy and stretching into the sky.
Plumes of sickly-coloured smoke still wafted from the burned-out Mako Reactor's furnace, but the energy channels had been destroyed. Inside that Reactor was little more than a pool of raw Mako energy.
"Do we really have to stop at this place? It feels quite bad here…I mean, with the Planet and all. It's hurt badly here, I can sense it. Like a wound that's never been healed," said Aeris, shivering slightly.
"I'd like to keep going, but we lost most of our things in the prison, remember? We kept our Materia and our weapons, but aside from that, we lost everything else," replied Cloud.
"So just how are we going to pay for stuff then?" asked Barret, incredulously, not opening his eyes or even turning to face Cloud.
Cloud just shrugged and eased the buggy to a stop outside the tree line. Yuffie was the first one out into the jungle, leaving the others trailing behind, while she vanished from sight amongst the trees.
"How do you know so much about Gongaga, Barret? I was in SOLDIER, but I'd never really even heard of it until Dio told me about it," said Cloud.
Barret snickered, and he kicked over a piece of debris from the Reactor nearby.
"You should always know a good deal about the enemy. Me and the others found out all we could about Shinra. I guess me, Biggs, Wedge and Jessie were a lot more alike than we realized," said Barret, solemnly, a sad note in his tone at that last part.
"You can't keep regretting the past, Barret. They're dead, but they all died for a good cause that they all believed in. And more importantly, they died for you and the Planet. You were their leader," said Cloud.
"Shit, I didn't know that Shinra was gonna break the whole damn pillar down! If I knew that, I would just gone by myself to stop them!" shouted Barret. Tifa came up from behind him and walked beside him in concern.
"I'm sure they would have gone with you anyway. They trusted you. We were all friends. We still are," said Tifa.
Barret snorted and trudged after Cloud, lowering his head and mumbling to himself. They continued along the jungle until they stopped suddenly when they heard a familiar voice.
"Is someone there?" asked Cloud, quietly.
But then to his amazement, he saw Reno, Rude and Elena standing a short distance in front of them. They were talking to each other and they seemed to be waiting for someone.
"So…explain to me why we're here again," said Elena.
"Elena, we are here to seek out and defeat. It's what the Turks do. It's our job," replied Reno, sounding both rather annoyed and very bored.
"Oh…but AVALANCHE have weapons!" protested Elena.
"So do we, remember? Rude's got his fists, you've got your grenades, and I've got my nightstick," said Reno.
"Reno, have you forgotten about what they did to you at Sector 7!?" shouted Elena.
"No, of course not. Elena, how about you go find something else to do? Rude and I will wait here until they arrive. You just let us know if you see anything, and then report to Tseng," ordered Reno, sharply.
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," muttered Elena, and she walked off. Reno glared after her, but then looked at Rude.
"I sent her off to find something else to do, instead of whining. I can't see why President Rufus employed her to replace me in the first place! She's useless!" shouted Reno, clearly annoyed. Rude shrugged.
"She has her virtues," said Rude, calmly and shortly.
"Where and what exactly? She's not exactly Turk material, after all, is she?" asked Reno, sharply.
Rude just shrugged and said nothing. Reno shook his head, deciding to change the subject.
"So what are you thinking about, Rude?" asked Reno.
"Nothing…" replied Rude, shortly, turning away.
"Ah…I think I know. So whom do you like? Hey, Rude, come on. Who do you fancy?" asked Reno, curiously.
"Huh?" asked Rude, surprised and caught off guard by the question, and turned back to face Reno.
"I think you heard me, Rude. Come on, out with it. What are you getting so embarrassed about, anyway? Come on, who do you fancy? You've got to have someone that you like," said Reno, curiously, grinning with amusement.
"…Tifa," said Rude, shyly, turning away. Reno seemed surprised and taken aback, and then looked thoughtful.
"Geez, that's a tough one. But poor Elena. She, you…" said Reno. Rude immediately spun around, and shook his head.
"No, Elena fancies Tseng," said Rude.
Reno looked even more surprised than before.
"Hey, I never knew that! Least now I know how I can get on HER nerves. But Tseng fancies that Ancient, Aeris," said Reno.
"It can't be helped," said Rude, shrugging.
"What are they talking about?" said Cloud, confused.
Elena suddenly walked towards Cloud and the others from behind, apparently not remembering who they were.
"They always do this! It's so stupid! They always talk about who they like or don't like. They're impossible. But Tseng is different," said Elena, with a sudden soft tone.
Suddenly, Elena remembered who Cloud and the others were, and with a startled cry of surprise, she ran quickly up to Reno and Rude.
"They're here! They're really here!" shouted Elena.
"Elena, first off kid, you should always salute your superiors. And remember, you're a Turk. There's no need to look stupid by running around when it's not necessary," said Reno, in mock anger.
"But…" protested Elena, but Reno interrupted her.
"No buts! Now, calm down and tell us what you were going to say," said Reno, a big grin on his face.
"AVALANCHE is here! You should get ready," said Elena.
"Ah, we'll be ready. We've been ready for hours now," said Reno, carelessly.
Elena only nodded in response, and said nothing. Reno turned to face Rude.
"Then it's time. Rude, don't go easy on them even though they're just girls," said Reno, sarcastically.
"Don't worry. I'll do my job," replied Rude.
"Then, we're counting on you two. I'll go and report to Tseng!" said Elena.
"Thanks, Elena. We'll deal with it from here. You go off and report to your boyfriend," said Reno, grinning.
Elena glared at him in response, and she ran off, while Rude and Reno walked over to Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Aeris, Red XIII, Cait Sith and Yuffie, who had just ran over to them.
"Do you remember me, Cloud?" asked Reno, grinning mischievously. Cloud nodded, with a snarl.
"You're Reno. The Turk who bombed and destroyed Sector 7, and tried to kidnap Aeris," replied Cloud, coldly.
"That's right. It's nice to be remembered. But I'm only doing all those things because it's my job, nothing else. It's the same with every Turk. And right now, we have orders to defeat you and AVALANCHE on sight if necessary," said Reno, coolly.
"So, you're going to follow Rufus's orders to the end, aren't you?" said Cloud, sharply. Reno nodded, and so did Rude.
"It's been a while since the last time. It's going to be payback time for what you all did to me in Sector 7. We saw you in the Chocobo Races. You looked pretty damn stupid on that bird, you know. Maybe you should stick to being a loser. It seems to come naturally to you," said Reno, sniggering.
"Get out of our way," snarled Cloud, sharply.
"I don't like being taken for a fool," said Reno, coldly.
"No wonder you've got such a bad attitude then," muttered Cloud. Reno glared at him.
"That's as far as you go," said Rude, shortly, in a flat tone, and they both lunged forwards.
****************************************************************
Meanwhile, Elena ran over to Tseng, who was standing by a Shinra helicopter.
"Tseng, we have spotted Cloud and his gang. Rude and Reno are taking care of them even as we speak," said Elena.
"So our spy came in handy after all then, huh? They'll never suspect a thing. They'll lead us right to Sephiroth and the Promised Land. But after that, Rude and Reno must deal with them, before they get in our way," said Tseng.
"Do you think that they're able to do it?" asked Elena.
"Maybe…but, it doesn't matter either way. We'll deal with Cloud's gang soon enough. We'll just use our spy to inform us about their group's plans, and that way we'll know for sure where they're going to strike next," said Tseng.
Just then, Scarlet walked off the helicopter, and she walked over to Tseng.
"Tseng, we must go now and find the Huge Materia! Hurry up!" snapped Scarlet.
"Yes, Ma'am," said Tseng, irritably.
They both got on the helicopter, and they went off in the helicopter, as Elena watched it soon fly away from view, and she stood there waiting anxiously for Rude and Reno.
****************************************************************
Meanwhile, Rude and Reno had just attacked Cloud, Aeris and Cait Sith, while the others had to stand back. This wasn't going to be an easy fight for either side.
Reno quickly charged towards Cait Sith, and struck him hard on the head with his Nightstick, dazing Cait Sith for a while and giving him a nasty knock on his robotic furry head, and sending him crashing to the ground.
Reno then quickly raised his Nightstick, and fired a small red comet from his club straight at Aeris, hitting her hard, and sending her flying backwards on the ground, and giving her many bruises, and she winced with pain as she slowly got back up.
Rude was attacking relentlessly too, as he quickly ran up to Cloud, and punched him hard across the face with his fists, breaking his nose, and leaving bruises on his face.
Cloud yelled in pain and fell to the ground, before he quickly leaped back up again, green light suddenly bursting from beneath his feet, as he quickly grasped a Materia equipped to his sword. A circle of fire suddenly appeared around Reno and then closed around him, burning around him for a moment and then vanished, giving Reno many burns and marks.
Green light burst from the ground at Cait Sith's feet as he had also leapt back up from the ground, and grasped a Materia equipped to a strange looking mega-phone that the Mog carried at its side. A circle of fire appeared around both Reno and Rude and closed around them and vanished, giving them even more burns and marks, both of them yelling out in pain, clutching their aching burns.
Green light burst from the ground at Aeris's feet as she also grasped a Materia, equipped to her quarterstaff. A few huge bolts of lighting hit Rude, and struck him hard, dazing and stunning him for a while, as well as injuring him.
Green light suddenly burst from the ground at Cait Sith's feet as a circle of fire appeared around both Rude and Reno, and closed around them and then vanished, giving them even more burns and bruises.
They both yelled in agony from their intense burns and fell to the ground. Rude and Reno stopped fighting, and Reno lowered his Nightstick.
"We may be retreating, but we're still victorious. We'll settle this later," said Reno.
Rude nodded, and the two of them slowly and painfully got up, and ran away after quickly fully healing themselves, and their burns, with potions.
Tifa, Barret, Red XIII and Yuffie all walked back up to Cloud, Aeris and Cait Sith, as the three had also quickly healed all their injuries with potions. Tifa spoke up first.
"Hey, something seems wrong. Like they knew that we were coming," said Tifa, thoughtfully.
"How could they possibly have known? Are we really so predictable?" asked Red XIII.
"I would like to think not, but it's better to think about that than the alternative," replied Cloud, grimly.
Yuffie looked at him in amusement and curiosity.
"Oh yeah? And what's that?" asked Yuffie, bemused.
"That one of us is a Shinra spy," replied Cloud, firmly.
There was a stunned silence, as everyone stared at Cloud, their eyes all open wide in surprise and disbelief.
"A spy!? No way!" shouted Barret, incredulously.
"Oh great…a spy. Now everyone's gonna blame me just because I'm the new guy. Typical, just typical…" muttered Cait Sith, clearly annoyed.
"I don't even want to consider the possibility that there might be a Shinra spy in our group. I trust everyone in it," said Cloud, heavily.
After a moment of thoughtful silence, Red XIII shook his head in disagreement.
"There can't possibly be a spy. No, that's not really possible at all. Just look at us. Cloud may have had some experience with Shinra, but he's just on a mission to find Sephiroth and stop him, so he wouldn't have any reason left at all to work for Shinra anymore. Barret and Tifa are both original members of AVALANCHE, so if anyone is an unlikely candidate for a Shinra spy, it's them. Aeris and I were held in Hojo's research laboratory, and believe me when I say that anyone who went through all that would have no loyalty for Shinra whatsoever. I'll admit that I don't know Yuffie or Cait Sith as well as the others, but Cait Sith is just a fortune-telling machine, and Yuffie is just a teenager. And the Turks encountered us in the Mithril Caves anyway, before we even met either of them," said Red XIII.
"Or maybe it's that Dio guy. He let the Shinra troops run all over his place, and then conveniently gave us a buggy, and told us Sephiroth was headed for Gongaga, where Shinra would have been waiting for us," said Barret, thoughtfully.
"I don't really think that its Dio's doing. I sort of worked for him, remember? I can tell you, there's not much more to that guy than meets the eye," said Cait Sith.
"And what does meet the eye is way too much!" joked Yuffie, laughing.
"This is probably all just a coincidence," said Tifa.
Everyone nodded in relief, Barret a bit more reluctantly as if he was still suspicious, and glancing at each of them slowly with a stern look, most of all at Yuffie, but he finally turned away and shrugged to himself.
Soon, they walked along the jungle until they came to a destroyed Mako Reactor, in ruins. A meltdown explosion had clearly destroyed this Mako Reactor.
They went along the ruins of the Reactor when suddenly a Shinra helicopter landed nearby. A familiar woman in a red dress was getting out of the helicopter.
"It's Scarlet. The head of the Shinra Weapon Development Department," said Cloud, surprised.
Cloud and the others all quickly hid behind some ruins of the Reactor, while they watched Scarlet and Tseng walk up to the middle of the destroyed Mako Reactor.
Scarlet looked at it for a while, and then snorted.
"This isn't any good either. You only get junky Materia from junky Reactors. This Mako Reactor is obviously a failure. What I'm looking for is big, large, huge Materia. Have you seen any?" asked Scarlet, sharply, turning to face Tseng.
"No, I haven't seen any. I'll get on it right away," said Tseng, hoping the pushy brat would decide to leave soon.
"Oh, please. We could make the Ultimate Weapon if we only had some big Materia," said Scarlet.
"I just can't wait," replied Tseng, sarcastically and impatiently.
"With Hojo gone, my Weapon Development Department's been getting a bigger budget," said Scarlet, smugly.
"I envy them," said Tseng, sourly.
"But even if we could make the perfect weapon, could that stupid Heidegger even figure out how to use it?" said Scarlet, indignantly, shaking her head irritably.
Tseng, having nothing nice to say about that, remained silent, as Scarlet turned to face him and laughed coldly.
"Oh, sorry! I forgot that Heidegger is your boss!" said Scarlet, spitefully.
She laughed cruelly, but Tseng still made no response or reaction. After all, Heidegger was Tseng's boss as well as being the boss of all the other Turks as well.
"Let's go!" ordered Scarlet.
Scarlet and Tseng went to the helicopter and quickly got on it, and the helicopter then quickly flew off. Cloud and the others were all still hiding and they weren't even noticed.
"(Big, large, huge Materia? An ultimate weapon? The perfect weapon? Just what is Shinra Incorporated up to?)," wondered Cloud, thoughtfully.
****************************************************************
Meanwhile, Rude and Reno had run back over to Elena, who was waiting for them.
"Did you guys defeat them?" asked Elena.
"No, we didn't," replied Rude, calmly.
"Why not!? Shinra and the President won't be pleased!" snapped Elena, furiously.
"Just calm it down, Elena. Cloud and his gang are no threat to us. We can simply just hunt them down, and kill them any time we wish. I've fought against them twice now, and each time, I've got away without any serious injuries. They're nothing for us to worry about," said Reno, stubbornly.
"But we have orders to kill them! We can't just keep toying with them!" protested Elena.
"Don't worry. We will kill them any time that Shinra wants us to, but they don't quite want us to do it just yet. Right, Rude?" said Reno.
Rude nodded, and he picked up a rock from the ground, and he crushed it into powder with his fist in only a few seconds.
"Right, Reno," replied Rude, with a short nod.
Just then, as if on cue, their ride flew overhead and landed at the pick-up point. Tseng jumped out of the helicopter and walked over to them.
"So…how did things go with AVALANCHE this time? Let me guess…you got hurt pretty bad, and you need a week off," said Tseng, turning to face Reno.
"Uh…actually I'm fine," said Reno, with a small shrug.
"I'm pleasantly surprised," replied Tseng, with a snort.
The four of them went back to the helicopter. As soon as it lifted off for its short trip to the other ruined Mako Reactor by Gongaga village, Scarlet got up and caused a scene.
"I haven't slapped anyone in a while! I simply must slap someone soon or I'll go crazy!" exclaimed Scarlet.
Everyone stared at her as if she was a psychopath.
"You're all ready crazy," muttered Reno, not even bothering to look up at her.
Scarlet slapped him across the face, though it didn't seem to cause him much harm, and she was about to do it again when Tseng jumped in front of her.
"No! Don't slap him! If you want to slap any one, slap me. I can take it," said Tseng, coolly, not wanting Reno to cause even more health insurance premiums.
Scarlet looked at him for a few seconds. She muttered something that no one else heard, and sat back down without setting a hand on anyone.
"Hey, Rude! Scarlet must like Tseng! She refused to slap him," joked Reno, sniggering.
Tseng felt sickened at the very thought of it.
"What did you say!?" snapped Scarlet, as she stood up, her angry face nearly as red as her dress and she kept slapping Reno across the face again until Tseng yanked her away. Reno yawned dully, although his cheeks ached slightly. Scarlet slapped him across the face again.
"Scarlet! We're almost at the other Mako Reactor. Come on!" said Tseng.
Scarlet slapped Tseng across the face in response, and she and Tseng walked out of the helicopter to expect the second and last Reactor in Gongaga (which was also in ruins, caused from an explosion due to a malfunction, though Shinra Incorporated believed otherwise).
Elena approached Reno with a green Materia in her hand.
"Need Rude's Cure Materia, Reno?" asked Elena.
"Nope, I got a woman ring, Elena. Protects against female attacks, remember?" joked Reno, sarcastically.
Scarlet and Tseng quickly arrived back, and got back on the helicopter, Scarlet having decided that the other Mako Reactor was also clearly a failure. Once they were inside, the helicopter took off for Midgar. Reno looked sleepy.
Next to him, Rude looked ready for a nap too. Elena had quietly changed seats, so that she was sitting next to Tseng instead. As much as Tseng resented it, it was a lot better than sitting next to Scarlet.
"That sure was a wasted trip. We let AVALANCHE go, and we didn't even find Sephiroth or that perverted wacko, Don Corneo either," muttered Elena.
"Don't tell me. Tell the one who thinks she's in charge," muttered Tseng, sneering at Scarlet, who didn't notice.
"Well…hopefully Reno got the need for revenge out of his system, at least," said Elena.
Reno opened his eyes, and glared at Elena to tell her he was listening when a sudden shriek from Scarlet quickly broke the silence.
"AHHH!!!! I lost an earring!! Pilot, turn back! Turn back, I say!!" shrieked Scarlet.
Tseng had finally had enough of this. He quickly got out of his seat, annoyed and angry.
"Yes, pilot. Let's drop Scarlet off at the Reactor," said Tseng, irritably.
The helicopter pivoted to one side as it made a U-turn.
"Oh, thank you, Tseng! That was a very special earring!" said Scarlet.
"Happy hunting then," said Tseng, as he quickly slid the side door open and kicked Scarlet overboard.
He watched with pleasure for the few seconds it took for her from the helicopter to fall a hundred feet to the ground, screaming all the way. Reno quickly opened his weary eyes.
"Did she land on a spike?" asked Reno, hopefully.
"No, some stupid bush broke her fall," replied Tseng, in disappointment.
"Why can't I ever get that lucky?" muttered Reno, with a weary sigh. Tseng closed the side door and turned back to face his accomplice.
"So? Do you have it?" asked Tseng, curiously.
Reno laughed as he held out an earring in his hands.
"Yeah…She'll be occupied looking for that earring for a long time. Too bad she doesn't know it's right here. And even if she reports us for this, Rufus will never believe what she says anyway. Finally, we got our own back on her for the way she's treated us all the time, and for the humiliation she caused us over the years. Nobody messes with the Turks of Shinra!" said Reno, grinning.
The others nodded in agreement.
****************************************************************
Meanwhile, Cloud and the others went back to the jungle and they took a different route this time and they came to the village of Gongaga. Another Mako Reactor was nearby the village but this Reactor was also destroyed.
"Another ruined Mako Reactor…" said Cloud, thoughtfully.
Cloud and the others walked along the village until they walked into a house. An old man and woman were standing in the front room of the house, and turned to face them in surprise.
"Are you a traveller? Hey, wait a moment…that glow in your eyes! You're from SOLDIER, aren't you?" asked the old man, suddenly bright with curiosity.
"Oh, you're right! Don't you know anything about our son?" asked the old woman, urgently.
"His name is Zack. It's been ten years since he left for the city, saying that he didn't want to live in the country no more. He left saying that he's going to join SOLDIER. Have you ever heard of a Zack in SOLDIER?" asked the old man.
"I don't know…" said Cloud, surprised.
"Zack…" whispered Aeris, looking suddenly very stunned and speechless, her beautiful emerald green eyes widening in surprise, and she took a few steps backwards in shock.
"Young lady, do you know him?" asked the old man.
"I remember he wrote to us, six or seven years ago, saying that he had a girlfriend. Could that have been you?" asked the old woman, curiously.
Aeris jumped in surprise, startled, and then she quickly ran out of the front door without saying a word.
Tifa ran out the door after her, but she also seemed to be thoroughly surprised by the name, 'Zack', as well.
"(What's up with them?)" thought Cloud, bewildered, but even he thought there was something strangely familiar about that name…Zack…
Shaking his head, Cloud ran outside the house, while the others waited elsewhere in the village, and Cloud soon found Tifa further down the village.
"Zack…" said Tifa, thoughtfully.
"Do you know him?" asked Cloud, curiously.
"No, I don't know him!" shouted Tifa.
"Your face tells me differently," said Cloud, flatly.
"I told you, I don't know him!" shouted Tifa.
"Alright," sighed Cloud, wearily, seeing that there was no way to get Tifa to say otherwise.
"That just sounded a lot like you, that's all. Leaving town and saying that you're going to join SOLDIER," said Tifa.
"There were a lot of guys like that back then," said Cloud, unconvinced by what she was saying, but deciding to keep quiet about it.
"You must be really something. Making it in SOLDIER out of a group like that. I really respect you," said Tifa, staring at him with admiration.
"I worked hard for it," said Cloud, shrugging.
"Hard work pays off, huh? Cloud…thanks for caring," said Tifa, smiling, and suddenly, Tifa kissed Cloud on the cheek.
Cloud blushed and turned away, but he was grinning, and then he ran off to look for Aeris, and found her alone, standing behind a house, facing a rock. Cloud was startled to see a few tears dripping down Aeris's face.
"Aeris…?" said Cloud, moving towards her, and putting a hand on her shoulder to comfort her. Aeris turned around to face Cloud, and tried to smile but didn't succeed.
"What a shock…I never knew that Zack was from this town…" said Aeris, sadly.
"You know him?" asked Cloud, surprised. Aeris sighed.
"Didn't I already tell you? He was my boyfriend years ago, my first love. Zack…a First Class SOLDIER. The same as you were, Cloud," said Aeris.
"That's strange, there aren't that many people who make First Class, but I've never heard of him," said Cloud, slowly.
"That's all right. It's all in the past now. I was just worried about him because I heard he's been missing for a while now," said Aeris.
"Missing?" asked Cloud, concerned.
"I think it was five years ago. He went out on a job back then, and he never came back. He loved women, and he was a real lady's man. He probably just found someone else. I don't really mind that I haven't heard from him. But I feel sorry for his parents," said Aeris.
Then looking closely at Cloud, her depressed look vanished as a big, amused smile appeared back on her face.
"Are you...jealous? Hmmm? Hmmm? Are you, Cloud?" said Aeris, grinning.
Cloud jumped in surprise, trying to keep himself from blushing. Aeris smiled and pulled Cloud close to her and kissed him right on the lips.
They both wrapped their arms around each other, and kissed each other deeply, for long minutes they remained unwatched and undisturbed.
Cloud and Aeris continued kissing each other passionately, their arms wrapped tightly around each other, when Aeris suddenly let go, and stepped backwards from Cloud, her eyes beginning to fill with tears again, and Cloud was startled and concerned to see this, attempting to move towards her, but Aeris quickly shook her head and held a hand up before her.
"I can't keep fooling myself any longer, Cloud…coming here, finding out that he lived here…makes me realise that I…I really do miss him…a lot, and I still love him. I always have…and I…I just can't forget about him, no matter how hard I try. You seem so much like him in many ways, so that was what really interested me in you, but…the truth is, you're not Zack, Cloud, and it's time I accepted it, and moved on…but I just can't forget him…and I don't think you can forget about Tifa either, can you?" asked Aeris, sadly.
Cloud hesitated, before slowly nodding.
"I can't lie to you either, Aeris…Tifa does mean so much to me, and she always has. The truth is, I love you, Aeris…but I love her too…" said Cloud, quietly.
Aeris nodded slowly, tears still sliding down her face.
"I love you too, Cloud…but I love Zack as well…and he'll always be in my heart, no matter where he is. It's obvious that both our feelings lie elsewhere, Cloud, so maybe we should just forget this and just be friends again for now. I'm really, really sorry…" said Aeris, sadly, and she suddenly ran off before Cloud could say another word.
Cloud stood rooted to the spot for a moment, far too shocked and stunned to move. Finally regaining his senses, he walked back into the middle of the Gongaga village where Aeris, Tifa, Barret, Red XIII, Cait Sith and Yuffie were all waiting.
Cloud glanced at Aeris in concern, and she gave him a rather weak smile in return, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. The others, particularly Tifa, looked surprised and curious, but decided not to ask.
They all decided that Sephiroth was not in Gongaga after all, so they all left Gongaga, got back in the buggy and they continued their journey.
They travelled across fields, rivers, mountains and forests but thanks to the buggy, they did all of this without losing too much time.
They travelled in the buggy until they reached their next destination – Cosmo Canyon, which was a big town in a canyon where people studied Planet life. But they weren't prepared for the next big surprise that would await them.