Cloud and the others were travelling along the ocean just nearby the shore trying to find the Temple of the Ancients or a clue that might help them find out more about it, but they were having no luck.
Suddenly, Yuffie sat back up and she looked around, and judging by the sudden look of recognition emerging on her face, she seemed to know exactly where they were.
"Head west," muttered Yuffie, as they quickly made their way back to the shore.
"West? Why west?" asked Cloud, confused and bewildered.
"Are we going to stop moving or not? My Tiny Bronco's getting water in her engine," complained Cid, sharply.
"Just go west, okay!? Thank you all for finally paying attention. Now just head west until you see a mountain range, then move in on the shores. I'll direct you to a town I know there," explained Yuffie, calmly.
"I have to agree with Yuffie's suggestion. It seems like the most logical course of action. We could rest and buy supplies," said Red XIII.
"Good idea. Okay then, Yuffie. We'll go west. Maybe someone can help us fix the Tiny Bronco and we can get back on track. We might find out something useful there too," replied Cloud, thoughtfully.
"We'll need to leave the Tiny Bronco at a shore nearby, otherwise we can't get to it on land," said Cid.
Yuffie smirked triumphantly, although Vincent, Barret and Cid were looking at her very suspiciously, as though they thought she was up to something.
But they didn't say a word, and the whole group travelled in the Tiny Bronco going west to Yuffie's hometown. They got off the Tiny Bronco onto land once they reached a beach nearby Wutai, and they headed towards Wutai, which happened to be Yuffie's hometown.
"Hey, wait a minute," said Yuffie, quickly jumping out in front of them all.
"What the hell is it!? Shouting out and jumping in front of me like that, all of a sudden! What the hell's your problem!?" snapped Cid, angrily.
"I know this area pretty well, you know. It gets pretty tough past here. Better get ready," warned Yuffie. Cid glared at her.
"Hey, are you serious!? If you're trying to con us, you won't get away with it!!" snapped Cid, more angry than ever and also getting very suspicious.
"No, it's REALLY tough," insisted Yuffie.
"What are you up to?" asked Vincent, sharply.
"There they are! Get them!" shouted a voice.
Two Shinra Soldiers suddenly ran up to them.
"Shinra soldiers!" shouted Vincent.
"It's an ambush!" shouted Tifa.
"Hey, that's not them! These are the other guys from what we heard before! They're those AVALANCHE guys!" shouted a Shinra soldier.
"Yuffie! You've sure got some nerve, kid!" snapped Cid, angrily. Cid was looking very hard and nastily at Yuffie.
A sudden realisation hit Cloud. Yuffie must have been the Shinra spy all along. The others seemed to have realised the same thing.
"Yuffie! Did you lead them to us!?" snapped Cloud, angrily.
Yuffie looked both alarmed and terrified.
"No! I…I didn't know! I had nothing to do with this one!" insisted Yuffie, desperately.
"What do you mean, this one!? So, you were planning some crooked scam the whole time!!" roared Cid, angrily and glaring hard at her.
"N-No, umm…" said Yuffie, clearly getting very nervous.
"What should we do now?" asked a Shinra soldier.
"Get them! Capture them, and ask questions later!" shouted the other Shinra soldier.
The Shinra soldiers attacked Cloud and the others, while Yuffie was running away from them, and judging by the direction she was running, she was heading to Wutai.
Cid quickly raised his spear, and he stabbed one of the Shinra soldiers with the sharp point of it, killing the Shinra soldier instantly.
Then Cid quickly spun around, and quickly stabbed the other Shinra soldier with the pointy end of his spear as well, killing him instantly.
Cid quickly reached for his pocket to get a tissue out to wipe the blood off his spear, and then he suddenly noticed and realised something else.
"What the damn hell's going on!? I knew I was missing something here! All of my Materia's gone!!" shouted Cid.
The others all searched for their Materia, and then nodded in agreement, indicating that their Materia was also missing.
"That damn little bitch!! Taking me for a fool!! No doubt about it! Yuffie was after all our Materia right from the damn start!! We're going to Wutai, right now! Don't be dragging your asses! We're going there right now! That rotten little bitch is history!!" roared Cid, very angrily.
"That lying thief!!" bellowed Barret, angrily, enraged.
"Calm down, both of you," said Red XIII, sharply and calmly.
"Everyone check your weapons and armour. If we're lucky, someone will still have some Materia left," said Cloud.
"Shit! That little bitch!!" shouted Cid.
"No one has any Materia left?" asked Cloud.
Everyone shook their heads.
"She should have been scared of ME!!" shouted Barret, waving his gun-arm about menacingly.
"She must have led us to Wutai so that she could steal our Materia, and run home with it," said Aeris, thoughtfully, who alone didn't look angry or furious, but rather disappointed.
"Then let's go give her a severe beating, Barret-style!!!" shouted Barret, firing some bullets into the air.
Aeris frowned at him, clearly not wanting Yuffie to get hurt, even for stealing their Materia.
"It'll be quite a walk to Wutai all the way from here. We should start moving right away," said Vincent.
Cloud and the others all agreed to go to Wutai to find Yuffie there, and they all headed to Wutai, each of them with no Materia left, and intending to get them all back.
Cloud and the others travelled across the vast plains, and eventually arrived at Wutai, and they entered the town. They instantly spotted Yuffie. Yuffie saw them, and she looked surprised, alarmed and terrified.
"This must be Wutai," observed Tifa, calmly, as she looked coldly at Yuffie.
"Yuffie!!! Get over here, you rotten little thief!!!" roared Barret, angrily, seething with rage.
"Yikes!!" shouted Yuffie, alarmed, and she quickly ran off.
"Nice going, shit-head!! We wanna catch the bitch, not scare her off!!" snapped Cid.
Barret glared back at him, but Aeris stepped between them before a fight could break out.
"That's enough, both of you! Okay, now let's just check inside that bar, the Turtle's Paradise," said Aeris, as she headed calmly into it.
Cloud and the others ran after her, and they went into a bar called Turtle Paradise. They didn't find Yuffie there, but instead (to their startled amazement) they found Reno, Elena and Rude sitting at a table in the bar.
Cloud and the others walked over to Reno, Elena and Rude, readying their weapons in case of a fight. Noticing them, Elena turned to face Cloud, looking suddenly shocked.
"Oh shit," muttered Barret, cursing under his breath.
"It's the Turks," said Vincent, surprised.
Having been a Turk himself long ago, Vincent recognized those uniforms anywhere, even at one glance.
"What!? It's…it's them!! You!! How did you get here!?" asked Elena, sharply, glaring at Cloud.
She quickly got up, and faced Cloud and the others.
"Never mind! I guess its fate that made us fight, right here, right now. You were lucky last time. Now you're going to be sorry you ever came in here! Get ready to die!!" shouted Elena.
Elena got ready to fight Cloud and the others, as they got ready to fight her. They were just about to fight, when suddenly Reno turned to face Elena from his seat, with an irritated frown on his face. Rude also turned to face Elena, annoyed.
"No, Elena. It's our day off. We don't have to chase them today. Let them run around making a mess. I'm just going to enjoy my day off," said Rude.
"Yeah, Elena. You talk too much," said Reno, calmly.
"W-What…?" gasped Elena, in disbelief, clearly confused and speechless.
"What are we doing out here, in the middle of nowhere?" asked Reno, sharply.
"We're taking our vacation, and resting up from our work," replied Elena, dully.
"Exactly…and now, thanks to you, our vacation is ruined," snarled Reno, clearly annoyed.
"But then we're not going to catch them!? Just because it's our day off doesn't mean that we can't do our jobs! Now come on!" protested Elena.
"No work and all play makes Reno a happy Turk," said Reno, sniggering.
"Even the booze tastes bad now," muttered Rude, sullenly.
"I'm sorry," muttered Elena, grumpily, and she reluctantly sat back down with Reno and Rude.
"Drink your drink, Rude. How long have we been a team, anyway? There sure have been some hard times being a Turk, but all in all, I'm glad I did it. I even got to meet a bunch of wing nuts like you," said Reno, turning to Cloud. Elena also turned to face Cloud, with a snarl.
"You're lucky, alright. Now get out of my sight. The next time we meet, I won't be so nice," hissed Elena, menacingly.
"To the Turks! To Reno! Cheers!" said Rude.
Noticing they still hadn't gone yet, Reno turned back to Cloud and the others.
"Listen up. Even though we're off duty, that doesn't mean that I can stand to look at your ugly faces," said Reno, coolly.
"I'll show you ugly, you little…" snarled Barret, angrily, and raised his gun-arm and aimed it at Reno, but Cloud stopped him before he could fire.
"Barret, just let it go," ordered Cloud, sharply.
Barret reluctantly lowered him gun-arm, snarled at Reno, and turned away, walking back over to the others, and they went out of the bar, and they continued to look for Yuffie, in the town of Wutai.
They went to a house that was unlocked, and they searched for her there. They found Yuffie hiding behind a curtain. Yuffie saw them, and panicked.
Yuffie quickly ran from them, and out of the house. They all followed her, and they went out of the house, but they couldn't see Yuffie anywhere.
"Well, this is interesting," muttered Aeris.
"No shit. Weird too," said Cid.
Cloud turned to face one of the villagers nearby.
"Excuse me, have you seen a young girl with a shuriken and a lot of Materia?" asked Cloud.
"You mean Yuffie? You'll have to ask Lord Godo about that," replied the man.
"Where does he live?" asked Tifa, curiously.
"Near the Pagoda of the Five Mighty Gods," replied the man, pointing to a temple-like building, which was the legendary Pagoda temple of Wutai.
"Thanks," said Aeris, as they ran off towards the Pagoda.
Inside Godo's house, they found Godo himself meditating in a room. He had black hair with a ponytail on the end of it, and he also had dark eyes, and was wearing strange garments.
Cloud noticed that he seemed to bear a strong resemblance in looks to Yuffie. Noticing Cloud and the others, Godo stopped meditating and looked up at them.
"Who is it? I don't have much money, but you should all be able to rest here," said Godo.
"Thanks, but what we really want to know is have you seen a girl named Yuffie anywhere?" asked Cloud.
"Yuffie? I'm sorry, but I don't know anyone named Yuffie," replied Godo. The others looked puzzled.
"Huh? But a guy told us to ask you about her!" protested Barret, irritated. Cloud stared at Godo suspiciously.
"I think you're lying," said Cloud, coldly, his voice icy.
"For the last time, there is no one in Wutai named Yuffie!!" snapped Godo, angrily, but also a little desperately too, as though he was trying to hide something.
"You're lying through your teeth. Now where is she?" asked Cloud, sharply, reaching for the hilt of his sword.
"Let me guess…are you people in trouble with Shinra? If you are, then I'm going to have to ask you to leave," said Godo.
To everyone's surprise, Yuffie suddenly dropped down right from the ceiling, and glared angrily and furiously at Godo, paying no attention to Cloud and the others.
"What's with you, coward!!? Are you scared of Shinra or something!!? Then why not just fall in line and obey them like all the other towns!!?" snapped Yuffie.
"Yuffie!! Come here, you little thief!!" roared Barret, moving forwards to attack her, but Aeris and Cloud stopped him before he could get to her. Barret stopped, grumbling and muttering curses under his breath in annoyance.
"Those guys are the ones who are really fighting the Shinra!!" snapped Yuffie, glaring fiercely at Godo, as she pointed at Cloud and the others.
"How dare you speak to me in such a tone!!?" roared Godo, clearly getting angry himself as well.
"You get beaten once, and then that's it!? What happened to the mighty Wutai I used to know!?" asked Yuffie, sharply, still shouting loudly and furiously at Godo.
"What gives you the right to dare speak to me in such a way!? Where did you learn such disrespect!?" snapped Godo.
"That's my style! And it's my own business, not yours, you old fart!! Don't you DARE try to dictate what I should do!!" snapped Yuffie.
"Style!? Dictate!? Throwing around all those fancy words like that!! You're a miserable daughter!!" roared Godo, angrily.
Cloud and the others stared at them in astonishment and disbelief. Yuffie ignored them, but her gaze hardened on Godo.
"Yeah!? Well you're just a sad, sorry old excuse for a father!!" shouted Yuffie, glaring angrily back at him.
In a rage, Godo then chased her out of the house, and Cloud and the others ran after Yuffie, but once again, she seemed to have given them the slip, and they couldn't see her anywhere.
Just when they were passing the bar, they spotted a big pot next to it, shaking awkwardly. Vincent, Cid, Barret and Aeris blocked one bridge outside the bar, while Tifa, Red XIII and Cait Sith blocked the other bridge outside the bar, since the two bridges were the only exits out of the bar area.
Cloud walked towards the jar, and hit it hard twice. Yuffie quickly leaped out of the pot with a yelp, and she tried to exit though the bridges, but the others quickly blocked her from escaping. Cloud walked up to Yuffie.
"You can't get away this time, Yuffie," said Cloud, coldly.
"Okay, okay, I know I was wrong. You win…I'll give you back all your Materia," sighed Yuffie, giving up.
Yuffie then took Cloud and the others back to her house, so they could get back all their Materia.
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Meanwhile, two Shinra soldiers ran into the Turtle's Paradise bar. They ran over to Reno, Elena and Rude, who were still sitting in the bar at one of the tables.
"So it seems that our reports were right. He IS here on vacation. We've finally found him here at last. We need the Turks for back-up," said one Shinra soldier.
Reno looked disappointed and irritated, and he frowned at the Shinra soldiers.
"What a drag…" muttered Reno, annoyed.
"W-What was that?" stuttered a Shinra soldier, speechless.
"Right now, we're off duty, and we can't run off to save your butts," said Reno, coldly.
"We know you're off duty, but…" began one Shinra soldier, but Reno interrupted him sharply.
"If you knew that, then don't bother us! Now get the hell out of here! Looking at you is making me sober," said Reno.
"But you all have orders from Shinra Headquarters to look for him too!" protested a Shinra soldier.
Reno just shrugged, and he didn't seem to care at all.
"Alright, that's it! We'll get him, without any help from the Turks, just you wait and see," said a Shinra soldier.
"And don't think that Shinra Headquarters isn't going to hear about this!" shouted another Shinra soldier. The two Shinra soldiers ran out of the room.
"Reno, did you honestly think that was such a good idea to do that!? I mean, is that really the way a professional Turk would act!?" snapped Elena, angrily.
"Elena, don't misunderstand. A professional isn't someone who sacrifices himself for his job. That's just a fool," said Reno, scornfully.
Elena gave up on him and she turned to face Rude.
"Rude?" asked Elena, hopefully. Rude didn't answer, and continued to drink his alcohol. Elena scowled in response, her fists clenched in fury.
"Fine! Well I don't buy that! Goodbye!" snapped Elena, and she ran out of the bar to catch up with the Shinra soldiers, not even glancing one at Rude or Reno.
Rude got up and started to go after her, but Reno stopped him, shaking his head.
"Just relax. She's not a child anymore. Let her have her own way from now on. She can take care of herself," said Reno, confidently, and Rude nodded casually in response, and sat back down again.
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Meanwhile, Yuffie had taken Cloud and the others to her house, and they were standing in one of the rooms.
"I know…the Materia, right? I have it all stored in a safe place. Follow me," said Yuffie.
Yuffie walked downstairs into another room, and they all followed her. They entered the room and stood there as Yuffie turned to face them, with a sad sigh.
"I've been hearing that ever since I was little, before I was even born, Wutai was a lot more crowded and far more important than this. It used to be a great, legendary nation. You saw what it looks like now, right? Just some old resort town. After we lost the war, we got peace, but with that, we lost something else, something important. Now look at Wutai…once so proud and great…now it's just a stupid resort. That's why, if I just had lots and lots of Materia, I could help the town become a great nation again," explained Yuffie.
"Listen, Yuffie. I couldn't care less about the history of Wutai, or about your feelings. You've got our Materia, and I want it back, right now. If you give all of our Materia back right now, we'll drop the whole thing," said Cloud, coldly and sharply.
"…I-I know that. T-That switch on the left. The Materia is in t-there…" said Yuffie, sobbing.
"Cloud, wasn't that just a little harsh!?" questioned Aeris, sharply, glancing sympathetically at Yuffie.
"No, it wasn't," replied Cloud, stubbornly and flatly.
Aeris turned away in a huff, as Cloud pressed a switch at the other end of the room. Suddenly, a large steel cage came falling down, trapping Aeris, Barret, Cid, Tifa, Vincent, Red XIII and Cait Sith beneath it. Yuffie suddenly started laughing.
"Ha, ha, ha! Suckers! Never trust anyone that easily! The Materia are all MINE! You want your own Materia? Then go find it yourselves. And remember, when you go looking for the Materia, you've got to STEEL it. Ha, ha, get it? STEEL it? HA! See you, losers," said Yuffie, snickering, and she quickly ran out of the house, leaving them all behind, trapped in the steel cage.
"That rotten little piece of shit! Cloud, open this goddamn thing!" roared Cid, angrily.
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Meanwhile, Yuffie had quickly run over to the Materia store to sell all the Materia for some decent money, but the shopkeeper wasn't satisfied.
"I don't care if they cure warts and cancer all at the same time! There ain't no market for useless crap like this. Bring me some real Materia, and then we'll talk," said the shopkeeper, shoving the bag of Materia back to Yuffie.
Yuffie stamped her foot on the floor so hard it made a mark in the floor, and she angrily slammed the bag hard, back onto the shop counter.
"You stupid old jerk! You've just got no idea at all of what this stuff does! I've seen this one guy use it to take down a horde of the un-dead and a scorpion the size of a house at the same time!" exclaimed Yuffie, angrily.
The shopkeeper raised a curious eyebrow, and scooped one of the Materia from the sack, examined it, and then put it back in the bag.
"Hmm, I thought so. This stuff is crap, and you deal's crap too, kid! Now get the hell outta here!" snapped the shopkeeper.
Yuffie was angry enough to cloud her vision, but she managed to keep her balance and snatch the Materia from the shopkeeper's hand, and snap it into her shuriken. She ran outside, and then spun around to face the shop, and grasped the Materia equipped to her shuriken, green light bursting from the ground beneath her feet as the Materia glowed brightly.
With a sudden explosion, the entire store went up in flames of fire and ash, but the fire quickly went out, leaving the store burnt and ruined.
When Yuffie turned around to see the shopkeeper, his shop had already closed up, and she could see him tearing off down the street with his entire stock (or what was left of it) in tow behind him.
Grumbling, Yuffie stepped past the burnt wreckage of the shop, and kept going on further downtown. Somebody in this worthless hometown of hers HAD to have an eye for quality…
"Hey, kid," said a voice, suddenly.
Yuffie stopped in her tracks, and turned to face the alley, where several men in suits with some kind of symbol stitched into their sleeves were beckoning her over.
"Come here, kid," the first one said again, straightening his green suit, and as Yuffie stepped over to him, he spoke up again.
"That's quite some show you just put on back there. My boss is looking for talented...uh...young people such as yourself," said the first guy.
Yuffie stepped closer, hefting the Materia over her shoulder.
"I'm listening," said Yuffie.
Grinning, the man in green stepped out of the shadows, accompanied by a thin, black man with pink hair and several gold teeth. The man in green spoke again.
"Everybody calls me Scotch, because no matter what the crisis, there ain't nothing that Scotch can't fix. Allow me to introduce my associate, Kotch," said Scotch, pointing to the black man standing beside him.
"Hey, like, what's up?" said Kotch, grinning.
"Anyways, like I was saying, our boss would be very, very interested in seeing you. You seem like just the right type for him. Young, beautiful, innocent...am I right?" said Scotch.
Yuffie beamed like a fool and began to blush.
"Hell yeah! Show me right to this boss of yours! I'll charm the pants off him!" said Yuffie. Kotch snickered.
"We was hoping you would say that…" said Kotch, still grinning, and Scotch grinned too, but Yuffie was oblivious…
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Meanwhile, it had took quite a while for Cloud to sort out how to open the cage again, until he finally found the right lever, and the cage went back up, freeing the others. Cloud and the others quickly ran out of the house. But when they were outside, they couldn't see or find Yuffie anywhere.