Small Fry

Disclaimer: I don't own FF7, CB, and any other company or product I may mention

Not much has happened since I became a part of the Bebop's crew. Of course I've only been here for about three days. We've been living off of the bounty with Andrews even though we thought we would get charged with the buildings clean up. It turned out that some insurance company signed with Andrews so they got charged. I could see them crying out as the repo-men did some rearranging. It had to be about 8:00 a.m. Tuesday, the usual time for me to get my training in for about three to four hours.

Faye walked around the empty, cold, metal halls of the Bebop wearing some loose gray sweats and a cut off sleeveless black shirt. Boredom was biting at her as she managed to find her way to Cloud's training room. She looked upon the equipment: Two speed bags, three heavy bags each one heavier than the other going from lightest to heaviest left to right, a padded foam white mat, a huge sword that had two small holes in them. One hole was filled with a green jewel while the one next to it had a gray jewel, and two double end bags both pretty small.

"I'm sure he wont mind if I just play around a little. He said we're welcome to train with him." Faye said walking up to the small speed bag on the right. "Now let's see as this works, I heard it's all beat."

Slowly Faye began to pound the bag with pinky side of her left fist, the bag bounced away, back, and away again.

"Hmm. Catchy." She hit the bag twice each with a three bounce interval.

She hit it three times, then four, then, five and then couldn't stop. She kept a slow steady beat pounding the bag once with both hands and sometimes two hits per hand.

"I can do this with my eyes closed." Faye arrogantly said while stopping.

Slowly she started up picking up speed. Her hands moved furiously then she hit the bottom of the bag causing it to bounce wildly. She had no chance of saving her rhythm.

"Okay, no problem." Faye said.

She started again and again after picking up some speed she lost her beat and hit the bottom the bag.

"All right, just keep trying." Faye said surppresing frustration.

Again she started, picked up speed and hit the bottom of the bag again.

"Y'know it's no big deal, I'll do this some other time." Faye said walking away.

But when she took five steps away she turned around.

"Damn bag." She walked back up to it and with furious concentration began hitting the bag.

She kept a beat better by tapping her left foot which was planted half a foot past her right. She started to pick up more speed and eventually surpassed her previous attempts.

"Haha! I knew I'd beat this." Faye said while continuing to pound away at the bag.

She began to move her hips with the beat of the bag, but she ended up hitting the bottom of the bag again.

"Fuck!" She yelled.

"Y'know." I said.

"Argghhh!" She shrieked jumping back wide eyed. Looks like I caught her off guard.

"Getting mad only makes it difficult." I said while putting my clear water bottle down next to the speed bag to the left of Faye.

I took off my short sleeve Adidas gray shirt. I was wearing some black athletic pants with three white strips going from my waist down to the end of my pant legs. I was wearing some high tops white and black Adidas.

"Wow, those scars." Faye said looking at the scars I've received since my journey to defeat Sephiroth.

Remembering that name shot adrenaline through me as rage slightly built up.

"How did you get them?" She asked reaching out to touch them.

"Just a forget-me-not from my past." I said with a smirk.

I began hitting the speed bag starting with my right fist and alternating with every hit.

"You're pretty good." Faye said.

"That he is." Spike said.

"Damn! Doesn't anybody make sound anymore!" Faye yelled as she was yet again caught off guard.

"Maybe you should start paying attention to your surroundings." Spike said.

"Maybe you should leave me alone." Faye said with some attitude.

"He's got a point." I said.

I quit hitting the speed bag and looked back at Spike, he was only wearing some carolina colored loose pants, and some athletic Nikes that wore black and carolina. His hair was the usual green mess, like mine. A blonde spiky mess.

"Why's everybody ganging up on me?" She asked.

I didn't respond and went on to continue my work on the speed bag. Spike began practicing his moves on the mat and Faye went back to the speed bag. We all stayed in there to train.

"Breakfast!" Jet yelled at the entrance of the training room.

"All right." Me and Spike said at the same time.

"I'm almost finished." Spike continued after hesitating.

"Almost like brothers." Faye said.

" What." We both began again.

"Is it." I finished after an ackward hesitation.

Jet stood there in the doorway for a second with a confused look on his face even though he had his shades on "Bacon and eggs."

After about thirty minutes we finished training and breakfast. Jet went to the terminal to check out the latest bounty, we needed a quick little bounty to make sure we wore secure with our money.

"Okay take a look, we've got a five million wulong reward for a Kennith Wulff or "The Candyman." 28 years old. Drug dealer gone rogue with a couple of pounds of coke." Jet informed.

"How many?" I asked.

"About 800 lbs. of pure powder." Jet said. "He's trying to sell it all so he can dissappear on Venus in Philadelphia 3."

"Ohhh. That shit hole." Spike joked.

"Not worse than Jersey." Faye said.

I hadn't been off Aeris before so I just stayed quiet. After about three hours we departed Aeris' space by the gateway. We traveled through the jump which even though everybody except me wasn't glued to the windows watching the streaks of yellow go by in an amazing flash. Last time I saw something like this it almost killed me with Mako poisoning. As I sat by the window by myself in the dark Faye walked in.

"You seem to be having fun." Faye said beyond bored.

"I've never seen anything like it before, well once." I said not even looking towards her.

"You'll get bored of it very soon." She said standing next to me.

"So Cloud, why do your eyes glow like that?" Faye asked.

"Jenova." I quietly said to myself.

"Huh?" She asked.

"Mako injection." I said pointing towards my neck on the right side.

"Mako?" Faye asked.

"It's an...energy source the people on Aeris used." I said trying to not sound like a maniac.

"Energy? Why isn't it still used?" Faye asked.

"It was a natural energy source, but it had a bad side-effect. It actually killed the planet slowly." I said now looking towards her. The room was lit by flashes of yellow.

"Killed it! So can any planet use Mako?" She asked.

"Hmm. I'm not the one to ask about that." I said.

"Really. So you just got an injection for no reason?" She asked.

This memories of my past wore starting to open old wounds. I had to think of a quick lie, I couldn't tell her I was a clone. I came to terms with my past fairly easily, I was surprised that Tifa accepted me even though I was basically the son of a mass murderer and born of science. Well it doesn't matter I'm here now.

"Well." Faye said.

"I was a soldier." I said. "All members wore injected with Mako. Enhances strengeth, speed, reaction time, intelligence, and anything else along those lines you can think of." I said.

"Oh, so that's how you can identify each other?" Faye asked. "So why'd you join us anyway. Don't you have a significant other?"

Why is she quizzing me?

"Actually yeah I do." I said, the thought of Tifa hit me like a body shot. Of all the times she helped me get through some of the worest experinces of my life and some how I keep hurting her. Last time I called her I suggested she should forget about me and lead a normal life. She refused violently as she could over the phone, I expected that but I couldn't stand watching somebody in pain over me.

"So what the hell are you doing here and not with her?" Faye asked.

The nightmares still came, I really should try to see a shrink. I kept having dreams of Sephiroth, Aeris, beasts, and demons. All of my dreams usually ended with something being maimed or killed and me waking up sweating.

"I did something really bad...something I have to handle before going back." I said.

"How do you know she is still waiting for you?" Faye asked.

"I know because every time I tell her to forget about me she starts yelling and screaming." I said chuckling. "And what about you and Spike?"

"That arrogant, asshole!" Faye yelled. "Every time I try to be nice to him he always does something stupid."

"Maybe he doesn't know how to respond to you." I said.

"Maybe he is still in love with a corpse." She said.

"Corpse, Spikes got one hell of a past huh?" I asked.

"You wouldn't believe." Faye said.

She went into a deep explination of past events she shared on the Bebop which took a very long time. By the time she finished we exited the gate and had already docked on Venus.

"So where do we start?" I asked.

Spike and I wore just leaving the ship docks. The area was indoors and had a high tech look, everything was made of some kind of blue allow. People crowded the area wearing various styles of clothes but all casual. The clean, neatly polished windows showed the yellowish sky outside. Small islands with heavy vegetation floated in the sky like gravity never existed. They released small white...somethings that floated lazily to the ground level like snow flakes.

"I'll talk to the local shaman." Spike said putting his hands behind his head and walking off. He wore his usual blue suite with yellow shirt that was sloppily done.

"Spike, Cloud!" Jet yelled our cell phones. "I'll shake down the ISSP for any info. Call me if you two find out anything."

"Call me, I've got your backs." Faye said.

"I'll talk to some contacts." I said as me and Spike split ways.

I was wearing some blue Enyce jeans, a white and blue Enyce shirt, a pair of white nike high-tops, and a brown leather jacket, my brown leather holster was inside my jacket. The holster also had the magnetic camo sheath, I the sheath still had effect through the jacket, it held my murasame which I figured would be better to use, my hair was spiked as usual. I called an old reliable contact on my cell phone.

"Hey Yuffie." I said.

"Oh what ya need Cloud?" Yuffie asked.

"Need some info on a Kennith "The Candyman" Wulff." I said.

"Hold on."

There was a long period of no talking, the only sound heard was typing.

"Wow Cloud that's pretty small. Lose your confidence?" Yuffie teased more than asked.

"Just a quick little bounty to get by." I said.

As I walked through the crowded markets people wore purchasing items from all the stands. Little trinkets, meat, fruit, spices, whatever.

"Okay Cloud, I've got a band of shinobis out there on Galbraith. You should spot them easily, they all have the Kisaragi brand on their neck and they're all Japanese. It'll cost four thousand wulongs." Yuffie informed.

"Thanks, I'm on my way." I said.

After about twenty minutes of searching, asking citizens, and dealing with some damn pick-pocket who had no idea what he was doing I finally found what I was looking for. The street was desolate and dark, almost like it was forsaken. Random street gangs stood on the side-walks, mainly blacks. I continued walking without making eye contact, I came upon a group of five men with the Kisaragi brand on their neck.

"Yuffie sent me." I said.

"Cloud, follow me." The leader said.

He was wearing black boots, black jeans, a black sweater, and a black beanie. I and the rest of the men who wore basically dressed the same walked into the run-down red brick building that had to be six stories high. We walked into the basement past the previously white walls that wore now cracked and had water stains. The steps wore metal black grating, the basemant was just regular brick and had leaky pipes.

"Money?" The leader asked as we came to a small wooden table with a single bulb hanging off a wire illuminating the room poorly.

"Yeah." I said, we hooked up our wallets and I gave him my four thousand wulongs.

"He hangs around Hillsdale dr. where he pushes from six o'clock to eleven o' clock. At eleven he heads to warehouse 17 in the Stephone lot we believe he stores is product there. Be careful though we believe he has a group that works for him to help push his product." He said.

I pulled out my .50 and checked the clip. I had four other clips each with fifteen rounds. I reloaded the clip.

"Thanks for the tip." I said and headed out to Hillsdale into the darkness to catch my bounty. It had to be around ten o'clock.

"Hey Spike, got the tip. Go to Hillsdale dr." I said.

"Yeah all right." Spike said, he seemed to have an ackward look and kind of pale.

"Just make sure you stay unnoticed. This Wulff guy may have hired some men." I informed.

Soon I came upon Hillsdale dr. that was right next to a rather large park. It had huge cement walls that had to be about twelve feet heart, no barb wire. Trees could be seen above the walls swaying gently in the wind. As I walked I saw some white guy wearing black jeans with red stitching, a red Johny Blaze sweater, a black beanie, and some black boots. He had to be about 6'2, 180lbs and was just resting against the wall just next to the corner where the wall turned left. Time to work.

"Wonder why Spike looked so scared?" I thought.

End Cloud.

"So where do we start?" Cloud asked.

"I'll talk to the local shaman." I said walking off with my hands behind my head.

My fingers wove through my green, messy hair.

"Spike, Cloud!" Jet yelled over our cell phones. "I'll shake down the ISSP for any info." Jet said. "Tell me if you two find out anything"

"Call me, I've got your backs." Faye said.

"I'll talk to some contacts." Cloud said and we split ways.

The terminal was just the same as the last time I was there. The whole place was made of a blue alloy, the clear polished windows showed the yellow sky outside with the the floating islands. Little spores fell from the islands vegetation to the ground like snow. The people crowded the terminals doing random things. As I exited through the south exit I noticed hoe slow of a day it was. Normally people would be busy working or killing time, but there was only a thin crowd. There woren't even that many cars driving along the streets, I only noticed a couple of trucks and some regular cars pass by on my way to the shamans house. Ever since I saved Tomko's life on a mission I've always been good with them. After walking a three mile or so on the streets, past the markets, apartments, and office buildings I finally came upon the shaman's small hut.

"Hey." I said walking in.

"Hmm?" The old man said, he wore an ackward tan colored poncho, tribal beads, some pants that looked like they wore carved from deer hide, some basic tan colored shoes, and a small head band that was white with red tribal designs under his mostly grey hair that was tied into a french braid reaching his lower back. His leathery red face had an ackward look, like he wasn't expecting me. Normally these guys know when company is going to arrive before it arrives.

"Something wrong old man?" I asked.

His eyes grew wide like a dog just spoke. He began trembeling as his thin body backed away from me.

"You...you can't exist." The old man said.

He didn't know me or about my past I think. I've never seen him before.

"You can't be here!" He yelled mainly out of fright.

"Hey calm down." I said taking a step forward. I reached out with my left hand to show that I was harmless.

"No!" He yelled running back and crashing into some of his random, mystic items. "You! You aren't bound by fate! You aren't human!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked backing off.

This was getting very strange, too strange for me.

"You are starless! Fate doesn't know you! The universe doesn't believe you exist! You are invisible to the great spirits!" He yelled.

"Okay I'm out!" I said walking out of his hut.

"I can not allow you to live." The old man said quietly.

I stopped with my back turned towards him and listened for a second. I began to walk agai after the silence, my boots tapped on the soft wood floor. Then I heard anothers, coming fast. Then the familiar sound of a blade being pulled from a sheath, the sound was short and sharp. A knife.

"Don't do it old man." I said. "I will hurt you."

"You must die, everything is out of order because of your kind." The man said.

My kind? If I believed this bullshit then that would mean there's more than just me.

"Everything must be put back into order. Your people must die!" The old man yelled running towards me.

His footsteps became louder. I whipped around to my left while side stepping just before the stab found it's mark. We wore outside now and the few peope roaming the streets stopped to se the specticale.

"So that's how it is?" I asked.

He was about twelve feet away due to him stumbling after missing. He ran foward again, the knife which had looked more like a shiv in his right hand he stabbed forward again. I side stepped to my left and grabbed his wrist. Using his momentum I pulled him forward and brought out my right foot which conected with his right shin causing him to flip forward and land on his back. The air could be heard exiting his lungs upon impact this the hard, black pavement.

"Y'know for an old guy you're in very good shape." I said.

I began trotting backwards loosly shift both my arms back and forth while the right side of my led forward. I began to move foward and back four times then settled with my right hand nose level but open with my fingers pointing towards him and my left hand in a fist a little ways away from my nose. My legs wore a little beyond shoulder length after I grinded them into position. The old man ran foward again slashing horizontally left to right, I jumped back to barely avoid the silver blade. I wanted to keep in close range, again he tried to stab at my neck. I dodged left outside the stab while batting the strike away with my right hand which I clenched into a fist and launched a quick jab, left cross, then right hook to the body. The old man stepped back after the blows connected, he looked at the ground then fell to his knees, then collapsed out cold.

"Didn't really want to do that." I said reflecting on my little battle.

"Hey Spike, got the tip. Go to Hillsdale dr." Cloud said over our cell phones.

"Yeah all right." I said.

What was that old man talking about?

"Just make sure you stay unnoticed, this Wulff guy may of hired some men." Cloud said and then cut contact.

Better get my ass down there then.

End Spike.

I walked to the wall close to the corner as possible without being seen. He would know I'm not an addict in a second. I looked around, the neighborhood looked rough. Old shabby projects, people standing out of these buildings talking and drinking, I haven't seen a cop come through in a while. A group of four men all latin wore standing across from Wulff, they all looked rough but I could probable deal. I diguised my voice as good as I could to sound like an addict, it was only more high-pitched, stuttered more, and sounded a little scratchy.

"Hey man I heard you're the one to talk to if you wanna score some." I said while pulling my .50 from it's holster, it shined dimly in the street light nearby. A brown classic car drove by blarring rap music.

"How much you need?" He asked in a cool tone.

"I-I need." I started to speak in my real voice.

"Five." I began turning the corner with my .50 in my left hand rising from the relaxed position it was in by my thigh.

"Million." I turned farther with the gun almost completely raised up.

"Wulongs worth." I finished with the .50 pointed at his head.

He had a shocked look and was slightly crouched down, his brown eyes wore wide and the cigerat in his mouth was on the side walk now.

"You wouldn't mind taking a little trip with me would ya?" I joked. "Move."

My eyes picked up a sudden movement to my right, the latinos on the side walk wore pulling out something. .45's damn it was his men, they wore watching over him. I predicted this as a possible outcome so I was prepaired.

"Get that bitch." One said, he was tall and huge. 6'6 300 lbs easily with corn rows and was the perfect target.

He pulled out a silver .45. I fired on him first while running back around the corner. The wind rustled my hair and blew past my ears as the sound of gunfire crcked into the night sky. Two shots both connected to the torso, one below the left pec the other around the intestines. I caught a quick look at the damage, part of his chest was torn off and blood squirted from the wounds.

"Oh fuck! He got Raul!" One yelled in a panicked voice.

"You fuck I'm gonna kill you!" Another yelled out of rage.

I looked up at the wall, I could hear footsteps of three people. I could handle them but I didn't have time, I hope Spike made it here in time. I ran up the wall with two steps then grabbed the top and quickly pulled myself up.

"Holy shit he's gone." A man said with an amazed tone.

"The fuck!" Another said.

I silently landed in the pitch black park. I could only make out shadows of shapes but it was enough. I took off in a full sprint down the direction Wulff went, I had to get out of the park without having to find an exit. I continued to run on the soft grass and soild, past bushes and trees till I came upon a tree very close to the wall. I ran a litlle farther till I was in range. I jumped on the tree anout five feet off the ground, then bounded off towards the wall. I pivoted my right hand on the wall and threw my body over landing still in full sprint. I pulled out my phine from my jeans right pocket.

"Spike you get Wulff?" I asked hurriedly.

"No, I'm not even there yet." Spike said.

"All right. Go to Stephon Lot and post up near warehouse 17." I commanded in full sprint, I had one more call to make. "Faye!" I yelled.

"What, what?" She asked lazily.

"Need you now!" I yelled. "Stephon lot warehouse 17! We need your fire power and we got a bounty to transport!"

"Be there in a minute!" She yelled.

Gotta hurry.

End Cloud

"All right. Go to Stephon Lot and post up near warehouse 17." Cloud said.

He hung up, sounded like he was running. Something must have happened, I needed a ride, Stephon lot was a good distance away. Lucky for me where I was traffic picked up some.

"Taxi!" I yelled waving a hand in the air towards the yellow car. It merged out of traffic and pulled up next to me.

"Where you wanna go?" The man asked. He was very over weight and was wearing some slacks with polo shirt. He was a white guy in his forties or fifties since he was balding and the hair left in a horse shoe fashion was a mix of brown and gray.

"Stephon Lot." I said hopping in the passenger, rear door.

The interior wasn't that bad, black leather seats and it had a fresh scent that I couldn't place. After ten minutes of driving the taxi parked on the rode outside the lot and I exited after paying him the right amount. I had to hide somewhere to get the drop on Wulff.

"You there yet Spike?!" Cloud asked.

"Yeah, the front entrance." I said quietly.

After a little bit of panting from Cloud.

"I'm at the rear." Cloud quietly said.

"He's coming up on you, be ready." Cloud said.

I looked around for a hiding space. The warehouses wore close together on the back side which is probably where Wulff would enter. The front side had a grey garage style door that was huge, the warehouse had to be about two stories and it was run down. Rust, and water stains spotted the warehouse. The pipes hanging off the building wore slightly dented, the windows wore only on the second floor and ware caked in grime, but you could tell the lights wore on.

"Spike I'm near but where do you want me to land?" Faye asked from her Red Tail.

Cloud must have called her.

"Anywhere close but you wont be seen." I said running to the back entrance to the warehouse.

Me and Cloud could probably cut this guy off and drag him out silently. As I snuck into the hall alley between warehouses 16 and 17 I heard footsteps approach fast, splash in puddles in the dark grimy alley. Rats infested this place and garbage was everywhere you moved, there wore a couple of dumpsters large and small. This was gonna finally end.

End Spike

I stayed hidden in the darkness behind warehouse 17 next to a large dumpster. I heard Wulff's foot steps coming rapidly, I was hoping that Spike was hiding on the side between warehouses 16 and 17 waiting for Wulff. As the footseps drew closer I waited till...now. I sprang up holding my .50 with both hands left covering right.

"Don't move." I quietly said.

Wulff froze about fifteen feet from me. He turned around quickly only to meet Spike emerging from the shadows with his glock in his right hand.

"Walk with us." Spike said.

This bounty was bagged. Suddenly a man walked out of the rear warehouse entrance. The red door swung opend as a thin, blonde, young, white man stepped out for a smoke. He wore some brown Dickies, a white shirt, and some brown boots. I quickly whipped around and trained my gun on him. He pulled out a pack of cigarets then froze as he saw me with my gun on him. He never closed the door.

"Hey, man something wrong?" A man inside thw warehouse asked.

I mouthed out "nothing" to him but he just stood there.

"Yo man you all right?" Another asked.

He stood there, then.

"Bounty hunters!" He yelled to his comrades.

He attempted to pull out a small revolver but he never got the chance. One shot sprang from my gun into the right side of his chest, probably hit a lung. Blood erupted from the exit wound onto the door along with chunks of meat. Wulff took off in the comotion, another shot sounded then a scream. Spike shot Wulff in the leg as he sprinted down the hallway.

"Spike get him!" I commanded. "I got this!"

I reloaded my gun while running down the alley way to get some distance and hide behind a huge green dumpster. Eight men pilled out of the warehouse all wearing the same blue factory worker jump suite, like mechanics which was probably their front. The bounty was only on Wulff so these hired guns could be taken out.

"Where is he?" A man asked.

No witnesses wore around and I had to handle this fast to collect the bounty and get out of here. I grabbed my sword with my right hand, quickly I peaked out to my left to see the men and there general area. I held my left hand up loosly by my face and focused.

"Hey what's that?" A man asked.

I had just about finished as the brilliant green light circled me. I felt the all magic materia's power course through me for a second. I spun to my left and casted the spell.

"Fire3." I said with a smirk.

"Dust AAAAARRGGGHHHHH!" All of the men shrieked in pain as the alley was lit with a fiery explosion that torched the bodies and erupted into the sky. I walked off through the alley between warehouse 14 and 15 as cinders from burnt news papers and other papers glowed as they drifted to the ground like feathers. The smell of burnt flesh was heavy in the air as ashes wore blown with the wind.

"Spike you got him?" I asked.

"Yep!" Spike yelled over the roaring engine of the Red Tail.

"Yeah buddy." I said walking towards the vibrant lights in the middle of a four way intersection. Traffic was stopped as the Wulff was pinned down by Spike and Faye.

We went on to collect our bounty Venus' authorities. A cool five million.

"First thing I'm gonna do is buy some new spark plugs for my bike." I said remembering the last time I drove it how the spark plug blew out. And getting my share of the cash.

"Yay! I'm going shopping!" Faye yelled excitedly as she got her cash then ran off.

"Go for a drink?" Jet asked Spike as we went back to the Bebop to get our rides.

It was mid-day now and the streets wore much busier than yesterday. Horns honked, people cursed, kids cried, and engines roared. Before departing the Bebop in Heaven's Cloud I had something to do first.

"Hey Tifa." I said quietly in my room as Faye blasted pop music in the shower while Jet and Spike waited.

"Cloud, where are you?" Tifa asked.

"Venus babe." I said.

"How?" She asked.

"Made some new friends. Listen I can send you more money now and..." I was cut off.

"When are you coming home?" Tifa asked.

"I will, I don't know when but I will I promise you that." I said.

"Still having nightmares?" She asked.

"Yeah. Tifa they're getting worse, I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm gonna figure this out one day and I'll promise I'll never leave you again." I said.

"Cloud...you better come back to me or I'll hunt you down myself." She said.

"So how's everything?" I asked.

"All right, the dojo's going good and so's cooking for the Velvet Hammer." She said.

"Oh, good good. So you're doing well?" I asked.

"Of course. Cloud, Red XIII wants to speak with you the next chance he gets all right." She said.

"Okay. I love you." I said.

"Love you too." Tifa said and we hung up.

Author's note: Whew, it's been a while. Thanx for all of those who reviewed I really needed the motivation. Seriously appreciate it, and if you would please have a look at Devil's Fantasy. If you like this you'll like Soldier's aight

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