Disclaimer: Advent Children is owned by Square-something. This is a non-profit work only for entertainment purposes.
Chapter 6
A Meeting With the Voices
Cloud pinched the bridge of his nose trying to clear the nausea swarming in him. The sway of the loading dock was not helping his efforts.
That had been the worse ride in his life.
The boat's owner had graciously allowed Cloud, the great savior of humanity to ride in his boat. A free ride these days was hard to come by. Given the rush Cloud was in he jumping at the chance before actually looking at the boat. If he had seen the boat he would not have gone anywhere in it.
It was a sturdy boat but small, extremely small. The only place for passengers was an insanely small cargo hold that was packed to the gills with supplies for Bone Village. The generous owner had no problem with cramming Cloud and the Fenrir into the overstuffed hold.
There had not been enough room for Cloud to stand and no place for him to sit properly. So the entire trip he was stuck between crates in the most uncomfortable position imaginable.
When the ship made it to open water Cloud had the joy of discovering that the blasted owner could not steer in a straight line. Not only could he not steer the man drove the small boat faster than any other vehicle Cloud had ever been in.
That part had not really been too troubling. Cloud had made it to Bone Village far faster than he had expected. It was the phone call he made on the way that was eating at him.
He had made Tifa cry.
Shaking his head sharply Cloud tried to clear his mind of anything to do with Tifa. Waves of dizziness washed over Cloud from the sudden movement. The loss of balance caused Cloud to stumble slightly. He steadied himself on the Fenrir taking several deep breaths as he waited for the world to stop spinning.
It hurt to think about Tifa. Nothing he ever did worked out the way he wanted it to. He had fooled himself into believing Tifa would not have been hurt by what he had planned to say. The guilt form the conversation was still fresh in his mind.
There was no uses thing about things he was not planning on changing. He could not let Tifa come and now she was not.
In an attempt to block out the pain he closed his eyes trying to listen for the voices. They were closer now. The ride here had giving Cloud the time to catch up with them.
As he continued listening he could feel Her presence stretching around the small town like a cloud of black smoke orientating somewhere to the north. Cloud could feel Her taint mixed into the air as it threatened to suffocated him. The pull was being transformed into a painful yank as Her mental grasp tightened against him.
Part of him wanted to throw down the Fenrir and go running blindly to Her. That part seemed to be growing by the second.
Moaning as his inner conflict continued to rage Cloud rested his aching had against the cool metal of the Fenrir. No once had he thought this would be easily but he had not expected it to be anything like this. Just standing on the ramp was casing him pain now. It felt as though his entire body was aching to go to Her.
Last time had been nothing like this. His friends simple being there had stabilized him more than he had realized. Tifa had been with him then.
"Hey you look kind of green." Cloud forced his eyes opened to see who was addressing him. A skinny teenage boy was standing in front of him curiosity more than concern was glittering in his brown eyes. The distraction allowed Cloud to refocus his mind on the mission.
Giving the teen a weak smile Cloud stood trying to look as normal as possible. His motion sickness had final passed giving Cloud one less opponent to contend with. "Yeah I don't agree with ships."
"Has any one else come through here?" Cloud known the answer even before he thought to ask the question. The question just seemed like the right thing to say.
The kid's dark eyes brightened with excitement, "Three guy came riding though on the coolest motorcycles ever." Brown eyes wandered over the Fenrir and the boy adjusted his original statement.
"Well not as cool as your but better than anything we get up here. They went through the Sleeping Forest not ten minutes ago." Looking past the dig sight to the thick forest beyond Cloud felt a sense of nostalgia.
"Don't tell me they don't have a Lunar Harp." A wry smile played on Cloud's lips as he continued looking at the forest in the distance. It almost felt like he was tracing down Aeris again.
"Why would they need one?" The mercenary sharply turned his attention from the forest to the teen. "Don't you need a Lunar Harp to pass through the forest?"
Bewildered at Cloud's actions the boy shook his head. "Not any more. Two years ago you used to or that's what my dad says. He keeps going on about something draining the forest of its magic." The teen rolled his eyes at the last part but Cloud was to catch up in his own thoughts to notice.
The Planet or Jenova. It was most likely the Plant taking the magic of the forest to sustain itself a little longer, another victim of Geostigma.
Cloud felt slightly disappointed at the fact that he had not need the Lunar Harp. Before finding a boat he had wasted valuable time finding their old one. If he had known he did not need it he could have gotten a better ride.
"Thanks." The boy had continued talking and was taken by surprise as Cloud started walking away from him. At least the kid had enough sense not to follow after the mercenary.
With the motion sickness gone Cloud's head had cleared enough for him to try and listen for the voices. Using a great deal of effort he attempted to push Jenova out of his mind. It did not work as well as he would have liked but Her call was quiet enough for him to pick out the voices.
A chill ran along Cloud's body as the voices came in clear than before. They were no longer undefined whispers in the distance. With a little more effort he felt that he would be able to pick out individual thoughts.
Cloud shook his head trying to clear it again. Being so close was messing with his mind more than he imagined. It was giving him really strange thoughts.
Midgar looked a lot different then the last time Yuffie had been there. Not that she had really seen much of the city the last time. She had been to busy fighting motion sickness and falling to actually get a good look at anything. Now that she was able to see it in the twilight she had to say she was not that impressed.
All her friends keep talking about how bad the city had gotten. It did not look that way to the young ninja. Hundreds of people were moving around the shopping district all of them seemed to be enjoying the evening.
Sure the buildings surrounding them were crumbling from decay but it was a lot better than Wutai. Back home the buildings were perfect but the people were not so happy.
Even with Shinra moving out of the provenience nothing had changed. The great city of Wutai was nothing more than a tourist trap.
But not for long, Yuffie thought with a wild grin as she continued to watch the city of Midgar move around her. After this quest she would restore magic back to the materia and use it to save Wutai.
Crazed laughter started bubble in her throat as she thought about how glories her restored Wutai would become.
Her laughter stayed where it belonged. Over the last few years she developed self-control. No longer would she laugh manically and accidentally tip off her enemies to her plans. Even with her training she was not able to completely whip the grin off her face.
"What are you smiling about?" Sighing in annoyance Yuffie stole a glance at her partner.
It seemed that Red was still upset at her for ditching him back at the outer city. She did not see why. How was she supposed to know that their where bandits crawling all over the place?
Sure it could be argued that Cid had said something about bandits before they left. But who listened to him. It was not like he ever said anything important.
Besides Red was a big, um what ever he was. He could take care of himself. Why was he even complaining? He had not even gotten a scratch from fighting all those bandits.
"Just thinking of all the fun we're going to have." Red rolled his good eye as he responded in a very sarcastic tone. "Right."
Turning her full attention to her partner Yuffie stared at him with open amazement. She was not that amazed but she was trying to annoy him. "Was that sarcasm?" Placing a hand to her heart Yuffie smirked down at him.
"I thought you were smart don't you know sarcasm is a dying man's wit." Red glowered at her jive. Then realizing that he was only encouraging her he looked away in disgust.
Laughing merrily at his action Yuffie continued looking down at her companion. No matter how Red tried to act like an adult mental he and she were the same age. Rethinking her observation Yuffie bet she was the oldest mental speaking. Oh, that gave her a whole new way of poking fun at him.
Not right now though. Red might decide to loss her in the crowd that would be annoying. The crowd streets parted for them as people got a good look at Red.
Yuffie figured it was because Red looked so feral with his scars and missing eye. Good thing he was not talking or the crowd would realize what a wimp he was.
"Do you see Tifa yet?" Placing a hand over her eyes Yuffie tried to scan the streets again for the martial artist. Since she decided to refrain from teasing Red at the moment she had gotten bored again.
So many people it was nothing like Wutai. At least like Wutai was now. Soon she would change all that. Maniacal laughter began thundering in her head again as she though of her so to be great city.
Red shook his head tiredly, "No but then I can't see over all these people." Oh yeah, Yuffie had forgotten that he was a giant cat monster. He acted too much like a person for her to remember that he was not.
Frowning Yuffie realized this was going to take longer than she planned. The crowd was to thick for her to see anything and the instructions Cid gave were pathetic.
This would have been a whole lot easier if Tifa and Cith meet them outside the city. While there were gangs and bandits running wild through the other city and it was not actually safe to go through there alone. Yuffie had no doubt Tifa could have made it without any problem. The older woman was tough. She could have easily fought off all the crazies.
Complaining to Red would have been pointless she know exactly what he would say. You could have stayed on the Highwind. Yeah right, like she wanted to say on that bucket of bolts puking up her lungs. No not for her.
"Yuffie," The ninja looked over at Red with surprise he normal did not address her in such a serious voice. The big cat was looking at the ground in an almost sheepish manner. What was his problem?
"What do you think about all this?" The ninja had no idea what he was talking about or why he was acting so strange. "All what?"
Sighing Red tried again keeping his gaze fixed on the ground. "An enemy who looks like Sephiroth, Cloud acting strange, don't you think this sounds to familiar?"
Yuffie shrugged, his question was not making a lot of sense to her. "So all this happened before. We handled it. I don't see you problem."
Once again Red sighed at the ninja's confusion. "I am trying to say it might be possible this men are responsible for how Cloud's been acting for the last year."
Red was sort of making sense now but Yuffie could not grasp his point. "So." Closing his eye Red began to speak very slowly like Yuffie was five or something. "They could take control over Cloud."
The anger Yuffie felt at Red's condescending tone disappeared as she started laughing. Startled the feline looked up at her in confusion.
Whipping tears of laughter out of her eyes Yuffie began to explain herself to her bewildered friend. "Come on this is Cloud. The great and mighty Sephiroth couldn't defeat him why would a bunch of posers be able to." Red was still looking at her with confusion probably because she had not stopped laughing during her explanation.
Taking a deep breath Yuffie was final able to stop laughing at how ridicules Red was thinking.
"Look at it this way. After the Lifestream mess Sephiroth couldn't control Cloud anymore. The only person who can mess with Cloud's mind is Cloud. He'll get over it."
"I guess that's possible." Unconvinced Red went back to looking at the ground. Not that Yuffie cared what he thought.
She was not in the mood to repeat her speech. If the guy could not figure it out the first time she was not going to waste her time re-explaining.
Bored with Red Yuffie began looking into the crowd again hoping to see Tifa. The quicker Yuffie found Tifa the quicker Yuffie could go back to saving Wutai.
After a few long moments Yuffie moaned in frustration. Tifa was nowhere in sight. The ninja began to wonder if they had passed the woman during that wasteful conversation.
Much to Yuffie's puzzlement Red raised his nose into the air and took a long sniff. The tiger looked back in her direction with a wide smile on his face or the equivalent. "Tifa is nearby."
Final. Standing on her toes Yuffie tried to see over the taller crowd in an attempt to see her older friend. Discovering that it was impossible for her to see Yuffie decided to changed tactics.
"Tifa!" With all the noise the crowd was making it should have been impossible for anyone to hear Yuffie's shout. However Yuffie's shrill cry was clearly heard throughout the entire shopping district.
Not hearing a reply, despite the impossibility, Yuffie tried again shouting much louder. All the people in a ten-foot radius of the girl covered their ears against the painful cry. Red who was not blessed with hands was only able to wince. "Not so loud." The ninja completely ignored his plead as she shouted again.
People started moving away from the shrieking girl forming a large hole in the crowd. Through the hole Yuffie was able to see a lone woman with long dark hair sitting on a bench looking down. That was Tifa.
Cheering with excitement Yuffie waved at her older friend trying to get her attention. Every person in the crowd glared at her with frustration with the exception of Tifa.
She's must be thinking about Cloud, Yuffie thought with annoyance as she realized why Tifa had not heard her. Young love, how disgusting. Yuffie was glad she did not have some man keeping her down.
"Something seems wrong." Red said with concern when the crowd had final parted enough for him to see the woman. Completely ignoring him Yuffie sprinted over to the woman.
"Hey, Teef ready to go have some fun." The ninja's excitement faded as Tifa continued looking down oblivious to Yuffie. Tifa's dark hair veiled her face but Yuffie had a sinking feeling the woman had been crying. The world had to be ending if Tifa was crying in public.
"Tifa," Yuffie's voice came out weakly as she tried to think of something to say. Comforting people was not part of Yuffie's foray.
Brushing though her short hair Yuffie realized that Red was better at this comforting thing. The ninja looked over her shoulder giving Red a pleading look. It twisted her stomach but she had no other option.
The feline took his sweet time getting over to the women making Yuffie feel even more nervous. She did not want to snap at him incase it freaked Tifa out or something. Zombie Tifa was bad but Yuffie did not believe she could handle a hysterical Tifa.
When Red final arrive he lightly nuzzled Tifa's right arm as he called the woman's name. Like that was going to work. Yuffie was annoyed and relieved as Tifa jumped slightly.
The woman looked up whipping a hand across her eyes a smile was across her face. The smile was the most miserable smile Yuffie had ever seen.
"What happened?" Yuffie blurted out. Looking at Tifa was making the ninja feel terrible. Red shot her a disapproving glare for her bluntness. Sticking her tongue out at the feline Yuffie tried again with more tact. "Are you alright?"
Taking a shaky breath Tifa nodded her head not looking either of them in the eyes. "Yes, I am sorry you came here. Cloud doesn't want any help." Acting just like a house cat Red laid his head down on Tifa's lap letting the woman brush through his fur.
Yuffie shook her head with frustration as she watched Red try to comfort their older friend. Unlike him Yuffie was not as understanding. She wanted answers now.
"What are you talking about? I thought you haven't even see Cloud." Looking away from Yuffie the martial artiest raised a glove hand to her mouth in an attempt to keep control.
"He called me. He doesn't want us to get hurt." The words came out from behind Tifa's hand in a choked mumble. Wincing Yuffie realized Tifa was able to started crying again. Yuffie could not allow that it was too freaky.
Keeping her eyes on the side of Tifa's head Yuffie tried to talk her friend out of her insanity. "Come on Tifa what's the matter with you. Remember the bad guys can sound like Cloud on the phone it had to be them." Tifa turned towards Yuffie her crimson eyes glittering with tears and hope. "You think so."
Doing her best to keep her face completely blank Yuffie tried to continue encouraging her friend. "Duh Tifa I mean come on Cloud never knows what's good for him so why would he be telling you what's good for him."
Yuffie flat out lied on a regular base it was part of being a ninja. It was very uncommon for her to feel anything that could be consider remotely similar to guilt. Looking into Tifa's hopeful eyes Yuffie could feel the foreign emotion clawing into her heart.
Yuffie had a feeling that the man on the phone had been Cloud. What was said sounded suspiciously like something Cloud would say.
Her belief was making it difficult for her to think of a reasonably good lie. The one she was currently using did not make any sense what so ever.
She could feel Red's curious gaze as he and Tifa waited patiently for her to continue. Swallowing Yuffie tried to think of something that Tifa would want to hear.
"Cloud's probably in trouble so he-"Yuffie ran a hand through her hair uncomfortable with the attention she was getting, Tifa was practical hanging on her every word.
She was not used to this. Everyone always ignored her because she was annoying. If she known having all the attention was so nerve racking she would have never tried to get it in the first place. The fact she could tell Red was laughing at her attempt was not helping her.
"Um, lost his PHS and the villains have it and they want to cut him off so they called you." She had no idea what she said after that it all became one long mindless rambling as her mouth continued running without any connection to her brain. Come on, Red you can help out.
As if he read her mind Red choose that moment to interrupt. Relief washed over her as Tifa's stare was moved to the feline. The girl sighed hoping he made more sense than she had.
"Yuffie is trying to say that even if it was Cloud calling he might not be in his right mind. If these people have a connection to Sephiroth like it seems it is internal possible they can affect Cloud in a similar manner. Therefore they might be attempting to drive Cloud from the group to assist in manipulating him further. In that case it would be best for Cloud for us to find him despite his wishes."
After finishing Red gave Yuffie a playfully wink. He total showed her up then her had the nerve to wink. Angry Yuffie stuck her tongue out at him momentarily forgetting about Tifa.
"You're right." Tifa's quiet yet strong voice broke through the pairs feuding. A triumphed smirked broke out on Yuffie's face as Red turned his attention back to Tifa looking very chastened. Unashamed Yuffie looked at Tifa relived to see a sincere smile on the older woman's face.
"Thank you." Yuffie would have told Tifa no problem but the older woman stood up suddenly giving Yuffie a warm hug. The ninja blushed knowing full well that nothing she said had meant anything.
Feeling embarrassed at being the target of such strong emotions Yuffie pushed Tifa back slightly. What would people say if they saw her being all sappy?
"Come on woman get a hold of your self. What's the toy going to say when he sees you weeping like this?" There were still tears glitter in Tifa's eyes but they seemed to be of the happy variety. That did not mean Yuffie was not embarrassed for her older friend.
Keeping a bright smile on her face Tifa nodded to Yuffie. Then the woman gave Red an affectionate pat on the head, which he grateful accepted.
Yuffie rolled her eyes at the pair. This was getting way to emotional for her all she wanted was some action. "I normal don't go by 'toy' but if Tifa wants to call me that I have no objections."
The voice caught Yuffie completely off guard. It was not that annoying Caith Sith or Reeve. No, it was that arrogant jerk Reno. What could he possible be doing here? From Tifa and Red's expression they were not expecting to hear the Turk either.
Red moved into action first leaping into a defensive stance in front of the women. Following his lead Yuffie spun around pulling a handful of shurikens out of her vest.
"What are you doing here?" It was not just Reno standing in front of them looking inhumanly smug but he had his buddy Rude with him. Frowning at her bad luck Yuffie wished she had listened to Cid and brought the Shuriken. She would have a hard time fighting with just a handful of shurikens.
Sneering at them Reno made no move to attack. He causal lighted a cigarette watching them like they were not worth his time. "Reeve's busy so he sent us. Got a problem." The last part sounded like a challenge to Yuffie. She wanted some action and it looked like so was going to get it.
"Yeah-" A strong but gentle hand gripped Yuffie's shoulder keeping her from flinging her shurikens right into that jerk's face. Glancing back Yuffie was surprised to see Tifa smiling at the Turks. Actually it looked like she was smiling at Rude.
"Hi Rude how is Elena?" Yuffie jerked her head around to see how Rude would react to such a friendly question from Tifa. To her surprise the dark Turk shrugged slight. "She's alive."
Red's tail twitched in irritation showing his confusion. Why on the Planet would Tifa be on friendly terms with two of them? From Tifa's smile it seemed like they where on very friendly terms. Yuffie bet Cloud did not know about this or he would not have left.
"Tifa," Red looked back towards the woman confusion written all over his face. "How...why are you and Rude so friendly?" Turning red with embarrassment Tifa sheepishly brushed through her dark hair. That was what Yuffie wanted to know. She just could not think of a nice way of asking.
"Rude and Elena have been helping out around the orphanage." Rude a Turk was helping little kids that just did not see possible. "Say what?"
"Can we please stop talking about Rude?" The irritation in Reno's voice caused Yuffie to turn back to the black suited men. No way, Reno actually looked flustered. Even stranger Rude actually looked smug or as smug as an expressionless person could. There most have been something very interesting going on. Something Yuffie really wanted to know.
"I want hear about this." Reno's face turned as red as his hair. This was really bothering him Yuffie thought with amusement.
"Just shut up brat." The Turk's growl only made the young ninja more interested. Tilting her head to the side Yuffie continued pestering him. "Come on Reno I bet everyone wants to know."
Taking a step forward Reno reached for his electro-rod his intent written all over his face. "I don't give a -" His progress to Yuffie was halted as Rude grabbed his arm. "Come on lets go." Violently Reno ripped his arm out of Rude's grip taking a long drag from his cigarette. "Whatever." He sullenly replied.
Yuffie's taunting had never caused anyone to react so violently before. Enjoying Reno's reaction Yuffie opened her mouth to continue.
Before one word came out she felt Red's mouth wrap around her leg. "Be quiet." He growled up at her tightening his grip on her leg. Scowling down at him Yuffie defiantly folded her arms across her chest. There was no way she was going to let him bully her out of her fun.
"Yuffie can you antagonize Reno latter we have to find Cloud and Marlene." Yuffie's resolve broke as she looked into the older woman's eyes. "Alright," she said with a sigh. It was not like she could not bother Reno on the ride to wherever they where heading.
"Thank you." The older woman whispered softly to Yuffie a bright smile on her face. Probably thinking all about Cloud. Disgusting.
Using her right hand Yuffie waved the thank you away. "Let's just get out of here. I've got better things to do." Everyone was going to think she was a softie after this.
The pressure on her leg disappeared. Red had final decided to release her. Giving her a brief smile Red began walking back towards the Highwind. What was his problem?
"So we can leave now." Testy, Yuffie thought with a smile as she realized just how far she had gotten under his skin. She could not help wondering what was causing him to act so un-Turk like. Maybe it was his time of the month.
Before Yuffie was able to share her opinion on Reno's mood a low growl rang out over the noisily backdrop of the crowd. The Turks and the members of AVALACHE tensed at the sound.
That had not sound like a dog. Yuffie' grip on her measly handful of shurikens tightened as she scanned the crowd. That had sounded like a monster. Since when did monsters roam crowded streets?
Yuffie spotted a blur of motion heading directly towards the Turks. "Watch out," Screaming at the top of her lungs Yuffie tried to warn them even though she knew it was too late. Thing was moving so fast they would not have time to react.
Then it did the strangest thing. Instead of attacking the Turks it leap right over their heads. Yuffie did not have a chance to ponder on the strange behavior because her full attention was on the huge mass hurling directly towards her. Terror spiraled through Yuffie freezing her to the spot.
"Move." Without conscious thought Yuffie reacted to the command by flipped to the right in an attempt to avoid the thing. Her sense returned to her as she heard a something wooden shatter.
"Tifa!" That had to be the bench behind Tifa. Terrified Yuffie tried to turn in the flip to see if her friend was still alive. Her desperate attempt to see what was happening destroyed her flip causing her to go crashing into the ground.
That hurt, landing hard on the ground Yuffie laid there a moment wondering if she had broken anything. A loud growl pulled Yuffie out of her dazed state.
Looking up slightly Yuffie was final able to see the monster. It was huge. In all her travels the ninja had never seen anything like that before.
The monster had an almost feline body type however it was not like other cat monsters. It was almost as large as a car with an olive green skin covered by organic looking gray armored skin. At its feet were the remains of the bench.
It did not look like Tifa had been squashed because the only thing under the monster feet was wood. So where was the martial artiest.
Ten feet in front of the beast something small and dark was falling to the ground. The dark thing was Tifa. With cat-like grace Tifa came out of her flip landing in a perfect battle stance facing the monster. Yuffie's face flushed as she thought back to her own landing.
In raged the beast growled jumping towards the dark haired woman. The creature's movement appeared to be nothing more than a blur. Yuffie saw Tifa's eyes widen as the woman realized how fast the monster was moving. At the creature's current speed Tifa would not be able to get out of the way.
Inspired by her friend's predicament Yuffie valiantly tried to get back on her feet. Her still aching body was not quite ready to obey her commands. Angry at her position Yuffie tried to think of some way of saving her friend from being ripped to shreds.
Like a streak of lighting, something large and red collided into the beast knocking it out of the air and away from Tifa.
Yuffie cheered as she realized that the red missile was no other than Red.
The beast landed perfectly on all four feet. Then it stumbled as Red landed squarely on it's back. Crying out in rage the beast began trying to shake the large feline off it's back. To keep from being dismounted Red dug his claws between the creature's armored plates for an unbreakable grip.
Yuffie blinked as she stared at the strange sighted. It looked like someone had tied a cat to an angry dog. What was he think? No one would be able to help him as long as he was on top of that thing.
As Yuffie soon discovered Red did not need any help in defeating the monster. Stretching his body forward Red ensnared the monster's unprotected neck with his large jaw. A loud snap was heard throughout the now empty shopping district.
Instead of falling forwards into a very dead heap the creature did something far more disturbing. The creature stumbled forward. It's broken neck still in Red's firm grasp for an instant it looked like it would continue fighting. Then the creature collapsed dissipating into a glowing green mist.
With nothing left to support him, Red went tumbled to the ground. He was in such a deep state of shock that his feline reflexes were unable to save him from landing in an ungainly heap.
This would have been a perfect opportunity to tease the cat but Yuffie had barely noticed his fall. Her eyes like everyone else were on the fading green mist hanging over the fallen Red.
Monsters did not just disappear into thin air or green light to be appropriated. All the monsters Yuffie had ever seen had left a body just like every thing else on the Planet. Turning into green mist made the monster seem almost otherworldly.
As she continued watching the mist completely faded making it seem that the beast had not excited in the first place. No one spoke for a moment as they tried to gather what they had just witnessed.
The silence of disbelief hanging over the district was shattered very abruptly. "What was that?" Reno's question awoke everyone out of the state of shock that had settled over the group.
Now that everything seemed normal again Yuffie tried to return to her feet. She winced as pain shot through her halting her efforts.
While nothing had been broken from her poor landing Yuffie felt as though she had become one giant bruise. Too bad her materia was not working. She could really use a cure spell.
Sighing in annoyance Yuffie looked around to see if she could get some help from her comrades. The boys were all standing where the beast had died. They looked to be examining the area probably for a clue as to what it was.
Yeah pay attention to something that's dead and not your hurt ally, Yuffie thought with a growl as she wished bad things to happen to those insensitive jerks. She could understand the Turks but Red. Was not he her friend? How could he leave her here like this?
"Need a hand." Looking away from the targets of her anger, Yuffie saw Tifa's black-gloved hand reaching down to offer assistance. Yuffie glared at the hand hating the idea that she needed the help. It was shaming for a ninja to get help.
Reluctantly, Yuffie accepted the help. Grabbing Tifa's hand, Yuffie let the older woman pull her to her feet. Tifa being herself said nothing making Yuffie more infuriated.
After getting to her feet Yuffie stumbled a moment from a sudden bust of pain. Tifa helpful as ever tried to stabilize the younger woman but Yuffie waved her attempt away. This time ninja was not going to accept any of Tifa's humiliating help.
Her body final got reacquainted with the idea of standing causing Yuffie to sigh with relief. For a moment there she had been concerned that she had caused herself permanent damage. Her body was just sore. All she needed to do was stretch the kinks out and she would be fine. A lot of ice packs would not hurt either.
"You okay." Yuffie had forgotten that Tifa was still standing there. Concern was etched on the woman's face making Yuffie felt very uncomfortable.
"Yeah, why don't you go and rescue Cloud?" Tifa turned away from Yuffie trying to hide the blush that was growing across her face. The attempt failed.
Feeling much more like herself Yuffie allowed herself a predatorily smile. She had not gotten a chance to tease Tifa because of this whole comforting thing. Now that Tifa was normal Yuffie could have some fun. Unlike Red, who would just ignore her, Tifa would actually get all flushed much more fun to watch.
At the exact moment Yuffie planned on starting Tifa stiffened. Sure that the older woman had not read her mind Yuffie tried to think of what could have caused the strange reaction. Oh, there might be another one of those creatures running around. Yuffie had not thought of that before.
In most case powerful monsters like that only attacked one at a time. If there were more Yuffie was not worried. Red had taken the first down without a problem. With the whole group ready another would be child's play.
Looking past her friend's tense form Yuffie tried to see where the next monster was. Her eyes practically bulged out of their sockets. On top of the run down building right in front of the women stood not one monster but five. Every single one of them looked prepared to pounce at a moments notice.
Yuffie tried to fight down panic. This beast looked like they were all planning on attacking them at once. There was no way their small group would be able to fight off so many monsters.
The beast seemed to be waiting for something. Reno cursed behind them causing Yuffie to whip her head around to see what else could go wrong.
Right in front of the Turks was an almost mirror image of what was behind Yuffie and Tifa. Five beasts were situated on a building's roof predators ready to strike.
An ambush. Yuffie moved closer to Tifa wishing that she had a really weapon. The small shurikens she had would do nothing against these things. Materia would be really useful right now.
Her movement attracted the attention of the beast. There empty eyes focused completely on her sending shivers of pure terror through her body. She had not felt like this since the final fight with Sephiroth.
At once every single beast let out a low growl as the leap towards the heroes.
The sleeping forest was just as exotic looking as it had been two years ago. Just like last time Cloud had little time or thought to appreciate the breathtaking beauty. Both times he had come through here were for the same reason, to save the girl and defeat the enemy. Last time he had failed on both parts. Cloud tried not to think about the outcome of this venture.
The forest was thick with magic. Cloud had felt the forest's magic long before he had stepped foot under it's canopy. Even though the magic was thick in the air the boy had been right. The magical defense of the sleeping forest had faded away.
The boy's father had been right about the forest as well. The mystical energies of the forest pulsing like a heartbeat, a dying heartbeat.
Two years ago the magic of the forest had been so thick it nearly suffocated Cloud even while using the Lunar Harp. The magic no longer pressed against the traveler but was stretching itself thin in an attempt to cover the old territory.
Passing though the forest Cloud sensed many areas that were completely void of magic. In month or so the forest would fade away another causality in the war between the Planet and Jenova.
The magic that was left resided in select trees that glow with an unearthly light and as tiny spheres of light that weaved through the trees like over sized fireflies. It was an eerie reminder of what could happen to the children if he did not stop Jenova.
Even without it's protective magic the forest keep a revenant silence. The loud roar of the Fenrir's engine seemed oddly mute to Cloud as he traveled though the forest. It felt as though he was riding through an ancient church rather than a forest.
The silence was more unnerving than comforting to the mercenary. At an undetermined point ahead of him Cloud could feel that the voices had stopped.
The pause disturbed him because they where still far away from the call of Jenova. There was little doubt in Cloud's mind where their destination was. The pull was almost unbearable for him. He could only image want it most be like for someone actually obeying Her. They would not have stopped for anything that was unnecessary for Her survival.
Giving the circumstances he assume they were planning an ambush for him. The thick forest would grant excellent cover for an ambush.
The advantage of being about to hear the voice was fading like the surrounding forest's magic. Cloud could detect the voices but it had become impossible for him to sense more than their general location. The call of Jenova rang so loudly in his mind he could barely focus on the voices.
Cloud was not worried about being unable to locate them directly. This was hardly the first time he had been ambushed in his life. Before he had been able to locate the enemy by using his mako enhanced senses and past experience.
The voices themselves were far more troubling than their location. Now that he was closer to the voices he was able to make out three distinct voices. Even with the call of Jenova clouding his perception Cloud could sense they were powerful.
Their true power he was still unable to sense but instinctively he knew he could match them individually. The fact that he knew this with such surety was deeply disturbing. The mere fact that he was able to detect them was troubling but now he was able to tell more than just locating. Sephiroth had been able to do such things.
Cloud jerked his head violently forcing that thought away. Thinking such things would only cause pain and confusion that would interfere with his ability to rescue Marlene. Those thought were for another time. Or not at all, Cloud wished silently.
They were together now and fighting them as a group would be difficult if impossible. Knowing the odds Cloud had derived a possible plan of action. It was childishly simple grab Marlene and run.
He planed on taking Marlene to Bone Village and sending her away on one of the ships. Traveling on a ship alone was not safe for a small child but it was the safest option Cloud could think off. He would then find some way to divide the voice so he could take them out one at a time.
The plan was flawed but it was the only way he could possible defeat them with the resources he had available. A head on confrontation would be suicide. Dying now was not an option. There would be no one left to kill Jenova.
A small part of him began wishing that the others where there. If they were he could stand a chance against all of the voices at once. Someone would be there to take Marlene back to safely.
Ruthlessly he pushed away those unproductive thoughts.
The others could not be here. Cloud was just as dangerous as any of the voices. Any moment he could be subjected to another delusion.
He had no idea what he was capable of during the extent of the delusion. The bruise around his throat was evidence enough that he would react violently. Anyone near him was at risk. He could risk his only friends like that especially not Tifa. Out of all of them she would want to be by his side.
Even without the delusion Cloud was dangerous. The presence of Jenova was so overpowering he was not sure he would be able to keep full control over himself. Struggling to protect them from him would cause him to become distracted. In order for him to kill Her he would need his full focus. For better or for worse he would fight this battle alone.
Their here, the presence of the voices seemed to solidify in front of Cloud causing him to jerk his head forwards. The headlight of the Fenrir cut through the darkness of the forest illuminated three young men standing on the road ahead of them.
They were not planning on ambushing him like he had originally thought. Maybe they realized they would not have to in order to kill him Cloud thought grimly as he looked at them.
The distance and the poor lighting made it difficult for Cloud to make out their features. They did seem much younger than he had expected.
He smiled darkly to himself as he realized he had not even thought about what they would look like. They had always been the voices. Cloud had never considered giving them faces or personally. The impersonally keep him for dwelling on the thought that he could have been one of them.
Cloud felt his stomach twist they were wearing black leather like... Focus; tearing his gaze away from the men he scanned the area for Marlene. There was no trace of girl. There went his plan. He would not be able to grab and run if he could find the person he was trying to grab. The only thing he could do now was improves.
As Cloud drew nearer to the men the two taller the men raised their arms revealing that each was armed with a wicked looking pistol. Without warning they opened fire.
Cursing his lack of foresight Cloud swerved slightly dodging their first storm of bullets. Unlike Cloud's normal opponents they did not continue blindly shooting at the mercenary.
The longhaired one took aim and fired a single shoot directly at Cloud's head. There was on time for Cloud to consciously react to the well-placed shot. His mako-enhanced reflexes kicked in forcing Cloud to jerk his head in an attempt to dodge. The reaction had been enough to save him from having his head blow off. The bullet had gone flying by his face almost grazing his left cheek.
The only way he was going to survive was to keep them from shooting at him. He was sure his reflexes would not save him from another shot like that. A risky plan began to form in his mind as he continued heading towards them.
Accelerating the Fenrir to its max speed Cloud began a collision course towards the smallest of the men. The same way Cloud know of their power he know that the smallest was the group's leader. Taking him out would hopefully disorientate the other two giving Cloud a slight advantage.
Using his left hand he hit the trigger to unlock his swords. The blade holders fanned out from the side of the bike as a pair of dark wing. He reached to the side grabbing the closes hilt keeping his eyes on the targets.
When he and the Fenrir were five feet away from the group Cloud leap off his bike. The Fenrir continued faithfully forwards on a collision path with the leader.
Landing in a crotch Cloud spun around raising his broad sword in front of him like a shield to block any incoming gunfire.
There was a crash of metal against his sword but it was not from a bullet. Looking up slighting he could see a two bladed katana pressed against his larger sword. The man who was wielding the sword seemed impossible strong. The katana was actually forcing Cloud's sword down.
Using his full strength Cloud forced the katana and its welder away from him. Without hesitation he jumped to his feet raising the broad sword into an attack position. Despite all his training Cloud froze in shock as he stared at the katana welder. Cold fear began to spread though his mind.
Standing right in front of him was the young man who had attacked him at the outer city. That was not possible Cloud's mind scream as his terror full control of his mind paralyzing him to the spot.
It had been a delusion he could not have had a delusion of a real person. If he was really was Sephiroth real. The question spun around his head nothing he could think of would force it away.
Jenova was one thing but Sephiroth. Cloud had never imaged he had failed so miserable before. The one person he had ever set out to kill was still alive. Was his whole life nothing more than a waste?
The man smiled sly as he watched the conflict raging across Cloud's face. "Big brother you don't need to fight us put your sword down we're all friends." With the smile still on his face the man nodded backwards to his two companions.
Despite the terror that was paralyzing him Cloud felt his eyes look past the man. Jenova call began to rage louder than before his mind was to confused to realize the change. Unnoticed icily fingers began to grip his mind.
Eye wide with disbelief Cloud could only stared at the two men standing behind their leader. The one on the left was the most terrifying. All Cloud's fears seemed to be realized he was looking at Sephiroth. Please be a delusion.
That is not Sephiroth. The terror lessened slightly as Cloud realized the man was far to young to be the General. Another piece of evidence against him was the gun he had tightly gripped in his hand. Sephiroth never used guns.
Even knowing the man was not Sephiroth Cloud could not look at him for fear he would change into the General. Cloud forced himself to look at the other man. They both could not be Sephiroth his mind reasoned.
This man had a striking resemblance to Sephiroth. The differences between him and the General where far more pronounced than the other two men. Even forcing himself to only see the differences Cloud could not free himself from the terror gripping his mind.
Question he could not begin to answer continued pounding into his mind. Where these clone? They could not be. Sephiroth clones where like Cloud. Cloud did not look like Sephiroth.
What caused his mind the most confusion and terror was what the leader had called him. Big brother. Cloud was not there brother that was impossible. None of the other clones called him brother. They looked like they could be Sephiroth's brothers but not his.
In his mind he began chanting he was not like them, he was not like Sephiroth. Cloud's breath quickened as his mind came up with a possibility he had not considered. The image of him holding the Masamune erupted in his mind. Was he Sephiroth?
No, he tried to push the image of the curse blade out of his mind. It stayed there dancing across his eyes taunting him.
I am not turning into him. Cloud tried to shout defiantly to his rebellious thoughts but it came out as nothing more than a weak plead. You know it's true, a part of him whispered in the chaos, Sephiroth's dead you're the replacement.
"There's no reason for us to fight we're all on the same side." The young man's voice cut though the dark chaos soothing Cloud's panic mind. An odd sort of peace began to form in Cloud's mind as everything became wonderfully numb. The screams of Jenova became nothing more than a bad memory than was fading away.
Far away Cloud noticed that he was lowering his broad sword. He did not care. Being empty like this brought more peace than anything else in life. Maybe he would be able to just fade away.
What are you doing! A foreign voice shouted in Cloud's mind snapping him out of the trance. Realizing what was happening Cloud raising his sword in a defensive position. They were trying to control him like Sephiroth.
Like Sephiroth, the thought echoed in his mind along with all his fears. This time Cloud drew on his full strength pushing them away to the furthest corner of his mind. The voice where ever it had come from had given him the time he needed to recollect his mind.
Saving Marlene and kill Jenova were the only important thing right now nothing else matter.
"No we're not." Cloud's vision blurred slightly as the call of Jenova returned full force nearly blinding him with pain. It felt as though his soul was being ripped in two. Half of him wanted to go the other half was trying desperately to fight.
Stumbling slightly under the mental pressure Cloud focused his mind back on the mission. He had to stay in control if he lost it again he might not come back.
The swordsman shrugged slightly clearly unimpressed with Cloud. "If that's the way you want to play." Then he was right in front of Cloud bringing is katana down to chop the mercenary in half.
The next thing Cloud realized was that he was blocking the slimmer blade with his broad sword. He could not even remember blocking the attack.
Knowing the younger man's strength Cloud once again forced the katana off the broad sword. Trying to keep the younger man on the defensive Cloud attempted to charge him. The attempt failed as Cloud was forced to dodge a bullet to his midsection. He had forgotten about the other men.
The swordsman gave Cloud a playful smile and took a step backwards. That was confusing why had not he gone in for the kill when he had the change. A blur of glowing blue came flying at Cloud's head.
Their playing with me, Cloud thought as he dodged to the left barely avoiding the attack. Looking up Cloud saw that his new opponent was the larger of the men. He had tried to knock Cloud's head off with a strange glowing claw on his left arm.
Using all of his speed Cloud dodged another head shout from the man. Where they all so impossible fast, Cloud had a SOLDIER body and he could barely keep up with them. Even Sephiroth had not been this fast.
The man punched again this time he aimed at Cloud's midsection at a speed that Cloud's eyes could barely follow. There was no time to move out of the way. As his only defense Cloud raised his sword to shield himself from the attack.
There was a large crash as the fist connected with the broad sword the force sending Cloud flying though the air. The mercenary had no chance to recover as his body was slammed into the top of a surrounding tree. With such force that it shattered the top of the tree.
Pain seared through his body as his vision went black. He had a brief feeling off falling before he crashed into the hard ground under him.
The pain from slamming into the tree seemed to double as Cloud sat or laid he was not aware enough to be sure. Somewhere close by Cloud felt one of the voices coming towards him.
Realizing that he was not in any condition to stand Cloud tried to blink the darkness out of his eyes. His vision cleared slightly and he was able to see the forest floor he was sprawled out on. There glittering in the faint light was his sword.
Cloud tried to groan but it the attempt seen a whole new chores of pain through his injured body. The sword was completely intact at least a yard away from him. His only defense was to far away.
"Well big brother I don't think you're really to play, yet." The leader's voice came from over head of him but Cloud could not move his head to be sure.
The sound of metal swishing though the air came to his ears. This was it. He had screwed up again this time for the last time. Sorry Tifa.