Special Note: Doesn't the second disc end at the Midgar Parachute Drop?
??? Anyone know exactly where that happens, do please tell me!
Title: Fiery Red Horizon
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: He's Baaack!
Author: Kage Kashu
Archive: Ask. Give credit where it's due. Then... ?
Genre: General. Humor/Drama/Angst/Romance/Action/Adventure
Story Summary: Sequel to Mako Blue Horizon. With Cloud's death weighing heavily on everyone' minds, the journey becomes tainted with a need for revenge. During the while Cloud finds out just how hard it is to deal with a madwoman.
Chapter Summary: A bit o'Cloud, a private moment between Cid and Vincent... Zack gets teased... A tiny snippet of Reeve... and Tseng's pocky melts.
Disclaimer: Dun own them, wish I did.
Author's notes: I figure... Normal thinking is between 'these things'. Jenova is going to be between -these, 'cause I didn't feel like being more creative for her-. And Aerith is going to be between ~these~. And Sephiroth's younger self is going to be between \these\. (Yeah, that works!) I suppose I also need something for talking through electronics. So, that will be in between =these=. When Laguna is "interpreting" what Ward is "saying", it'll be like his normal thoughts.
Warnings: Very AU. Uhm... Vincent and Cid... "getting to know each other"?
~*~*~*~*~*~
Unknown
'Air! Air! Need air... so cold no air... gonna drown... dun wanna go back there...'
Cloud's teeth clenched. He tried to hold his breath, but found that he had none to start with.
'Up, there's always air up. Going up!'
With a frantic kick, he pushed himself upward, toward the pale light shining down. With a mighty gasp, he broke surface, his hair clinging tenaciously to his face... and it was COLD.
'Where am I?'
He glanced about, huffing heavily. He was...
Right back where he started. The shell city.
"No way," he groaned. And then he realized... if he was back in the shell city... this was his real body... which meant...
He ran his hands frantically over himself, for assurance that he was indeed whole. Or lacking holes, rather. There was no sign that a huge sword had been rammed through his chest... except... once he looked... a relatively small scar. Just a new mark, added on a list of oh-so-many old ones.
He swam as best he could to the edge of the pond. This place was very cold.
His hand slipped around his neck, finding, to his surprise, that the chain was still there. He pulled it from his shirt and grinned when he saw the small crystal still attached to it.
Now, then... Time to find the others.
His grin widened as he found that he still had his sword. It would be best, or so he figured, to just go. Because, staying still, he just might grow ill... and that just wouldn't be good.
He let out a piercing whistle, and was mildly surprised at the answering howl. So, Nibie had waited for him, eh? That made things a lot easier.
~*~
Great Glacier
"Enough! Enough! Uncle!"
"You mean it? Won't try an retaliate, like last time?" Cid asked anxiously.
Vincent scowled, from his place pinned to the ground... with Cid shoving handfuls of snow into his shirt. "I mean it! Let go!" He tried kicking the blonde man off, to no avail... Apparently Cid had decided that he wasn't finished.
"I don't think I believe you..." Cid tightened his legs around Vincent's waist. He grinned when he saw that Vincent was blushing again. He leaned forward, "Vinny's embarrassed, ain't that cute..."
Vincent's eyes widened in outrage, and Cid barely had the time to let out a startled squawk before Vincent flipped them over and began shoving snow into -his- pants.
"Cold!! That's cold!! Not the... Cold!!" Cid struggled wildly, arms and legs flailing about, without much semblance of control.
Vincent's mocking tones came from overhead, "Aww, Ciddy-poo's cold... What does he want Vinny to do about it?"
With an outraged squawk, the tables were turned again. "Vinny's gonna get it bad, jes fer that!" And Cid promptly made due on the promise, shoving sever handfuls past Vincent's belt, in quick succession.
"Alright! Alright! I give! I give!!"
Cid sat up again, panting. "Vinny..." *huff huff* "...give in?"
Vincent nodded sourly.
"Yer jes a sore looser..." Cid shivered. "We better catch up, before we catch cold..." He shivered, getting up.
"Who's fault is it that we have snow in our drawers?"
"Yours," Cid answered promptly... and got smacked. "Damnit, I'm gonna start thinkin' you were a girl in a past life if you keep that up!"
Vincent smacked him again.
~*~
Zack chewed on a claw, somewhat thoughtfully. Cid and Vincent had just caught up, and it looked like they spent their entire break in a snow fight... With Cid, that seemed probable, but Vincent? No way.
He was glad that he didn't have to hide his hands, now. Seph hadn't even seemed surprised. Although, when he had explained why he wasn't surprised, Zack understood the sentiment perfectly.
In effect, Sephiroth believed that Hojo had taken him in, and that he hadn't been completely gone. Which would explain why he was still in the land of the living... and why he still had his dog tags, among other things...
So, the reason he seemed to be changing into something else? Just look what the man did to Vincent Valentine. -He- seemed to change into a demon occasionally.
So, that left one question: What was Zack turning into?
Scales, claws... He ran a hand through his hair and was shocked to come across a bump. What the...
Maybe from when he hit his head, a couple of days ago? He fingered the lump for a moment, noting that it didn't hurt or anything... He squeaked when he realized that the lump didn't even feel fleshy.
Scales, claws, horns... What next? Wings?
"Seph?" he whined. "What has scales, claws and horns?"
Sephiroth glanced back at him sourly, before replying, "Lizard?"
Yuffie cheerfully broke in, "Vlakorados?"
Jessie added in, "Every kind of dragon that I've seen..."
Tifa continued, "Those demon things we found around Nibel?"
"Some birds," was Cid's contribution.
"Bugs," said Nanaki.
"Sonic Speed," added Vincent.
"Yeah, anybody forgetting anything?" Zack asked sourly.
Sephiroth scratched the back of his head, "Spencer?"
"Dinosaurs," added Vincent, again.
"Some fish," Yuffie contributed.
"Enough, enough..." Zack grumbled.
"Why ask?" asked Seph.
"Cause I think I'm growing them..." he said sadly.
Everyone went silent... then continued hurriedly, as if nothing had happened. When a wolf's howl broke through the silence, they continued faster.
~*~
Unknown
"C'mon, buddy, ya gotta make it..." Cait Sith's voice seemed to come from far away. "Can't you do anything?"
A soft grumble answered him.
"I don't know, but I'm worried... C'mon Reeve... Wake up!"
Reeve sighed, wherever he was, it was pleasantly warm. A slight smile, and he drifted farther away.
"Wake up..." Cait Sith's voice faded into the pleasant white noise surrounding him.
~*~
Junon Airfield
Tseng munched on a handful of pocky, completely ignoring the odd looks he was getting from the Regulars. Coffee was one of the best things a Turk could know, he decided, taking a sip off of his. Coffee, and booze, as Rude would say. He had to agree on that particular as well, and the booze was often higher on the list of good things in life... higher occasionally, even than coffee.
But with coffee, you could stir it with pocky. Although, the coating on the pocky has this tendency to melt off, and the stick became rather soggy, after a while...
He sighed, staring at his last piece of pocky. It was so soggy, that its own weight was about to rip it in half... and then it would sink to the bottom of his coffee... and that would -not- be good.
But if it broke while he was trying to eat it... it might fall on his uniform. Oh, the dilemma!
Rufus' voice cracked across from the other end of the Airship Highwind. He jumped, and the pocky broke off, plunking into his coffee. Damnit. He sighed, staring into his coffee as Rufus' voice sounded out again, closer.
"Tseng! What are you doing over there?"
He glanced up to see... Scarlet walking over to him, swinging her hips seductively. It wasn't working... whatever she was trying to do. "I was drinking my coffee." 'Leave me in peace,' he added silently.
"We should be boarding the airship, now." She grinned. "Unless, of course, you want to help me delay everything?" She batted her eyelashes at him.
He sighed into his coffee, sadly. "It's gone," he murmured aloud.
"What's gone?" she asked, curiously.
"My pocky."
She cast him a confused look as he turned about, heading for the ladder up.
~*~*~*~*~*~
You all know the drill... read review.
Shara, And now everybody knows... =^.^'= (I think I may have had another one floating around... but not, I think, in the Strife family...)
Angefantasy, =@.@= Not Mideel!! *maniacal laughter ensues* (I actually figured that this makes a lot of sense... at least... to me.) Reeve is going to be MIA for a little while... Although I hope that satisfied your curiosity... Poor Vince... (Cid'll make ya feel better...)
ChibiBoko, =O.O= Uhm... (I don't really have an answer to that... Interesting idea though...) Vincent wasn't actually a guide... He's the guy who makes sure that the guide, and the party thereof stay safe... Within viewing distance at all times... =^.-= Heehee... In response to the QotD, HIMITSU!!! But really, you'll see (or is that "saw"?), and stare in awe at my genius...!! (Feeling a bit narcissistic today...) And Rufus... That's the fun of such complications...
Danyella Skyler Silverfire, PIE!!! (I thought the bit with Reno was kinda cute... and Rufus' reaction... made sense at the time...)
Miniature Rant of the Day-
On Pocky!: Although, from the way everyone portrays him, I really can't see the normal Tseng actually eating pocky, but this Tseng... really likes his food. And I like pocky. My favorite is strawberry pocky... really good with orange juice... I've had some other kinds, I really don't like the Almond Crunch Latte kind... I don't care to much for most nuts... I've also had vanilla/chocolate giant pocky... not near as good as the strawberry. Strawberry pocky kicks ass!! With orange juice! Don't forget the orange juice!!! Glyco rocks!!
If you actually read my rants, thank you.
Thank you, for reading.
Title: Fiery Red Horizon
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: He's Baaack!
Author: Kage Kashu
Archive: Ask. Give credit where it's due. Then... ?
Genre: General. Humor/Drama/Angst/Romance/Action/Adventure
Story Summary: Sequel to Mako Blue Horizon. With Cloud's death weighing heavily on everyone' minds, the journey becomes tainted with a need for revenge. During the while Cloud finds out just how hard it is to deal with a madwoman.
Chapter Summary: A bit o'Cloud, a private moment between Cid and Vincent... Zack gets teased... A tiny snippet of Reeve... and Tseng's pocky melts.
Disclaimer: Dun own them, wish I did.
Author's notes: I figure... Normal thinking is between 'these things'. Jenova is going to be between -these, 'cause I didn't feel like being more creative for her-. And Aerith is going to be between ~these~. And Sephiroth's younger self is going to be between \these\. (Yeah, that works!) I suppose I also need something for talking through electronics. So, that will be in between =these=. When Laguna is "interpreting" what Ward is "saying", it'll be like his normal thoughts.
Warnings: Very AU. Uhm... Vincent and Cid... "getting to know each other"?
~*~*~*~*~*~
Unknown
'Air! Air! Need air... so cold no air... gonna drown... dun wanna go back there...'
Cloud's teeth clenched. He tried to hold his breath, but found that he had none to start with.
'Up, there's always air up. Going up!'
With a frantic kick, he pushed himself upward, toward the pale light shining down. With a mighty gasp, he broke surface, his hair clinging tenaciously to his face... and it was COLD.
'Where am I?'
He glanced about, huffing heavily. He was...
Right back where he started. The shell city.
"No way," he groaned. And then he realized... if he was back in the shell city... this was his real body... which meant...
He ran his hands frantically over himself, for assurance that he was indeed whole. Or lacking holes, rather. There was no sign that a huge sword had been rammed through his chest... except... once he looked... a relatively small scar. Just a new mark, added on a list of oh-so-many old ones.
He swam as best he could to the edge of the pond. This place was very cold.
His hand slipped around his neck, finding, to his surprise, that the chain was still there. He pulled it from his shirt and grinned when he saw the small crystal still attached to it.
Now, then... Time to find the others.
His grin widened as he found that he still had his sword. It would be best, or so he figured, to just go. Because, staying still, he just might grow ill... and that just wouldn't be good.
He let out a piercing whistle, and was mildly surprised at the answering howl. So, Nibie had waited for him, eh? That made things a lot easier.
~*~
Great Glacier
"Enough! Enough! Uncle!"
"You mean it? Won't try an retaliate, like last time?" Cid asked anxiously.
Vincent scowled, from his place pinned to the ground... with Cid shoving handfuls of snow into his shirt. "I mean it! Let go!" He tried kicking the blonde man off, to no avail... Apparently Cid had decided that he wasn't finished.
"I don't think I believe you..." Cid tightened his legs around Vincent's waist. He grinned when he saw that Vincent was blushing again. He leaned forward, "Vinny's embarrassed, ain't that cute..."
Vincent's eyes widened in outrage, and Cid barely had the time to let out a startled squawk before Vincent flipped them over and began shoving snow into -his- pants.
"Cold!! That's cold!! Not the... Cold!!" Cid struggled wildly, arms and legs flailing about, without much semblance of control.
Vincent's mocking tones came from overhead, "Aww, Ciddy-poo's cold... What does he want Vinny to do about it?"
With an outraged squawk, the tables were turned again. "Vinny's gonna get it bad, jes fer that!" And Cid promptly made due on the promise, shoving sever handfuls past Vincent's belt, in quick succession.
"Alright! Alright! I give! I give!!"
Cid sat up again, panting. "Vinny..." *huff huff* "...give in?"
Vincent nodded sourly.
"Yer jes a sore looser..." Cid shivered. "We better catch up, before we catch cold..." He shivered, getting up.
"Who's fault is it that we have snow in our drawers?"
"Yours," Cid answered promptly... and got smacked. "Damnit, I'm gonna start thinkin' you were a girl in a past life if you keep that up!"
Vincent smacked him again.
~*~
Zack chewed on a claw, somewhat thoughtfully. Cid and Vincent had just caught up, and it looked like they spent their entire break in a snow fight... With Cid, that seemed probable, but Vincent? No way.
He was glad that he didn't have to hide his hands, now. Seph hadn't even seemed surprised. Although, when he had explained why he wasn't surprised, Zack understood the sentiment perfectly.
In effect, Sephiroth believed that Hojo had taken him in, and that he hadn't been completely gone. Which would explain why he was still in the land of the living... and why he still had his dog tags, among other things...
So, the reason he seemed to be changing into something else? Just look what the man did to Vincent Valentine. -He- seemed to change into a demon occasionally.
So, that left one question: What was Zack turning into?
Scales, claws... He ran a hand through his hair and was shocked to come across a bump. What the...
Maybe from when he hit his head, a couple of days ago? He fingered the lump for a moment, noting that it didn't hurt or anything... He squeaked when he realized that the lump didn't even feel fleshy.
Scales, claws, horns... What next? Wings?
"Seph?" he whined. "What has scales, claws and horns?"
Sephiroth glanced back at him sourly, before replying, "Lizard?"
Yuffie cheerfully broke in, "Vlakorados?"
Jessie added in, "Every kind of dragon that I've seen..."
Tifa continued, "Those demon things we found around Nibel?"
"Some birds," was Cid's contribution.
"Bugs," said Nanaki.
"Sonic Speed," added Vincent.
"Yeah, anybody forgetting anything?" Zack asked sourly.
Sephiroth scratched the back of his head, "Spencer?"
"Dinosaurs," added Vincent, again.
"Some fish," Yuffie contributed.
"Enough, enough..." Zack grumbled.
"Why ask?" asked Seph.
"Cause I think I'm growing them..." he said sadly.
Everyone went silent... then continued hurriedly, as if nothing had happened. When a wolf's howl broke through the silence, they continued faster.
~*~
Unknown
"C'mon, buddy, ya gotta make it..." Cait Sith's voice seemed to come from far away. "Can't you do anything?"
A soft grumble answered him.
"I don't know, but I'm worried... C'mon Reeve... Wake up!"
Reeve sighed, wherever he was, it was pleasantly warm. A slight smile, and he drifted farther away.
"Wake up..." Cait Sith's voice faded into the pleasant white noise surrounding him.
~*~
Junon Airfield
Tseng munched on a handful of pocky, completely ignoring the odd looks he was getting from the Regulars. Coffee was one of the best things a Turk could know, he decided, taking a sip off of his. Coffee, and booze, as Rude would say. He had to agree on that particular as well, and the booze was often higher on the list of good things in life... higher occasionally, even than coffee.
But with coffee, you could stir it with pocky. Although, the coating on the pocky has this tendency to melt off, and the stick became rather soggy, after a while...
He sighed, staring at his last piece of pocky. It was so soggy, that its own weight was about to rip it in half... and then it would sink to the bottom of his coffee... and that would -not- be good.
But if it broke while he was trying to eat it... it might fall on his uniform. Oh, the dilemma!
Rufus' voice cracked across from the other end of the Airship Highwind. He jumped, and the pocky broke off, plunking into his coffee. Damnit. He sighed, staring into his coffee as Rufus' voice sounded out again, closer.
"Tseng! What are you doing over there?"
He glanced up to see... Scarlet walking over to him, swinging her hips seductively. It wasn't working... whatever she was trying to do. "I was drinking my coffee." 'Leave me in peace,' he added silently.
"We should be boarding the airship, now." She grinned. "Unless, of course, you want to help me delay everything?" She batted her eyelashes at him.
He sighed into his coffee, sadly. "It's gone," he murmured aloud.
"What's gone?" she asked, curiously.
"My pocky."
She cast him a confused look as he turned about, heading for the ladder up.
~*~*~*~*~*~
You all know the drill... read review.
Shara, And now everybody knows... =^.^'= (I think I may have had another one floating around... but not, I think, in the Strife family...)
Angefantasy, =@.@= Not Mideel!! *maniacal laughter ensues* (I actually figured that this makes a lot of sense... at least... to me.) Reeve is going to be MIA for a little while... Although I hope that satisfied your curiosity... Poor Vince... (Cid'll make ya feel better...)
ChibiBoko, =O.O= Uhm... (I don't really have an answer to that... Interesting idea though...) Vincent wasn't actually a guide... He's the guy who makes sure that the guide, and the party thereof stay safe... Within viewing distance at all times... =^.-= Heehee... In response to the QotD, HIMITSU!!! But really, you'll see (or is that "saw"?), and stare in awe at my genius...!! (Feeling a bit narcissistic today...) And Rufus... That's the fun of such complications...
Danyella Skyler Silverfire, PIE!!! (I thought the bit with Reno was kinda cute... and Rufus' reaction... made sense at the time...)
Miniature Rant of the Day-
On Pocky!: Although, from the way everyone portrays him, I really can't see the normal Tseng actually eating pocky, but this Tseng... really likes his food. And I like pocky. My favorite is strawberry pocky... really good with orange juice... I've had some other kinds, I really don't like the Almond Crunch Latte kind... I don't care to much for most nuts... I've also had vanilla/chocolate giant pocky... not near as good as the strawberry. Strawberry pocky kicks ass!! With orange juice! Don't forget the orange juice!!! Glyco rocks!!
If you actually read my rants, thank you.
Thank you, for reading.