Chapter 6Mixed EmotionsTragedy

Red XIII/Nanaki-

Barret is gone. Back into the Lifestream, with our Planet. I can't hide my emotions; myself and the others are devastated. Sephiroth escaped from the little chapel to whereabouts that are currently unknown to us. We decided to buriny Barret in a small cemetery behind the church. After let we had to give the news to Elmyra and Marlene, his daughter. It was horrible, having to tell the little girl she had just lost her father. As she cried, Elmyra held her and tried to calm her. She said but one thing to us:

'Please, find the man who killed Barret. Not for me, but for Marlene. Please.'

We nodded sincerely as we promised her. As we turned to leave, Marlene stuttered out through her tears:

"I…I saw that man…..with the big sword (hiccup)…..he went in the direction of (sniffle)….Rocket Town! (sob).

We all glanced a worried look towards Cid. He just grunted.

"Highwind's back there…Shera too… we ain't gonna catch 'im on foot though…ShinRa got any airships?" He said worriedly.

Elmyra nodded. "They just recently brought a brand new one in. I believe it is for use by the Turks. I read its name, it's called the Horizon. Good luck trying to steal it though. It's very heavily guarded."

Cait Cith shrugged. "No problem at all. I can get us in. Remember, I'm Reeve?"

We nodded in relief. I didn't think we would make it through if we tried to steal it. We left, and when we arrived at the ShinRa building, Cait Sith instructed us to hide as he bounced through the entrance and was in there for nearly two hours, but he finally bounced out with his original body, the man named Reeve. He strolled over to their hiding place and smiled.

"We have access. Run through the back, where the Horizon is waiting. I'll meet you there, but watch out for ShinRa. I need to take the regular way. I'd go with you, but if I was seen with you, we'd all be killed. I'll see you soon." He said.

We nodded and ran as quietly as we good to the back. Reeve wasn't there yet but we were too late either way. Standing there guarding the Horizon was President Rufus, armed with a large gun.

"You aren't getting past me." He said, pointing the gun at Cloud, and fired.

He took action to fast for Cloud to dodge. Cloud could do nothing. But what happened was not what any of them expected. The bullet missed Cloud, as Rufus planned, and hit Reeve, killing him instantly. He hit the ground with a soft thud. Crimson blood seeped from Reeve's normally clean blue suit. We stood there gaping at what the President of the huge corporation had done. Rufus smiled.

"I always knew he would betray me. He deserved to die. And now, for you all. You've been screwing up my plans from the start. And now, for the same fate as that ignorant, foolish-"

He suddenly stopped and choked. He slumped over. He leaned over, dead, on Cid's spear. Cid grunted.

"He's holing us up. I need to get to Rocket town. And he made a mistake, killing Reeve. Let's go." He said flatly, hopping aboard. No one said a word. I just looked up and admired the ship. It was huge, and painted blue like the sky. The word Horizon was painted in small red cursive on the side. We quickly ran aboard. No one said anything, we were to shocked that Cait Sith was gone. The Horizon was much faster than the Highwind, and it felt as though it glided on the skies. We arrived in Rocket town very soon, where we saw a terrible sight. The entire city was in flames. I felt horrible for Cid. He said nothing. He slumped on the ground, letting go of the wheel. He buried his face in his hands. The ship started to rock and plummet towards the ground, so Cloud ran to take over the wheel. Cloud obviously wasn't a pilot, and the ship started rocking a little bit. We all held onto something so we wouldn't slide away, except Cid, who let him self slide away, keeping his hands on his face. The emergency door slid open and Cid started to tip over and out the door. Vincent was nearest to him, so he leaned forward with his arm outstretched to grab Cid. He clasped Cid's hand, who did nothing.

"Let me go. I don't have any need to live anymore." He said.

"NO! You can't give out, Cid! DON'T LET GO!" Vincent screamed.

Suddenly, the ship keeled even more to the side. Vincent fell forward, but his leg caught on a bar next to the door. There was an earsplitting crack and Vincent screamed as his leg broke. Just as it snapped him back, the ship turned more, and Cid slipped out of Vincent's grasp.

"NOOOOOOO!!!" Vincent screamed as Cid plummeted towards the vast blue ocean below. I gasped.

"It's Sephiroth! Follow him!" Tifa screamed.

We saw him zooming in front of us, but he suddenly turned and held out his hands. A blinding white light over took the ship and we were knocked out. When I woke up, the ship was on fire and we were falling towards the ground. The others were still knocked out. What would we do?