Many Moons; Chapter 2
Snakes Don't Taste Like
Chicken
By Moira
The
plains surrounding Midgar spread like an expanse of yellow and green sea, the
tops of high grass shuddering in the breeze. New plants, new life. All of it
demonstrating the planet's tenacity for growth and rebirth. When Meteor had
given the industrial region of Midgar a new face job the fires from the impact
had swept over the city and billowed forth in a tidal wave of destruction that
capped the surrounding hills and scorched the earth. Even Holy couldn't stop
that. But what had sprouted back after that hellish cleansing was by all
appearances beautiful. If of course, one paid no attention to the mechanical
devil bikes that sent clouds of dirt up at every wheelie, and revved their
engines in challenge at nothing in particular. Not that you could do anything
about the monsters that came naturally with the land. They were as necessary as
the trees and lakes, and probably had more right to be on the planet than any
human being. Or Cetra. One could never forget the Cetra.
Still
within the boundaries that served to at least define the area where Midgar had
once dominated, Reno assessed the contents of his pockets to reassure himself
he had everything he needed for the trip. A couple hundred gil should be
enough. The nightstick dangled from his belt clasp, the 10,000volts safely
turned off. His Desert Eagle was tucked
concealingly in a holster under his left armpit, and the two combat knives he
favored were hidden respectively on different parts of his anatomy. He hadn't
bothered to bring more than a change of clothes, extra ammo, and feed for his
chocobo, Sylth, but Strife had still seemed surprised that he was ready and
packed before they reached the stables. What the hell did he expect? Turks
didn't survive by being sloppy. At least, not on missions.
Next
to him, and checking his own gear, Cloud Strife picked through the pouch at his
waist and a small pack that he had brought with him when he had arrived in
Midgar. Besides the Ultima Weapon he didn't seem to have any other means of
defense, but light caught on a bangle around his arm briefly, sending purple
and green rainbows to dance across green grass. He raked a gloved hand through
his hair impatiently as Pheros, his gold chocobo, finished eating. It seemed
odd to him that he was the one holding them up now. He hadn't expected the
careless and irresponsible seeming Turk to be even slightly prepared for the
journey, especially after the attitude he was packing. And as they didn't have
the option of taking the chopper, because Rude and Elena currently had it for
their own errands, they were going by chocobo. That meant giving Phero and
Sylth, Reno's black, time to breakfast a bit.
Holding
the pouch of Millet greens under Sylth's eager beak with one hand Reno fingered
the Tough Ring he had suspended on a leather thong around his neck thoughtfully
with the other. He had had time to
browse a little more thoroughly through the paperwork Reeve had supplied them
with while Cloud had readied his gear. Most of it consisted of reports
pertaining to some of Hojo's experiments with Gast's infusion technique. While
it was all in scientific language, Reno couldn't help but feel sick as he read
about some of the procedures. The sheer brilliance of some of the
experimentation was obvious, even to him, but the lack of….humanity? He wasn't
sure that was the best word for it because as a Turk the first thing you signed
over to your employers was your so-called humanity. He was a killer, an
assassin by trade and inclination. He murdered people for a living for holy's
sake, but this…this was just sick. Glancing at Cloud from over the top of his
shades he felt a momentary pang of sympathy. If his experience had been anything
like this then Reno could certainly understand the jerkiness of his movements
and the haunted look that flashed occasionally across those mako blue eyes.
Shame that he was such a dick though.
Dropping
the ring back into place Reno turned to Sylth and ruffled the feathers under
her chin. She cooed at him lovingly and tried to bite off his index finger.
Wise to this tactic he whisked his hand away quickly and decided to stare at
Cloud until the blond met his gaze. It took barely moments before the blue eyes
left what they were looking at and glared back.
"What?"
Cloud asked irritably.
"Chill
Strife. I just wanted to see if you were ready yet."
Cloud
flushed slightly and his mouth drew into a taunt line of discomfort. He really
didn't need this. Why had he agreed to
go with him? Sure Reeve was a friend, and by extension Cait Sith, but really.
To willingly put yourself in close quarter situations with a former enemy was
idiocy, and Reno already embodied so many bad traits even without taking in the
whole I-will-kill-you past. Not the brightest of decisions Strife, he chided
himself. And not that I've ever been
complimented on my brainpower, he added with a self-mocking smile. It was just
this Niebleheim thing. It still made his gut clench painfully and breakfast had
to be wrestled back to its original place of digestion. Tifa had suggested
returning there once or twice to bury the past. It still haunted them both, but
he wasn't sure he was ready to face that particular ghost. Other dead souls
still were too fresh in his mind. Sephiroth was…no, he was gone. He had to
remember that, had to believe it. Sephiroth had been a cancer in his
soul. The trials he and the others had suffered to stave off that sickness had
marked each of them differently, but unfailingly. Even the detached Vincent
showed signs of stress these days in the aftermath. He himself had gone from
confusion to depression to a semblance of normality with Tifa. Well, as normal
as things ever got. He had been ancy of late, and restless. It was strange, but
even as he felt the building dread in his system, part of him welcomed it. Was
horror the only thing normal for him? He shuddered inwardly at the thought.
Just another section to add to his endless parade of fucked up issues. It was
all just so disorienting. And now
Nibelheim, the experiments that he was just starting to forget, and Zax…
"Oh
Zax…I'm sorry," he said softly, and not for the first time.
Reno
raised an eyebrow. "Is that a yes or a, no, I'm still checking that my hair gel
is all packed?"
Cloud
just glared and thrust the remainder of Pheros' breakfast at the bird's beak.
The chocobo warked in agitation at the tightly gripped pile of greens that had
suddenly been shoved in its face. It gave an indignant snort, and while Cloud
still had his head turned to trade hostile looks with Reno, took a bite of the
feed, glove and all. Cloud yelped in surprise and Reno spoiled the seriousness
of the atmosphere by laughing loudly.
"Oh
man are we gonna suffer on this trip," Reno said after catching his breath.
Cloud's
return look sent the Turk into another fit of hilarity that took even longer to
recover from, and the blond sighed wearily, fully in agreement with the red
head's prediction.
"This
sucks."
* * * * *
They
rode next to each other, but the distance between them seemed amplified by the
silence. Cloud gazed unseeingly at the flashing countryside and Reno studied
the back of Sylth's neck with growing frustration. Above them in the late
morning sky, thunderclouds gained in size and sound. They hovered overhead like
fat blimps that were sucking in moisture but not returning it as should. Greedy
and ambitious they gathered the water to them and grew larger still, rumbling
their pleasure to each other with forks of lightning punctuating each pause
between airy conversations.
Cloud
pursed his lips as a cheery bolt of electricity took out a tree not twenty
paces from where they were passing.
"This
could be bad," he muttered.
Reno's
head jerked up and he almost startled his chocobo into a rear with the sudden
movement.
"What?"
he shouted across the space.
Cloud
gestured skyward and made a sign to stop. They pulled up by a river and he
moved Phero close enough to talk without screaming or pantomime.
"What
do you think?"
Reno
scowled at the gathering darkness and flipped it the bird.
"I
think it's pissed and we're gonna get pissed on."
"We
should find a better place to stop and see if it passes."
"You
have an idea?"
"I've
been through here before and there's a hill, just over that crest I think,
that's got an overhang we can camp out under."
Reno
snorted and pulled out another pack of smokes in his seemingly never-ending
supply. Packing it against his palm he considered their options.
"We either stop there or get drenched. We could keep going
and get drenched but make it to Junon-"
"Why
not just stop under the crest till it passes?"
"If
it passes," Reno mused, staring fixedly at the rolling blackness.
"Alright,"
he agreed. "We'll head for that place you mentioned."
Nudging
Phero with his boots, Cloud set a fast pace moving southeast towards the line
of mountains in the distance that separated the Midgar area from the rest of
the Eastern continent. Reno clicked his tongue sharply and Sylth surged
forward, matching Cloud's pace stride for stride. They raced faster as thunder
rumbled threateningly above them, both chocobos and their masters eager to
reach shelter of any kind. It was at this time that the weather decided to cut
with the kiddy show and get serious. The wind picked up by exponentials,
flogging the grass with its force and bending smaller trees to kiss the earth.
Rain positively hailed down, the drops so icy cold and hard they raised welts
on unprotected skin. Cloud ducked his head letting the spray plaster the long
bangs to his forehead and shut his mouth tightly to avoid swallowing excess
water. Inexplicably the rain also seemed to flow up and into the nose rendering
his attempts to breathe properly completely useless.
Reno
cursed loudly and creatively in long choppy sentences, punctuated by choking
because his mouth quickly filled up with rainwater. His sunglasses could no
longer hold back the red fronds of his own bangs and he stuffed them into the
inside pocket of his suit. Letting go the reins he gripped Sylth's sides tightly
with his knees and yanked his soggy hair back into a tighter ponytail. When he
was done it whipped behind him like a red banner caught in a hurricane. Edging
closer towards Cloud, he made a couple of curt gestures and pointed towards the
approaching mountains.
Cloud
peered ahead as best he could, but the rain was veritable wall and it obscured
even his Mako enhanced vision. Best he could tell they were off course a bit
and heading right into the Midgar Zolom's territory. He wanted to groan, but
avoided opening his mouth even the slightest. The Midgar Zolom was not
something he felt like dealing with. The damn serpent was always chasing
travelers, and even when you killed it, it came right back to life as soon as
you had to cross again. Either that thing's immortal he thought, or those
snakes breed like rabbits.
Reno's
thoughts began to run along the same lines as the once firm grasslands gave way
to soggy swamp.
"F*&@
I HATE snakes," he growled. He lived in Midgar for a reason. A very important
reason among others. Midgar may have filth. It may have the dredges of the
human race living cramped in stinking hovels and eating garbage. It might even
be the breeding ground of disease for the rest of the world, but it did not
have snakes. Knowing that they had to cross the mountains didn't make it any
better. They could have crossed somewhere not infested with slimy, crawly,
legless…
Abruptly
Reno realized something was missing. Namely, his chocobo. For no reason
apparent to him, Sylth had turned a sharp left without thinking about the fact
that its rider might not be ready and couldn't fly on necessity alone. He shot
off like a rocket and his trajectory carried him about 15ft before he made
contact with the squishy ground.
"Goddammit!
This is my best suit!!!" He roared at the direction his chocobo had last been
seen running. Picking himself up he wiped a smear of mossy green sludge from
off his chin and dug something unidentifiable out of his ear.
"Oh
f%#@ that's gross." Looking around he could see neither Sylth nor Cloud
anywhere. The rain restricted vision to no more than 20ft, and his PHS would be
useless in the downpour. Stepping forward he immediately recoiled in disgust. A
small shape, like a thick noodle, was undulating slowly by his shoe. He retreated
a step and felt his insides squirm. Wow, he thought suddenly. For the first
time I actually want to see Cloud's spiky ass. But only to get out of here he
amended.
As
Reno stood unsure of what to do in ankle deep water, a large form began working
its way towards him, alerted by senses that required neither sight nor hearing
to reach its target.
By
instinct or coincidence, Cloud was circling back towards Reno, eyes intent for
any sign of movement. They were definitely in the Zolom's hunting grounds now,
and it was never wise to challenge a 120ft serpent in its own territory without
full command of your bearings. A SOLDIER never went into battle unprepared a
small voice reminded him. The memory ticked at his brain, and he didn't know
whether to be reassured by the good advice, or disturbed because he realized it
wasn't his memory. Either way, if the black chocobo that had streaked by
him riderless was any indication, Reno needed help.
At
the moment though, the Turk had calmed, collected himself, and drawn the gun as
a small voice from his own memory recited something memorized long ago in
smooth Wutaian tones.
Let your rapidity be that of the wind, your compactness that
of the forest.
In raiding and plundering be like fire, in immovability like a mountain.
Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like
a thunderbolt.
And;
Move not unless you see an advantage; use not your troops
unless there is something to be gained; fight not unless the position is
critical.
And
his personal favorite;
All warfare is based on deception.
Dropping
to one knee he slid the nightstick free of its tie and held his thumb over the
charger. In his right hand he clicked the safety back and held the weapon
loosely, but steady. Ahead of him he could see a black shadow moving between
sheets of rain, its dinner plate eyes faintly luminescent. Wiping the moisture
from his own eyes he waited patiently for the right time.
Cloud
twisted in his saddle looking left and right. It was nearly impossible to keep
a sense of direction straight and he hadn't seen a sign of the Turk yet. He had
considered briefly just leaving the nuisance there, but only for a second. He
would never abandon anyone in the middle of nowhere and simply ride off, even
if that person was an asshole whom he would have happily skewered many times in
the past couple of hours. Though had it been Yuffie he couldn't be sure what he
would do in the same situation. Amused he bore south again, straining to catch
a glimpse of red.
Reno's
bent leg ached from holding the position so long, but he made no movement to
relieve it. Staying perfectly still was his best option for this. He had never
fought the Midgar Zolom before, but Rude had once upon a time, said he had
torched the damn thing but seeing as it was right in front of him and getting
closer he wasn't inclined to fully believe him. Still the advice had been
sound. Don't move and whatever you do don't run. The Turk took an even breath
despite his shaky insides and aimed for what he guessed to be the head. But
then, it stopped. The thick mass had paused not 30ft from him and was swaying
where it stood like a vertical ripple of water. And then, without any reason,
it curved to left and began moving again. Reno frowned and held his breath. Was
it just luck? No… He could just barely make out a shock of yellow moving on the
edge of his peripheral vision and getting more definable as it got closer to
him. Cursing silently Reno stood and flipped on the night switch. He had no
choice now, Cloud was heading straight for it, and by the way he moved he had
no idea what was coming for him. Taking off at a run he sloshed after the
departing snake the nightstick flashing as drops of rain splattered and sizzled
on its electrified length.
* * * *
Author's
Note: Wow. This thing seems to be getting longer every chapter. ^_^ Hope I'm
still coming through with the characterizations and I'm appreciate the feedback
guys. It really makes me want to write, and that means more chapters, sooner.
Let me know what you think of chapter 2, and any suggestion/comments are always
gleefully devoured by moi. -Moira, bane_sidhe@hotmail.com Oh, btw, those
quotes are from Sun Tzu's The Art of War. It seemed like something appropriate
for Tseng to teach the Turks.
