Cloud hung up the receiver and turned to Tifa. "Cid says that he'll be here tomorrow morning with Barret, Red, and Cait Sith. I wasn't able to reach of Yuffie, and you know Vincent."
Tifa nodded. "It's worse than finding a needle in a haystack. Trying to contact Vincent is like trying to find a single flower in the rainforest."
"That it is." Cloud chuckled nervously, but it died away.
"It's really bothering you, isn't it?"
Tifa hesitated, but nodded again.
"Yeah, I guess it is. I had an awful thought when I saw it." She told him about the resemblance to their own planetfall in Cid's rocket. Cloud nodded in grim agreement.
"Yeah, that occurred to me too. I'm not much happier about it than you are."
"So what if there really were people in that thing?"
"Then we hope that it landed outside Midgar. C'mon, Tifa, it's time to hit the hay. We have a long day ahead of us, and only about five hours to get ready for it."
Tifa allowed Cloud to lead her up to her room above the bar. As he turned away, she stopped him.
"Cloud?" He turned back to her. "What if they did crash in Midgar?"
His face grew hard and determined.
"Then we go in after them." Then his expression softened, and he smiled faintly at her, trying to be reassuring. "Goodnight, Tifa."
"Goodnight, Cloud." She wasn't reassured, but she went to bed anyway.
The sun dawned rosy over Kalm, tinting the blue roofs purple in the early light. Cloud and Tifa, red-eyed from lack of sleep, quietly walked out of the bar and locked the door behind them. Strapped to their backs were identical packs, containing foodstuffs and medical supplies. In addition, strapped over Cloud's pack was an immense sword. He was dressed for adventuring, with armor plates strapped over both shoulders and heavy battle dress covering the rest of his body. Tifa wore the same outfit that she had worn the previous day, except that metal gauntlets now encased her hands, and the boots she wore were much thicker and heavier. Silently, they moved away from the building and out of town, stopping my Molly's house to leave a note in her mailbox explaining their sudden mission. Neither one had slept long or well, their thoughts whirling too madly to give them any peace. Zombie like, they set out on the road that led out of town, towards the Mythril Mines and the Chocobo Ranch, their current destination. Out of kindness to the still-sleeping residents of Kalm, Cloud had asked Cid to meet them at the ranch. Cid may have been the best pilot on the Planet, but his landings were almost unfailinglyânoisy. So, as a result, Cloud and Tifa were up early, with a long walk ahead of them.
As they walked, the sun worked its magic on them; warming stiff limbs and pouring renewed life into sleep-addled brains. As a matter of fact, by the time they reached the outskirts of the land claimed by the Ranch, they were feeling positively human. Which only increased their feeling of dismay when the small flock of levricons came streaming out of the tall grass and surrounded them. Tall, ostrich-like birds, the levricons had long, pointed beaks, and an inclination to use them on anyone or thing that crossed their path. The birds swarmed in on them, and Tifa, her weapons ever-present, got the first hit in. The unfortunate creature dashed in, beak leading and beady eyes red with bloodlust. She waited until the last minute, and then sidestepped. As the startled bird rushed past, her leg flashed out, entangling the long legs. The levricon fell with a startled squawk, its long neck whipping its head into the ground with stunning force. Tifa sidestepped the second also, dropping it with a swift karate chop. The third levricon, smarter than its kin, leapt into the air to bring its talons into play. Tifa put it out of her misery with a vicious jab to the breastbone.
Cloud didn't fare as well at Tifa. Startled, it took him a split second to draw his weapon. That delay cost him a painful peck as the first beast drew blood from his bicep. That's the only hit it was going to get though, because it's hard to ignore seven feet of steel coming down hard on a whiplike neck. Cloud looked beyond his first kill, and saw several more of the ferocious birds approaching. Despite the sting in his arm, he grinned.
"Bring it on."
Cloud charged the flock. Whipping his sword across, he neatly sliced the first in half. His next stroke took a head off, and the third split one from crown to crotch. The levricon, not being a stupid bird, immediately realized that Cloud was the biggest threat, and swarmed him. Cloud fought like a madman. Shrugging off stinging hit after stinging hit, He whipped his sword about like a toy, killing a bird with every swing. Still, sheer numbers gave the levricons a fighting chance. Then Tifa waded into the battle. Screeching birds flew right and left, legs and bodies and necks destroyed by her fists. Linking up with Cloud, she turned back-to back with him and pummeled any bird that ventured too close. Cloud grinned over his shoulder at her, and, knowing his back was protected, went on full attack. The levricons didn't stand a chance after that. Moments later, the remainder of the flock fled, screeching their pain to the empty plains. Cloud and Tifa dusted themselves off and inspected their wounds. They were all superficial, and so they started back down the road. Moments later, they heard a gruff voice in the distance.
Coming up over a rise, they saw the Chocobo Ranch spread out before them. It looked like any other ranch, with fenced in pastures and a large barn for livestock. In the pastures roamed the chocobos, large yellow birds that were the chosen beast of burden. Known for their generally even tempers, chocobos were capable of great speed over short distances, or they could carry a rider all day long.
Parked outside one of the pastures was the Tiny Bronco, a small plane that the group had last seen converted to a boat after being shot down outside of Rocket Town. Cid had expanded it when he rebuilt it, adding several passenger seats, but it was obvious that it had been a tight squeeze for the group standing around it. Cid Highwind, pilot extraordinaire, was the inventor, builder, and pilot of the plane, as well as many other flying craft. He was a skinny man with blond hair and goggles on his forehead. He wore a mechanic's overalls and a spear leaned against one shoulder. The ever-present cigarette dangled from his lips.
Barret Wallace was a giant of a man who had one normal arm and a Gatling gun mounted where his other forearm should be. He'd had it grafted there after the attack on his hometown that had taken his wife, child, and hand, swearing revenge on Shin-ra, Inc. He was known for his fiery impulsiveness and bone crushing hugs.
Cait Sith may have been the oddest looking of the group. He actually had two bodies. The bottom body was a mog, a white creature with tiny purple wings, and the top was a loudmouthed cat that told the mog what to do. He was all robot, though, with a sophisticated AI so that it was often impossible to tell if he was on remote control or on his own.
Vying with Cait for strange looks was Red XIII, also known as Nanaki. He appeared to be a red-haired lion, but was actually much smarter than most of the human race. His clan had been the guardians of Cosmo Canyon, the center of almost all scientific knowledge on the Planet, since time immemorial. Now, he was the last.
Barret saw them first. "What took you so long?"
Cloud pointed back to the road while Barret wrapped Tifa up in a trademark bear hug. "We had to deal with a flock of levricons."
Cid eyed Cloud's wounds judiciously. "You must be getting outta shape if a simple flock of levricons could do that to you. Here." He handed Cloud a green orb.
"Thanks." Cloud took the orb and gazed into it. A moment later, a green glow washed over his body, wiping away blood and wounds both, leaving unblemished skin behind it. Barret set Tifa down, and the glow enveloped her, too. Cloud handed the Restore materia back to Cid, but he refused it.
"Yer probably gonna need that more than me." Cloud considered the orb for a moment, then agreed and tucked it away. He looked up at the plane.
"So why'd you bring this? I thought you'd bring the airship."
Cid spat and mumbled around his cigarette.
"What?"
"Damned parts are backordered 'til next month. Ya picked a helluva time to need a ride somewere." The airship, Cid's second pride and joy, had been all but destroyed in the final conflict with Sephiroth six months before, and he had been furiously rebuilding it since.
Cloud grunted. "Looks like we're riding there, then. I'll go make the arrangements."
"Don't bother. I've already spoken with Chocobo Bill. 'Sides, I gotta take her with anyway. Robots don't ride, and if you've ever met a chocobo that'll let a lion on its back, I'd say you were lying."
"Okay." Cloud called them all together. "Here's the plan, everybody. Cid, Cait, and Red will take the Tiny Bronco out and to an aerial scan. We don't know how big this thing is, so we might need their eyes to find it. Barret, Tifa and I will ride there on chocobo-back. If there are humans in it, then we're the ones who will get them out. Cid, you're also on standby for medical evac. Questions?"
Silence greeted him. "Good. Let's go."
The two groups headed their separate ways. Cloud, Tifa and Barret walked into the barn to select their mounts. Moments later, they heard the whup-whup-whup of the Tiny Bronco taking off. They led their chosen birds out of the barn, mounted up, and headed out.
The return trip past Kalm took a lot less time. There actually wasn't that much distance between Midgar and Kalm, it was just hidden from view by a very broken landscape. They were closing the last mile of still-verdant land when the PHS rang. Tifa picked it up.
"Yes Cid?"
"We're landing outside the gates. You guys are going to have to see this to believe it."
She shut off the phone. Cloud turned to her. "What is it?"
"They're landing. C'mon." Tifa flicked the reins and her chocobo surged forward. She raced up the last rise overlooking the Midgar waste, and then dragged her mount to a stop, sawing on the reins in her shock.
"Oh, no."