Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 7 or it's characters.
Unexpected Visitors
Cloud awoke and saw that Cassandra was working out moving through moves with a rather large knife. Cloud could tell that it wasn't really a weapon it was more of a kitchen utensil. Cloud wondered if she knew what she was doing because it didn't really look like it. Cloud figured that if she ever got in a real fight using the knife like she was she would be killed rather shortly. He didn't want to see that even though he didn't know anything about her.
Cloud felt that he needed to show her how to use that weapon even though it didn't look like the weapon that would fit her. He didn't know what that would be but he decided that the next town that they came to he would buy a variety of weapons and let her try them out so that she could see if any of them felt right to her.
Cloud walked up behind her silent as a shadow and touched her on the shoulder hoping that she would stop what she was doing. She did stop but she whirled around with the knife extended in a slash for his chest. Cloud caught her by the wrist and held her arm in place.
She noticed that it was Cloud then and she let go of the knife as she said horrified, "Oh my god I'm so sorry Cloud I … I didn't mean it. I thought that it was someone else I am just so sorry."
Cloud said softly to her, "Don't worry about it. It is just me and not whoever you feared it was." She looked at him and smiled shyly as she wiped her tears away.
"Thanks Cloud for not getting angry at me for what I did," she said back still smiling.
Cloud bent down and picked up her knife and looked at it. He didn't like the knife because it wasn't balanced at all. The knife weighed too much at the front than it should have which would throw off any cut you made with it. It was too dull to even put an edge on now which meant that she had been using the knife for doing things other than fighting.
Cloud turned back to Cassandra then and held the knife out to her hilt first. She pulled the knife out of his hand and it didn't cut his hand, which is what he figured. He knew it was extremely dull then and he would have to get her a new weapon shortly. "Show me how you hold the knife," Cloud said like a teacher would to a student which is what he felt like at the moment.
She gripped the hilt so hard that her knuckles were turning white and Cloud started to shake his head. "No you don't grip the knife so hard. If you are going to be traveling with me then you need to know how to defend yourself. Now on how to hold the knife will be your first lesson. You hold the knife gently not so hard," Cloud said to Cassandra.
He noticed that she softened her grip but was still holding the knife too hard so he tried to think of some other way to explain how to hold it to her. A thought occurred to him then and he wondered if she had ever had a boyfriend. It didn't matter because that was how he was going to explain it to her. "You are doing better but you are still holding the knife too hard. How about trying this. Hold the knife hilt like you would the face of your boyfriend. Gently hold it nearly caressing the hilt holding just tightly to keep it in place without it moving too much," Cloud said.
He noticed that she was doing better much better. She was holding the knife better, actually just about right. "Why do you hold it like this. I thought that you held it tight," Cassandra inquired.
"No you don't hold the blade so tight because if you do you will do more harm to yourself than good. If you hold the hilt so hard then when you parry someone's slash it will put a lot of stress on your arm muscles. That will tire you out too quickly in a fight and get you killed, or it will hurt you arm muscles. Second if you hold the blade lightly when you block a cut it will slide off your blade and make your parries easier sometimes. Holding it tight but not tight enough to hurt your own hand Cassandra. I will train you and you will learn," Cloud said in his instructing voice.
"I didn't even say if I was going to go with you," Cassandra said with a smile creasing her face.
Cloud looked away for a second because she was right he really hadn't asked if she wanted to travel with him. He had just figured that if she was still there in the morning then she would want to travel with him. "Well do you want to travel with me even though it will be dangerous," Cloud asked her.
"Well I think that I would like to travel with you. I think that the safest place from my father is with you," Cassandra said hoping that she was right. She didn't know if even Cloud would keep her father away if he wanted her back.
"Well let's get going Cassandra. I need to get going if I am to do what I said that I would do," Cloud said as he turned from her and started across the landscape.
"What did you say that you would do," Cassandra asked politely. Cloud shook his head at her because he really couldn't believe that he was telling her anything at all. He didn't think that he would tell anyone anything about what he was doing and yet he was surprising himself about what he was willing to tell Cassandra.
"I promised a friend that I would get back her children from whomever has taken them. I will find out where the people are and then I will kill whomever I have to in order to get the children back," Cloud said coldly as his eyes glowed.
"Then I will travel with you wherever you go," Cassandra said just like Tifa would have Cloud thought and he missed Tifa at that moment though he would never let it show.
* * * * *
Tifa couldn't believe that they Marlene and Yuffie had been thinking the same thing as she herself had been thinking. They had decided late at night that they would leave and try to find Cloud because they knew that he would need the help if he didn't think that he would and even if he thought that he didn't want them around.
They only problem with what they were going to do was that they knew Cid and Vincent along with Barret would not be happy when they found out that they had left. They would probably come after them which wouldn't be al that bad since the whole group would be together again. It would be nice to travel again with everyone Tifa thought as she pulled on her fighting gloves and filled a backpack with what she thought that she would need.
As she finished packing Marlene and Yuffie each came into her room with a backpack slung over their shoulders and their weapons ready in case they needed to fight monsters or something on the way. They had an idea of where Cloud would be heading but they were a little bit behind him so they would need something to help them catch up. That was why they were going to take Chocobos. It would allow them to cover twice as much ground and make sure that they didn't miss Cloud somewhere.
Yuffie was fingering her weapon and Tifa noticed that she had a lot of shurikens on her belt and other places. Tifa could tell that Yuffie was glad that she was finally doing something even though they were going against what the letter had said that Cloud had to go alone. They hoped that the note didn't really mean that since if whoever had taken Yuffie's children meant that they would harm the children if anyone but Cloud had went.
Tifa looked over at Marlene and saw that she had two pistols strapped to her sides in their holsters and she was wearing fighting gloves like Tifa herself was. Tifa had helped train Marlene in how to defend herself since she wanted her to be able to fight back if she was ever in trouble because of men trying to force themselves on her or if she had ever left the city and was attacked by monsters. Barret had felt that she needed to learn how to shoot a gun and so Marlene was good with multiple weapons instead of just one like most of them.
Tifa had been practicing every day for the last twenty years and that was one of the reasons that she was in the shape that she was in. She had been determined to keep herself in top shape just in case she was needed to help people out again like in her old Avalanche days.
She smiled at her friends and said, "Are you two ready then."
"You bet Tifa. I am ready," Marlene said with all the enthusiasm of youth.
"I am ready as well Tifa," Yuffie said without any hint of excitement like she would have had all those years ago. She was older now Tifa knew and that age had changed her, made her more wise.
The three of them left the house silently not wanting to alert Cid and Barret who wouldn't be happy about Marlene going at all. The thing was Tifa needed Marlene to go which she knew was selfish of her but she needed Marlene because she was the only one that she was sure Cloud would talk to.
* * * * *
It had been two days since Cloud had met up with Cassandra and he was starting to like her which he really didn't want to admit to himself. The thing was she reminded him of someone but he didn't know who. He shrugged his shoulders and didn't think about it again.
They were outside of a small village that had just been built in the last ten years or so. The village was named Niren for the man who had been the founder. Cloud found that foolish because the man wasn't that great. No man was great enough in Cloud's opinion that they needed to be remembered by naming the town after that.
"I have never been here," Cassandra said as she looked around. The village was larger than it appeared from outside of the village.
"I have been here before but only a few times. I think the first thing that we will do is go find you a real weapon," Cloud said as he took the lead. He led her down streets and from door to door until he found the weapon shop. Once there he led her into the shop.
The shop was dimly lit by only a small lamp in one corner. It was for effect Cloud knew but he wished there was more light for the simple fact it would be easier to inspect he weapons. He walked up to the counter and saw that there was no one in the shop. Cloud shook his head and decided that it didn't matter.
"What do you want to try first Cassandra," Cloud asked her from the counter.
"It doesn't matter. Give me whatever you think that I will be good at using," she replied from where she was standing.
"No it doesn't work that way Cassandra. You chose the weapon that fits you the weapon doesn't always choose you," Cloud said as he reached up and grabbed a sword and walked over to where she was.
"Try this Cassandra. The sword is a weapon that requires quick thoughts and reflexes which it seems to me that you have," Cloud said.
"Ok Cloud I will try it," she replied.
She took the sword from him and swung it around and tried to fight with it. It seemed to fit her hand perfectly and it wasn't overbalanced like many things that she had used in the past. She liked the sword and so she said, "I like this weapon Cloud. I think that I could learn to use it because it feels like it was made for my hand."
Cloud nodded his head because he knew weapons and he knew people. He knew that the perfect weapon for her was the sword because she liked the knife. The knife was just a shorter version of the sword. She liked the way it looked Cloud could tell and so he placed the money on the counter and left with her in tow with her new sword.
Cloud looked at her when they got outside and he said, "Would you like to rest here in the town for a day or two."
"That would be nice. I am tired of sleeping outdoors and I could use a shower," she said with her eyes sparking at the thought of taking a shower. Cloud couldn't help but smile because he knew that for her it was a kind of hell not being able to shower every day like she wanted.
"Well let's go and see if there are any rooms for rent shall we," Cloud said as they headed towards the inn.
Once there Cloud asked if there were any rooms available and there was only one room so he said that he would take it. He turned and looked at Cassandra who looked nervous and he said, "What's wrong. You wanted to stay here and there was only one room so we are going to have to share ok."
"It is not ok I just don't want you to think that you can take advantage of me just because I wanted to stay here," she said still nervous as Cloud thought she looked almost scared.
"Listen I don't want anything from you. You can have the bed and I will sleep on the floor or somewhere so don't worry ok. I am not going to take advantage of you I can promise you that," Cloud said and he could tell that she seemed less scared at those words from him.
With that they went upstairs to their room and Cloud saw that there was a couch in their room and he decided that he would sleep on that so that she wasn't worried about him trying to take advantage of her or anything else like that. He sat down on the couch and waited for Cassandra to come over to him like he knew that she would after she had put her things on the bed.
She came over to Cloud and she asked curiously, "What are you doing. You are just sitting there. Don't you have anything to unpack or something to do."
He looked up at her and smiled. "No I don't. All I have is my sword and that goes with me everywhere I go. I was just waiting here for you so that I could tell you that I am going down to the common room and get something to eat. You can join me when you are ready."
"Ok Cloud I will do that. First though I need to take a shower so I would appreciate it if you would leave the room please," she said with her hands on her hips. Cloud knew the look and when Tifa got that look he knew that the best thing to do was to comply with whatever they wanted. Cloud stood up and left the room shaking his head.
He still couldn't believe that he had brought her along but he had had another dream the night that she had shown up where Aeris had come to him and told him that she was important and that he should keep her close. He had thought that it was just a dream but he wasn't so sure now. He hoped that Aeris would come back to him because he wanted to talk to her again. He missed her so much it hurt at times.
* * * * *
Reno was standing in a house that he hadn't been in for more than ten years. The last time that he had been there was when Tseng had wanted him to stop by and take care of his wife which he didn't do. Reno just couldn't bring himself to kill Tseng's wife which was something that Tseng couldn't do either. Now it seemed Tseng wanted his help with something else.
Reno wandered why Tseng had changed so much in the last years. He had turned into a drunk and had wanted his wife killed. That wasn't the Tseng that he knew and Reno knew that there had to be a reason behind it. Those were thoughts for another day though Reno decided as Tseng walked into the room wearing his old Turks uniform with his sunglasses on.
Tseng looked over to his old companion and said in his formal tone of voice that he had used back in the days of the Turks, "I need your help Reno."
"Yeah you told me that Tseng but with what," Reno demanded because if it was to kill someone other than someone who needed it Reno wouldn't agree.
"I need your help in getting my daughter back. She left and I would like her to come back home. I will even consent to let you marry her like you wanted to day a couple years ago if you help me get her back," Tseng said still in his business like voice.
Reno couldn't believe it. He had seen Tseng's daughter two years before and she had been a beautiful woman and he had wanted to know if Tseng was wanting to marry her off. Tseng had refused but now he would get his wish if he helped Tseng get his daughter back for him. That was an opportunity that Reno couldn't pass up. "I will help you Tseng but where do we start looking," Reno asked frowning.
At that time another man stepped into the room from the room that Tseng had been. The man was tall standing near six and a half feet tall with long black hair and eyes that shone blue in the dark. He had a sword strapped to his back and he was smiling. "My men have told me that the girl that you seek is with Cloud Stryfe. IF you head to the town of Niren now then you may get there in time to get her back. That is where they are at right now my men have told me. My men will be waiting for you there so if you please get there capture Cloud for me will you."
"Yeah we'll do that," Reno said sarcastically. "We couldn't beat him twenty years ago like we could do it now."
"Now now don't be that way. I know you can do it if you have enough men. Cloud isn't unstoppable you just have to know how to stop him," the man purred.
Reno didn't like the man in the least but he knew when to shut up so he and Tseng left the house and went in search of a plane to take them to the town. Reno hoped that Cloud wasn't there because he had no wish to die. He was still too young to die and he had heard that Cloud wasn't afraid of killing a person now. In the old days Cloud had let them live but it seemed that had all changed with him being hunted for nearly twenty years.
* * * * *
Tifa and her companions walked into the town of Niren. Hey were tired and they wanted to rest. They had pushed themselves extremely hard as well as their Chocobos. They went straight to the inn and stabled their mounts there and paid the stablehand a few gil in order to water and feed their mounts.
They had covered a lot of ground in the last couple of days and all signs that they had found of Cloud had pointed to this small town. They hoped that he was still there but they weren't sure. It had been three days since they had left Costa Del Sol and they weren't sure that Cloud had actually come here.
They wanted to rest for a day though and so they went into the inn and went to the owner to rent a room. He had only one room and that was because one of the men that had been staying there had vacated after a couple had come into the inn. The man had left in a hurry it seemed and hadn't even taken everything of his from the room it seemed.
"Well do you want the room or not," Tifa asked her companions who looked as tired as she felt. She wondered if she looked that bad and that dirty. She hoped not but she knew that she could use a shower.
"I would like the room if for no other reason than to take a shower," Marlene said and Yuffie nodded her head at that. She too wanted a shower and would welcome anything besides the ground to sleep on.
"Ok then we will take the room how much," Tifa asked the owner.
"It will be 100 gil a night," he said as he held out his hand. Tifa pulled out the coins and gave them to the man. It wasn't like she didn't have enough. Heck she had more than enough and that was why they were using Chocobos. She didn't want to walk everywhere because there would be no way that they could ever catch Cloud on foot.
"Your room is the room that is the first on the left at the top of the stairs," the owner said.
"Thank you," Tifa said as she led her companions up to the room. As they opened the door and went inside they failed to see a man with Spikey blonde hair and striking blue eyes come out of a room farther down the hall.
* * * * *
Cloud walked down to the common room and sat there for over an hour before Cassandra came down to join him. Cloud had to admit that she looked a lot better after taking a shower and having her hair combed back from her face. Cloud frowned then for he didn't see her sword anywhere.
"Where is your sword," Cloud asked her as she sat down next to him.
"It is in the room yet. I didn't think that I would need it down here," she replied.
"Your first lesson will be that you never leave your sword anywhere. You always take your weapon with you wherever you go because you never know when you will need it. The choice is yours though when to carry it and when not to carry it so I won't demand that you carry at all times because as much as I hate to admit it you don't need it all the time," Cloud said to her as a waitress came over their table.
"Yeah I will have the special," Cloud said to the waitress.
"Same here," Cassandra replied to the waitress's raised eyebrow.
"Anything to drink," the waitress asked.
"Just water," Cloud replied.
"I'll have a soda," Cassandra said as the waitress took their orders and went to the back.
They waited for about twenty minutes for their food and when it arrived Cassandra dove right in. She ate like she hadn't ate in a few days and Cloud was wondering about that. She must not have much money or she wouldn't be eating the way that she was.
Cloud didn't say anything to her though and so he ate what was on his plate and looked around the room. He noticed that there weren't that many people there and he was wondering that meant. There should have at least been a few people in the common room eating or drinking or some such thing.
Cloud got done eating and stood up. He was starting to get tired for some reason and he decided that he was going to go up and get some sleep. Cassandra looked up at him and asked with a hint of concern in her voice, "What's wrong?"
"I am tired so I think that I will go up and go to sleep. Don't let me stop you from having fun though," Cloud said.
"That's alright because I was going to go up and get some sleep myself," she replied as she stood up and they went up to the room and she laid down on the bed and put her back to Cloud who was laying on the couch. He didn't look at her because there would only be one woman for him and didn't know if he would ever find her.
Cloud was back on the cliff edge overlooking the same scene that he had a few days ago. So he wasn't that surprised when Aeris walked up to him and sat down next to him. She looked at him and sadly shook her head.
"What's wrong Aeris," Cloud asked concerned for her.
She smiled at him then and said gently, "You are still worried about me even though I am gone. That is what makes you so special Cloud. You care for other people more than you do for yourself. Nothing is wrong with me though it is what is wrong with you."
Cloud just sat there and wondered what she meant that there was something wrong with him. He felt fine and that was all that mattered to him. He turned to her and asked, "What do you mean."
"I mean that you need to love again Cloud. Don't worry about being so distant just love the woman that you were meant to love. Tifa loves you Cloud even though she said those things," Aeris said but to tell the truth she wasn't sure that Tifa did love Cloud that way anymore. Aeris wondered if Tifa loved Cloud more like a brother now than anything else.
"I honestly don't think that she does Aeris. I don't know why but the more I think about it the more I know that she is not the woman for me. I don't know why either but it is something that has been bothering me for some time now," Cloud said to Aeris who was his best friend at the moment.
Aeris looked at Cloud and she hurt for him since he wouldn't let pain interfere with what he had to do. "Cloud I don't know for sure if she loves you but I would think that she does. I don't know things like that but what I do know is that you are needed to save the world once again," Aeris said getting serious.
"I don't want to save the world. I want to save the children and nothing more. My life has been filled with too much pain and I am getting tired of it," Cloud answered her.
"Don't worry when you save the children then you will have saved the world. Now though that you need the girl Cassandra at your side. She is one of the few that will be there for the last battle. When that happens you will to make a choice and I hope that you make the right one," Aeris said as she faded away into the mist that suddenly appeared.
Cloud awoke and felt fully refreshed as if he had slept for an entire day. He stood up from the couch and then grabbed his sword and slung it over his shoulder. He walked to the door and he silently left the room so as not to disturb Cassandra.
He guessed that he had slept for around five or six hours which in truth was plenty of rest for him. He walked down to the common room and went over to a corner table and sat down so that he could see the door and the stairs both to notice whoever came down the stairs or came in the door.
Cloud just sat there for more than half an hour drinking nothing but water. It was early in the morning maybe 5:00 a.m. Cloud wasn't the least bit worried that he would be found by the people who wanted him because he was looking for ward to them finding him. He wanted to do something but he just couldn't leave like he wanted to while Cassandra was sleeping since he had said that she could travel with him.
Cloud heard steps of maybe three people coming down the stairs and he turned so that he could see who it was. As the three people came down the stairs Cloud couldn't believe who he was seeing. He had left them behind hoping that they would stay there but it seemed Tifa was still as stubborn as she had always been which made Cloud smile.
It was at that moment that Tifa saw Cloud and she inhaled sharply. She couldn't believe that he was actually down there sitting at the table. She couldn't believe it because she was sure that he had already left the town. She ran down the stairs and over to where Cloud was. She had expected him to stand up but he just sat there calmly like he had always been.
She knew that he was acting that way because he still didn't believe them when she had said that they were sorry. She looked at Cloud who was across the table from her and she said happily, "Cloud we have found you!"
"Yeah it seems that you have now what do you want," Cloud asked still with a slight smile on his face which was making Tifa wonder if he was half crazy.
"We want to travel with you and to tell you that we really are sorry for the way that we acted," Tifa told Cloud.
"Is that so. Well according to you I had to go alone but it seems that I won't be rid of you that much I know from our days together from so long ago. You might as well sit down and have something to drink Tifa. Same with you Yuffie, Marlene," Cloud said calmly.
As the three of them sat down the door burst open and about a dozen men came running into the room. In the lead was a couple of men that Cloud knew quite well from a long time ago. Cloud shook his head as the pieces were coming together. It seemed everyone who was involved all those years ago were getting involved now as well.
Reno was standing next to Tseng who were both wearing their Turk suits and their sunglasses. Tseng looked around the room and his eyes settled on Cloud and he growled out more like an animal than a human, "Where is my daughter Cloud. Tell me now and you can live."
Cloud saw the expressions on the faces of his three companions and he had to smile at the looks that they were giving him. He couldn't help it because the looks were saying so you were traveling with a girl huh? "I don't know what you are talking about Tseng," Cloud said because he really didn't.
"You know who I am talking about Cloud. The girl that you are traveling with the girl named Cassandra. That is my daughter," Tseng said.
"So it seems that you weren't going alone anyway," Yuffie demanded of Cloud as her eyes blazed.
Cloud shrugged his shoulders and he looked to the stairs to see that Cassandra was standing at the bottom of them with her sword on her back much like Cloud wore his. He shook his head because Cassandra yelled at her father, "I will go nowhere with you father. I will go where I want to and that is with Cloud!"
"You will go where I want you to girl. Cloud won't be going anywhere because we were sent here to make sure that he didn't leave this place unless it was as our prisoner!" Tseng yelled right back to his daughter.
Cloud slowly stood up and looked at his friends. "Well it seems that we shall see if any of you remember how to fight. In case you didn't know it we are a bit older and I believe that you two have slowed down," Cloud said smiling widely as the blood started to flow with pre-battle excitement.
He looked over to Tseng and said pleasantly, "Well Tseng it seems that your daughter doesn't want to go with you. I don't want to go with you and so we are at a crossroads. What do you think that we should do about this."
"The two of you have no choice in the matter," Tseng whispered in a cold voice to Cloud. With those words the men started to advance with their swords drawn. Cloud and his friends fanned out and they waited letting the enemies make the first move.
Unexpected Visitors
Cloud awoke and saw that Cassandra was working out moving through moves with a rather large knife. Cloud could tell that it wasn't really a weapon it was more of a kitchen utensil. Cloud wondered if she knew what she was doing because it didn't really look like it. Cloud figured that if she ever got in a real fight using the knife like she was she would be killed rather shortly. He didn't want to see that even though he didn't know anything about her.
Cloud felt that he needed to show her how to use that weapon even though it didn't look like the weapon that would fit her. He didn't know what that would be but he decided that the next town that they came to he would buy a variety of weapons and let her try them out so that she could see if any of them felt right to her.
Cloud walked up behind her silent as a shadow and touched her on the shoulder hoping that she would stop what she was doing. She did stop but she whirled around with the knife extended in a slash for his chest. Cloud caught her by the wrist and held her arm in place.
She noticed that it was Cloud then and she let go of the knife as she said horrified, "Oh my god I'm so sorry Cloud I … I didn't mean it. I thought that it was someone else I am just so sorry."
Cloud said softly to her, "Don't worry about it. It is just me and not whoever you feared it was." She looked at him and smiled shyly as she wiped her tears away.
"Thanks Cloud for not getting angry at me for what I did," she said back still smiling.
Cloud bent down and picked up her knife and looked at it. He didn't like the knife because it wasn't balanced at all. The knife weighed too much at the front than it should have which would throw off any cut you made with it. It was too dull to even put an edge on now which meant that she had been using the knife for doing things other than fighting.
Cloud turned back to Cassandra then and held the knife out to her hilt first. She pulled the knife out of his hand and it didn't cut his hand, which is what he figured. He knew it was extremely dull then and he would have to get her a new weapon shortly. "Show me how you hold the knife," Cloud said like a teacher would to a student which is what he felt like at the moment.
She gripped the hilt so hard that her knuckles were turning white and Cloud started to shake his head. "No you don't grip the knife so hard. If you are going to be traveling with me then you need to know how to defend yourself. Now on how to hold the knife will be your first lesson. You hold the knife gently not so hard," Cloud said to Cassandra.
He noticed that she softened her grip but was still holding the knife too hard so he tried to think of some other way to explain how to hold it to her. A thought occurred to him then and he wondered if she had ever had a boyfriend. It didn't matter because that was how he was going to explain it to her. "You are doing better but you are still holding the knife too hard. How about trying this. Hold the knife hilt like you would the face of your boyfriend. Gently hold it nearly caressing the hilt holding just tightly to keep it in place without it moving too much," Cloud said.
He noticed that she was doing better much better. She was holding the knife better, actually just about right. "Why do you hold it like this. I thought that you held it tight," Cassandra inquired.
"No you don't hold the blade so tight because if you do you will do more harm to yourself than good. If you hold the hilt so hard then when you parry someone's slash it will put a lot of stress on your arm muscles. That will tire you out too quickly in a fight and get you killed, or it will hurt you arm muscles. Second if you hold the blade lightly when you block a cut it will slide off your blade and make your parries easier sometimes. Holding it tight but not tight enough to hurt your own hand Cassandra. I will train you and you will learn," Cloud said in his instructing voice.
"I didn't even say if I was going to go with you," Cassandra said with a smile creasing her face.
Cloud looked away for a second because she was right he really hadn't asked if she wanted to travel with him. He had just figured that if she was still there in the morning then she would want to travel with him. "Well do you want to travel with me even though it will be dangerous," Cloud asked her.
"Well I think that I would like to travel with you. I think that the safest place from my father is with you," Cassandra said hoping that she was right. She didn't know if even Cloud would keep her father away if he wanted her back.
"Well let's get going Cassandra. I need to get going if I am to do what I said that I would do," Cloud said as he turned from her and started across the landscape.
"What did you say that you would do," Cassandra asked politely. Cloud shook his head at her because he really couldn't believe that he was telling her anything at all. He didn't think that he would tell anyone anything about what he was doing and yet he was surprising himself about what he was willing to tell Cassandra.
"I promised a friend that I would get back her children from whomever has taken them. I will find out where the people are and then I will kill whomever I have to in order to get the children back," Cloud said coldly as his eyes glowed.
"Then I will travel with you wherever you go," Cassandra said just like Tifa would have Cloud thought and he missed Tifa at that moment though he would never let it show.
* * * * *
Tifa couldn't believe that they Marlene and Yuffie had been thinking the same thing as she herself had been thinking. They had decided late at night that they would leave and try to find Cloud because they knew that he would need the help if he didn't think that he would and even if he thought that he didn't want them around.
They only problem with what they were going to do was that they knew Cid and Vincent along with Barret would not be happy when they found out that they had left. They would probably come after them which wouldn't be al that bad since the whole group would be together again. It would be nice to travel again with everyone Tifa thought as she pulled on her fighting gloves and filled a backpack with what she thought that she would need.
As she finished packing Marlene and Yuffie each came into her room with a backpack slung over their shoulders and their weapons ready in case they needed to fight monsters or something on the way. They had an idea of where Cloud would be heading but they were a little bit behind him so they would need something to help them catch up. That was why they were going to take Chocobos. It would allow them to cover twice as much ground and make sure that they didn't miss Cloud somewhere.
Yuffie was fingering her weapon and Tifa noticed that she had a lot of shurikens on her belt and other places. Tifa could tell that Yuffie was glad that she was finally doing something even though they were going against what the letter had said that Cloud had to go alone. They hoped that the note didn't really mean that since if whoever had taken Yuffie's children meant that they would harm the children if anyone but Cloud had went.
Tifa looked over at Marlene and saw that she had two pistols strapped to her sides in their holsters and she was wearing fighting gloves like Tifa herself was. Tifa had helped train Marlene in how to defend herself since she wanted her to be able to fight back if she was ever in trouble because of men trying to force themselves on her or if she had ever left the city and was attacked by monsters. Barret had felt that she needed to learn how to shoot a gun and so Marlene was good with multiple weapons instead of just one like most of them.
Tifa had been practicing every day for the last twenty years and that was one of the reasons that she was in the shape that she was in. She had been determined to keep herself in top shape just in case she was needed to help people out again like in her old Avalanche days.
She smiled at her friends and said, "Are you two ready then."
"You bet Tifa. I am ready," Marlene said with all the enthusiasm of youth.
"I am ready as well Tifa," Yuffie said without any hint of excitement like she would have had all those years ago. She was older now Tifa knew and that age had changed her, made her more wise.
The three of them left the house silently not wanting to alert Cid and Barret who wouldn't be happy about Marlene going at all. The thing was Tifa needed Marlene to go which she knew was selfish of her but she needed Marlene because she was the only one that she was sure Cloud would talk to.
* * * * *
It had been two days since Cloud had met up with Cassandra and he was starting to like her which he really didn't want to admit to himself. The thing was she reminded him of someone but he didn't know who. He shrugged his shoulders and didn't think about it again.
They were outside of a small village that had just been built in the last ten years or so. The village was named Niren for the man who had been the founder. Cloud found that foolish because the man wasn't that great. No man was great enough in Cloud's opinion that they needed to be remembered by naming the town after that.
"I have never been here," Cassandra said as she looked around. The village was larger than it appeared from outside of the village.
"I have been here before but only a few times. I think the first thing that we will do is go find you a real weapon," Cloud said as he took the lead. He led her down streets and from door to door until he found the weapon shop. Once there he led her into the shop.
The shop was dimly lit by only a small lamp in one corner. It was for effect Cloud knew but he wished there was more light for the simple fact it would be easier to inspect he weapons. He walked up to the counter and saw that there was no one in the shop. Cloud shook his head and decided that it didn't matter.
"What do you want to try first Cassandra," Cloud asked her from the counter.
"It doesn't matter. Give me whatever you think that I will be good at using," she replied from where she was standing.
"No it doesn't work that way Cassandra. You chose the weapon that fits you the weapon doesn't always choose you," Cloud said as he reached up and grabbed a sword and walked over to where she was.
"Try this Cassandra. The sword is a weapon that requires quick thoughts and reflexes which it seems to me that you have," Cloud said.
"Ok Cloud I will try it," she replied.
She took the sword from him and swung it around and tried to fight with it. It seemed to fit her hand perfectly and it wasn't overbalanced like many things that she had used in the past. She liked the sword and so she said, "I like this weapon Cloud. I think that I could learn to use it because it feels like it was made for my hand."
Cloud nodded his head because he knew weapons and he knew people. He knew that the perfect weapon for her was the sword because she liked the knife. The knife was just a shorter version of the sword. She liked the way it looked Cloud could tell and so he placed the money on the counter and left with her in tow with her new sword.
Cloud looked at her when they got outside and he said, "Would you like to rest here in the town for a day or two."
"That would be nice. I am tired of sleeping outdoors and I could use a shower," she said with her eyes sparking at the thought of taking a shower. Cloud couldn't help but smile because he knew that for her it was a kind of hell not being able to shower every day like she wanted.
"Well let's go and see if there are any rooms for rent shall we," Cloud said as they headed towards the inn.
Once there Cloud asked if there were any rooms available and there was only one room so he said that he would take it. He turned and looked at Cassandra who looked nervous and he said, "What's wrong. You wanted to stay here and there was only one room so we are going to have to share ok."
"It is not ok I just don't want you to think that you can take advantage of me just because I wanted to stay here," she said still nervous as Cloud thought she looked almost scared.
"Listen I don't want anything from you. You can have the bed and I will sleep on the floor or somewhere so don't worry ok. I am not going to take advantage of you I can promise you that," Cloud said and he could tell that she seemed less scared at those words from him.
With that they went upstairs to their room and Cloud saw that there was a couch in their room and he decided that he would sleep on that so that she wasn't worried about him trying to take advantage of her or anything else like that. He sat down on the couch and waited for Cassandra to come over to him like he knew that she would after she had put her things on the bed.
She came over to Cloud and she asked curiously, "What are you doing. You are just sitting there. Don't you have anything to unpack or something to do."
He looked up at her and smiled. "No I don't. All I have is my sword and that goes with me everywhere I go. I was just waiting here for you so that I could tell you that I am going down to the common room and get something to eat. You can join me when you are ready."
"Ok Cloud I will do that. First though I need to take a shower so I would appreciate it if you would leave the room please," she said with her hands on her hips. Cloud knew the look and when Tifa got that look he knew that the best thing to do was to comply with whatever they wanted. Cloud stood up and left the room shaking his head.
He still couldn't believe that he had brought her along but he had had another dream the night that she had shown up where Aeris had come to him and told him that she was important and that he should keep her close. He had thought that it was just a dream but he wasn't so sure now. He hoped that Aeris would come back to him because he wanted to talk to her again. He missed her so much it hurt at times.
* * * * *
Reno was standing in a house that he hadn't been in for more than ten years. The last time that he had been there was when Tseng had wanted him to stop by and take care of his wife which he didn't do. Reno just couldn't bring himself to kill Tseng's wife which was something that Tseng couldn't do either. Now it seemed Tseng wanted his help with something else.
Reno wandered why Tseng had changed so much in the last years. He had turned into a drunk and had wanted his wife killed. That wasn't the Tseng that he knew and Reno knew that there had to be a reason behind it. Those were thoughts for another day though Reno decided as Tseng walked into the room wearing his old Turks uniform with his sunglasses on.
Tseng looked over to his old companion and said in his formal tone of voice that he had used back in the days of the Turks, "I need your help Reno."
"Yeah you told me that Tseng but with what," Reno demanded because if it was to kill someone other than someone who needed it Reno wouldn't agree.
"I need your help in getting my daughter back. She left and I would like her to come back home. I will even consent to let you marry her like you wanted to day a couple years ago if you help me get her back," Tseng said still in his business like voice.
Reno couldn't believe it. He had seen Tseng's daughter two years before and she had been a beautiful woman and he had wanted to know if Tseng was wanting to marry her off. Tseng had refused but now he would get his wish if he helped Tseng get his daughter back for him. That was an opportunity that Reno couldn't pass up. "I will help you Tseng but where do we start looking," Reno asked frowning.
At that time another man stepped into the room from the room that Tseng had been. The man was tall standing near six and a half feet tall with long black hair and eyes that shone blue in the dark. He had a sword strapped to his back and he was smiling. "My men have told me that the girl that you seek is with Cloud Stryfe. IF you head to the town of Niren now then you may get there in time to get her back. That is where they are at right now my men have told me. My men will be waiting for you there so if you please get there capture Cloud for me will you."
"Yeah we'll do that," Reno said sarcastically. "We couldn't beat him twenty years ago like we could do it now."
"Now now don't be that way. I know you can do it if you have enough men. Cloud isn't unstoppable you just have to know how to stop him," the man purred.
Reno didn't like the man in the least but he knew when to shut up so he and Tseng left the house and went in search of a plane to take them to the town. Reno hoped that Cloud wasn't there because he had no wish to die. He was still too young to die and he had heard that Cloud wasn't afraid of killing a person now. In the old days Cloud had let them live but it seemed that had all changed with him being hunted for nearly twenty years.
* * * * *
Tifa and her companions walked into the town of Niren. Hey were tired and they wanted to rest. They had pushed themselves extremely hard as well as their Chocobos. They went straight to the inn and stabled their mounts there and paid the stablehand a few gil in order to water and feed their mounts.
They had covered a lot of ground in the last couple of days and all signs that they had found of Cloud had pointed to this small town. They hoped that he was still there but they weren't sure. It had been three days since they had left Costa Del Sol and they weren't sure that Cloud had actually come here.
They wanted to rest for a day though and so they went into the inn and went to the owner to rent a room. He had only one room and that was because one of the men that had been staying there had vacated after a couple had come into the inn. The man had left in a hurry it seemed and hadn't even taken everything of his from the room it seemed.
"Well do you want the room or not," Tifa asked her companions who looked as tired as she felt. She wondered if she looked that bad and that dirty. She hoped not but she knew that she could use a shower.
"I would like the room if for no other reason than to take a shower," Marlene said and Yuffie nodded her head at that. She too wanted a shower and would welcome anything besides the ground to sleep on.
"Ok then we will take the room how much," Tifa asked the owner.
"It will be 100 gil a night," he said as he held out his hand. Tifa pulled out the coins and gave them to the man. It wasn't like she didn't have enough. Heck she had more than enough and that was why they were using Chocobos. She didn't want to walk everywhere because there would be no way that they could ever catch Cloud on foot.
"Your room is the room that is the first on the left at the top of the stairs," the owner said.
"Thank you," Tifa said as she led her companions up to the room. As they opened the door and went inside they failed to see a man with Spikey blonde hair and striking blue eyes come out of a room farther down the hall.
* * * * *
Cloud walked down to the common room and sat there for over an hour before Cassandra came down to join him. Cloud had to admit that she looked a lot better after taking a shower and having her hair combed back from her face. Cloud frowned then for he didn't see her sword anywhere.
"Where is your sword," Cloud asked her as she sat down next to him.
"It is in the room yet. I didn't think that I would need it down here," she replied.
"Your first lesson will be that you never leave your sword anywhere. You always take your weapon with you wherever you go because you never know when you will need it. The choice is yours though when to carry it and when not to carry it so I won't demand that you carry at all times because as much as I hate to admit it you don't need it all the time," Cloud said to her as a waitress came over their table.
"Yeah I will have the special," Cloud said to the waitress.
"Same here," Cassandra replied to the waitress's raised eyebrow.
"Anything to drink," the waitress asked.
"Just water," Cloud replied.
"I'll have a soda," Cassandra said as the waitress took their orders and went to the back.
They waited for about twenty minutes for their food and when it arrived Cassandra dove right in. She ate like she hadn't ate in a few days and Cloud was wondering about that. She must not have much money or she wouldn't be eating the way that she was.
Cloud didn't say anything to her though and so he ate what was on his plate and looked around the room. He noticed that there weren't that many people there and he was wondering that meant. There should have at least been a few people in the common room eating or drinking or some such thing.
Cloud got done eating and stood up. He was starting to get tired for some reason and he decided that he was going to go up and get some sleep. Cassandra looked up at him and asked with a hint of concern in her voice, "What's wrong?"
"I am tired so I think that I will go up and go to sleep. Don't let me stop you from having fun though," Cloud said.
"That's alright because I was going to go up and get some sleep myself," she replied as she stood up and they went up to the room and she laid down on the bed and put her back to Cloud who was laying on the couch. He didn't look at her because there would only be one woman for him and didn't know if he would ever find her.
Cloud was back on the cliff edge overlooking the same scene that he had a few days ago. So he wasn't that surprised when Aeris walked up to him and sat down next to him. She looked at him and sadly shook her head.
"What's wrong Aeris," Cloud asked concerned for her.
She smiled at him then and said gently, "You are still worried about me even though I am gone. That is what makes you so special Cloud. You care for other people more than you do for yourself. Nothing is wrong with me though it is what is wrong with you."
Cloud just sat there and wondered what she meant that there was something wrong with him. He felt fine and that was all that mattered to him. He turned to her and asked, "What do you mean."
"I mean that you need to love again Cloud. Don't worry about being so distant just love the woman that you were meant to love. Tifa loves you Cloud even though she said those things," Aeris said but to tell the truth she wasn't sure that Tifa did love Cloud that way anymore. Aeris wondered if Tifa loved Cloud more like a brother now than anything else.
"I honestly don't think that she does Aeris. I don't know why but the more I think about it the more I know that she is not the woman for me. I don't know why either but it is something that has been bothering me for some time now," Cloud said to Aeris who was his best friend at the moment.
Aeris looked at Cloud and she hurt for him since he wouldn't let pain interfere with what he had to do. "Cloud I don't know for sure if she loves you but I would think that she does. I don't know things like that but what I do know is that you are needed to save the world once again," Aeris said getting serious.
"I don't want to save the world. I want to save the children and nothing more. My life has been filled with too much pain and I am getting tired of it," Cloud answered her.
"Don't worry when you save the children then you will have saved the world. Now though that you need the girl Cassandra at your side. She is one of the few that will be there for the last battle. When that happens you will to make a choice and I hope that you make the right one," Aeris said as she faded away into the mist that suddenly appeared.
Cloud awoke and felt fully refreshed as if he had slept for an entire day. He stood up from the couch and then grabbed his sword and slung it over his shoulder. He walked to the door and he silently left the room so as not to disturb Cassandra.
He guessed that he had slept for around five or six hours which in truth was plenty of rest for him. He walked down to the common room and went over to a corner table and sat down so that he could see the door and the stairs both to notice whoever came down the stairs or came in the door.
Cloud just sat there for more than half an hour drinking nothing but water. It was early in the morning maybe 5:00 a.m. Cloud wasn't the least bit worried that he would be found by the people who wanted him because he was looking for ward to them finding him. He wanted to do something but he just couldn't leave like he wanted to while Cassandra was sleeping since he had said that she could travel with him.
Cloud heard steps of maybe three people coming down the stairs and he turned so that he could see who it was. As the three people came down the stairs Cloud couldn't believe who he was seeing. He had left them behind hoping that they would stay there but it seemed Tifa was still as stubborn as she had always been which made Cloud smile.
It was at that moment that Tifa saw Cloud and she inhaled sharply. She couldn't believe that he was actually down there sitting at the table. She couldn't believe it because she was sure that he had already left the town. She ran down the stairs and over to where Cloud was. She had expected him to stand up but he just sat there calmly like he had always been.
She knew that he was acting that way because he still didn't believe them when she had said that they were sorry. She looked at Cloud who was across the table from her and she said happily, "Cloud we have found you!"
"Yeah it seems that you have now what do you want," Cloud asked still with a slight smile on his face which was making Tifa wonder if he was half crazy.
"We want to travel with you and to tell you that we really are sorry for the way that we acted," Tifa told Cloud.
"Is that so. Well according to you I had to go alone but it seems that I won't be rid of you that much I know from our days together from so long ago. You might as well sit down and have something to drink Tifa. Same with you Yuffie, Marlene," Cloud said calmly.
As the three of them sat down the door burst open and about a dozen men came running into the room. In the lead was a couple of men that Cloud knew quite well from a long time ago. Cloud shook his head as the pieces were coming together. It seemed everyone who was involved all those years ago were getting involved now as well.
Reno was standing next to Tseng who were both wearing their Turk suits and their sunglasses. Tseng looked around the room and his eyes settled on Cloud and he growled out more like an animal than a human, "Where is my daughter Cloud. Tell me now and you can live."
Cloud saw the expressions on the faces of his three companions and he had to smile at the looks that they were giving him. He couldn't help it because the looks were saying so you were traveling with a girl huh? "I don't know what you are talking about Tseng," Cloud said because he really didn't.
"You know who I am talking about Cloud. The girl that you are traveling with the girl named Cassandra. That is my daughter," Tseng said.
"So it seems that you weren't going alone anyway," Yuffie demanded of Cloud as her eyes blazed.
Cloud shrugged his shoulders and he looked to the stairs to see that Cassandra was standing at the bottom of them with her sword on her back much like Cloud wore his. He shook his head because Cassandra yelled at her father, "I will go nowhere with you father. I will go where I want to and that is with Cloud!"
"You will go where I want you to girl. Cloud won't be going anywhere because we were sent here to make sure that he didn't leave this place unless it was as our prisoner!" Tseng yelled right back to his daughter.
Cloud slowly stood up and looked at his friends. "Well it seems that we shall see if any of you remember how to fight. In case you didn't know it we are a bit older and I believe that you two have slowed down," Cloud said smiling widely as the blood started to flow with pre-battle excitement.
He looked over to Tseng and said pleasantly, "Well Tseng it seems that your daughter doesn't want to go with you. I don't want to go with you and so we are at a crossroads. What do you think that we should do about this."
"The two of you have no choice in the matter," Tseng whispered in a cold voice to Cloud. With those words the men started to advance with their swords drawn. Cloud and his friends fanned out and they waited letting the enemies make the first move.
