"So,
what were those things, anyhow?" Yuffie turned from gazing out of
the Inn window.
"Clones," Cloud sighed, "of us."
"I
take it that's not a good thing," Cid winced as he tried to smoke
another cigarette.
"And do they have the same abilities as we
do, or what?" Cait Sith asked.
Cloud shook his head. "You're
asking me things I don't know–I couldn't gather much from the
conversation between Hojo and that kid."
Beside him, Tifa let
out a sound of disapproval. Cloud frowned back at her.
"He was
good to help us, now that I think of it," Nanaki growled, curling
up beside the fireplace at the right-hand side of the room.
"Too
bad we couldn't do anything to help him," Barret crossed his
arms. Tifa let out another angry noise. Several of them turned to
look at her this time.
She abruptly stood up. "I'm
leaving."
"Why!" everyone cried in shock.
"I'm not
just going to sit here and think of ways I could have helped him,"
she strode toward the door. Cloud leapt up and grabbed her wrist, and
she turned to glare at him.
"Going back there right now is
suicide," he reasoned. "I would like to help him–we all
would–but I think we should be sure those clones aren't out for
our blood yet."
"So we're going to sit here and wait to
die!" she snapped back.
"No, but–" he couldn't retort
fast enough; she pulled away from him and opened the door.
"I'll
be back."
They all watched her march toward the Highwind,
silent. Red XIII started forward, but Cloud held out an arm and
walked forward instead. He reached her as she led their golden
chocobo–Kinto–out onto the field. Tifa secured the saddle and
reins on Kinto's back and head, preparing to mount him.
"You
can't go alone, you know," he said. She adjusted the final straps
on the large gold bird.
"Kinto's fast–he can outrun
anything," she answered.
"What about when you're not riding
him? You have to get off him to look for the guy."
"His name
is Zeo," Tifa snapped, "and he saved my life not once, or twice,
but three times. I'm not going to wait for him to just magically
appear on the doorstep!"
Cloud watched her face turn red, then
pink, and she bowed her head.
"Tifa–"
"Cloud, I'm
sorry but...I have to," she said softly. Cloud studied her posture
and tone of voice. Something suddenly struck him and he took a step
back in uncertainty.
"You don't...like this guy, do you?"
She
snapped her gaze back to his. "No! Are you crazy! I..."
Her
voice died in her throat. She merely shook her head and looked up at
him. He blinked in confusion, then reached out to touch her face. She
jumped onto Kinto's back and quickly dug her heels into his side,
making him wark in protest. She and the chocobo raced toward Mt.
Nibel. Cloud watched them go until the last feather of the golden
tail disappeared around a bend in the trail. He turned back to the
others, who had watched the entire spectacle from the doorway.
Cursing underneath his breath, he returned to the Inn.
Tifa
Lockheart kicked aside a twisted Shin-Ra logo and made a face.
"Good
for that," she looked up from her search. Way back at the start of
the markings of ground zero, she saw Kinto's feathers gleaming in
the dawn light. She had been searching most of the night, and dawn
was coming fast. At least she'd have more light; of course, she
would be easier to spot during the daytime.
Coming across the
remains of a mako capsule, she stopped again and called out
softly:
"Zeo? Can you hear me? It's Tifa!"
Her eyes
darted around quickly, looking for anything out of the ordinary. To
her left she spotted the crumbled foundation of the cursed Shin-Ra
building. She wiped the sweat from her brow, her eyebrows knitting
together in frustration.
"Well, this is pointless. Cloud was
right..." she glanced back at the glowing horizon. Suddenly she
cupped her hands around her mouth and screamed: "Zeo! Zeo, can
you hear me! Zeo!"
She listened and only heard the hollow
echo of her own voice. Shaking her head, she turned to run back to
Kinto when something behind her moved. She snapped back around,
taking her fighting stance.
"Who's there!"
A dull
clatter sounded from her left this time. She turned in that direction
and saw a figure rise from the debris. It groaned inhumanly, and Tifa
took an uncertain step back.
"Who...who's–"
"Tifa,"
the person whispered. Her eyes widened and she raced
forward.
"Zeo!"
The white-haired boy collapsed. She
caught him before he hit the ground and lowered him gently, kneeling
beside him.
"Are you okay?"
"You...you got away..." he
gasped, staring up at her dazedly.
"All thanks to you," she
bit her lip, blinking back tears. Zeo's eyes suddenly came into
focus, and the green orbs peered up at her in wonder.
"W-What
happened! ...when...why...!"
"There's no time to explain;
we have to go back now."
"The clones...?"
"I don't
know where they are. Did you defeat them all?"
He shook his
head. "The clones...they–"
A heap of twisted metal beside
them exploded upward. Tifa yelped and held Zeo closer. Together they
watched a shadow rise from the rubble and dust. Then another. Nine
figures stood before them, bright green eyes shining lethally with
mako. Hojo's laugh echoed over the ruins of the old Shin-Ra
building, and he stepped forward.
"Fools!" he cackled. "You
think a mere energy blast can defeat me and my clones! They will
help me create an army of invincible bio-SOLDIERs, with which I shall
rule the world!"
"Oh, get over yourself," Tifa snorted,
drawing Zeo to his feet. They turned away from Hojo and the clones
and she helped him limp away. A figure stepped out in front of them,
and she looked up at Cloud Strife, almost dropping
Zeo.
"C-Cloud...?"
"It's not him," Zeo whispered to
her. "That's one of Hojo's creations."
"Why does it look
so much like him!"
"The clones have your DNA genetically
fused into their own cells. Especially this clone and
yours."
"What!" Tifa gaped at him.
"Tifa," the
Cloud-clone called, extending his hand to her. She stared at his
offer critically, then pushed past him, leading the other boy
away.
"We don't have time for this."
His sword was
suddenly out and lined against the side of her head. She froze, her
brown eyes wide. Zeo growled and tensed beside her.
"Remove...the
sword..." he snarled. 'Cloud' chuckled deeply, playing the
glowing blade of the synthesized Ultima Sword against her
neck.
"What if I slit her from here," he pressed the tip
of the sword to her temple, "to here?" he trailed it down to her
neck. Tifa whimpered, glancing around as the other seven clones
surrounded her and the wounded boy. Zeo tried to step in front of
her, but he almost fell to his knees. Tifa hung onto him, glancing
around for an escape. She suddenly remembered Kinto and let out a
shrill whistle. The clones all took a step back, then the
Yuffie-imposter was bowled over as the golden chocobo dove into their
midst. With a heave, Tifa threw Zeo onto the golden bird's back and
slapped its tail-end hard.
"Go to Cloud!"
The animal let
out a startled wark and shot into the field. Tifa watched Zeo sit up
and hurl something in her direction. With a sharp clink, a red-gold
materia orb landed at her feet.
"Use it!" he called back as
the chocobo carried him over a rise. She scooped it up quickly and
studied it–she had never seen anything like this. The interior was
deep, dark red, encircled by a honey-gold glow. A shape was twisting
in its depths, curled up and waiting to strike.
"Game's up,
girlie!" the Barret-clone rushed at her. Tifa's eyes glinted and
she rushed forward to meet the attack: she gave him a Beat Rush to
the stomach and face; struck a startled Cait Sith-double with her
Somersault; downed Red XIII's copy with a Water Kick; slammed
Vincent's clone with Meteodrive; knocked 'Yuffie' back with her
Dolphin Blow; hit the Cid-look-alike with the Meteor Strike; finally
pulling back her fist and feeding her own clone the Final
Heaven.
They all fell away from her wrath, and she turned her eyes
to 'Cloud', not noticing the strip of blood which suddenly
trailed down her face.
"Not bad, for a human," he muttered.
Tifa stood, brandishing the strange summoning materia. She glared at
the duplicate.
"You're not Cloud–you never will be!" she
yelled, casting the summon.
A strange, haunting tune filled the
air. Darkness overcame the land and a faint red-gold light formed
before her, straight from her chest. Tifa held it in her arms,
feeling its warmth and reassurance–the creature was a familiar one.
The ball of energy expanded, blinding all except the summoner. A
shriek issued from its depths and out burst the Phoenix, flames
shooting from its wings and mane. But this Phoenix was different:
behind its flaming wings was a pair of white and golden-tipped ones.
Then, behind those were a smaller pair of gold and red-webbed
demon-like wings. It's golden eyes lay on the clones and it crooned
its strange song. Red lightning sparked across the wasteland,
encircling the blond–golden bands of energy held him in place. He
grunted, trying to break free. With another shriek, a beam of light
parted the darkness from above and slammed into him.
Tifa
collapsed from the heat of the explosion and the force of her drained
will. Her eyes rolled back into her head as she fell atop the body of
this strange bird, and with a few more haunting notes of its song, it
rose into the air and flew away. 'Cloud' stood and brushed
himself off. His green mako eyes glittered.
"You'll pay for
that, girl."
Hojo began to laugh, and the clones turned to him
obediently.
"Come, my magnificent warriors!" he chirped. "We
must head for another location."
All nine disappeared.
