Chapter Five – Cloud
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I sat in the bar at the inn, waiting for Cid and Vincent to return with this child. I wasn't going to go with Cid. He didn't really need me. Maybe you are wondering why I didn't go with Cid. I doubt that you are though. Even the idea of that mansion is enough to make me break out in a cold sweat.
Sometimes I miss thinking I was Zax, thinking I was this brave hero. Maybe being there wouldn't have been so hard if I still didn't remember. But I did. Five years. Five years of memories that maybe would have been better off gone echoed in my head. I don't know how I stayed sane, maybe I didn't. Begging isn't something you want to remember, for some reason begging someone to kill you sounds so fucking pathetic. Have I done so? Yes, more times then I want to remember.
The glass squeaked in my hand, reminding me that I was too strong to choke it. Taking a deep breath I closed my eyes. It was then I heard something-
-"Ya sure the kid got out here?"
"Yeah, positive. But fucks it, the wolves prolly ate her by now. We've got more important things to do."
"I'm not going in that damned building. Not with Vincent fucking Valentine in there."
The voices faded, the door opened and closed. I left my money on the table and followed. The two men were ex-SOLDIERs from the looks of things. That was really common out here though. Mercenary work was something they were all very good at. They didn't seem to notice me watching them; they kept casting nervous looks up at the Mansion. One shoved a hand in his pocket. "Don't worry; we got something that'll take care of him."
"IF we get close enough. I don't like the idea of fucking with the Turks I know about. Let alone… you know."
The wind picked up then, knocking the hood of my sweatshirt off my head. They turned around at the same moment, eyes going wide. The three of us stared at each other and then rushed at the same time. I was faster then they were. My shoulder struck one in the chest. I shoved back till I heard him connect with the wooden structure still in the center of town. The air left his lungs in a rush, two of his ribs creaked like the glass had in my hand. I was preparing to throw my fist in his face-
-I felt it then, a pinprick.
Whirling I forgot about the first SOLDIER and grabbed the second around the throat. His hands covered mine, leaving the needle in my arm, still full. I knew full well my own strength, but at that point, I didn't care. With another rough squeeze I pulled him down to my level. "Do you even UNDERSTAND how stupid that just was?"
The man gasped a bit, and his friend stirred behind me. With a snarl I chucked the man I held into his companion and pulled the needle out of my arm. I looked down at the vial and let it drop to the ground. Maybe it was important, but I didn't care. No one was EVER going to treat me that way again.
They scrambled backwards, stammering. At least the one I hadn't choked was. Both lifted their arms in protest. "We, we were just look'n for a kid, we weren't gonna…"
"Shut. The. FUCK up." I snapped. "What are you doing here, make it good before I kill you both in the middle of town."
"Shit… shit, look I- I dunno nothing. I just took the money, we thought we'd…" The SOLDIER winced, putting a hand over his ribs.
I'd basically had it, three strides brought me back to them, I grabbed him by the collar. "Then what," I started "do you have on you?"
He handed me a hotel key, it clanged in his shaking fist. "Here, just please, lemme go." I shoved him to the side. The second SOLDIER gained his feet, pulling a second needle from his pocket. All at once we were on our feet again, just out of arms reach. The three of us stared at each other again, though they were certainly not going to run at me again. "I'm warning you." I hissed. "You even think about sticking me with that and you won't be walking away."
"What the hell is goin' on!" Cid's voice broke the sphere of hostility we'd created amongst the three of us. I hoped he was armed, his spear would scare these cowards from just the look of it. They looked over nervously in his direction for a moment, and I knew that he had something on him that scared them. I looked over, and he had... a wrench? Well, at least it was a big one. He must have been in the middle of something, and forgot he had it. The second needle dropped to the dirt as they backed up.
Cid had a sneaky grin on his face, and somehow I suspected that he had a good idea how to use that wrench for more than basic repair work. "I'll take that one," he said with a low growl, pointing at the bigger of the two. He twirled the wrench in his hand and pointed it at him. Now, I knew Cid wasn't particularly fast, so I was completely at a loss of what he was going to do. He didn't leave me wondering very long. With a grunt he propelled the wrench across the air, over my shoulder and right into the forehead of my previous assailant.
Now, I want to make it clear I'm a non-violent person. Vincent and Cid may gut someone for being annoying; I however, take a lot to goad on to such actions. It was a sign of how upset I was when a short, humorless laugh left my mouth. The man staggered, blinking and then falling to his knees. His second pulled him quickly to his feet, dropping three more of the glowing vials before rushing away. I debated running after them, just to twist their heads on backwards. Instead, I picked up one of the needles and turned it over in my hand. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
"Pussies," Cid muttered and walked over to me, "Don't make mercenaries like they used to." He crouched down and inspected one of the vials. It was all so familiar... I'd seen this very odd iridescent color before. I didn't know if I was going to be sick or if I wanted to hurl the needle at the nearest rock. Maybe both.
"Ya ok, Cloud?" Cid asked. I hadn't realized I'd been staring at the needle so long.
A few deep breaths pushed back the full body shudder. "Yeah…" I muttered, sliding the needle into my pocket. "They were going to use whatever these were on Vincent… meaning that they got it from somewhere… but I don't know exactly what it is or why they needed this much. One shot of Domamine is enough to lay Vincent out for enough time to take a child…" I wondered if maybe Shera knew anything about Chemistry. Though she was a soft spot with Cid, he wouldn't want her involved. Maybe asking Nanaki to look them over would be best. I turned and looked at him, still pissed off, and now I was getting worried.
"Bastards," he replied, and stood up, "But the thing is, what the hell are they tryin' to pull? Messin' with you guys is one thing..." He swallowed and walked over to where his wrench lay. "...but a kid. What do they want with a kid like that? She's too scrawny do any more than talk them to death." I began to wonder if it was best to leave Nibelheim now, what would happen next... and why children?
It didn't make sense. Cid was right. If someone wanted to experiment there were plenty of SOLDIERS around, myself and Vincent were also considered medical "anomalies". Why a child? I crushed one of the needles under my boot, remembering that I was supposed to be the leader. "First we need to find someone to tell us what is in these damned needles. Then we take the girl home. After that…" This time I smiled, Cid smiled back, he knew what I was going to say. "…we kick someone's head in."
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