Chapter 30: Cold.
"What do you mean he's gone!" Tifa's yelled echoed throughout the inn.
Cloud shrank under her gaze but was able to choke out, "When we woke up he wasn't in the room. And we checked with the Innkeeper he said our red-cloaked friend had already gone." Cloud explained as quickly as a child who had been caught in the cookie jar.
'Gone?' Yuffie's heart sank.
"Why would he leave?" Tifa sank onto her bed. "Why?"
'He's gone?' Yuffie still couldn't get her mind around the fact that Vincent had left without them.
Cloud looked over the group carefully but remained silent. "Well Cloud? What do we do?" Nanaki asked evenly. Tifa looked up and opened her mouth to speak.
"We go on without him." Cloud said before Tifa could start. Everyone looked at him with surprise.
Yuffie snapped from her thoughts, "Huh! Why?"
Cloud shook his head, "He made his decision." Yuffie began to object but Cloud quickly silenced her, "Any of us can leave at anytime, none of us have to stay." He said with the intention of ending the discussion. But Yuffie...
"What do you mean: "Any of us can leave at anytime."!" Yuffie's face became red with anger. "He's part of the group!" Now it was Cloud's turn to go red.
"SO WAS AERITH!" Cloud roared, "She can't continue now can she? Vincent didn't even shed a tear when she died!" Cloud stopped and took a breath, "I won't travel with someone who doesn't care about his friends." This statement finally silenced Yuffie. After a few moments of silence Cloud looked up. "Lets mosey." The now smaller AVALANCHE filed slowly out of the inn and toward the northern exit of Icicle Inn.
'Am I next to leave?' Yuffie though morosely, 'We've lost 2 people in 2 days... what's going to happen to us?' Her mind was unable to answer that question for it was busy wondering about a certain dark gunman.
"Sorry you can't go that way."
Cloud looked up from his thoughts, "Huh?" His mako eyes focused on a fat man dressed in heavy fur. "What did you say?"
"I said you can't go this way." The man repeated. "Its too dangerous right now. The path leading to the Glacier is blocked by foot."
Cloud shook his head, "You don't understand we HAVE to go north."
The man smiled, "You can't go by foot but our snowboarding runs are still working."
"Snowboarding?" Cloud eyebrows raised, "Hmm thanks." Cloud said as he turned from the man to his diminished group. "What do you guys-"
"There they are!" A shrill voice interrupted the spike haired swordsman. Cloud and the others looked towards the owner of the voice and groaned. "Stop right where you are!" Elena of the Turks ran up to the group followed closely by several Shinra soldiers. "I've got you now!"
"What do you want Elena?" Cloud sighed, rubbing his eyes. "This isn't the best time to mess with us."
Elena took a critical look over the group before her. "Well your "us" seems to be missing a few people." Elena grinned, "Where is the traitor and the pink-dressed bi-" before the word could escape her mouth Tifa nearly level the blonde woman with a quick backhand.
"Don't you dare call her that!" Tifa's eyes glowed with fury. Elena looked up in fear holding her cheek.
"Sephiroth killed her." Yuffie said quietly. "She only wanted to help everyone and Sephiroth murdered her."
Elena's eyes shone in sadness for a moment. She hadn't known Aerith at all but from the way Tseng had talked about her, she felt like she and Aerith were close nonetheless. "I'm sorry."
"Ya should be!" Barret shouted, "It was yer #$ company tha' made Sephiroth!" At the mention of her company Elena's eyes hardened again. "Ya should be ashamed of yerself!"
"It doesn't matter." Elena shrugged, "I just do what the orders say and the orders say to stop you." Elena straightened, "By any means necessary." With that she quickly drew her fist back and punched with all her might at Cloud. Tifa had sensed Elena's stiffening limbs and quickly pulled Cloud to the side, Elena's fist clipped only his blonde hair. The momentum of her punch sent Elena reeling forward and, to everyone's surprise, directly past the fat man guarding the path.
All of AVALANCHE snickered slightly as they watched the flashes of blue amongst the snow as Elena descended the slopes in a ungraceful way. 'Just what she deserves.' Yuffie thought with a snort.
"Now what do we do Cloud?" Tifa reminded the spiky haired swordsman. "She just proved we really can't go down that path, what do we do?"
Cloud looked about momentarily before turning to the fat man, who was still watching the snowball Elena had become roll down the path, "Where do we rent those snowboards?"
"#$" Cid sighed, a depressing grunt echoed from Barret.
RENTALS PAID.
Cloud and the others streaked down the mountain path. Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie had all taken the snowboards. The others had opted for 2 large sleighs. As they surged down the slopes Cloud began experimenting with the jumps. At first only small hops but soon he worked up to large hills.
"Oh no you don't Cloud!" Yuffie yelled as she also began charging the jumps after Cloud. "Beat that!" She yelled after she went twirling off a mound and landed, albeit barely. Not to be outdone Cloud veered to hit another jump. As she watched the others begin to laugh again, Yuffie could feel a small warmth rekindle within her, one that Aerith had originally ignited. A single tear escaped Yuffie's eye and as she glanced to the rest of the group she knew they could feel it as well. 'Thanks Aerith, for the pick up.' At that moment Yuffie and the others all made silent vows to keep the feeling within them. 'For Aerith, we'll be happy.' Yuffie could feel her heart lift even higher and her normal energy return.
"Looks like you've just been outdone." Tifa slid next to Yuffie and pointed to Cloud as he finished a trick with a flourish.
Yuffie flashed her trademark grin, "Not quite yet!" Yuffie lean down onto her snowboard and headed for a large hill. "Watch this!" She yelled as she launched off the lip. Yuffie twisted her body and lifted the board above her, "WOOOOOOHOOOOOO!" she cried before spinning once and placing the board below her just before she landed. Faintly, in the distance, the echo of her voice resounded off the mountains. CRACK.
Cloud looked up at the sound, "What was that?"
"How the #$ should I know?" Cid yelled back.
Nanaki sniffed the air then growled deeply, "We're in trouble."
Everyone turned to him, "What!" Before he could respond another CRACK sounded throughout the mountains. AVALANCHE watched in horror, as the entire side of the mountain seemed to displace and begin descending down at them. Everyone desperately began pushing themselves faster down the slopes.
"Faster!" Cloud yelled with panic edging into his voice.
"NO #$!" Cid responded in turn. Large boulders of snow flew past the group, the thunderous roar of nature called them to their doom. Cid pulled his goggles down over his eyes, "Get ready! This is gonna be #$!"
Yuffie glanced over her should quickly only to return her gaze forward, 'Leviathan help us!' her mind cried out. WHAM "Gaahhh!" Yuffie cried out as a large chunk of ice collided with her armguard. Its razor edge left a deep gash in the armor, Yuffie sickened as she felt something slowly dripping down her arm. 'Perfect.'
"We ain' gonna make it!" Barret yelled. As if responding to hope fading, the wall of snow picked up speed and consumed the group that held its name. "#$!" Echoed off the mountains as both avalanches disappeared over the cliff's edge.
Yuffie felt herself suddenly free of the snow but quickly realized she was falling at an alarming rate. She spun to look down, "Ahhh crap." Below her was a field of snow and ice. "At least I might survive." Yuffie closed her eyes, as the ground grew close. POMF Her lithe form disappeared into the snow, followed closely by a small wall of snow. As the snow settled, silence descended on the glacier, only broken by the quiet howling of the wind.
Suddenly a gloved hand burst from the snow. It grasped desperately to try and pull its owner above the ice prison below. Eventually it found a hold and through sheer force of will Yuffie emerged from the ice tomb. Her left arm hung nearly dead at her side, the loss of blood slowed due to the cold but numbness had overtaken it. She experimentally lifted her left hand with her right. Her left hand fell weakly to hang at her side, "Just great."
Yuffie looked around her and sighed, "Even better." Snowfields lay in all directions except for the cliff behind her. "HEY!" she yelled, "ANYBODY OUT THERE!" only the fading echoes of her voice answered. "PERFECT!" She screamed and slammed her remaining fist into the pile of snow. Slowly she picked herself up, "Can't stay here, gotta find the others." With that she made her way into the blinding snow.
TIME TICKS AGAINST HER.
SLAP "Gotta stay awake." SLAP Her cheeks were red from the cold and the numerous beatings she had given herself. "I hate the cold." Yuffie continued to desperately plow through the snow, hoping for some sign of safety. She had long lost her direction and just forced herself into just walking. "Help." She cried meekly. She couldn't feel her hands or feet any longer, her face was like ice, and darkness slowly began clouding her vision. "He...lp." Her legs gave out and she fell to her knees, "I can't... die... he... re..."
Her mind could no longer hold her body and she fell to her side in the snow. 'Heh, I was next.' She snickered as she felt the snow building up around her body. Yuffie slowly slipped into the darkness that had worked to claim her over the past hours. "Bye." She breathed. CRUNCH.