Author's Note:

FF: Still don't own it.

Chapter Thirty Three

Yenta Pree

The plans in leaving Kalm were simple. Cloud left a note in the inn for anyone from Avalanche who returned, but he doubted that anyone would. Yuffie as a Turk, would most likely not be coming back. Rude and Tifa were trapped in Fort Condor, by who knows how large a force of these 'Tali Hishna', and Red XIII and Barret, who had left his gun-arm in Cloud's care, were like-wise trapped in Cosmo Canyon, which was supposedly 'just a distraction.' And worse, with Aeris in Shinra's hands, he feared that he would never see her again.

So Cloud, with Ultima Weapon in its sheathe on his back, and carrying Barret's Missing Score in a sack, left the Kalm inn, planning on heading to the Chocobo ranch and obtain one of the birds to make his trip to Midgar that much faster.

He walked along the ever-growing streets of Kalm, larger than ever before because of the Midgarian refugees bolstering the town into a small city, with everything planned and set in his mind. On the way out of the city, though, he spotted a new automotive store, just recently opened. A small smile spread over Cloud's face.

An hour later, and a few thousand gil poorer, Cloud rode out of Kalm on a new motorcycle, headed directly for Midgar. His hair flailed about him as the wind caught it up, and he steeled himself with determination. Headed for battle like this, even without knowing who or what the enemy exactly was, or how many of them there were, Cloud felt confident that he would defeat anything in his path.

No, more than confident. There was an adrenaline rush in his veins, his blood pumping with electricity. He could feel it in his fingertips, in his toes. This was what it was like to be alive. To know that you were headed into danger, and knowing that you would overcome it, against all odds.

The fact that his friends were in danger, that he had made a deal with Shinra, that Aeris was in Rufus' hands meant nothing. It was all behind him like the distance he rode across, a blurred motion of speed as it streaked towards Midgar.

It wasn't long until he was there, and he continued to motor across the city, carefully avoiding any of the broken down reactors. There was something he wanted to do first before any confrontations with the Tali Hishna.

Angling his motocycle onto a strip of broken road, he headed towards the center of the city, avoiding the dead bodies of monsters and dead Soldiers as well as rubble and debris caused by Meteor, Obsidian Weapon, Jenova and Shin Bahamut.

He slowed his ride down as he approached the wreckage of the Highwind. Despite Cid's ashes being committed to the winds, Cloud still felt that on some level, the ruins of his beloved airship were in fact the old pilot's grave. Putting the bike to a full stop and getting off, Cloud walked to the ruins slowly, hesitantly. He was almost half way there when he stopped altogether, unable to go further.

Something in his head screamed danger, and he drew Ultima Weapon, whirling about just in time to see a blast of blue electricity. It took him full in the chest, striking him down. Millions of needles pierced his nerves, an infinite number of razors cut him.

He was left gasping for breath, on his back twenty feet from where he had been, wondering what had just hit him. Feeling at his rib cage, he winced. One of them was definitely cracked. He rolled, just quickly enough to avoid a second blast, this one a red flame which scorched the ground that he had just been lying on.

Standing, he looked at his attacker, a tall and thin albino, with long hair that stood straight up. He wore grey robes with black runes scrawled about them, and a gold staff was held in his hand. His eyes burned with a fanatical intensity.

"You survived" the man observed, his voice sounding like three overlapping voices, two male and one female. "You must be powerful indeed, Champion, to survive our initial attack."

Cloud grit his teeth and raised Ultima Weapon in front of him. "Who are you?"

"We are the Yenta Pree" came the answer. "The last of our kind. You are the Champion. We know you, for we saw you slay Mother. We thank you."

"Thank me..." Cloud asked dubiously, but was forced to leap aside as a stream of blue energy flashed at him from the Yenta Pree's staff, covering the ground with frost. He kept moving, dodging wave after wave of energy, nearly crying out as he moved, he chest on fire from the one hit he had taken. Noting that the energy blasts the Yentra Pree fired followed a pattern, electricity, fire, then ice, Cloud frowned. Why the obvious way of doing it? Three attacks, three voices. Was there a connection?

He didn't have time to think of it further, another barrage of blasts coming from the Yenta Pree. As he did so, a small group of albino figures scrambled from behind some rubble, charging at him with swords drawn.

Cloud didn't think. He just acted. His sword swung several times, and instantly there were seven piles of ash littering the ground. He allowed himself to slip into a concentrated anger, working his aggression out as he fought.

Aeris!

Another of the Tali Hishna fell.

Cid!

A pile of dust hit the ground.

Rude!

The last of them fell in a final barrage of fury, and Cloud managed to dodge just to the side, avoiding another blast from the Yenta Pree. This was insane. If more of those albinos were about, or worse, another Yenta Pree, he'd get killed. This had obviously been a trap of some sorts. The Yenta Pree had been expecting him. How many pockets of these murderous Tali Hishna were there hiding in the rubble, waiting for him to stumble on them as he fled?

But if this was a trap, who had told the Yenta Pree?

Hiding behind a rock, he frowned, the only thought coming to mind being the note he had left in Kalm. Had the Yenta Pree managed to get a hold of the note somehow and plan all this? No... that couldn't be it... but how...?

Of course. His Jenova-tainted blood. They were related in a sense. Could the Yenta Pree sense him like Sephiroth could? It made sense, and the more Cloud thought about it, the more he realized that he was probably right.

But for now, the questions would have to wait.

Scrambling from behind the rock, Cloud charged the Yenta Pree, who had been looking for him amongst the rubble. The figure managed to give the Soldier a shocked look before Ultima Weapon passed through its body. The Yenta Pree shimmered, and then suddenly disappeared in a flash of light. Cloud reacted instantly, rolling forwards, tumbling away as a blast of blue electricity came from the left of where he had been standing.

Illusion! Somehow the Yenta Pree could make itself appear somewhere it wasn't. What else could it do?

Before he had time to collect his thoughts, a blast of ice struck him in the leg, freezing his foot to the ground. He jolted forward, his momentum still carrying him even thought he was stuck. His ankle jerked, his foot dislocating as he struck the ground face first.

"It was only a matter of time," the three voiced creature said.

Fumbling at his Materia, Cloud produced a green orb, which he knew was Fire. He concentrated, trying to cast the spell. The Materia glowed, then winked out.

"We've locked that spell away," the Yenta Pree said, advancing closer.

Taking out a Lightning Materia, the first one that came to hand, he tried to cast again, but found similar results.

"That one, too."

Gritting his teeth, he pulled at the green orb in his bracer, the one sitting by itself, the most dangerous one he had. Focusing, he turned himself about. Green energy poured off him in waves as he focused.

"Ultima" he uttered as he released the spell at the Yenta Pree.

Surprise flickered across the Tali Hishna's face as pure energy slammed into its body, throwing it back. Jerking at his ankle, Cloud screamed. His foot came free, and immediately he was limping towards his motorcycle. Tali Hishna began to pour from the ruins, having seen the green light of Ultima in the darkness, but Cloud merely focused on his Materia, casting the deadly spell in rapid succession, blasting the albinos back, even pulverizing some of them into ash.

Stumbling away, Cloud managed to find his motorcycle, and revving up the engine, managed to motor away as a legion of troops followed him. All the while, he wondered how he could truly get away if the Yenta Pree could sense him.

Author's Note:

I am so sorry this took so long... I seem to be doing a lot of apologizing lately. I got caught up with Fesitval of Swords, a writing competition at a site called Silklantern. I'm determined to win, so I've been putting all my energy into that, and I'm afraid it might reflect in this chapter. That, and it's hard to write just one character and have no one to play off of.