Author's Note: Let's say that this takes place a little while after the fall of Meteor, assuming that everyone's okay and that AVALANCHE still gets together for a little do-gooding.
Disclaimer: I did not create/publish/sell Final Fantasy VII, its characters, locations, plots, etc. It all belongs to Squaresoft.
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Heart Of Ice
Chapter One
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Cloud Strife was having some difficulty remembering exactly what he was doing crawling around on this Ifrit-forsaken frozen block of ice again when he wasn't even sure if he still had fingers and toes.
True, he had come back to Gaza Glacier a bit more prepared this time, dressed in a thick, fur-lined parka and equipped with plenty of fire materia, but that didn't mean that it wasn't still damned cold.
With the trusty Buster Sword strapped onto his back, Cloud shook his head at his bitter thoughts and kept trudging through the snow drifts.
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Tifa Lockheart stood in front of the frosted window with her back to the blazing flames of the fireplace and her bottom lip firmly bitten in her patented worry-frown.
It shouldn't be taking this long, should it? Tifa thought to herself as she stared into the white haze of the blizzard just beyond the window pane.
"Look, Tifa, I'm sure Spike is just fine," called a rumbling baritone from the next room. Barret was sitting at a small wooden table with a steaming mug held between his giant hands. From his position near the doorway, he watched the fretful woman and easily interpreted her stance. Barret was as aware of Cloud and Tifa's attraction to one another as they were oblivious to it. It was frustrating, holding his tongue and refraining from just locking them in a room together until they admitted their feelings, but he settled for just rolling his eyes and toasting the shadow in the corner.
The shadow flickered a bit, raising his own mug in a salute to the man sitting across from him before lifting it to the folds of his cape and presumably taking a sip. It was a trifling matter to Vincent whether or not these two foolish young people realized that their destinies lay together. He had long since lost interest in the whimsical fantasies of love and life.
Instead, he casually leaned in the corner near the fireplace, shrouded in his concealing mantle of shadows which allowed no feature to escape the darkness save his piercing red eyes. Barret shuddered a little at the sight of those eyes glaring through the steam rising from Vincent's mug, and briefly wondered whether or not Vincent's eyes did anything but glare. He chuckled to himself, deciding that the glare could indeed change from "pissed" to "even more pissed."
Vincent surveyed the scene of the giant, giggling man squatting at the tiny, rickety table before him. He allowed himself a small smile, securely hidden beneath the folds of his cloak. Foolish though his fellow AVALANCHE members may be (including the ones who tramped around outside during a blizzard), he was still glad to have them.
Meanwhile, Tifa unconsciously sighed from her post at the window. She was hardly aware of herself standing there, let alone the two men in the other room. Her thoughts were with one man in particular, one man who was struggling through this blizzard as he had all other hardships in his life.
She shook her head and wrapped her arms tighter around herself. She would get no sleep tonight.
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Cloud grunted with frustration as he heaved his frozen and numb body onto the next ledge, where he rolled over and lay with his face in the snow.
Damn, damn, damn, damn, he chanted to himself. Why did he have to do this, anyway? Oh yeah, that "virginal-youth-will-deliver-the-village-from-the-curse-of-the-Ice-Goddess" crap. Damn that village prophet for being so cliche; damn that Yuffie for being such a ho that she couldn't qualify; and most of all, damn him for not getting laid years ago...
Cloud groaned as he heaved himself back to his feet. It was either him or Tifa, as was revealed in the group discussion on how to liberate the tiny town of Icicle Inn from the wrath of the so-called "Snow Queen," or whatever it was.
"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Barret had bellowed after Cloud's mumbled confession.
"How the hell old are you, Spike?" he continued, tears or mirth beginning to roll down his cheeks. "21? 22?" An' you still ain't never..."
"Barret!" Tifa had interjected, her own cheeks still flushing after her own declaration. "Some people have morals and understand the dignity of waiting... Oh, don't you-" Tifa had just caught Yuffie doubling over in giggles and trying to hide behind Cid, who was wearing his smug "I'm-so-much-older-and-more-knowing-than-you" look.
"Well?" She continued in her tirade as Cloud watched her warily, completely familiar with Tifa's "expressiveness" and ready to pull her off of some woeful victim if she let loose a few punches.
"What are you laughing at? It's nothing to be ashamed of!" Tifa stood, hands on her hips, glaring down at the man who was rolling around on the floor in fits of laughter. A swift kick to the ribs turned the howls of laughter to howls of pain, and she sent her warning glare to the rest of the AVALANCHE team members who were fighting to stifle their laughter.
If the truth be known, Cloud would have much rather opted for a scene with less emphasis, but he was grateful to Tifa anyway. Growing up in the same village had bred in them similar ideals, and marriage before sex was one of them. Still, to have his whole team aware of his... "inexperience." It dealt a cruel blow to his ego.
Half grinning at the mental image of the incensed Tifa Lockheart, Cloud continued his trek to the summit. Supposedly, his battle with this Snow Witch thing would relieve the snow-crushed town of this relentless blizzard, but all that he really cared about right now was getting back to that fireplace in the cabin.
He finally stumbled to a halt in front of a cave opening at the top of the mountian. The freezing wind whipped all around him, creating an eerie whistling tune as he peered into the darkness of the cave. Raising one hand to grasp the hilt of his Buster Sword, Cloud strode determinedly into the cave.
His determined stride quickly reduced to a cautious step as he wandered deeper into the dark cave. An odd trick of the light playing on the icicles hanging from the ceiling created the image of elegant chandeliers hanging from the ceiling of an ice palace. The walls were solid sheets of frozen water, and Cloud could even see his own reflection on their surfaces. Carefully making his way through the maze of ice, Cloud tensed himself for a sudden battle.
The cave wall took a sudden turn, forcing Cloud to make a vulnerable step into the next area. Immediately, he stopped. Some thirty feet in front of him, crouched in the darkest corner of the cave, was a lone human figure. It was covered in a deep blue robe from head to toe and a thick, wooly cap was concealing its features.
Although he didn't move a muscle while observing this creature, it rose slowly from its position near the floor. It stood, perhaps staring silently at him. Cloud narrowed his eyes, evaluating the situation. He had the entrance, the creature had its back to the wall. It appeared small and fragile, while he had the strong, agile build of a skilled swordsman. It was undoubtably an ice creature, given its surroundings, and he was ready with the fire. A slight smirk drifted to the corner of his mouth.
"FIRE THREE!" he shouted.
The words had not even fully left his lips when an ear-splitting shriek filled the cavern. Cloud dropped his hands from the spell casting position and instead clapped them to his ears as the screaming went on. Icicles fell from the ceiling, extinguishing their magical light and plunging the cavern in total darkness.