Harlow..
Exams are here…
Sigh……….
Who cares!
On with the fic!
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"… Damn those stupid…"
Cloud had not gotten over what happened to his bike and he was venting his frustrations on everything that came before him. Touch Mes, Golems… Everything that blocked Cloud's way was liable to become mince meat. Already his armor was stained with Monster's blood and each one of them smelt horrible.
"Mako… definitely Mako… the touch me have a transform material poisoning…"
Cloud pulled out his ribbon and grinned, it had saved his life countless times and now it was again doing it's job. Not letting any Touch Me get at Cloud.
"I was lucky… they know Demi2 now as well…with FrogSong and everything… I'm not surprised that Gongaga wasn't burned down by now…"
Looking back, he saw Cosmo Canyon in the distance and even further back, The Nibel Mountains. All he could think of was Tifa, what he would do when he find her and what she will do after that. Rummaging in his pocket, he again pulled out the small box and flipped it open.
"Tifa… When I find you… I'm gonna make you my wife…"
Cloud grinned sheepishly as he imagined Tifa's face when he popped the question to her. His spirits much lighter now, Cloud once again scanned in front of him for the elusive village that was Gongaga.
"I must be getting fat…"
Cloud grumbled again as he complained about the load he was about to carry, the Touch Mes have dropped countless numbers of Impalers and he was unwillingly to let this opportunity past by him and he picked up all of them. What he didn't count on was that he would encounter more than a 100 Touch Mes and now he had a hundred impalers in his bagpack.
"You're punishing me aren't you?"
Cloud muttered to himself as he tossed a couple of Impalers out of his bag and into the dirt. Hearing a cry of surprise behind him, he turned and was shocked to see an entire Calvary of soldiers marching towards him.
'Is that… Cloud strife?'
Cloud heard someone mutter his name and he groaned, the least he want now is to be caught up in some publicity stunt.
'Erm… Mr Strife? Mr Cloud Strife?'
Sighing he grabbed his Buster Sword and saluted the young soldier.
"Yes…"
'Eep! It IS you! Please sir… The General wants to see you.'
The soldier bowed deeply to him and gestured for Cloud to follow him, rolling his eyes a little he did so.
I'm not that much of a bigshot…
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"I knew it… I JUST knew it…"
complaining silently to himself, Cloud sat at the campsite while he waited for the whole calvary to proceed on. The small meeting had been what Cloud had expected, the General had welcomed Cloud in warmly and started trying to persuade him to join his small force to march straight for Midgar, where Shinra members were still active. He had refused his offer as he did not want to involved himself in any kind of global warfare ever again. But the General had been persistent and insisited on Cloud to stay at camp for a while before the both of them proceed to Gongaga.
I need to get out of here… Time is something I no longer have…
Making his mind up, Cloud grabbed his backpack and strode straight for the 'honor' guard that was posted there for his defense.
As if I can't defend myself…
The guards unholstered their gun as Cloud marched straight for them, their face leering at Cloud as they saw that Cloud wasn't bearing his Buster Sword.
'Some kind of Hero he is… Being trapped by that pathetic excuse for a General. What's the matter Hero? Want to get out of here?'
"Yes."
Cloud growled at them, but they only laughed and aimed their Rifles at Cloud's chest.
'Now Now… just stand there… I wouldn't want to hurt the HERO who saved the world.'
The soldier laughed as he spoke the word 'hero' he obviously do not believing that the guy in front of him had defeated the legendary general Sephiroth and saved the world.
His words made Cloud pop a nerve and he reached for the dozen of Impalers in his bag, before the 2 soldiers could make a move. He flung the powder over the 2 of them and smiled as the 2 soldiers disappeared in a whirling white mist. Waving his Buster Sword to disperse the air, he laughed when he saw the 2 frogs that glared at him, the 2 of them not even taller than his boots.
"The 2 of you just stay there… don't run. Or I'll be having Frog legs for dinner tonight."
The 2 frogs shot each other a nervous glance and immediately settled down in front of Cloud, not making any noise.
"I'm out of this joint."
Raising his Buster Sword, he slashed at the iron fence that surrounded the compound. Satisfied that the hole produced was sufficient enough to let him through, Cloud made haste and quickly squeezed through the hole.
"Made it… Now to Gongaga…"
'Not so Fast Mr Strife…'
Cloud swore as he recognizes the voice that called behind him, it was the General. His squeaky voice was so prominent that he could pick it out from a crowd.
"What the Hell do YOU want!"
'You will join me…'
"AND IF I DON'T?"
'You will die…'
he spoke in a strangely low tone, but Cloud was unable to restrain himself as the voice so resembled that of a mouse that he doubled back in laughter.
"Those 2 were right… you aren't much of a General."
'What!'
Unable to take the insult, his face swelled up in fury and he looked like a blown up puffer fish.
'KILL HIM!'
Shrieking loudly he waved his hands and in his command, a legion of soldiers behind him raised their rifle, aimed and fired straight at Cloud.
"…Pathetic…"
Even in the Rain of Bullets, Cloud remained calm and swung his Buster Sword in front of him. Twirling his Sword in a wide arc, Cloud managed to deflect every one of the bullets. Even thou the rain of bullets was so intense that even deflecting them pushed Cloud back a few inches, there was no a scratch on the Buster Sword.
'Fire! Continue FIRE!'
Tired of the delay, Cloud gathered his strength and started twirling his Sword even more quickly, the air current generate by the Sword increased in velocity and the Bullets actually started flying everywhere as the air pressure started pushing them away from Cloud and back to the soldiers.
"FINISHING TOUCH!"
Finally revealing his true Intent, Cloud released his limit and the Hurricane Gale swept all the soldiers up and toss them, screaming a couple of 100 yards away. Raising an eyebrow he noticed that the squeaky General was still there.
"You're still here? Hmm… Maybe your weigh or something saved you…"
The General was seriously scared out of his wits now, he cried like a baby as Cloud advanced threateningly towards him.
"… Advice… Pick on someone your own size…"
Raising the Buster Sword over his shoulder, Cloud bent down in front of him and grabbed the cloak that laid in front of him, smirking at the General that cowered behind him he simply put on his cloak and walked away, not once looking back.
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"Wasted enough time there…"
Cloud had finally managed to reach the forest village Gongaga before nightfall, as he passed through he saw hints that an immense battle had taken place very recently. Not letting the thought stay in his mind, Cloud pushed through the undergrowth till he could make out the trail of smoke that would surely lead him to Gongaga.
'Mr Strife?'
Cloud stopped and wince as he heard the phrase being called from behind him, gritting his teeth he tried to sound pleasant as he turned around to confront the person who called him.
"Yes? Whoa!"
right in front of him was a big crowd of people, seemingly the whole village. What surprised him was that they were mostly woman, elders and children. There were hardly any men in the large group. Furthermore they were all carrying bags filled with their belongings.
'It is an honour to meet you… It is indeed a very happy day that we had to welcome 2 heroes to our humble village.'
"2 heroes?"
The Elderly lady in front of him gave him a toothless smile before grabbing his hand and leading him towards a trail that he had missed.
'We shall talk in the village… come.'
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After Cloud had closed the door to the small hut, the elderly lady invited her to sit on a small rattan chair as she hobbled to a rocking chair in the corner.
'We have you to thank again… the calvary you defeated just now? They were holding us.'
"What? But I didn't see you…"
'It was likely that they led you a separate area where we were kept…'
"But why were you kept there anyway? You had done nothing wrong…"
The old lady gave a small chuckle as he rocked on the chair slowly, never letting her wearied eye lose it's focus on him.
'They want the village… they came perhaps… 2 years before… said they wanted Gongaga to become a military base for them… they were eager to take over Shinra…'
"That explained why the wanted me to join them…"
'You MUST never join them… they are nothing short of insane fat and idiotic human beings…'
Cloud laughed at the old ladies bluntness and he felt a bit in awe of this old lady.
'They surrounded us as we were fleeing from the village… they took all of us prisoner and wanted to march straight for Gongaga… that's when they bumped into you.'
"Actually… I had wanted to kill all of them at that time… but I guess this ending is much better…"
'Indeed…'
The old lady gave a hoarse laugh and then coughed as she grabbed her chest, wincing in pain.
"Are you all right?"
'No matter… rheumatism… is an old habit…'
"What happened after I got in?"
'We heard that you were also taken prisoner… we actually saw you from the end of a barrier at the other end… so we were there when you got out from the compound. All the soldiers then rushed out to give chase but we still couldn't get out from there…'
Cloud frowned as he remembered that he distinctively had smashed apart a couple of gates before escaping.
'But sometime after that… we saw some soldiers flying pass us and by a stroke of pure luck he landed right into our compound, we knew right then you had saved us. We got out and have been walking to Gongaga till we meet you…'
"I'm glad… that you all got out… I'm sorry I didn't try to get all you out earlier…"
'There's no need to apologize… you took care of all his troops, he won't be back now.'
Cloud smiled and he took out all the extra Impaler from his backpack, tossing them in a pile on the hut he threw one of them at the elder.
"This will be useful if they come back."
The elder curiously grinned at the package in front of her and tried to open it, but Cloud grabbed her hand and mouthed 'no' at her.
'This will turn them into frogs no?'
"Yes."
'I'll like to see that…'
The elder laughed and Cloud, hearing her amusement laughed along with her.
An Interesting Lady Indeed…
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"By the way… why is there no men left in the village…"
The Elderly woman stopped staring at her window and soberly gave Cloud a small smile.
'They… all sacrificed themselves to save the village… A few days back… an entire legion of Kimara Bugs had gathered in the forest and was preparing for an attack… the men all ask all of us to escape while they stalled for time…'
"They… didn't make it didn't they? But why is the village…"
The elderly woman sighed and when Cloud looked more closely, he saw that she was crying.
"I'm sorry…"
'No. There is no need to be sorry… they all died for a noble cause… Yes they all failed… but there was someone else who defended the village…'
"Does that mean the second hero you speak off?"
'Yes. The 2nd hero… he defended out village, never allowed one Bug to take a step into our beloved village and there was not a scratch on him…'
"Nothing? The forces were…"
'Over a hundred strong… we didn't know who he is… or where he was from… all he said that he did it for… Wu… My son…'
"Your Son?"
Cloud suddenly understood why the old lady was crying… her son had died defending her village.
'He said that Wu fought till the end… and he was inclined to save it for us… for his sake…'
Cloud stood up so abruptly that the old lady stared at him intently, as thou he had just remembered something.
"I want to meet him… is he still here?"
'Yes… he is still at the cliff overlooking Gongaga… said that he will look over the village for now.'
Grabbing his cloak again, Cloud put on his cloak and headed straight for the door and was about to leave the hut when he paused slightly.
"Did you… see Tifa Lockheart by any chance?"
The elderly lady smiled and replied as she tipped her mug at Cloud.
'Why yes… she was the one who gave us the warning in the first place… if it wasn't for her we would be wiped out entirely…'
"Did she tell you where she was going?"
'Unfortunately no…'
"Still I must thank you…"
Cloud bowed to her before he left the room.
'Such an interesting kid… I wished you could have met him… Wu…'
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Cloud finally found the cliff the elderly lady was talking about after a 20 minute search, the cliff was cleverly hidden in a myriad of flora that Cloud could barely distinguish it from the forest itself.
"…good one…"
Cloud remarked to himself, as he knew that he would have chosen the same spot to maintain a watch over this village. Quickly climbing the cliff, he suddenly saw a pair of crimson eyes stare at him from undergrowths, but as suddenly as it appeared it disappeared.
"Must be him…"
Making precision aiming, Cloud planted his foot firmly on the cliff wall and took a flying leap to grab a overhanging branch over him. Swinging cautiously, Cloud managed to hook his leg on the top of the cliff and he hastily climbed over it. What greeted him was a pair of clicking pincers as a Kimara Bug towered above him.
"Damn…"
Dodging sideways, Cloud managed to dodge the spiderweb that was sprayed at him while fumbling for his Buster Sword. Springing from a tree, Cloud raised his weapon up high while the Kimara Bug looked at him, puzzled at the stunt the human was pulling.
"TAKE THAT!"
Slamming the Buster Sword Right at it's bulbous head, Cloud was gratified to see that the Buster Sword cleaved effortlessly through it, but he was less amused when it's bug juices spewed all over his cloak.
"I JUST GOT IT CLEAN!"
Cursing again, he wiped the black cloak and seeing that it was futile, slung it over his shoulder.
"I just don't believe it…"
'What are you doing here…'
Cloud spun around to see a pair of crimson eyes staring at him and he tensed up, grabbing the Buster Sword again he pointed it at the figure.
"are you the defender of Gongaga?"
'What if I am…'
The figure didn't move, but he did raise his eyebrows when Cloud lowered his Sword.
"I want to know… why did you save this village…"
'It would be… breaking my word if I didn't…'
"… Then.. can you tell me… if you seen Tifa…"
'Tifa Lockheart… she… is heading towards Costa De Sol…'
Cloud looked back at him suspiciously, seeing how he readily supplied the answer. But as he stared into his eyes, he saw that he wasn't lying, his eyes shone with righteousness and that gave Cloud no reason to doubt him.
'Wait… have you… seen a lady on your travels?'
"A lady?"
'Yes… a white mage…'
"I'm afraid not…"
Cloud was taken aback when he saw a flicker of sorrow pass by the figure's eyes, but in a flick second it was gone.
'I'm sorry for taking your time...'
The figure bowed once and retreated back to the shadows, his cloak covering his features as he seemingly disappeared back into the darkness.
"Wait… why do you want to find her?"
He paused before waving a gloved hand at him, his eyes not really focused on him, but somewhere beyond him as thou he can see through the seams of time itself.
'… It may be the same reason why you are seeking Miss Lockheart…'
If Cloud seemed taken aback by the comment, he did not show it, just scratched his head again while staring at the stars above him.
"Maybe… Will you come with me?"
'…You want me to accompany you?'
"Yes… if that's what you truly are seeking… we'll find it together."
The figure paused and gave Cloud a small smile before stepping away from the shadows entirely. With the darkness gone, Cloud could finally see what he looks like, he was wearing a simple black cloak and his collar was high enough to cover most of his face. To hide his face even more, his brown colored hair covered his face even covering his eyes and he brushed them back with a small grimace. Wearing a simple jacket in his cloak, Cloud saw that on his side was a small sheathe which he assumed was where he kept his weapon.
'Alright…'
"My name is…"
'Cloud Strife…'
"yes… and you are?"
'Wrath… Wrath Winsre…'
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OoO… interesting..
Yea to clear things up..
I got my Pen Name..
After I wrote this fic..