"It is the nature of ambition to make men liars and cheats, to hide the truth in their breasts, and show, like jugglers, another thing in their mouths, to cut all friendships and enmities to the measure of their own interest, and to make a good countenance without the help of good will."
Kenneth Tynan
The following morning, Cloud, Tifa, Barret, Marlene, and the guard from the previous night were all huddled around the table. The other two men were busy with guard duty, but he was going to spend time with his wife and child who lived in the lower level of the fort. They all sat in silence, eating breakfast. Cloud had just explained, in a subdued tone, the events of the previous night.
The guard cleared his throat and turned towards Tifa. "You know, my wife's about your size, and I'm sure my clothes will fit you." He gestured towards Cloud.
"Thank you," Tifa said gratefully. "That would be wonderful."
"Okay then, I'll be right back." he left the table.
When he was gone, Cloud turned towards Barret and Tifa.
"What are we going to do about the others?" he asked in a low voice.
"I dunno..." Barret said, his eyes on Marlene who had abandoned her food and was playing in the corner.
Tifa sighed quietly. "We have to warn them somehow."
"Should we risk calling them on the PHS?" Cloud pondered. "Or would we just be helping Shinra track them down?"
Barret shrugged. "I don't think they even have that sort of technology since meteor destroyed headquarters."
"Besides," Tifa pointed out. "It's not like their location is a big secret. Wutai, Cosmo Canyon, and Rocket Town are the first places they'd look anyways."
"Let's make the phone calls breif just in case," Cloud said.
In silent agreement, they all pulled out their PHS and dialed one of their friends each.
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Cid sat a table with a cup of tea, looking over his sketches. It had to be something bigger, faster, and safer. The old Highwind, though it was once his pride and joy, was obviously not good enough. It had failed them when they needed it most and nearly killed them all. Carefully, he put his cup down and made a small alteration to his drawing.
"Cid!" Shera called from the other room.
Cid jumped, and his tea splashed on his drawing.
"Godammit Shera!" he yelled. "What is it?"
"Umm...this thing- it keeps beeping!" she stammered.
His anger evaporated. "Huh? Must be one of the others."
He grabbed the PHS from her and put it to his ear.
"Hello?" he asked.
"Cid!" he heard Cloud shout over the crackling of the bad connection.
"Cloud?" he said loudly into the phone. "Speak up, I can barely hear you."
"Shinra's after us!" Cloud's voice yelled. "They've been telling people we started the fire in Midgar!"
Cid's mind buzzed blankly. "Fire? What fire-"
"Never mind that...just watch out. And make sure you have somewhere safe to hide."
"Okay kid..." he assured Cloud. "Is everyone else alright?"
"Tifa, Barret, and Marlene are with me. They're fine...I don't know about the others...I have to go though. Take care..."
The dial tone echoed in the room, as the connection broke.
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Yuffie trudged around the streets of Wutai, kicking up dust as she went along. Her father was convinced that she was ready to learn about ruling now that she'd seen the world. I wish he'd get off my back, she thought grumpily. Haven't I done enough for now...I just want to be able to do what I want for once...Slowly, she made her way to her house, and collapsed on her bed in her room.
Things were going alright, she had decided. Wutai was undamaged by meteor, which she noted with joy upon returning. She had been back for over a day, and she was just now getting to lay down to sleep. She had ran through the streets, straight to the Padoga and into her father's arms. Their happy reunion had lasted about five seconds because they had started fighting about Yuffie's education the second her father brought it up. But that was the way it had always been, and she found some comfort in the familiarity of their arguments.
Sighing, she burried her face into her soft pillows. How long had she dreamed about falling asleep in her bed? So comfty... she thought drowsily.
A loud beeping interrupted her happy thoughts. With a growl she leaped from her bed, and tried to locate the unwelcome noise. It was coming from her PHS. Angrily, she flipped it open.
"Who is this?" she snarled. "You have no idea how close I was to getting the best sleep I've had in months..."
"Yuffie?" a crackling voice asked. "Can you hear me?"
Yuffie went from one extreme to the other, and yelled happily into the phone, "Tifa!"
"Yuffie, I have to be quick, but listen...Shinra is after us. There was a fire in Midgar and they blamed it on us. Tell your father and make sure you're ready for anything! I got to go but be careful okay?"
"Okay Tifa..." Yuffie said, shocked at the turn of events. "You too..."
As the phone line went dead, Yuffie cast a look of longing towards her bed before heading back to the Pagoda.
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Barret dialed Vincents number. Cloud and Tifa leaned in close and listened as the PHS rang over and over. They exchanged worried looks as the PHS remained unanswered.
Barret turned the PHS off and shrugged. "He must be busy."
"We'll try again later I guess..." Cloud said.
Tifa turned away from Barret's unanswered PHS and turned towards Cloud and Barret. "What about Red? We didn't give him a PHS since he can't use one...I doubt he'd even get service in Cosmo Canyon."
Cloud shrugged. "I guess we'll have to warn him ourselves. He did say we could visit anytime."
"So we're goin' there next?" Barret asked. "I always wanted to take Marlene there..."
"Guess so." Cloud said, turning his head towards the staircase as the guard came up.
"Here," the guard said, throwing Tifa and Cloud clothes. "Hope they fit."
Tifa and Cloud caught their clothes and went off into the bedroom to change. Backs towards one another, they slipped out of their dirty, ripped clothes and into the new ones. Tifa sighed in relief as she felt, for the first time in days, the feeling of clean cloth on her skin. Not a bad fit, she thought, buttoning the khaki shorts and straightening the white tank.
"You dressed?" Cloud asked cautiously.
Tifa turned. "Yea...you?"
"Yea."
They both turned around. Cloud was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Tifa smiled to see him in something other than the SOLDIER uniform. Carefully, they both folded thier old clothes and slipped them into their bags with their weapons and potions. They both knew their clothes would never be wearable again, but they couldn't bear to throw them away.
"Guess we better leave soon." Cloud said quietly.
Tifa nodded. "Yea...we shouldn't put Fort Condor in any more danger."
Cloud opened his mouth to respond, but a sudden shout caused his to whip his head towards the door.
"Turks!" someone was yelling. "The Turks are approaching the fort."
Tifa and Cloud froze for a moment and then all at once, scrambled to get their armor on and their weapons ready. They bursted open through the bedroom door. Barret loomed in front of the doorway, Marlene on his shoulder.
"What's the plan?" he asked teresly, his grip tight on his daughter.
Tifa's gaze locked on Marlene. "Get Marlene out of here." she told Barret.
Barret began to protest but Cloud stopped him.
"Go take your chocobo across the ocean to Cosmo Canyon. We'll meet up with you there. Keep Marlene safe..."
Barret nodded hesitantly. "Be careful you two..."
"You too..." Tifa said. "Bye Marlene."
"Buh-bye Tifa..." Marlene said, a frightened squeak from her father's shoulder.
Barret descended the ladder, and from the window, Cloud and Tifa watched him escape on his chocobo from the backdoor.
Cloud grabbed Tifa's hand. "Come on, let's go meet them before they reach Fort Condor. We don't need to put the people here in danger."
She nodded and they left the fort together.
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Reno motioned for Elena to come to a stop on their chocobos about 100 yards away from the fort. Silently, they watched Cloud and Tifa exit the fort and make their way over side by side.
"Remember the plan..." Reno muttered under his breath.
Elena nodded curtly. After a moment, Cloud and Tifa approached them, eyes narrowed apprenhensively. Simultaniously, Reno and Elena dismounted.
"What do you want?" Cloud said roughly before Reno could even open his mouth.
Reno shook his head. "Manners Strife...we're just here to talk."
Tifa and Cloud exchanged suspicious looks. Tifa cracked her knuckles dangerously.
"About what?" she asked, shooting the two Turks a dirty look. "About how you destroy other people's lives and blame it on us?"
"That wasn't us!" Elena told her, with believable earnest.
Cloud and Tifa looked at them sceptically.
"We're not stupid. We know how Shinra works. You do their dirty work, they blame it all on us." Cloud shot back at her. "Tell me, how much did they pay you? Did they offer more money than they did for Sector Seven?"
Reno looked like he was holding back a scathing reply. Elena shook her head at him slightly. Reno sighed and slouched his shoulders.
"Listen," he said in a low voice. "We know you don't trust us but..."
Tifa looked at him incredulously. "Of course we don't trust you! I think I can only name one time we've seen you all, and you haven't tried to kill us."
The two Turks exchanged a glance and shrugged.
"It was our job." Elena said.
Reno made a dismissive gesture with his arm. "It was our job. But since our boss is dead..."
Elena interrupted. "We refused to work with that bitch Scarlet."
Cloud and Tifa looked at them blankly.
"Okay, okay, I'll get to the point." Reno said, annoyed with the two of them. "Scarlet and Heidegger are trying to execute all traitors to Shinra so they'll have a clear path to power."
"And?" Tifa asked.
"And they have Rude in Junon Prison." Elena told her.
Cloud laughed humorlessly. "I hope you're not asking us for help."
"Well we can't do it alone..." Reno said. "And we know that no one would be willing to do it for free..."
Tifa shot him a dirty look. "We don't want your money."
Reno and Elena exchanged ambiguous looks.
"What if..." Elena began. "What if we told you we had something else you wanted?"
Cloud's eyes narrowed. "Like what?"
"Like information about a friend of yours..." Reno said, acting supremely unconcerned.
Tifa felt her chest grow cold at these words.
"What do you know?" she asked fearfully.
Reno felt his tone soften unwillingly as he replied, "We know one of your friends is being held in Junon Prison."
"Who?" Cloud demanded.
Elena smirked at him. "Does the name Reeve ring a bell?"
"Perhaps not..." Reno drawled when he saw the neutral expressions on their faces. "Maybe your more familiar with the name Cait Sith?"
Reno and Elena exchanged smug glances as Tifa and Cloud's faces fell.
"Cloud?" Tifa whispered. "Do you think they're telling the truth?"
Cloud gave the two Turks a suspicious glare and grabbed Tifa's shouders, gently pulling her away so they could talk without them overhearing. Tifa bit her lip anxiously.
"What do you think?" she asked quietly.
Cloud shook his head briefly. "I don't know whether we should believe them or not...They said Cait Sith is really Reeve..."
"That much is believable." Tifa said, her brow furrowed. "But something seems off..."
"It makes sense that Shinra would be rounding up traitors..." Cloud said lowly.
"So what should we do?" Tifa asked softly. "Do we help them?"
Cloud took a deep breath. "I can't believe I'm saying this but...We don't really have a quarrel with them as long as they aren't working for Shinra right?"
"I still don't trust them." Tifa told him quickly.
"I don't either," Cloud agreed. "Let's help them break into Junon Prison, get Reeve, and be done with them."
Tifa nodded, and they headed back towards them.
"We're in." Cloud told them.