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Chapter 9 - Back to Bedlam
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Cloud stumbled out of the mansion as the Highwind Mark 2 came floating down from the sky. The dust in the square was churned up into small hurricanes. Cid had rebuilt the Highwind, the only difference was that it was lighter and now had weapons; it would no longer be a pushover. Cloud grabbed a hold of the rope ladder and climbed upwards. Once he was aboard the Highwind turned and soared away.
"How'd it go?" asked Tifa meeting Cloud in the meeting room
"Not very well" said Cloud sitting down "He's still humane, he couldn't kill me but he certainly had the power to"
"So he isn't fully under Sephiroth's control?" said Tifa
"I'm not sure" said Cloud "While I was there I couldn't feel Sephiroth, just Zak"
"So what are you saying?" asked Tifa
"I don't know" said Cloud "There was no trace of Sephiroth from what I could feel, he was running under his own steam"
"So Sephiroth isn't in control?" said Tifa
"I don't know!" said Cloud leaning back "He may or may not be there"
Vincent walked into the room, he bowed slightly to Cloud
"It has been too long" said Vincent
"Yes" said Cloud nodding in agreement "Looks like Sephiroth has brought us together, again"
"It looks like he is good for something else besides killing" said Vincent leaning against the doorframe.
"True enough" said Cloud "But this time he's using someone else to do his business"
"That Zak fellow" said Vincent
"He's just a kid" said Cloud
"Who may just bring back Sephiroth" said Vincent drawing his rifle "One shot from this and Sephiroth goes back to being a little ball of non-existence"
"He's just a kid, Vincent" said Cloud putting stress on his name "You can't just kill him"
"How many will he kill if he is allowed to return?" asked Vincent
"Not that I don't want you to talk more but if you do carry on being talkative can you not argue" said Tifa to the two, usually, silent types. Vincent turned and walked away, skulking was something he seemed to do more and more lately.
Walking onto the bridge Cloud could see that Tifa had rallied just about everyone. The only one that was missing was Barrett
"Where's Barrett?" asked Cloud
"He wants to stay with Marlene" said Tifa "He says that he doesn't want to risk going up against Sephiroth again"
"I thought he'd be first in line" said Cloud
"A lot has changed" said Tifa "Now you need to tell them what's going on"
"Don't they know?" asked Cloud
"Yes" said Tifa "But you're our leader, it's up to you to lead us into battle"
"I don't want to lead anyone into battle" said Cloud "Barrett seems to have had the right idea" Cloud walked past Cid to the front of the deck and turned to his comrades.
"As some of you might know Sephiroth is trying to make a comeback" said Cloud "We might end up fighting him again, as you know last time it took all of our strength to over come him, this time he's stronger and smarter than ever and we're lazy" the others looked at each other
"I'm telling the truth" said Cloud "When was the last time we had a decent brawl? When was the last time we were pushed to the limit?" he looked around at them "Sephiroth will push us to the limit and far beyond it" Cloud put his hand on Cid's shoulder "With the Highwind we have a mobile operations base but that is all we have to our advantage, we all know a little about what he's capable of now we might just see how dangerous he can be"
"So what's Sephiroth up to now?" asked Yuffie
"At the moment Sephiroth is subdued within another body and so he is vulnerable" said Cloud "The problem is the person he is in is a teenager and Sephiroth is using that to his advantage by making us think he is a child but he has more power than the lot of us combined"
"So do we kill the kid?" asked Nanaki
"I don't want that to happen if we can help it" said Cloud
"It's the easiest way" said Vincent
"With Sephiroth there is no easy way" said Cloud
"But this way he is vulnerable to bullets, Sephiroth's more or less bullet proof" said Vincent.
The Highwind flew low over Midgar until they landed in the old sector 7 area. Unfortunately the city was not as it had been left. Shin-Ra soldiers were running the streets in squads rooting out criminals and they did not care who got in the way. Gunshots were coming from all sides of the city. Looking around Cloud could see countless bodies, many lay bruised and battered.
"What's going on?" asked Cloud to a passer by who seemed in shock
"The soldiers" he panted "They just came storming from the Shin-Ra building, the place is surrounded by guards, reinforcements have just arrived they're searching for someone, some kid just arrived and he killed the general of the soldiers! The soldiers are killing people until they find who killed the general" A gunshot rang out and the man collapsed as a battalion of soldiers came towards them.
"Cloud Strife?" asked a soldier. Cloud nodded his hand on his sword. The soldiers said nothing and continued onwards shooting pedestrians and shouting orders. Vincent drew his rifle and aimed at the soldier but Cloud slapped his rifle aside
"They'll kill us if we try that" said Cloud
"They're killing civilians!" said Vincent
"They're not the only ones" said Yuffie pointing at a lone figure slicing through people who were cowering in terror.
"That's him!" shouted Cloud "Get ready for battle!" he ordered. Zak looked up and smiled twirling the Masamune.
"Which one next?" asked Zak looking around at the other civilians who were still cowering. While Cloud and his friends had been flying in style to Midgar Sephiroth had discovered an old way, an Ancient way of returning lost souls to their bodies, though it was black magic Sephiroth knew that he would be able to do it.
That one said Sephiroth. Zak sliced through the person Sephiroth had mentally indicated to
How many is that? Zak counted under his breath
"Four" said Zak
We need one more said Sephiroth. Zak felt his senses enhance that one thought Sephiroth. Zak sliced through the soldier.
Cloud was about to go for Zak when he felt light-headed and collapsed.
"This is not the time!" said Vincent but his voice seemed muffled and far away.
Cloud landed in the city of the Ancients. Aeris was stood there. The young woman knelt down next to Cloud
"You need to stop him" she said, her voice seemed to echo throughout the city
"Aeris" said Cloud "How are you here?"
"You have to stop Sephiroth" she said
"How?" asked Cloud
"Just as you did five years ago" whispered Aeris "Time is running out"
"How long?" asked Cloud
"Hours" she whispered "You need to stop him killing in Midgar, the people he is killing will become the base for his resurrection, he is going to bring them here" her voice vibrated through Cloud. Aeris leant forwards and kissed Cloud on the cheek
"Now go" she whispered. Cloud woke up flat on his back in Midgar
"Cloud!" said Tifa
"We have to kill him!" said Cloud "Vincent!"
Vincent smiled from below his dark strands of hair and drew his rifle, death penalty. He raised it and fired. Zak twirled hitting the bullet back at Vincent. Cloud and the others gasped as Vincent was knocked back by his own bullet.
"See you soon" said Zak in Sephiroth's voice as he, and the five that had been killed, vanished.
"What did he mean?" asked Tifa
"Sephiroth's found a way to come back" said Cloud "We have to get to the city of the ancients"