Final Fantasy VII
Memories Not Forgotten
Author's Note: Let me start off by saying thanks for all the reviews. All one of them. (Ha ha, that was a joke, not an offence.)
Anyway, I personally think the story is turning out beautifully. It might not be the greatest on the list, but it's decent.
Chapter 5
And the Start of Another
Having dealt with the Turks, our antagonist turned to other matters.
Now he was positioned near Nibelheim, a single slope leading down to it. In short, he was standing upon the slope leading into the Nibel Mountains. He had great plans for this backwater town, which was a shadow of what it normally had been for two people.
One must wonder, however: how does he know that it was these two people that originated here? Could it be that he somehow knew one of the people?
"Since the Turks could not finish the job, it seems I must do it myself."
With a snap of his arm, his fingers curled outward, familiar rings of white energy gathering at his fist. Color came to the rings, slowly turning into a sort of dark blue color, almost matching his hair color. A slight quake alerted any nearby, but a smart person would know it was already too late.
"Let's see how my powers have developed so far…"
With that, the energy all seeped up into his hand, and was fired directly into the air. The very sound itself sounded like a giant cannon going off. The energy sphere would shoot directly across the skies, just over Nibelheim. Any who saw it would probably think it was a falling rock, or some sort. But in truth, it was much, much worse. A second explosion, as the sphere hit in the fields just out in front of the town. It took only a second for the truth of the orb to become clear. A behemoth of a hand jutted out of the ground, in its fingers was clutched a giant cleaver, rusty, yet still deadly.
"Behold… a new creature is born." Hissed the blue-haired menace. "I shall call him… Bloodthirst." He seemed very proud of a name so plain. And even though the creature had not fully risen out of the ground, it was still a terrifying sight. And so it was that Narak vanished in the rings of light, which was his warping spell, to tend to other matters.
All it took was for the people of Nibelheim to realize they would soon be slaughtered, and in an instant, the quiet town was filled with warning bells going off, some people turning to flee into the mountain.
"Captain! We're approximately ten miles from our destination, sir!" One of the pilots had told Cid, whom responded with, "Keep 'er steady, boys."
Just out past the mountain range, Tifa could see it; Rocket Town. The last place all of them would be together. It was disheartening, but she knew it couldn't be helped, as they had all agreed to it. But… where would they all go? She took this time to gaze around the room at everyone who had become her family.
Barret would most likely return to Kalm immediately, where he had left Marlene with Elmyra.
Red XIII could only return to Cosmo Canyon, to continue looking after his people, and his grandfather.
Since Cait Sith itself was only a toy, the real Cait Sith would no doubt assist the people of Midgar, who had been affected the worst from Meteor.
It was anyone's fair guess that Cid would stay in Rocket Town, and begin working on a new rocket to travel into space with. Or maybe design other things.
Yuffie might have returned to Wutai and her father, but since she never favored him, she might try and postpone that particular trip as long as she could.
And Vincent… who knows what he would do. Perhaps wander the world, to settle things with the demons of his past.
That only left herself and Cloud. What would they do? Return to Midgar? And if so, what for? Since there was no more Shin-Ra, there would be no need for AVALANCHE. But then, there was still Sector Seven. Anyone could assume that Rufus had not done a thing with it when he was still alive. And they would probably be right. So, maybe the three of them (the third being Cait Sith) could stay in Midgar and help the people of the slums. Make Midgar a better place for all.
Almost at the exact time of her thinking, Tifa felt a plushed hand tap her upon the shoulder. Startled, she turned to see Cait looking up directly at her, "What is it, Cait?"
"Tifa, I need to ask ya' sumthin' before we land." The cat said, quietly.
Looking around a few times, she thought it suspicious that he would be so quiet. "Of course. What's wrong?"
"Tifa, what are you plannin' to you once everyone splits apart?"
"I… haven't really thought about it." She was such a terrible liar.
"An' what about Cloud?"
"He hasn't said anything yet."
"Well, I was plannin' to help the people in Midgar. They need some help, ya'know?"
So Tifa was right after all. "I was hoping that Cloud would agree to come with me to Midgar. Then maybe the three of us could help…"
At her words, the cat body jumped around atop the mog a few times. "Really? That's great!" It continued to bounce about, before eventually stopping. "I should get to work. When you two come to Midgar, you know my number."
Tifa only nodded.
"Give everyone my regards!" A faint click followed, and he was gone.
Hopefully, Cloud would agree to her and Cait's plans. She didn't want to lose him again. That would be the worst thing that could happen to her.
Elsewhere, Cloud was idly running a damp cloth across the large weapon, cleaning the little bit of crimson ooze that had stained the once clean blade. "Where are we now, Cid?"
Cid had walked over to where the main pilot was steering the ship, and checked a screen to his right, "About two miles from the Nibel Mountains." The dragoon replied.
It was then that Cloud began to dwell on thoughts of his past. What happened in the Nibel Reactor. Almost losing Tifa to Sephiroth's sword, and then escaping in the back of a truck with Zack, who was promptly murdered soon after. It was memories he wish he would never remember again.
Suddenly, something caught Barret's eye, and he motioned with his good arm toward the ground. "'Ey… wha'zat?"
All eyes turned toward the large glass, and every resident in the ship, (except the pilots, and Cait) stepped into the main part so that they could see. What was seen had certainly caught everyone's attention, but not enough to shock them as they were not close enough to see exactly who or what it was.
It appeared to be three bodies, each laid out in different positions near one another. They were lying just near the stream, which connected the mountain range that separated Nibelheim from Rocket Town.
"Think they need help?" Cid suggested.
"They don't seem to be moving… wonder what happened?" Red lowly said.
"They might be in trouble. We should check it out." It was Cloud.
At this, Cid turned to the main pilot, but he didn't need to say a single word. The pilot was already lowering the ship down at a slowed pace, landing just near the stream. A gentle thud, which signaled they had landed, then a short hissing sound followed.
Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and Red started out of the bridge, "We'll go see what's going on. The rest of you stay and watch the ship," Cloud commanded, just before vanishing from the bridge.
A small hatch opened up on the side of the ship, which had been there for quite some time and no one, knew about it. Much to the dismay of Red XIII, it was near impossible for him to climb up and down ladders, so he often needed someone to carry him up and down them. Which he hated, because it made him feel like a child.
Once the gangplank thudded against the ground, the four of them walked down it, only to be met with soft grass. They headed towards the fallen bodies, and it only took Cloud to be a few steps from them to realize who they were. And suddenly wished he had his sword with him. "The Turks!"
At the name, everyone froze, Barret instinctively readying his gun-arm, the rest standing behind him.
"What are they doing here? Weren't they just at the Great Glacier?" Red pointed this out, while thinking on just how they could travel so far in a short time.
"It must have been that blue-haired man… he must have warped them here." Tifa answered. She didn't trust the Turks whether they were standing or not. It might have been a trap.
"Their injuries look pretty bad…" Barret took notice of this. Each of the three were severely burned in a few spots on their face and neck, and the blue Turk outfits were tattered here and there.
"Who could have done this… to the Turks?" Again, Tifa spoke.
There was a silence, and then:
"It might have been that man." Cloud answered.
"But why would he attack them, if they were working together?" Red had asked, while inching towards the fallen body of Reno.
The four of them took this question in, before Cloud again answered, "Maybe he paid them to kill us… and they betrayed them in some way."
Tifa nodded, as that seemed to be the only reasonable answer. "There's only one way to find out…"
Cloud turned and looked at her, and they both nodded to one another. They seemed to be thinking the exact same thing. But Barret's face suddenly looked sour.
"You're not seriously thinkin' of taken 'em with us, are you?"
Now Cloud turned and faced the former AVALANCHE leader, "Why not? They can't do much harm if they're this injured… besides, they could die."
Red was next to make a face. "And there is a problem with that?"
Cloud was about to speak, but Tifa filled in the blanks for their other two friends. "The Turks may be low-life scumbags who do dirty work for money, but maybe that's the only reason they do the bad things they do… for money. Maybe these three can tell us exactly what kind of person we're dealing with. And who knows, maybe they'll even help us, if it really was that strange man that attacked them."
But Barret wouldn't be swayed that easily, and shook his head, "Tifa… what have ya' hit yer' head?"
"We can take them with us, and let them rest in Rocket Town. We'll all stay there until they awaken and tell us what they know. We'll go from there." Cloud instructed to them all. "Now let's move."
Much to his dismay, Barret had hauled the large bulking Rude across his shoulder. Cloud managed to sling rude over his own shoulders, and Tifa was helping Red to carry Elena on his back.
"Y'now Cid's not gonna be too happy wit' this…" Barret said over his other shoulder. Cid hated the Turks as much as they all did, and probably even worse as they tried to destroy his ship. But he would simply have to deal with it.
Even as they loaded the Turks up in the Highwind, deciding to let them rest in the area where they would normally stow Chocobos, everyone was silent the rest of the trip. Vincent agreed to stay in the chocobo hold to watch the Turks, in case any of them woke up before they reached their destination. Tifa and Yuffie silently rejoiced that they would all stay together in Rocket Town a few days more. At least until the Turks awakened.
Yet none of them knew that they would soon be thrown into a battle, which would scar two members of their group forever.
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