Well...here's the next chapter in the series...hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 1: The Search for Cloud
"Tifa! So good to see you!" Barret ran down the streets of Corel to meet his old friend. He grabbed her and gave her a BIG hug. Tifa gasped for air.
Barret set her down. "Can you believe it? They made me sheriff of this here town." Barret tried to fake a western accent. "So how's my favorite girl?"
"Have you seen Cloud? Has he come by here?" Tifa was obviously worried. And that worried Barret even more, since Tifa was always the one to look on the bright side. "I can't find him anywhere. I woke up yesterday, and he was just... gone!"
"No, he hasn't come here. But then again, Corel is much busier than when you guys first arrived here almost a year ago. He could have come and gone without anyone really noticing." Barret thought carefully. "Did you guys have a fight?"
"No. We had a good night taking care of the bar, Boris took over, so we went home, had dinner, and went to bed." Tifa recalled. She tried not to look worried, but Barret could see it in her eyes.
"What else?"
Tifa sighed. "He took his sword. The big one that we used during the Sephiroth incident."
Barret digested that. "Then this IS serious. Could he have just gone hunting or something?"
Tifa gave him an icy stare. Barret knew better. "He doesn't hunt. He only takes that sword when there is danger."
Barret looked around. "Ok. Let's talk about what we are going to do over dinner. Come on." Barret lead the way into his house.
Tifa laughed her head off. She laughed so hard that she fell onto the floor, but she continued to laugh. She wished she had a camera to savor this moment!
On the other side of the table, Barret stood in the doorway to the kitchen, wearing a pink apron with frills. He felt totally embarrassed. Tifa continued to laugh.
"If you'd stop laughing, dinner is ready." He said.
Tifa couldn't help herself. She kept on laughing. Pretty soon, Marlene started to giggle then bursted into a laughing fit. She joined Tifa on the floor, laughing away.
Barret wanted to shoot himself. Hmmm... That's an idea... he thought. "Please stop laughing. It was the only one that was clean!"
Tifa started to pull herself together. She composed herself, and sat at the table. She afforded a quick last glance at Barret. She almost burst out laughing again. But she suppressed it to a giggle.
Barret quickly took off the apron, and sat down. When Marlene had joined them, Barret bowed his head in prayer. Tifa wasn't used to seeing Barret praying, but bowed her head out of respect.
During this silent prayer, a loud noise came from outside. Like some sort of slow moving missile, passing overhead. They all looked up for a bit. Then the noise died away. They bowed their heads again, and continued with the prayer.
"Amen." Barret finally said.
"Amen." Marlene and Tifa echoed.
Barret was about to take a forkful of his dinner when they heard a gentle rapping at the front door. Barret was a little upset. He threw his napkin on the table, and got up. He went to the door and opened it up.
"Hey all!" Cid stood there like he had just popped out of nowhere as he took a puff of his cigarette and blew it into the night sky. Behind him stood the Highwind, fully rebuilt, and looking brand new.
"Cid?" Barret asked confused. "What are you doing here?"
"Thought I'd pop in and -" Cid took a quick whiff of the wonderful aroma emerging from Barret's doorway. "Mmmm... What's that heavenly smell?"
Barret sighed. "Come on in..." Cid walked on in, but stopped immediately when Barret took the cigarette from his mouth. "I don't allow smoking in this house Cid." Barret stomped the cigarette out.
Cid gave him a shot as sharp as his lance, but then gave it up. He wanted to be a good guest, and eat a good dinner. He walked into the dining room, and looked at Barret's dinner. He just took whiff of the wonderful dinner, and almost melted into the chair. He was about to eat a forkful of the dinner when he noticed Tifa.
"Hey Tifa. How're you? Where's Cloud?"
"Cid?" She didn't expect to see Cid here. "What on earth are you doing here?" She asked.
"I came looking for you." he replied. He ate a forkful of Barret's dinner. Cid was about to take another bite, when Barret PICKED HIM UP and placed him in an empty chair.
Barret sat down, and enjoyed his dinner. He DARED Cid or anyone else to disturb his meal. Fortunately, nobody took him up on that dare.
Cid was sitting in a chair watching TV. He took a swig of his beer, and flipped the channel over to the news.
"And in Junon, the polls' favorite seems to be Citizen Reeve. His campaign of wanting to stop government corruption, and banning gambling seems to be the choice of most voters." An announcer stated.
"Well... Reeve sure had done good for himself." Cid commented. Tifa just nodded her head in agreement, and continued to look out the window. She sighed as her eyes searched the stars, as if they would tell her where Cloud was.
The TV continued. "On a related note, the Golden Saucer stated that without an infusion of money soon, it may have to declare bankruptcy. As such, the owner of the Golden Saucer had this to say:"
The TV cut to a shot of Dio walking towards a limo. "The Golden Saucer has been loosing money, yes. Therefore, we've had to call in for payments on all tabs starting tomorrow morning. No new tabs will be issued, and all members that have not paid up within 1 week, shall have their memberships voided. That's all." Dio stated as he got into his limo.
"Ok. She's sleeping." said Barret, coming back from putting Marlene to sleep. Cid turned the TV off, and finished his beer. In a show of "great strength" he took his empty can and crushed it with his forehead, and tossed it into Barret's recycling bin for cans. Barret sighed as he sat down. He was apparently disgusted with Cid's attitude. He shook his head, and looked at them both. "Now. Let us start at the beginning... Tifa?"
Tifa took a beep breath, and began. "Yesterday morning, I woke up to find that Cloud was gone. He had taken his sword, and enough supplies to last him a week or so. He didn't leave a note or anything. We were just having a wonderful night, then the next morning... Gone. Like a dream." Tifa shudders for a bit. She seemed really upset by this. Almost on the verge of tears.
"I guess it's my turn now." Cid leaned forward. "I'm also here about Cloud. Last night I had a dream that Cloud was in danger. Great danger. I usually don't pay attention to my dreams, but this one felt so real... I was worried, so I hopped aboard the Highwind, and headed over to Nibelheim to see you guys. But I got there only to find out that you came here. So I flew here as quickly as I could. And here I am."
Barret listened quietly in his soft chair. Finally, he spoke. "I also had a dream. But it was not solely about Cloud. It was also about Aeris." Barret let that sink in. "Cloud had traveled all around the world to find Aeris. But he was unable to find her. Finally, Cloud found a way to bring Aeris back from the dead, and so he used it. That's when the dream turned scary. Sephiroth came back with her, and wanted to become a god again. But he knew that Cloud was powerful enough to stop him, so he planned to kill Cloud. Sephiroth lured him to that City of the Ancients, and killed him."
"Oh my god!" Tifa was definitely scared by this notion. And with good cause. She hid it well, but Barret knew how deeply she cared for Cloud.
Barret continued. "But that's not all. Since Cloud faced him alone, we couldn't help him when we got there. Then Sephiroth picked us off, one by one. Then he somehow re-acquired that damn black materia, and re-summoned Meteor. And this time, there was nobody to stop him."
"Christ!" Cid exclaimed.
The three sat in quite for a few minutes while this sank in. Cid was the first one to break the silence.
"Ok then! First thing tomorrow, we board the Highwind and search for Cloud!" Cid decided as he stood up. "Anyone who wants to come, say so now."
"You can count on me!" Barret replied. "I've been wanting to get some action for a while now!"
"We NEED to find Cloud! Count me in!" Tifa exclaimed.
"Good! Be aboard the Highwind tomorrow morning. We will collect everyone else, and find Cloud!" Then Cid added, "Before it's too late."
Cid laughed as he flew effortlessly through the clouds. He dived, swooped, performed daring tricks, and even flew through a town upside down! He was having the time of his life!
It's good to fly again! he thought.
As he flew in the Tiny Bronco 2, he was amazed at what this new baby could do! He had built it after re-settling in Rocket Town. However, he had only recently finished it. But then again, he HAD totally redesigned it 3 times before he finished it. The Tiny Bronco 2 was Cid's greatest achievement ever! It had a sleek fighter look to it. It was designed to go much faster than the original Tiny Bronco. Not to mention it could hold about 5 people comfortably.
However, Cid was flying solo at the moment. He had received the mission of visiting all the towns so as to get a lead on Cloud. It had been a simple job so far. First he was dropped off at Rocket Town to pick up the Tiny Bronco 2, while the others got everyone with the Highwind. He also asked around, seeing if anyone had seen someone fitting Cloud's description. One man said he saw someone like that on his way to Mideel about a week ago. That was about 4 days before Cloud left, but Cid followed up that lead, which lead him to Kalm. Someone there said they saw Cloud, but only he had black hair instead of blond. They thought he said he was going to Fort Condor. When he got there, apparently no one had seen him. He tried Junon, and found that someone like that had stolen a boat from the docks. He didn't like the idea of Cloud stealing. It didn't seam Cloud's style. But the man insisted that that was what happened. He also thought he saw the boat heading north.
Now the only city north of Junon was the Bone Village. So that was where Cid was off to now. He hadn't slept for about a day, and was getting a little tired.
But he had gotten to thinking of what Cloud could be trying to do. From what Tifa had told him a few days ago, he just up, and left. She also told him that Cloud was having disturbing dreams. It was a regular dream-fest! he commented to himself, recalling that nearly everyone had a dream about either Cloud or Aeris.
Tifa explained that Cloud never said a word about the dreams, or about them keeping him up at night. But Tifa knew. Just like a woman. He scorned. Live with them for a month, and they know everything about you! Cid recalled his recent relationship with Shera.
He recalled how Shera lured him to the launching pad after he got back, and told him how she felt about him. I was such a jerk! He thought. She poured her heart out to me, and I shrugged it off like it meant nothing. Servers me right that she left me.
Cid's mood had deteriorated to the point where his mind wasn't paying attention to where he has flying. He looked up in time to see that he was heading right for Bone Village!
Cid pulled up hard on the controls... But he was too late. The engine choked. He tried to glide her into the water, but the controls didn't respond! He pulled the emergency eject switch. His seat safely ejected from the Tiny Bronco 2. However, his parachute didn't clear the stout little plane. The chute caught on the tail of the plane and Cid was dragged along with the plane.
Members of the dig spotted the plane about a mile away. They knew that wasn't a lot of time. Most of the group ran away from the campsite, while others ran for the safety of the forest.
Cid pulled out his knife, and cut the parachute cords. He dropped like a rock onto the ground. His chair still traveled a few dozen feet, taking Cid along with it. The plane ran straight in a major dinosaur fossil, and exploded. The fireball was visible as far away as Midgar.
Cid tried to move, but it felt as if every bone in his body ached, and every muscle was torn. He was able to unstrap from the chair, but then collapsed into unconsciousness.
Yuffie puked off the side of the Highwind.
Barret wished they hadn't stopped in Wutai to get their materia. He wasn't aware that SHE was part of the bargain. "Can we dump her somewhere! That brat is just going to turn on us the first chance she gets!"
Red 13 turned to him. "She is as much a part of the team as Vincent here is. Or you." Vincent moved his bishop to threatened Red's queen. Red found that playing chess calms his nerves lately. Vincent was also a good player... once upon a time... But Red still found it difficult to beat him. Red moved his queen to threaten Vincent's King.
"Check." Red smiled.
Vincent studied the board for a minute. Then he moved his rook into spot that looked barren. But Red's face showed his concern.
"Checkmate." was all Vincent said.
Red sighed, and went below decks, grumbling. He figured he'd get back to his studies while he waited for them to get to Rocket Town to meet up with Cid.
Vincent put away the Chessboard, and walked up to Yuffie. She looked green again. Vincent smiled a bit. Suddenly, he grabbed Yuffie, and jabbed two of his fingers deep into her neck.
Yuffie broke away, and turned to Vincent. She was mad as hell.
"What the HELL do you think you're doing! I'm on your side, you idiot!" She watched Vincent intensely, trying to burn a hole in that cool exterior of his.
"Are you queasy?" He finally said.
Yuffie didn't expect that. Then she noticed that she no longer felt queasy.
"No." She said with surprise. "In fact, I feel fine." She looked at his with a curious glance. "What did you do?"
Vincent didn't answer her. He just turned and walked away. But Yuffie didn't give up that easily. "Come on! Tell me what you did! Please? Vincent! Vincent, tell me what you did! Vincent!"
Barret smiled as Vincent walked below decks, with Yuffie trailing close behind him. He turned to look out at the evening sky, but he noticed Tifa had beaten him to the punch. But Barret didn't believe for one second that that was what was on her mind.
The Highwind sailed through the clouds, like a sailing ship sailing through the seas. The sight of the ground several hundred feet below them, merging with the clouds that they passed allowed for a beautiful vista of sights. And the sun setting over the clouds was the perfect touch.
But Tifa noticed none of this. She leaned against the railing, looking out into the sky, deep in thought. Every once in a while, she would catch the end of a sentence, or a quick glance at the scenery, but she mainly just lost herself in thought.
"You shouldn't blame yourself you know."
Tifa jumped when Barret spoke. She hadn't even noticed him walk up next to her. "What do you mean?" She tried to cover up the fact that he caught her off guard. But Barret saw right through it.
"I can see it in your eyes. You think that Cloud leaving had something to do with something you did. Am I right?" Barret spoke in a soft tone, which wasn't easy for such a big, strong guy like him.
Tifa appreciated his keeping this conversation quite. She turned her gaze back to the horizon. "Yeah." She thought for a second, then turned to face Barret. "I keep asking myself, 'What did I do wrong?' or 'What could I have done to make him stay?'. And each time I come up with the same answer; I don't know. It's just so... frustrating!"
She seemed like she was about to cry, or burst out in anger. Barret didn't know which. Either way, I'll be here for her he thought.
"If I had done something different, would he be here now? What if..." Tifa finally gave in to her emotions, and began to softly cry.
"There's another explanation." Barret said as he looked at her. She forced the tears back as she looked at him with a glint of hope in her eyes. Barret looked at his long-time friend and smiled. "He could have just gone to the corner store in Mideel for some milk."
Tifa laughed and cried at the same time. She hugged Barret. "Thank you." Barret just held her, and smiled.
"You're welcome." he said.
Oh man! I sure could use a drag right now.
Cid was slowly becoming aware. But he didn't want to. It hurt too much. But he couldn't get his mind to control his body, and he slowly opened his eyes. He stared at the cloth ceiling above him. He tried to raise his head, but the pain was too much.
To hell with the drag! I need an aspirin!
"Doctor? Doctor, he's awake!"
Cid turned his head to look at the source of the sweet voice. He winced at the pain. The nurse noticed this, and came over to him.
"Just lie still. You were in an accident." the nurse said.
"Where...?" Was all that Cid could get out.
The nurse shook her head. "Not now. Just get your rest."
Cid was about to ask the question again, but he passed out.
And that's that.
