He didn't want to hurt her anymore. He wanted her to love him like he loved her. But the only way to force her to love him was to put her through just a few more days of torture. He couldn't just walk her onto the cargo ship, he couldn't carry her because it was far too obvious that she was abused, plus the fact that she was the most famous woman in the world made her easy to recognize.
He couldn't disguise her either, since her ankles were broken and she couldn't walk. He had only one option left: he would have to put her in luggage. He grabbed a large duffle bag out of the trunk of his car, recently cleaned after holding his last victim, and set her in it, zipping it up and shutting out all light for her.
He paid for his ticket and a small room with a double bed, since this was a passenger cargo. He walked onto the boat with no questions asked and entered his room. He set the duffle bag in the corner and let Tifa out.
"Stay in this room or else, but I know you wouldn't want to go anywhere looking like that." He said, eyeing her up and down.
A devilish grin crossed his face and he licked his lower lip. He couldn't leave her alone like this; he couldn't be away from his soon-to-be wife for too long. He needed her body before he could explore the ship. He again raped her, then found a piece of duct tape and wrapped it around her head as a gag so she couldn't speak. He then removed a pair of handcuffs from the side pocket of the bag and cuffed one of her arms to the bed.
He closed the shade on all the windows and hung the 'do not disturb' sign on the door handle as he exited. He wanted to mingle, act normal, and he wandered on up to the deck and leaned on a rail. He rested his head on his arms as he gazed out to sea, quickly becoming nauseous. He vomited over the rail several times until finally he decided to retire for the night. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve and turned to head in. As he did so he gasped to see a group of painfully familiar faces heading towards him, talking to each other. There was a young girl with short brown hair, a man in a suit with short black hair, a man that looked like a vampire, a large, bulky black man, a lion and most memorable of all was that blonde, spiky-haired guy with the piercing blue eyes.
They hadn't noticed him and he quickly turned around so as not to be seen. He leaned against the rail to try and look inconspicuous. He pulled out his pack of cigarettes from his pocket and slipped one out. He removed his lighter and lit one end of the slender roll of cancer, placing the filter between his lips and inhaling nervously.
It had been dark when he had seen the man with the icy blue eyes but he had known from his silhouette who it had been. He was the man on the news with his victim; the man who had saved the world.
As he stared intently out at sea he felt a brisk shove as someone bumped into him. He turned by instinct to look at who had done it and was met with the face of Cloud Strife. His body tensed and he knew he needed to get away from him as soon as possible if he wanted to marry Tifa.
"Hey sorry man." Cloud said, placing a hand on the captor's shoulder. The kidnapper just waved him off and coughed out a thank you. He then quickly turned in the opposite direction and walked as quickly as he could towards his cabin.
They had to run to catch the boat. Junon was crowded with the overflow of people from Midgar. They rushed through the crowds to the ticket window to purchase their slip. The woman behind the counter showed no emotion to their apparent hurried state and slowly took their gil and gave them their tickets.
Cloud swiped up the tickets and continued to run for the boat just as the anchors were being lifted and the ramp was about to be closed. He took a flying leap, as his other teammates did, and landed on the sloping ramp, tumbling down to the deck in a most ungraceful landing. It didn't matter though, he knew Tifa and her captor were somewhere on this boat.
The problem was that Cloud hadn't gotten a good look at the man's face. All he had seen was an outline in the dark and the back of his head from when he had shot Cid. From under the table he could only see the man's legs, but he was sure that if he saw the man again, he could hopefully recognize him.
After apologizing to the man he bumped into, Cloud continued to walk and talk to his friends. After a few moments however, something began to eat at him. Something about the man he had just bumped into stuck out in his mind, but he couldn't be sure what it was. He didn't seem like the type of man who would kidnap someone, but then again that could be to his advantage.
Cloud stopped in deep thought as he tried to compare the man in the dark with the man on the deck. He turned to look back at the man he had apologized to but saw no one leaning against the rail. He looked further in that direction and saw the man pushing his way through an oncoming crowd, trying to get away from something as quickly, and discretely as possible. He walked briskly down the side of the deck and turned back once to look at Cloud, then promptly whipped his head around and increased his pace.
The sun was setting when the group had emerged on deck to scan and secure the area. The flaming orb was behind them as they walked, and when that man turned to glance behind him the light caught his face on the side, showing his silhouette. It was at this moment that Cloud realized that he was, indeed, Tifa's captor. The blood began pumping through his veins and he tapped Barret on the shoulder.
"That was him!" Cloud exclaimed, and Barret turned around to see the man way off in the distance.
"You sure? He looks too normal to have taken Teef." The gun-armed man spoke. Cloud nodded and Barret shrugged his shoulders. "I've seen stranger, I guess." He added as Cloud took off down the deck towards the man. Barret and the others followed and the chase was on.
The perpetrator rounded the back of the ship and began to run. He fled down the stairs, not knowing who was following. Cloud was hot on his heels and tore after him as fast as he could. The man shoved his way through a crowd, who stopped Cloud.
"Stop that man!" Cloud yelled, but no one paid any attention.
He pushed his way through and continued through a set of double doors into the cabin area. The pervert now knew he was being followed and sped down the hall knocking over anything in his path to create obstacles for Cloud.
He turned corner after corner to try and ditch the man on the mission but could not seem to shake him. He finally took a left down on corridor towards an exit to a staircase. He pulled a switchblade out of his pocket and threw it behind him, lodging it into Barret's upper arm. He pulled it out with a groan of pain and threw it to the floor, not having time to pull out a 'cure' materia.
The kidnapper ran to a serving cart and turned to push it into Cloud and the others. Cloud tried to dodge it but it caught his ankle and he was sent to the ground. He quickly got up and continued the chase.
He was nearing the staircase, as if that would mean his safety, but he could lose Cloud and the others in the crowd in the dining hall. It would be jam-packed this time of night and he knew that he would not be found.
As he reached the homestretch the doors leading to the stairs opened and a young girl entered the hall, with a crimson lion creature right beside her. The girl fumbled in her pockets and produced a ninja star, smiled evilly at the man, then thrust it at the man but missed. The metal bladed object whizzed by his head, grazing his ear, but continued on down the hall. Cloud and the others dodged it, having practiced enough with Yuffie to know how to avoid her attacks.
Nanaki lunged at the man and bit him hard on the forearm. The man screamed with pain and called for the police. He kicked the lion in the stomach and pushed him off of him, then backed into a wall as the members of Avalanche moved in on him. He screamed again and again for assistance until finally the footsteps of the cops were heard coming from either end of the hallway.
They quickly apprehended the group and pulled them away from the kidnapper. He grinned at them with a hint of evil in his eyes. Cloud fought against the police who had his arms and yelled.
"That's the man who kidnapped Tifa Lockheart!" He said over and over again to deaf ears. The policemen were trained to fight terrorism, no matter who it was, whether the assailant was famous or not.
The team was placed in a holding cell while a witness statement was taken from the kidnapper. Others who had seen the chase also regretfully came forward, upset as to having to convict the people who had saved their planet.
"They jumped me, claiming I was the one who had taken his girlfriend." Tifa's captor said. "I don't know what he's talking about, I just heard she was missing yesterday on the news!" The police calmed the man down and assured them he was not a suspect.
After he finished giving his report, the man returned to his cabin where Tifa lay helpless on the bed. He stroked her hair and kissed her cheek before crawling into the bed beside her and falling asleep peacefully, satisfied with himself that he could get away with anything.
They were led out of their cell to be handed over to the local authority. Not one police officer spoke to them, too afraid due to the fact that they were arresting the noblest people on the planet. No one wanted to believe that so much was happening to them, and they would not be seriously punished. They were given the benefit of the doubt, theorized to have just been hallucinating, or jumping to conclusions, after having a mild case of hysteria due to the publicity and the recent loss of two of their members. Still, the law was law and such crime could not go unpunished. The saviors would have to spend another night in a jail cell in Costa del Sol; their sentence lessoned based solely on whom they were.
They were led off the boat without handcuffs, the local authority believing that such people would not try to escape. He was wrong, of course, and was dealt an elbow into his gut. Cloud sent him to the ground and the other members followed in turn; each attacking their guard.
They ran through town, none of the guards bothering to try and stop them, and searched in every building, alleyway, and along the shore, finding nothing. They stopped on the coast to catch their breath and gather their thoughts. Cloud's chest would rise and fall with the tide, almost in unison.
He had lost her. They had come so far, been so close, and now, they had nothing. For all they knew Tifa and her captor could be anywhere by now. Cloud stood up and shook his head to hide the pain he was feeling. Not that it worked however, the rest of the group knew what he was going through.
"Well there are only two options for them." Nanaki spoke up. He hadn't said much the whole journey, and when he did so, everyone turned to him in surprise. "They can either head for North Corel, but the only place for them to run to from there is the Gold Saucer; or they can travel south for Gonganga, which would open up a lot more running space should they be found."
Cloud pondered his words for a moment. Going to Gonganga was the best choice. From there they could head to Cosmo Canyon, then Nibelheim and Rocket Town, just as he and the rest of Avalanche had on their pilgrimage. If that was indeed the path they took, they could follow them easily, but finding them would be nearly impossible.
The lesser of the two evils, perhaps the more inane of the two choices; was to go to North Corel, then travel via air train to the Gold Saucer. Cloud could find no reasoning behind this scenario but figured that that was what the thief would want him to think. He decided to split the group up, half going north, the others heading south.
"Alright, listen up everybody." Cloud said in his usual tone of voice that commanded attention. He was quite an eloquent speaker, and a proven leader, which was why he was naturally pushed into the position he was in, always in charge, always coming up with the plan of action. "We're gonna split up. Reeve, you and Barret come with me. We're going to North Corel. Red, you take Yuffie and Vincent towards Gonganga." He nodded his head in agreement with himself, satisfied with his plan of action. The groups had been divided based on the land. Each person knew their land better than anyone else's and thus would make them more able to search.
The group split up and headed their separate ways, with each group's leaders heading up the pack. Red and his team were headed south, passing the Gold Saucer by nightfall. Both Vincent and Red kept silent for the most part, but Yuffie babbled on about materia and Wutai, stopping only to catch her breath.
"So, like there I was, practicing my totally awesome new ninja moves," the teenager sang while demonstrating one of her moves, "and I looked down into the river and there it was, a gray glowing orb." Red and Vincent had long ago tuned her out but still she chattered on. "I picked it up and looked at it, it wasn't like any materia I had ever seen, it looked like a cross between Meteor and Holy." She chimed.
"Yuffie, there's no way that materia could cross breed, that's not even possible." Red informed her. Yuffie stuck her tongue out at the lion and stuck her hand into her pocket, producing the gray orb. She rolled it around in her hands and gazed into it.
"I'm not stupid!" She droned, "I know materia can't breed!"
"Well then what is it?" Vincent spoke up. Yuffie handed him the orb and he stopped to look at it.
"Just make sure you give it back!" Yuffie cooed, "This party's only big enough for ONE thief!" she grinned and pointed at herself. Vincent continued to stare at the materia and Yuffie walked up behind him and tried to peer over his shoulder. Red stopped, noticing that he was alone, and turned to return to his group.
"I think she's on to something here." Vincent stated, as the orb lit up. "Perhaps when Holy joined Meteor a sort of bonding happened, producing this materia." Red shook his head in disbelief.
"I've never read anything like that before." He said. He looked up at Vincent and Yuffie, then back at the gray stone. "Keep it, maybe we'll find out how it works."
Vincent handed the orb back to Yuffie, who thanked him and returned it to her pocket. They set up camp for the night just outside the desert beneath the Gold Saucer.
It had been so long since the team had been on the road together that they needed to play 'catch up'. After the Lifestream defeated Meteor and Holy the team went their separate ways. Only Cloud and Tifa had remained together, but even they had split up after a few months of living together.
It was sad indeed, when each of them reflected on the time they had spent together, that they should separate as they did. Then again, they couldn't imagine living together forever either; each had their own life; they couldn't go on saving the world after it was already saved.
The next morning Vincent Valentine stretched his arms up over his head, which rested on a rock, and brought them down to feel the slender frame of a young girl laying up against him, her head and left arm resting on his chest. He had always been a sound sleeper, so it was no surprise to him that he hadn't noticed when she came to him, but he was surprised by the fact that she had. He raised himself up to a sitting position, her head rolling down into his lap and stirring her. She gasped and quickly sat up, embarrassed.
"Yuffie?" Vincent asked her as she shook her head in disbelief.
"Sorry, I got uncomfortable!" She snarled as if it was his fault. Vincent just shook his head and got up, brushing himself off.
"If you two love birds are done I'd like to go find Tifa, if that's alright with you." Nanaki stated, heading towards Gonganga. Vincent growled and Yuffie threw a rock at the lion. He roared and chased after her, the small group nearly forgetting their intended purpose.
Neither Vincent nor Yuffie had ever been to Gonganga, and it had been quite awhile for Red as well. He was surprised to see that it too had become a working city. Crews had worked around the clock to rebuild the reactor into a safe, usable resource of electricity. The business had created many new jobs and in turn people from the Midgar slums flocked there for the cheap living costs.
They split up to search the town. Red walked through the housing district, seeing a few familiar faces near the graveyard. He stopped to watch the people mourn, and in his gut he felt that he would soon have to do so once again.
He didn't want to be pessimistic, but he was beginning to think that even if they did find and save Tifa, she would not be able to live for very long without some serious medical attention. The man he had seen on the boat did not look capable of torturing a woman and yet still, there was something about him that alluded to possible insanity.
He could very well be one of those quiet killers; a person who has no identity, a hermit, who commits murder and is never caught because no one would ever suspect him. Red cleared the thought from his furry head and continued on towards the reactor.
Vincent had chosen to look through the business district, reasoning that the kidnapper would probably need supplies by now. With his gun in its holster the vampire walked down the streets, being careful not to overlook any spec of land. He could hear the whirl of the fan that cooled the reactor off in the distance, and looked out towards it.
Shinra had nearly destroyed the planet by sucking out most of the Mako. Now here they were, a year later, rebuilding the machine that had threatened them not too long ago. The original inhabitants of Gonganga moved to strike against the rebuild, but the overwhelming abundance of Midgar refugees had won their argument. Vincent continued on in the direction of the machine; where he and the other two were supposed to meet.
Yuffie made her way through the billowing smoke of the industrial section of town. Great pillars rose into the sky, polluting it with contaminants. It seemed as though nearly every town from the old days was becoming a city, doomed to the path to become another Midgar. Why she had gotten stuck in this stuffy part of town was beyond her, but this alone time did give her an opening to reflect, and the others some peace and quiet.
"Teef!" She called, knowing she would receive no answer.
The smoke that filled the air frightened her, and she quickened her step to get to the reactor as soon as possible. She really missed Tifa, even though she hadn't spoken to her since her and Cloud were dropped off from the Highwind in Kalm town. But she had to admit that her mind hadn't truly been set on finding her old friend since she had gotten the call on her unused PHS. The device had sat in a drawer in her dresser for the past year, collecting dust. Yuffie contemplated shutting it off but thought better of it; she never knew when the team would want her.
No, her mind had been elsewhere the whole journey. A throbbing in her heart had transpired to her mind and ate away at her emotions constantly. He was just so damn mysterious and she didn't know how she could ever make him realize she existed. Vincent was unlike any man she had ever met and the enigma that surrounded him had drawn her to him.
She wanted to know everything about him; wanted him to open up to her like he would no other. Above all she wanted to have what Tifa had: a man that would come rescue her at the drop of a hat. Not that she could ever see herself getting into a situation like this; ever being the object of some sick bastard's fantasy like Tifa. She was not unattractive, but she knew what men wanted; men wanted Tifa, big, beautiful, loving Tifa. She had always taken notice of the relationship that Tifa and Cloud shared during their first journey together and could only admit that she was jealous. She wanted that love they shared, unspoken but so very obvious.
She looked up from her dream world to see Vincent and Red in front of her, waiting by the reactor. She looked at them with a knowing look and felt what they all felt.
"No luck?" Red asked her, and she shook her head. The three each let out a long sigh and headed out of town.
"Guess it's on to Cosmo Canyon." Yuffie chirped. She wanted to find Tifa first and foremost, but a little more time near Vincent was not a bad thing. She smiled to herself as they continued toward the mountains. It was not but ten minutes later when Vincent's PHS began to ring. He answered it in excitement for this could be the big one, the news they had been waiting for, his only hope would be that it was good news.
"Hello?" He spoke, and then turned to Yuffie and Red, "It's Cloud." He listened to what the man on the other end had to say until his face turned solemn. Yuffie and Red looked at each other in acknowledgement, each one knowing what Vincent's expression represented, though they had prayed otherwise.
He had left Costa del Sol fearing the worst. He of course wanted to lead in the direction that he thought would most likely be traveled by Tifa and her captor. He wasn't sure just why, but for some reason he felt like they had gone to North Corel.
They had just left the peninsula when the first signs of the sunset were seen. He knew that he should rest and gain his strength but he couldn't live with himself knowing that he had been so close once again; and again had lost her.
Failure seemed to be stamped on his forehead in big bold print for all to see. Twice now he had failed in his attempt to rescue his love, and that was two times too many for his standards. With the way things were going he felt in his own mind that Tifa had a better chance of escaping on her own than him finding her
They traveled early into the morning until finally collapsing from exhaustion. It was Barret who awakened the slumbering hero the next morning, alerting him to the overhead train car that had just left the Corel station. Cloud looked up at the suspended box and shook his fist at it.
"I'll get you, you bastard!" He yelled, and jumped up to continue towards North Corel.
Reeve had to run to catch up, being far out of shape since he had never needed to be up close and personal with the team before. True Cait Sith wasn't that much faster, but it was much simpler to control a puppet than to run a marathon. They entered Barret's city by noon, with Reeve trailing behind, fighting to catch his breath.
"Damn man, I coulda just stayed home an' cut them off!" Barret exclaimed, though he didn't blame Cloud for anything. Looking back on something always gave way to interpretation, but Barret knew that if he had been in Cloud's shoes things wouldn't have turned out half as well as they did. Not that it was saying much.
Corel was coming along nicely Cloud thought. Instead of a dirt-lined track there were roads; instead of tents there were houses. Barret had brought the city together and definitely paved the way for a new era.
The city had grown too, as had most of the world after the fall of the mighty Shinra. Their demise had scattered the people of Midgar, both rich and poor, all around the world; yet Corel had remained one of the few places to receive any refugees. They had grown based on the economy; with the downfall of Shinra, people felt safe and free once again, and retired to living life in extremes, rather than fear the end of the world yet sit back and let it die. Children were being born left and right and new businesses were popping up everywhere; it seemed everyone wanted a piece of the pie.
The cable car station had received a new look under Barret's new plans as well. No longer looking like it was at the brink of disaster, it was now a fully functioning gondola service. Several new cars were purchased, as well as brand new cable and wiring, giving it an updated look.
The people of the city were surprised to see Barret with the pack again. They had all assumed that his days of fighting evil were over and that he would take on the roll of full-time mayor. He couldn't blame them for the expressions on their confused faces, hell, he would be confused too if he were them. He had never expected anything more to go wrong in his life. He never expected that a new threat to him and all his friends could appear in the shape of some wiseass little prick.
For some reason he and his friends never seemed to have good luck. It was as if lady luck, dressed in all her splendor, had descended the heavens to join them in their quest, spitting on them all the, way.
For him he had suffered through many losses, as they all had. He lost his wife, Aeris, Cid, and now his best friend Tifa. Tifa and he had known each other for years, since she was about eighteen. She had been living in the slums of Midgar for about a year when he first entered the bar she worked at. A little young to legally work there, the owner had cut her some slack based on her looks. She had nowhere else to go and no work experience so she was forced to take the job.
That man taught her to mix drinks and tidy up the bar. After his wife had died Barret had moved to the slums with his two-year-old daughter Marlene. He had met Tifa one night on his way home from work, things weren't going so well and he needed just one drink. He got to know Tifa and even invited her over, as friends. Marlene instantly fell in love with the gorgeous brunette and was even babysat by her on many occasions.
Barret began to fight for the planet, which intrigued Tifa but it wasn't until late one night when the owner of the bar she worked at tried to rape her that she left her job and moved in with Barret. Though many people talked, the two could only see each other as friends, nothing else.
About a year later Tifa took all of her savings and purchased a small building that would become Tifa's 7th Heaven, a place in the slums where the working class could sit and forget their problems, and where she and Barret, along with their new followers Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie, could meet and plan their attacks.
During their quest to save the planet nothing had gone right either. Aeris died, they nearly lost Cloud, he and Tifa almost lost their lives, and Holy and Meteor reacted in such a way that was unpredictable. They just couldn't seem to catch a break.
He could tell Cloud was suffering too. Aside from feeling inadequate the blue-eyed kid was really going through something surreal. He had lost Aeris and to lose Tifa would just about kill him. If something was to ever go right in their lives, it should have to be now, he thought.
Reeve watched silently in the background as Barret entered his house and found his daughter, now nearly six and full of the same exuberance she had had during the planet crisis. The little girl ran and jumped into her father's strong arms, who in turn lifted her off the ground and swung her up onto his broad shoulder.
"Daddy's gonna have to go away fo' a lil' while sweetheart." He told his daughter, who wrapped her arms around his thick neck and begged him not to leave.
"You're always working, no time for me!" she pouted. Barret got down on one knee and Marlene jumped off his shoulder and turned her back to him coldly, crossing her arms over her chest.
"This in't daddy's normal work Marlene. This is for auntie Tifa." Marlene turned around and nodded in acknowledgement. Barret outstretched his arms and the little girl accepted, running to him and trying to wrap her short little arms around his bulky frame. Barret stood up and said good-bye, then turned and left his house.
Reeve wanted a family. He wanted the compassion that Cloud felt for Tifa and Barret felt for Marlene. He wanted to love and be loved; he just didn't know what to do. He was out of a job, relying on his pension from Shinra, which was nearly depleted, to get by. What woman would want a man who couldn't support himself?
After leaving Barret's house the three boarded the cable car and headed for the Gold Saucer amusement park.
