White Desire

Chapter 7

How long had they been sitting in their cell? How many minutes, how many hours, how many days had passed? All but one thing was uncertain. Time did not appear to exist in their imprisoned state. The four still sat in their rhombus, merely watchful of each other. How much longer would it take before one went insane and started having the urge to eat the others? Outsiders would hope that could never be the case, especially with these type of people.

Cloud had raised one knee, draping an arm over it thoughtfully. His face looked stern, almost terribly cold. He was only thinking, however, and it was nothing for the others to be concerned about. His reliance upon his cellular phone was non-existent and therefore, he had politely declined from using the device and stashed it away within his dark clothing. Without the outside interference of Tifa and Vincent, he was left with thinking of a plan. Of course, he hadn't thought of a successful one yet, for if he had, they no longer would be gracing the cell with their presence. His sea-green eyes were focused upon the ground. If only there was a way to use that to their advantage.

By this time, Yuffie, not ever the patient one, was starting to feel as though her body was made of Jell-O more than anything else. She'd tried to get a rise out of Barret and Cid, but the two were too locked into themselves to respond to her. And when she didn't get that attention she wanted, she began to throw a fit. The palms of her hands pressed against the ground to push her to her feet. As she rose her posture, her arms lifted above her head to stretch and she yawned before beginning her tirade. "I've sooooo had it! We have to get outta' here!" She approached Cloud and gave him a fairly harsh push to the side. "You got a plan yet, dude! You're the leader, ya know!" With that said, she began to idly punch the air here and there, just a way of passing the time, perhaps.

She was met with a rather irritated look. Fortunately she had let go at the time, because Cloud didn't want to take the time to brush her away with dismissal. After some more moments of silence, he followed Yuffie's lead and began to pace back and forth. He'd done that a lot while he was in the cell, but it was because he often got tired of remaining stationery. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm faintly lost on ideas. How about the rest of you? Anyone got anything?" His eyes rose to the others with him, and he looked at each expectantly.

Cid shook his head slowly, followed by the same action from Barret. Those two never were very good with the thought process, though. How nice it would have been to have Red XIII around. Although he was merely an animal, he had good ideas and he was thoughtful, more thoughtful than certain other members of the party. "This isn't really that easy, Cloud. We're not all like you. We weren't a part of Shin-Ra and we most certainly had nothing to do with SOLDIER. We're a bit lacking in the brain department, apparently." He glanced over to Yuffie and his look hardened. "And with that crazy little punk, we don't stand a chance of escape anyway. She'd get us all caught, because she doesn't know how to silence herself."

Now that was something they could all agree on. Well, except Yuffie, of course. The others, however, that was entirely different perspective. It wasn't that Yuffie wanted to annoy everyone. She wasn't doing it to detriment the others. That was just the way she was. The ninja shook her head at the others, as though to scold them and she wandered over to the bars holding them in. "It's not like I don't have ideas, you guys. You just don't have any faith in me. I have a really good idea. Ya wanna hear it?" She sounded a little pleased with herself. Perhaps it was because she finally had an idea worthy of sharing with the others. And if they liked it, she could finally prove that she wasn't as useless as the rest of the party thought.

The other three exchanged glances with each other, something that wasn't often done. Usually the final decision was left up to Cloud and most didn't really care about their input. When it came to Yuffie's idea, though, everyone wanted to make the right decision for themselves rather than place their lives in her hands. When they realised they really had nothing left to lose, it seemed all right to hear the young girl out. Cid and Barret each nodded to Cloud, who turned his sights back onto the ninja. "Well, looks like we're all decided. Go ahead, Yuf. What's your great idea?" His arms enfolded over his chest and there was a faint hint of a smile upon his lips.

"Yay!" Yuffie gave happy squeal as she brought her hands together. Finally! It seemed like something was going to go right and she couldn't really ask for anything more. Actually, that wasn't true. She wanted materia. Lots and lots of materia, but...there probably wasn't any to be found where they were. And even if it was, it might not be the kind of materia that she wanted (the useful kind). She turned back to the others and planted her back against the bars and then lifted her right hand into the air, shaking her forefinger back and forth. "How 'bout this? What if we pretend that one of us is ill. Soldiers come in and when we've got them where we want them, we really let 'em have it! Then we can escape, right? I wanna find that Scarlet demon lady and totally teach her not to mess with the great ninja of Wutai!" Yuffie was a tad full of herself (an understatement, of course). She was a descendant of a rather long line of ninja and therefore, felt with the impressive lineage that she was greater than all others. Anyone who didn't agree, was someone she deemed as an enemy and would prove wrong, unless she felt they weren't worth her time.

Now, it wasn't a bad idea, but how convincing could they be? It seemed a little strange that no one else had thought of that. Perhaps it meant that Cloud was getting to be too elaborate with the plans of his own and forgetting that simple thoughts were often quite as reliable. The blonde-haired young man looked to the other two, searching for some kind of opinion from them. "What do you guys think? It's a good idea. We could probably pull it off...assuming that people know how to act." He wasn't sure about the others, but he had lots of practise in the acting field. As a mercenary, he was expected to be a jack of all trades, a Renaissance man, and that was exactly what Cloud was. He was quite pleased to announce that to any and all who would listen and hear.

Cid and Barret thought it was a fair idea as well, but they weren't sure that either of them could pull that off. Barret acting sick was about as believable as Rufus Shin-Ra stating that he had given up the mako gig and was looking for a new energy source. And Cid acted like he was sick more of the time than not, so it wouldn't be any different than the way he was acting now. They were quiet for a few moments longer and then turned their gaze onto Yuffie. She was going to have to be the one who was ill. How hard could that possibly be? They both pointed at her and then Cid spoke up. "Yuffie can act like she's sick. I mean, with the food the way it is and all, it's no wonder that she'd get sick." That was true. Shin-Ra alpha and beta soldiers had repeatedly brought them this moldy bread and water for sustenance, however, all refused to degrade themselves by stooping to that level and rather, piled it away in a corner, where they ventured not to go.

Yuffie had nearly begun to whine again, when she realised that she would be stuck with most of the work. Then she remembered that it was only fair because it was her idea (and a damn good one at that) and only she had the power to pull it off. Of course, she'd show everyone that she had no intentions of being thought of as second best. She knew her allies knew, but now it was time to show that to Shin-Ra and the company. She nodded to the others and then pointed at herself with a broad grin. "Leave it to me! No one can pull this off better than me. Since you know, you all make me sick anyway." She was kidding, of course, but it wasn't as though she wasn't equally irritated by her friends. She then turned to Cloud and slipped her hands into her pockets as she began to waddle around, something the way a penguin would.

So it was up to the blonde to formulate the actual plan. This seemed expected. Even when someone else had come up with it, it was his obligation to put it together and make it work out. Cloud didn't mind too much, though. After all, if it was his job, he'd do it and get it done the right way. It was often difficult to rely on others to help carry the burden, so he'd always found it easier to just handle things himself. "All right. Here's what we'll do. Yuffie's going to pretend she's sick. Cid, you'll go to the bars and ask for some aid. Barret and I will act as though we're trying to help Yuffie in her predicament." He looked around, making absolutely certain that the coast was clear. It would do no good if they had announced their plan in front of the soldiers they were trying to fool. "Places everyone." With a smooth gesture, he passed Yuffie, and slammed his fist into her abdomen, causing her to collapse to the ground. A good leader had to improvise here and there.

Cid watched him, mouth agape, and then started to approach only to be stopped by the shaking of Cloud's head. "W-what the hell are you doing!" When he didn't get a response, he found his eyes narrowing at the blonde who was now kneeling beside Yuffie. "I know that wasn't a part of the plan, so I can only assume that you have something else in mind. And I don't know about Barret, but I sure would like to be informed, so I don't think you've gone absolutely insane or something." He was trying his best to remain calm, but it was getting difficult. It wasn't like Cloud to just approach someone and do something to injure them. And if he did, he usually had a reason behind it. But Cid wasn't getting anything here and therefore, he didn't know what to think.

Barret cautiously approached the incapacitated Yuffie on the other side and he remained quiet. He wasn't going to ask this time. He'd seen and heard too many things and still thought Cloud was a few screws loose in the head. There was no need, however, to bring that up. He had no intentions of suffering the same fate that Yuffie had. Instead, he turned his gaze to Cloud, who nodded slowly. The young man knew there were questions and he was going to answer them. That was the nice thing about being a leader. People could question him as much as they wanted, but he wasn't going to explain anything until he felt he was ready. "She's just knocked out. She'll be up and running in about twenty minutes at the most." He gave a soft sigh and then continued. He knew it wasn't a good explanation so far. Hopefully, he could make it better. "Hey, at least she's quiet now. She won't be bothering us with her hyperactivity. And...it'll make it easier for us to carry out our scheme. You understand what I'm saying, guys?"

Even if it made sense, Cid still wasn't sure he wanted anything to do with the plan now. After all, who wanted a leader who beat his comrades to be successful? Whatever the case, the show needed to go on, and the star was in her place. Time to raise the curtain and announce the beginning. He reached an arm through the bars and began to wave it back and forth, as much as the small amount of room would allow. "We need help! We need help! Anyone, everyone! Someone, come here quick!" And then with his other hand he began to bang upon the bars, making some noise to attract the company.

His cries were heard by a couple of Shin-Ra beta soldiers who came at the beckoning and upon questioning and explanation, they had opened the cell to examine the unconscious Yuffie, pushing Cloud and Barret to the side. And without waiting any longer, the three men jumped the two soldiers, thrusting the other two into the corner. If Cloud had been thinking further ahead, he would've known to wait until four had come and then taken their uniforms. They'd have to do with just two. In the midst of their waiting, Cid and Cloud disguised themselves in the enemy's wear, and one ecstatically confiscated a shot gun, using it to hold Barret as a hostage. The younger blonde was carrying Yuffie over his shoulder, which didn't exactly please him. She wasn't heavy, but he hadn't pictured anyone in that position, except Tifa, but of course that was to remain a secret.

As they had prepared to leave the cell, they were stopped by that same despicable blonde female who'd been the cause of their problems since they arrived. Scarlet looked between Cid and Cloud, her eyebrows furrowing before lifting her own shotgun, pointing the barrel towards Cloud. "Not another step, mind you. Don't think that I'm dumb enough to fall for the same things that my...soldiers will." And with that she began to point them back into their cell, not even paying mind to the random two who were in the corner. "Back into your cells with you. I've gotten the permission from the president to do as I please. I'd suggest that you do not press my buttons, for I will...use all of you to my discretion." She'd used the word with an interesting tone, the kind that made the three males shiver with disgust...and repulsion.

So close and yet so far at the exact same time. Cid had pulled the trigger on his own gun, but finding that it was not loaded, he was led only to disappointment. He tossed it to the side angrily and then folded his arms over his chest in seeming defeat. Cloud watched Scarlet press the door closed and he gritted his teeth together as she locked it again. "I don't see why if you're so smart you deliberately hire idiotic people to help you run your division." His words had a bit of a bite to them. Of course, that was probably because he was more than just a little angry with the entire ordeal.

She pushed his insults to the side. It wasn't required of her to respond. Cloud was so much lower than her in status, and frankly she was concerned about catching some type of social inept disease from him. "I'll consider whether to let the president know of these events or not." Scarlet felt no need to say much more and left the others in their 'peace'. She'd come back for the other two soldiers later on.

"Nice plan," Cid growled after Scarlet had left. Part of him wanted to blame Yuffie, but the other, and the majority was terribly angry with Cloud. Somehow, just somehow, this was Cloud's fault. He'd done something wrong and now they all had to pay the consequences for it. Swell. He wasn't looking forward to the rest of the time he was spending with the others, but he definitely didn't have a choice in the matter. He sat down dejectedly and crossed his legs, leaning back to look up at the ceiling. "So what do we do now...?"

Cloud couldn't blame him. The things being said were only because it seemed that their future had grown somewhat bleak. He paced around for a few minutes, trying to think of a way to continue and then took a seat next to the middle-aged blonde man. "Well, that wasn't how things were supposed to go. I should've put more thought into this." And that was the bad part about being a leader. Even when it was someone else's doing, he had to take responsibility for it. There was no fault in other people. Although that seemed a bad thing, Cloud would have been nothing short of pleased and honoured to pay the consequences for those on his team. That was the way a true leader should act, and that type of thinking led to the birth of heroes. He wanted to be a hero. He wanted to be Tifa's hero.

Barret lowered a hand and patted him on the back with a rough shove. "Dun worry 'bout it, yo. Ya worked hard, ya did. We'z jes' gonna' havta come up wit' somethin' else." It was the first time he'd said something since the ordeal had arisen. Barret used to talk a lot, but it seemed the older he got, the less he said, the less he felt he needed to say. However, his lack of words meant that he was full of the good ones and not so much the bad.

The three left Yuffie in the center, so they could keep an eye on her. So all they needed to do was come up with a new plan or hope for some help to come soon. Cloud's mind had run dry and he was feeling a bit fatigued. It was probably due to the injury that he had sustained after the fall from so high. A hand brushed over the right pocket in his outfit and he withdrew his cell phone, merely looking at the LCD screen. "...Maybe I should call Tifa and Vincent now..."