Sorry guys...I was side-tracked by something called Life...and Youtube
An Asian woman, dressed a business pants suit, leaned against her car as she waited outside the gate. Slowly, the iron gate opened, and Cid and Shera stepped out cautiously to meet the visitor. The woman stood up straight and strolled nervously to them. She spread out her arms, as if she were about to greet them for a hug.
"Here we are!" she proclaimed. "I thank you for your presence."
Shera stopped by the car. Cid ventured further towards the woman with caution. The woman walked quickly to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Cid grunted in disapproval to her sudden embrace.
"Your friend is in grave danger, sir."
"What?"
Shera began to walk closer, but the woman released one of her arms and gestured for her not to come any closer.
"My first words are for his ears only," the woman explained.
Still embracing Cid, the woman began to whisper quietly in his ear.
"He, who I will not name," she began, "is in jeopardy… his life is in danger…"
"We already know about Blue Lotus," Cid whispered.
"You do not understand!" the woman cried.
She realized that she was screaming and calmed herself down. Cid felt her heavy breathing on his face. The woman was trembling.
"I know everything about him," she whispered. "I know what happened…I know about the Farfalle Velenose…and how they saved him…almost twenty-seven years ago…"
Cid went ghostly pale and forgot to breathe. The grabbed the woman's arms, yanked her back and stared at her in a panicky state.
"How much do you know about the Farfalle Velenose?" he asked. "What else do you know…who are you?!
"For know that does not matter…Shera!"
Cid let go of the Asian woman, and Shera came closer. She took Shera's hands into hers.
"You are in danger as well, Miss Shera. They know who you are."
"Who's the 'they'?" Shera asked. "If it's not Blue Lotus, then who…?"
"I am the daughter of the Fu Shan Chu," the woman interrupted.
Cid grunted in surprise, but nodded in understanding.
"Fu Shan Chu?" Shera questioned. "You mean the...Triads..."
"Deputy Mountain Master. He's just below the Mountain Master…the boss to be more specific,"Cid added.
The woman nodded in shame and looked down at her feet. Shera felt suspicious none of the less.
"So if your daddy is part of the Triads," Shera said, "then why are you so eager to sell him out?"
"Because he has broken a solemn oath that was past down from our ancestors…he has gone behind the back of our Shan Chu and done…things."
"What things?" Cid asked.
Before the woman could answer, the sound of guns disturbed the peace. All three turned to see windows shattering from bullets. Cid looked back at the woman, who had gone pale with anguish.
"They're here…"
----------
Yuffie felt the butt of a gun brutally make contact with the back of her head. She fell to the floor unconscious, and Marlene screamed her name in fright. Marlene ran over to the comatose woman. Marlene looked around herself and saw she was surrounded by several masked men. There was no way out.
----------
Cid tended to an injured maid who was lying down in front of the door. The woman looked down at them in solemn silence. Shera was the first to enter the Marlene's empty bedroom. All of the windows were broken; glass was scattered all over the floor.
Marlene and Yuffie were gone.
"Cloud is not going to like this," Shera mumbled.
----------
"I think it's safe to say that the Triads may be the third wheel in this game," Cloud said.
"Huh?"
Sephiroth nodded in agreement. "It makes perfect sense. The Triads and the Mafia have been at odds forever and a day."
Tifa was left confused and out of the loop. She hated being left in the dark.
"What are you two talking about?" Tifa asked impatiently.
"I'll fill you in later," Cloud replied. "Right know, we have to get out of this hotel."
Tifa heard a click and looked back to see Sephiroth loading a gun. She heard a second click.
"We'd advise you to leave the dirty work to us," Sephiroth said. "After all, we don't a lady getting hurt."
Tifa snarled and called Sephiroth a chauvinist. He only laughed.
"I bet Cloud feels the same way too," he teased. "I don't think he wants his girlfriend to get bruised or scratched by bullets…"
"One more time 'till it's a fact," Tifa thought woefully.
A pillow made contact with Sephiroth's face. He caught the pillow before it fell to the floor. Slowly, Sephiroth lowered the pillow to see and soon faced the terror of a female version of his blonde rival, who wore a dark expression on his face.
"You look scary when you're mad," Sephiroth declared. "Especially when you're in that form…"
A hidden pillow gave Sephiroth a painful smack on the side of the face, and he let go of the pillow in his had in his hands.
"Ah, Cloudie-sama!" Sephiroth whined mockingly. "That hurts! You're so cruel."
A sea of repetitive pillow-smackings rained down on him mercilessly.
"Idiot! Making fun of me at a time like this! You know I hate being called that!"
Tifa stared at them from the corner of the hotel room bewildered. Seeing Cloud angry was very strange indeed. It was a dog seeing a rainbow.
"But that's why I call you that…Cloudie-sama. I like to annoy you…it's fun."
Cloud took a deep breathe and brought himself down.
"Be the bigger person, Cloud. Just because he's acting like this doesn't mean you get to stoop at his level…"
"Ah, we don't have time for this," Cloud groaned.
"You're right…you wouldn't want to make a fool out of yourself in front of your girlfriend, Cloudie-sama. She's probably thinking strangely of you right now…Miss Strife."
This time, a fist knocked Sephiroth backwards onto the floor, and Tifa's jaw dropped. Sephiroth rubbed his face and moaned in pain. He slowly got up. Cloud grabbed Tifa's arm and began to walk out of the room.
"Umm…Cloud? What about Mr. Sephiroth?"
"We're ditching him!" Cloud shouted. "Come on."
Cloud grabbed the briefcase on the bed on their way out. Sephiroth heard the door open and close.
"Why does he have to hit so hard?"
----------
"Are you sure we should leave him alone?" Tifa asked. "Is that safe?"
"Seph's an adult, Miss Lockhart. He can handle himself."
The elevator door opened and Cloud lightly pushed her in first. He quickly glanced from left to right and stepped inside.
"But to leave someone who is trying to help us…"
"He is not part of Shinra…he came here to give me a message from BL."
"You know each other well," Tifa replied. "I can't believe you've befriended someone from Blue Lotus."
Cloud gave her a frightening look. She stepped back a little, and he stepped forward a little. Tifa soon felt the wall at her back. The scary look was not gone.
"HE…IS…NOT…MY…FRIEND!"
Tifa apologized vigorously, and Cloud calmed down again.
"Sorry," Cloud continued. "That man brings out the worst in me…kinda like I bring the worst out of you."
Tifa still kept to wall.
"As I was saying…he's not part of Shinra…but he's not part of BL either. He's a drifter by amusement."
Tifa stared at Cloud strangely, not understanding what he met.
"Most legal assassins aren't familiar with the term," Cloud explained. "A drifter is a person who will do a job for any organization...government or criminal…government organizations use them as a last resort. Sephiroth is on Sephiroth's side."
The elevator stopped for an extra passenger. To their horror, three Asian men stood outside the elevator, waiting for them. One of them rushed forward, and Cloud swung briefcase at his head. The man went plummeting backwards. The remaining men began to get inside the elevator, and Tifa revealed a gun. The men stopped and backed away, for they had neglected to raise their own. The elevator doors shut once more.
"We should be fine for now," Cloud said. "They won't try that again."
They reached the lobby, and stepped out of the elevator. Barely anyone was there. Cloud felt a hand on his shoulder, and jerked back to see Sephiroth standing behind him.
"Missed me?" he asked.
"No," Cloud replied emotionlessly.
Sephiroth dug a piece of paper out of his jacket pocket and handed it over. It was the paper with the blue spade symbol.
"I'd advise you to keep it," he said. "It may be of some use…like I care."
Cloud snatched it and handed it to Tifa for safekeeping.
"We'll be on our way then."
A shot rang out and Cloud fell to the floor. Tifa turned her attention three more henchmen, who was standing several yards away, with a gun. The few people that were in the lobby ran away or cowered behind hidden spaces. Tifa began to panic with realization and quickly got on the floor next to him. Another gun sounded, and all three of them fell dead.
To Tifa's surprise, Cloud sat up by himself and began to rub in head.
"How are you faring?" Sephiroth asked.
"No damage done," Cloud retorted. "It just stunned me…I'm not hurt."
Then, without warning, something strange activated in his mind. Soon, Cloud was no longer in hotel.
A young, seven-year-old Cloud He stood outside the house, on the grass, looking at his surroundings. It was quiet, peaceful, and dreamlike in a way. It was unadulterated bliss.
"Cloud!"
Cloud turned around and saw his mother running towards him. She grabbed him, hoisted him in her arms, and carried him back inside.
"Didn't I tell you never to go outside?!" she screamed. "It's dangerous."
Inside the house, Elizabeth Strife sat her son on a great room couch, knelt in front of him and held his hand.
"You must do as I say," she said desperately. "If anything happened to you…"
Cloud burst into angry tears before she could finish. Elizabeth sat on the couch hugged him gently.
"I know it's hard…I want for you to be able to go out too, but…"
"But why?!" he shouted. "Why? Why can't I go outside like you and Papa?"
"Cloud? Hello? Earth to Cloud…Come in Cloud!"
Cloud blinked a few times and held his head as he felt a jolt of pain. Tifa shook him by the shoulders.
"Cloud?" Tifa asked. "What's the matter with you?"
"D-d-d-delusion," Cloud muttered. "That never happened.
Sephiroth went pale when he heard this. He shook it off and accepted it as the inevitable.
"What are you talking about?" Tifa asked.
Cloud got up and continued to rub his head.
"It's nothing."
----------
Tifa drove silently along the Lincoln tunnel. Her mind was barely on the road. Silently, in the backseat, Cloud changed out of his clothes, back into his old form, and into the clothes in the briefcase.
"How come you don't make a scene when you shape shift?" Tifa asked. "Jerald Becton did."
"Becton and I are a completely different generation," Cloud replied. "I just phase into mine almost unnoticeably."
"Sounds like Becton was created a few years too early," Tifa teased. "He got cheated."
"Innovation."
Cloud adjusted the passenger front seat until the back was touching the back seat. He slid on, and readjusted it until it was upright again.
"By the way," Tifa said. "When we were at the hotel, I thought you were shot."
"I was," Cloud replied. "But luckily for me, the type of bullet wasn't strong enough to go through my skin…another handy trick…or…not really a trick…just a defense mechanism."
Tifa hummed for a moment and nodded.
"Another thing," she continued. "You said something about a delusion. What were you talking about?"
"I really…"
Tifa glanced at him and then at the road, again and again."
"What were you babbling about?"
"I really don't know," Cloud answered.
Final chapter for part two will commence as soon as possible.
Until then...