--DISCLAIMER: Final Fantasy VII, as well as all Final Fantasy titles, does not belong to me in any shape, way, or form. Most of the characters and all aspects of the world are from the original game and belong to Squaresoft/Square-Enix. It is from the bottom of my heart that I thank them for creating such a massive game with such an addictive storyline and lovable characters which is what drew me to finally write this story.--
Chapter Three
Down below the towering mountain, the town of Nibelheim-once peaceful-was now filled with pandemonium as the conflict between AVALANCHE and a mysterious materia hunting organization continued to do battle among the fleeing villagers. Yuffie and Cait Sith worked to keep their three busy, however, this ploy did not hold for long as one of the officers launched a fire attack, catching one of the homes on fire. Villagers scrambled through the streets, fleeing the town and leaving everything behind in their wake as the officers showed no mercy in killing anyone that stood in their way. Yuffie flung her pinwheel at the female officer than was still in pursuit of her; the shuriken spiraled toward its target almost silently but was knocked away with a thunder blast from the officer's gun.
"Damn!" Yuffie cussed sharply under her breath as she leapt onto a stack of crates and up onto a balcony to catch her weapon.
The female officer palmed her gun for a moment, looking up at Yuffie as she continued up onto the roof before shouting, "You're pretty good. You're clothes look familiar, where are you from?"
Yuffie spun the large shuriken around on her before replying, "None of your business!"
"Rather cocky." The woman said slyly as she slid her left hand over the barrel of her gun. "You are mistaken to cross us."
Yuffie looked closely to see that there were three materia wedged in the gun's barrel. She screened it trying to figure out which ones the girl had just as Cait Sith's voice rang out through the roar of combat.
"Aaah!!" Cait Sith shouted as he narrowly dodged gunfire.
Yuffie quickly glanced away just as the officer activated a materia. "Cait Sith! Look out!"
A white circle appeared below him and a clock face illuminated the ground for just a second, freezing him in his place. The officer laughed only for a moment as she turned the gun to Yuffie and fired three consecutive shots. Yuffie returned her attention in time to block two but the third grazed her right shoulder, knocking her off balance and sent her rolling backwards down the length of the roof before landing in a small shrub bush on the ground. The officer looked to the one of her partners that was working on capturing Cait Sith.
"Don't worry with the doll!"
The man looked up, wiping sweat from his brow while brushing his black hair to the side. "You're one to talk, Becky."
Just before Becky could reply, a man walked up to them with a large polearm over his shoulder. Becky and her partner watched as he twirled the large weapon off of his shoulder and stood with the blade pointed between them.
"Y'all made me waste my last pack of smokes an' I don't appreciate the inhospitality." The man said with a sneer.
The male officer pulled out his communicator and pressed a button. "This is getting interesting for just a kidnapping."
"Who are you?" Becky inquired.
The man grinned, "Guess I owe ya that courtesy. Gonna be the last thing ya hear before I skewer the both of ya." The man grasped the polearm and shifted his weight to his left leg and pushing forward to charge. "The name's Cid!"
Meanwhile, Barret stood facing Gilgam near the town gates and with every shot Barret took it seemed the angrier he became. Gilgam, although seemingly normal, was capable of dodging all of Barret's attacks with ease. Every motion seemed effortless and the thought that Gilgam may be toying with Barret did not help matters.
"Why don' you hold still and take it like a man!" Barret shouted as he unleashed another onslaught of bullets.
Gilgam slid his left hand allowing a blade almost five inches long to slip into his hands from his sleeve as he replied, "I will only say this one last time, let my team retrieve the target and we will leave."
"Like hell I will!" Barret shouted as he aimed his gun-arm at the man.
Gilgam shook his head, his long red bangs sliding across his face. "Suit yourself."
Gilgam shifted his weight onto his right foot as he prepared to attack Barret when something landed a firm hit onto his right cheek. The force of the blow was so strong and was performed without notice which sent him flying to the side, skidding across the ground. When Gilgam glanced up to see what had attacked him, he saw the figure of a girl with long, dark brown hair running over to Barret.
"Barret, are you alright?" She asked Barret as he wiped the sweat from his face.
"I'm awright, Tifa. You find him?"
Tifa nodded. "Yes. He should still be with Vincent."
Barret looked over at Gilgam who was getting to his feet and smiled, "Tables are turnin'. Looks like you ain't invincible after all. Haw haw!"
Gilgam spat some blood from his battered jaw, "If you think you've won because you gained some help," he said as he raised his blade to them, "you're mistaken."
Across from the gate, close to Shinra Manor, Cloud was having problems of his own. Before him stood a man in uniform but his body was built so massively that the man appeared to be as large as a mountain; his arms were bigger than Cloud's head and the man's torso was large enough to fit two of him comfortably. In the man's large hands was possibly the biggest pick Cloud had ever seen.
"Target found." The heavy man spoke, his voice booming over the roar of flames that had covered part of the village.
Cloud looked around him, hoping to find a way through but, before he could think, the man swung, hitting Cloud's right side and sending him crashing into the side of the mountain. Pain shot through him as he slowly slid down the rocky ridge and back onto the ground. He felt the heavy hands grab him up and toss him across into the iron gates of Shinra Manor, the gates caving under him as he landed. Cloud struggled to roll over onto his stomach, he had to get to his feet and get away from this monster.
No way that this guy is human. ~ He thought to himself as he slowly, and painfully, pushed up from the ground.
"What a pathetic target?" The man said suddenly, "I was told you were a threat. How pitiful can it get?"
"Just remember," another man's voice said suddenly, "Gilgam said not to kill him. Beat him up enough to take him into custody."
"I know. He's just squishy now. Hardly worth my efforts, should have stayed at the base." The large man said with annoyance.
"Huh," the other man said as he watched Cloud struggle to his feet, "odd, our reports say he use to work for Shinra. He should be tougher than this."
"Wrong person, you think?"
The smaller officer stopped to think for a moment when gunshots rang out suddenly. "What was that?"
The large man looked around, "Friendly fire?"
Cloud grasped onto the remaining portions of the fence to stand just as more gunshots were let out. "That...doesn't sound...good."
"Kin, capture him and let's," the man began but was cut off as a bullet left a tunnel through his skull.
Kin watched as the smaller officer fell to the ground, blood pouring from the newly opened orifice in his face. "Niku!"
Cloud watched through the surging pains as the large man began charging for him. The pick swung to the side as he charged, Kin was going to scoop and swing, leaving Cloud little room to retaliate. Pushing off of the gate, Cloud forced himself to stand on his own as the man drew ever closer with each heavy step. It was then that a flurry of gunfire was let out and bullets rained down from the dark sky. Kin lifted his pick, blocking most of the bullets from landing but those that did pierce him did not seem to slow him down. Cloud pulled out one of the steel pipes from the fence and charged, hoping that with the rain of bullets as cover, Kin would not be able to swing that heavy pick.
As Cloud moved in, the pressure from his bruised ribs began to blur his vision. Each step that Kin took seemed to shake the ground, making each of Cloud's steps even more unsteady. Sadly, Cloud's hopes were shattered as Kin began to swing the pick down toward him. Cloud, forgetting about his injuries, dove to the side as the massive weapon smashed the ground. Cloud was quickly reminded of his injuries when he landed on the ground and rolled to his knees, the pain in his ribs caused his body to begin shaking. Kin looked up to see a dark figure staring down at him from the top of a nearby building, red eyes glowing menacingly as if windows to Hell itself.
Cloud looked up and winced, "V-Vincent."
Kin directed his assault to the man on the roof, leaving Cloud at his back.
"Another AVALANCHE ant coming to play? Feh! I'll take you out and make my job easier." Kin said with a scowl as he stood ready to attack.
Vincent raised his gun, his eyes showing no change in emotion, "What a waste of time?"
Kin shouted to the figure, "You gonna stand there or you gonna fight!?"
Vincent leapt from his perch and stood several feet away from Kin, his gun grasped firmly in his hand. "If it is a fight you seek, you have come to the wrong place."
"You a poet or something!?" Kin laughed.
"No." Vincent spoke as he lifted the gun up, barrel firmly aimed at Kin. "Make your move."
"You serious? You must think you're some hot shot." Kin lifted the pike again, not noticing that Cloud was repositioning himself. "Fine. You want to die so badly, I'll help you out."
Unwavering, Vincent stood his ground as the monstrous man charged forward. His eyes met with Kin's gaze only once, triggering him to fire. The bullet released from its prison and hit the cold air with a loud crack as it pierced Kin's left shoulder, wedging itself firmly into the bone. The shock of the blow slowed Kin down only for a moment, but that was all that was needed for Cloud to catch up and thrust the iron pike into Kin's back. Cloud felt hope swelling up in him after successfully finishing his attack but it went away when Kin began to laugh.
"You think that is going to do some damage, eh?" Kin began, quickly pivoting his torso to strike at Cloud. "You haven't scratched the surface yet!"
Cloud flew backwards skidding across the ground while Vincent leapt over Kin, landing a few feet away from Cloud.
"Ugh, wh-what is this guy?" Cloud winced as he forced himself up.
Vincent flung his cloak over his shoulder, "Cloud, find the others. I will handle him."
Cloud looked at Vincent for a moment, "What?"
"Go help the others." Vincent said coldly, his gaze not leaving Kin's form, "I will handle him."
Cloud knew trying to argue Vincent's decision would only make matters worse, so–regretfully- he nodded to Vincent and began rushing toward the center of Nibelheim. Kin glared at Vincent, his eyes flickering orange like fire.
"You should feel happy, I don't normally use this much of my power."
Vincent stared at him. "All talk."
Back in town, Cid and Yuffie were split up. Becky's partner played as a decoy, kept Cid busy while Becky continued her pursuit of Yuffie. A quick series of shots ensured that one bullet struck Yuffie's right thigh. In pain, Yuffie continued to fight back, hoping to buy the team enough time to get Cloud to safety. Yuffie threw her pinwheel at Becky only to watch as it was deflected with another thunderbolt.
"Give up, girl." Becky said in a laugh.
"Never!" Yuffie huffed as she caught the weapon, "No one can take me out!"
Becky fired another shot; lightning shielded the bullet's path as it flew by Yuffie. The electricity burned her skin but not much, however, it was enough of a distraction to allow Becky enough time to get in close range. Yuffie realized her mistake when Becky slapped Yuffie with the barrel of the gun, knocking her backwards a few steps before returning the gun to its holster and entering in with a flurry of punches. Yuffie managed to recollect her position after having her shuriken knocked from her hands and began blocking the blows.
Becky twisted her torso to avoid Yuffie's onslaught of counters, grabbing her holster again to trigger a flame blast that separated the two of them. Yuffie caught her balance and noticed that the blast had also hit Becky.
Stupid people that don't understand materia shouldn't use them. ~ Yuffie thought with a smirk.
Becky brushed her face off on her tattered sleeve before saying, "You're tougher than you look, shrimp."
Yuffie leapt into the sky, the flickering flames and vast columns of smoke made her almost invisible in the air. Becky scanned the surrounding area only to let her guard falter. Yuffie landed behind her and grabbed Becky's arm, twisting it and pushing her to the ground. Becky struggled to free herself but Yuffie placed her weight forward between Becky's shoulder blades.
"Now talk!" Yuffie began, however, the pressure of a blow on her left side knocked her away, freeing Becky from the hold.
Yuffie looked up to see that it was the man from earlier that had been chasing Cait Sith, "W-Where's Cid?" She stammered as she struggled to her feet.
The man held his right shoulder, "Becky, we have confirmation. The target is in the town."
"HEY! Answer me!" Yuffie shouted. "I don't like being ignored!"
Becky dusted herself off, "Good, we'll just fix the girl here and go after the target."
"You're getting sloppy." The man said as he turned his back to Becky, "I'm afraid that I can't do that."
Becky looked at the man, puzzled, "What was that?"
The man did not reply. He simply stood there, motionless, a statue among the dancing flames in a land riddled with chaos. Yuffie stood up, watching the scene unfold before her eyes.
"Chase! What are you saying-" Becky shouted but was cut off by a blast of thunder from the heavens. The energy surging from it shook the ground and even seemed to shake Yuffie's heart. Becky fell to the ground; Yuffie could not believe what she had just witnessed.
The man glanced over his shoulder and said, "Gilgam's request was to only keep soldiers that held their own weight. You failed."
"T-The hell!" Yuffie shouted in pain as her leg throbbed under her own weight. "She was on your side! Why did you kill her!?"
A hand grabbed Yuffie's shoulder as she attempted to charge forward. "Don't waste yer energy on him. He's not worth the struggle."
"Cid! He doesn't deserve to live!" Yuffie exclaimed, "He doesn't deserve to see the light of day!"
"He's coming." Chase said with a smirk as he held out his left hand, electricity emanating off of his arm and down to his palm.
Back at the town gate, Gilgam, Barret, and Tifa were still exchanging blows and insults with little delay. Tifa had managed to get in more blows than Barret, being close range, but Gilgam was not an easy target to deal with.
"I'll never forgive you!" Tifa shouted as she continued her flurry of attacks.
Gilgam caught Tifa's hand and pulled her forward, side-stepping before releasing his grip on her. "This village's casualties are on your own heads."
Barret charged in attempting to ram into Gilgam while Tifa reversed the counter that Gilgam had begun. Gilgam managed to dodge Barret but the move left him open and Tifa performed the Dolphin Kick which sent him flying backwards. It was at that point that a massive thunderbolt struck the village in the distance; the shockwave pulsed through Tifa's body and rattled Barret's gun-arm.
Gilgam began to laugh. "He's finally arrived."
"What'chu talkin' 'bout!?" Barret snapped.
Tifa looked in the direction of the thunderbolt, her eyes wide as she said, "Cloud."
"He's in town." Gilgam stood up and pressed a strange object that was wedged in his sleeve cuff. "Time to collect."
Barret turned to fire just as Gilgam charged forward, the blade in his hands sliding across the end of Barret's gun. Sparks flew up into Barret's face, the desired effect, as Gilgam slid into Tifa's side, knocking her off balance. He charged into the town toward the contact point of the thunderbolt. Tifa, having regained her balance, began after him.
Cloud entered the town streets to see Yuffie, Cid, and a frozen Cait Sith standing before a strange man with dark hair. He looked over Yuffie to see that she had sustained many injuries. His eyes fell, then, upon Cid, who seemed tired and fatigued. Cait Sith, as annoying as he was, had fallen under the Time Materia's spell, Stop. Cloud knew the spell would give in time but that, for the moment, the new Cait Sith statue was fine. It was then that his eyes fell on the fallen girl between the groups before finally landing upon and locked onto the man.
"What's going on here?" Cloud said, doing his best to hide the pain from his shattered rib cage.
"That would be my cue." Another male voice rose from the darkness as a figure with red hair landed before them.
Yuffie snarled at the man, shifting her stance to attack only to be stopped by the firm grip of Cid on her injured shoulder. Within moments, Tifa came charging through with Barret several steps behind. Both of them were battered and bruised but neither of them had been dealt a fatal blow.
"Chase," the red-haired man spoke, "you did well. I'm impressed."
The dark-haired man bowed, "Thank you, Lord Gilgam, sir."
Gilgam looked at Cloud and smiled. "How I've waited to find the keeper of secrets? Cloud Strife, I presume?"
"Who wants to know?" Cloud replied sharply.
Chase looked to see a man in red walking up to the crowd and scowled. "More company, sir. I think Kin has failed."
"No." Gilgam remarked. "He was called back. As are you, Chase."
"Goi, what's going on around here?" Cait Sith's voice rang out suddenly.
"My business is with Cloud, not with any of you." Gilgam stated as he walked forward. "I'll make this simple so not to waste anymore precious time."
Cloud did not move. Vincent walked behind the crowd and stood silent even after the question filled gazes of AVALANCHE fell upon his person.
"What do you want?"
Gilgam stood straight, his eyes not wavering from Cloud's glowing stare. "I want to know where you hid the materia years ago. If you tell me, you will never have to see this bloodshed again." He motioned his hand to the town around them.
Cloud's head drooped, his shoulders began to shake with rage, "You came here," he began, "you destroyed my home. You took many lives away. You hurt my friends." He reared his right arm back and let his knuckles slide firmly against Gilgam's jaw, knocking Gilgam back a step. "All this hell created for something as worthless as information about materia!?" Chase raised his hand to use his materia again but was stopped by Gilgam. Tifa looked shocked at Cloud's sudden outburst as Cloud continued. "I don't know what you're talking about!"
Gilgam spat some blood from his busted lip to the ground, "You can't hide it. You know the materia we seek. A materia so strong, so mysterious, that it holds the key to the hearts of man. A materia capable of granting unlimited power to its wielder and, perhaps, even capable of granting any wish. Somewhat like a Genie Materia. The name is unknown. Its origin is riddled with mystery. It is the materia we seek and the one that our sources say you, Cloud Strife, were the last to see its glow."
Cloud looked at him coldly. "Nothing like that exists!"
Gilgam flicked his wrists to reveal twin blades as they slid into his palms. "Then I'll have to take you with me."
Cloud shook his head. "I'm not letting you leave here alive. You'll feel the pain that these people have felt since you arrived. That fear, I will put into you!"
"Hey, Cloud." Vincent's voice rose from the crackling flames. "You may need this." He said as he braced the massive Buster Sword up, the tip gouged into the charred earth.
Cloud walked over to Vincent and grasped the hilt. The weight of the sword leaning into his palm as Vincent released his grip and walked away. The pain in Cloud's ribs would make using the Buster Sword difficult. Cloud looked around at his hometown, once again, covered in flames.
Unforgivable. ~ He thought as he pulled together all of his strength to lift the sword.
Gilgam began to laugh, "You want to fight back? Let's see how much rust is on that old sword of yours."
Cloud pointed the edge of the Buster Sword at Gilgam, his eyes filled with pain and determination, "There is none."
Tifa stepped forward to try and stop Cloud but Barret pulled her back. She struggled against his firm grip with no success. Yuffie watched closely at Cloud's movements, picking up that there was something wrong with him. She tried to tell Cid what she saw but Cid refused to listen to her. She turned to Vincent who simply stared ahead. Annoyed at the lack of attention she had received she huffed and returned her gaze to the battlers ahead of them.
Gilgam slid his left heel slightly back, "I'll make this quick."
"First strike." Cloud said suddenly.
"What?" Gilgam asked with a puzzled expression just as Cloud darted forward, the Buster Sword gliding only inches away from his head.
Gilgam blocked the flurry of slashes and thrusts enough to keep safe from harm but the power behind the Buster Sword was granted by its weight. Cloud slammed the sword down, feeling as the effort was caught by Gilgam's blades. Sliding his grip upon the Buster Sword, he shifted the blade to the side, sliding it along the dagger's length and pushing backwards. Gilgam caught his balance just as Cloud charged forward, jumping into the air and bringing the Buster Sword down ahead of him. Unable to block the strike, Gilgam dove backwards into a somersault.
Pain shot through Cloud's body, causing him to pause for a moment before being able to lift the sword up from the ground.
"Cloud!" Tifa shouted, trying her best to convince Barret's grip to release.
Gilgam rose to his feet, "You were right. There is no rust on that blade."
Cloud coughed, a little blood rose into his mouth. "D-damn."
Gilgam walked over to Cloud, watching as Cloud fell to one knee. "It would appear that you are covered in rust."
"This fight…has just…begun…" Cloud muttered as he slowly pushed to his feet, his body trying to cave under itself.
Gilgam paused and pulled out his communicator to see a flashing yellow light. His gaze moved to Cloud, now positioned to strike. Gilgam took a single step forward only to be met with the hellish gaze of Vincent.
"Stay…out of this…" Cloud heaved.
Vincent did not move. Instead, he locked gazes with Gilgam as if they were two feral animals. Tifa broke free from Barret and rushed over to Cloud's side. Yuffie followed. Gilgam closed the communicator and slid it back into its case on his belt. It was then that Chase spoke.
"We found a lead in another location. We're being called back, Lord Gilgam."
Gilgam glanced over his shoulder at Chase then returned his gaze to Vincent. "All right. We'll continue this later." He turned his back to the group and walked over to Chase. "You will tell us what you know when the time comes."
Cloud fell down to his knees, the Buster Sword pressed into the ground as a brace. He watched as the figures vanished into the darkness that slowly consumed his vision. His hearing was filled with the roars of the flames around him. Voices became muffled.
"Get these fires out now! We suppose to be protectin' the planet and its people!" Barret shouted.
"Cloud?" Tifa began. "Cloud!"