Chapter Thirteen: Dark Half of the Moon
It was a dark night over the city of Midgar. Inside the seventy-floor Shinra building, the only lights were on the top floor and floor sixty-eight. In the President's office, Rufus Shinra sat with Dark Nation, his pet, drinking wine and going over the new plans for several major projects in the future. Scarlet wanted to move the Mako Cannon, her Sister Ray as she called it, from Junon Harbor. She didn't quite mention where, but Rufus knew that it was not a project for the current time. Palmer wanted to restart the Space Program, using the old Shinra No. 26 rocket in Rocket Town. That could wait too. Reeve wanted programs initiated to help the people in the slums. Rufus stared at it for a long moment, before tossing it into the growing 'Worry about it later' pile. What was Reeve thinking? There was a homicidal maniac out there! They needed to worry about that!
Finally, he picked up the last two. Heidegger's request for extra funding for the Turks and SOLDIER, and Hojo's request for a working vacation. Rufus stamped an 'approved' on Heidegger's request, before staring at the other in puzzlement. Hojo NEVER took vacations. And now, for some reason, he had taken two within a month and a half. What on Gaia could he be doing?
He sighed, stamping it anyway, thinking that at least Hojo would be out of the building and not creeping out his employees. Setting down his wine glass with a sigh, he looked out the enormous window and wondered where his company would end up going in the future.
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On floor sixty-eight, Hojo sat in his lab and laughed. He scribbled a few illegible notes into one of his many notebooks, then picked up a clipboard and walked to the back. He checked the blood sample that the computer was scanning and chuckled even more.
"Mako… more than any normal person could take. Legends and fairy tales, if others like those fools Professor Gast and Reeve want to believe them… Science is fact! These are legends, nothing more." He looked back at the computer, adding, "But still… I'd like to be able to test it."
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AVALANCHE was camped out on the far side of the Zolom Swamp, curled up in two tents and many blankets. The chocobos were tied nearby, and everything for miles around was perfectly silent.
Cloud couldn't sleep. Something was off about this night. He crept out of the tent he was sharing with Barrett and stood to stretch his legs. Red XIII was curled up next to the embers of the fire from earlier, with Cait Sith sitting against him contentedly. Cloud snuck past them, deciding to walk about a bit and see if he couldn't make himself tired enough to fall asleep. There was a large dead tree a little ways in the distance, so he decided to walk there and back, and then go to bed.
As he walked, he allowed his mind to wander. It drifted to what it always did, recently: Sephiroth. Once again, he wondered about the 'why' of all of this. Why would Sephiroth do such a thing? He couldn't understand his brother's motives. He couldn't be working for Shinra, so what had happened to him? What if…?
A sharp pain struck his head, like the worst migraine one would ever experience, and he dropped to his knees. Shaking, he clutched at his hair, crying incoherently, "Jen… o… va… NO!" He fell to the ground, as the pain slowly subsided. He weakly pushed himself to his feet, thinking dully, Fine. I just won't think about any of it anymore. I don't care. He continued to resolutely trudge towards the tree, when a voice behind him called out, "Cloud!"
Cloud turned, seeing Tifa hurrying up behind him. He stopped and waited for her to catch up, seeing that she was worried about him. "I couldn't sleep." he explained quietly.
"I understand." Tifa said. "Needed some time to think?" Cloud nodded, and Tifa asked hesitantly, "Do you mind if I come too?"
"No…" Cloud resumed walking. The tree was only a little bit farther, growing right on the edge of the swamp itself. Tifa walked silently beside him, apparently doing some thinking on her own. Cloud didn't pry, leaving her to work through whatever kept her away from sleep this night. They reached the tree and sat down under it, gazing off into the distance at the horizon, where stars twinkled brightly with cheerfulness they did not feel.
Tifa had been worried for Cloud going off on his own. She had no idea what this 'thing' that had gotten hold of his memories was, but she had already lost him once. She would not lose him again to this thing.
As they sat, she wondered what Cloud could possibly be thinking about. He was becoming more closed-in as days past, and Tifa could not figure out why. Only Aerith seemed to still be able to get through to him sometimes, and that was just barely. She didn't want to lose Cloud. He was one of her closest friends. But there were just things happening that she didn't know what to do about. Tifa sighed, looking straight up into the branches of the tree, and screamed. "CLOUD!"
"What?!?" Cloud jumped to his feet, one hand on the hilt of his Buster Sword. Tifa pointed up into the tree, where the dead body of what looked like an enormous mutant snake was hanging, ten feet up.
"It's a Zolom…" Cloud breathed, lowering his hands back to his sides.
Tifa got up, coming to stand beside him. "What could do such a thing…?"
"Sephiroth…" Cloud said quietly. "He's been here." He turned back towards the camp. "Come on. We need to get some sleep, so we can hopefully reach Junon by tomorrow." Tifa followed him back wordlessly, once again questioning how the Sephiroth she had known could do such a thing. Also, Cloud didn't seem worried at all by the thought that Sephiroth could be in the area, which she did find a little strange. She shrugged, deciding to trust in Cloud for now. Despite everything, he did deserve it.
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The following morning in the Shinra building, Rufus was meeting with Tseng and Heidegger about the state of SOLDIER and the Turks.
"Funds would allow us to be better equipped to fight both the threat of Sephiroth and that of AVALANCHE." Heidegger was explaining. "And if some of the budget is transferred to Scarlet and the weapons development department, we'll be better armed as well. You said yourself, sir, that Sephiroth is far stronger than any SOLDIER working for us currently. He is on par with a Class One, and there are none of those left."
"Except for the Dark Force." Tseng put in quietly, but Rufus frowned.
"No. We cannot call on them." he said flatly.
"Sir, if I may ask, why not?" the young Turk commander dared. "Weren't they the Class Twos that could have been promoted? What problems could there be?"
"Corrupted." was Rufus's very short answer. "We never discovered what went wrong with them. They are stationed now with a very simple task, out in the middle of nowhere, where they cannot tarnish the name of this company."
"Sir…?"
"Drop the matter, Tseng. It is not your concern." Rufus's voice carried a finality that Tseng did not dare challenge. The president looked back at Heidegger, stating, "I'll up the funds to SOLDIER, the Turks, and the weapons programs. Let's see Sephiroth deal with an entire well-trained, well-armed military! Dismissed." He waved Tseng and Heidegger from his office.
As the two employees walked back down the hall, Tseng chanced to ask Heidegger, "What does Rufus find so disturbing about the Dark Force?"
"Have you ever seen them?" Heidegger asked. Tseng shook his head no. "They're strange. Normal enough looking, but every single one has eyes that glow blood-red. Bright, bright blood-red. They have this feel about them, that none of the other SOLDIERs ever had. Hojo said it was probably a problem with one of the Mako boosts they were given, but…"
Tseng heard what he didn't say, that Hojo was the last person to trust for information. He raised an elegant eyebrow. "What kind of assignment do you give to SOLDIERs like that?"
"Guard duty." Heidegger said offhandedly. "They're stationed in some hick town in the middle of the Western Continent. All they have to do is keep some guy from leaving. That's all. Boring. Now, excuse me, Tseng. I have to check up on the commanders."
Tseng was left to stare after him wondering what kind of person could require an entire troop of SOLDIERs to keep them in one little town. He was preparing to head to the break room and possibly talk with Rude, but a young SOLDIER raced down the hallway and stopped before him, panting.
"I need to talk to the president!" he managed to gasp out.
Tseng looked him over. "Are you one of the SOLDIERs who went on that mission to Bone Village?"
"Yes, sir. We just returned back. I have something important to tell the president!"
Tseng sighed imperceptibly. "Fine. Come with me." He strode back to Rufus's office, knocking once before striding in with the SOLDIER behind him. Rufus shot him a questioning glance, and Tseng said quietly, "This SOLDIER says he has information you would be interested in."
"Really?" Rufus looked mildly amused. "Do tell, then."
"Sir!" the SOLDIER said, attempting a salute. "We were on our way back from the mission to Bone Village, and stopped in Kalm Town to replenish a few supplies, mainly fuel…"
"Yes?" Rufus pressed. He was not well known for his patience.
"Well, I was walking around waiting for my comrades, and I saw the Legendary Turk!"
There was dead silence in the office. "What?" Rufus said finally.
"The Legendary Turk. Hasn't there been a reward for his capture or whatever for, like, forever?" The SOLDIER seemed puzzled. "I heard he was a traitor."
"Yes…" Rufus mused. "Intriguing… So our Legend is in Kalm, hmmm? Thank you, soldier. Dismissed. I'll see you are rewarded." The young SOLDIER ran from the room, and Rufus turned to Tseng. "Take your Turks and some of the SOLDIERs and organize a hunt for him. I want him brought back alive, if possible."
"Sir, what did this Turk do?" Tseng asked.
"Deserted this company." Rufus said. "He knows far too much about the doings around here. He had, and probably still has, his nose in far too many of our affairs. You do not just quit Shinra when you know that much."
Tseng nodded curtly and left the room, unwilling to argue anymore. Rufus's eyes glinted.
"Oh, yes, Gabriel… You can't run forever… Not when the world practically belongs to Shinra… There's nowhere left to go!" The last loose end from his father's days as president. Rufus could only wonder how Gabriel Vandel had evaded them for so long. He was no more than any other Turk… yet somehow… Something about him was different, the same thing that gave him the air to match his name. Legend…
Rufus growled as he grabbed a cup of coffee off the corner of his desk. It had begun to cool, but it was still coffee. He took a long drink before staring back at the stack of finished reports. He sighed, pushing away from the desk. He really needed a nap. Maybe by the time he woke up, his SOLDIERs would have captured Gabriel Vandel.
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About two hours later, AVALANCHE was making their way across the vast, grassy fields towards Junon, when the spotted another figure making their way in almost the same direction. The figure seemed sidetracked, walking to a motorcycle parked nearby. It was definitely a girl, for they could hear her yelling, "How dare Rufus send us out here for his own personal little revenge mission! Just because he's so eager to catch this guy doesn't mean…!" At this point she turned, and, seeing AVALANCHE, hollered, "You!"
"Elena…" Tifa groaned.
"Isn't she a Turk?" Aerith asked.
"Yes, and an annoying, overly excited one too." Tifa let out a long-suffering sigh, as Elena called, "What do you think you are doing here?"
"We're traveling, got a problem with it?" Cloud shot back. "What are you doing?" His voice was sharp, biting. She might be a girl, but she was with Shinra, and that made her the enemy.
"Stupid Rufus wanted us to find someone. I'd rather be tracking Sephiroth… He's heading for Junon, last I heard…" Elena scowled to herself. Cloud was about to ask if she had seen the silver-haired swordsman, but the arrival of a small, one-man helicopter silenced him. Tseng got out, looking from Elena to AVALANCHE.
"Leader!" Elena cried. "What brings you here?"
Tseng looked bemused. "Keeping you from spilling any more secrets." He glanced up. "Hello, Aerith."
"Tseng." Aerith responded cautiously.
"Still not up for coming back peacefully, I presume?" he queried playfully. Seeing the steely glare Aerith focused on him, he stepped back. "Okay, okay. Elena." She snapped to attention. "Come. No need for you to be telling any more classified information today."
"Fine." Elena sulked, going to the motorcycle and getting one. She followed under the helicopter as it took off, both heading back in the direction of Midgar.
"That was strange…" Cloud muttered.
"What the fuck is that Turk's problem?!?" Barrett demanded, obviously referring to Tseng. "Is he going to decide sometime this damn century whether he wants to fight us or not?"
"Tseng is… was… a close friend." Aerith murmured. "He has always told me that he would not allow anything to harm me. Even in the Shinra building, he promised to keep me safe from Hojo."
"Tseng seems complicated." Tifa said. Then she remarked, offhand, "We haven't seen Reno in a while, have we? I wonder how he's faring, with no bar to waste himself away in…"
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Said flame-headed Turk was seated on a motorcycle somewhere outside of Kalm, talking on his cell phone.
"Yeah, Rufus has us looking for some guy who was supposedly a legend in the Turks, but then quit. Obsessive jerk." He listened for a moment. "How long…? Let me see…" He did some quick calculations in his head. "About fifteen years ago. Why?" He listened quietly, becoming instantly serious. "Oh. But this guy was privy to major top secret stuff. I'm not."
"Sorta, yeah." The voice on the other end of the phone sounded annoyed. "I told you, you have to wait. Don't do something stupid and get yourself hunted like this guy. I won't help you if you do that."
Reno chuckled. "I'm not that stupid, cousin. I'll watch my back. Talk to you later, Rydia." He closed the phone with a click, and sped off towards Midgar.
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And the mystery of the mysterious phone call has been solved! Reno and Rydia are setting up a plot point for me, as well as serving to make my chapters longer. And Rufus really doesn't like Gabriel, simply because Gabriel is one of those people that he just cannot control, and never has been able to. Poor him… He has a control obsession. Hehe.
So, we move on to Junon, and hopefully the reappearance of everyone's favorite mass-murdering not-General! See you all next chapter, and sorry for the late update. It wouldn't let me upload my documents!
I have a serious question for you all. I'm trying to decide whether or not I want to do a CloudxTifa pairing or not. Personally, I like a bi Cloud over any other, but everyone I'd pair him with in that situation either already has a pairing or is related to him in some way. So, does Cloud get Tifa, or does he remain pairingless? I have another pairing for Tifa in reserve, but Cloud will get no love at all.
Please, tell me what you think! Because at the moment, it could go either way.
Hugs!
Li