A/N: Thanks to ruderevived for featuring my FF7 stories on his community, Phoenix Down, and for giving me the chance to join the staff. Much appreciated. :) We have an awesome collection of FF stories, so if you're a Final Fantasy fan, please support the community by subscribing - you won't be disappointed. :) You can find the link in my C2 communities section. Thanks!
Ludi x
-oOo-
: Chapter Eight : The Escape From Midgar
The world was full of magnets.
Cloud could feel them in front of him, pulling. It was dark. Behind him it was green, and light, but he could not look back. There was someone behind him, trying to comfort him. He could hear the words too.
You can't change anything by just sitting back and looking at it.
What are you saying? he voiced into the darkness, confused.
It's started moving.
What has?
The light was leaving, so was the voice.
Wake up!
But the world of magnets was slowly pulling him in.
-oOo-
A relentless and chilling draught of air awakened Cloud from the murky shadows of his dream. He couldn't imagine where on earth this icy current was coming from. It was cold enough in the cells already, Cloud thought, feeling irritated at his untimely awakening.
Cloud shifted uneasily. His eyelids were caked together with sleep, and his back ached terribly from sleeping in a sitting position. Forcing his eyes open, Cloud found that he could finally focus on his surroundings. To his immense surprise, he found that his cell door was wide open. Now feeling wide-awake, he leapt to his feet, looking to see if he really wasn't dreaming. No: the door really was unlocked and swinging ominously on its hinges.
Cloud's heart began to thud and his stomach to churn. It was not just the breeze that was cold - it was the atmosphere itself, stealing round him like a wintry hand. He glanced at Tifa, who was still fast asleep, her chest rising and falling in time to her rhythmic breathing. Cloud crept to the door and peered round the corner. Down the corridor was the slumped body of a Shinra guard. Cloud hesitated. He'd known something was wrong, and he had this feeling that he shouldn't get involved. Nevertheless, he found his legs moving toward the man.
Swivelling the guard onto his back, Cloud saw that he was dead. It was not this that caused Cloud's blood to curdle, nor was it the passionless, understated way in which the man's body had been sliced through with a sword. It was the unalterable mask of fear on his pallid, lifeless face. It was as though he'd died in an instant of morbid terror, as though he'd been faced with something more frightening than anyone could have imagined.
Cloud stood up, reeling. Images began to flood his mind, scenes from a past he had been pushing away for longer than he cared to admit...He raced back into the cell, shook Tifa awake desperately.
"Tifa, Tifa, wake up, wake up!"
Tifa stirred, blinked once or twice in confusion.
"Cloud, what...?"
He didn't wait for her to continue.
"Tifa, go outside, tell me it isn't real...!"
Hearing the panic in his voice, she sat up, alarmed.
"Cloud, what do you mean?" Her eyes flicked over the open doorway. "Why's the door open?"
He ignored the question.
"Just look outside, Tifa."
Wordlessly, she walked out of the room, bewilderment on her face. Cloud rested his head against the wall and closed his eyes. He could not get rid of the dead man's face. It remained firmly imprinted on his brain. Still, he managed to ease his dazed mind, and followed Tifa out of the room. She was kneeling over the guard, examining his wound.
"He's dead," she said thickly, turning her head toward Cloud as he appeared from the cell. "A clean stab-wound to the chest." She stood up and turned to him, a troubled look on her face. "I've never seen a wound so true, so precise. He must have died straight off and hardly felt a thing."
Cloud shivered instinctively.
"Tifa," he began decisively, "wake up Aeris and tell her what's wrong. I'll get Barret and Red XIII."
Tifa willingly went to fetch Aeris. Cloud knocked on the door of the next cell and thrust it open. Barret had been sitting against the furthest wall, wide-awake. Red XIII too was awake, lying on the stony floor. They looked alarmed to see him.
"Cloud!" Barret exclaimed. "How'd you get out?"
"No time to explain," Cloud breathed. "Just take a look at what's outside."
Sensing Cloud's urgency, the two rushed out, Cloud close behind. Red XIII turned his head toward him gravely.
"This wasn't done by any normal human being," he stated ominously. "I can smell it in the air."
Aeris' eyes were hard, her brow furrowed.
"What happened to him, Cloud? That look on his face..." She trembled and hid her face in her hands. Cloud looked thoughtfully at the corpse of the Shinra guard. From his resting position and down to the end of the corridor and further, a trail of blood made an erratic yettelling path.
"You know, Red XIII, you may be right," he muttered. "And I think this trail of blood will lead us straight to the murderer."
"We're following?" Barret asked doubtfully.
"We sure are," Cloud replied. He had calmed his giddy mind of the gripping fright. It had been replaced by the irresistible enticement of an unknown force he could not push away. It was pulling at him, luring him its way. He found it impossible to repel.
"As long as you know what you're doing, Cloud," Tifa put in. He nodded, though he could not have been further from knowing his true intentions in the first place.
"Well, if you're sure," Tifa replied, "then let's go."
They followed the trail of blood down to the end of the passageway, and then stopped. Aeris gasped, cupped her hands to her mouth in nausea. The whole room appeared to be filled with dead bodies, all slashed with a sword in the same fashion as the Shinra guard. They all appeared to be Shinra personnel on closer inspection, and their faces all wore the same bizarrely horrified expressions."What the hell is going on!" Barret cried, his face quite pale. "What kinda monster could kill all these people - Shinra guards no less?"
Cloud did not answer. His mind was being told to go on and he could not stop it. He simply led them after the trail of blood, up the flights of stairs and on to the 69th floor. There was not a single person to stop them. They were all dead.
As they walked down the passageway to President's Shinra's office, there were no guards alive to arrest them either. Each one of them were lying where they had been stationed, sprawled in pools of blood, their dying faces shrouded in terror. All was quiet, except for the breathing of Cloud and his companions, their footsteps padding softly on the lush carpets.
The doors to the President's office were closed, but still the blood and carnage went on beyond the twin portals. Cloud reached out to pull them apart. They swung open with a creak at his touch.
There was a distinctive smell in the air. It coiled, thick and suffocating, round the group of intruders. Cloud almost choked on it. He knew the odour that was stealing round him. It was the smell of death.
President Shinra was lying face down on his throne-like desk, high on the podium. Straight through his back was a thin murasame blade that had clearly penetrated through to the other side of the man's body.
"Oh my God," Tifa whispered, cupping her mouth with her hands.
Slowly, Cloud stepped forward, his heart pounding crazily in his breast. He climbed the steps up to the podium. No blood had poured from the President's wound, the sword's sharpness had been so true. Grabbing what little hair the man had, Cloud lifted his head up. The eyes were yellow, bulging in wordless terror, the mouth was gaping open. From the corner of his lower lip ran the only evidence of any blood. Cloud dropped the man's head with a thud and closed his eyes, unable to get rid of the potent image.
"He's dead," he said, his mouth thick with the foul smell in the room.
"Who'd do such a thing?" Aeris murmured.
Cloud stood back from the podium.
"That sword," he told them quietly. "It's Sephiroth's"
"Sephiroth?" Red XIII repeated sharply.
"Yes," Cloud replied. "Sephiroth, remember? He was a great international war hero. But no one's seen him for five years."
"How do you know that that sword belongs to Sephiroth?" Barret scoffed.
Before Cloud could answer, there was a movement at a nearby chaise-long. Barret lunged forward and was amazed to see Palmer emerge from behind the chair, quivering all over.
"Don't hurt me!" he begged, shaking violently. "I wasn't doing any harm!"
Cloud rounded on him.
"Did you see anything? Tell me what happened!"
Palmer didn't hesitate at all. He began to pour forth his story in hisstammering speech.
"It was Sephiroth, he came into the room! At first, I thought I was dreaming - I mean, everyone says he's dead, don't they? But I saw him, I saw him with my own eyes!" He looked round at them eagerly, as if trying to convince disbelievers. "He was wearing a black cloak and his hair...it was all long and silvery! And...he had this monster with him!" He made waggling gestures with his chubby fingers. "It was hideous! No head at all on its neck...!"
Barret grabbed him by his dickey-bow.
"What! You mean that headless spook in Hojo's lab?"
Palmer nodded vigorously. "Yeah...that one!"
Cloud pondered for a moment.
"Jenova," he whispered.
"Huh?" Tifa was baffled.
"Jenova," Cloud repeated, more loudly. "That monster was Jenova."
Barret was about to question Cloud's apparent knowledge when the drone of helicopter wings sounded outside on the balcony. They all looked up, and Palmer managed to break himself free of Barret's grip.
"It's the new President!" he cried, running out on to the balcony. "The new President's here!"
"Who's the new President?" Red XIII inquired, baffled at the turn of events. Barret looked out of the window at the landing helicopter.
"That'll be Rufus Shinra, the President's son," he snorted mockingly. "Guess we gotta go out and pay our respects."
They followed Palmer out of the room. The large man had escaped into the helicopter, but someone else was coming out in his place.
The new President, Rufus Shinra, jumped from the helicopter swiftly. He could not have been more than twenty-five years of age, and yet he carried himself with an air of shrewd self-confidence, something his father never had. His clothes, elaborate and expensive, set off his handsome, dignified features to perfection. As he neared the group, a false, white-toothed smile touched his lips.
"And who might you be, you who enter my father's quarters so barbarously?"
He spoke in a deep, sonorous voice, his mocking tone working Barret into a rage.
"We're from AVALANCHE, you ignorant pig, ain't you heard of us?"
"Ah," Rufus grinned lazily, "the ones who destroyed Sector Seven."
"That was your damned father, not us, and you know it!" Barret retorted heatedly. Rufus passed a hand through his strawberry-blond hair.
"I know nothing of the sort," he replied idly. "Let's just say that my father and I hadn't the cloest of relationships." He walked past each member of the group, lingering over Aeris and Tifa as though they were pieces of art. When satisfied that he'd assessed them all, he stood back.
"What a strange group of rag-tag misfits you are," he mused. "You are barely worth my notice. But since you are the first people that I have met as my new subjects, let me give you the honour of hearing my first presidential speech."
"Just like his father," Tifa muttered, contemptuously. "Love's to hear his own voice."
Rufus grinned lazily at her.
"Perhaps my late father and I had that much in common, but little else. It will not have escaped your notice that he had his own way of exacting his power. This he did with the sales of Mako. Money. My father was a greedy man. Greedy - and stupid. While his methods were generally a quite effective ingredient for power, he had no proper understanding of how Mako is the key to ruling this Planet." He paused, began to pace the balcony ponderously. "I, on the other hand, have better plans to govern the Planet. By instilling fear into the hearts of the people, I will not need to invest in the marketing of Mako to ensure my success. And, once the Promised Land is found, my work will become even easier." He stopped and stared at them. "Do you understand what I mean?"
Cloud ignored him, andturned to his companions.
"Barret, you and the others get out of here. I'll take care of Rufus myself."
Barret quickly led the others back into the building. When they had gone, Cloud turned back to Rufus. The other spoke first.
"You are from SOLDIER, aren't you. You have the eyes of those infused with Mako."
Cloud nodded.
"I was once in SOLDIER. But that's irrelevant. Your father has been murdered and I aim to catch the killer."
"Oh?" Rufus raised an eyebrow. "And what makes you think I care?"
"Your father was murdered by Sephiroth. Apparently, Jenova was with him. I know the Shinra was working on Jenova and I need to know their whereabouts."
Rufus swept aside the question. "Sephiroth is not your concern. We are looking into his person already. But I have another proposition for you. What is your name?"
"Cloud. Cloud Strife."
"Cloud." Rufus nodded thoughtfully and his eyes swept over Cloud with a blatantly appreciative look. "Listen, Cloud, why not join the Shinra once more? You and your group...I could have uses for you. And the girl...Aeris Gainsborough. She is vital to our investigations."
Cloud shook his head.
"I'd never join the Shinra again. You're all the same - heartless, thieving power-mongers. Sorry but it just isn't my scene."
Rufus stroked his hair again, unconcerned.
"What a shame. That means that we can't be friends." He pulled back the lapel of his snow-white coat and produced a shotgun. "And I'm afraid your execution simply can't wait until tomorrow."
Cocking the gun rapidly, he aimed at Cloud and fired, but Cloud just about managed tododge out of the way. With a strangled cry, he rushed at Rufus, his sword gripped tight in his hand. He swung the blade at the other, confident of a strike. However, he had underestimated the skills of the other. Rufus had already jumped up deftly and caught hold of the nearest runner of the helicopter that was hovering in the air.
"That's enough for today, Cloud," he called mockingly, as the helicopter began to sail away. With a dexterous, gymnastic-like somersault, he landed inside the machine, and disappeared out of sight.
Cursing, Cloud ran back into the President's office and through the doors. Tifa was waiting there for him.
"Did you finish him?" she asked.
"No," he shook his head. "He got away in his helicopter. Where are the others? We've got to get out of here!"
"They're down on the first floor," she repeated hastily.
"Great, let's go."
They rushed to the nearest lift and went down to the bottom. The ground floor was deserted.
"Barret, can we get out!" Cloud called, as he neared the others.
"Like hell, we can!" Barret replied, standing at the front doors. "We're surrounded by members of SOLDIER out front. They'll kill us if we even take one step outside the door!"
"What do we do?" Aeris breathed.
Cloud looked around frantically. At the back of the room were models of the Shinra's newest motorcars, standing out for an exhibition. Red XIII caught the suddenly enlightened look on his face.
"You've got a plan?"
Cloud turned to them with bright eyes.
"I sure have! We're gonna ride out! Come this way!"
He made his way to the display vehicles, and jumped on to the nearest motorbike. Turning it on and revving it up, he gave a little whoop of delight.
"Wow, I haven't ridden one of these in ages!"
Tifa sighed humorously. "Cloud, you're crazy, you really are."
"So?" He pointed to a blue truck nearby. "You lot get into that. Tifa, you can drive, right?" She nodded. "I'll take the lead, and you follow me, okay? If anything happens, I'll cover you."
"Right." They jumped into the truck, Tifa at the wheel. Cloud signalled to her.
"Ready?"
She gave him the thumbs up sign, turned the key in the ignition. It spurted into life.
"Ready when you are!"
"Then let's go!"
Cloud kicked the bike into gear. It responded with a jerk, began to tear off its stand and across the hallway. Cloud felt an immediate sense of power, travelling at high speed up the steps to the next floor. His heart began to thrum pleasantly with the rush of adrenaline that shot through his body.
At the end of the second floor was a large window. Cloud stopped, the truck following suit behind him. Underneath the window was the new Shinra motorway, which had been constructed to lead out of Midgar. Cloud looked back at Tifa and pointed to their decided escape route. Understanding, she nodded back.
Cloud pushed hard at the pedal with his foot. The motorbike roared forward mercilessly, crashing through the window and sending a shower of glass raining on to the motorway below. Cloud landed with a thud on the road, and then sped away without a second thought. The truck raced after him, keeping on his tail. Down below, the soldiers that had been surrounding the Headquarters gazed up in helpless amazement, watching the enemy make its getaway. Almost immediately they could hear the whine of sirens behind them, then the whirr of bike engines as the enemy finally gave chase. Cloud allowed Tifa to take the lead as he hung back, ready to take on their agressors. The stakes were high, but Cloud had faced tougher situations. As each bike came roaring past he dealt a blow with his sword, smashing the Shinra soldiers from their bikes before they could ram Tifa's truck off the unfinished highway. Cloud swerved and dodged like a natural, feeling completely at home with his vehicle, almost an extension of the bike. It was a long time since he'd felt so free, and as the last soldier finally fell he gave an instinctive whoop of triumph.
It was not long before they reached the end of the road, the end of the highway that led out of Midgar. Cloud hit the brakes and with a flourish jumped off the cycle. Glancing up, he saw Tifa emerge from the truck. She ran to him, threw her arms round him.
"Cloud, you did it!"
He held her breathlessly for a while, then pulled away gently. Looking ahead, he saw, for the first time in ages, a world without a plate, without darkness. The motorway had led them straight out of Midgar.
"Look," he said, as the others gathered round him from the truck. "Look. There's the sunset."
The sky was a tapestry of rich orange and amethyst, a tint of rosy pink touching the cottony clouds as they neared the descending sun. The landscape seemed to stretch on for an eternity they had not realised possible. A cluster of hills gleamed a tawny hue in the evening light and a group of birds were sailing against the horizon. The faintest shade of sapphire touched the furthermost reaches of the heavens, a radiant, intense azure. Aeris held in a breath of silent wonder.
"So pretty," she murmured, softly. "This is the first time I've been out of Midgar ever since I can remember."
Barret spoke to her guiltily.
"Aeris...I've got to thank you for what you did back there...you saved my daughter's life."
She shook her head.
"Mr. Barret, there's no need to thank me at all. Marlene was an innocent, I only did what anyone would have done." She gazed back on to the grassy plains before them. "We're free..."
Cloud remained silent. Yes, they were free - and yet, he felt that he was not. From the moment he'd met AVALANCHE, to this moment now, when they'd reached the outskirts of Midgar, something had awakened in him. It was the realisation that he had an unresolved past, and that he must lay claim to it, in whatever way possible.
"No, we're not free yet, Aeris," he answered, his voice sounding different on the breeze. "There are still things I must search for."
"Things?" she asked.
"Sephiroth," he replied quietly. "I knew him, once. For all this time, I thought he was dead. But now, he has returned. I must find him again, ask him my questions."
"What questions?" Barret asked.
"I don't know," he replied, honestly. Barret laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Then I'm comin' with you! Idunno where this whole crazy thing is gonna end up, but this thing with the Shinra ain't finished! I still gotta save the Planet, for Marlene's sake!"
Tifa nodded.
"Barret's right. Besides Cloud, whatever you do, I'll always stand by your side. You can be certain of that."
Aeris looked out into the distance soulfully, her face contemplative.
"There are still things I have to search for too," she said.
"The Ancients?" Cloud asked, and she nodded.
"Yes. I need to know the truth. I need to know what I am. Maybe, if I travel with you after Sephiroth, I may find the answers."
Cloud turned to the fiery beast.
"Red XIII?"
Red XIII stepped forward, his tail fanning the breeze.
"All right. I'll come with you as far as my hometown, but that's all. My tribe needs me, and I must go to them with all due haste."
Cloud looked up, stepped forward to the edge of the road. The world was spread out before them - yet, in emotional terms, it seemed alien to them. They had not seen the existence of these trees, of these hills for so long, maybe even for years. The touch of the sun, the flight of the birds, the colours of the earth, the purity of this air had all been denied them. They'd fought for it, and yet now that they had it, their journey was not over.
The five stood together, united by an unknown call. Each had a different purpose, and a different intention for carrying on.
But Cloud knew his only.
Sephiroth.
-oOo-
-END OF PART ONE-
Next: The beginning of Part 2 - Cloud retells his past with Sephiroth...