Start Date: March 14, 2023

Windwillow

Final Fantasy VII

Despite the party's best efforts Sephiroth has successfully summoned Meteor, which now hangs in the sky as an ominous star of death. Further, the three bio-mechanical WEAPONs created to combat Jenova have now begun to wreak havoc the world over, desperate to find their enemy yet unable to because of Sephiroth's barrier around the North Crater. Shinra hasn't upped their morality game either, leaving AVALANCHE alone to fight for truth, justice, and the... Well, you probably get my point. But before all that, finding Cloud is their primary mission, and since he'd disappeared into an abyss of Mako, why not search where that abyss comes out of the ground?

Chapter Forty-Four: The Search for Cloud

Scene One

Their objective had been to regain the public's trust. The end result was utter humiliation, the loss of their greatest means of air travel, and the escape of their mortal enemies in said means of air travel. Junon remained in chaos because of WEAPON's attack, and though it had been felled, reporters continued to clamor for an official statement on one thing or another. This, naturally, was a far from ideal situation for Shinra. The jobs - and, perhaps, lives - of their highest executives now hung in the balance. As Shinra's top echelon gathered together in a Junon conference room, it was clear that someone's head would roll.

It was a less than pleasant report, but it had to be given anyway. Heidegger nervously shuffled through a bunch of papers that he'd brought to make it look like he was working hard. "It's been confirmed that WEAPON has been destroyed..." he stammered. "Our underwater crews are hard at work disposing of its remains."

His fingers laced together, Rufus stared deep into Heidegger's dirty soul as he attempted to give his report. After Heidegger finished talking, Rufus turned his eye to Scarlet, equally frightened and enraged. She still had the welt on her cheek from where Tifa slapped her, although she'd fixed her make-up. "They've... They've stolen the Highwind and all our assets aboard it..." Scarlet sighed. With a new resolve, her face brightened and she clenched her fists tight. "But I assure you, that bitch Lockhart will be brought to justice!" she vowed.

Rufus remained emotionless, something that filled his executives with terror. Whenever his father had gone silent people had been fired, and they had every reason to believe that the same would happen with his son. "Has the Huge Materia project been started?" Rufus asked calmly, perhaps too calmly. Receiving Heidegger's nod, Rufus closed his eyes tight and sighed. "Then get to it," he snapped brusquely. "We don't have any room for incompetence this time around. So... I highly advise that you deliver."

Chills went down the spines of both executives as Rufus spoke. The fact that he was this calm made the results of failure all the more frightening. Heidegger deftly saluted and rushed off to make preparations, though Scarlet lingered. "And Hojo, Sir...?" she wondered. As his eyes twitched open and Rufus began to lightly tremble, he slowly picked up his cup of coffee and, still shaking, downed it in one gulp before slamming it down hard enough to crack the mug. Scarlet quickly decided to cut her losses and stormed from the room. Rufus quietly rose from his chair and turned towards the sea, a sea that was far calmer than the roaring torrents inside of his head. His fists clenched, his teeth gritting, Rufus quietly stared out into the ocean and his thoughts wandered, wandered to places he never wanted to reach.

What the hell have we wrought? How would that son of a bitch react? I don't know... rather, I don't want to know... and that's what troubles me, because I want to react the same way.

Scene Two

Cid's Highwind was indeed his pride and joy. He'd decked it out with nearly everything that anyone would want for a mobile base which, of course, benefited AVALANCHE. In addition to living quarters and even a chocobo stable, he'd included a grand conference room where he'd expected to issue orders to his men and proudly sail the skies. That not happening for sixteen years grated on him more than he would admit. Vincent laid an old book on the conference table lightly, one that was ragged and worn. He opened it up to a marked page that contained various arcane symbols and mathematical formulas, something that only he and Cid could translate.

"Before we left, I retrieved this from the Junon Library, expecting that it could come in handy," said Vincent. Silently, he scanned the page with the eye of a scholar. "It details Mako pipelines and potential reactors. As it turns out, there are some places where the Lifestream is so inherently strong that building a reactor there would be disastrous: the Mako would overwhelm the reactor and cause a massive detonation. Meaning, Shinra ruled them out for their new reactors. Looking for Cloud at one of those places, where the Lifestream literally oozes from the ground, is our best chance."

As she put her face in her hand, Tifa silently offered a prayer to whoever was listening. Her fingers parted to reveal a burning eye, one that had been crying not so long ago. "Cloud fell into the Lifestream far to the north..." she murmured. "So, if it traveled north along the currents, running along the globe it ought to lead to the southern part of Gaia, right?"

Vincent quietly clapped the book shut and laid it onto the table, sliding it towards Tifa. "According to these records, the most active place in the south would be the island of Mideel," he explained. "It's a far-flung town, and mostly retirees from various parts of the world come there. Identifying Cloud with them ought to be relatively simple. If they have older residents, they almost certainly have a medical specialist. We ought to look there, check the hospitals for new patients, and hope that Cloud is among them."

Cid snapped open his lighter and brought the fire to his cigarette, took in a deep puff, and exhaled sharply. "Who stays and who goes?" he asked brashly. After a brief lull he snuffed his cigarette out, stumbled to his feet, and scowled at Tifa. "And leave me out of it. This is my ship and I'm going to stay on it."

"Take me with you! I'm begging you!" Yuffie screeched. Gripping her stomach with one and her mouth with the other, she shot a fierce glare at Cid. When he returned the glare with one that was ever fiercer, Yuffie quickly gave up and slammed her hand on the table. "Get me the hell off of this thing!" she snarled.

With a sigh, Tifa lifted herself from her chair and scanned the room carefully. She narrowed in on two people in particular. "Vincent's sort of taken over... So I want him," Tifa said plainly. Tifa's eyes lowered, slowly locking in on Barret. "And Barret. I want someone I can really trust..." Just as Yuffie lifted herself up to argue, Vincent clapped his hand over her mouth and dragged her from the room kicking and screaming. Barret followed Tifa and Vincent, which left Red XIII, Cait Sith, and Cid to remain onboard. Of them all, Red XIII remained the most concerned, and not just for Cloud.

What happens when she finds him? I have a bad feeling that I know the answer...

Scene Three

With the search party determined, the party rode the Highwind down through the world to nearly the end of it, and arrived at a long island that contained only a single village. After passing through a dense forest, they found themselves in the resort town of Mideel. The inhabitants here had largely originated in Mideel, but there were several retirees and transplants that simply wanted to leave the civilized world. Mideel's geography was very hilly, with several long planks and platforms dividing the town into a series of different districts. There weren't any "rich" neighborhoods, as the citizens lived in a fully independent society that no longer valued money so much as they did comfort.

Situated at the gate to the town was an older man, one who was always found with a bottle of liquor in his hands named Merlot. Tifa, as she approached, immediately caught his eye and he popped his liquor from his mouth to search her from head to toe. He clearly liked what he saw, if the drunken, perverted gaze said anything. It was one Tifa had seen before, and she'd removed quite a few teeth from men who'd made it. "Welcome, hot stuff!" Merlot hiccuped. "We ain't got no one with hooters like those in decades! You come here for some fun?"

Tifa's fingers flexed tightly, wrinkling her glove and briefly hardening before she softened them. She wanted to teach the lech a lesson, but they couldn't afford to make a scene. So, with all the willpower she had, Tifa swallowed hard and folded her arms over her chest, forcing a smile onto her lips. "M-Most certainly... not," she growled, clenching her teeth tightly. Even if she wanted to retaliate, this wasn't the time. "But we came here for some information... Can you tell us a bit about this town?"

"Mideel, you mean? We're the kind of place people go when they wanna die in comfort. Most of us are on the latter edge of livin', and all we want is to leave this life happy and comfortably. We've got some nice, relaxin' hot springs... They work the kinks out of your ol' bones!" Merlot said, oddly lucidly. The flush on his cheeks wasn't just because of the liquor, as he was unaware of his potential fate. If he knew how dangerous Tifa was, it would sober him up immediately.

The mention of hot springs immediately piqued Yuffie's attention. A deranged smile crossed her face and she began to tremble in anticipation. The more she thought about it, though, it became a much firmer 'no.' If Wutai's hot springs had been full of old people, a retirement community?

Oh, hell, no. Talk about sag city... Yuck. Wutai was bad enough...

Once they'd left Merlot, the party began to explore the rest of Mideel. The first place they checked was the Inn, but unfortunately all the beds had been booked by doomsday predictors who wanted to go out in one final hurrah; trips to the hot springs, as well as upper class liquor, were provided free to patrons, and every room had already been booked. After leaving the Inn, the next place to visit was the General Store, where Yuffie was roughly trampled by a crazy woman, her eyes bloodshot and all but foaming at the mouth who was running about the shelves collecting canned goods.

Once she'd gathered herself Yuffie stomped her foot and puffed out her chest at the woman in an attempt to look menacing. "Oh, the hell you didn't!" she screeched. She furiously grabbed the lady by the collar and drew her in close. "Who lit the fire under your butt, lady?!"

"If you don't wanna get hit with the frying pan, get the heck out of the fire!" the woman shrieked, completely out of her mind. She shoved Yuffie away brashly, something that only stoked Yuffie's fire. "The world's ending! Did you know that?! I'm going to get enough supplies to last 'til all that's left are cockroaches! Then I'll stomp 'em!"

Yuffie, taken aback, immediately recoiled in shock, shock that quickly turned to amazement. "Y-You... have got to be kidding..." Yuffie muttered dumbly. Her eye began to lightly twitch, both out of amazement and fury. When her anger boiled over she furiously stomped her foot and got in the lunatic's face. "When Meteor cracks the Planet open, what then, Einstein?!"

"Oh, I got it all figured out! I got me a doomsday bunker that'll let me ride out whatever freaking apocalypse the damn world throws at me!" cackled the mad woman, her lunacy increasing by the second as she piled goods into her cart. She extended her hand with a look of mania, which Yuffie declined to accept. "Want in? I'll give you a cot for a half million Gil!" she said with a toothy grin.

"H-H-Half... half a million?! What the hell are you going to do with money if everyone's dead, dumbass?! That's highway robbery, you crazy freak! What kind of cockamamie plan is that supposed to be?!" screamed Yuffie, her own mania building. As she continued to rail at the woman, Tifa testily took her by the arm and dragged her out of the store kicking and screaming. The crazy woman simply shrugged and shoved another handful of cans into her cart.

Well, she's not going anywhere in life...

Scene Four

With the Inn full and the General Store occupied by the nut of all nuts, all that was left was to go door to door. However, none of the citizens could offer any help. Dejected and depressed, Tifa mindlessly wandered the streets until she came upon a stray dog, lost from its family and all alone. She knew precisely how that felt... As she knelt down in pity to pet the dog's furry head, she silently plopped down beside it instead and softly caressed the creature, holding it as if it were her own child.

What am I doing?! Everything's gone to hell and back and I'm here petting this dog? God, I feel like an idiot... I just want to see him again, even if it's just one more time...

Yuffie crouched down next to Tifa and stroked the dog's back as well. As she plopped down Indian style to sit next to Tifa, she gingerly laid a hand on her friend's shoulder. "We'll find him, girl... Promise," she murmured. She forced a smile on her face, hoping it would help. "How hard can it be to find a guy with spiky hair carrying a sword as big as he is?"

One of the old men shooting the breeze next to Tifa perked up. "Spiky hair, big sword... Did he have glowing blue eyes, too?" he asked. He was wholly unprepared when Tifa took him by the shoulders and shook him back and forth like a rag doll. The poor fellow almost received a concussion from the force she was jostling him around with.

"Please!" Tifa begged, her eyes swelling with tears. "Tell me everything you know about him!" Once she'd composed herself, Tifa relaxed her grip and dusted off her miniskirt, then bowed politely. "Sir... You don't know how much it means to me that he's alive! Where is he?"

"Poor fellow drifted to the shore 'bout a week back... Never seen anyone suffering from Mako poisoning as bad as that man... He's in the clinic up north..." the old man sighed. He was nearly run over as Tifa frantically dashed for the hospital, but was stabilized when Vincent caught him. He brushed off his clothes and stared at the long gone Tifa, and shrugged. "Did I say something wrong?" he croaked, taken aback.

Vincent had quickly grasped the ramifications as soon as he'd heard the term "Mako poisoning". With great trepidation he laid his own hand on the man's shoulder, far softer than Tifa had. "This man... what is his condition?" Vincent murmured. Upon receiving the old man's sorrowful stare, Vincent slowly backed off and turned towards the clinic, his face clearly strained. "That's what I thought..." he choked. He was unable to hide the distress on his face.

"H-Hey... Vincent... What just happened?" asked Barret nervously.

After taking a deep breath Vincent laid his hand to his face. "You need me to spell it out for you?" Vincent sighed sadly. "You already know what I'm about to say. He's been dipped into pure Mako, and now that he's poisoned..." Yuffie let out a shriek and she and Barret immediately rushed towards Mideel's clinic, leaving Vincent to hesitantly follow them. His steps, slow and methodical, reflected the weight he felt inside his heart, and he held his face in his hand in grief.

Lucrecia... Aerith... and now Cloud. Damn.

Scene Five

Mideel's hospital rarely dealt with anything more serious than a broken bone, but since the Meteor incident began they'd dealt with a case far worse than a bone that had to be set. The doctor and his nurse were totally unprepared when the door flew open and Tifa dashed towards them, her eyes wide. She slid to a stop hard enough to scrape her boot, but wasn't impeded enough that she couldn't sprint towards the doctor with the flames of hope burning in her eyes.

"Doctor! You have a patient with blue eyes, right?! Please, let me see him!" Tifa begged excitedly, her eyes wide as dinner plates. As the doctor silently directed her down the hall, Tifa frantically ran two steps at a time, and as she finally reached Cloud's room, she threw open the door. Once she saw Cloud, catatonic and in a wheelchair, her legs buckled and she dropped to the floor with a thud, nearly skinning her knees in the process. In one fell swoop, all the hope she'd had fell into the deepest darkness of all. She could feel her pulse halt and her breath quicken as Barret, Vincent, and Yuffie entered the room, but she took no notice of them.

Y-You... you can't be serious...

As quick as he could Barret leaned forward and lifted his friend up, tucking his arm under hers as he dragged her shakily to her feet. The doctor entered with his nurse, and although he knew the answer, he had to ask the question. "Doc..." Barret choked. "How bad is it?"

"I've never seen such an advanced case of Mako poisoning," sighed the doctor. He adjusted his ancient glasses with his finger and stared down through them at a despondent Tifa. "He's absorbed so much energy and information from the Mako that it's essentially drained him of all logic and reason, and so as you can see... He'll probably remain in this state indefinitely..."

Yuffie nearly screamed, but Vincent muffled her mouth. She glared at him, but quickly understood the situation and quietly left the room with Barret. Vincent silently patted Tifa on the back, and he and the others shuffled out of the room. As they left, Tifa remained shaky in the center of the room, staring at Cloud with teary eyes. "H-Hey... Cloud... I... I'm glad to see you..." said Tifa weakly as she approached Cloud, hoping for one thing but expecting another. Every step provoked no response, and as Tifa finally reached her friend, she quietly began to shake. It was all just too much, and even her teeth began to chatter. "I'm so glad to see you..." she whispered softly, and got no response.

This is too cruel. Why?! This can't be the end... can it?

Her teeth grit, hard enough to make them ache. The more she looked at him in that pitiful state, the harder it was on her heart, but she soon came to a decision. "Cloud, I... I'll stay with you until the end..." Tifa breathed softly as she gripped Cloud's hand gently. When she received no response, Tifa finally broke down and fell to her knees while embracing Cloud, all the life ripped from her body. As her tears began to fall and then accelerated, all she could think to do was lay his head on her chest. "I... I mean that. Even if Meteor falls... I will never leave your side... Even if we have to die together..."

Do I... Do I really... No. It doesn't matter whether I do or not. Cloud... I'll stay by your side for as long as we both breathe...

Scene Six

Having left Cloud and Tifa alone, her friends quietly exited the hospital with the doctor and his nurse. While they already knew the answers, they still had to ask the questions. It would be too much, too painful, not to do that. The sadness on the doctor's face certainly implied that it would be painful, anyway. "This young man has been poisoned by an exceptional amount of Mako. All the knowledge, all the magic... It's erased his personality and consciousness," the doctor murmured sadly. He adjusted his glasses with a shaky finger, pained by his own helplessness. "There's no medicine that can fix it. The condition will remain until the patient succumbs... either naturally, or when Meteor strikes..."

It quickly became too much for Yuffie, and as her breathing slowed to a crawl the anger built. Overwhelmed, she furiously took the doctor by the collar and lifted him up high into the air. "Y-You stupid old sack of bones! You went to medical school for how many years and you ain't gonna do your freaking job?! FIX HIM!" Yuffie screeched furiously. Slowly, as the truth hit her, Yuffie dropped to her seat and began to sob. It all built up inside, and soon, all she could think to do was to cry.

You gave me a second chance. How screwed up is it that I can't give you one, too?

Yuffie felt a soft yet firm hand touch her shoulder and lifted her eyes to see Vincent looking down at her. He solemnly offered his hand to Yuffie, and she hesitantly allowed him to lift her to her feet. By now the reality of the situation had hit him, and Vincent realized what Tifa's next move would be, and he really couldn't blame her. With all they'd been through together, through all the time she'd spent with Cloud, he supposed she had the right.

Can we survive without you two? The two of you have given everyone a reason to keep fighting. So...

"Hope, even if it's just a sliver, is what humans need to exist," Vincent said plainly, which slightly perked Barret and Yuffie up. "We'll fight and defeat Sephiroth together... Except for two of us..." he sighed, which forced the two of them to realize what he'd meant. As Tifa slowly exited the clinic, Vincent turned towards her with a sympathetic eye. He swallowed hard, quietly preparing himself for what would come next. "I'm guessing I know what comes next, but..."

After taking in a deep breath and exhaling, Tifa bowed her head and silently turned towards the clinic door. She led her friends back to Cloud's room, where he continued to stare dumbly into the distance and she pulled up a seat. One look at him and another at Vincent confirmed Vincent's fears, which caused his eye to slightly twitch. Even if he'd expected the news... "So, you'll stay with him until the both of you die, come hell or high water... Literally... Am I correct?" asked Vincent. Receiving Tifa's nod, he quietly lifted a hand to his face and closed his eyes. "None of us have any right to ask anything different from you. You should do as your heart dictates..." he said with a sigh. Even so, Tifa couldn't help but feel guilty. Leaving her friends hanging while the world was literally at risk of ending weighed on her, but Vincent silently turned to leave by himself.

Vincent stopped suddenly when he realized that Yuffie had remained behind. He turned to her, suspicious, until the young girl brushed past him and broke out into a firm embrace of her friend, hugging her tight enough that Yuffie could almost feel the pain ooze from Tifa's body. As Yuffie gripped Tifa tighter and tighter, she slowly began to tremble. "Leave it to us, girl..." she murmured, a tear forming in her eye. "You take care of yourself and him, and... and we'll do the rest," Yuffie sobbed.

None of them could quite fathom Yuffie's reactions. The doctor and nurse, even if they didn't know her, could tell from the quiver in her voice that Yuffie's words came unnaturally. Barret was outright dumbfounded, though Vincent silently etched a smile onto his face as he recalled the first time she'd stood up to him back in the Sleeping Forest. Back then, the fire in her eyes had been burning, rather than the dying embers that fell from her face like rain.

I said you could be a real lady one day... You just became one, Yuffie. I'm proud of you.

Vincent slowly stepped towards Tifa and laid his hands on her shoulders with a sigh. "Cloud's doubted who he is for a long time, but what about you, Tifa?" Vincent whispered. After a brief pause he hesitantly laid a hand on her shoulder. Was it really right for him to want for her to remain with them? "I take it you've come to your own conclusions?"

"Yeah... My memories are clear. I believe in the boy I grew up with..." Tifa said softly. As the others left the room, Tifa swiveled in her seat and stared at Cloud's catatonic body with tears forming in her eyes. "Even if you never get your memories back... Our reality will never change..." she murmured softly as she took her fingers and brushed Cloud's spiked, golden hair.

Scene Seven

Now down a member, Barret, Yuffie, and Vincent returned to the Highwind with ill tidings of their friends. Vincent's silence, Yuffie's tears, and Barret's gritted teeth told the lot of them what had happened before they were even told, as the three of them entered the conference room and silently took their seats. As he eyed the still-sobbing Yuffie, Vincent softly gripped her shoulder, jolting her. His smile forced her tears back inside her eyes, she leaned back in her seat, and Yuffie silently shut her eyes once they became dry.

To break the silence, Barret reluctantly rapped his hand on the table, which caught everyone's attention. Leaning back, he allowed his head to hang from the edge of his seat as he choked back his emotions and looked around at his friends. "We lost Cloud and Tifa... and on top of that, Sephiroth is hiding in his little fox hole laughing at all of us, the damn freak show. Then we have Meteor staring down at us... Is this really it, guys?"

"No, maybe not... The folks at Shinra have an idea: Huge Materia..." Cait Sith said, speaking loud enough that everyone could hear him over their grief. Back in Midgar, Reeve used his fingers like piano keys, nervously playing his trembling face to calm his aching heart. "Huge Materia is over three hundred times as powerful as normal materia, and they believe that their combined force could destroy Meteor."

Red XIII's ears immediately drooped, then perked up again. "They have an idea... Well, let's hijack it!" he said plainly. The idea of how they'd send the Huge Materia to Meteor totally escaped him. "If we get the Huge Materia first, we ought to be able to make better use of it than they can. I say we take them before they can use them. Anything they can do, we can do better."

Although Reeve wanted to argue, he agreed that leaving that much power in Shinra's hands would be a recipe for disaster. On top of that, if he told Cid what they were planning, he'd charge straight for Rocket Town and raise hell, something that they decisively did not have time for. As Reeve nervously poured himself a drink, through Cait Sith he hopped onto the conference table and clapped his hands together cheerfully. He had to at least act optimistic. "There are four locations where Huge Materia is produced," he said as he folded out four fingers. "Nibelheim's has been collected, leaving Fort Condor, the Junon underwater reactor and North Corel."

Barret immediately leapt to his feet and pounded his fist on the table, surprising everyone. "Corel?! What more can they do to those people?!" Barret snarled. He folded his arms over his chest, a glint forming in his eye. "We ain't letting them lay a finger on 'em... But we need a new leader. I say it's either Vincent or Cid."

"Well, don't look at me," snapped Vincent. He ran his fingers over his face and carefully folded them until his hand covered his eyes and mouth. Like Reeve before him, he attempted to calm himself and his trembling face by playing it like a piano. "That kind of responsibility isn't something I can carry. It'll have to be Cid."

What right do I have to lead these people? I haven't saved one damned soul...

Cid, who had been half-asleep, opened his eyes just as he heard Vincent speak. Not liking what he heard, Cid angrily slammed his hands on the table and rose to his feet. He furiously flipped off Vincent, something that characteristically didn't seem to bother him much. "Me?!" Cid screeched. "Vincent was in charge at Junon! Let him do this whole leadership garbage!"

"I stepped in out of necessity. If Cloud or Tifa had been available, they would have done it," said Vincent plainly. He turned his eye to Cid with a slender smirk. "A leader needs both intelligence and charisma. As you know, I have no charisma, so the task falls to you."

"I second the motion. A leader needs both intelligence and charisma. Some of us have one or the other, but none of us but you has both," Red XIII said quietly. He leapt to his feet and curled his tail around his paws, feeling the warmth envelop his claws. "A leader demands respect. We respect you."

Although Cid opened his mouth in protest he quickly closed it and dropped back into his chair with a sharp breath. The idea of being anyone's leader made him remember Shinra Twenty-Six's failed mission and the people he'd let down. Slowly, however, he tugged at his aviator's scarf and solemnly laid his head down on the table. There was no alternative, and Cid's silence effectively confirmed his election as leader.

Barret brashly rose from his seat and turned towards the exit, stopping only as he realized that he needed help. "Guys... I want to go to Corel and get the Huge Materia there, okay?" he growled. "If they want to start something there, I intend to go kick 'em in the butt before they can do it. I owe those people as much."

"And I want off of this piece of scrap!" shrieked Yuffie. She staggered to her feet, one hand gripping her stomach and the other her mouth. She'd had all that she could take. "Take me!"

The burden of leadership had already begun to sink in for Cid. This kind of responsibility wasn't anything he thought he'd ever take on again, and while it didn't appeal much there wasn't another option. "We have our away team: Me, Barret, and Yuffie..." Cid groaned as he stuffed his lighter in his jacket. A slight smile crossed his face as the Captain in him began to kick in. "Let's go give those Shinra goons a black eye."

Author's Notes

'Bout the only thing to mention is Yuffie growing up. After depicting her as a complete lunatic, it's satisfying to give her a moment in the sun that didn't involve cursing and writhing on the ground. Not that it lasts long, but hey.