Chapter 2: Sightseeing

The wind was rough, the dust even more so. The sun shown on a black motorcycle in the wasteland, going as fast as anyone could imagine. A person, probably around twenty-six, was riding this peace of work. Some would call him a shady kind of person, dressed in odd black clothes. This man was none other than Cloud Strife, and most knew him quite well because of his great journey five years ago.

A year in the past, he had left a place called Midgar to do something he really needed to do. Though, he left for more reasons than that. He was taking care of many more things than what he said, not to mention he had already done that one thing. To tell the truth, he wasn't sure he'd ever go back to Midgar.

These thoughts circled his head over and over. I'll never see them again, I suppose, he thought, clutching his head as it began to hurt slightly. He gripped the handle bars out of frustration, his arms shaking slightly. He began to see his destination in the distance, and it was a good thing too, for he felt rather dizzy.

He steered the bike sideways and activated the breaks while kicking down the stand. The sudden stop brought up a huge cloud of dust as the rubber slid across the cracked earth. The bike came to an absolute stop in front of an old house with a few dying flowers on both sides of the stairs that led to the porch. It was obviously quite old, but it matched the person who owned it quite well.

Cloud lifted himself off the bike and brushed the dust off of his clothes. His boots stomped heavily upon the wood of the old, creaking porch, the silent breeze moving his blond, spiky hair slowly. he raised a gloved hand and knocked on the door quietly.

"I'll be right there!" called a shaky voice. The knob turned and the door creaked open to reveal an old man, possibly in the one-hundred. "Ah, Cloud! I've been expecting you," he said, stepping to the side to let Cloud in.

He nodded and pushed up his goggles. He sat in one of the old chairs that decorated the dusty living room. "So, you said you wanted to talk to me, Mr...?"

"Ah! Albotress, Mr. Albotress! And yes, I needed to talk to you about something I saw," the man said, his limb shaking heavily as he closed the door.

"Saw? What do you mean?" Cloud asked, fiddling with an old lamp. So far, he wasn't particularly interested yet. What could this old geezer have to say that was so important anyways? Had he spotted something unusual in the sky or something?

"Ah, you see, I can see the future or the past," Albotress said in a weird fashion.

Great, another loon interested in telling me their hallucinations, Cloud thought and sighed.

"You see, I saw something rather demented in the near future," Albotress said, making weird hand gestures as he talked.

"The near future? Hope this isn't bad news," Cloud grunted sarcastically, leaning on the chair's arm.

Albotress sighed as well, drumming his fingers upon the desktop. "It's hard to explain. You see, what I saw was that the Planet was shaking, as if terrified of something. Right off the bat, I could tell it was some sort of natural disaster, earthquake maybe? Anyways, it was happening in this rather dirty town with a bunch of people in it. Then again, to me, all these cities look alike," he mumbled and threw a non-caring hand into the air.

"Dirtied streets..... how many people would you say you saw?" Cloud asked, sitting up, now interested and slightly worried.

"Oh, maybe a few hundred. It was a lot, and there was also some sort of weird monument they were rebuilding," Albotress said, rubbing his chin.

Monument.. the Shinra Monument!? Cloud thought as his hand tightly gripped the edge of the chair's arm. "Would this city maybe called.... Midgar?"

Albotress shook and nodded his head as if trying to remember the names of cities, "I believe so..., and I have no clue in the time of the earthquake, all I know is that it's drawing nearer. Hell! It could be already happening for all we know!"

Cloud felt sweat beading down his face, his muscles tensed. What if this man wasn't so much the whack job? What if an earthquake really did or was going to happen? He suddenly stood up and looked to the door. "I need to go..," he said and stepped towards the exit.

"Wait!" shouted Albotress, holding out a quivering hand, "There's so much more I must tell you, Cloud!" Cloud stopped, and silence engulfed the room. Until a ring when off in the house, over and over.

Cloud took in a deep breath and took his phone out, glancing to the number. This.. It's Tifa's number.., he thought as his heart pounded heavily. In a quick decision, he flipped it open and rose it to his ear. "Hello?" he asked, fearful about what kind of tone he would hear on the other end.

"Cloud!" shouted a small voice, Marlene's? In the background, he could hear a boy say 'Huh, he answered'. yeah, so it was only those two.

"What? Kinda busy," Cloud said in his normal careless tone.

"I know you're busy, but could you maybe... visit us soon? We all miss you, especially Tifa," Marlene told him, though he could barely understand her though the scratchy reception.

"I dunno if I can..," Cloud muttered, looking to the old troubled man, He sighed and scratched the back of his head. "I'll try, 'k Marlene?"

"Ok, Cloud!!" Marlene shouted excitedly. Before she loudly hung up, he heard her say, "Tifa, guess what!"

Cloud grunted and stuffed his phone back in his pocket. He adjusted his goggles back over his eyes and opened the door. "Sorry, I've got to go somewhere..," he told Albotress.

"They live in Midgar, don't they?" Albotress asked. Seeing a slight nod from the boy, he placed his hand back on his lap. "I understand. Family is important, even if it's made up of friends. Safe traveling, Cloud, and I hope you make it to Midgar with plenty of time to spare!"

Cloud, who was already outside, nodded back to the man and kicked the stand back. "I'll try," he answered and climbed onto the seat, starting the motor. "I'll see ya later," he said and sped off, leaving a trail of dust.

"Dag nabbit! He left the door open!" Albotress muttered and stood up with a groan. "Makin' an old man use his achin' muscles just to shut the door!" he grumbled and slammed the door shut...