A/N I forgot to mention this last chapter, but I am surprised no one got the NARC cola reference. I'm not a one game man, one of my other favorite series was MGS and I always wanted to taste the soda Drebin would take.
I have some important things coming up so I may have another late release next week, but it depends on if I solve some problems or not. Plus, I now have a beta reader, Saria19 said she would help so I sent an invite and now she will be helping with the sentence problems I have, so thank her if the story starts to flow.
Ch 16
Cloud felt like the planet was out to mess with him. He was thrown in jail and had to help his friend confront one of his old companions because it was really him who killed everyone, and now he was volunteered, much like Junon, to win a Chocobo race to gain their freedom. He wasn't all that afraid of losing, he had ridden a Chocobo in the past, and the birds even when wild seemed fairly tame under his hands. However, he was noticing a pattern with these situations.
"Cloud, we'll wait down here while you go win the race and get us out of here," said Barrett.
"You're right, Cloud should do it!" He sighed when he heard Tifa chime in as well.
"Alright, have you decided?" Everyone looked at the shady man known as Mr. Coates and nodded.
"All you need now is a manager...and to register...and a Chocobo."
"Hello, I happened to hear your story." Cloud turned to the door to see a rather funny looking woman. Her dress was bright pink with a large yellow ribbon on her waist. She also wore a lot of blush as well as a thick line of eyeliner.
"Ester?" Coates asked, obviously surprised.
"I'll be their manager," she said with a smile.
"Well I have nothing against it but... never mind. This is Ester, she may look funny, but theres no better manager in the races." Hearing, this Ester's face puffed.
"That's so rude; I'll have you know people like my makeup!" She then turned to Cloud.
"Anyway it's nice to meet you Cloud, I have heard you're a very nice person." He raised his eyebrow.
"And how do you know that?" He asked.
"You have a very good friend; he is very nice and tried very hard to get you all out." Just then the door opened again to a face Cloud could actually welcome.
"Nathan!" Tifa shouted. I smiled and waved.
"Yo guys, how's it going?"
"Where the hell have you been! Everyone else was thrown in here, how the hell did you stay out!" Barret shouted.
"Ease up dude! I didn't exactly have it nice; hell one of the Turks had me while you guys were down here." That seemed to make Barret shut up.
"How are you here then?" Cloud asked.
"Listen I'll fill you guys in later. Now I believe Ester here was going to help us out." Cloud accepted my response and nodded.
"Well Cloud, I'll send you up with Ester and him. They'll fill you in on the details." Cloud and I followed Ester outside and into the large base of Gold Saucer. We went past some security and were inside the elevator going to the racing tracks.
"So Cloud, what went on down there?" I asked. He explained his day in prison. Barret explaining his past more, Dyne apparently being alive and being the one who killed everyone, and how Barret had to kill his former best friend.
"So that's what happened, I'll talk to Dio directly. You just concentrate on the race." Ester said. Cloud looked back at me.
"What about that Turk, were you hurt?" He asked. I shook my head.
"He interrogated me basically, and tried to bribe me, then left."
"Bribe for what?"
"Me to rat you guys out," I said bluntly. "Don't worry, you guys are some of my best friends, I would never think of ratting you out." I smiled. He just nodded and looked back at Ester.
"So who do I have to race? Other people who want out of prison?"
"Nope, there are many types of Chocobo jockeys, not just criminals." I heard a small groan at that. Having to race professionals probably lowered his confidence.
"Some people compete for fame; some people do it for money, some for glory. Then there are the people like you."
"Who was most likely voted by everyone else to come up here!" He sent small glare my way.
"And why didn't you try to ride them so we could all be leaving now?" I snorted.
"I have never ridden a Chocobo in my life, like hell I'll waste my time losing races while we have our fearless leader to do that for me!" I know I have ridden horses before, but I was skeptical on those two concepts being close considering one is four legs while the other has two...you know, come to think of it, does Gaia have horses? I haven't seen any at farms with other regular animals. Man, that's a little freaky, having known an animal that didn't exist here is kind of odd.
"Do you need me to teach you about Chocobos?" Ester asked.
"No, I'll do fine by myself." Man I wanted to hear what the tutorial sounded like in real life. Soon enough we stopped on the jockey lounge. Cloud walked out along with me.
"Thanks Ester, you're amazing for helping us out." She smiled.
"It's not a problem Nathan, it was nice meeting you as well. Not many people compliment my make up."
"You complimented her makeup?" Cloud asked.
"Yeah and?
"You complimented her so you could help me here, didn't you?" He said just loud enough for me to hear while Ester was still in the elevator.
"Could I'm hurt you'd think. Let me tell you a story, I used to know this girl Cloud, her name was Bittercup and she wore this makeup that made her look as pale as a ghost during the day time, but she liked to walk around at night, and it really shined during full moons and stuff. Moral of the story is- it makes her stand out, and I like people that stand out, why do you think I'm with you?"
"Why are you here anyway?" He asked. I rubbed the back of my head.
"I kinda...tried to earn a few extra gil in the betting pools."
"You were going to place all your gil on me, huh?" He made it sound more like a statement than a question.
"Just take it as I know you are going to win!" I smiled. He just sighed again before looking around the room. I noted the four jockeys sitting at the table playing a game of poker I was tempted to join, before the one next to the mini bar walked up to Cloud.
"You new?" Cloud just nodded in reply.
"Hey Joe." Ester said.
"Well hey Ester, looking pretty as usual." She giggled.
"Today must be a good day getting this many compliments." She turned back to us.
"This is Joe guys, one of our top jockeys."
"Nice to meet you," He said tipping his hat. "If you're with Ester then..."
"Yep, Cloud here is an up and coming jockey, only been down here a day and he's and already here." Joe was very surprised.
"What?...I see. SO, what did you do down there? Wait, never mind, not supposed to ask about the past here...but that's pretty interesting. I have a feeling we'll meet again." He seemed to look at both of us before he walked off. A little odd, but not really anything worth thinking about.
"I'm going to check on the Chocobo, you guys just wait here a while. Nathan when Cloud enters to race I'll escort you back to the top." Ester walked off. Cloud just went up to one wall and leaned against it. I looked around the flashy room until I found a red materia lying in the corner of the floor. I picked it up and walked over to Cloud. "Dude, look." His eyes actually widened.
"How is it you keep finding these summons?"
"Trade secret Cloud, maybe I'll tell you one day. Now listen I kind of need you to win this race on your first try."
"I thought you said you weren't able to make any bets."
"Well I didn't, but I convinced Dio if you win on your first try to give us some neat stuff dude." He sighed.
"Why are you sighing? This is a total win for us."
"I really don't approve how you seem to gamble so carelessly."
"Cloud, gambling implies that there is a chance of not getting what you want, and all the times I have bet, have I lost?" He opened his mouth only to close it a second later, trying to think of bets I'd lost.
"I'd hate to bet against you." He simply said. I smiled and heard a bell ring signaling the jockeys to get to their rides.
"You're up dude, give them a show!" I patted his back and he just shook his head. He talked to Ester before heading in. She walked up to me.
"So do you want to watch him?" I shook my head.
"Nah, he'll win, I'm sure. I want to go see if Dio is going to hold up his end of our deal though."
"Well he's extremely busy right now; he is handling the backfire from the shootings." I nodded. Guess Dio has real world problems instead of just strutting around the park.
"You're pretty confident he'll win." She said.
"He's a natural, plus with that head of hair the birds will think he's a part of the flock!" I heard her giggle.
"It must be interesting to have a friend like you. He seems a little cold and yet you are an open book."
"Cloud looks that way, but he's just an awkward kid. Give him time and he'll warm up to you eventually." I replied. I heard a bell again.
"What it's over already?"
"Chocobo races rarely last longer than five minutes, considering how fast they are." Ester walked back out the door and came back in with Cloud in tow.
"You won, congratulations you're home free!" Ester said. I looked and saw Cloud was a bit stiff. Bumpy ride I guess.
"Oh, and the owner told me to give you this letter if you won." She handed Cloud an envelope. He opened it and I looked at the writing.
Boy, if you're reading this letter, then you must have won, and won a victory I'm sure you earned. I heard about Dyne from Ester. Now that you are victorious, you and your friends will receive a full pardon, and you will all be set free. By way of apology your other friend has convinced me to allow you a stay in the haunted hotel; also I have prepared a few gifts for your travels. Sorry I couldn't tell you this in person. I am a very busy man.
Sincerely, Dio
"A gift?" Cloud asked.
"You'll get it in the morning; it's actually starting to get late, so you should turn in." Ester said. He nodded and looked back at the letter. Apparently Dio had met Sephiroth and noted that he was heading south towards Gongaga.
"Sephiroth," He hissed.
"I guess this is goodbye. If you ever get your own racing Chocobo, come back again." Ester said walking away.
"Will do Ester." I waved bye and nudged Cloud to the elevator. We eventually got to the top and exited out into the betting location in the regular section of the park. "Come on, I bet everyone is already at the hotel." I said. We traversed through the park until we got to the large run down looking hotel. Walking inside I noticed everyone was in the main room.
"Nathan!" Yuffie came right up with a big cheery smile. This quickly turned into a very puffed up angry face. "How come you weren't thrown in jail with the rest of us? That's not fair!" I laughed at her frustration. I looked and saw Tifa and Aeris with smiles on their faces, Red near the ghosts playing chess just resting, and the newest edition to the team coming up to me.
"Hi there!" Came a very heavily accented cat's voice. He offered his big moogle hand for a shake.
"That is Cait Sith. He is our newest member." Cloud said. I looked at the huge paw before shaking it with a grin. Reeve hasn't done anything wrong yet, I'll try to keep an eye on him though.
"A talking cat, we could use a guy like you!" The cat gave me a smile.
"Alright! I like you already, how about I take your fortune?"
"Sure why not." I said. Cait Sith then started to do some sort of weird dance. I would have questioned it but I realize I was with a robotic cat, so I just brushed it off as a character perk. Soon enough he stopped and pulled out a piece of paper. I took it and read it out loud.
"A story is told many different ways, it is up to you how this story will end..." I stared at the paper.
"That's almost as bad as the last one!" He exclaimed.
"Just ignore it, it doesn't mean anything." Cloud said.
"You'd be surprised how right the most meaningless of things can be Cloud." I put the paper in my pocket. One thing I remembered about Cait's character was that his fortunes were vague, but they meant something in the game. I just needed to read between the lines to figure it out. I said good night to everyone and went to bed. The next day everyone was leaving the park. When we got outside of Corel everyone seemed to get excited. I just smiled.
"Everyone, the owner has given us a means of transportation as way of apology for the mix up." I said pointing at the buggy. It was one of those large sand dune kind of buggies too. It could easily carry four or five people...but now that I think about it we have eight...including Barret and Cait who are huge.
"You asked for a buggy?" Cloud asked.
"No that was all Dio."
"Guys there's a ton of supplies! At least a week's worth!" Yelled Tifa, who ran up to the vehicle.
"That's what I asked for." I ran up and opened the glove box in the front seat and pulled out one of my other requests.
"Ta da!" Everyone looked at what was in my hand.
"Are those...passes?" Asked Aeris.
"Yup, I got us all lifetime passes to the Gold Saucer, without having to pay 30,000 gil!" Instead of the approval of everyone I just looked around and saw people look at me funny.
"Nate...I forget how much of a kid you are." Said Barret.
"Aw come on guys this was totally worth negotiating for." I defended.
"Nate, when the hell are we ever going to come back here? There ain't no way Sephiroth will come back, so they're all useless." Barret said.
"Bet you 100 gil that we will use these sometime during our adventure and it will be totally relevant."
"You're on!" Barret was about to shake my hand, but Cloud stopped him.
"Barret, you may want to think about this, Nathan has won every bet against you. Are you sure you want to lose more gil?" He asked. Barret just brushed him off and shook my hand.
"What are the odds he's right again?" He said.
"100% noob, now let's go." I said pointing towards Gongaga.
"Nathan, how is everyone going to fit?" Red said. My hand lowered at the thought of cramped space.
"I call the roof!" I said. I jumped on the buggy and sat on the rail bars.
"No fair, I was going to get the roof!" I heard Yuffie yell.
"Are you sure that's safe?" Asked Cait.
"What if a monster attacks, Nathan? What will you do then?" Said Tifa. I reach down into the buggy and pulled out the imitation Masamune I won.
"I have an extra sword, and I can just jump off if we're charged. Actually, Cloud can I use this to fight?" I tossed him the sword and he examined it. He shook his head and threw it back.
"I recommend against that. It's not like the real thing." I was a little disappointed.
"But it's sharpened and everything!" I whined. He sighed.
"Your sword is good, but it's only an imitation. It's not even made out of the same metal that Sephiroth's was made from. Granted, it is a fine quality of Mythril, but it doesn't have the weight to counter balance the length, your holding it in one hand would require weeks of training. How would you use it to fight?"
" I'll strap it to my back and use it for heavy combos. I don't care for the weight, as long as I use two hands, I can shift the weight around."
"Nathan, how do you find ways to use weapons the way you do?" Aeris asked out of curiosity.
"I'm not a technical guy, I'm unrealistic. It's what helped me come up with the idea for those flame retardant gloves that let me have an edge over Reno...come to think of it I should make those gloves again, only better!" Ideas were already starting to form in my head.
"Does he always come up with ideas like that?" Cait asked.
"He thinks on his feet, not productive, but it works for him as well as the team." Cloud said getting in the drivers eat of the buggy.
"I see..." I heard the cat muse. He made a brief glance at me before getting into the buggy.
"Alright everyone, let's try to fit in here, we need to get to Gongaga soon." Cloud ordered.
Everyone stuffed into the buggy as best as they could. Aeris rode shotgun, Barret and Cait took the back with the supplies, and Yuffie was sitting on the roof as well, only her feet were dangling off the side. Tifa was in the middle of the two large guys while Red lay across their laps. I felt relieved to call roof. The engine started, and we were moving pretty fast. It was easy getting away from monsters since we would see them in the distance and had enough speed to avoid them. And the river was easily crossed. Going that fast though, with the wind blowing through my hair, I got a dumb idea in my head...aww what the hell, not like anyone would care! I stood on top of the moving vehicle, careful to hook one of my legs onto a bar so I wouldn't fall.
"Nathan, what are you doing?" Tifa yelled.
"Calm down, I'm trying to remember how the song goes." I said.
"Song?" Yuffie asked. I started tapping my foot at a constant beat, once I remembered the words, I started singing loudly.
"~Someone out there, somewhere is in trouble today~" I saw the raised eyebrows of my friends, but I kept singing.
"~Waiting somewhere, for someone to show them the way!~" Barret had his face in his hand. I laughed a little.
"~That's the time that you and me will show them that we are HARDCORE! Help them out or kick their butts, whatever we are hired for!~" I took a deep breath.
"~THE WEST OASIS MERCANERY ASSOCIATION! WE ARE YOUR HEROS, WE ARE YOUR SALVATION!~" I finished.
"Nate, get down! You're embarrassing everyone!" Yelled Barret.
"To who? The monsters? I don't think they care about us, Barret, plus I never would have got a chance like this again, ever." I said. Happy I got to sing a song after having been deprived for about a week. It was barely even noon when we arrived on the outside of the huge forest.
"Alright we need people to guard the car while we investigate. Barret, Yuffie, Red, and Cait Sith will be here. Tifa, Aeris, and Nathan will be with me." Cloud announced. We all nodded and started to move. The forest was extremely thick and full of sounds. Kinda reminded me of a rainforest until I remembered this was teeming with monster one hundred times more dangerous than some frog or snake. We eventually found a path and started moving, but we started to hear whispers. We all ducked and edged closer. Looking down another side of the path we saw two Turks talking.
"Yo Rude, who do you like?" The bald man turned away.
"Aw come on, don't be embarrassed. Come on tell me who ya like!" I heard a very small mumble but I snickered all the same knowing what Rude was thinking.
"That's a tough one. Poor Elena...she...you." Reno seemed a little nervous. Rude shook his head.
"No, she likes Tseng." That caught Reno off guard.
"I never knew that yo, but he likes that Ancient..." Reno said.
"What are they talking about?" Cloud asked out loud. Everyone just shrugged.
"It's so stupid." Everyone turned at the new voice and saw the Turks new recruit just standing behind them.
"They always talk about who they like or don't like, but Tseng is different." She said. Everyone seem to freeze up, confused why she wasn't attacking them...well almost everyone froze up.
"Tseng is the all business type. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would go for a relationship." I said.
"He is calm and collected, and doesn't just mess around on important missions. How a Turk should act." She responded.
"I guess that's why he's number one then." I mused out loud.
"Of course, he is the best of the best...AH oh no!" Elena's eyes almost burst from her sockets, finally realizing who we were, and ran up to the other two Turks.
"They're here! They're really here!" Rude cracked his knuckles.
"Then it's time." He said.
"Rude...don't go easy on them. Not even the girls." Reno said pulling out his stun rod.
"I'll do my job." He replied, getting into his fighting stance.
"We're counting on you, I'm reporting to Tseng." Elena said running on the opposite path. Everyone looked at the two Turks left behind.
"Looks like you were right; we were going to meet soon enough." Reno said, focusing on me. He extended his electro rod.
"Payback time for sector seven," I had a hand on Fusion.
"Out of our way," Cloud said, keeping a hand on his buster sword. Reno frowned.
"I don't like being taken for a fool." He said rather intellectually.
"That is as far as you go." Rude was the first to strike. I misjudged how long it would take him to get close, because in a split second he was in Cloud's face delivering a mean upper cut. He turned to strike Aeris, but Tifa blocked him and hit him in the gut. I was about to strike, but a large fireball knocked me off my feet; I looked up and saw Reno just smiling.
"No way yo, you embarrass me and miss up on a deal? Your fight's with me. Rude can take the rest of you guys out." He slammed his electro rod on the ground, right where my head would have been if I had not rolled away.
"Hold still!" He took another swing; I pulled Fusion out just in time to block him. I cast my higher lever fire spell and he jumped away. Right then Aeris came in and attacked with her pole; Reno blocked but was knocked off balance.
"Thanks," I said before launching another fireball at Reno. Trying to hit him using Fusion, but he kept blocking and sneaking in a hit. The only way I could stop that would be to go back to slashing with one hand and using the other for magic, but the guy wouldn't let me get enough space to cast now. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Cloud and Tifa doing better with Rude, but not by much. Him being more muscular and physical than Reno gave him more speed than Tifa, so he avoided Clouds sword most of the time, and his fighting style was enough to keep Tifa at bay.
"Pay attention!" Aeris yelled when I was knocked back by her pole, I saw Reno had discharged another exploding ball from his weapon and it blew up where I was. I cursed under my breath. He wasn't messing around this time; he was serious about getting his revenge. I stood up and sheathed Fusion, concentrating until I felt power well up in the sword.
"Air-Slash!" I let Fusion loose and the shock-wave went straight for him. He however jumped out the way and hit Aeris.
"Ha, this ain't the tower; I don't have to worry about cramped space with that strike of yours." He ran up and his fist smashed right into my face. I doubled back and he kicked me in the gut. The pain overrode my senses and I held onto my face.
"This is it? I lost to you? Man, must have been an off day." Reno kept taunting. I felt myself get angrier at his words, I won last time and I was stronger now! I glared at him before an idea crossed my mind. I sheathed Fusion and made a charge at Reno. He was surprised I didn't have my weapon, but he made for a strike none the less. I then grasped my Masamune with both of my hands and made for a heavy smash against him. However, he dodged, and I messed up.
Being angry I didn't think about the weight of the sword and just tried to make a circular swing, only for the tip of the sword to ground itself.
"Well, you snooze you lose." I heard before I felt hundred volts pulse on the side of my neck. I dropped immediately, still feeling the electricity flowing through me, making my senses numb. And a familiar feeling crept over my body, one I hoped that would never happen again.
Tifa and Cloud were having trouble with the Turk. Rude was better than they would have imagined. He could go hit for hit with Tifa and still find a way around Clouds sword. "This is worse than I thought," Cloud murmured, feeling a little fatigue.
"He keeps getting hits in; he reads my moves too well," added a very bruised up Tifa.
"We need to get the upper hand." Cloud noticed Nathan and Aeris having just as much trouble with Reno.
"You should pay attention to your own fights," Rude said before nailing Cloud under his chin again. Tifa came back and blocked for Cloud while he cast what magic he had against Rude. It seemed to be the only strategy that worked since Cloud's fire, which he took from Yuffie, would strike too fast for Rude to avoid while fighting Tifa. The fire would hit his suit but apparently it was made with materia being cast in mind and only had a few smolders, however the high heat would still cause the Turk to slip up. Right then, Cloud heard a very loud gurgling noise and looked to Aeris and Nathan. Reno had gotten the better of Nathan trying to use his new sword and got a clean shock on his neck. Aeris tried to help but Rude shoved Tifa off and knocked Aeris away. Cloud saw Nathan's eyes focus and unfocus from the pain until he had a completely blank stare from the man.
"Now everyone stop." Reno ordered with his electro-rod resting near his leg.
"Now if any of you move, this kid's gonna get more than one thousand volts to his skull. Now if you think your friend can survive this, then come at us, otherwise surrender." Reno said with a very evil grin.
"You cheating monsters!" Tifa yelled.
"Yeah, yeah. Now drop your weapons." Reno said. The rest of the team felt like they were between a rock and a hard place. They couldn't surrender and get captured, but they couldn't let their friend get killed either.
"What, you all think you can still take us?" Reno asked, taking their silence as a threat.
"I guess you want your friend to take a dirt nap then, too bad." Before Reno attacked Nathan his arm suddenly shot out and grabbed Reno's arm and held it in place. Cloud felt a chill go down his spine when he heard him talk.
"Now did you think it would be easy to put ME down, weakling?"
To be continued next week...