Chocobo's Final Fantasy Haven
Ray Pang
Story
Story
Story |
CHAPTER VIIIBABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDELate
the next morning Elena was sitting in the common room when
Reno and Rude walked in. "Where
have you two been lately," she questioned as they sat
down beside her. "I haven't seen either one of you around
much. What are you up to?" "We've
been doing a little exploring," Reno replied.
"Trying to find out how much of this place we can
consider 'home', as Zangan put it, and more to the point, just
what areas are off limits." "So
what did you find out?" "The
entire lower level of the fortress is out of bounds," he
replied. "That includes anything below ground level. I'm
assuming it's one level but I haven't been down there so there
really is no saying. I know Quays' lab is down there, so
that's not really surprising." Elena
nodded. "The
rest of the building is ours to wander through as we wish
except for one place," he continued. "And
where would that be?" she questioned. "The
top of the tower," he replied. Elena
looked thoughtful. "Maybe
some of the equipment for the experiment has to be above the
ground," she suggested. "Maybe,"
Reno replied. "But Quays never goes up there. At least, I
haven't seen him, and Rude and I have been watching. None of
the scientists go up there, only Zangan and his men." Elena
shrugged. "I
don't know. Maybe what's up there is already set up and
doesn't need looking after." Reno
looked at her skeptically. "I
admit it seems unlikely," she said. "I'm just trying
to cover all bases." "Well,
think about this then," Reno said. "I was watching
the guard yesterday near dinnertime and one of Zangan's men
went up there with a covered plate. He came down a minute
later without it. What does that tell you?" Elena
raised an eyebrow. "That's
very interesting," she said. "Indeed
it is," Reno responded. "I think it's high time we
took a little peek up there to see just what is going
on." "But
how are you going to get past the guard?" she asked. Reno
put his arm around her. "That's
where you come in," he said with a sly grin. Cloud gathered everyone in his bedroom. They were all there except Tifa and the Turks. He had seen the Turks earlier, but they were nowhere to be found now. He hadn't seen Tifa all day.He
told them what had happened to Aeris the night before and his
determination to get to the bottem of it. "So
what are you proposing? That we just barge into the lab
demanding to know what's going on?" Barret asked, looking
as if the idea would suit him. "Nothing
quite that bold," Cloud replied. "Zangan has too
many men for us to openly challenge them. We're going to have
to find a way to get down in the lab without Quays'
knowledge." "That's
a tall order," Cid observed. "Zangan's men are
watching the lab like hawks." "I
know," Cloud replied. "That's why I called you all
together. Does anybody have any suggestions?" "There's
only one or two guards at the entrance to the lab at any given
time," Barret said, obviously still spoiling for a fight.
"Together we could easily overpower them. Then we could
get down into the lab, find out what's going on, and get out
of here before Zangan has time to gather his forces." Cloud
looked at him dubiously. "If
nothing else Zangan's men are well trained. I don't think we
could get out before they overpowered us. Besides, what if we
fight our way into the lab and find nothing out of the
ordinary? Even if we know something is going on down there,
that doesn't mean we'll recognize it if we see it. Then we've
started a war for nothing." Barret
didn't seem too thrilled with Cloud's reply. He looked at the
others, but none of them came to the defense of his idea. He
grumbled under his breath but said nothing more. "So
I take it you think sneaking in would be a better
choice?" Red asked. "At
this point, yes," Cloud replied. "But
how?" Vincent said. "Maybe
some kind of diversion," Cait mused. "It
would have to be something big," Cloud answered. "Zangan
trained these men well. It won't be easy to fool them." "Vincent
has a knack for getting around unnoticed," Cid suggested,
looking at his friend. "Maybe he can get in the
lab." Vincent
shrugged. "It
only seems that way because people are normally not very
attentative to what's going on around them. It would be more
difficult to get past someone who is actively on guard.
Nevertheless, I will attempt it if you wish." "We'll
certainly take that into consideration," Cloud said. "Where
are the Turks?" Aeris questioned. "It seems to me
this would be something more in their line of expertise."
"I
don't know," Cloud said. He hadn't thought about that,
but he realized she was probably right. They should at least
have some input. "I
haven't seen them in a while," he finished. "Another
possiblity would be to get someone else to go down in the lab
to look around for us," Red said. Cloud
looked at him with a puzzled expression. "What
do you mean, someone else? Who else is there?" "Zangan's
men are free to go into the lab whenever they want," Red
said. "You
want to get one of Zangan's men to look around the lab for
us?" Barret questioned in surprise. "How would you
do that?" "Or
Zangan himself," Red continued. "We all know that
Zangan and Tifa are close, and have been worried about his
influence on her, but what about her influence on him? If they
are that close, is it unreasonable for her to ask him to take
her down there to have a look around? Surely he trusts her,
and wouldn't think she's going to steal any of Quays' secrets.
And if he balks, wouldn't that suggest to her that he's hiding
something?" Everyone
was silent for a moment. Cloud quickly realized that this was
the best idea yet. "Good
idea, Red. We'll just have to..." The
door opened and Tifa walked in. They
all turned to look at her. Cloud's
mouth dropped open. The others all looked on in shocked
surprise. She
was dressed all in black, with the emblem of a red fist on her
shirt just above her left breast. "What
the hell is this?" Barret was the first to speak. She
looked at them for a moment without speaking. "I've
joined Zangan's men," she said unemotionally. "What?"
Cloud said. "No
way," Cid exclaimed at the same time. "What
are you talking about?" Cait said a moment later. "Zangan
asked to join him," she stated. "I told him I would.
I just thought you all should know." Her
voice hesitated just briefly on the last sentence. "Tifa,
have you lost your mind?" Cloud blurted out. "No
I haven't lost my mind," she retorted with a touch of
anger. "I know exactly what I am doing. I finally
realized that it was a mistake to have left Zangan in the
first place. I was young and foolish then, but I've grown up.
I know what I want to do." "Tifa,
you can't," was all Cloud could think of to say. "Why
not?" she said. "All this time wandering around with
you, I've been chasing something that doesn't exist. I don't
want to do that anymore. I've made my choice." "But
you can't stay here," Cloud argued. "It's dangerous.
They're up to something, I know it. They've endangered the
planet somehow. Aeris felt it." "Aeris,"
Tifa said harshly. "Aeris and her feelings. It all comes
back to that, doesn't it? We're supposed to trust her feelings
over Zangan's word." She
opened her mouth again, but then shut it. She looked over at
Aeris, who did not speak, but stood there looking sadly at
her. "It
doesn't matter," she said softly. "I've made my
choice." With
that she turned and walked out of the room. The
others sat in silence for a long time, looking uncomfortably
at one another. Barret
slammed his fist on a nearby table. "Damn!"
he said bitterly. Cloud
looked at the others, speechless. Of all the things to happen
to them this was something he never would have expected. Even
with Zangan's influence, Tifa was the one person he would have
though would remain loyal to him no matter what. He just
couldn't believe what was happening, and kept trying to think
of some other explanation. What could have happened to do this
to her? No matter how he thought about it, he just couldn't
bring himself to believe that she would do this to them, or
more specifically, he suddenly thought, to him. "Well,
I guess that pretty much kills Red's plan to have her talk to
Zangan for us," Cid said. "Do I have to wear this?" Elena said petulantly."Of
course," Reno replied. "I'm sure I don't have to
tell you how much a woman in a short skirt catches a man's
eye." "I
know, but this is damned uncomfortable," she said,
tugging at the bottem of the mini skirt. "Leave
it alone," Reno admonished. "You look just
perfect." Elena
shook her head. She would have been much more comfortable in
her blue suit. "Where
did you get this outfit anyway?" she questioned. "It
looks like something Tifa would wear." "It
is," Reno replied. "I got it out of her room." "What!"
Elena exclaimed. "She'll kill you." "Believe
me, she's already threatened to do that," Reno replied
matter of factly. "Don't worry, we'll get it back to her
before she even realizes it's missing." Elena
shook her head. "I
don't know how she can wear this, I feel practically
naked." Reno
glanced at her slyly. "Now
that you mention it, that would really attract a man's
eye." "Don't
even think it," she said menacingly, "or Tifa might
have to wait in line." "I
suppose that would be a little too over the top," Reno
agreed reluctantly. They
reached the end of the hallway and stopped. "Okay,"
Reno whispered. "He's right around the corner. Wait a few
minutes for us to get in postion. And remember, the more he
sees, the better the chance of our succeeding." "I
know what I'm supposed to do," she responded testily.
"You just better hope he's not gay." Reno
shook his head and walked back down the hallway, Rude close
behind. "What
if he is gay?" Rude asked. Reno
turned to look at him. "Then
I guess you'll have to put on that outfit," he replied. Rude
looked at Reno for a moment. "Very
funny," he replied. He tried to get a look at Reno's face
to see if he was smiling. He was kidding, wasn't he? It
took them a few minutes to circle around until they reached
the entrance to the tower again, this time from a different
direction. Reno took a quick peek around the corner and saw
the guard standing at the bottem of the steps. From where he
stood he could see the hallway from which Elena would emerge.
He motioned for Rude to be silent and waited. For
a long time nothing happened, or at least it seemed like a
long time to Reno. He was just about to turn to ask Rude if he
thought something had gone wrong when she appeared. She
looked toward the guard and smiled for a moment, then walked
slowly across the room. Reno watched her carefully. He thought
she could have put a little more sway in her step, but maybe
that would have been overdoing it. He had to admit she was a
fine looking woman when she wanted to be. Elena
had only made it a short way across the room when the strap
holding her pocketbook somehow suddenly unhooked. Her
pocketbook fell to the floor, it's contents spilling out. "Oh
dear," she said, stooping down to gather everything back
together. Reno
saw her glance over at the guard. "I
can't believe the strap broke," she said, sounding upset.
"I just bought this last week." Suddenly
Reno saw the guard coming over to her, his back to them. "Here,
I'll help you with that," he said. A
gentleman, Reno thought. He had hoped just to catch the
guard's eye, this was even better. He nodded to Rude and they
both walked swiftly but silently out into the room and toward
the steps. As they reached them Reno couldn't resist pausing
for a moment to cast an admiring glance over at Elena. Rude
grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him up the steps. The
tower was four stories, so it didn't take them long to reach
the top. They found themselves in a narrow hallway with four
rooms off it, two on each side. Reno
was about to suggest each one of them search a side when he
noticed that one of the doors was barred closed.He walked over
to it, lifted off the bar, and opened the door. A fist shot
out and stuck him in the face. A diminutive figure burst past
him. She swung a fist at Rude as well and he nearly fell over
avoiding it. "Yuffie!"
Rude cried out as he stumbled backwards. She
was already past them and half a dozen steps down the hall
when she turned to look at them. "Huh!"
she said in surprise. "You're involved in this too?"
Reno
was leaning against the wall holding his nose. "We're
here to rescue you, you little idiot!" he exclaimed. Yuffie
looked at them skeptically. "Yeah
right," she said. "It's
true," Rude said calmly. "We were hired by your
father to find you. Cloud and his friends are here too." Yuffie
paused, obviously undecided whether to trust them or not. "You
think we would let you out if we weren't on your side?"
Reno said. "Oh God, that hurt." She
looked around, as if expecting others to suddenly appear. When
no one did she slowly walked back over to them. She looked at
Reno. "Sorry,"
she said. "It's not like you're walking around wearing
nametags that say good guy or bad guy on them." Reno
grumbled an unintelligable response. "Can
we discuss this later?" Rude asked, motioning for them to
get a move on. Reno
nodded and started down the hall, Rude following. Yuffie
hesitated. Reno
turned toward her. "Well,
do you want to get out of here or not?" he asked. Yuffie
didn't trust them, but she didn't see much else in the way of
options save to go along with them for the moment. With a
shrug, she followed. Reno
led them back through the hall and down the stairs. When they
neared the bottem he told them to wait and walked ahead
cautiouly. Getting in had proven to be easy, but he suspected
getting out would be a little more difficult. He readied his
nightstick. Now that they knew Zangan was holding Yuffie he
wasn't too worried about having to resort to violence. If
worst came to worst, he would have to take the guard out. He
could see the bottem of the stair now and partially into the
room below, but he saw no sign of the guard. Puzzled he slowly
walked down until he could see the entire room It was empty. He
stood there for a moment, uncertain. He had never seen the
room unoccupied, and he didn't like it. What had become of
Elena? He
walked back to the others and told them the situation. "Well,
what are we waiting for then?" Yuffie asked when he said
the room below was empty. "Let's get out of here." She
started down the stairs Rude
looked at Reno, who shrugged. There wasn't much else they
could do but follow. They
caught up with Yuffie as she reached the bottem of the
stairway. They all looked into the room, but it was still
unoccupied. Yuffie
walked into the room immediately. Although Reno's instincts
were telling him to be cautious he really couldn't see any
reason to hesitate. If the guard had been called away by some
fluke chance they had to get out of here as fast as possible.
Who knew when he might suddenly reappear. They
walked quickly through the room, heading for the hallway to
their right, but before they reached it five of Zangan's men
stepped into the room in front of them. Reno
turned toward the other exit, the hallway on the opposite side
of the room. Four more people were coming from that direction.
One of them was Zangan holding Elena firmly by her arm. They
looked back and forth between the two groups. "Busted,"
Yuffie sighed. She
turned to look at her companions. "Some
rescuers you turned out to be." Reno
gave her a look but said nothing. Zangan
handed Elena to Greco and walked over to them. "I
really wish you had been able to contain your curiousity,"
he stated. "You've made things complicated." "We
have a tendency to do that," Reno replied. Zangan
looked at Yuffie. "And
as for you, I'm afraid you've become more trouble than you're
worth." Yuffie
gave him a 'who me?' look, but he was turning toward Greco. "You
know what to do," he said, and walked out of the room. Cloud had just entered his room when Barret barged in behind him."I
can't believe you didn't say anything!" he exclaimed. Cloud
looked at him with a puzzled expression. "What
do you mean?" "Why
didn't you say anything to her to make he change her
mind?" he said. "What
was I supposed to say?" "What
do you mean, what were you supposed to say? Tell her you don't
want her to do it, you dumbass," Barret continued, waving
his arms in the air. "Tell her you want her to stay with
us. Tell her you need her to stay with us. Tell
her..." His
whole body shook with rage and he stared expectantly at Cloud.
"Uugh!"
he finished incomprehensibly. "I
did tell her I didn't want her to do it," Cloud
protested. "You
told her she'd lost her mind!" Barret retorted.
"That wouldn't even convince me to stay with you. And
then you had to bring up Aeris! What an idiot!" "If
you are so concerned, why didn't you say something?"
Cloud asked somewhat defensively. "She
doesn't want to hear it from me, fool. Don't you know
anything?" Barret
stepped closer and waved his gun arm in Clouds face. "Barret,
calm down," Cloud said, reaching out and carefully
pushing his arm aside. "I'm sure she'll come to her
senses if we just give her a little time." "Time,"
Barret snorted dismissively. "You don't got no more time.
She's stood by you all this time and what has it gotten her?
Nothing! When we all thought you were a nut case with all that
was happening with Sephiroth, who was the one who supported
you? When you were almost dead in Mideel who was the one who
sat by your bed and didn't leave your side for more than a
minute? Who was the one who helped pull you back together in
the lifestream? She's done all that for you and did you ever
even thank her for it?" Barret
glared at him. "She's
joining Zangan because I didn't thank her for sitting by my
bed?" Cloud said. Barret
threw his arms in the air. "You
are as dumb as a post," he exclaimed. "I give up. I
don't know what she sees in you. I guess I'll just have to
talk her out of it myself!" He
strode over to the door, then turned and glared at Cloud once
more. He started to speak, then changed his mind and just
shook his head. He turned and stalked out, slamming the door
behind him. Barret went to Tifa's room after he left Cloud, but she was not there. He was still fuming about Cloud's apparent indifference to Tifa's decision, but as he walked through the halls he started to calm down a little.She
was probably with Zangan, he thought. He knew Zangan's office
was in the west wing of the fortress, so he headed in that
direction. He
walked through the lounge and saw Cait sitting on the couch. "Hey
Cait," he said, "have you seen Tifa?" Cait
shook his head. "Not
since she gave us the news," he replied. Barret
nodded. He
continued on his way, but hadn't gotten very far when one of
Zangan's men hurried up to him. "I
couldn't help overhear," he said. "Tifa's in
Zangan's office. I'll take you there." Barret
looked at the man and noddded curtly. "This
way," the man said. Barret
followed him down the hallway. They passed two other of
Zangan's men going in the opposite direction. One was holding
something familiar. Barret
turned to get a better look as they walked by. It looked like
Reno's nightstick! "Hey,
hold on a..." Barret
felt something strike him in the back of the head, then he
slumped to the floor. Cait was shuffling his tarot cards when two of Zangan's men came into the room and approached him. He looked up and saw that one of them was pointing what looked like Reno's nightstick at him.Back
in Kalm, Reeve saw a flash of light on his computer screen,
and then it went blank. Cid, Vincent and Red sat around a table in the common room, having just polished off lunch."If
I keep this up I'm going to be big as a house before we leave
here," Cid said, sitting back contently in his chair. "The
way you've been packing it in, I'd think you had never eaten
before in your life," Red commented. "What's the
matter, hasn't Shera been feeding you properly?" "Not
lately," Vincent said quickly. Cid
looked at him with murder in his eyes, but said nothing. Red
looked from one to the other. "Did
I miss something here?" he asked. Vincent
just looked at Cid, who glared back at him for a long moment. "All
right," he finally blurted out. "Shera took
off." Red
looked at him in surprise. "What?"
"It's
no big deal," Cid continued. "Just a little
misunderstanding. I'm sure we'll straighten it all out when I
get back to Rocket Town." "How
long ago?" Red questioned. "About
two weeks. What difference does it make? I don't want to talk
about it," he said in rapid succession. Then he stopped
and looked around suddenly. "Why
is the room spinning?" he asked. Vincent
looked at him knowingly. "How
much have you had to drink?" he asked. Cid
shrugged. "Who's
counting?" he said. "Cid,
you really should take it easy on the liquor," Red cut
in. "Especially after all that's happened." Cid
looked at Red, but his focus seemed to be a little off, and he
ended up looking at a plant in a pot by the wall just behind
Red. "I
really haven't had that much," he defended himself. He
looked around groggily for a moment, then slumped foward, his
face landing in his plate. Vincent
started to get up, but sat back down abruptly and brought his
hands up to his head. "I
feel a little woozy myself," he stated. Red
turned to look at him and the room seemed to spin around him. "Me
too," he said, with sudden concern. "And all I had
to drink was water." Vincent
stumbled to his feet. He pulled out the Death Penalty and
started toward the door, but only made it a few steps before
he collasped. Red
sniffed carefully at his glass, but he could detect nothing
out of the ordinary. Not that he would notice at this point.
He could barely see straight. He knew he was moments from
unconsciousness, and without some clue as to what kind of drug
had been used there wasn't much he could do about it. He
slowly eased himself to the ground and waited patiently until
blackness took him. A knock on her bedroom door made Aeris look up."Come
in," she said. The
door opened and she saw two of Zangan's men standing in the
hallway. "Cloud
wants you to come to Zangan's office," one of the men
said. "C'mon, we'll take you there." Aeris
glanced at them in surprise. "In
Zangan's office?" she repeated. She
looked at them for a moment without moving. "Why
didn't he come get me himself?" she asked. The
man shrugged. "Beats
me lady, I'm just the messenger. He did say it was
urgent." Aeris
looked at them for a moment more, then nodded. Almost as an
afterthought, she grabbed the Princess Guard as she followed
them out the door. They
led her down the hallway and through the common room. She
looked around, but she saw no sign of any of her friends. As
they entered the hallway on the opposite side of the room one
of the men slowed down until he fell behind her. Suddenly
Aeris heard a voice inside her head. It was the voice of her
mother, Infalna. "Run."
Without
hesitation she turned and swung the Princess Guard all in one
motion. The rod hit the man behind her solidly just below the
knee. He bellowed in pain and crumpled to the ground,
clutching his leg. The
other man turned around just as she deftly pivoted her weapon
and caught him in the face with the other end of it. He
went down as well. She
stepped over him and was about to run down the hallway when
two more men appeared at the end of it. "Stop
her!" the man she had hit on the leg shouted. She
turned and ran back the other way. The man who had shouted
lunged for her as she ran past him, but she swung her rod
again as she went by and he jerked back to avoid it. She
ran back toward the bedrooms. She glanced back to see that the
men were gaining on her. She increased her speed, but she
didn't think she could outrun them. If she could stay ahead of
them long enough, she thought, she might have a chance to warn
the others. Cloud sat in his room for a long time after Barret left, lost in thought. He felt he had somehow lost control of the situation, but he wasn't quite sure how it had happened, or what he could do about it. It seemed to him that the whole team was unraveling. He had thought the bad blood between Barret, Tifa and the Turks would be the most probable cause of contention, but he hadn't expected any of this. Tifa joining Zangan, Barret furious about it. The Turks missing in action. What else could go wrong?He
stood up and slowly started to pace back and forth. Barret's
words nagged at him. The more he thought about it the more he
realized that Barret had been right about at least one thing.
He had taken Tifa's loyalty for granted. It wouldn't hurt to
talk to her again. Whatever else happened, he decided, he
wasn't going to leave here without her. There
was a knock on the door. Cloud
walked over and opened it to see Zangan outside. "I
need to talk to you," he said. Cloud
motioned for him to come in. "I
haven't been completely honest," Zangan continued. He
walked into the room as he spoke. As he stepped past Cloud he
suddenly wheeled and struck Cloud in the chest with an open
palm. Cloud
was taken completely by surprise. His entire body suddenly
went numb and he fell helplessly to the floor. Zangan
reached down and slipped Cloud's sword out of it's sheath. He
took it over to the table and laid it down. He looked at
Cloud. "Sorry
about that," he said, "but I couldn't take the
chance you would use this thing. I saw how you fought against
us." Cloud
tried to get up but his muscles wouldn't listen. He tried to
speak but no sound came out. "Don't
worry," Zangan said. "The effect will wear off
shortly, and you'll be as good as new. There's nothing you can
do about it, so just try to relax." Aeris turned the corner that led to their bedrooms. The hall was empty, but she saw that Cloud's door was open.She
looked back to see that the men following her were right on
her heels. "Cloud!"
she shouted. She
swung the Princess Guard blindly behind her and with a burst
of speed reached Cloud's door. She turned into the room and
stopped dead when she saw Cloud on the floor with Zangan
standing over him. Her
eyes widened in surprise. Zangan
stepped toward her. She swung her rod, but he easily
sidestepped it, then reached out and grabbed hold of it,
wrenching it out of her hands. The
two men who were following ran in and nearly tackled her. "Easy,"
Zangan said when he saw how roughly they grabbed her. He
looked at her casually. "It
seems you are all full of surprises. How is it that you evaded
four of my men?" Aeris
looked at him calmly. "What
have you done to Cloud?" she questioned. "He'll
be fine," Zangan replied. The
two men that had originally knocked on Aeris door appeared.
The one she had hit in the face glared at her angrily. He
looked like he was going to say something to her but glanced
at Zangan and remained silent. Zangan
had the two of them haul Cloud up and seat him in his chair.
Cloud could feel the numbness begining to wear off. He looked
at them both. "We've
had the girl, Yuffie, all along. I didn't want to deceive you,
but I knew you wouldn't understand if I told you.
Unfortunately your friends, the Turks, were a little too nosy
and found her. So we had to take care of them. It would have
been just a matter of time before you realized that of course,
so now we have to get rid of all of you. I was hoping to avoid
this situation." "So
you are in on it," Aeris exclaimed. "Did you
kill Staniv?" "It
was my men, and I'm in charge of them, so I guess you could
say I was responsible." Cloud
mumbled something. Zangan
looked at him. "Coming
back to your senses I see. What did you say?" Cloud
took a deep breath. "How..."
he said slowly. He swallowed and shook his head. "How
could you do this?" "My
reasons are my own," Zangan replied. "I do not owe
you an explanation." "How
can you do this to Tifa?" Cloud said, more strongly now.
"She admires you so much. You were the one person who
always stood by his principles. What is she going to think
when she finds out about this?" Zangan
was silent for a long time. "We
all make choices in life, and have to live with the
consequences, no matter how hard that may be. What's done is
done and I can't change it now, now matter how much I may
regret it. I don't ask for forgiveness, it's too late for
that. I just hope she will understand that someday." "She'll
never understand if you kill us," Aeris said. Zangan
turned toward her. "Oh,
I have no intention of killing you," he replied.
"Banishment is what I had in mind, actually. How you fare
after that, however, is up to you." He
turned and walked toward the door. "Bring
them," he said, motioning to his men. Two
of the men helped Cloud to his feet. He wobbled for a moment
as he got up, but then steadied himself. He felt almost normal
again. Zangan
led them out of the room and down the hallway. Cloud looked
around, but he saw no sign of the others. He could only assume
that they already had been captured. They
walked though the building until they reached the entrance to
the lab. Zangan led them down a flight of stairs. When they
reached the lower level Cloud looked around. They had never
been down here before. In front of them the corridor ran a
short distance to an open door. Inside he could see a couple
of people in lab coats working on some instruments. Zangan
turned and led them down another flight of steps. This led
into a large room what looked like a storage area. It was
filled with wooden boxes and barrels. There was a solid metal
trapdoor in the floor at the far end of the room. They walked
over to it and Greco opened it. Cloud saw a ladder leading
down into darkness. "I'm
afraid this is where we are going to have to part ways,"
Zangan said. "This shaft leads to ice caves that run
below the fortress. They lead out onto the frozen plains near
the Gaea Cliffs. With determination and a great deal of luck,
you may be able to make it. Of couse, by then it will be too
late for you to interfere." Zangan
motioned for them to go down the ladder. Cloud stepped onto it
and looked at Zangan. It was pretty obvious there was nothing
he could say that would influence the man, but he felt he had
to say something. "This
isn't the end of it." Zangan
returned his gaze steadily. "You
better hope for your sake that it is," he replied.
"I've spared your lives because you are Tifa's friends.
If we meet again, I will not be so lenient." Cloud
shook his head and started down the ladder. Aeris followed
behind. As soon as they were both in the tunnel Cloud heard
the trapdoor slam shut above them. He had to stop for a moment
to let his eyes adjust to the darkness, but it wasn't
completely black. He looked down and saw that the tunnel below
him was lit by a faint blue luminessence. "Are
you okay, Aeris?" he asked. "Yes,"
she replied. He
started down the ladder once more. The shaft led down to a
tunnel whose walls were encased in gleaming blue ice. As he
reached the bottem he heard someone call his name. He turned
to see Cid, Cait, Vincent, Red and Barret coming over. "So
they got you too, huh?" Cid said. "Fraid
so," Cloud replied. "Where's
Tifa?" Barret asked. Cloud
shrugged. "Still
with him, I guess. I wonder what he's going to tell her?"
"I
don't know," Barret replied. "But when I get hold of
him again I'm gonna tear him apart with my bare hands, no
matter how she feels about him!" Cloud
nodded. "Looks
like Reno was right all along," he said ruefully. "Whatever
happened to him anyway?" Vincent said. "Do you think
they've escaped capture?" "No,"
Cloud said. "Zangan told me he had to take care of them
when they found Yuffie, but he didn't say what that meant. I'm
afraid we're on our own." "They
found Yuffie?" Cait said in surprise. "That's
what Zangan said. I don't think he would lie about that,"
Cloud responded. "Apparently she was here all the
time." They
stood there for a moment in silence. "So
what do we do now?" Cid asked. "I
suggest we find a way out of here as quickly as
possible," Red said. "With no weapons, food or
winter clothing it's not likely we'll survive for very long.
The sooner we get started the better." "Gee,
you're such an optimist," Cid stated. "Optimist
or not, he's right," Cloud said. "I don't think we
can go back up the way we came. That trapdoor looked too solid
to break through, and I'm sure they'll have posted a
guard." He
looked down the tunnel. "Let's
get going," he said. They
followed him down the tunnel. The cavern led slowly uphill,
the ice one the walls thickening as they passed. The soft
light that seemed to eminate from the ice bathed them in a
blue glow. "It's
beautiful," Aeris commented. "Yeah,
it'll make a real attractive tomb," Barret growled. They
walked a little further and the tunnel suddenly opened up into
a large cavern. One wall of the cave was encased in a frozen
waterfall of ice. They looked at it in wonder. Even Barret
seemed impressed. Suddenly
Cloud spotted movement across the cavern at the base of the
waterfall. He recognized the figures. "Hey,
it's the Turks, and Yuffie!" he said. The
others looked and saw he was right. Aeris called out to them.
Elena waved in return and the two groups made their way toward
each other. They
met near the middle of the cavern. Everyone with Cloud stared
at Elena. "That's
kind of a new look for you, isn't it?" Vincent observed,
taking a long look at her legs. Elena
turned red and glared at Reno. "It's
all his fault," she said angrily. "He made me wear
this and now I'm freezing to death!" "So
why didn't you just say no?" Cid said. "It
was all part of a plan to spring her," Elena answered,
pointing at Yuffie. "And
now I'm oh so much better off," Yuffie replied
sarcastically. Reno
looked at her. "Remind
me never to rescue you again." "You
call this rescuing me?" she shot back. "How
long have you been down here?" Red cut in. Reno
shrugged. "Hard
to say, maybe an hour or two." "Have
you found anything of interest?" Cait asked. "Just
a lot of ice," Reno replied. "We found the way out,
but it just leads onto an enormous ice field. We were hoping
to maybe find another way." "From
what Zangan said, I don't think there is another way,"
Cloud said. "Let's go take a look." They
set off once again, this time with Reno and the Turks in the
lead. They entered a narrow crevice at the far side of the
cavern that forced them to walk in single file. They turned a
corner and the path led steeply upward. Up ahead the blue
light of the ice faded away into real sunlight. The
cave mouth was a narrow gap at the base of the Gaea Cliffs.
They looked out upon a barren ice field that ran as far as the
eye could see in all directions, save for the jagged upthrust
peaks behind them. As Cloud stepped out of the cave a fiece
blast of cold air hit him. He hastily retreated back into the
tunnel. "It's
freezing out there," he said. "That's
why we were looking for another way," Reno said. "How
far to you think it is to Holzoff's cabin?" Vincent
asked. "Who
knows," Cloud replied. "I've never seen this area
before. It could be five miles or fifty. Either way, we're not
going to get very far out there without warmer clothing."
"In
other words, we're not going to get very far out there at
all," Yuffied clarified. Cloud
stood looking out across the ice. "We've
got to do something!" Barret exclaimed. "Well,
I'm sure as hell not going out there," Elena stated
flatly. "No,
it would be foolish for us all to go," Cloud said.
"It will only take one person to get us help." "So
who gets to go?" Cid questioned. "Who's
best equipped to deal with the cold?" Elena asked. "Red
over here already has a built in fur coat," Reno pointed
out. "I
will attempt it if you wish," Red replied. "However,
my species is adapted to the desert, and my coat is not long
enough to provide much more warmth than the ordinary clothing
you wear. I'm afraid I would be a poor choice." "Cait,
what about you?" Cid asked suddenly. "You're a
robot. You don't feel cold, do you?" "No
I don't," Cait replied. "But my circuits were not
designed to function in excessively cold weather. I would
freeze up before I got very far." "Great,"
Barret mumbled. "Reno,
you should go," Yuffie said suddenly. "You're the
one who got us into this in the first place." Reno
turned toward her angrily. "Why
you ungrateful..." he sputtered. "Why don't you go?
You can use your vaunted ninja spirit to protect you from the
cold. It certainly wasn't much good at getting you out of a
locked room." "I
think Barret should go," Rude weighed in. "He's got
the most body mass. He can resist the cold longest." "Are
you trying to say I'm fat?" Barret exclaimed. "Or
how bout Vincent?" Reno said. "I've heard vampires
are very resistant to cold." "I'm
not a vampire," Vincent said defensively. "Rude,
you go," Cid said. "The sun reflecting off that bald
head of yours would be like sending up a flare. People will be
able to see you from miles away." "Or
how about you," Elena said, turning to Cid. "You can
leave a trail of cigarette butts for us all to follow." "And
what about..." Reno started to say. "Shut
up!" Aeris shouted suddenly. They
all looked at her in surprise. "Thank
you," Cloud said. He looked at the others. "I'll
go. It'll be worth it to not have to listen to you all
bickering anymore." They
all fell silent. Reno looked disappointed. He had been
starting to enjoy himself. Cloud
walked to the cave entrance and looked out over the bleak
landscape once more. Aeris
came up beside him. "Are
you sure you want to do this?" she said. "Doesn't
seem like there's much choice," he replied. "We
can't stay here forever. The cold will get us even in these
caves eventually, or hunger. We'd just last a little bit
longer." She
put her hand on his shoulder, then reached up and kissed him
on the cheek. "Be
careful," she said. "I
will," he replied. He turned to the others. "Later."
He
walked out of the cave, but he hadn't gone more than a few
steps when Reno called out to him. "Wait."
Cloud
turned around impatiently. "What
now?" "I'll
come with you," he said, walking up to the cave entrance
beside Aeris. "What?"
Cloud said, and heard it echoed by some of the others inside. "It'd
be tough out there on someone all alone," he continued.
"It would be better if two of us go." Cloud
just looked at him. He seemed to be perfectly serious. "Why
Reno, I'm surprised at you," Aeris said. "Well,
anything would be better than sitting around here just
waiting. Besides, if we sent him out there all alone, he's
just going to get hopelessly lost on us." Cloud
frowned but did not respond. "Well,
let's get going then," was all he said. Reno
turned to Aeris. "Hey,
don't I get a kiss too?" Aeris
looked at him for a moment. "That
depends," she replied. "Is this just a ploy to steal
a kiss from me?" Reno
looked at her indignently. "I'm
shocked you would think I would be so devious," he said.
"I give you my word as a Turk that this is no
trick." She
hesitated a moment more, then reached up and gave him a quick
peck on the cheek. He
touched his cheek and looked at her lovingly. "I'm
never going to wash that spot again," he said. "That
something new?" he heard Elena call out. He
glanced back at the cave. "Anybody
notice that the sarcasm level has gone way up around here
lately," he said. "Let's
go," Cloud said. They
walked out onto the barren plain. They headed east, following
the line of the mountains. Mr. Holzoff's cabin had to be
somewhere in that direction, but they had no idea how far. The
wind whistled around them, blowing down from the hills, and
making it visciously cold. It wan't long before they were both
shivering uncontrollably. The
ice was broken and jagged, making the going tremendously
difficult. Because of the uneven landscape they could not see
far ahead, and so had to guess at the best route. As a result
they often came up suddenly on deep uncrossable crevices
barring their path and forcing them to double back or turn out
of their way to find their way around. Cloud
paused for a moment to take a look around. He wasn't sure how
long they ahd been out here, but it seemed like hours. Looking
back he shook his head at how little progress they had made.
At this rate it would take them all day to go just a few
miles. They wouldn't get very far before they froze to death
at this rate. Hours
passed slowly, but after a while the minutes just seemed to
run together. It was so bitterly cold it took all their
strength just to concentrate on putting one foot in front of
the other. Cloud found his focus shrinking from finding
Holzoff's cabin to reaching landmarks he picked out in the
landscape ahead, until finally he didn't lift his head at all,
for it took all his concentration just to take the next step. Reno
stumbled and fell. Cloud came over to help him, but he got up
on his own. His red hair was covered with frost and he had a
faraway look in his eye. He mumbled something unintelligeble
but continued walking. Cloud
felt his own strength ebbing as well. He felt a strong urge to
lie down and rest. It was obviously hopeless to continue. Why
not at least rest and be comfortable? Somehow
he managed to resist the urge. Some part of him still knew
that stopping now would mean their deaths. Their only chance
was to keep moving. They
plodded on in what was begining to feel like some kind of
endless torture. After a while he wasn't even sure what
direction they were going in, or even what direction they
should be going in. All he thought about was just to force his
feet forward. If he could only do that, he thought, he would
be all right. Reno
dropped to the ground beside him once more. He stopped to help
him up, but found himself sinking to the ground as well. He
told himself that he should get up, that he would die if he
stayed here, but his body didn't seem to be listening. He felt
himself slowly overcome by an overwheliming desire to sleep. His
head sank down slowly onto the ice. He thought he saw some
white figures looming up around him, but he didn't pay much
attention. Calmly he closed his eyes and dropped off into
oblivion. Tifa stepped into Zangan's office. He was sitting behind his desk, looking at some papers. When he saw her he pushed them aside. He looked at her carefully."Have
you seen any of my friends?" she asked. "I've been
looking all over, but I haven't been able to find any of
them." He
looked at her for a long time without speaking, and it seemed
to her he was trying to think of just what to say. From the
way he looked at her she sensed something was wrong. "Has
something happened?" she asked. "Sit
down," he said kindly. She
looked at him withut moving. "Please."
She
stepped over to the chair in front of his desk and sat down
slowly. He
looked at her for a moment. "I
guess there's no easy way to break this to you, so I'll just
say it. Your friends have left." "What?"
she said. "They've
gone looking for Renada," he continued. "They left a
couple of hours ago." "Did
they say when they were coming back?" she questioned
disconcertedly. Zangan
sighed. "Tifa,"
he said slowly, "I don't think they are coming
back." "But...
but why would they do that?" she said, now visibly upset.
"They wouldn't just leave me, not without even saying
goodbye. Cloud wouldn't..." She
feel silent and looked away from him. He could see she was
struggling to remain in control of herself. "I'm
sorry Tifa, I truely am," he said. "It's obvious
that you had very strong feelings for this young man. But you
have seen for yourself that the feeling was not mutual, and he
is enamored with this other young lady. I know that is a hard
thing to take, but it is something almost all of us go through
at least once in our lives. I know it won't help now for me to
say that things will get better, but they will. Perhaps a
clean break is the best thing for you both." Tifa
said nothing, embarrased by her actions and the fact that her
feelings were so transparent to Zangan. "Besides,"
he continued. "Just because they left doesn't mean you'll
never see them again. I'm sure you'll all meet up again
somewhere down the road, and probably all have a good laugh
over this." Tifa
looked up at him again. She sincerly doubted that was true,
but she was thankful for his kind words. "Maybe
you're right," she said finally. "I'm sorry I've
made such a fool of myself." "Forget
it," Zangan said, dismissing it with a wave of his hand.
"I understand. I was young once myself," he finished
slowly. Tifa
got up and walked slowly to the door. When she reached it she
turned to him once more. "Thank
you," she said. "For everything. You've always
looked out for me, even when I didn't want it. I don't know
what I would do without you." He
looked at her with the trace of a smile, but it vanished in an
instant. "Go
get some rest," was all he said. She
left the room, closing the door behind her. For a long time
Zangan sat unmoving, staring at the desk in front of him, his
face expresionless. Then he suddenly swept his arm angrily
across his desk, knocking most of the papers on it to the
floor. He placed his elbows on the desk and rested his head
wearily in his hands. "Damn,"
he said softly. Elena sat in a narrow crevice at the back of the tunnel, shivering uncontrollably. Darkness had fallen outside, and it was colder than ever, even inside the cave.Vincent
came over and looked at her. "How
are you doing?" he asked. "I'm
fr..freezing," she responded through chattering teeth. He
sat down beside her. She huddled up next to him for warmth. He
put his arm around her and looked over at the others. "She
can't take much more of this," he said. "I
know," Barret said sympathetically. "But there's not
much we can do about it, is there?" "Do
you think Cloud and Reno have reached Mr. Holzoff's cabin
yet?" Cait asked. "Who
knows?" Cid replied. "For all we know they could
still be wandering around on that plain." "If
they're still out there now," Red said, glancing out the
cavern entrance, "they don't stand much of a
chance." "I
still can't believe Reno went," Cid muttered. Elena
looked at Vincent. "You
know, you're nothing like they said you were," she said
softly. "What
did they say I was like?" Vincent asked. "You
know," she replied. "Cold and detached. But you
don't seem that way to me at all. You seem like a warm and
caring person. Especially warm," she finished, cuddling
up closer to him. He
looked up at the others, but they were engaged in their own
conversation and seemed to be paying no attention. "Don't
let it get around," he answered. "And who are they,
by the way?" Elena
shrugged. "Everyone,
I guess." "Everyone?"
he said, eyeing her skeptically. Then the trace of a smile
appeared on his lips. "Good." "You're
terrible," she said. With
nightfall the blue glow of the ice had once more become
apparent, even this close to the entrance to the cave. Elena
reached out and ran her hand along the wall ligthly. "I
wonder what makes the ice glow?" "I
don't know," Vincent replied. "But Aeris was right,
it's very beautiful." "I
know," she said. "But I would appreciate it more if
it was a little warmer. Do you think we're going to get out of
here?" Vincent
resisted the urge to tell her it was unlikely. That probably
wasn't what she wanted to hear, even though he thought it the
truth. "I
hope so," he replied. He
glanced down at her. She was still looking at the wall, her
face so close that her hair brushed against his cheek. In the
glow of the ice surrounding them she looked...lovely. He
turned his head away. After all this time and all he had been
through he thought himself immune to such feelings. After the
ressurection of Aeris he had spent some time with Lucrecia,
but they soon realized that the scars that seperated them were
just too great to overcome. Now his love for her seemed just
to have been a dream of his lost youth, not anything based in
reality. They had parted soon after, and he had resigned
himself to fact that, along with everything else Hojo had
taken from him, he had also taken his capacity to care for
another. But
how he felt now was making him begin to question that
assumption. Could it be there was still a spark of human
emotion left inside him? That Hojo hadn't removed the last
trace of humanity from him with his brutal experiments? He had
been living for so long without hope... Elena
rested her head on his chest. "I'm
so tired," she said softly. He
did not reply but laid his hand on the back of her head,
almost in a caress. She was not shivering now. No,
he thought. It would be foolish of him to get his hopes up.
They had been dashed too many times times in the past.
Everyone was striving to find their own personal happiness, to
live happily ever after. But it was not possible for everyone
to achieve that. There were always some who fell short, and
Vincent had realized even before Hojo's experiments that he
was among that group. Though
Elena's body was warm beside him he suddenly felt colder than
he had all day. It seemed more likely to him than ever that
they would never get out of here alive. Cid walked up to the mouth of the cave to have a smoke. He saw Aeris standing in the entrance, looking out into the darkness."Why
don't you go back inside," he suggested. "It's cold
out here." She
shrugged. "It's
cold everywhere," she replied. She
turned and looked back into the tunnel. Then she smiled for a
moment. "What?"
Cid questioned. "They
make a cute couple." "Who?"
She
pointed. Cid saw Vincent and Elena sitting together at the far
end of the cavern. "Them,
a couple? Nah, she was just cold in that skimpy outfit,"
he said. Aeris
gave him a quizzical look. "What
are you blind," she said. "They've been making eyes
at each other since Icicle Inn." "Vicent
and Elena?" Cid exclaimed. "No way." Aeris
shook her head. "You
really should pay a little more attention to what is going on
around you," she said. "I
do so pay atten..." he started to protest.
"Gah!" Suddenly
a white furred creature loomed out of the darkness behind her.
She
turned around at his cry. The beast was almost upon her, and
she could see others behind it. She swung up the Princess
Guard. The
creature ducked back. "Hey,
watch it with that thing," said a familiar voice. "Cloud!"
Aeris exclaimed. The
white beasts resolved themselves into fur clad humans. Cloud
pulled his hood down as Aeris rushed into his arms. "You
made it!" Cid exclaimed. Reno
came up beside Cloud as the others, hearing the commotion,
made their way to the cave entrance as well. Another
figure in white walked up beside Cloud and Reno. They could
see three others behind. The
third figure dropped her hood to reveal a young woman with
long blonde hair and steely blue eyes. The others came up
behind her. "Everyone,"
Cloud said, turning to face her. "Meet Renanda's
Raiders."
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Author: Frank Verderosa, all rights reserved. |