~Break Me~

Chapter 21 – The Gold Saucer​

We left Healin in two helicopters. Reno flew the one carrying me, Tifa and Rufus. Rude piloted the second, much larger one carrying Elena, Tseng and ten guards in full Shinra uniform.

It would be a two hour flight to the Gold Saucer across the water.

The day before, Rude had made several trips to and from the Gold Saucer to drop off Shinra guards in plain clothes, just as Rufus ordered. They were there now, mingling with the rest of the park’s visitors.

I wondered what Dio, the strange founder of the Gold Saucer, thought about the sudden increase in guests. Or maybe it didn’t raise any red flags to him. The Gold Saucer was the only real establishment of entertainment in the world. Plus, with the word out that President Shinra would be there, people from all over would flock to the amusement park for a chance to see him. Hopefully Sephiroth’s former mentor would take the bait and show up himself.

I really wasn’t looking forward to seeing Dio. The man made me nauseatingly uncomfortable. Maybe it was his sleazy manner…or the fact that he felt completely at ease walking around in nothing but a red Speedo. He grossed me out! If his presence affected me like that, I wondered what young kids thought when they saw him for the first time. He was like a sick pervert who got a cheap thrill out of people, young and old, looking at him. If I could avoid him on this trip, it would be a miracle.

Tifa sighed beside me. “I hope Samurai will be all right.”

Aeris and the kids had returned this morning and were surprised to learn that we were leaving for the place they had just come back from. Denzel and Marlene, of course, jumped at the chance to go back to the Gold Saucer, but Aeris shot the idea down quickly when I told her the reason we were going. I was glad she told the kids they couldn’t go because I didn’t want to be distracted from the real task.

The last time I was at the Gold Saucer with Denzel, we spent an entire day and a whole lot of gil in Wonder Square, playing Super Dunk and Virtual Battle. It was mainly my fault. He kept beating me. I was competitive and a sore loser. But I made up for it in Battle Square and won eight rounds against the captivity-raised monsters. I acted totally immature and rubbed it in Denzel’s face that he was still too young to enter the Battle Square challenge. He didn’t speak to me for two whole weeks after that.

“I wish I could have taken him with me,” Tifa added.

I reached for her hand and squeezed it. “Don’t worry, Tifa. Marlene will take good care of your kitten.”

“I don’t know. She seemed pretty upset that she couldn’t come with us.”

“She’ll get over it.”

“Denzel was even more upset. He told me he would rather go with you than Barret anytime.”

“I know. Barret didn’t play any games with him. If Denzel thinks I’m a sore loser, he should see Barret. The big guy’s a crybaby when he loses.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket and scanned through the missed calls. I had calls from Cid, Barret and Yuffie.

When I glanced at Tifa, she was turned away from me and was doing something I couldn’t see. A minute later she turned back and gave me an chaste smile.

My cellphone rang and I looked at the display. It was Tifa. She had sent me a photo. I flipped my phone open and waited for the image to appear. My eyes widened when it came. It was a photo of her lying naked on the bed. I quickly slammed my phone shut and glared at her.

She continued to smile innocently.

I decided to text her because I didn’t want to risk Rufus hearing our conversation. We spent the next few minutes texting back and forth.

Text to Tifa – Who took the picture

Text to Cloud – I took it on my phone this morning

Text to Tifa – Where was I

Text to Cloud – Taking a shower I have more Want to see

Text to Tifa – No

Text to Cloud – Why not

Text to Tifa – Cuz I’ll get a woody

Text to Cloud – Mmmmmmmmmm

Text to Tifa – Stop it

Text to Cloud – Make me

Text to Tifa – I’ll spank you later

Tifa giggled outloud and Rufus glanced over his shoulder at us. I put my phone away, wanting to make a funny face at him because I felt like I had gotten busted by my parents for looking at porn.

After Rufus turned to face forward again, I glanced at the black metal box resting on the floor between his feet. I was afraid to ask if there was actually a piece of Jenova in the box or if it was just a fake.

When this was all over, I’d force Rufus to destroy every last piece of the extraterrestrial’s remains. It was just too dangerous having it around…and too tempting. If Zack hadn’t gotten us out of Professor Hojo’s laboratory when he did, I wondered what the injection of more Jenova cells in my system would have done to me. I had seen some disturbing things in the reactor in Nibelheim during the time Sephiroth went mad. There had been rows and rows of pods containing human specimens that had been exposed to high quantities of Mako and given high doses of Jenova cells. They had turned into hideous monsters.

Tifa reached for my hand and threaded her fingers with mine.

I turned to look at her and she mouthed ‘I want you right now’. As much as I would have loved a quick romp in the back seat of the helicopter, I had absolutely no desire to do it in front of Reno and especially not in front of Rufus. I gave her my most reprimanding look, but I think it only fueled her even more because she licked her lips in a sensuous way. Shit, I created a monster. She was insatiable.
When we landed our helicopters on the platform outside the Gold Saucer entrance, there was a large group of people standing around waiting to catch a glimpse of Shinra. There was also a smaller group off to the side. That was our welcome committee. Dio was among them.

Tifa waited her turn to get out of the helicopter and she walked next to me behind Rufus and Reno. She leaned closer to me. “Who’s the guy in the red underwear?” she whispered.

“That’s Dio. He’s the guy in charge of this place.”

She started to laugh and I shot her a warning look to keep her quiet.

I couldn’t blame her. Dio looked ridiculous. Red Speedo, fake hair, fake moustache, fake tan. The only thing that looked real on the guy were his muscles. But then again, maybe they were fake, too.

We walked up to Dio, who was standing among four well-built bodyguards.

“Welcome, welcome,” said Dio, a slimy smile plastered on his greased up face. “Always a pleasure to have someone of great importance at the Gold Saucer.”

Rufus was hesitant to shake the man’s hand, I could tell. But he did and then discreetly wiped it on the side of his slacks. “I would much appreciate it if we can see our accommodations. I need some time to prepare my speech.”

“Yes, yes. Of course. My men will show you to your suite,” Dio said with a solicitous grin and motioned to his men to lead Shinra away.

Reno, Rude, Tseng and Elena fell behind them and following them were the ten Shinra guards.

I glanced around, wondering how close the guards out of uniform were. None of the faces in the crowd looked familiar, but I wasn’t good at remembering faces anyway unless I had a reason to.

Dio’s gaze fell on me before I had a chance to walk away. “Ha ha ha. I remember you, boy. Ha ha ha.”

I cringed at him calling me ‘boy’. I should have put on my goggles after hopping out of the helicopter. Maybe he wouldn’t have recognized me.

He knew better than to shake my hand and didn’t attempt it. “Perhaps you can entertain us in Battle Square later. Hmmmm? We have plenty of consolation tissues. Ha ha ha.”

His laugh really annoyed me as much now as it did back when I was chasing after Sephiroth and had to stop here on the way to Gongaga. Even though it was only a year ago, it seemed like a lifetime and I had gained a lot of fighting experience since then. “I’m more in the market for new materia,” I replied.

“Oh, we have plenty of that. Yes, yes, we do. I think a Quadra Magic will interest you, yes?”

Quadra Magic materia was very rare. It quadrupled the power of any spell caste against an enemy. I wondered how Dio got a hold of it. “Yeah, I’m interested. Maybe I’ll take you up on a Battle Square challenge.”

Dio looked at Tifa next. “And who is this lovely young flower?”

I turned to Tifa and noticed her eyes were focused below the man’s waist. She was staring at his Speedo. Dio was about to touch her face. I grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her behind me before facing Dio again. “Don’t even think about it, Dio. She’s taken.”

“Ha ha ha. By whom? By you, boy?”

I was done trying to be cordial with this fruitcake. “That’s right. And I thought I told you the last time I was here to stop calling me boy.” I didn’t realize my grip on Tifa’s wrist had tightened until she began to squirm behind me. I loosened my grip. “The name’s Cloud. Call me boy again and I’ll castrate you where you stand.”

His grin fell just a hair, but it came back quickly. “As you wish, Cloud. Enjoy your stay.”

I held his gaze for a moment longer, just to intimidate him. He pretended he wasn’t, but I saw the sweat forming on his forehead. Why did I get the impression that Dio was going to be trouble? I pulled Tifa with me as I walked away.

She fell in beside me when we entered the tunnel into the park. “He gives me the creeps.”

I gave her a side glance and decided to tease her a bit. “I saw you checking out his goods.”

“What?” She glared at me in anger. “I wasn’t checking out his goods. I was just trying to figure out why he thought he could get away with walking around half-naked like that.”

“Cuz he thinks he’s all that.”

She wrapped her arms around my left one and leaned closer. “I think I’ll buy you a Speedo.”

“I won’t wear it.” I meant it, too. Maybe I was more humble about myself than I needed to be. As a kid, I was small and weak. I was still shorter than I wanted, but I wasn’t weak anymore. My childhood insecurity still made me feel self-conscious and I tended to wear baggy clothes because of it. A Speedo was totally out of the question. I wouldn’t be caught dead in one.

Tifa giggled. “Not even for me.”

“If we’re alone, maybe.”

We came out of the tunnel into the familiar lobby with the large map and the circular entrances to each section of the park.

Tifa grabbed my hand and started pulling me forward. “Oh, Cloud, let’s go to Wonder Square.”

I reined her in and pulled her toward the Ghost Square. “Not yet, Princess. We can’t just go gallivanting around. Dalton could be watching us.”

She sighed heavily and allowed me to push her into the Ghost Square chute.

I jumped in after her. I wondered whose idea it was to make those stupid chutes to get around the different attractions in the park. Tifa was laughing like a little kid during the five-second tube ride.

When it ended, I was tossed on my feet right next to Tifa.

She looked warily at the dilapidated looking mansion on the small hill in front of us. “That’s the hotel? Looks eerie.”

I smirked. “Are you scared?”

“No.”

I took her hand and led her up the path, watching her expression as her eyes caught sight of the tombstones on either side. While she stared intently at a scary looking statue, I leaned toward her ear. “Boo!”

She screamed and punched my arm. “You asshole!”

I laughed and she punched my arm again.

When we walked into the hotel lobby, Rude walked up to us.

“You’re sharing a room with Elena,” Rude said as he handed Tifa a key.

She immediately looked at me.

Rude handed me another key. “And you’re bunking with me and Reno.”

I frowned. “Is this some kind of joke?” My eyes wandered over to Rufus who happened to look right at me, a smile on his face as he headed up the creaky staircase. The bastard planned it this way. He was trying to keep Tifa and I apart. I wasn’t going to let that happen.

After Rude walked away, Tifa turned back to me. “Cloud, I don’t want to share a room with Elena,” she complained. “I want to stay with you.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll fix it later.” I took her hand. “Come on.”

We headed upstairs and walked into Rufus’s room, having to weave through the ten guards along the way. Reno, Rude, Elena and Tseng were already there.

Rufus smiled again as Tifa and I approached. “Hope you like the accommodations, Cloud.”

“You’re a real funny guy, Shinra.” Just to piss him off, I plopped down on his bed and leaned against the headboard, not bothering to take off my boots. “I think I’ll just stay in this room.” The Presidential suite was pretty nice and didn’t have as many spooky decorations as all the other rooms.

A few minutes later there was a commotion out in the hall, followed by a loud argument. I recognized one of the voices. It was Cid.

“Out of my way!” he grumbled before walking into the room with Barret and Yuffie. “Dumbass!” he yelled over his shoulder.

Rufus blinked in surprise and immediately turned to me. “Did you call them?”

“’Course I did,” I replied coolly. “You’re gonna need all the help you can get.”

He looked skeptical. I knew he tolerated me because he knew I would finish whatever job he gave me. But the rest of AVALANCHE? Well, there was no love loss between them.

Barret came up, his huge gun arm cocked and ready to fire. “Just so’s you know, we ain’t doin’ this for you, Shinra. It’s for Tifa and Cloud.”

Shinra held his hands up defensively. “Good enough for me.”

“So when’re we getting this fucking party started?” Cid came up beside Barret, a cigarette dangling off his lower lip. “I am ready to kick some demented ass!”

I pointed to Rufus. “It’s Shinra’s show.” Out of the corner of my eye I watched Yuffie pickpocket Rude. She saw me catch her and gave me a wink. I rolled my eyes. What the hell was I thinking when I invited her? At least Cid and Barret focused on the job. The little ninja from Wutai only had eyes for whatever materia she could get her sticky fingers on.

Vincent appeared almost out of thin air and grabbed her wrist before she could slip the wallet into her shorts. She gave him a disgruntled glare. He snatched the wallet out of her hand and turned to an oblivious Rude.

Rude looked down at the item Vincent had slapped against his chest. “Hey!”

Yuffie grumbled as Vincent dragged her to join Cid and Barret. She glanced around. “Isn’t Aeris coming?”

I shook my head. “She stayed behind at Healin with Marlene and Denzel.”

“Well, that sucks,” she spouted. Then she smiled in Tifa’s direction. “Hi, Tifa. Long time no see.”

Rufus snapped his fingers in Rude’s direction.

Rude cleared his throat before bellowing, “Everyone shuddup!”

The room immediately went quiet.

“Thank you, Rude.” Rufus looked around. “Now that I have everyone’s attention, let’s see if we can put alittle organization in the next couple of days.” He turned toward my AVALANCHE team. “We need to work together if we’re going to be successful. I have a philosophy I like to live by. Allow me to explain it…”

I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling a headache coming on. There he went again, belching out crap I was more than certain nobody wanted to hear. Not even his own people. When was he going to learn that you didn’t need all these words to get your point across? Ah, hell…it was time for my nap anyway.
If I wasn’t so adamant about finding Dalton, I would have been snoring like the guy next to me. I was sitting in the back row of the auditorium in Event Square. This was where they held all those boring performances people raved about. Aeris made me participate in a play once against my will. I just stood there, staring out at the audience, unable to remember any of my lines. Then the guy playing the Knight pissed me off and I clobbered him. The crowd cheered, but Aeris yelled at me for ruining her five minutes of fame.

Rufus was on stage, lecturing on the whole Jenova incident. He occasionally gestured toward the item on a small table next to him. It looked like an elbow, or a knee. I couldn’t tell, but it was disgusting. My only thought was, how did Jenova’s body end up in pieces? I mean, I knew how it lost its head. Sephiroth had decapitated the thing back in Nibelheim when he thought Jenova was his mother. It goes to show how truly insane he was. If I had found my mother, I wouldn’t have taken her head off. Dumbass.

Some people seemed to be interested in hearing the story behind the grotesque piece of flesh. Others were bored, like the snoring guy to my left.

Also on stage, off to the left were Dio and his four henchmen. Standing closer to Rufus were Reno, Rude and Tseng.

I glanced around and spotted Tifa. She was seated between Barret and Vincent. Behind them were Yuffie and Cid. I was more than confident she was safe with my team. They wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

Just then Elena appeared on stage and discreetly walked over to whisper something to Tseng. He quickly followed her off the stage and out one of the side doors.

I got out of my seat and decided to follow them.

Just outside the doorway, I found Tseng and Elena kneeling beside three dead Shinra guards. They were cut up by what looked like a sharp weapon. My first thought was Sephiroth’s Masamune. But there was something about the wounds that made me rule out the long, thin sword. The wounds looked more like they had been made by one of my swords. Which couldn’t be because both Apocalypse and Organics were safely tucked in the harness strapped to my back.

“You better check with the rest of your people,” I suggested to Tseng and Elena. “It’s time to end the lecture.”

Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of black and silver falling behind me from a ceiling beam. I turned around, my eyes widening at the familiar face suddenly standing in front of me. The hair, the eyes, the stance…

“Zack…” I whispered, unable to believe my own eyes.

But it couldn’t be. Zack was dead. He died right in front of me.

“Good to see you again, Cloud.” He reached over his shoulder to retrieve a buster sword hanging from his back. It wasn’t the same one I had used as a grave marker where Zack had died. That sword was rusted. The sword he held in his hands was new and looked slightly modified.

I reacted too slow as he advanced on me, ready to swing. If I hadn’t tripped on my own feet, he would have taken my head off.

 

Chapter 22 – It’s Suicide​

I didn’t have time to dwell on how Zack could possibly be alive…or why he was suddenly trying to kill me. After I tripped and ducked the swing of his buster sword, I rolled several feet away and got up. Pulling both Apocalypse and Organics from the harness at my back, I turned to face Zack.

He took a couple steps and stopped, his buster sword held ready for attack. “Nice weapons, kid. I bet your fighting skills have improved since SOLDIER.”

I blinked in confusion. If this was Zack and he had come back from the Lifestream, then he would have known about all my trials and tribulations throughout the last few years. He would have known what I was capable of. “You’re supposed to be dead, Zack,” I stated in a matter-of-fact way. “Couldn’t handle the pressure in the Lifestream?”

It’s not me, Cloud. This guy’s a fake.

The voice spoke to me in my head, the way it normally did. It was Zack’s usual upbeat tone. But the voice couldn’t hold a lengthy conversation and I had a million questions. So if this person in front of me wasn’t Zack, then who was he?

I glanced toward Tseng and Elena, who were both impossibly frozen in half raised positions near the dead Shinra guards. Zack must have used a Vagyrisk Claw to petrify them. If I had any Soft potion on me I would have used it to unpetrify the two Turks.

Zack relaxed his stance and began to circle. “What’re you doing working for Shinra?”

I kept my distance, circling in the opposite direction, holding my weapons ready.

“After what they did to us, Cloud?” he seethed. “How could you even breathe the same air as them?”

“I’m not working for Shinra. Besides, it’s not like that anymore.” Again, if this was Zack from the Lifestream, then he would have known things were not the same as they were when Rufus’s father was in charge. “President Shinra is dead and Rufus is trying to make things right. But you should already know that, Zack.”

“I get the impression you don’t trust me. I’m deeply hurt, Cloud.”

Cloud, I told you, that guy isn’t me.

“I know! Will you shut up for a minute?” I told the voice in my head.

“Fine,” said the fake Zack. “We don’t have to talk at all. Besides, I’m here to fight.”

“You’re working for him, aren’t you?”

We continued circling and I got a chance to really look at him.

“Him?” Zack smiled that dazzling smile that used to make all the girls swoon.

The first thought that came to me was that this guy was a clone. A growth-accelerated clone. He looked like Zack, talked like him, moved like him…even acted like him. Could a clone be so exact? Looks and speech…yes. But not mannerisms. This clone had obviously seen videos of Zack and learned all of his mannerisms. As for how he could have known what Zack and I had gone through, well…he could have seen Professor Hojo’s reports. Floyd Dalton would have had access. Then I noticed a small black patch on the side of his neck. It looked like the ones they used in SOLDIER to govern discipline. “You know who I’m talking about.”

“Oh, you must mean General Dalton.”

From the corner of my eye I saw Tseng and Elena slowly regaining movement. The Vagyrisk Claw effects were wearing off. I needed to keep Zack distracted so they could get away and warn the others. “General Dalton? When did he get a promotion?”

Zack shrugged. “I didn’t ask.”

“For him to be a general, then he must still be in SOLDIER. And last time I checked, SOLDIER reported to Shinra.” I made a tiny move with my head, trying to get the attention of the Turks.

“It’s a new branch and Dalton’s in charge of it.”

I lunged at Zack just as Tseng and Elena made a quick escape.

Zack blocked my double-handed attack and tossed a Vagyrisk Claw in their direction. The spell missed the Turks and hit the wall. He did a backward flip, landing several feet away from me. “Very clever.”

I didn’t know what other items he had stashed away, but I did notice the materia on his weapon. Yellow and green…Command and Magic. Even though I didn’t see any red Summon materia, it didn’t mean he wasn’t carrying one in his pocket. I had my handy dandy Ifrit, but I wouldn’t use it in such a public place where innocent bystanders could get caught in the Hellfire.

Just then there were screams coming from inside the theatre. And a second later a stampede of people charged out of the three theatre doorways. Shadow Creepers were coming out of the walls and the floors. I saw Cid twirling his harpoon to spear one and it disintegrated. Vincent took several careful shots at Shadow Creepers trying to drag people away.

A woman and a small boy were trapped in a corner, a Shadow Creeper ready to pounce on them. Reno charged forward and twirled his baton, smashing the creature on the side of the head. It evaporated into dust. The woman gave him a grateful look before grabbing her child and running off.

Amidst the panicked crowd was Rufus, quickly being escorted out by Rude, Tseng and Elena.

I tried to keep my eyes on Zack, but at the same time watched the crowd emptying out of the theatre. Barret was shooting his gun arm at any approaching Shadow Creepers, his other arm holding Tifa. I turned my head for only a second, to make sure Tifa was safe.

Zack attacked, swinging his buster sword. I blocked him with both of my swords. He raised a knee and slammed it into my ribs. I let out a grunt and using the clashing swords for leverage, I spun myself out of the way, landing a few feet away. There wasn’t time to breathe. Zack jumped up and came down on me. I held both swords up against his buster and fell to my knees from the impact.

When Zack moved, I dragged Organics away and swung it low. Zack jumped up before I could slice his ankles. I pulled myself up and received a kick in the chest, sending me flying backward.

I skidded to a stop several feet away and got up as he rushed forward. We clashed swords, back and forth…blow after blow. From the corner of my eye, I watched Barret grab Tifa by the waist and drag her away before she could run toward me. He followed the others out of the area.

Zack swung and clipped my arm. I spun and caught him in the hip with Apocalypse. He yelled out in pain and threw something.

In the next instant, I was surrounded by yellow smoke. It smelled like sulfur and got into my nose. I fell forward on my hands and knees and coughed violently. It would have been the perfect time for him to cut me down. But when I looked around, Zack was gone. I coughed again and lurched the contents of my stomach. So much for the great breakfast Aeris made us.

As the smoke dissipated, I pulled myself up and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. I glanced around and was grateful to see no people had been killed by the Shadow Creepers. The only bodies I saw were the three Shinra guards that had been killed earlier. Judging by the slashes on them, Zack had been the one who dealt the killing blows.

I looked at my left arm. Blood was dripping from a four inch cut. It was nothing. I had worse. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and called Barret.

“Yeah, Spike,” he replied after the first ring.

“Is Tifa safe?” I asked as I walked toward the transportation tubes.

“She’s with me right now. We’re headed for the airstrip.”

“Where’s Rufus?”

“Right behind me.”

“I’m on my way.” I shut my phone and put it back in my pocket as I jumped into the tube leading to the tram station.

When I was thrown out of the tube, I met a wall of people. Everyone was panicking and trying to pile into the tram.

Dio, with several of his goons surrounding him, was trying to restore order. “Please, everyone. There’s no need to leave the Gold Saucer. Everything is under control. Go back and enjoy what you were doing.

I couldn’t see over the heads of the crowd, so I climbed up on a planter. Yuffie and Tifa were walking together, following behind Rufus, Reno and Rude. Behind the girls was Cid, Barret and Vincent. Tseng and Elena reached one of the choppers first. I glanced around for Shinra uniforms. Where were the guards? And were the undercover guards among the crowd trying to get out in the air tram?

The sound of a helicopter reached my ears above the chaos all around me. It hovered near the edge of a platform. Someone on a mechanical wheelchair was moving toward the helicopter. Just then the Zack clone jumped out and an explosion followed.

I instinctly hit the ground. People screamed and were running around in a panic. I quickly got back on my feet and back on the planter to assess the damage. It was one of the Shinra helicopters that exploded and was still burning. A bomb had gone off. Tseng and Elena had been inside. There was no way they could have survived.

As the smoke cleared, I saw the others. Everyone was on the ground, scattered haphazardly from the blast. No one was moving. Dear Gods, please…don’t let them be dead.

The Zack clone jumped down from the higher platform and was making his way toward the others.

I hopped off the planter and began pushing my way through the crowd. Hands were grabbing at me, people screaming in my face. I focused on my path, pushing people out of the way. Through the gaps, I saw the Zack clone reach Rufus, who was lying on the ground. He bent down and took the box from Shinra’s hands.

Zack was about to walk away when something caught his eye.

I followed his gaze. Tifa was moving. She rolled on her hands and knees and started to get up. “No!” I yelled and shoved people out of the way, knocking them down, maybe hurting them. But I didn’t care. I needed to get to Tifa before Zack did.

Zack saw me coming and he bolted toward Tifa. He grabbed her around the waist. She fought him, kicking and clawing. Zack slammed his elbow into her face and knocked her out cold.

I was seeing red. I was going to kill him! But just as I managed to get out of the panicked crowd, the helicopter reappeared, picking up Zack and his burden. It was gone in a flash, leaving me standing there, watching it disappear into the night.
Cid’s airship had survived the nearby blast. We were all inside the main cockpit, each of us lost in our own thoughts and nursing whatever injuries were received from the explosion.

Yuffie had a bruise on the side of her face and insisted on bandaging my arm. I tolerated it, only because I was glad she was still alive.

I glanced toward a corner. Rude was leaning against the wall while Reno was pacing like a caged animal. They lost two of their partners. I had no love for any of the Turks. Over the last couple of years, I lost count of the number of times we tried to kill each other. And now I felt bad that Tseng and Elena were gone.

Vincent stood brooding near the glass floor ahead. I could never tell what the ex-Turk was thinking.

Cid was silent for once as he flew the airship, but he always had a cigarette in his mouth and a halo of smoke surrounded him.

Standing just to his left was Barret, his face frozen in a scowl, his gun arm aimed at the floor. Every once in awhile the big guy would look in my direction, like he was afraid I’d pounce on him for not protecting my girlfriend. I was just glad to see him alive. Besides, it wasn’t his fault. If the Shinra helicopter hadn’t exploded, Barret would have made sure Zack never got anywhere near Tifa.

When Yuffie finished bandaging my arm, I gave her a half smile. “Thanks, Yuffs.” She walked away and I slid down the wall to sit on the floor. I looked up just as Rufus was walking in my direction. His usually impeccably white suit had black char marks from the explosion and a corner of it had actually burned away.

He crouched beside me and waited for me to look up at him. “The Jenova tissue wasn’t real.”

“Well that’s a comforting thought. What happens to Tifa when Dalton finds out?”

“It may take him awhile to discover it.”

I looked away, my head spinning with disturbing images of what they could be doing to Tifa. I couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to her. “He was a fake.”

“I know. Zack Fair is dead, which means the one you were fighting is a clone.”

I met Shinra’s eyes. “How did they do it? It’s not possible unless they had…” I trailed off as I realized I knew the answer to my own question. “SOLDIER blood samples.”

“Dalton worked closely with Hojo.”

“So they could clone whoever they want. They could clone Sephiroth. They could clone me!”

“I don’t think Dalton is in the market to produce clones.”

“I saw him. Just before the helicopter exploded. He was in a wheelchair.”

“A wheelchair? Are you sure it was Dalton?”

“His face matched the one in the picture you showed us. It was him.”

“That explains the Zack clone.”

I frowned. “Whatta you mean?”

“Dalton obviously can’t fight any of his own battles.”

“There was a patch on the side of his neck, like the kind they used in the SOLDIER academy.”

“A Capitulation Patch?”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

Shinra rubbed his chin. “Interesting. Makes me wonder if Dalton has complete control of his clone.”

“What’re we gonna do about Tifa? The longer we sit on our asses, the more that fucking bastard could do to her.”

Shinra pulled out his cellphone and made a call. “Yes, do you have a location?...Got it.” He put his phone away with a smile. His sister had been kidnapped by dangerous people. What the hell could he have to smile about?

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“Tracking device. I finally know the location of their hideout.”

“Tracking device?” I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Would he have done it hoping she’d be kidnapped so he could find out where Dalton was holed up? “Don’t tell me you purposely set Tifa up with a tracking device.”

He gave me an amused frown. “Of course not. The tracking device is inside the fake Jenova tissue.”

“This was all part of your plan, wasn’t it?” I asked through clenched teeth. I wanted to take a swing at him, knock his stupid ass out of the airship.

“Cloud, listen to me. I had no idea it was going to come down like this. Do you really think I wanted anyone to get hurt? Or Tifa to be taken?”

I was still fuming. “How was it supposed to go down?”

“When the Jenova tissue was placed in Dio’s museum, I hoped Dalton would make his move then.”

“I think he wants to see you dead…regardless whether he has a piece of Jenova or not.”

“I agree wholeheartedly.” He stood up and turned around. “Captain Highwind.”

“What the hell do you want?” Cid replied sourly without raising his voice like he normally did.

“Are you familiar with the islands northeast of here…between Round Island and Goblin Island?”

“I know every landmark on this planet. What’s your fuckin’ point?”

“Set a course, Captain. That’s our destination.”

I got up and followed Shinra to a computer terminal.

He sat down and was on his phone again. “Do you have the schematics yet?” He logged into the Shinra Corp site, having to enter a special code every few seconds as he accessed different places. “Almost there…Okay, I’m in.”

The three dimensional skeletal image of a compound appeared on the screen.

As Shinra hung up his phone, the others, except Cid, all gathered behind him, looking over his shoulders at the computer screen.

“What is this, Shinra?” barked Barret.

“This is Floyd Dalton’s lair.” Rufus pointed as he spoke. “Perimeter fence, probably electrified and motion sensored. Four floors above ground, six below. Judging by the size of these rooms on sublevels three and four, maybe prison cells. Could be where he keeps his experiments.”

“And probably where he’s keeping Tifa,” added Vincent.

“How’d you get these schematics anyway?” asked Yuffie. “What’ve you got floor plans of every building in the world?”

“Not exactly,” replied Shinra. “Let’s just say I have a spy in the sky that can take the appropriate images I need to determine the schematics of a particular compound.”

Yuffie looked confused.

“Satellite,” I told her.

Barret raised his gun arm. “I say we bust through the fence with a truck and start blowin’ the goddamned shits all away.”

“A ground assault is too obvious,” said Rude. “They’ll know we’re coming.”

Rufus turned around in his chair. “Rude is right. An air assault would be the best method and we need to hit them hard and fast.”

I grabbed Yuffie by the wrist and dragged her away with me.

“Hey, what’s the big idea?!”

I led her to a metal box where I knew she kept her materia. “Hook me up, Yuffs.”

She stared at me with her mouth open. “You want my materia?”

“I’ll replace whatever I lose. I promise.”

Yuffie crouched down in front of the box and punched in a code on the lock. After opening the lid, she looked up at me.

I crouched down beside her and starting sifting through the magic balls. Fire, Lightning, Comet, Deathblow, Poison, Ice, Earth, Shield. I took them all and armed them in my wrist guards and on my weapon. In my pocket was the Ifrit Summon I had yet to use. Maybe today would be the day.

Cid put the ship on Autopilot after setting the coordinates and walked over to the others. “If we get too close, they’ll know we’re coming.”

“We’ll remain at cruising altitude,” suggested Rufus. “Let them think we’re a cargo plane.”

“Oh yeah?” snorted Cid. “And how do you think we’re gonna infiltrate without parachutes?”

I walked over. “I can do it.”

All eyes turned to me like I had just told them the world was flat.

“That’s twenty thousand feet,” said Reno. “You’ll be flat as a pancake when you hit the ground.”

Cid held up his hands and looked at everyone. “Any of you dumbasses have Jenova cells in you?”

I raised my hand, knowing no one else would be raising theirs.

“Yeah, that’s one. Then the rest of you shuddup!”
The panel near the steering column beeped.

I glanced toward our crazy pilot who was snoring away in a nearby seat and got up to stretch my legs.

Rude walked over to Cid and gave him a shake. “Come on Highwind, wake up. Your ship’s calling you.”

Cid mumbled something under his breath.

“Let’s go. Rise and shine.”

The pilot sat up, a grumpy look on his face. “I can rise and I can shine, but not at the same time, assface.” He turned toward me, giving me a nod to get ready.

I started walking toward the door leading to the outer walkway.

“This is suicide, Spike,” snarled Barret.

How many times had I heard that before?

Rufus followed me outside as I walked to the reiling.

The airship was moving fast and the wind whipped my hair and clothes around.

“Go back inside, Rufus, before you get blown overboard.”

“Wallace is right. This is suicide, Cloud.”

“I’m going alone. Don’t try to talk me out of it.”

“I know you don’t want to risk the lives of your friends, but this job is too big for just one person.”

I looked up at him and he gave a noticeable flinch. It was the same reaction I got from anyone who looked at my eyes in the darkness, especially when I was steaming on the inside. I imagined they were glowing eerily. “I’m getting Tifa out of there. No one’s going to stand in my way.”

Rufus gave a nod. “Okay, Cloud.” He backed away.

I turned to look over the railing, seeing the landmass below. With my weapons strapped firmly to the harness at my back, I placed a hand on the railing and hurdled myself over the side.

 

Chapter 23 – Escape​

I was falling pretty fast and it was a long way down. The air I whipped through was freezing cold. My teeth were chattering violently and the wind threatened to rip the clothes right off me.

As the landmass became larger, I closed my watering eyes and concentrated. I could feel my body temperature increase, felt the blood running through my veins…the alien cells of Jenova among them…my bones were light as a feather, just like a bird.

I opened my eyes and stretched my arms out on either side, tumbling head over heels to complete a four-roll somersault in the air before landing on one bent knee on the rooftop of the complex. The floor beneath me cracked a bit from the impact. Not a scratch on me, I thought proudly to himself.

But there wasn’t time to dwell on my personal accomplishment. I immediately jumped up and sprinted toward the door leading down into the building.

At the other end of the rooftop, I noticed a startled guard rushing over to investigate, his rifle cocked and ready to fire.

I pulled Apocalypse from my harness and swung the sword at the guard as he appeared from around a corner. The guard didn’t even see me as I sheered his head from his neck.

Keep going. Don’t stop for anything. Not time for remorse.

Without missing a beat, I moved to the door. As I swung it open and bolted down the stairs, several guards were disturbed by my sudden appearance. They aimed their rifles and let loose a rain of bullets.

I blocked the oncoming bullet storm with my weapons before calling up a Shield spell. The bullets bounced off the invisible barrier surrounding me. In a split second, I attached Organics to Apocalypse, freeing my left hand. Summoning the magic from the green materia embedded in my wrist guard, I sent a wall of fire at the five guards blocking my way at the foot of the stairway.

The high-pitched screams of the burning guards echoed down the corridor, alerting the rest of the force. I was going to have more company soon.

No time to dwell on it.

I charged down the stairs, jumping the last six steps before turning down the next flight. Bullets came at me from above. I paused to shoot more fire balls. Screams followed, but no more bullets. More guards appeared below me. Time to lower the temperature. I aimed my fists and summoned the Ice spell. The three guards below turned into ice cubes.

I jumped over them and continued down the stairs. Two more floors before the sublevels.

Several guards were blocking the next stairway. I forgot I had also grabbed a Manipulate materia. I focused on the guard ahead of the others. His eyes went wide before he spun around reluctantly and sprayed his automatic at the other men behind him. Then he turned the gun on himself. Gotta love that Manipulate spell.

Sub-level three was a tunnel of death. In every corner, someone wailed in pain from injuries I inflicted that would prove fatal in the end. Too bad. They chose the wrong side to be working for.

Vincent once referred to me as a virtual killing machine…because nothing stood in my way when I was determined and focused. This was one of those times. I had only one objective…get Tifa out.

I passed a sink with a mirror on the wall, pausing to retrace one step. As I looked in the mirror, a pair of incandescent, aqua and green colored eyes glowed inhumanly, piercing the darkness surrounding me. So this was what others saw when they looked at me.

Pretty frightening.

I moved forward and reached a pegboard, staring at a piece of paper pinned there. My finger trailed down the list of names, stopping at the one in Cell Number 3-14.

Tifa Lockhart.

The sound of running footsteps reached my ears, followed by a hail of bullets. Stupid fools didn’t know when to quit. Didn’t they know I’d kill them without prejudice? I turned to face the approaching guards and threw both fists out in front of me. Lightning shot from my knuckles, hitting the guards and locking them in a bizarre, shuddering death dance before they finally fell to the ground.

I jogged toward the dead guards, briefly disturbing the smoke rising from them as I leapt over their charred bodies. My eyes quickly scanned the heavy wooden doors. There were no numbers on them. Nor anywhere on the stone walls. How was I going to know which cell she was in? “Tifa!” I called out desperately.

In the midst of crackling human flesh and pitiful cries of the dying, I heard a faint voice. It was lethargic and full of pain. In desperation I began kicking in doors, my heavy boots successfully cracking the wood around the locks.

I considered myself to be pretty impervious to the gore of battle, but what I found in some of the rooms made me want to retch. And there was hardly much in my stomach to begin with. Mutilated, disfigured bodies…mutated human beings…maimed and forced to remain alive. It was revolting.

I paused in the dark corridor, sucking in air in huge gulps. What would I discover when I found Tifa? What condition would she be in? I squeezed my eyes in unrequited rage and let out a frustrated growl. No, I wasn’t going to give up hope.

“Cloud…” the voice called again, followed by a desolate sob.

I jumped back into action and followed the voice to a door at the end of the corridor. “Tifa!” I proceeded to bash the wood with my boot. The door broke free of the lock and swung open.

What I found brought a huge lump to my throat. I was both relieved and furious at the same time. Relieved that Tifa still had all her limbs, but furious to see the condition she was in. She was stripped down to her underwear and filthy. I could see deep, bloody gashes on her back, like she had been whipped.

Tifa was silently sobbing when I crouched down and gently lifted her upper body. She didn’t have the strength to pick herself up.

I cradled her head to my chest. “Tifa…” I couldn’t control my own tears as I bent to press my face against hers. “I’m here, baby. It’s okay.” I kissed her face repeatedly, ignoring the filth and blood streaking her skin. Just to convince myself, as I held her to me, my hands traveled up and down both her arms and legs, making sure they were still attached and that nothing was broken. “I’m getting you out.”

With my arm around her back, I slipped my other arm under her knees and lifted her up. She screamed in agonizing pain. I knew I was hurting her, but there just wasn’t any time for me to assess her injuries. “I’m sorry, Teef. I know it hurts.”

I carefully carried her out of the cell and suddenly felt the Shield spell beginning to wear off. It would only last a few more minutes so I needed to move fast.

As I made my way back through the corridor, I deeply regretted that I couldn’t do anything to help the poor souls in the other cells. Some seemed beyond help anyway.

Tifa continued to sob in pain, screaming with every jarring move I made to climb the stairs. One flight after another. I wasn’t going to make it to the roof.

When I reached the ground level, I knew I only had seconds before the Shield spell wore off. Guards appeared from every direction and converged on where I stood with Tifa. They fired their weapons, the Shield effectively deflecting the bullets. I gently lowered Tifa to the ground at my feet.

“Hold your fire!” yelled a voice.

I turned toward the front of the building. A man in a motorized wheelchair was making his way toward me. Walking beside him was the Zack clone.

The Shield spell faded and Tifa and I were now left unprotected. I pulled my swords out of my harness and held them up defensively.

Floyd Dalton stopped several yards away from me. “Do you really believe you can fend off the firepower surrounding you?”

Without turning my head, I panned my eyes around. The guards had stopped shooting, but their weapons were still raised and ready to fire. There were more than fifty of them, I was sure of it.

“You don’t have a chance in hell of walking out of here alive, Strife.”

“You have what you want,” I yelled back. “Let us go.”

Dalton snorted in disgust. “That snot-nosed punk thinks he could fool me with that grisly piece of swine flesh?”

So much for Rufus thinking it would take Dalton awhile before he’d figure out the piece of flesh he had wasn’t from the extraterrestrial, Jenova.

I briefly glanced around again. The odds of me hitting the fifty-something guards with whatever spells I could caste…and not get sprayed with bullets…well, they weren’t very good odds. I looked down at Tifa. She was squirming in pain. Anything fired at us would hit her for sure. But I had to consider the circumstances. If Dalton captured us, there was no telling what he’d do to me and Tifa. I wasn’t going to end up in one of the cells, with pieces of me missing. What the hell was Dalton doing with them anyway? Most of all I wasn’t going to let Tifa suffer anymore. If I had to, I’d make sure he didn’t take us alive.

“Why’d you have to hurt her?” I asked, trying really hard not to just lunge at the man in the wheelchair and rip out his eyes.

“That young girl managed to incapacitate fifteen of my best men. Hurt her? She’s lucky I didn’t toss her into a pool of Mako to drown.”

I wasn’t pleased to hear the reason Tifa received the beating was because she had fought back, but I was gratified to know that she had at least taken a few of them down. Her injuries would heal, but I needed to get her the hell out first. “Let her go and you can have me.”

Dalton started to laugh, an annoying cackle that sent a chill up my spine. “You don’t seem to understand. I don’t want you anymore than I want her. What I want are the remaining pieces of Jenova and I want Shinra to deliver them to me on a silver platter.”

“He’s not going to do it.” I wasn’t one hundred percent certain of my answer, I just hoped Shinra wasn’t stupid enough to do such a thing. Dalton would kill us anyway.

“Well, then both of you are going to die a slow, painful death for his lack of cooperation.”

My eyes shifted to the man standing beside Dalton, his Mako-enhanced blue eyes glowing in the darkness, similarly to mine. His buster sword was hanging off his back and his arms were folded across his chest. There was a small smile on his face…just the way Zack would look if he were alive.

There’s a chance, Cloud. Dalton doesn’t have full control.

I don’t know what to do, I thought to myself.

You’ll find a way.

“Why’re you doing this?” I asked Dalton. I needed to stall him so I could think of a way out of here.

“To begin with I want that spawn of Shinra dead. I helped him get what he wanted and when I asked for help, he kicked me to the curb. I asked for a piece of Jenova and he sent me an executioner. A bullet to the back of the head. Didn’t kill me but this is the result,” he motioned to himself in the wheelchair. “I used to be the best.”

I decided to sting him alittle...right where it would hurt the most. “Sephiroth was the best.”

“I made Sephiroth!” Seemed like I struck a serious nerve. “He was nothing until I took him under my wing!”

I motioned toward Zack. “Zack would know. He’s a First Class SOLDIER.”

“Zack is dead.” Dalton waved a dismissive hand toward the man standing beside his wheelchair. “He’s just a clone, hardly worthy of Zack Fair’s reputation.”

A noticeable flinch crossed Zack’s face. Seemed like another nerve was struck. It was obvious to me that the clone really believed he was the one and only Zack Fair.

If I could just get him riled up alittle, maybe I could create a distraction long enough to make a move. “He does what you ask? All your dirty work?”

“He does exactly what I ask. He’s merely a remnant in the grand scheme of things.”

That produced a growing scowl on the Zack clone’s face. Perfect, he was really getting pissed.

“What’re you going to do with the remaining pieces of Jenova?” I asked.

Dalton grinned maniacally. “She will lead me to power, paving the way for me to obtain full control.”

“World domination. How original. I should have known.” I gave him a crooked smile. “So what’re you going to do, grow the missing pieces of Jenova and make her whole again?”

“You are a very perceptive young man, Strife.”

My smile faded. I meant it as a joke. I didn’t think he’d actually consider such a thing. “You have no idea what you’re doing, Dalton. If you resurrect that creature, it’ll kill you and everyone else on this planet. It tried to destroy the Cetra centuries ago”

“The Cetra were weak. They didn’t understand the power they were dealing with.”

“There’s one Cetra left that would disagree with you.”

“Ah, yes. The last Cetra. Perhaps I will focus my attention on her next.”

“You leave Aeris out of this!” Zack suddenly blurted out.

I was surprised at his outburst. Apparently Aeris held a piece of his heart, just like the real Zack.

“Shut up!” Dalton yelled toward Zack and touched a button on a small panel installed on the arm of the wheelchair.

The Zack clone spasmed, face cringing in pain. Dalton just zapped him through the Capitulation Patch.

Dalton continued to yell. “Don’t ever tell me what to do! Is that understood?!”

I could tell from the expression on Zack’s face, he was about to snap.

Dalton turned back to me. “Enough wasting time, Strife. Your friends are not coming to save the day. Drop your weapons and remove your wrist guards.”

My eyes traveled to the clone. He was looking right at me, teeth clenched, his face red with anger. But was it directed fully at Dalton?

You’ve got him, Cloud. It’s now or never.

The voice of the real Zack rang in my head as the clone reached up to the side of his neck.

I tossed my swords several feet away on the ground, drawing Dalton’s attention away from the clone.

With teeth clenched, the Zack clone ripped the Capitulation Patch off.

“Pick up his weapons, Zack,” Dalton said over his shoulder. “And make sure he removes those wrist guards. I don’t want him using his materia.”

Instead of following Dalton’s orders, Zack sent a wall of ice toward the guards to my left. At the same time he caste a Shield spell over me and Tifa.

A second later the shooting started. Bullets rained on us, effectively bouncing off the invisible shield.

Dalton’s eyes widened and he pounded his fist on his instrument panel, realizing that he no longer had control of Zack. “No!”

It was time to end this now. I had had enough of Dalton and his bullshit. I raised my fists and summoned Ifrit.

Then I threw myself to the ground to cover Tifa just as the denizen of Hell exploded from the ground with a bone-jarring roar. The guards all froze in terror, staring at the giant God floating several feet above the ground, breathing flames from his mouth as he assessed the enemy.

“Shoot him!” yelled Dalton and he spun his wheelchair around, trying to flee back into the building.

As the guards all focused their weapons on Ifrit, the Fire God sent a dozen massive fireballs in every direction, the flames engulfing everything in their path.

I closed my eyes and buried my face in Tifa’s hair as the destruction continued around us.

Minutes later, as an eerie silence filled the air, I raised my head. The wall of fire receded and there was nothing left alive. The motorized wheelchair stood empty, smoke rising from the charred leather seat, Dalton’s body gone completely. So much for his world domination plans.

Exhaling one final breath of fire, Ifrit vanished back into the earth. He left a harsh wind in his wake that lasted several seconds.

Tifa was panting breathlessly beneath me. I hadn’t meant to put my weight on her scarred back. I just wanted to protect her from Ifrit’s fire. As I carefully raised myself off her, I looked around again. The ground in every direction was littered with smoldering bodies. Some were still on fire. The smell of burning flesh was sickening.

I reached for my cellphone and called Cid. “Any day now, Smokestack.”

“Be there in a flash,” replied the pilot of the Shera.

I stood up and caught a movement to my right.

It was the Zack clone. He dragged himself up on his hands and knees before standing up. He brushed the dirt off his SOLDIER uniform and gave me a surprised look. “I should be dead.”

I gave Zack a half smile. “I bet you’re going to get that a lot.” Ifrit obviously sensed the good and spared him. But I was still a bit leery though. I don’t trust him, I thought to myself. He tried to kill me.

So did the Turks, but you trust them now.

From the corner of my eye, I saw the Shera emerge from the cloudy sky. The airship came down at an alarming rate, but I trusted the pilot without question.

I bent to gather Tifa in my arms again. She whimpered in pain. “I’m sorry, Teef. Just alittle longer.” I turned toward Zack. “If you don’t have anywhere else to go, you’re welcome to tag along.”

“You think Aeris will be surprised when she sees me?” he asked as he walked to my discarded swords and picked them up.

My thought was that she’d probably faint. But I knew it would totally draw her attention away from me. Zack was her first love and I was still certain she only liked me because I reminded her of him.

I patiently waited for the ramp to come down before I carried Tifa inside the airship, the Zack clone behind me.

The second we appeared in the bridge, a dozen guns…and a gun arm…cocked and aimed in Zack’s direction, ready to fire.

I glanced around at the angry faces, all eyes staring at the man behind me. “It’s okay. He helped me.”

“What happened to Dalton?” asked Rufus as he holstered his pistol back inside his jacket.

Zack spoke up before I could. “He’s roach food.”

“His plans involved resurrecting Jenova,” I added and stared into Rufus’s eyes. “But that’s never going to happen because you’re gonna destroy the remains, right?”

Shinra smiled smugly. “Of course, Cloud.” Then his eyes drifted to the burden in my arms. “Is my sister all right?”

“They worked her over real good.”

“Can I take her?”

Tifa tightened her grip around my neck and protested with an agonized moan.

“No. Just stay away,” I warned and carefully sat down on the floor, Tifa cradled in my arms.

“So we’re supposed to trust this fuck?” snarled Cid, still glaring toward Zack. “No offense.”

Zack smiled. “None taken.”

“Just get us back to Healin, Cid,” I insisted. “We’ll have plenty of time to debate your concerns later.”

As Cid headed back to the ship’s controls with a disgruntled growl, the others all put their weapons away. But I knew they were still vigilant.

Yuffie walked over with a blanket and carefully tucked it around Tifa. “Is she going to be all right?” she whispered.

I didn’t want to give Yuffie false hopes, but I wanted to believe Tifa was mentally fine, if not physically. “We’ll find out soon enough.”

“I want to help. If there’s anything I can do…”

I nodded. “Thanks.” As she walked away, I bent to place a gentle kiss on Tifa’s forehead. My eyes shifted toward Zack.

He walked over and sat down beside me against the wall. “I want you to know that I stopped them from touching her.”

I was afraid to ask what he meant by that. But I had an idea. “I appreciate it.”

“I didn’t do it because I cared. I just thought it was pointless.”

“You helped us, so you must obviously care now.”

He shrugged. “It feels good knowing I’m no longer anyone’s pawn.”

I knew exactly what that felt like. Back in the days of AVALANCE, Sephiroth had me believing I was a pawn. He forced me to hand him the Black Materia that summoned Meteor and he nearly forced me to kill Aeris.

Tifa moaned softly.

I shifted my arm so it wasn’t directly touching her back. It was disturbing to think how she must have screamed when they delivered the lashes. A wave of guilt threatened to overwhelm me. I should have been protecting her. It was my fault she was hurt.

I was glad Dalton and his men were dead…every last one of them.

 

Chapter 24 – Trust​

My heart was pounding so hard and fast, I thought I was having a heart attack. Since when did I become a fucking weakling? Since when did I give a rat’s ass about anything or anyone…since Tifa Lockhart became a part of my life again. That’s when. Now I couldn’t seem to focus on anything but her.

First it was Aeris for the longest time. She wondered why I couldn’t be reasonable and start a relationship with her. She didn’t understand me at all. Hell, I didn’t understand myself at the time…and I quickly came to discover my heart was preventing me from moving forward with Aeris because it belonged to Tifa.

My heart belonged to her. My soul…everything. I couldn’t make any decisions without thinking how it would affect Tifa or my relationship with her.

“Cloud!!!”

I stared at the closed door on the other side of the bedroom. The screams and cries were coming from the adjoining bathroom where Aeris and Yuffie were attempting to care for Tifa’s injuries.

This was Rufus Shinra’s apartment at Healin. He volunteered to give it up to Tifa and I while she healed. We needed the privacy and it wouldn’t have been good for Denzel and Marlene to see her this way anyway.

When we reached the eastern continent, I had wanted to take Tifa to the hospital, but she begged me not to take her there. She couldn’t bear the thought of strangers taking care of her. I knew how she felt. I hated the idea of anyone touching me, which was why I tended to my own injuries…whenever I got any.

Besides, Aeris had incredible healing abilities and I trusted her more than any doctor.

I glanced toward Shinra who stood facing the window, his arms folded, his expression unreadable. His usual stoic self…even though his own flesh and blood. But I was pretty sure he was feeling as uneasy as I was, even if he didn’t show it.

“Noooo!! I want Cloud!”

The cries shot up my spine and I spun away to face the fireplace. I placed an arm on the mantle and pressed my forehead against the back of my hand as I closed my eyes tightly. Tears squeezed from my lids and dampened my cheeks. Dammit, why couldn’t I be strong like Rufus and not show how upset I was. I was literally falling apart from the inside out. Hearing Tifa screaming so hysterically was ripping me to pieces.

“Clooooouuuuuuuuddddd!!!”

I heard enough. As I wiped my eyes, I marched toward the door and threw it open.

Aeris whirled around, her face looking completely distressed, her clothes half soaked, her hair disheveled. She reminded me of someone who was trying to bathe an uncooperative elephant.

I tried to keep my anger under control. It didn’t look like either of the girls were trying to hurt Tifa in any way. “What the hell’s going on?” I asked in frustration as I closed the door behind me.

At the other end of the bathroom, surrounded by louvered windows, was a large whirlpool tub. Sitting in the center of it was Tifa, the water churning white around her pale shoulders. She raised her tear-filled eyes up at me. “Cloud,” she gasped out miserably and with noticeable relief.

“She won’t let either of us touch her,” said Aeris. “Please say something to her.”

I walked toward the tub, stepping into a large puddle of water surrounding it. “Tifa, it’s okay. They’re just trying to help you.”

Tifa quieted alittle, until Yuffie tried to approach. “Noooo!!!”

I turned toward Aeris. “Just go. I’ll take care of her.”

Aeris nodded. “There’s some strong healing potion in the water, Cloud.” She put an arm around Yuffie’s shoulder and led the young ninja away.

“Thanks you guys,” I said before they walked out and closed the door behind them.

As I kicked off my boots, I pulled off my sweatshirt and quickly removed my trousers. In only my boxers, I carefully stepped into the tub and lowered myself down into the hot churning water. I hesitated to touch Tifa, afraid that she might resist and start screaming again.

But Tifa immediately moved toward me, wrapping her arms around my chest and leaning her head against my shoulder.

I waited until her breathing quieted before I attempted to touch her. Reaching for a cloth on the side of the tub and soaking it in the healing water, I gently brought it to her face, wiping away at some of the dirt that still lingered there and revealing the scratches and bruises I hadn’t noticed before. I ran the cloth along the side of her neck and over her shoulder, visually inspecting her for other injuries.

She clung tightly to me, both of her arms locked around my chest. “I knew it…” she whispered hoarsely. “I knew you’d come for me.”

Just to reassure her, I bent to brush my lips against her cheek. “You’re safe now, Teef. I won’t let anything happen to you again, I promise.” I held my lips pressed to her skin. The guilt was eating away at me…forcing tears from my eyes again. “I’m sorry it wasn’t sooner. We didn’t know where he took you.”

She didn’t say anything else, just stared at the churning white water.

I soaked the cloth again and gently ran it over her forehead and hair, repeating it several more times to dissolve the mud caked in her knotted hair. After that I brought the cloth down to gently run it over the gashes on her back. “Am I hurting you?” I asked, just to get a response out of her.

She softly mumbled something.

I bent closer to her face. “What was that?”

She didn’t say anything right away, but I saw the tears suddenly spilling from her eyes and the way her lips began to tremble. “You won’t want me like this.”

I didn’t understand what she meant at first. “What’re you talking about, Teef?”

“Look at me. I’m such a mess.”

“The scars will heal.”

“I just want to die,” she sobbed.

“No!” I wasn’t going to let her fall into the depressive abyss I knew all too well. I wrapped both of my arms around her and hugged her tightly. “Don’t you dare think like that! You have people that care about you and love you.” I squeezed her against my chest and pressed my lips to the side of her face. “What about me? You know I can’t live without you.”

“Everything hurts…I can’t…”

“Yes, you can. I’ve been there. I know all about that hell.” I kissed the space behind her ear. “Scars are superficial. Did you forget how many I have?”

She didn’t respond.

“Remember when we were at your school and the Bandersnatches attacked? One of them clawed me. You rubbed the potion on me and the scars healed.”

“They didn’t disappear.”

“No, but it doesn’t matter.”

“Yes it does.”

“Why?” She had never been vain before. Where was this suddenly coming from? Not that she didn’t care about her appearance in the past, but she just never cared about a scuffed knee or a scar here and there. Granted, this was a lot worse and maybe I needed to be alittle more sympathetic. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to make light of it, Tifa.”

“It’s all my fault.” She sighed. “It just made me so angry…that I let myself get caught so easily. I didn’t care. I provoked them, knowing they’d hurt me in the end.”

“If it had been me, I would have done the same thing.”

“But you wouldn’t be cowering like an injured child.”

“You’re not cowering. You’re in pain and I know sitting in this water hurts. But I also know you’re strong and you’ll get through this.”

She removed her arms from around my chest and wrapped them around my neck. “Thanks for making me feel better, Cloud.”

I gently caressed her back, brushing my thumbs lightly over the scars I knew would heal with continued exposure to Aeris’s healing potions. “So I heard you laid out fifteen of those goons.”

Tifa shrugged. “I might have broken a few noses.”

I cupped her face with both hands and tilted it up. “I’m not gonna tell you it was a stupid thing to do. I’m proud of you for fighting back. I’ll make a fighter out of you yet.”

A small smile appeared on her lips. It’s what I had hoped for. “So I can kick your ass?”

I smiled back. “Someone has to do it.”

We sat in the tub together in silence, the only sound coming from the whirlpool’s motor churning the water around us.

After awhile I could feel my fingertips getting wrinkled from being in the water for so long.

Tifa pulled away from me. “Get me out of this tub so I can apologize to Aeris and Yuffie for being such a bitch.”

“That’s my girl.” I gave her a lingering kiss and was glad to feel her respond. Maybe she wasn’t as mentally scarred as I thought she’d be. I had always known her to be strong-minded and strong-willed. She’d get over this and it would only make her stronger.
I made sure Tifa was comfortable sitting up in the king-sized bed, her back resting against two soft pillows. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine.” She accepted my quick kiss, but swatted my hands as I tried to adjust the covers around her.

“You need something to drink?”

“No.”

“Something to eat?”

She sighed heavily. “No.”

“Something to read?”

“No! You are the worst nurse ever!”

“Sorry.” But I wasn’t offended. “I haven’t had much practice.”

“Will you please let Aeris and Yuffie in?”

I gave her a small smile, knowing she wanted to make things right with Aeris and Yuffie after I had to kick them out of the bathroom earlier. Tifa felt ashamed of the way she behaved toward them when all they were trying to do was help her.

I walked toward the bedroom door and opened it. Everyone was sitting in the den. Rufus, Aeris, Yuffie, Cid, Barret, Vincent, Reno and Rude. The only one missing was Zack and I told him to stay away until I called him. I didn’t want Aeris freaking out so soon after freaking out over Tifa’s condition when we arrived six hours ago.

All eyes looked expectantly at me. I pointed to Aeris and Yuffie. They practically launched themselves out of their seats and rushed into the bedroom with me.

I closed the door and leaned back on it, crossing my arms insipidly, knowing I’d have to listen to a half hour of girly apologies and pardons. Not exactly the way I wanted to spend my time with Tifa.

Aeris and Yuffie didn’t even make it halfway to the bed before all three girls burst into tears.

“I’m so sorry!” howled Tifa.

Aeris sat on the bed to Tifa’s right and Yuffie on the left.

“Oh, sweetie, it’s okay,” cooed Aeris, carefully hugging Tifa.

Yuffie did the same on the other side. The three of them hugged in silence and cried and making me feel totally uncomfortable.

“If you don’t mind, I’ll be outside,” I announced.

When the three of them didn’t even acknowledge me, I walked out of the room.

Again all eyes went to me when I came out. I shrugged timidly. “Girl talk.”

Vincent stood up. “I have to get back to Nibelheim.”

“Yeah, sure, Vincent. I understand.”

Cid got up, too. “And I gotta get back to Shera before she divorces me.”

“Thanks for your help, guys.” I watched them walk out before turning to Barret. “You don’t need to hang around, Barret.”

He shrugged and got up, briefly glancing toward Rufus. “If you don’t need me anymore, then I’ll go check on Marlene and head back to the oil rig.”

“Thanks.”

“Anytime.” He gave Shinra another cursory glance before the big guy walked out.

That left Rufus and the two Turks.

Rufus was talking quietly on his cellphone. “I don’t care how much it costs…I need it completed by the end of the week…Then bring in whoever you need to get it done…What do you think? I don’t make demands like this if it wasn’t important.”

I walked over to where Reno was sitting on the couch and I sat on the coffee table opposite him.

The redhead gave me a dull glance, like he was bored. And maybe he was. There was no reason for anyone to be sitting out here, except Rufus who was waiting his turn to see Tifa.

“There’s something we need to talk about, Reno.”

When Reno averted his eyes, I knew he knew the subject.

“It’s about Zack.”

He swallowed hard and tried to resume his look of indifference. But he failed miserably and refused to look me in the eye again. “Hey, it’s no big deal, man.”

“I don’t think you mean that.”

Reno finally looked at me and I saw the hurt in his blue eyes. “You don’t know anything.”

“You told me you were falling for Aeris.”

“Yeah? Well maybe I wasn’t thinking when I said it. Maybe I happen to know she digs you more than me. Whatever happens, it doesn’t matter. If she wants to hook up with that dude, fine with me.”

“She might not even feel the same way about him as before.” I knew I was giving him false hopes, but it could happen.

“Right, she’ll pick me over a First Class SOLDIER who just so happens to be her first love. Yeah, that’ll happen.”

“I’m sorry, Reno. I don’t know what else to tell you.”

He shrugged. “It’s fine. As long as she’s happy. She deserves to be happy after all the shit we put her through over the years.”

It was strange hearing Reno talk this way. He was worse than me when it came to sarcasm and pessimism. He never had anything nice to say. But this was the nicest thing he had ever said…especially about Aeris. Maybe there was some hope for him. “I’m sorry,” I said again.

He looked up with false cheer. “Hey, maybe Tifa can hook me up with one of her friends from school.”

I rolled my eyes. Or maybe he’d never change.
A couple days later, I led Aeris by the hand down the hallway, heading toward the billiard room.

“Cloud, where are we going?” she asked.

“You’ll see.”

“But I promised Tifa I’d sit and watch TV with her tonight.”

“No offense, Aeris, but I need some alone time with my girlfriend.” It was true. Ever since Tifa was well enough to see the others, not a single moment passed that there wasn’t someone in the bedroom with her. I thought about putting in a revolving door…Huh? What was I thinking? I needed to install a deadbolt lock and put a couple of attack dogs outside the door so no one would come near.

Aeris giggled. “Oh, I get it. You’re trying to get rid of me.”

“I mean it in the nicest way possible. But that goes for everyone, not just you.”

We reached the billiard room and I tugged her inside with me.

The second we stepped into the room, Zack jumped off the bar stool he had been sitting on and stared expectantly toward the woman standing beside me.

Aeris froze in her tracks and her hand fell away from mine.

I turned toward her, noting the look of surprise on her face. If she fainted, I was there to catch her.

But luckily she didn’t faint. Her eyes filled with tears as she stared at the man who was nearly one hundred percent Zack Fair. “Zack…”

“Hey, babe,” Zack uttered in his cool demeanor. He flashed her his priceless smile. “It’s good to see you again.”

I had expected tears and shock and maybe some fainting. But what I didn’t expect was for her to suddenly whirl around and rush out of the room like Sephiroth was chasing after her.

Zack let out a brief chuckle. “Not exactly the reaction I had hoped for.”

“Yeah,” I agreed as I held up a finger. “Be right back.” I headed out after Aeris.

She was walking back the way we came, her feet moving as fast as they could carry her.

I caught up and grabbed her by the arm to stop her. “Aeris, why’d you run away?”

“That’s not Zack,” she said, tears still falling down her cheeks.

I wasn’t sure what to say, but I had to try something. “Well, no…he’s not exactly the real Zack…but he’s as close to Zack as anyone will ever be.”

“It’s not the same.”

“I know, but can’t you just give him a chance? He really wanted to see you.”

She angrily pulled her arm out of my grasp. “Why did you bring him here?”

I shrugged unsurely. I really wasn’t sure why, other than thinking maybe she’d forget about me if she had someone else to focus on…someone like Zack. I knew she was still upset that I didn’t feel about her the way she felt about me. But I was almost positive she liked me because I reminded her of Zack. She even admitted it to me once at the Gold Saucer. So why wouldn’t a copy of Zack be good enough? “I thought maybe…you’d be happy to see him.”

“Where did he come from, Cloud?”

“He’s a clone. Dalton created him using samples of Zack’s blood from SOLDIER. He acts just like Zack…really. He said he studied tapes to get it right.”

“What tapes?”

“When I was at the SOLDIER academy, I remember Zack mentioned having to do visual recordings after every mission. He said he liked to talk about you on the tapes. I guess maybe the clone became interested then.”

“Cloud, I hate you for bringing him here,” she defied. “Don’t you know it took me forever to get over him…and then you…I just can’t.” She ran off, her hands covering her face.

I let her go this time. There really wasn’t anything else I could say to her anyway. But it hurt to hear her say she hated me for bringing him here. I turned and slowly walked back toward the billiard room.

Zack looked up from his drink when I walked back in. “Couldn’t convince her to come back?” he asked alittle hurt.

I sat down on the barstool beside him. “Sorry, Zack. I guess she’s still hung up on you and can’t get passed the fact that you’re dead and…” And that you’re not the real thing. But I didn’t say it outloud. Maybe all Aeris needed to do was talk to him. I mean, I was alittle skeptical at first, too. Zack and I had gotten close in the academy. He helped me with my studies and helped me work on my fighting skills. He even helped me with my weapons training, including target practice. The fact was, I had seen him die right before my eyes and a piece of me had died there with him. It was disturbing to see him alive and walking around…forget the fact that he had tried to kill me at the Gold Saucer… I wanted to give him a chance because I really longed for his company. I wanted him to be the real thing.

“It’s okay, kid. Maybe it’s just not meant to be. Besides, you said she’s sort of with someone else right now, right?”

“Yeah. Reno.”

“Reno’s the guy with the red ponytail.”

I shrugged. “You know, I’m pretty sure he’s not who she wants to end up with.”

“Yeah? And how are you pretty sure?”

I turned to look at him. “She told me.” Gods, he was exactly like Zack, down to the scar on his left cheek. Dalton thought of almost everything. Not the eyes though. They may have looked exactly like Zack’s, but there was a different depth to them. They lacked Zack’s life experiences. They lacked his spark.

He took a sip from his drink. “Well, I think she’s in love with someone else,” he said with a smile, looking somewhat amused.

“Like who?” I asked too quickly before realizing I already knew the answer.

“You.”

I shook my head, wanting to quickly dispel that thought plan right out of his mind. “No, she thinks she loves me. But it’s you she’s in love with…or rather…Zack Fair before he was killed.”

“So you think I might still have a chance?”

“I dunno. Aeris is a very complicated girl. Just give her a chance to get used to the idea of you being around again.”

He looked away with a laugh. “Around?” He shrugged and gulped down the rest of his drink. “Sure, I’ll be around.”

When I saw Zack suddenly focus on something passed me, I turned in the opposite direction.

Aeris was standing at the doorway, her green eyes wider than normal. She looked terrified, but she took several small steps into the room.

Zack leaned toward me, his eyes remaining on Aeris. “Whatta she like to drink?” he mumbled without moving his lips.

“The hard stuff,” I mumbled back before turning back to Aeris.

“Pour a glass of the stuff in the purple bottle,” Zack told the bartender.

I got up, thinking it was probably best if I left them to talk alone. When Aeris touched my arm as I started to pass, I stopped in front of her. “You gonna be okay?” I asked her. “You want me to stay?”

She shook her head, her eyes still glistening with tears as she looked up at me. “I’m sorry about what I said, Cloud. I don’t hate you.”

“I know.” I took her hand from my arm and squeezed it with a smile. “I’m glad you changed your mind.” I released her hand and walked out of the billiard room.
When I walked into the apartment Tifa and I were borrowing from Rufus, I headed straight for the bedroom. It was quiet. No kids running around, jumping on furniture and playing the stereo too loudly. No pesky ninja pretending to dust the furniture just so she could hang out. No Turks hanging around in the den, like Tifa needed round the clock protection. And now, no Aeris because she was busy dealing with the reappearance of Zack Fair.

I rubbed my hands together with a grin…alone at last…and opened the bedroom door.

Tifa was on her cellphone, sitting up in bed. “My Gods, the things he can do with those great hands…” She immediately clammed up when she saw me. “Uh…I…I have to go….Yeah, I’ll call you real soon. Bye.” She tossed her phone aside on the bed and raised her arms up toward me. “Where’ve you been? I missed you.”

I crawled up on the king-sized bed, which I thought was way too big, and carefully embraced Tifa. “Well, I got Aeris and Zack together.”

She hugged me tighter. “Really? How did it go?”

“Alittle shaky at first, but I think they’ll be fine.” My hand automatically went under her thin tank top and grazed over the scars on her back. They were almost healed, thanks to Aeris’s potions. “Who were you on the phone with?”

“Sara and Jaden.” She started kissing the side of my neck.

“Talking about me?” I hissed when she bit me. “Owww!”

“What makes you think I was talking about you?” Her mouth came up to cover mine in a heated kiss.

“Who else has great hands?” It seemed like an eternity since the last time we had kissed like this.

She giggled. “Rude…he just left fifteen minutes ago after giving me an amazing back massage.”

I pulled back, pretending to be angry. “Excuse me?”

She laughed harder. “I’m just teasing. No one can compare to your hands.”

“That’s better.”

Tifa stood up on her knees and pulled my teeshirt up and over my head. “I want you naked right now.”

I wanted me naked, too and I wanted her naked. But the dreaded voice of reason overpowered the voice of my growing love spear. “Nah, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” It’s what came out of my mouth, but I made no move to stop her from unzipping my pants and I couldn’t control my wandering hands as they tugged her tank top up. “I don’t…wanna…hurt your….back.” It was hard to talk with her tongue in my mouth.

Tifa pushed me down on the bed with surprising strength. “Don’t worry. I like being on top anyway.” She straddled my hips and bent forward to pull on my lower lip with her teeth. “I like having control over you.”

She was lucky I loved her. I didn’t relinquish control very easily. But then again, I was pretty sure when it came to Tifa, my control went right out the window.
As the end of the week came, things were pretty much back to normal, except we were still staying at Healin. I was kind of getting used to the place, but I knew we couldn’t stay there forever and live off of Rufus’s charity. I needed to get back to my delivery service and Aeris needed to get back to the tavern once the minor reconstruction of the front entrance was complete. Tifa was going to stay with us until we eventually got our own place.

Money really wasn’t going to be a problem for quite awhile, even though I tried to give all of it back to Rufus.

“Take your money back, Rufus.”

“Why?”

“I don’t feel right taking it.”

“It was a job, Cloud.”

“I know, but I would have done it for free if I had remembered Tifa when I first agreed to do the job.”

“I insist you take something.”

“Alright, I’ll take enough so I can build a new bike and something extra for Tifa and I to get our own place.”

“Fine.”

“Put the rest in another account to pay for schooling for Marlene and Denzel.”

“Done.”

Of the five hundred thousand gil Rufus had paid me for the job of protecting Tifa at the Icicle Village Academy, I kept one third of it. The rest would go to Marlene and Denzel for their education.

“Cloud! Hurry up!” Tifa called out from the den. “I can hear the airship approaching.”

I was tying my shoelaces in the bedroom. “Be there in a sec.”

Ten minutes ago, Rufus sent Rude to deliver a message. He wanted Tifa and I to meet him at the landing pad. Cid was coming in his airship for something. Rude wouldn’t elaborate, which pissed me off to no end. But Tifa and I got ready anyway.

I came out of the bedroom. “Are you sure you can make it?”

“I’ve been walking at least one hour a day. I can make it to the landing pad. It’s not that far.”

I took her hand and we walked out of the apartment together. It really wasn’t a far walk, but I just worried Tifa would collapse from exhaustion. Especially after we spent the last couple hours this morning getting frisky and romping around in bed.

When Tifa and I got to the landing area, the Shera was already parked and the engines were shutting down. Rufus, Reno and Rude were already standing there. The only ones missing were Aeris and Zack and I knew they had left for a couple of days to spend some time together in Costa Del Sol.

The ramp lowered under the airship and the usual clan appeared. Yuffie carrying her shuriken. Barret hoisting his heavy gun arm. Cid with a cigarette dangling from his mouth. I expected Vincent to step out any second, but it was just the three of them.

“What’s going on?” I asked, trying to read the various expressions on their faces. Yuffie looked cheerful as a baby chocobo, Barret looked raring to pick a fight with anyone and Cid looked pissed off at the world as usual.

“Why don’t you ask the king of Gaia?” Cid motioned toward Shinra.

I glanced toward Rufus.

He had an uncharacteristically sheepish smile. “Just a token of my appreciation, Cloud.” He waved his hand toward the airship.

A familiar rumbling sound echoed from the ramp. I trained my eyes there for a suspicious second before a spitting image of Fenrir was maneuvered down the ramp, Vincent sitting on the seat. My mouth fell open. It was Fenrir…or something very similar. But how? The bike was in pieces at the bottom of the chasm near Bone Village. Whatever was left of it was unsalvageable.

I turned back to Shinra. “Where did this come from?”

“I had it built exactly to the specifications supplied to me by Captain Highwind.”

Vincent pulled up in front of us and kicked the stand in place before dismounting. He gave me a crooked smile. “Rides like a charm, Cloud.”

I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket and I retrieved it quickly, wanting to inspect my present. When I glanced at the display, I discovered I had received a text message from Zack. I opened my phone and read it: -- You trust too quickly, Cloud. --

Tifa squeezed my hand, drawing my attention away from the cryptic message. “Let’s go for a ride.”

I slipped my phone back in my pocket and gave her a smile. “Did you know about this?”

She smiled very demurely. “It was hard not to tell you, Cloud. Rufus told me the other day. I thought it was a great idea.”

I walked over to Shinra and held my hand out with a smile. “Thanks, Shinra. You did something right for a change.”

Rufus returned my smile and shook my hand. “I figured I’d save you the time and money.”

I turned to the shiny new motorcycle and walked over to mount it. As Tifa came toward me, I held my hand out to help her mount behind me. I turned the left handle, revving the engine. It was loud…even louder than Fenrir.

Tifa scooted close against my back and wrapped her arms around my waist. “What’re you going to name her?”

As I glanced over my shoulder at Tifa, Rufus’s cellphone rang. “I’m not sure yet. I’ll have to think about it.”

“Who is this?!” Rufus suddenly yelled.

I glanced toward him in surprise, never having heard him raise his voice like that before.

His brows narrowed as he listened to the caller. “You goddamned bastard…” He looked in my direction. This was the first time I had ever seen Rufus Shinra lose his cool. He removed the phone from his ear and pressed a button.

“Do you have me on speaker?” asked the voice through the phone.

My heart jumped into my throat when I realized I recognized the voice. Floyd Dalton…but it couldn’t be. Ifrit fried him right out of his wheelchair.

“I’m sure some of you recognize me. For those that don’t…allow me to introduce myself. I am General Floyd Dalton.” He chuckled. “And yes, I am alive and well.”

Everyone started jabbering and swearing loudly. Rufus and I were the only ones who remained silent.

The man on the phone cleared his throat. “If you don’t mind, I’m very busy and I don’t have a lot of time to be chatting.”

The talking died down.

“I’m sure you’re all wondering about the man in the wheelchair. Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that wasn’t me. He was a genetically engineered clone, made to look like me in a more incapacitated manner. I am not in a wheelchair and I am physically fit and healthy.”

Barret was growling like an angered animal and clenching his fist so tightly it was shaking.

“I have big plans, my friends. Big plans to create a whole army of clones. And by the way, my extensive knowledge in genetic engineering and growth acceleration will ensure my success.”

The more he talked, the sicker I felt.

“To the ex-members of the terrorist organization called AVALANCHE, you aren’t excluded from my project. I have a generous supply of blood taken from each of you during various past attempts to thwart Shinra Corp.”

“We’re not terrorists, you sick mother fucker!” yelled Cid.

Dalton chuckled again. “Of course not.”

Cid was about to say something else, but I shot him a glare and held up a hand to shut him up. The pilot wasn’t happy, but he remained silent.

“Let me take a moment to explain what’s happened so far. Over the last few weeks I’ve made countless death threats to President Shinra, asking for…let’s just say, things I really don’t need. So far he has been uncooperative in providing me what I’ve asked for. Now I understand young Rufus is much smarter than his father, so I know he’s seen through the façade to the extent that I’ve asked for unnecessary items. And based on the supposed trap set for me at the Gold Saucer, I am assured you are well aware of what I’m after. Is that correct, Shinra?”

All eyes went to him.

“You want the remaining pieces of Jenova,” Rufus replied, his demeanor back to being cold as ice.

“That’s right. Now since I was present when the pieces were retrieved from the Northern Cavern, I know what they look like. I have a photogenic memory, so you cannot fool me with cheap, shoddy replicas.”

“What makes you think we’re just going to turn it all over to you?” I asked.

“Let me guess. That’s Cloud Strife who just spoke, correct?”

“That’s right,” I replied defensively.

“The young man who wanted to be a SOLDIER. Yes, I remember you well. You barely survived the Mako injections at the academy. But that was, of course, because the late Professor Hojo decided to give you more than the recommended dosage…just to see what would happen. It was an unfortunate experiment which cost you your chance to become what you dreamed about.”

I didn’t like the way this guy was making light of my situation. “It wasn’t so unfortunate. I’m better than any SOLDIER ever was.” I had a right to be conceited about my own abilities.

“Yes, but of course. You’ve defeated the great Sephiroth not once, not twice, but three times. Quite a feat for someone so small and incompetent.”

“Go fuck yourself,” I yelled, contravening my own rule to not lose my cool around assholes like Dalton. “I could defeat you with one hand and blindfolded.”

“I have no desire to waste my time on someone as insignificant as you. You’re like an annoying virus that just won’t go away.”

“Why don’t you show yourself and put your money where your mouth is? Or are you worried I might beat you?”

“Enough! Be prepared to comply to my demands when next I call or you and a large portion of the world’s population will suffer the consequences. Not to mention the fact that I hold the life of someone very special to all of you. Goodbye for now.” A loud click followed his last statement.

Someone special? I glanced over my shoulder. Tifa was still sitting behind me on the new bike so he couldn’t be referring to her.

Rude shook his head in disgust. “He’s been playing us all along, just to see how we would react.”

“Now he knows our weaknesses,” added Rufus. He glanced in my direction. “Even if we destroy the remains of Jenova, he’ll unleash his clone army against us and the rest of the world.”

“So what’re we gonna do?” bellowed Barret. “We can’t just sit on our asses and wait for him to call!”

“Can’t you use your spy in the sky satellite and find this creep?” Yuffie asked Rufus.

Rufus nodded, an immoral gleam in his eye. “There’s a lot we can do. But not from here.”

“From where then?” I asked.

“Shinra headquarters. We need to salvage the right equipment.”

Cid grinned. “This is it boys. Balls to the walls!”

A thought popped into my head and I dreaded to even think that it could be possible. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and glanced at the text message I received from Zack. --You trust too quickly, Cloud. – I understood the message now. How could I be so stupid? I did trust too quickly and always the wrong people.

I looked up and pushed the hair out of my eyes as I turned to Rufus. “They’ve got Aeris.”

He didn’t even bother to ask how I knew because I was pretty sure he had already come to that conclusion. The Zack clone was still working for Dalton and now Aeris was in their custody.

“Oh no,” Tifa said in a low voice.

So what did I learn from all of this? First, don’t trust anybody. Second, Floyd Dalton was a lot smarter and more conniving than I thought, even though Rufus had previously warned me. Third, things were really going to get ugly from now on.

So what else was new?

The End