CHAPTER II
DISCOVERY AND DESPAIR
Cid took a deep drag off his newest cigarette and took in the scene before him. The sun dipped low in the sky over the remains of the reactor. The ruined town of Gongaga had never been a part of his journey, and he’d never seen the devastation the explosion had caused. He was weary from traveling, and so was everyone else, it seemed, except for Cloud. Cid was worried about his friend. After seeing how easily Sephiroth had manipulated Cloud before, he wondered just how much the kid could take before he let things get out of control again. The pilot had been watching Cloud carefully these past few days, waiting for some sign that Sephiroth still had influence over his friend. Cloud’s cold eyes and impassive face didn’t help the situation much. It was always hard to tell what he was feeling. Sometimes it seemed as though he never felt anything at all. Now the young man beckoned to him to join the group and enter the desolate city. Ready for a warm bed and a steaming cup of tea, Cid followed him.
Cloud and the others checked into the only inn the town possesed. Cloud had shut himself off from the rest of the group and secluded himself in the room. Tifa watched him with worry-filled eyes and her voice trembled as she spoke,
“Cid, there’s something wrong with him.”
Cid slowly nodded,
“It’s that f**ker Sephiroth. Messin’ with his head, or worse.”
“What are we supposed to do about it?” the slender woman asked.
“I dunno, but whatever we do, we’d better do it fast.” Tifa gave Cid a knowing look and knocked on the door.
“Cloud,” she said, “I’m coming in.” She closed the door behind her to find her friend hunched over the floor, holding his stomach. Cloud appeared to be wracked with pain. “Cloud!” she exclaimed, running to him. “Are you O.K.?”
Cloud groaned in pain and fell to the floor.
“Gone… It’s gone!”
“Cloud? What’s going on?” Cloud breathed deeply and slowly stood up.
“Jenova, Tifa. Jenova is gone. It must have happened in the lifestream. Sephiroth is alive, somewhere, and I can’t even sense his presence!!!”
“But that’s good, Cloud.” The woman stated, “he can’t control you anymore. You’re finally free of him.” She then realized that something else was going on here. She looked into Cloud’s eyes and noticed that the Mako blue was fading. “Ohh…” she breathed.
“Arrggh!” Cloud groaned as he fell to the floor again.
“Cloud! Somebody get a doctor, now!” Tifa cried.
“Wait!” Cloud said as his pride kicked in. “I’m o.k. I’ll be fine.” He stood up again and went for his sword. Finding the handle easily, he pulled…and pulled…and pulled, and nothing happened. Cloud redoubled his efforts and found that he could not even lift his sword. He sneered angrily and lifted again, sweat brimming down his brow, but the sword refused to budge. His strength had left him. He was powerless without Jenova. He collapsed again, and this time he made no effort to rise. Cid and Red XIII had gone after a doctor despite Cloud’s earlier protest, while the others watched the situation with worry. It was going to be a long night.
Cait Sith watched the doctors attend to his friend. They had been with him for hours, but could find no sign of any illness. He silently brooded over whether they would be strong enough to find Aeris again and save her without Cloud. The last time they had lost their friend, all hell had broken loose. Cait didn’t want to face that situation again. Suddenly, the stuffed cat got a signal. He had been running on autopilot ever since Sephiroth’s death, but the signal was unmistakably Reeve’s transmitter. He listened intently to the instructions, but they didn’t come from his master, but from the Reeve of this era. His new processor managed to override Reeve’s order, and he was of his own free will again. If he could communicate with Reeve, then they had an edge over Shinra, at least for the time being. If only Cloud would wake up…
Tifa waited anxiously over the form of the man she loved. There was nothing the doctors could do to help him. She tried to relax, but it was getting harder to be clam and collected when situations came to Cloud. The girl was so worried that she could taste it, and she hoped to Bahamut that he would wake up soon. She knew that he would pull through, he had to, just like all the other times in his life. That wasn’t it. Her real worry was something much more earthshattering, and much more close to her heart. It was Aeris. Cloud had loved the girl before, she knew, and finding her again might mean that Tifa would lose any chance she still had to be with him. She bent over his inert form and kissed his forehead,
“I love you,” she said, “I just can’t tell you.”
Tifa forced herself to her feet again and sat down in a large chair. If he wouldn’t stir, then she would be with him until he did.
Morning came, and Cloud still lay unconscious in the bed. Tifa remembered the first time Cloud had lain there, right after Aeris had left them to face her destiny. She looked over to Barret. The big man nodded,
“If we wait long ‘nuff, our doubles should come thru here ‘gain soon.”
“No,” Tifa replied, “it’ll be too late by then. We have to get Cloud someplace where he’ll be safe.”
“Wait!” Red XIII interrupted, “What if we could get Cloud his Jenova cells back?”
“How we gonna do dat, foo’!?” Barret asked, “Dat damn Hojo’s the only one who could do dat!”
“Exactly,” the beast grinned, “and right now he’s at Costa Del Sol, which is only a few kilometers from here.”
“Now just hold on a damn minute!” Cid contested, “You’re gonna let that rat mess with the kid again?” Vincent chimed in,
“Don’t worry, my friend,” the dark man said, “If Hojo so much as harms a hair on Cloud’s spikey head, I will make his life a living hell for all eternity.”
“Alright!” Cait Sith stated, “Let’s get Cloud packed up and get outta this hell hole! Alright everyone, let’s mosey!”
“Damn! Again! Stop sayin’ it like a wimp! Can’t you say ‘Move Out’ or something?”
“Move out!” the cat yelled, and it was so.
Tifa walked carefully into the room where Cloud had lain unconscious. Pushing the door aside with a creak, she surveyed the room. Cloud was gone.
“Cloud!” Tifa cried, searching for him frantically. He was nowhere to be found. The room was ransacked, tables were knocked over, curtains ripped, and Cloud’s sword was gone, too.
Cloud Strife rode off towards sleeping forest in his brand new chocobo, courtesy of Yuffie’s burglary lessons. His sword dragged unceremoniously along the ground. He could still barely use it, but what else could he do? His heart would not allow Aeris to die again, not now, not ever. Cloud swore to himself this day that he would not only make Sephiroth pay for killing Aeris, but prevent him from doing so as well. Sephiroth. The word filled his mind with rage and hatred. Murderer of his family, murderer of Aeris, Sephiroth had in a sense killed Cloud, too. But this time it would be different; this time he could stop him. THIS time Cloud would be whole again.