Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Calm Before the Storm... ❯ Under the Stars... ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I, Lady Valtaya, the writer of this story, am writing this work of fiction solely for my own amusement. The Square Enix Company and its many talented employees (like Tetsuya Nomura) own all characters and their likenesses in this story. This is merely fan fiction- a story based off of the continuing storyline of FFVII and its many memorable heroes past and present, which means, I am writing it for fun not for profit.

 

Author's Notes: As much as I love the game Dirge of Cerberus, I can't stand the fact that Square made Cloud and Tifa simply disappear from Edge during Deepground's attack on the city in Chapter 3. It was never mentioned later- not even in passing by any of the characters in the game's otherwise fairly interesting story where these two heroes of the Jenova War went during that time. Cloud and Tifa are my favorite characters- (yes, I know that's obvious to those of you who have read my other works) but I am a firm believer that any time there is a plot hole that big, that Square should have made at least some sort of an explanation. Since I am thoroughly annoyed that I didn't get an explanation, I wrote my own. Now that this has been taken care of, I feel I can venture into the realm of post Dirge of Cerberus FFVII…

 

 

The Calm before the Storm…

 

“I can't believe it! We'll actually be gone for two whole weeks?” Marlene crowed from the back seat of the old truck. “You're really taking us to go see my dad, Cloud?”

 

“We're going a few other places too,” Cloud said. He kept driving in spite of the little girl throwing her arms around his neck. “Marlene- sit down and put your seatbelt back on.”

 

“Well, when are you gonna tell us where we're going?” Denzel asked, looking back and forth between his two adoptive parents curiously.

 

“You'll see when we get there,” Tifa said. She nudged Marlene gently and smiled at Cloud when the little girl finally let go after she kissed his cheek. Cloud knew he was blushing but he tried to ignore. He stared straight ahead and pretended to concentrate on his driving. It wasn't that he didn't like her hugs or anything; he just hadn't expected her to grab him while he was driving…

 

“Come on, tell us, please? You've both been saying that for over four hours,” Denzel pointed out. “At least we're finally out of the wastelands. Does it take this long to get places on Fenrir, Cloud?”

 

Tifa laughed. “No. It doesn't- not with the way Cloud drives, but we wouldn't all fit on the back of the bike either.”

 

“I don't remember our world being this beautiful before.” Marlene pressed her face close to the windows to look out at the last of the giant cliffs that separated the truck from the ocean on Cloud's side.

 

“It's because the last time you were outside Edge, the Lifestream was still weak from everything that happened while we were fighting Sephiroth,” Cloud told her. “The plants and animals have had three years to recover since then.”

 

“You're so lucky if you get to see this every day, Cloud,” Marlene sighed.

 

“Wow…” Denzel gasped; an enormous, flat plain of green grass stretched out in every direction. “I've never seen anything so green before… Where are we now?”

 

“We're - you'll see, just keep your eyes open.”

 

Another half hour and they were close enough that he could see the long low barns taking shape in the distance. Marlene ought to recognize it once they got a bit closer too. Sure enough, a few minutes later he heard Marlene gasp in the seat behind his, and he nodded when she stole a glance at him through his rear view mirror. She broke into an eager smile. “You're taking us to see the Chocobo Ranch, too? Woohoo!”

 

“There's really a Chocobo Ranch?” Denzel asked.

 

“Yeah.” Tifa nodded. “Cloud and Chocobo Billy have been friends for a long time. When we were out trying to save the world Cloud was never too busy to drag us over here or to Gold Saucer to see his pet chocobos.”

 

“You could have stayed home, Tifa.”

 

Tifa smiled and started to unfasten her seatbelt. “I wasn't complaining and you know it.”

 

“T-They have real chocobos here! I mean, look! I've never seen so many in one place before!” Denzel's bright blue eyes were wide with amazement. He looked out the window and into one of the paddocks.

 

Marlene laughed; she was already standing up again as the nose of the truck finally lurched to a stop next to a white fence. “That's because it's a breeding farm and a boarding stable, right, Cloud?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Don't you want to get out too, Denzel?” Tifa asked.

 

Denzel nodded, slid out of the truck on Tifa's side and looked around. He hung back from the fences where Marlene was petting one of the tall, light yellow birds, and jumped a little when Tifa closed the door of the truck behind him. “Have you been here before, Marlene?”

 

“Yeah! We stayed here for a few days and I got to play with Cloud's chocobos. It was three years ago, before Papa and I decided to help Tifa and Cloud rebuild her bar in Edge. Come on, let's go! Abby and Billy are probably inside the barn like always. I'll introduce you to them and then I'll show you the stalls where Cloud's chocobos live- maybe if we hurry, Billy will let us ride Comet before it gets dark!” Marlene grabbed Denzel's hand and started dragging him toward the barn.

 

“Comet?”

 

“Comet is a gold chocobo. They're really rare. Billy told me that Cloud has the only one he's ever seen…” Marlene's chattering faded away when they entered the stable.

 

Cloud was about to follow them, when Tifa caught his arm gently. “Hey. Are you sure you really want to do this?”

 

“Yeah.” The question puzzled him. “We already talked about it, Tifa.”

 

“But have you really thought about it? I know Comet is special to you… You'd really sell him after everything we went through to breed and raise him?”

 

“You know I don't race anymore and Comet isn't happy being cooped up in a stall every day with nothing to do. What's gotten into you all of a sudden?”

 

“I don't know… I always loved watching you race because I could tell it made you happy… I-I guess I didn't know happy it would make the kids to visit this place…”

 

“Marlene is always happy,” Cloud reminded her. “Yeah, racing was fun, but I like making deliveries too.”

 

“I know, but it's weird that you would even think about selling Comet along with the others… I was only joking when I said you ought to sell them after Marlene found the latest bill from this place.”

 

“If they raise the stall rent a few more times I'd probably have to start racing again to pay it. Maybe once we don't have this expense I won't have to accept so many deliveries that are so far away.”

 

“Only if that's what makes you happy.” She smiled and wrapped her arms around him.

 

He smiled back, but he felt embarrassed too because he really didn't know what to say to that. How does she make me feel so mixed up and still on top of the world at the same time? Luckily she didn't give him a chance to say anything stupid; instead she kissed him.

 

“Hey! Tifa? Cloud! Look! Look, at us! Oh brother- they're kissing!” Marlene called from somewhere behind them.

 

Cloud let go of Tifa as though she was a poisonous snake and they both turned around. Tifa and Marlene both laughed; Denzel tried to look away, but he was grinning too.

 

The kids were up on Comet's back, Marlene in front and Denzel with his arms wrapped around her. Abby held the reins attached to the bridle. She smiled shyly. The little girl was only a year older than Marlene but she had been handling chocobos all her life and Comet was following her as quietly as an old dairy cow. Comet was still fast and strong, but at the ranch he behaved more like a pet than a high strung racer.

 

“Wark?” The chocobo looked around. It saw Cloud and whistled impatiently. When he still didn't come, it turned away from Abby. “WARK!”

 

“See Cloud, Comet loves you too. He doesn't care that he hasn't seen you in a while. He's just glad that you're here now.” Tifa grabbed his hand and tugged him to the fence. “If you're still going to sell the others, that's fine but it wouldn't hurt to hang onto this one- at least for a while longer…”

 

“Are you sure? I never figured you'd get so sentimental about this.” Cloud stroked the thick golden feathers under Comet's chin, and then gave him a butterscotch candy. “Go on, Comet, be good for them and I'll see you later.”

 

The stubborn bird allowed Abby to lead him away from the fence again, but only after it took a second piece of candy from Cloud.

 

“I didn't either,” Tifa replied. “But I can't help feeling like it would be a mistake to get rid of Comet now. I mean, look at them together.”

 

Comet plodded along whistling and shaking his feathers as he walked. He leaned down and nudged Abby's shoulder with the top of his head because he wanted to go faster. The kids laughed at Comet's antics and the bird turned to watch them out of the corner of his eye, but Cloud doubted that Comet would decide that Marlene and Denzel made an ok substitute for hundreds of screaming fans lining the winners circle at the Chocobo races in Gold Saucer. He sighed.

 

“Well, let's go talk to Billy. I still have three other chocobos to sell.”

 

Tifa nodded and they went inside the big barn.

 

“Hi, Cloud. Wow, Tifa, it's been a long time.” Billy paused in his work with a clipboard to shake hands with both of them. “You're still as pretty as ever, though.”

 

“Thanks, Billy.”

 

“So, Cloud, are you still interested in selling your birds? I've got buyers lined up for every one of them.”

 

“Already? That was fast.” Cloud was surprised. “We just talked about it a few days ago on the phone.”

 

Billy shrugged. “Your birds won a lot of races three years ago. With another good jockey, they'll win again. Then there are the breeders you could sell them to. You have a mated pair that has already produced one Gold chocobo. The bloodline is proven and that makes it very, very valuable. Then there's Comet. He's the most valuable one of all, especially now that he's old enough to breed this year. I have a couple of potential buyers who want him so they can take him back to the races but I also know people just interested in breeding him to their females too.”

 

“Well, that's great, but I think we're kind of leaning toward keeping Comet,” Tifa told him.

 

Billy nodded and smiled. “I sort of figured you'd say that. That's why I'm prepared to offer you free room and board on him for as long as he lives, if you'll let me breed him to the black chocobo I got from Ester a few weeks ago. She's stabled next to Comet, if you want to take a look at his future girlfriend.”

 

Tifa giggled. “Keeping the best one for you? That's pretty sneaky, Billy.”

 

“Maybe, but I seriously have lots of other buyers for the other ones. Anyway, free boarding and care for as long as he lives is a pretty good deal, and you can't blame a business man for trying, right?”

 

The black chocobo in the next stall eyed the two strangers warily. Cloud let himself in, holding another a butterscotch candy. She lowered her head and accepted it daintily.

 

“You've definitely still got it, Cloud. This one won't let most people get near her.” Billy watched as the black chocobo closed her eyes and let Cloud stoke the black crest of feathers at the top of her head. “You sure you're not interested in racing anymore? Ester hoped you might be able to help her out with a race or two…”

 

“Thanks, but no.” Cloud let himself out of the stall and shook his head. “It was fun but I really don't have time anymore. I guess if you want to try breeding your own Gold chocobo using her and Comet, I don't mind.”

 

“Really? You're serious?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Billy grinned. “Great! Just leave it up to me to sell the others.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

Billy looked at the two of them curiously. “I know this isn't any of my business, but are you two ever getting married?”

 

XXXX

 

Cloud blushed and left the barn without a word. Tifa watched him go, and then turned to the young stable owner and tried to smile. “I don't know… For now it's enough to know that he loves me, Billy. I think he'll ask me eventually- when he's ready.”

 

“Well, I'd say he's crazy if he doesn't- but I'm kind of surprised that you haven't asked him yet.”

 

Tifa laughed. “There are times I've wanted to- but that would only embarrass him. I'm happy with how things are between us right now anyway.”

 

“A blind man could see you two are in love, Tifa,” Billy grinned. “But that's why I was wondering when you love birds are going to make it formal.”

 

“I really haven't thought that far ahead yet, Billy… It's hard enough waiting for the kids to go to sleep some nights.”

 

Billy snorted and she blushed when she realized had understood her… Obviously he had done a lot more growing up in the last three years than she'd noticed earlier... Luckily, he changed the subject. “So, how long are you guys planning on staying with us?”

 

“Just overnight this time, but we'll be back through on our way home. I think. Tomorrow we're heading for Junon.”

 

 

“I better get back to work though.” Billy grinned and held up the clipboard. “I'll join you guys for supper when I'm done.”

 

“Okay, see you later then.”

 

The evening sky was beautiful; the sun was just beginning to set, greeting her with an overwhelming display of color as Tifa stepped out of the huge barn.

 

Cloud was riding Comet with Marlene and Denzel. Both kids were in front of him and he was trying to show them how to hold the reins. Tifa smiled at their laughter. She was glad that they had decided to take time out from their businesses. Even though Cloud didn't seem to know it, he was good with the kids. Comet seemed to be enjoying their ride too, his eyes were sparkling and alert like they used to be when he and Cloud raced. The gold chocobo was trotting easily; his big strides were light and graceful.

 

With her family safe and playing together, Tifa finally had a moment to herself. She walked along the paddock fence, ignoring the curious chocobos who glanced her way. It felt good to be out on the road again. The vast plain was a brilliant green, but the shadows were getting longer as twilight approached. She hadn't realized it before, but part of her had really missed this.

 

She wanted Denzel and Marlene to get to see the outside world too.

 

The rich colors of the sunset, the feeling of the wind in her hair and the scent of the evening breeze were an unforgettable combination over the distant mountains and plains. There was so much to see out here; she loved the beauty of their world but hadn't seen much of it in the past three years. Her sense of wonderment and love of adventure had definitely taken a back seat to being a mother, she realized. To the east, the twinkling lights of the stars were just beginning to peek out along the darkening horizon.

 

“Tifa?” The small voice that startled her out of her reverie was Marlene. Tifa leaned down and smiled at her playfully.

 

“Yes?”

 

“Cloud and Denzel already put Comet back in his stall. They're helping Billy bring in the other chocobos for the night. Do you wanna help Abby make supper?”

 

“Yeah, we should, since we are imposing on them for tonight.”

 

“No, that's ok, Tifa. I'll help; you can stay out here, if you want to.”

 

“I- Marlene, are you sure?”

 

“Yes. I didn't want to bother you while you were thinking, but I didn't want you to worry if you couldn't find me either.”

 

“You really are my little angel, you know that?” Tifa smiled.

 

“Uh-huh! I'll make sure Denzel calls you when it's ready. You just stay out here and relax.” Marlene's brown eyes always sparkled when she smiled, but now the little girl was positively beaming as she ran into the little farmhouse, the screen door slammed shut on its own.

 

Tifa sat down on a hay bale and smiled. She still wondered how she had ever gotten lucky enough to have a hand in raising that sweet little girl. Denzel tackled her from behind with a hug, almost knocking her off of her seat; he was grinning so excitedly that she knew he hadn't even noticed. “Guess what, Tifa! Billy says I'm a natural chocobo handler- just like Cloud! Guess what else- Cloud says he'll teach me how to use the Chocobo Lure Materia to catch my own chocobo when I'm bigger! Isn't that great?”

 

Tifa laughed inwardly at that, but she smiled encouragingly. She turned and saw Billy and Cloud talking as they came out of the barn. “I know you'll be a great chocobo wrangler, Denzel. But for now I want you to go inside and wash your hands and ask Abby if you can set the table.”

 

“Okay!” He turned back and called, “Come on, Billy! Tifa said its ok!”

 

“Uh oh- what exactly did I just agree to?” Tifa asked when Cloud stopped beside her. Billy followed Denzel into the house with a smile.

 

“Denzel's just excited, but I never knew he liked chocobos that much. Whenever I had to ride one to make deliveries he was always too shy to really say anything.”

 

“Maybe he didn't know how much you like those crazy birds. You really are his hero. You know that, right? He wants to do everything you do.”

 

He sat down beside her and they were both quiet for a moment, looking at the ground. The silence that had fallen between them was so awkward that she giggled, because it reminded her of when they were kids.

 

“What's so funny, Tifa?”

 

“Us,” she said.

 

Cloud blushed, but she hadn't meant to embarrass him again. Tifa smiled and slid into his lap so that she was straddling his hips. Heat stirred in her belly even before she kissed him. He returned it softly but having her body pressed up against his made it difficult to remember that they were outside and not in their bedroom. Tifa sighed. Her keen senses were beginning to warn her that they weren't alone anymore...

 

She broke their kiss slowly, nibbling gently at his bottom lip as she pulled away. She didn't want to let go any more than Cloud did, but they had young children to think of. “Get back inside, you two… Go on, we'll be there in a minute, right, Cloud?”

 

“It's crazy- how does she do that??” Denzel asked. He and Marlene crawled out of the shadows on the other side of the old stone well.

 

Marlene sighed and dragged him back toward the little white farmhouse. “Papa says it's because she's a fighter but she doesn't use weapons like Cloud and everyone else they know...”

 

“Are you ready to go inside?” Tifa asked after she was sure the kids had obeyed her latest order.

 

Cloud nodded, but he looked away uncomfortably and he let her get up first.

 

“I'm surprised you didn't know they were watching us, too.” She grinned impishly.

 

“When those two start using magic to spy on us, I'll handle it, Tifa- until then, they're all yours.” He met her gaze with a sardonic smirk which made her adore him even more.

 

She knew he hated it that he was so awkward around other people- sometimes his shyness still paralyzed him when the two of them were alone together. Still, moments like that one told her that little by little he was getting better all the time.

 

“Okay,” she said. “I think you have a deal.”

XXXX

 

It shocked Tifa when both of the kids crawled into bed almost immediately after they'd helped Abby and Billy put away supper and clean up the kitchen.

 

She looked down at Denzel, who was already asleep, and kissed him lightly on the forehead. Then she sat down on Marlene's bed. “Traveling is hard when you aren't used to it, I guess.”

 

“Good night, Tifa,” Marlene whispered. She was tired, but excited too. “Thanks, Cloud. This is really fun, you guys.”

 

“Yeah, we're having fun too. Good night, sweetie.”

 

“I love you. Good night.” Marlene smiled and closed her eyes.

 

Cloud was leaning with his back up against the door jam of the ranch's guest bedroom, watching them. Suddenly, he scowled. He turned and looked at the door. Tifa thought he was listening, but she had no idea what he could be listening to. The windows were all closed.

 

He gave her a frown and an almost imperceptible nod before he suddenly walked out the front door. Tifa could tell there was something wrong; her stomach was in knots, but she hid it well. She finished tucking Marlene into bed.

 

She followed him outside into the silent stable yard.

 

“Cloud?”

 

Tifa didn't have a chance to say anything else. Cloud was watching a swift moving set of lights crossing the plains. The nearest ones had to be helicopters but there were a dozen others too. These were lower to the ground and moving almost as swiftly- but all headed straight toward the ranch. When Cloud drew his sword from its sheath across his back, Tifa gasped and went back into the farmhouse. She knocked on the bedroom doors. “Billy? Billy! I'm really sorry, but you have to take Abby and Denzel and Marlene and get into the storm shelter and hide- right now.”

 

“What?”

 

“Please, just do it! Take a gun, and lock the door!” A burst of machinegun fire somewhere outside was enough to spur Billy into acting on her advice.

 

Abby came out of her room, sleepy-eyed and hugging a stuffed cactuar. An explosion from somewhere outside rocked the farmhouse. She screamed and darted past Tifa toward the guest room, to wake the younger kids.

 

Satisfied that her children were in good hands, Tifa crouched down low as she approached the front door. She could hear shouting and saw flashing lights and chaos all over the stable yard. It wouldn't be long before someone burst inside, and she had to cover their escape…

 

A man wielding a heavy machine gun kicked in the door. Pieces of it splintered right into Tifa, but she was ready. She leapt forward, and used her momentum to nail the intruder with a vicious heel stamp into his chest that sent him crashing into three other men. These were all dressed exactly like the first: form fitting charcoal grey fatigues that had thin glowing blue lines upon them at regular intervals marking their seams. Their helmets were strange- yet familiar too; large glowing blue lenses seemed to have replaced the red sensors on the bulky helmets that she remembered Shinra's troops wearing before Meteorfall…

 

Tifa's eyes found Cloud in the darkness among the hostile, grey uniformed men and women.

 

He was surrounded, but he was a brutal fighter. His massive sword made quick work of anything foolish enough to come near him and she knew he dodged bullets almost as easily as she did. His eyes met hers for the briefest of moments; she smiled and nodded coolly and he smirked. Tifa didn't know who these people were, but she wasn't afraid of them, not with Cloud beside her.

 

That was all she had time to think before her three nearest adversaries collected themselves and struck back. Tifa was faster though. She ducked an attack with the butt of a heavy machine gun and returned a roundhouse kick into his jaw; he dropped without a sound.

 

Another came at her with a wicked looking dagger, but she spun out of his way and allowed his momentum to carry him past her. As it did, she grabbed him about the neck and shoulders. Tifa wrenched his chin sharply to the side, and winced instinctively when his neck gave a sharp crack and the body went limp in her arms. She used the corpse as a shield when the third peppered the air with a spray of machinegun fire, and threw the knife at him.

 

It didn't matter that he dodged; she jumped toward the gunner while he was distracted. The palm of her hand hammered his chin. Tifa was moving again, even before he too crumpled into the lush grass.

 

Instinct warned her that something more dangerous than these guys was behind her, and Tifa leapt away from the door of the house. Twisting her body as she landed, she crouched down with her back to the paddock fence and looked around the stable yard. A set of four vaguely man shaped monsters with these same type of uniforms and helmets galloped toward her across the rooftop of the farm house on all fours.

 

Tifa was so repulsed by their hideously deformed bodies that she attacked instinctively. She used her leg strength to interrupt the first one's leaping attack with a back flip kick. The creature growled as it was thrown to the ground hard fifteen feet away, but it shook its deformed head and staggered back to its feet even as the second one snarled at her, preparing to spring.

 

Who are these guys? She wondered and why are they after us?

 

XXXX

 

This place was a family operation that had only a handful of employees and the nearest neighbors were several hundred miles away in the quiet town of Kalm so… Why are these creeps here?

 

His sword blocked a set of shots from one of the attackers almost of its own accord. He was aware of the answer even before he had finished asking himself the question… So they want us…but why?

 

Cloud leapt forward and his sword struck the chest of the soldier. He kicked the now limp corpse off the blade, already scouting for another opponent. He had killed dozens already, but there were still more.

 

Rufus ought to know these guys can't beat us. It doesn't make sense that he would betray us anyway-

 

Cloud didn't know who these soldiers were, but he knew the symbol upon the chest of each one's uniform well enough. It adorned the belt of the SOLDIER uniform that Zack had given him. They had to be some facet of the Shinra Company.

 

Around the perimeter of the farm rode a dozen armored warriors, mounted on a sort of hover craft for one. They were armed with missiles and machineguns as well. The two helicopters that had dropped the first soldiers still circled them restlessly, and half a dozen Shadowfox troop carriers had pulled up while he'd been distracted. Now even more men hid in and behind the barns.

 

Tifa took out another of her opponents across the stable yard, but these aggressors continued to attack as if oblivious to the fact that they were making no progress. The sheer amount of hardware that had been brought out here to fight them was ridiculous, and he still couldn't think of a reason for Shinra to attack this place.

 

There were no fighters attacking the farm using swords- so it didn't feel right to call these people SOLDIERS. Cloud sensed Jenova cells awakened by Mako within dozens of them though, so what else could they be?

 

Out of the corner of his eye, Cloud noticed one of the attackers was wearing a different uniform than the others. Dressed all in black armor with a long trench coat like cut, no part of his head was visible under the helmet and as he stepped forward out of the shadow of the main barn, he held up one hand and looked behind him. Then the man in black gave a salute like the one Cloud remembered from his days with Shinra.

 

“Hail Weiss!”

 

What?

 

He didn't have time to wonder about it. All around the stable yard the grunts mimicked the salute. All of the uniformed fighters attacking the farm stopped, and backed off immediately but kept their weapons trained on Cloud.

 

Another opponent emerged from the back ranks.

 

Cloud had never seen anyone wear such a heavy suit of armor before. The man who came out of the barn actually resembled a robot more than a person; only the Jenova cells he sensed told him that this figure was living. The armored soldier plodded forward; each step was heavy and slow, giving Cloud plenty of time to study him. Two other metal suited men flanked him on each side.

Each had a huge sword strapped across his back and on the other shoulders' armor a huge rocket launcher was mounted.

 

Cloud was about to attack when the first of these men paused about fifteen feet from him and mimicked the salute the others had done. Loyal and brainless, Cloud mused, but who is Weiss? And why haven't they tried to tell us what they want?

 

The armored troopers wasted no more words. They surrounded him without breaking formation.

 

The first trooper to try and draw his sword was behind him, yet he got the weapon only half way out of its harness. The man's mouth opened in surprise; he clutched his bleeding throat with his other hand as he fell.

 

The other armored swordsmen were surprised by his speed too; all of them hesitated, looking down at their fallen comrade for a half second. Then they attacked.

 

Their sword strikes were swift and well aimed, but their heavy armor made them slow and cumbersome. Cloud used his mobility to his advantage.

 

He narrowly dodged a neck shot from the armored commander who was behind him and jumped at him. His sword met with the man's heavy helmet and the sword won. He kicked the body aside and concentrated on the others. One of them seemed to have decided he'd had enough of Cloud. He reached up over his right shoulder and pulled the rocket launcher into firing position with a cold grin.

 

Cloud scowled and focused his power into the blade of his sword. The blade beam shockwave knocked the soldier to the ground before he could fire, but he knew the other two had moved; they were behind him.

 

Cloud turned abruptly and growled, parrying both attacks as one. He shoved them both back and jumped at one of them. His growing anger gave him even greater strength and the sword sliced him in half- armor and all. Cloud ignored the body as it crumpled to the ground and focused on the other. Behind him he sensed the other soldier getting up again… An elbow smash knocked the man's sword out of his hand and Cloud's spin slashed his throat.

 

A helicopter like the two that were circling the ranch suddenly appeared over the main barn and Cloud noticed a huge, heavy shipping crate attached to the bottom of it by cables. He had been outside watching when the first wave of troopers attacking the ranch had been airdropped from the choppers on wires and he wasn't about to let anything else land here to cause trouble.

 

Cloud's inhuman strength allowed him to remove the rocket launcher and he leveled it at the chopper. His aim was almost perfect but he was knocked off of his feet by the force of the shot exploding out of the cannon. He sat up in time to see the chopper spinning wildly, its propeller was damaged and the cockpit was gone. It plowed into the small barn to the left of the main one with a deafening roar of metal being torn apart. Flames leapt out of the shed.

 

Cloud was surprised to see that the soldiers were withdrawing. They were still firing their weapons but they were retreating to the Shadowfoxes that waited beyond the barns. The hover bike pilots and the helicopters he had seen drop the troops on them covered the retreat of the foot soldiers, but Cloud wasn't going to chase them.

 

He heard a familiar battle cry and turned. Tifa seemed to think that one of the hover bikes was too close to the underground storm shelter when it opened fire on her with its machine guns. Like a lioness defending her cubs, she leapt onto the front of the hover bike; she grabbed the handlebars for balance. The stunned pilot bobbled and almost lost control but Tifa didn't seem to notice. She knocked the rider off the vehicle backwards with a vicious palm strike, and jumped off too. She rolled easily with the impact and came up grinning impishly. She stood beside Cloud, watching as the hover bike veered off on its own only to crash into the well and burst into flames.

 

He nodded to her and sheathed his sword. Beside him, Tifa's smile faded as they both looked around.

 

The farm was unrecognizable from the peaceful, beautiful place it had been when they had arrived that afternoon. Only the main barn and house were still standing, though the house had a few gaping holes in it. The hay bales where he and Tifa had talked that evening were engulfed in flame. Next to it, an unused cart burned too. Rockets and other weapons had damaged all the smaller outbuildings too and the crashed helicopter's remains burned even more brightly now. Large sections of the once lush grass were scorched. The air was heavy with smoke. Cloud just sighed.

 

We protected everything as well as we could have... “D-Do you think the kids made it into the underground tornado shelter?” Cloud asked finally.

 

“Yeah, I heard them sneaking out the back as these creeps were coming in the front door. I'm still going to go check the doors and make sure it's secure though.”

 

“Good.” He nodded and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He found Reeve's number in the phone's memory and pushed the button to dial it.

 

Reeve's voice answered after a few rings, and Cloud left him a message on his voicemail to give him a call but before he hung up, Reeve interrupted him. “Cloud? Where have you been? I even tried to call the bar's line when I found out you and Tifa both had your cells off.”

 

“Well, we are kind of on vacation…” Cloud noticed a curious pause on the other end and changed the subject abruptly. “Reeve, what do you know about an army of fighters that wear dark uniforms and Shinra's SOLDIER logo on their chest plates?”

 

“So you've met them too? The WRO is in the middle of a major operation right now. Kalm is under attack by the same force you described and Vincent is helping us to free the city. I heard a report that Edge is under attack too but-”

 

“What?”

 

“I'm sorry, my friend, but this is important- where are you?”

 

“We're fine but the Chocobo Ranch isn't. They're gone now, but they attacked us and they didn't even try to tell us why.”

 

Reeve was silent for a long moment. “How many were there- twenty or thirty?”

 

“I counted about hundred of them, maybe more. They only engaged us in small groups but…” Cloud was silent for a moment, before he said what was really bothering him. “Dozens of them had Jenova cells inside of them, Reeve...”

 

“Y-yes, they do. They call themselves Deepground. They are an army that was created by the former president of the Shinra Company; they've stayed hidden deep under Midgar for over ten years.” Cloud snorted coldly at the implied suggestion that Rufus might not have known, but Reeve seemed to have anticipated his reaction and spoke a bit faster. “According to what we found in Scarlet's old files, he wanted an army that could crush even SOLDIER- if they ever tried to betray him. So, he made long range weaponry part of their standard equipment and he had Hojo give a lot of them Jenova cells- regardless of how their bodies and their minds reacted to the treatments...”

 

Cloud nodded; that sounded so disturbingly familiar that after hearing it, he couldn't really blame Reeve for not telling him sooner… “So, who is Weiss?”

 

“Weiss the Immaculate is a former SOLDIER first class. He seems to have led the Deepground soldiers in their rebellion against the scientists and commanders that were keeping them prisoner during their Mako treatments and training them. All of Deepground is apparently unshakably loyal to Weiss, but we haven't secured any of the soldiers for questioning who have actually seen their leader. We also don't know what Deepground is going to do with the people they are kidnapping.”

 

“You mean Junon, right?” Cloud asked. Reeve didn't answer and Cloud sighed. His silence said plenty. He had known somehow that the kidnappings in Junon had to be related to the attack tonight. “We'll get these guys, Reeve. Just tell us where and when.”

 

“Thanks, Cloud. I know that the rest of the WRO will feel better with you helping us out too. I'm sorry I don't have more time to talk tonight, but I'm glad you're safe. I'll tell you more once we have Kalm under control. Tuesti out.”

 

“Billy says all three of the little ones fell asleep. Who was that?” Tifa asked, jogging up to him across the stable yard.

 

He turned to face her, putting the phone back in his pocket. “Reeve. Kalm is under attack too, but Vincent is there. He's helping the WRO fight these soldiers and he wants us to help too.”

 

“Okay, but-” Tifa frowned; she looked just as confused as he felt. “Who would attack Kalm? There's nothing of value there! They've scarcely finished rebuilding and even the old mine hasn't reopened yet! ”

 

“I know. It doesn't make sense- this is the day that Kalm was holding that big party to celebrate their rebuilding.”

 

“How do you- oh yeah, you were there every day this week making deliveries.” She sighed and wrapped her arms around him. “I hope Vincent is okay.”

 

“He'll be fine. He can take care of himself- but those guys who attacked us are part of an army created by Rufus' father. They've attacked Edge, Kalm and us- all in one night; the WRO is in big trouble.”

 

“Yeah, this is terrible,” Tifa sighed. “So, what are we going to do, Cloud?”

 

“Tomorrow, we'll take Marlene and Denzel to Aerith's mom. They've already hit Junon so the kids should be safe there with her.”

 

“How do you know?”

 

“Tonight, Reeve pretty much said this army is responsible for the disappearances in Junon. Do you remember Priscilla, the little girl with the dolphin? I found out she was one of the people who went missing the last time I went through there, she and her grandfather. Do you remember when that TV crew and all those volunteers from the WRO went missing under the old Shinra building just a couple of weeks ago, too? Reeve wouldn't say much that day, but I could tell he was really worried. That day I went and talked to Rufus myself- without an appointment. He swore he doesn't know a thing, but the weird part is I actually believed the spoiled brat for once.”

 

Tifa nodded. “It's hard to imagine lower Junon without that sweet little girl…”

 

“I know,” Cloud said. “Something is happening, Tifa- something big. Reeve and Yuffie have been working together to try and figure it out for months but whatever they know is being kept quiet within the WRO. Even Red has been edgy; he and the elders told me they sense that there's something wrong in the cities… I haven't heard much from Vincent, but he knows all the weird stuff is connected too. But the weirder things have been getting, the quieter he's been since Kadaj...”

 

Tifa nodded.

 

“Anyway, we'll find Barret faster by ourselves. Hopefully, Reeve will have a plan.”

 

“The farm looks terrible…” Tifa said. “They were after us- weren't they? Should we really wait until morning to leave?”

 

“Yeah, they won't be back.” Cloud nodded. “We'll let them rest. They're going to need it, because until this is over I don't think anyone is going to get much sleep.”

 

Tifa nodded and shuddered a little. He didn't know what else to say, so he just held her close.

 

 

 

Author's note: I love to connect the stuff that I write, so this story can be considered to be something of a sequel to my story called Far Away.

 

I'm completely fascinated by the details of a couple of the scenes at the ending of Dirge of Cerberus. I started this many months ago so that I can connect it, in turn, to a story about what I think ought to happen after the end of DoC.

 

I want to know what you guys think of my work, so please REVIEW.