By: Mouse-chan

: K-chan

"-" conversations
{-} personal thoughts
italic flashbacks

[CHAPTER 2: HIDDEN MANACE]

[PART 1: DEATH LURKING IN THE SHADOWS]

30/5/00

He always had the impression that hell was a huge crimson pit of scorching flames. As a boy he remembered the stories about it being an unbearable furnace where screams of torment rang in a morbid, never ending chorus. It was a noisy, painful, crowded and extremely hot place where bad people were punished for whatever they did wrong during their lives.

Or so he believed it to be.

He glared balefully at his pitch-black surroundings, which utterly contradicted what his image of hell was to be. There was only the flat ground that stretched on tirelessly under his feet. The sky was a void of inky shadows that swallowed any source of light. It wasn't even hot!

He could not feel a single human presence in this glum place nor could he hear a whisper. There was not even a brief flutter of breeze singing through the air. Everything was as still as stone. For a person who had lived side by side the thundering sounds of an engine all his life, it was incredibly creepy.

Taking one careful step after another, he managed to rein in the urge to curse as he stumbled in the darkness like a blind man. Stones that hid in the blackness seemed to mock him with every step he took. And every step he took, the more frustrated and weary he became. Time did not exist in this world. He lost track on how long he hard been in the colorless plain or how many steps he took.

After a while he stopped his aimless journey, preferring to settle down onto the cold ground.

A smile crossed his features as he contemplated the irony of his situation. He was tired. His aching muscles pronounced that the fact was reality. Whether he was dead and stuck in hell or at the bottom of some dumb gigantic monster that had ate him for lunch was another matter. At the moment he was sitting in somewhere, hopefully still on earth, no particular destination and no ideas on how to get out. Finally he broke his control over his temper and allowed a long steady stream of foul words taken from four different languages out.

The whole thing was like a joke played by the Gods. With him as the idiot.

The Gods must be laughing hysterically by now.

He shivered at the coldness that crept over him while gazing into the blackness. Suddenly out of nowhere, a presence slowly made itself known. It sparkled like a beacon in the dark. Unthinkingly he reached out to touch it.

For a fleeting moment he submerged in the being of another person. Memories and thoughts sweep through his mind like violent waves crashing against the hard rocky cliffs. He tried to focus while feeling the sensation of being gently split into two places. Small images passed in seconds making it hard for him to see them properly. They quickened and soon blurred in a white mess leaving only a signature that radiated the power of a person. A person he was very familiar with.

Before he could gasp out the name, his world tilted sickeningly and then he fell.

----------------------------------------------------------

"Cid? Wake up, sir."

Cid Highwind's body made three things very clear to its owner in a matter of a split second before he resolved to waking up. Firstly he was lying on a comfortable and if not lumpy bed with an also equally comfortable pillow cradling his head. The next thing was that although it was a quite comfortable pillow, his head was definitely not comfortable.

Apart from the throbbing headache that was intent on camping out in his brain, every cell in his body hurt. His muscles hurt, his fingers hurt even his toes hurt. The Highwind captain felt like someone had pilled his airplane along with the Junon base on top on him.

{Scratch that. More like Highwind, Junon and the whole god damn Midgar}

And the not so important fact that he was still alive and breathing.

"Cid sir?"

The voice, he had no doubt belonged to a female, grew a little worried. Carefully he opened his blue eyes only to be assaulted by the bright sunlight streaming through the nearby windows. The Highwind captain blinked a few times letting his vision adjust. Once having that accomplished, he turned his attention to the woman standing by his bed and also to the room he was currently in.

From what he gathered, he was in a private ward at some sort of hospital. The smiling woman wore the normal uniform nurses wore while on duty. He could make out her name on the nametag that was clipped on the white cloth if he wanted to but decided otherwise. His head hurt too much for such a strenuous activity.

"Good morning Cid sir. It's so good to see you awake at last" the nurse chirped.

The man in question tried not to wince at her blatant cheerfulness. If anything, Cid Highwind was never a morning person to begin with. Usually he was cranky, moody and complete with a nice urge to snap at anyone who dared haul him from slumber. Waking up in unknown bed, aching from almost head to toe along with the horrid suspicion that something really bad was going to happen only succeed in making him, if possible, crankier.

He fixed the woman a glare while tugging the blankets off his protesting body. All actions on getting out of bed and as far away as he could from the nurse came to a grinding halt when he saw the impressive amount of bandages around his legs and arms. "Where the hell am I?"

"Oh, you shouldn't get out off bed!" she tried to cover him with the blankets. "I am under direct orders to make sure you stay in bed and rest"

"I asked you a question" Cid growled feeling his mood slipping down a notch. "Where the -hell- am I?"

Much to his relief her cheerfulness ebbed slightly as she wrung her hands nervously at his tone.

"You….you are in Neo-Midgar public hospital, sir"

Cid's mind whirled at her answer and said the very next thing that entered his mind. "Why on earth am I here?!!!!"

"You were hurt, sir"

"Damn straight! What else do you think I will be in a hospital for?" Cid impatiently brushed the bandages on his arms, wondering if he had to spell out everything to the rather annoying nurse. Repeated the same questions over and over certainly did not help lift the mood he was in. "A more specific answer would help"

"But…….t-that's c-confidential"

The blonde captain inhaled, counted to ten before letting his breath go.

"You mean to say that they keep the name of a bloody illness that the patient is suffering from even from the damn -patient-?!"

"N-no, sir….but…..sir….."

He glared at the nurse who seemed ready to burst into tears at any moment. His mind pointed out he didn't need a sobbing woman, he needed to tell someone that the situation was not good. And if his small vision proved to be correct, it was about to get worse. To add into that pile of 'must do' list, he wanted to get to the bottom of this mess once and for all.

{Neo-Midgar……..Reeve!}

"Get Reeve, I need to see him" he ordered. Cid felt what little patience he had disappeared at the confused look the nurse gave him. He gritted his teeth and grounded out his command again.

"Go. Get. Reeve. Now."

"B-but the p-president might be b-busy……." She trailed off at the look Cid sent at her direction "Y-yes sir!"

Cid sighed and tiredly lay back into the pillow after the door clicked shut. A large part of him was already submitting to sleep's call but there was a small fragment that refused to give in. Cid stared up at the white ceiling above him as he examined his recent dream. He frowned remembered how detailed it was and how frighteningly real it was.

{Too real}

The last bit was the most confusing yet the most clear one. His eyes followed a small creak on the wall while his mind tried to make a connection through the details.

{I -know- that presence…..one name….}

A troubled sigh slipped past his lips. Everything rolled up to the same conclusion. It ended with a name. Just one name. Yet he didn’t want to say the name out loud fearing that if he did, it would become real. Cid blinked and chuckled at his own train of thought. Imagine, Cid Highwind; the ruler of the skies, afraid!

He closed his eyes letting sleep overtake him. Rest was needed and a sleep-deprived body would be useless if his team needed any help from him.

{I will tell Reeve about the dream when I see him}

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Cloud bolted into a sitting position on his bed. Cold sweat trickled down forehead as he shivered violently. His hands clenching the covers so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Wide blue eyes scanned the room while his mind took note of the brilliant golden rays of light filtering the windows. Carefully he reminded himself that he was in an inn at Cosmo Canyon and not in a battle field somewhere. With a great deal of effort, Cloud slowed down his heart beat and noticed somewhat absently that it was the second night in a row he encountered nightmares.

{Well first time was last night when I first went to sleep….then I woke up and went back to sleep again, the second one……}

"Aw, damn Cloud! That's one hell of a way to wake someone up!!"

The blonde trooper whirled around, dropping his blankets in a split second and grabbed his buster sword. His body reacting out of pure instinct and years of training slid easily into a defensive stance, mind automatically alert ready to attack. It took him a moment to realize it was only Barret that he was facing and not some dangerous enemy. Muttering his apologies to the broad shouldered man, he sheathed his sword.

"Shit man! What's wrong? You haven't been this weird since….well, for a long time" Barret stated eyeing the blonde.

Cloud managed a small smile as he bent to retrieve his blankets from the floor. "Sorry, don't know what came over me" he replied attempting a careless shrug.

Barret lifted his eyebrows at the way Cloud tightly held the woolen cloth in his hands but wisely decided to say nothing about it. "So what the hell is the matter? It's not like you to everyday wake up screaming your head off"

The blonde deposited the coverings back onto the bed, his blue eyes clouded over with internal conflict. He wanted to tell his broad shouldered man about the nightmares he was having but it seemed petty. Almost to the point of selfishness to burden the man when they already have so much problems already. He paused before giving his friend a tired grin.

"It's ok. Ya can tell me when you are ready" Barret replied easily.

Cloud nodded in acknowledgment.

"But by any means ya would have made a fine alarm clock, almost screamed like a gal"

The blonde ran his slender fingers through his hair, feeling embarrassed. Blue eyes darted around the room in search of something that might change the subject. "Where is Vincent?" Cloud asked finally noticing their longhaired friend was no where in sight.

"Someone asked for me?"

The two glanced at the entrance of the inn room to see the tall slender man in question leaning casually on the doorframe. Silently Vincent held out a bundle to Cloud. "Tifa's awake and breakfast is waiting." He arched an inquiring eyebrow "The innkeeper would gladly loan us some sort of vehicle to get to Nibelhiem"

Cloud cocked his head to one side. "At least that's one problem off our list"

His attention fell upon the bundle Vincent had given him. Even without opening it, he knew that it was a sword. By its weight he could precisely know which sword it was. Carefully, the ex-trooper peeled away the brown wraps of cloth to revel the crystal blade. The smooth surface gleamed in the morning light while the lavender streak in the middle glowed brilliantly. Like glass, the blade reflected his reflection. Cloud picked up a note hidden within the folds of the brown wraps. There scribbled on a paper in a hasty, sloppy hand that could never belong to anyone but Reeve: 'Thought you might need it'.

At that precise moment, the blonde wondered if he should smile at Reeve's thoughtfulness or frowned at the implication of what they might be heading towards. His fingers smoothed over unseen wrinkles in the thick fabric. "I think what Reeve have told me yesterday night might prove rather interesting" Cloud said slowly.

Barret scowled from the floor pausing in tying up his shoelaces. "Aw shit, spike. Why do I have a feeling we are not gonna like this?"

"Well, the good news is that Cid is recovering" Cloud's face grew solemn "The bad news is that they found mako in his bloodstream"

At the sound of the word 'mako', Barret leaped to his feet. His dark eyes flashing as he repeated the word. "Mako" he growled "How the -hell- did that happen?"

Cloud shrugged and told them about the small cut. The small theory on how it could be transferred through such a small wound. The two had faced many dangerous before and needed no further warning. If a small cut could do so much damage to one of their teammates, what damages could a critical wound inflict? Cloud nodded seeing the understanding seeping into their eyes. He then paused wondering if he should say it.

"Yesterday, while I was in the Shinra mansion" he hesitated uncertainly, biting his lip "I found….."

{broken glass, test tubes, wires…}

Cloud's eyes hardened in resolve. He was not afraid of the truth. The ex-trooper gazed at his friends "I found a hidden lab. I think it leads from the Shinra mansion to the reactor in the mountains"

At his words, he could see Vincent's red eyes darkened with something almost liken to pain. Cloud understood the emotion. The scares of the past were deep. Some so newly healed it would be so simple to reopen the wound that was once there.

Carefully choosing his words he continued. "We will have to check it out but only after thoroughly inspecting the residential area. We need some clues to figure out what is going on and who is behind all this" The blonde ex-trooper swiftly replaced the buster sword with the ultima weapon.

Barret grinned, raising his fist. "So whatta we waitin' for?"

The atmosphere in Nibelhiem was heavy with death. Gray clouds gathered across the sky as though signaling the loss of the little town. Tall charred remains of the houses looked like graves sticking out from the muddy ground. Pieces of cement lay on the pavements while most of the buildings had already crumbled into large shapeless rocks. The well that once stood in the middle of the town was reduced to a single hole in the ground. Smoke lazily trailed from the rubble. Broken fragments of wood along with the burnt ashes littered the streets as a cruel reminder of what had happened the day before.

Cloud watched the scene in front of him. His face carefully neutral as he took in the destruction of his hometown. He didn't have to turn around to see his group's reaction. However different each of them was, somehow he was sure that each and every one of them shared the same feelings as he was going through. The ex-trooper watched the gray horizon for a few moments. There was not one bird in the skies. The place was as silent as a tomb. It felt like even the heavens were mourning for their loss.

Glancing back at the devastating sight, he let a bitter smile fleet through his features. A sequel to the burning that had happened at that exact spot several years ago. Maybe back then when the Shinra dispatched their cover-up team, was this the same scene they saw with their very own eyes? Cloud's gaze came to a stop when he saw the Shinra mansion. It stood proud alone, it was quite obvious that the fires had not even touched it.

{A repetition of what happened in the past?}

The blonde boy frowned at the thought. Although his guess seemed correct, instinct told him something was not right. The stillness in the air eerily reminded him of North Crater. He pushed the thoughts away. Cloud's hand ran through his gold bangs as he slipped into auto-pilot.

"Okay, let's move towards the residence area first. Although I think we have finished off most of the monsters yesterday, there might be still leftovers. Try and stay together. Now let's start looking for some clues."

As soon as the words past Cloud's lips, the group quietly moved towards the houses that were still partially intact. Cloud turned and headed towards the nearest building. He came to a halt when he came face to face with a familiar wooden door that lay slightly ajar. Although it was now worn out and the paint was peeling in several places, the ex-trooper's mind whispered vague memories of his childhood. Steeling himself, Cloud grasped the brass doorknob and pushed the door open.

Inside the house, it still looked the same many years ago. Everything was in the exact place he remembered them to be. The carpets, the furniture, the framed pictures on the wall and even the old stove looked like it had never been moved ever since he was a small child who stayed there.

{An elaborate lie}

A sardonic smile crossed his fine features as he took in his surroundings. He found it slightly hilarious the house still could resemble his old home after what happened the day before. For the second time, he forced himself to concentrate on the situation at hand. The blue eyes pierced through the darkness, noting that there was no evidence of a struggle. Nothing was out of place besides the jagged pieces of glass that hung like teeth to the window frames. Cloud stopped to look at them. His feet crunched on the broken glass. His mind worked around the scene, replaying what he saw yesterday and the condition inside the house. Like tiny fragments of a huge complicated jigsaw puzzle, the blonde ex-trooper carefully placed them together to form a bigger puzzle.

{"Something" came in since the broken glass is inside the house and not outside}

Cloud tilted his head remembering the bloodthirsty monsters that attacked them.

{That "something" might be those…things}

He stared quizzically at a wall directly opposite the windows. In the murky light he could make out what seemed to be a thousand tiny scratches. It looked as though someone tore the surface of the wall with countless of sharp tiny objects. Cloud looked towards the windows again, this time contemplating the size of them.

{No, those things we say yesterday were too big to get through. Even if they did, they would have broke the window frames}

The ex-trooper moved deeper into the house, his steps cautious. The shadows in the corners were making things harder even for a person with mako enhanced eyesight. Cloud stared around the kitchen area for a moment before his foot brushed against something that felt like human flesh. Firmly pushing down the sudden nausea, Cloud blinked down at the unmoving figure at his feet. A gasp left his lips before he could stop it and immediately he backed a little away from it.

It was a body.

There was no doubt that it was a human body or more specifically what was left of a human corpse. Cloud identified the corpse as the woman who stayed in the house after the Niblehiem burning.  The ex-trooper gripped the shreds of his rapidly diminishing calmness.

The body was in a mess. Although the face was untouched, the chest however was an entirely different matter. It seemed as though the layers of skin were carefully peeled off with precise measurement of a very intensely sharp knife or blade. Her rib bones were snapped into tiny pieces leaving only fragments of white bone to support the collapsing flesh. Cloud had a sickening suspicion that the woman was still alive when she was being cut up since the wooden floor was covered with trails of dried blood. He glanced at the gaping hole that used to be a human's chest. Veins and arteries looked like they had been violently ripped out from their owner.

Cloud felt a shudder winding up his spin when he suddenly realized that all the main organs were completely missing.

{Almost as if these things came for one reason…….to collect….}

"Oh my god!"

At the sound of Tifa's voice, the ex-trooper immediately ran out of the house and onto the main road. He was just in time to see the brown haired girl running out of her old home sobbing hysterically.

"What the…?" Cloud tilted his head questioningly at Barret who was standing at the doorway of the house. With the grim look on his face, the broad shouldered man looked like a boiler about to burst at any minute.

"You don't wanna go in there, Spike. It ain't pretty"

"It shouldn't be any worse than what I saw" Cloud replied, his tone even. Stepping past Barret, the ex-trooper wished that he had taken Barret's advice and stayed as far away as possible from such a scene. A scene that should have only belonged to nightmares and not made into reality.

It was a bloody carnage. The walls were bathed in crimson. Stewed all over the furniture were human corpses, all similar to the one Cloud found. Male, female, child, they were all alike. Their deaths had all been slow and painful. On the floors, human flesh was flung around like some gruesome confetti. The smell of death was so incredibly overwhelming that Cloud had to step away from the room.

Forcing himself to breathe in the cold air, the blonde ex-trooper staggered out into the streets again. He lifted his head when he heard Barret's loud cursing along with Vincent's silent footsteps. The dark skinned man looked rather shaken with what he had just encountered. Vincent however looked like he did everyday, but Cloud noted that those red eyes were gleaming with almost unconstraint anger. Letting his mind go blank, the blonde ex-trooper quenched his troubled mind before looking at his friends straight in the eye.

"Ok, we have to find out who done this. I vote that we get on with our plan and check out the Shinra mansion"

Reeve stared out of the window of his office. His normal calm façade was absent as he drummed his fingers against the wooden surface of his table. But however this was no normal news he just received. Carefully he reviewed what Cloud had informed him just moments ago.

{Murdered, carnage,………...}

Angrily he slammed his fists down, hard.

{And I thought we have rid the world this kind of violence when we killed Sephiroth!}

"Shesh, man! Don't do that! You almost gave me a heart attack! Whatcha so angry for?"

Reeve blinked turning around at the sound of that familiar voice that wasn’t quite at the right place. "Cid? What are you doing here? Aren't you suppose to be in your ward recovering?"

"Heh, can't keep a good pilot away from the skies for long" the blonde captain lit a cigar, completely ignoring Reeve's disapproving look.

"You don't mean…I mean….you just got well…..wait! You are NOT well yet!!"

The Highwind captain shrugged "I heal pretty fast, mako or no mako. Anyway, what's kicking at your ass that got you so damn upset?"

"Well, we have a not so minor problem about the killings in Nibelhiem." Reeve sighed pushing some papers restlessly off his desk. "This puzzle is getting bigger and bigger each second." He blinked at his companion. "And also that you should be resting"

"You said that the problem is not getting any smaller so maybe you guys need some help. What help can I give if I am stuck on some stupid hospital bed?"

"True but we can't risk.."

"Whoa, what risk? I am perfectly healthy. Nothing elixirs can't do"

"But…"

"Quit your yelping and get Highwind ready. She's been out of the skies for too long! Let's go pick up Cloud and gang."

"Yes, sir." Reeve had to hide a smile while he did a mock salute. "You know, sometimes you make me feel like a child"

"And me, an old man" Cid grounded his cigar. "How long will the preparations take?" The president of Shinra paused in picking up a phone to make the arrangements. "About 10 minutes. That would give you enough time to inform Yuffie and Red 13"

The Highwind captain nodded in reply and moved off to the door.

"Oh and Reeve?…..When I was unconscious, I thought I felt.….." His face clouded over a little.

"What is it Cid?" Reeve stared curiously at his friend. "Did something happen?"

"Nah, our luck is already bad, I don’t wanna say it just in case it would jinx the situation further" Cid shrugged before closing the door.

Reeve stared at the closed door for a moment wondering what his friend was about to say. Then the inquiring voice on the phone pulled him back to work at hand.

"Yes, get Highwind ready in about 10 minutes. And hurry, we don't have time to waste."

The end of Part 1 of Chapter 2

NOTE TO ALL READERS

Please be noted that the story takes place 6 months after the game. There is also a YAOI content. So to all readers who do not approve to such pairing or dislike the idea, do not read anymore than chapter 4 or 5. The authors will not entertain any flames or complains concerning the yaoi pairing/pairings involved in the fanfic.

Thankyou