Fan Fiction ❯ Final Fantasy VII: Shadowed Illusions, Final Destination ❯ Chapter 5

“There's something you are keeping from her…Aren't you, Cloud?” Yuffie asked after a while. Since Salira stormed off, it was quiet. Cloud felt bad about yelling at Salira, but just couldn't go to her and admit it. He hung his head low as he thought, not even bothering to answer Yuffie's question. More minutes past and they remained quiet.

“Yes…” Cloud eventually answered. “…There's something I need to tell you guys. Better now than never.” Vincent looked up at Cloud, along with Yuffie. He kept his head low as thoughts continued to go past, wondering how he was to explain the past to the others. “Come on,” he spoke as he got up and headed outside, “It's better to explain out here.” Yuffie got up first and followed, soon after, Vincent as well.

“Exactly what is happening,” Vincent was first to speak.

“It was years ago, when Sephiroth was threatening the world for the first time,” Cloud started. He looked in Salira's direction, making sure she wasn't near, before continuing, “When he burned Nibelheim, and killed those people, he also went to a nearby city a year or so later. Apparently, her real father worked for Soldier, under Sephiroth's command.”

“Who was her father?” Yuffie asked.

“Chaos Rilik. Her mother was an undercover ShinRa employee. Name was Namta Rilik. As much as she hated ShinRa and all, she still worked there.”

“Maybe one reason the Turks are after her,” Vincent concluded. “However, I don't recall a ShinRa employee by that name. But she might have been hired later on, after what had happened to me.”

“Lord knows,” Cloud stated, “The only reason I was able to remember the parents was because I worked there at the time, and Namta was an old Avalanche member. Hence why she was undercover at ShinRa. Chaos I knew just from small missions from time to time.”

“So Barret might know a bit more about Namta, correct?” Yuffie asked again, though Cloud only shrugged.

“But Sephiroth chased the family out of the city they lived in, as well as burned it, killing Chaos. Namta took the girl and headed off into the forest near Nibelheim. My guess, knowing of Chaos' hatred toward Sephiroth, was that he was displeased so he wanted revenge and Sephiroth decided to take it on the family, more specifically on Salira.

“She was only two then, and her mother was very protective. Sephiroth met Namta near a stream an hour later. She was catching her breath from running so much, and wouldn't let go of her daughter. At the time, part of the same team that went on this mission went after Sephiroth, including me. But before we got there, Sephiroth had rammed his blade into Namta, causing her to die. As part of the team showed up, Sephiroth just vanished, leaving the dead woman and taking Salira with him. I wasn't aware that he had her, until we got back to camp, when I heard about the family.”

“So Sephiroth has meanings against her family?” Yuffie interrupted, “That's horrible. Let alone she was really young.”

Vincent leaned on the wall, “There's more to this story. Finish it.”

“I learned that later, Sephiroth had injected Jenova Cells, or Mako Energy, into her as well. This brings another reason into ShinRa's case. A little, but more than half of a shot. A whole would have killed her, even Sephiroth knew that, and wanted to try it anyways, only to see what it might do. However, two other Soldier members of his team interrupted him. Something happened, and they needed him to confront it.

“Sephiroth left Salira in the alley alone. Once he left, someone found her there, appearing sick because of the cells. The way the owner of the orphanage owner described her, made me think of Aeris. Everything she said fitted her perfectly. Aeris had found Salira in a lower Midgar sector and brought her to an orphanage that wasn't technically run by ShinRa. I didn't see Salira until three years later.”

“What made you adopt her?” Vincent asked this time.

“I found her in an alley. She ran off because of an old friend she had there. When he was adopted, she refused to continue living there. I recognized who she was much later after I adopted her and heard all these stories,” Cloud answered.

“Why can't she know this, Cloud? Why can't she know that you know her parents?” Yuffie questioned.

“I don't want her to realize every reason on why we are wanted in ShinRa and such. Let alone, now with Sephiroth around, I really want her not to know.”

“I can see why…a story like that can make any girl run,” she admitted.

“Still…” Vincent entered in the conversation, “..you need to tell her sooner or later, Cloud. Or she might find out on her own…which would be harder on her.”

“I know…just not now,” Cloud commented. “She can't know now…”

“Cloud…………never mind…I won't argue…”

“So what do we do about Lega?” Yuffie changed the subject. “We need to get him out of Shinra's grasp.”

“We need to go and get him. It's the only option right now,” Cloud answered, “I just can't leave her alone here, or bring her with us.”

“And we need the three of us, so no one can stay behind…Unless we can get a hold of someone from the gang.”

“That requires signals to be transferred, Yuffie,” Vincent pointed out. “And those signals are sent straight to NeoShinRa Headquarters. No use.”

“We could always move to a different area to do that,” Cloud thought to himself, though softly mumbling.

“Or…” Yuffie thought of an idea, “…we could guess an area that one of our friends are at. And take Salira there.”

“Barret and Tifa probably moved to a different sector, cross them out.”

“And Nanaki is the leader of Cosmo Canyon, which is too far from here,” Vincent voiced.

“Cid's probably in Rocket Town, and Lord knows where Reeve is,” Cloud finished.

“Knowing Tifa and Barret, I say they're in a rundown house and going from that.”

“But there's over a hundred places like that here, Vincent.”

“Either way, we are going to walk…and Salira will be coming with us.”

“Ok, I get the picture…We're going to find Tifa and Barret,” Cloud wrapped up the conversation. He walked back inside, as well as the other two, and proceeded to Salira's room to tell her the plans.

Knocking on the door, Cloud waited for his daughter to answer the door or unlock it. However, she never did. He knocked again, thinking maybe he caught her when she was sleeping. Still no answer. “Aeris?” he asked as he fiddled with the door knob. “Aeris, open this door!” Once again, no answer. “Salira!”

Cloud went to his own room and pulled out a small pistol from under his bed. As he returned to Salira's door, he shot at the knob to open the door. With his luck, it worked, and the knob fell to the ground and the door opened a crack. Cloud opened the door all the way and stepped in, only seeing an empty room and an open window. No Salira. “Damn it…” he mumbled as he rushed out to tell Vincent and Yuffie.

 

“I can't go my ass,” Salira remarked sarcastically as she ran down an empty alley. “I can get Lega out myself, I'll show you.” As much as she was set on to save Lega, she feared what she is about to get herself into. She knew that Shinra and his Turks were after her, so she had to be cautious on where she went and how she was going to sneak into the NeoShinRa headquarters. It was going to be a long night, and she knew it.

 

 

“Hey! Let me go! When Cloud gets here he'll-” Lega started before he was cut off by Hazar.

“Dammit, kid, shut the hell up! Cloud's not gonna show his ass this time, and your little girlfriend will be our new playmate.”

“She isn't my girlfriend, and you aren't going to touch her!”

“Seize the fuckin' day already!” Hazar sarcastically remarked as he threw Lega into a cell on one of the NeoShinRa levels. He shut and locked the door quickly before walking off to mess around for a while.

Lega leaned against the wall with all his weight and slowly slid down until he sat on the floor, back leaned against the wall still. Keeping his eyes at the ceiling, he mumbled, “Salira, be careful…don't come after me…please…”

 

Reno and Naki were found relaxing in the dinning hall, having their normal dinner hour before they went back to their jobs. Naki had pilled food on his plate, though not really going to eat it all, and sat at the far edge of the table, feet propped up on it and leaning back in his chair. Reno was on the other side of the room, keeping to himself.

“I hope to hell you fall,” Reno mumbled to himself, watching Naki, without Naki hearing him.

Soon enough, Hazar came in to eat as well. His first stop, however, was to visit Naki. In response, Naki just gave him a death glare to back off. “Hey…hey…I was only going to try the food, Naki,” Hazar spoke as he went to grab Naki's plate of food.

“Touch it, and you fucking die, asshole,” Naki responded as he drew his gun and aimed it at him. Hazar backed off and went to the kitchen to get his own plate and food. “Kid has no sense…”

Still relaxing, he grabbed his cup to take a drink. As he took a drink, the doors slammed open with a young girl storming into the room. This caused Naki to spit the drink back out as he was shocked on who it was. “God damn it, Maya! Can't a guy fucking eat anymore in peace?! And why the hell aren't you at that stupid academy?”

The girl answered harshly, “It's called a break, wise ass.”

“Oh, then take it somewhere else…”

Maya just glared at him. She was in the normal Turk outfit and her hair reached her mid-back, in a black color. Her piercing maroon eyes eventually stopped glaring at Naki and she, herself, went into the kitchen for food. Only she had no idea Hazar was in there, one of the other Turks she hates. However, Naki listened closely to what might happen with Hazar again, in which he enjoyed Hazar's pain. Reno, as well, waited for the outburst.

It wasn't long before they heard some stuff falling to the floor and breaking. It was easy to tell something didn't go right in there. “Don't you fuckin dare you little shit!” went off Maya before she came running out of the kitchen and back into the dinning room again. Hazar was soon to follow her.

“Oh, come on, its just a small kiss…its all I ask, please?” he responded.

“Hell no!”

“And here they go again…” Reno mumbled before he left the room, already annoyed. Naki stayed for the amusement. Just as Reno left, Maya had pushed Hazar hard into a wall, causing him to stumble and almost black out.

“I said, back the hell off you sick pervert! All three of you fuckin Turks, not including Reno!”

“Whoa! Wait a damn minute, I am not a fucking pervert, Mayona,” Naki argued back. “I mean, hell, Hazar is without a doubt, but that's because he's an ass like that and will hit on any female he sees. But me and Axel? Hell no.”

“Well then, sorry for not making it clear,” she remarked rudely and left the room, leaving Naki to his later laughs and Hazar in misery.

 

“Are you sure you wish to do this Reno?” Rufus asked as he folded his hands on his desk and faced Reno who was standing in front of the desk.

“Yes, I can't do this job any more, I quit. Plain and simple.”

“Do you realize what you just gave me?” Rufus turned around in his chair and got up, soon strolling to the window and looking out.

Reno watched him and answered, “Be more specific.”

“I'm going to have to find a new Head Turk to take your place. And of all the possible ones, Naki, Maya, and Axel are the only ones that qualify. All are well with their own strategies. But with you quitting now, it doesn't give me enough time to find the right one.”

“I can stay for a few more months without going insane, maybe the rest of this year, but I won't promise if things get to carried away once they find out.”

“Yes…I see…If you feel it being right, I will allow it. Right now, have the Turks continue their missions, don't mention it right now, and we will watch them carefully.”