Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Legend of the Final Materia ❯ Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Shukera and Seifer met the others in the cockpit area where Nida was making landing preparations. After a few minutes of carefully descending through the trees, the ship gently landed on the planet's surface. Shukera jumped up and swung her sword.

"Alright it's time!!" She grabbed her things and raced out of the cockpit area. The others followed Shukera until the whole group stood outside.

It was getting dark and the thick blanket of trees made it hard to see. From out of the darkness, someone called out to them, "Hey Shukera, ova here!!"

Shukera followed the sound of the voice until she reached Barett's unmistakable massive form. He was waving his gun arm around as they approached him. Squall and his friends looked at Barett's gun arm strangely and suddenly became uncomfortable. Shukera grinned as she turned to face them.

"Oh sorry, I forgot to tell you about Barett's arm. He lost his arm in an accident and had a gun arm mounted in its place. He vowed to use it to destroy Shin Ra for the pain they caused him and his family." She continued to lead them to him as she added, "Come on, they are waiting for us."

Barett high-fived Shukera when she walked up to him. "Good ta see ya `gain!! Let's git movin' before some Shin Ra idiot comes `long." He led them to the Highwind where the others were waiting. Shukera knew when she stepped inside the conference room that something was wrong.

Tifa hugged Shukera when she stepped into the room. "Shukera! I'm so glad to see you!! With all the crap that's going on I was sure you were dead!! We were so relieved to hear your voice on the radio!!"

Cloud lowered his head, "Sorry about your brother… The fat cat skipped ship when we went to confront him. More than likely he already reported to Shin Ra that we changed our plans and they could be on their way here now."

Barett waved his gun arm around. "When I git my hands on that stuffed son-of-a-bitch!!!"

Feeling angry, betrayed and just plain livid, Shukera sighed and ran her hand through her hair. "That figures!" She motioned to Squall and his group. "These are my friends Selphie, Irvine, Rinoa, Squall, Zell, Fujin, Raijin, Nida, and Seifer. They are all students of Balamb Garden and none too happy about Shin Ra trying to take over their home. Shin Ra invaded their home while we were escaping to come here. They even tried to stop us from leaving by blowing up the launch site." She faced Squall's group. "This is Avalanche. Tifa, Barett, Vincent, Nanaki, and Cloud.

Cid was snoring in the back of the room with his cigarette in his mouth. Shukera laughed and pointed to him, "That is our pilot Cid…believe it or not."

Barett walked up to Seifer and smirked, "So you're Seifer huh??"

Tifa stood in front of him and laughed, "Yeah! We heard so much about you!!"

Shukera's face turned red as she quickly changed the subject. "We have to protect Rinoa and Seifer! Shin Ra has their eyes on both of them. There's no telling what they have planned now…I hate to even think about it."

Barett interrupted Shukera, "Shin Ra ain't gitten' nobody!! They've destroyed enough lives!!!"

Vincent nodded, "I know…I have seen it with my own eyes what Shin Ra is capable of."

Nanaki's tail lazily drifted from side to side as he listened intently to what was being said. He nodded in agreement with Vincent. "Even I was one of their specimens. Shukera, don't worry; we will bring an end to Shin Ra once and for all. With the will that we have to stop them coupled with the help of your new friends, Shin Ra doesn't stand a chance."

Selphie jumped up and down and waved her hands. "That's right!!!" She moved next to Nanaki and knelt down next to him. With her head cocked to the side she looked at him. "Hey cool doggie!!! How come you can talk??"

Nanaki looked back at her and smiled, "You have a mouth to speak with and a knowledge of words and you use them am I correct?? So if I have the same as you why is it so shocking that I can also talk??"

Selphie scratched her head and looked up at Irvine. He laughed as he pointed to her, "HA! I bet you have never been told off by a dog before!!" She jumped to her feet and snatched his hat then sat back down next to Nanaki.

"I think he's soooo cool!!!" She began petting him as he sighed.

Shukera chuckled as Cloud cleared his throat. "I agree with Nanaki. I believe we do have the manpower to destroy Shin Ra to the point they won't be able to rebuild. Obviously the meteor incident taught them nothing!!"

Squall nodded, "We are here to assist you any way we can."

Zell began punching the air with his fists as he bounced around. "Hell yeah!!! We're gonna kick some serious Shin Ra ass!!!"

Seifer folded his arms as he replied, "I see some people never change."

"Then we attack in the early morning, long before the sun comes up. Shin Ra may still have people waiting for us at the Ancient Forest; I say we start by taking them out. We can move on from there once we get there and check out the situation."

Cloud and Squall nodded and walked off together as they made plans for the attack. Irvine and the others sat around the large table talking back and forth, getting to know each other.

Seifer motioned to Shukera, "I'll be right back. I have to, well you know." He disappeared into the facilities.

Shukera walked off for a moment, wanting time to herself to think the situation through. Reno was in Shin Ra's hands, which made it hard for her to concentrate past her worry for his well being. Inside, her body became a storm of emotions, her heart raced swiftly in her chest, and her mind became confused. All this was beginning to wear her down, but she knew she had to remain strong. She stepped out on the deck of the ship and looked around the area.

Tifa walked up behind Shukera with her hands resting behind her back. "Did you notice that Cloud is still here?? He didn't leave like I thought he would."

Shukera smiled, still preoccupied with her thoughts. Pressing on, Tifa continued, "Did you tell Seifer how you feel about him??"

Knowing that Tifa was not going to drop it no matter how much she was not up for this at the moment she replied, "I told him a little but it doesn't seem right. Did you tell Cloud how you felt about him??"

Tifa leaned on the railing of the ship and sighed, "No. That thing he had for Aerith in the past…I'm not sure if it's right. So, even if I did tell him, I don't think it would do any good." Tears formed in the corner of her eyes but she quickly wiped them away.

Selphie walked up and looked rather nervous, shifting her weight from side to side. Shukera saw the expression on her face and stepped past Tifa to meet her, but paused. She gently squeezed Tifa's shoulder and replied, "I think you need to tell him." She walked up to Selphie and folded her arms.

Selphie giggled at first, then became serious. "I don't mean to interrupt here, but Cloud wants to talk to Tifa and I need to speak with you like immediately!" She grabbed Shukera's arm. "Seifer is missing!! We can't find him anywhere on this ship!!"

Shukera's eye widened in horror, "WHAT?? What do you mean missing?? He said he had to use the bathroom!!! What the hell??" She raced down below the deck and burst into the conference room. "Is anyone else missing??"

Squall met Shukera and placed his hand on his hip. "We can't find Seifer, he just disappeared it seems."

Zell ran up and doubled over out of breath, "Nida's missing!! I searched every corner of this ship and he's no where to be found!!"

Shukera saw red as she punched the wall. "SON-OF-A-BITCH!!!!! What the hell happened???"

Nanaki walked up next to Squall and answered, "Seifer said he had to get some air and he walked outside on the deck. That was the last we saw of him."

Selphie leaned forward and held her hands out, "We didn't even know he was gone!!!"

Shukera unsheathed her sword and spat, "I'm going to get him back!!! If they just took him they cannot be far!! My guess is there is some kind of camp around here!!"

Raijin's eyes widened in surprise as he faced the others, "Uh, I think we should follow her, ya know. She's really going to do this alone or try to!!"

Vincent, Cid and Nanaki decided to stay with the ship incase anyone tried to attack it while they were gone. Raijin and Selphie lead the others as they departed the ship after Shukera. Raijin broke away from the others and caught up to Shukera.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing?? Don't try to do this alone Shukera!!"

Shukera spun around to face him, "Damn it!! I let him down!! I was the one who told him I would protect him!! Now he's with Shin Ra and there's no telling what they are going to do with him!!"

Raijin nodded, "Shukera…let us help you!! You can't go off alone, ya know!! Who's going to protect Seifer if you are dead???"

Shukera spat, "I'm going ahead!" Before Raijin could say anything, she darted through the woods and was gone. Raijin spat and waited for the others to catch up.

Fujin was the first to reach Raijin and she stuck her finger in his face. "If he gets hurt, I'm gonna kill her!!!" She lowered her hand and pressed it against her chest as she lowered her head. "Seifer…"