Thorn stole another glance at the tall, dark-haired man as he walked past the window on his way to the stables.� He paused for a moment, and the man turned, glaring at him intently.� Thorn turned away, his face red, and headed for the stables.
Vincent turned back to Cloud.� �I see you finally hired some help.� I wondered if you planned to run this entire ranch on your own forever.�
Cloud shrugged, sipping beer from the mug in his hand.� He set the mug on the table with a small clank.� �I figured it was time to bring some young blood into the business.�� He looked up at Vincent.� �How did you know I was running it alone?�
Vincent took a sip from his mug as he watched Cloud over the rim.� Finally, he lowered the mug and shrugged in reply, a tiny half-smirk crossing the lower half of his face.� �I hear things as I travel.�
Cloud nodded.� �You have been doing a lot of that lately.� I haven�t heard anything from you in ages.�
Vincent set his mug on the end table beside him.� �I...went to Lucrecia�s cave after the battle...�
He didn�t say anything more for a moment, and Cloud simply waited.� Lucrecia was still a sore subject for Vincent.
After a moment, the dark man spoke again.� �It was cold.� Colder than before.� It was as though she had never been there in the first place.�� He shook his head and lifted the mug for another drink.� He tipped the mug up and drank for several seconds, and Cloud waited patiently.� Finally, Vincent set the mug down again and sighed.� �I knew that there was nothing left for me in that place.� I had nowhere else to go.� The only home I had known for ages was Nibelheim, and the idea of going back there didn�t appeal to me.�
Cloud nodded.� He could understand the feeling entirely.
�So,� Vincent shrugged, �I traveled.� I visited Wutai, Corel, Costa del Sol...Looking for something, I suppose.� I was on my way to Kalm when I ran into you in the swamp.�
Cloud chuckled.� �I�m very glad you did.�� After a moment, he added, �Why were you headed to Kalm?� To see Reeve and Tifa?�
Vincent nodded.� �That, and to see if there had been any news about the lights from the sky.�
Cloud nodded, slowly.� �Yeah, Cid and I saw the beam that hit North Crater this morning.� Has anyone else mentioned anything where you�ve been?�
Vincent shook his head.� �I was thinking about going to Cosmo Canyon to ask Red, but I was closer to Kalm when this all started happening.� I figured it would be better to come here first and see if you and the others wanted to join me.�
Cloud thought about it.� �Yeah, I guess I am a little curious about what�s going on.�
Vincent cocked his eyebrow.� �Just curious about the lights?� What about Tifa?�
Cloud sighed.� �Her too, of course.�� He grew silent for a long time.� �I just don�t want to complicate her life,� he admitted finally.� �She�s got this great setup in Kalm, the bar is ten times better than Seventh Heaven ever was.� I don�t want to come in out of the blue and mess everything up.� Besides,� he chuckled, �she doesn�t seem like the type who would be satisfied working on a ranch all day.�
Before Vincent could speak, Cloud rose from his seat.� �Which reminds me, it�s getting late.� I have to help Thorn get the Chocobos settled for the night.�� He gestured up the stairs of his farmhouse.� �I have a guest room in the loft.� It�s not much, but I thought you might like to rest.� We can go to Kalm together first thing in the morning.�
Vincent nodded, getting up from his spot on the sofa.� �Yes, of course.�� He started for the stairs.� �Thank you for the beer and the hospitality.�
Cloud waived it off.� �What are friends for, right?�
Vincent rolled that thought over in his mind.� Friends.� After his disastrous career with the Turks, his failed relationship with Lucrecia, and his betrayal by Hojo, he wondered if he would ever use that word again.� Yet when the lights began appearing in the sky and he had decided to investigate, his first thought was of retrieving the others to join him.� He trusted them.� They trusted him.� When he stopped to think about it, he supposed that was what the word friend truly meant.
He nodded to Cloud and headed up the stairs.� Cloud watched him disappear, then turned and headed out to the barn.
Thorn was standing outside when Cloud emerged from the house.� Two men were standing on either side of him, holding his arms.� A third man was on the ground, slumped against the wall of the barn.� Cloud could see in the dim light a nasty gash running across the chest of the fallen man.� Thorn had obviously been underestimated when the men first attacked.
Cloud looked closer at the man, and realized why he looked so familiar.� It was his clothing.
These were Shinra soldiers.� What were they doing on his farm?
They hadn�t seen him yet, so he crept closer, taking cover around the corner.
�I told you,� Thorn gritted angrily.� I can�t sell you these Chocobos.� They belong to my boss.� Besides, I wouldn�t sell them to scum like you even if I could.�
There was the sound of a fist meeting the soft part of a body, and Thorn grunted.� Cloud heard the voice of one of the soldiers next.� �Boy, you don�t get it. �We�re not asking to buy them.� We�re just taking them.�
Cloud reached out and grabbed a pitchfork from where it leaned against the building.� He stepped out from behind the wall and held the pitchfork in both hands.� �Don�t I get a vote in this?�
The soldier in front of Thorn pointed to Cloud, and the two soldiers holding Thorn dropped him to the ground, running towards Cloud.� Cloud dodged one and whacked him on the back of the head with the pole.� The second one was approaching fast.� Cloud whipped the pitchfork around and dropped to one knee, impaling the charging soldier on the tines.� The soldier slumped forward and dropped his rifle.� Cloud picked it up and aimed at the soldier still standing in front of the collapsed Thorn.
�I don�t know who the hell you guys think you are, but this is my farm, and no one steals from me,� Cloud gritted.
The soldier raised his hands, and a grin crossed his face.� Cloud was about to turn around when he felt the cold metal of a gun barrel at the base of his neck.� His jaw jutted forward in frustration, and he held up the rifle.� The man behind him snatched it away, and spoke to the other soldier.
�What should we do with him, Captain?�
The captain peered into Cloud�s glowing blue eyes and pondered for a moment.� �He�s been exposed to Mako.� The professor will likely want to see him.� We�ll take him with us...alive, for now.�
Two more soldiers came running up.� �We checked the house, Captain.� No one else inside.�
The captain nodded, facing the first of the two men. ��Secure a half-dozen Chocobos for us.�
The soldier nodded, heading into the barn, and the captain faced the other man.� �Burn the house, and then the barn when we leave.�
The soldier saluted crisply and turned back toward the house.� Several random thoughts jumped into Cloud�s mind at that moment.
The
professor?� What professor?
Where�s
Vincent?� I thought he was upstairs?
I�m
glad I decided to stop by the bank in Junon instead of stashing all that gil in
my house!
The soldier holding Cloud broke his train of thought as the Chocobos were led from the barn.� �What about that one?� he asked, indicating Thorn, who was still lying on the ground.
The Captain thought a moment, and then shrugged.� �He is of no consequence.� He�s a farm hand.� Kill him.�
The soldier who was leading the Chocobos pulled his handgun from its holster and aimed for Thorn.� A gunshot rang out from somewhere in the direction of Cloud�s house, and the Chocobos started, throwing the soldier off balance before he could fire.� He fell to the ground, and the captain rushed over to help restrain the Chocobos.
�Forget about the farm hand!� he shouted.� �Take the farmer and private Bates and let�s get the hell out of here!�
The soldier behind Cloud shoved him toward a Mountain Chocobo.� Cloud climbed on, and the soldier climbed on behind him, holding the handgun to Cloud�s throat as they rode.
Vincent had heard the footsteps coming up the stairs and had realized that they were military issue boots, not Cloud�s.� He leapt from the bed and hurried into the bathroom as the soldiers entered.� He heard them approach the bathroom door and climbed into the tub.
The soldier entered the bathroom, gun drawn.� He checked the linen closet, scanned the room, and headed for the shower curtain that hung in front of the bathtub.� He reached for it slowly, and then yanked it back, thrusting the gun into the empty space beyond.
Seeing nothing, he turned and headed back downstairs.
Vincent swung down from where he had been clinging to the ceiling and dropped to the tiled floor, making no noise as he landed.� He heard the commotion outside and climbed out of the bedroom window.� From there, he slid down the slope of the roof and dropped effortlessly to the ground behind the house.� He drew the Death Penalty from its holster and stalked toward the sound of the scuffle.
When the melee came into view, Cloud was being held at gunpoint while another man holding the reins of several Chocobos was aiming for a motionless form on the ground.� Judging the other men to be a threat, Vincent fired a round into the air to distract them for a moment and startle the Chocobos.
The idea worked beautifully.� The Chocobos warked in distress, and the soldier with the handgun stumbled to the ground.� Vincent advanced as the soldiers scattered, climbing onto the Chocobos and riding off.
Vincent reached the body on the ground and recognized him as the farm hand Cloud had hired.� He rolled the boy over, and a groan emanated from the boy�s throat.
A shot rang out, and Vincent felt a bullet tear into the flesh at his back, just above his right shoulder blade.� He fell to the dirt with a short grunt, and everything went black.