Part 53: Distress

Chapter 53 - Distress




Last time, Cait Sith solved the puzzle in the Temple, and it started collapsing.



Well that's some crater.





Yes, that sounds like a great idea!





Well, that should be good enough. Our mission was successful, all is well.



The Promised Land.



Such brilliant detectives.



Cloud and Aeris should start their own Sherlock TV show. Cloud as Sherlock, Aeris as Watson, together solving puzzles.



There are so many ways to joke about "A study in Scarlet". It can be Scarlet from the Weapon Dept. or maybe Sherlock had to crossdress in red in the Wall Market to solve the crime.



"The Hound of Nibelville" tells about the terrorized Nibelheim townsfolk as a horrible mutated hound is seen around the Shinra Mansion.



Oh, shit.





Alright, seriously now. This is kinda puzzling.



What does he mean by "traveller of the Lifestream"?



And how would he do it? What exactly are we missing here?







And from the blinding light, there came the voices again.



We see young Cloud.



We can move him, but there's nothing we can do.



Cloud is powerless to act. Like a puppet, he walks to Sephiroth.



And then, it's over.

"...Well done."



He flies away. On the surface, a nervous Tifa is walking, impatient.



The voices, they've always been there. Cloud knew it. Aeris knew it. You knew it.



What are we missing? What is Tifa holding? What happened in Nibelheim, five years ago?



Aeris is the only one who's calm. She's not surprised. She knew this would happen.



What is it that she knows? And who or what, really, is Cloud?



The game has been, thus far, a slow descent into madness. Cloud who started cold, snarky and secure has been slowly but surely losing his cool. Everyone is counting on him. They have nothing to lose.



Oh for frak's sake.



Screw you, Cait Sith.



Cloud loses it. He tosses Aeris on the ground and starts punching her. We're young Cloud again.



It all fell to Aeris. She was the only one who realized the bitter truth. Cloud can't do it alone. In the end, she may not be the oldest, but she was always the most mature.



Maybe his mother was right. Maybe he needed an older girlfriend to take care of him. But this is not the time. Not here, not now. Not after this. Tifa tries to hold him back. Everything is fading. Fading to white.



The blinding light.



She's the only one who noticed. The only one who told him. She wanted to know him - to meet him. But who's "him"? Who's Cloud?



It's all been spiralling slowly out of control. There were small glimpses of hope, but how could it end well?





"Don't worry about it."





She's right. He has issues. Serious issues. He shouldn't be leading people into a journey like this.



She knows he can't. But if he can't - no one else can. Can the world even be saved?



Sephiroth has the Black Materia. Time is running out. Cloud is too powerful and it's too risky for him to be on the enemy's side.



She knows what needs to be done.



A dream. They both fall out of the trees. Cloud asks what is this place.





Maybe this was but a fool's errand. Maybe Cloud never really stood a chance. Maybe this is out of everyone's league.



And just like that, she runs.



She runs, towards the blinding light.



Again, the blinding light.



Cloud tries to run, but he can't. Powerless to act.



He can't escape.



Even in his dreams, Sephiroth is always there.
















Ultimately, once again, Cloud is following the voices in his head.







"Sephiroth...already knows."



"No."



In the end, there's really no damsel to save.



It's Cloud who's in distress.



Barret isn't really helping, but subtlety isn't his thing.



"But you gotta understand that there ain't no gettin' offa this train we're on, till we get to the end of the line."

"Cloud, we came this far... Aren't you going to settle up with Sephiroth?"



Cloud is afraid. He knows it isn't that simple.



It's not a simple matter of pure strength. That's what they thought it would be.



Their villain is much more powerful and deceiving than that.



Their plans are failing, and Cloud knows he's the real problem here.







We shouldn't go, but nevertheless, we will.



We're in a small house in Gongaga.



Can we really help her, even if we do find her? Is it worth the risk?



Out of town, we find our airplane-boat waiting for us. Before we move north, I go to the Gold Saucer. Maybe we need a sign. Let's see what the Fortune Telling machine has to tell us.



And with that, I conclude this update.


Next Time:

We go north.