Categories > Games > Final Fantasy 7 > Deliveries
Deliveries: Record IV
Delivery 31: Marble Guilt
"I didn't do anything!" It didn't matter how many times Reno defended his innocence, no one would believe him.
"This has gone too far, I want you to stop picking on Cloud!" Tifa shook her accusing finger at Reno.
The red haired mischievous Turk was currently trapped in a corner of the Seventh Heaven. He had gone there for some food and drinks but ended up trapped by an angry Tifa. "I really didn't do anything new and you already scolded me for last time!"
"Don't try to deny it, you shouldn't tell lies." It was the first grade all over again, except this time Tifa was the teacher and thus Reno was in a lot more trouble than in school.
Reno was actually telling the truth, he had already received his scolding from Tifa for picking on Cloud last time and didn't know why he was being scolded if he hasn't done anything else to Cloud yet. "What makes you think I did anything?"
"Who else would do something like this?" Tifa was jumping to conclusions, but no one could really blame her given Reno's past behavior. When something went wrong with Cloud, Reno was the first suspect.
"It's okay Tifa, I'm used to this kind of thing," Cloud was standing next to Tifa staring at his feet.
Tifa affectionately placed her hand on Cloud's shoulder. "Don't worry Cloud, you have true friends."
"Aren't you going to tell me what's going on, because if I'm going to be falsely accused I at least deserve to know why!" Reno complained.
"You know why!" Tifa retorted, refusing to explain what she was sure Reno already knew about all too well. Reno pouted and decided it was useless to try to get more information from Tifa, while she continued her speech. "After all my worries that you would try to corrupt Cloud, I was actually glad you two were apparently getting along. But then you went back to picking on him!"
Reno thought it was best to disregard Tifa's speech, which might have not been such a wise decision, and instead spoke to Cloud, "wimp."
That was all it took for Cloud to whip out his sword and hold it dangerously close to Reno's neck. "I'm not going to fall for your tricks anymore and I'm not delivering the-" Cloud's cellphone rang. The delivery boy returned the large sword to its place on his back and answered it, much to Reno's relief. "Strife Delivery Service... Hello Vincent... What? Marble? You mean you really did ask for that block of marble to be delivered so you could sculpt a statue? That wasn't Reno using your name to play a joke on me? No, it's fine, no problem, I'll deliver the marble right away, see you soon." After the call ended Cloud looked apologetic, Reno looked both accusing and relived and Tifa looked surprised. "Um... Sorry."
Reno pouted and refused to dignify Cloud's apology with an answer. He knew the misunderstanding was his fault for being so troublesome in the past, but he was feeling stubborn. "C'mon Reno, it was a misunderstanding, we're sorry we accused you so please forgive Cloud." Tifa's request was more like an order; she wouldn't allow Cloud to carry anymore guilt.
"Fine; and I'll even tag along to help with the delivery," Reno grinned mischievously.
Tifa gave Reno a warning glare but Cloud was quick to accept, "thanks..." Cloud knew Reno was only looking for amusement but felt guilty for accusing him. Thus the mischievous Turk and the unlucky delivery boy were off on another adventure.
Delivery 32: Marble Determination
Reno was known to be a troublemaker. Ever since he was little it had been that way. Later, when he was a teenager he found his way to Shinra along side his best friend Rude and through a series of events that Reno would remember as fun, Rude would refer to as disorganized but necessary, and others would simply call chaotic, they ended up joining the Turks.
Reno had been on many dangerous missions with the Turks, everything from infiltration, to sabotage, to kidnapping and even the elimination of certain obstacles. That was what the Turks did, to put it negatively. It was a job that not everyone could handle, but Reno certainly could.
Reno liked to think of himself as fearless and strong, though others would call him rash and cocky. Somehow, the Turks always finished their missions, because they're Turks and that's what they do. One way or another, they make things work.
However, Reno could never foresee what was to occur. He thought he could get a laugh out of accompanying Cloud on his delivery. Reno's mission was to help deliver a block of marble to Vincent for sculpting purposes, or at least that's what his mission officially was. In truth, Reno's real mission was simply to have fun at Cloud's account. But after taking a shortcut riding on Fenrir through the wasteland to avoid the heavy traffic of the highway and the curious stares at the large block of marble tied to the motorcycle, Cloud had become distracted with a sad memory linked to his dear friend Zack Fair, and lost control of Fenrir, trapping both himself and Reno in a natural pitfall.
Reno was trapped, in pain, beaten and bruised. He narrowly escaped being crushed by the block of marble or Fenrir, but currently he faced a fate that was perhaps more frightening than the possibility of being sent to the life stream a few years too early, consoling Cloud Strife.
"Stop that!" Reno pouted and got to his feet, dusting himself off as best as he could. "You big baby..."
Cloud only cried harder, which made Reno wonder how in the world did Tifa maintain her sanity if she had to deal with these episodes.
"Alright, alright, don't cry!" Reno was at a loss for what to do. He mentally told himself to get things together and deal with this. "Don't give up?" Reno attempted to give Cloud some kind words, though they sounded unsure.
Then Cloud miraculously stopped crying and in a split second pushed Fenrir, along with the block of marble out of the pitfall. "Come on!" He extended his hand to help Reno out.
Surprised and unsure, Reno accepted the help and after getting back on the path asked, "how did you do that?"
"I remembered Zack and was sad because I miss him, we were always great friends. But then you told me not to give up and I remembered Zack always used to tell me that so I didn't give up!"
Reno nodded slowly. Cloud just had one of the fastest and most drastic mood swigs he had ever seen, and people dared to say Reno was random.
On the bright side, Cloud and Reno did manage to deliver the block of marble to Vincent without too many additional difficulties, though Vincent did wonder why they were covered in sand.
Delivery 33: Medusa
His back was killing him, he had lost count of how many blocks of marble he had delivered and he was starting to think it wasn't worth the effort for the gil he got. Cloud wouldn't be able to enjoy the fruits of his hard work if he broke his spine, or dislocated his arms, or suffered a similar fate. It just wasn't worth it if all his savings were spent on hospital bills.
Thus the delivery boy decided that this was the last time he would deliver a block of marble to Vincent. At least Reno didn't tag along this time, but that hardly made things better since delivering one huge block of marble to the Shinra Mansion after another was bad enough, with or without Reno to annoy him.
However, when Cloud entered the Shinra Mansion for what he assured himself would be the last time in a long time; he became even more scarred for life. At first his vision was blocked by the huge marble he held. "I'll just leave this here. Cloud set the marble down in the main hall of the mansion. Then he saw them, he was surrounded by strange and hideous monsters, medusas it seemed.
Automatically, Cloud's now empty hands rushed to his face, covering his eyes. He reached for his sword, which he insisted on carrying on his back despite the weight adding to that of the marble he had been carrying. The heavy sword alone was fine, Cloud was used to it, but the blocks of marble from his recent deliveries were too much, and the weight of the sword added to the needed effort.
Even so, Cloud was glad he brought his sword as he prepared to fight the army of monsters that surrounded him, without gazing at their hideous faces to avoid turning into stone. Then he stopped, sword in mid swing, muscles tense from the sudden halt in motion. It was Vincent's alarmed "stop!" that prevented Cloud's attack upon one of the medusa fiends.
"Vincent, close your eyes! We're surrounded by medusas!" Cloud called out in a panic.
"Medusas?" Vincent sounded upset. "These are statues..."
Cloud opened his eyes and realized that the apparent army of medusas around him, were in fact statues. "You already showed them mirrors?"
"Cloud..." Vincent wasn't sure if he should feel angry and insulted or helpless and depressed. "These are my statues; I carved them from the marble you delivered."
If before Cloud thought delivering so much marble was a bad idea, now he was certain that it was a terrible idea. Mutant creatures could look artistic at times, but this was too creepy. "At least you tried," Cloud's expression did little to make his consolation more credible. "Actually, if you were going for a horribly scary monster then you're pretty good." On second thought, it all had to be done on purpose, because statues that horrid could not be made on accident.
Vincent pouted, "she is supposed to be beautiful, like an angel," he then proceeded to go sit in a corner, "I failed."
Cloud sighed, "I know what it's like to be depressed," and he joined Vincent in his corner where they both sat brooding even if Cloud didn't fully understand what Vincent had been trying to accomplish.
This continued until Reno came in, ranting about being bored and wanting to be entertained, though he made the mistake of openly insulting Vincent's so called art. That is when both Vincent and Cloud realized that Reno hunting was just the therapy they needed.
Delivery 34: Cold Leaves
"Not happening..." Cloud ordered more so than asserted, not that it would change anything. "Not happening!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, scaring the near by stray chocobos. "Not happening!" His voice was carried far away by the wind, but not far enough for assistance to arrive, not that anyone could get there on time anyway. His cell phone's signal had unexpectedly died out and Cloud Strife was in big trouble, as usual. Shinra's satellite just had to choose that day to stop working.
The delivery request this time was from Godo, Yuffie's father and Wutai's leader, if only in name. As part of Shinra's attempt to build a positive image, Rufus Shinra was scheduled to visit Wutai and participate in some sort of elegant yet short tea ceremony. The event was not too overly complex, and followed the same pattern of a casual occasion drinking tea, what made it special was the tea itself.
The tea leaves were extremely rare and only grew around Wutai during the winter, but it was summer. However, that was not a problem since, albeit abundant in Wutai more than anywhere else during the winter, the leaves did grow in other places all year long, such as the area close to Icicle. The leaves were imported and taken to Godo at Wutai, where they had to be kept in constant refrigeration until they were thrown into boiling water too fast to have time to wither. If exposed to a warm atmosphere, the tea leaves would wither in about an hour.
The tea that came from withered leaves would be poisonous, instead of miraculously healing. But the risk wasn't too much of a problem, since the tea would distinctly change color if it was dangerous. However, the press was expecting the meeting between Godo and Rufus, and they wanted to take pictures of the president participating in Wutai's culture. Not having a proper tea ceremony of friendship would be a problem for Rufus, and given how much control Shinra still had over Wutai and its tourist resorts, it would also be troublesome for Godo and the general population of Wutai.
The situation became more complicated after Yuffie was added to the mix. She did not want the tea ceremony to take place, thus tried to steal and dispose of the tea leaves. Godo expected this and handed the leaves to the reliable Cloud Strife, who was supposed to deliver them on time and in perfect condition the day of the ceremony.
Fortunately, Yuffie didn't discover it was Cloud who held the leaves until it was too late, but she did have just enough time to sabotage Fenrir, a fact that took Cloud by surprise, the culprit at the time still unknown. Cloud's precious motorcycle stopped moving just south of the chocobo farm. He had to travel to Junon and catch a ship from there, where he would continue to guard the leaves until they were handed over to Godo in Wutai.
The unfortunate delivery boy examined the contents of the cooler he carried. The leaves were still the purest white, but they would turn brown after the ice around them melted if Cloud didn't do something fast, even if all he wanted to do right now was curl into a ball and cry about his misfortune. Then the sound of an approaching helicopter was heard.
At first Cloud thought he was saved, but then the helicopter, clearly identified as belonging to Shinra, started shooting at him. Cloud grabbed the cooler and evaded the bullets. This was all for Shinra's sake, so why was that helicopter shooting at him? He was as confused as he had ever been, but this was not the time to stop and think about. Whatever miscommunication had occurred, if Cloud didn't do something fast, it would cost him his life. "Not happening!"
To be Continued
End of Record IV
Disclaimer, I don't own Final Fantasy VII. The marble saga was requested by Rei Mumei and it includes Delivery 31, Mission 63 and Delivery 32. Delivery 34 was requested by 2write4life.
Delivery 31: Marble Guilt
"I didn't do anything!" It didn't matter how many times Reno defended his innocence, no one would believe him.
"This has gone too far, I want you to stop picking on Cloud!" Tifa shook her accusing finger at Reno.
The red haired mischievous Turk was currently trapped in a corner of the Seventh Heaven. He had gone there for some food and drinks but ended up trapped by an angry Tifa. "I really didn't do anything new and you already scolded me for last time!"
"Don't try to deny it, you shouldn't tell lies." It was the first grade all over again, except this time Tifa was the teacher and thus Reno was in a lot more trouble than in school.
Reno was actually telling the truth, he had already received his scolding from Tifa for picking on Cloud last time and didn't know why he was being scolded if he hasn't done anything else to Cloud yet. "What makes you think I did anything?"
"Who else would do something like this?" Tifa was jumping to conclusions, but no one could really blame her given Reno's past behavior. When something went wrong with Cloud, Reno was the first suspect.
"It's okay Tifa, I'm used to this kind of thing," Cloud was standing next to Tifa staring at his feet.
Tifa affectionately placed her hand on Cloud's shoulder. "Don't worry Cloud, you have true friends."
"Aren't you going to tell me what's going on, because if I'm going to be falsely accused I at least deserve to know why!" Reno complained.
"You know why!" Tifa retorted, refusing to explain what she was sure Reno already knew about all too well. Reno pouted and decided it was useless to try to get more information from Tifa, while she continued her speech. "After all my worries that you would try to corrupt Cloud, I was actually glad you two were apparently getting along. But then you went back to picking on him!"
Reno thought it was best to disregard Tifa's speech, which might have not been such a wise decision, and instead spoke to Cloud, "wimp."
That was all it took for Cloud to whip out his sword and hold it dangerously close to Reno's neck. "I'm not going to fall for your tricks anymore and I'm not delivering the-" Cloud's cellphone rang. The delivery boy returned the large sword to its place on his back and answered it, much to Reno's relief. "Strife Delivery Service... Hello Vincent... What? Marble? You mean you really did ask for that block of marble to be delivered so you could sculpt a statue? That wasn't Reno using your name to play a joke on me? No, it's fine, no problem, I'll deliver the marble right away, see you soon." After the call ended Cloud looked apologetic, Reno looked both accusing and relived and Tifa looked surprised. "Um... Sorry."
Reno pouted and refused to dignify Cloud's apology with an answer. He knew the misunderstanding was his fault for being so troublesome in the past, but he was feeling stubborn. "C'mon Reno, it was a misunderstanding, we're sorry we accused you so please forgive Cloud." Tifa's request was more like an order; she wouldn't allow Cloud to carry anymore guilt.
"Fine; and I'll even tag along to help with the delivery," Reno grinned mischievously.
Tifa gave Reno a warning glare but Cloud was quick to accept, "thanks..." Cloud knew Reno was only looking for amusement but felt guilty for accusing him. Thus the mischievous Turk and the unlucky delivery boy were off on another adventure.
Delivery 32: Marble Determination
Reno was known to be a troublemaker. Ever since he was little it had been that way. Later, when he was a teenager he found his way to Shinra along side his best friend Rude and through a series of events that Reno would remember as fun, Rude would refer to as disorganized but necessary, and others would simply call chaotic, they ended up joining the Turks.
Reno had been on many dangerous missions with the Turks, everything from infiltration, to sabotage, to kidnapping and even the elimination of certain obstacles. That was what the Turks did, to put it negatively. It was a job that not everyone could handle, but Reno certainly could.
Reno liked to think of himself as fearless and strong, though others would call him rash and cocky. Somehow, the Turks always finished their missions, because they're Turks and that's what they do. One way or another, they make things work.
However, Reno could never foresee what was to occur. He thought he could get a laugh out of accompanying Cloud on his delivery. Reno's mission was to help deliver a block of marble to Vincent for sculpting purposes, or at least that's what his mission officially was. In truth, Reno's real mission was simply to have fun at Cloud's account. But after taking a shortcut riding on Fenrir through the wasteland to avoid the heavy traffic of the highway and the curious stares at the large block of marble tied to the motorcycle, Cloud had become distracted with a sad memory linked to his dear friend Zack Fair, and lost control of Fenrir, trapping both himself and Reno in a natural pitfall.
Reno was trapped, in pain, beaten and bruised. He narrowly escaped being crushed by the block of marble or Fenrir, but currently he faced a fate that was perhaps more frightening than the possibility of being sent to the life stream a few years too early, consoling Cloud Strife.
"Stop that!" Reno pouted and got to his feet, dusting himself off as best as he could. "You big baby..."
Cloud only cried harder, which made Reno wonder how in the world did Tifa maintain her sanity if she had to deal with these episodes.
"Alright, alright, don't cry!" Reno was at a loss for what to do. He mentally told himself to get things together and deal with this. "Don't give up?" Reno attempted to give Cloud some kind words, though they sounded unsure.
Then Cloud miraculously stopped crying and in a split second pushed Fenrir, along with the block of marble out of the pitfall. "Come on!" He extended his hand to help Reno out.
Surprised and unsure, Reno accepted the help and after getting back on the path asked, "how did you do that?"
"I remembered Zack and was sad because I miss him, we were always great friends. But then you told me not to give up and I remembered Zack always used to tell me that so I didn't give up!"
Reno nodded slowly. Cloud just had one of the fastest and most drastic mood swigs he had ever seen, and people dared to say Reno was random.
On the bright side, Cloud and Reno did manage to deliver the block of marble to Vincent without too many additional difficulties, though Vincent did wonder why they were covered in sand.
Delivery 33: Medusa
His back was killing him, he had lost count of how many blocks of marble he had delivered and he was starting to think it wasn't worth the effort for the gil he got. Cloud wouldn't be able to enjoy the fruits of his hard work if he broke his spine, or dislocated his arms, or suffered a similar fate. It just wasn't worth it if all his savings were spent on hospital bills.
Thus the delivery boy decided that this was the last time he would deliver a block of marble to Vincent. At least Reno didn't tag along this time, but that hardly made things better since delivering one huge block of marble to the Shinra Mansion after another was bad enough, with or without Reno to annoy him.
However, when Cloud entered the Shinra Mansion for what he assured himself would be the last time in a long time; he became even more scarred for life. At first his vision was blocked by the huge marble he held. "I'll just leave this here. Cloud set the marble down in the main hall of the mansion. Then he saw them, he was surrounded by strange and hideous monsters, medusas it seemed.
Automatically, Cloud's now empty hands rushed to his face, covering his eyes. He reached for his sword, which he insisted on carrying on his back despite the weight adding to that of the marble he had been carrying. The heavy sword alone was fine, Cloud was used to it, but the blocks of marble from his recent deliveries were too much, and the weight of the sword added to the needed effort.
Even so, Cloud was glad he brought his sword as he prepared to fight the army of monsters that surrounded him, without gazing at their hideous faces to avoid turning into stone. Then he stopped, sword in mid swing, muscles tense from the sudden halt in motion. It was Vincent's alarmed "stop!" that prevented Cloud's attack upon one of the medusa fiends.
"Vincent, close your eyes! We're surrounded by medusas!" Cloud called out in a panic.
"Medusas?" Vincent sounded upset. "These are statues..."
Cloud opened his eyes and realized that the apparent army of medusas around him, were in fact statues. "You already showed them mirrors?"
"Cloud..." Vincent wasn't sure if he should feel angry and insulted or helpless and depressed. "These are my statues; I carved them from the marble you delivered."
If before Cloud thought delivering so much marble was a bad idea, now he was certain that it was a terrible idea. Mutant creatures could look artistic at times, but this was too creepy. "At least you tried," Cloud's expression did little to make his consolation more credible. "Actually, if you were going for a horribly scary monster then you're pretty good." On second thought, it all had to be done on purpose, because statues that horrid could not be made on accident.
Vincent pouted, "she is supposed to be beautiful, like an angel," he then proceeded to go sit in a corner, "I failed."
Cloud sighed, "I know what it's like to be depressed," and he joined Vincent in his corner where they both sat brooding even if Cloud didn't fully understand what Vincent had been trying to accomplish.
This continued until Reno came in, ranting about being bored and wanting to be entertained, though he made the mistake of openly insulting Vincent's so called art. That is when both Vincent and Cloud realized that Reno hunting was just the therapy they needed.
Delivery 34: Cold Leaves
"Not happening..." Cloud ordered more so than asserted, not that it would change anything. "Not happening!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, scaring the near by stray chocobos. "Not happening!" His voice was carried far away by the wind, but not far enough for assistance to arrive, not that anyone could get there on time anyway. His cell phone's signal had unexpectedly died out and Cloud Strife was in big trouble, as usual. Shinra's satellite just had to choose that day to stop working.
The delivery request this time was from Godo, Yuffie's father and Wutai's leader, if only in name. As part of Shinra's attempt to build a positive image, Rufus Shinra was scheduled to visit Wutai and participate in some sort of elegant yet short tea ceremony. The event was not too overly complex, and followed the same pattern of a casual occasion drinking tea, what made it special was the tea itself.
The tea leaves were extremely rare and only grew around Wutai during the winter, but it was summer. However, that was not a problem since, albeit abundant in Wutai more than anywhere else during the winter, the leaves did grow in other places all year long, such as the area close to Icicle. The leaves were imported and taken to Godo at Wutai, where they had to be kept in constant refrigeration until they were thrown into boiling water too fast to have time to wither. If exposed to a warm atmosphere, the tea leaves would wither in about an hour.
The tea that came from withered leaves would be poisonous, instead of miraculously healing. But the risk wasn't too much of a problem, since the tea would distinctly change color if it was dangerous. However, the press was expecting the meeting between Godo and Rufus, and they wanted to take pictures of the president participating in Wutai's culture. Not having a proper tea ceremony of friendship would be a problem for Rufus, and given how much control Shinra still had over Wutai and its tourist resorts, it would also be troublesome for Godo and the general population of Wutai.
The situation became more complicated after Yuffie was added to the mix. She did not want the tea ceremony to take place, thus tried to steal and dispose of the tea leaves. Godo expected this and handed the leaves to the reliable Cloud Strife, who was supposed to deliver them on time and in perfect condition the day of the ceremony.
Fortunately, Yuffie didn't discover it was Cloud who held the leaves until it was too late, but she did have just enough time to sabotage Fenrir, a fact that took Cloud by surprise, the culprit at the time still unknown. Cloud's precious motorcycle stopped moving just south of the chocobo farm. He had to travel to Junon and catch a ship from there, where he would continue to guard the leaves until they were handed over to Godo in Wutai.
The unfortunate delivery boy examined the contents of the cooler he carried. The leaves were still the purest white, but they would turn brown after the ice around them melted if Cloud didn't do something fast, even if all he wanted to do right now was curl into a ball and cry about his misfortune. Then the sound of an approaching helicopter was heard.
At first Cloud thought he was saved, but then the helicopter, clearly identified as belonging to Shinra, started shooting at him. Cloud grabbed the cooler and evaded the bullets. This was all for Shinra's sake, so why was that helicopter shooting at him? He was as confused as he had ever been, but this was not the time to stop and think about. Whatever miscommunication had occurred, if Cloud didn't do something fast, it would cost him his life. "Not happening!"
To be Continued
End of Record IV
Disclaimer, I don't own Final Fantasy VII. The marble saga was requested by Rei Mumei and it includes Delivery 31, Mission 63 and Delivery 32. Delivery 34 was requested by 2write4life.
Sign up to rate and review this story