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Premonitions: Uncut	By : Hippo_and_Friends_with_Benefits Category: Final Fantasy VII > General Views: 3901 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, and I am not making any money of of this writing.

Chapter List
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Chapter 37: The March North: To the Top
The world slowly came back into focus. The first thing that Cloud realized was that he was no longer cold. He felt the warmth of a fireplace, and quickly realized he was indoors. Slowly, he sat up. Somebody had put him to bed, and placed three layers of covers on him.
As his vision became clear again, Cloud realized that an old man was sitting across from him. He gasped.
"Relax," he responded sarcastically. "I didn't rape ya."
"What am I doing here?" Cloud groaned.
"You collapsed at the Great Glacier," the old man replied. "It's a miracle you're all right."
"Where's Tifa?" Cloud demanded. "Where's everyone else?"
"Your girlfriend is fine," he said. "So is everyone else, You were the last to awaken."
"She's not my girlfriend," Cloud corrected him.
"Really?" asked the old man. "She's been pacing around the other room since she woke up."
"We've been best friends since we were little," Cloud explained. "But anyways, who are you?"
"My name is Holzoff," he replied. "I've been living here twenty years now."
"You're that guy who disappeared from Icicle Inn," Cloud observed.
Holzoff nodded. "If you are planning to head north, you'd better listen to my story.
Why don't we go to the next room and sit down?"
Cloud nodded as he got out of bed. And then he noticed: his pants had been taken off, and he was in his boxers.
"What the hell?" he exclaimed.
"Relax," assured Holzoff. "Neither of the ladies saw anything."
Cloud duly put his pants back on and joined the others in the parlor.
Holzoff wasted no time. "You ever hear about those who challenged the cliff?"
"Not really," Yuffie replied.
"I have," Vincent said. "But I haven't heard of anyone who came back."
"I've come back," said Holzoff. "Once. And I'm never going to do it again. The first time my friend Yamski and I tried to climb the cliff was thirty years ago. There's an old legend that says something fell from the sky here a long time ago. That's what's supposed to have pushed the land up and formed this cliff. Thirty years ago, Yamski and I took this cliff on to see what was on the other side. But, we weren't prepared for it. We did expect the temperature to be low, but on that cliff, there's always a biting cold wind. The cold air lowers your body temperature. Yamski was below me. He cut his own rope and I didn't even notice. Ever since then, I've settled here, continuing to challenge the cliff, and provide warning and shelter to my fellow climbers."
"How many of them come by?" asked Tifa.
"I'd say about five go up every year," Holzoff replied. "Ain't none of them come down."
"We've survived a lot," Vincent informed him.
"Well," replied Holzoff, "I can't legally stop you. If you're going to climb the cliff, there's two precautions you'll need to take. First, check your route, because it's hard to find because of all the snow. Second, once you get to a ledge, make sure you warm yourselves up. Understand?"
"We understand," Cloud said.
"You must've used a lot of energy getting up here. Better get some rest before you head out. I have enough beds and bathrooms downstairs for y'all." With that, he got up, but before retiring to his room, he signaled X1 to come over.
"She's really just your best friend?" he whispered.
Cloud nodded.
"You're running first in a marathon," he continued to whisper. "Why stop a hundred feet before the finish line?"
THE NEXT MORNING...
Everyone was standing outside at the foot of the cliff. There were all dressed in fur coats that Holzoff had provided, but the sense of cold was still with them.
"You know, I've been thinkin," Barret began.
"What is it?" asked Cloud.
"Seein' a place like this, makes you realize how awesome nature is. But if anyone ever told me to live here, I'd tell them to... you know...go fuck 'emself. I'll tell you one thing though, If I did have to live here I'd change things around 'n' make it better. I guess the total opposite of this would be Midgar. When you think of it that way, Shinra don't seem so bad. What the hell am I sayin'!? The Shinra, not bad!?"
Cloud nodded as Barret finished his rant. With nothing further ado, the group began the climb.
It was a frustrating climb. The route was anything but straight-up; often they would have to shimmy from side to side, and even go down a few feet. It was clear that the cliff was a maze.
There were tunnels, which were a break from the cold, but they seemed endless. To make matters were, there were dead bodies in some of them, causing a rather pungent smell. Several of them were starting to want to give up.
Then, in one of the tunnels, they came across a clone. It made an odd noise before it collapsed and died.
"He's been here," Red XIII said.
"Guys," began Tifa as she examined the new corpse, "he's been burnt. And frozen."
"How's that possible?" asked Cloud.
"I don't know," Tifa replied.
"It was a two headed dragon," Yuffie said.
"What makes you say that?" asked Red XIII.
"BECAUSE THERE'S ONE COMING RIGHT FOR US!" Yuffie shouted.
Everyone looked up to see a green, two-headed dragon coming their way. One head had smoke coming from its mouth. The other had ice on its teeth.
"Guys," Cid called. "I think we're fucked!"
"Nobody's fucked yet!" Barret announced. He raised his gun-arm and began to fire at the ceiling. A moment later, a large icicle came down on the dragon, ending its life instantly.
"You were sayin'?" Barret gloated.
They continued through the frozen labyrinth. Every now and then, they got to a break in the path that seemed impassable. That is, until Barret used his gun-arm on the ceiling again.
After what seemed like an eternity, the group game to the mouth of the cave. The bitter cold wind returned outside, seemingly even colder than before.
But that was not what was on everybody's mind. They were on top of the cliff. On one side, they could see Holzoff's house, surrounded by and endless field of snow. And on the other, they beheld a field of rock that gently descended from the summit. And in the center of the rock, there was a rotating funnel of wind concealing anything beyond.
Nobody could say a thing. They were both relieved and frightened at the same time.
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Premonitions: Uncut