Chapter 104.5 – Log #6003
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Since these people were most likely spies, they couldn't take the straight route to their destination, so they went around, took their time, and it was morning by the time they did manage to reach their destination, Cuba.

He opened his eyes and watched numerous cars, armed soldiers, and a man waiting for them. Melina was being treated, but he focused more on the man's words, "North Institute. You know that?"

"Not sure. But I could find out, why?"

"They burned it down," Cloud narrowed his eyes, "They stole something, research."

He changed his focus to the man Alexie was talking about; having read the mind of Melina and Alexie, he had an idea of what was going on, but the one he had to read was this guy, Dreykov. He was the focus of both Melina and Alexie, though Alexie didn't know that he was being played, and Melina, the only thing she knew, was to follow orders.

He closed his eyes, and a pained look flashed on his face; the more he watched, the crimes this man had already committed and the ones he planned to commit. He sat down, tightening his grip on the pilot's seat, focusing his mind, and pulled back.

"Do you know something about this," May asked, forgetting that she was still undercover.

Though Cloud hadn't forgotten as he looked up at her, "Be silent. And watch."

"This is espionage; they are spies. Don't you care? You are a US Citizen too?"

"You care too much," Cloud watched them, wondering if he was affected by Sephiroth more than he thought, or was he still being affected. He came to agree with his ideology.

"Countries are like children. They fight when they have a new toy, and they fight when they lose their toy. They fight, hoping to get a new toy or so that the other one doesn't get a new one. People call this bickering—war and dignify such stupidity. When children fight…if you stoop to their level, you can never stop them. They wouldn't listen…not to another child."

May was exasperated as she parted her lips and sat back down in annoyance, "Children. What do you know about war?"

Cloud closed his eyes, shaking his head, to snap out of Sephiroth's way of thinking, which he had followed since he was tailing them. He covered his face with his palm, his fingers spread out, and through them, he looked as the two girls were taken and put in a van, "That they have no place in them."

"Drop me here, and I'll tail the man with the floppy disk."

Cloud moved the Quadjet, following the van, "Hm. No need. This is between Americans and Russians."

May wondered if she should stop hiding her identity, raise her gun, and force him when he spoke again, "Moreover. Even if I did drop you, you'd only get killed."

"Then you can, aren't you one of the Solider – First Class? Can you do it?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll pay you, whatever your services cost," May narrowed her eyes, "Get me that disk."

Cloud took a deep breath, leaning back, and he took out two cents from his pocket, dropping in her palm, "I am already on the job."

"For two cents?"

"They are children; this is everything they have. Will you give me… Everything you have?" Cloud drove the Quadjet, making sure he didn't lose the van, locking on it.

May sat down, her chest heaving, her lips tightened as she looked over to the van he was chasing, "Those kids are spies too, you know. They are not in trouble."

Cloud felt a collage of memories flash in front of his eyes, for Melina's memories of being in the place called Red Room, once, twice, thrice, four times before she was given a chance to go out on a mission, and of Natasha's memories, kept as a prisoner since she was an infant, and flew faster, "I beg to differ."

"Fine, you can save the children first, and then we got get that thing? Can you do that? Can you find them again?"

"Yeah," Cloud muttered, "I'll get that disk."

He turned his head, looking at her, "Who's the boss here?"

"You, Boss," May crossed her arms, sitting on the seat, and they waited, but the more she watched, the more she frowned. The girls were just being transported; they were being smuggled. Not just them, more and more of these girls were taken to a place, smuggled, and followed to Russia, where they were put together in a van and then brought in front of the man who met them in Cuba, "Dreykov. That solves your disk problem."

"Hopefully, if he still has it…." May looked at the controls, "Does this thing has weapons?"

"Yes," Cloud stood up, opening the hatch, as he summoned the Buster Sword while May wasn't looking.

"You don't plan on showing your face to those guys. You know how big the Red Room is; you will be targeted unless you can finish them right now."

Cloud didn't look at Sephiroth, who warned him as he stood at the hatch, looking down, jumping off, 'I'll manage.'

"Lumos Maxima."

He created a burst of light where he was about to land, causing the soldiers and children to cover their eyes. He landed on the ground, gripping the hilt and using the blunt side of the sword to attack the soldiers, hurling their bodies in the distance. He gripped Dreykov's face as the light started to disappear and peered inside his brain, "Where is the disk?"

'Disk?' Dreykov thought, and the first thought was a disk being handed over and someone putting it inside a floppy reader, and then the view moved back, showing him of the facility, and further back the terrain, and then further back were on the continent.

He threw Dreykov against the container box on the port; he twirled the Buster Sword, putting it on his back as he turned around to look at the girls huddled together in the back of the van.

"It's you…." Natasha breathed in as she and Yelena watched with wide eyes, watching him raise his hand, showing two coins.

"You did hire me, remember?"

Yelena rushed over, nearly falling over one other girl, but Cloud caught her, pulling her in a hug as he patted her head, "You are safe now."

"You shouldn't have come…these people…they are dangerous, and they'll kill you. We can't ever get out of…?" Natasha was speaking, panicking, when she saw a ship appear in front of her eyes, with its hatch open and more than enough place for all of them.

Cloud pointed at it, "Get in. We are leaving."

The girls gasped, all of them, and then they started running, they didn't seem to care where they would be taken next, but this seemed to be a better choice than the trouble they were currently in. They got inside the Quadjet, and Cloud stood there, watching them settle, find a place to sit or stand or sit on the floor, when Qiaolian May came over, "What do you want me to do?"

"I have programmed the route for Shetland for now. Take them there, and I'll get the disk."

"I…I don't know how to drive."

"You don't need to drive. It's on autopilot," Cloud said, backing away as the door started to close.

"No! Don't leave!" Yelena cried out, wiping her tears when Cloud waved his hand, "I'll see you soon."

He showed her the coin between his fingers, "My job is not over, remember?"

He couldn't hear their reply when the door closed, and he didn't need to; he grabbed Buster Sword's hilt, which turned into a Sling Ring, a black one. He raised his palm, circling it, opening a portal, and on the other side was a disk, the one he needed, with a few files on the research. He picked them all up and jumped, turning in the mid-air, landing on top of Quadjet simultaneously as it took off. Since it was his Keyblade, he needed to be near it for it to work, so he stood on top, driving it at full speed now that he didn't have to tail anyone.

It would have taken four hours, but since he didn't want the kids to be in there a minute longer, 'Haste.'

He cast a spell on himself and the Keyblade, causing the jet to fly through at Mach 3.

'Protect.'

He put more magic energy, doubling the speed while protecting the Jet, covering it so it wouldn't break apart, and the time massively reduced to thirty minutes. Though, he felt Angeal behind him, giving a suggestion.

"You don't need that. Believe in the power of the Keyblade."

"Believe in what? I don't even know what it is," Cloud replied Angeal.

"You are worried that you are changing, right? But you don't want to give up the power. I believe the Keyblade is a solution to this problem; rely on its powers and eliminate Jenova's powers. Its power to seal and unseal things have potential. All you need to do is take them further."

"I don't have time for that."

"I thought you trusted Tifa and Aerith?"

"It's not about trust…it's just I don't want to be powerless when needed. I can't…fail again. Not in this world too."

"Then all you need to do is step back, and let me take care of things."

Cloud looked up at Sephiroth, "Never."

"Then listen to them," Sephiroth walked over to where Tifa, Hermione, and Aerith were standing, watching the Log file, and smiled at them, "Or them."

Cloud looked back to where Sephiroth was looking, not seeing anyone, "And here I thought I was crazy."

Sephiroth raised his eyes, looking around the sky as if trying to find something, "Aren't you thinking about taking the kids? An unstable you would do them no good. Reduce the Jenova Cells. There are other ways to gain that power, and you don't need Jenova's power."

"As much as I hate to agree, he's right," Zack grinned, appeared in front of Cloud, crossing his hand, "Don't we have time? We'll help you figure it out. There must be other ways. If this world has things like Space Stone and Time Stone, there was Sorcerer Supreme and her brand of magic. Super Soldiers and Alien Civilization? Gosh, there is just so much to explore. You don't have to rely on Jenova Cells!"

Sephiroth scoffed, "Puppy, you don't get it, do you?"

"Get what?"

"We…won't be here if Jenova's cells are reduced to the minimum," Angeal patted Cloud's head, standing beside him, "You should let go of us, kid."

"Go away then," Cloud closed his mind, and they disappeared in a puff of smoke. He breathed, covering his face, "One thing at a time."

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