[Mercen-X]

Episode 2

The reunited group begins their search for Cloud. Raine sends Roger with Yuffie, Barret, and Red XIII as they scour the Gold Saucer continent. Shale stays aboard with Tifa and Cid as they get the condor's view. Raine sticks with Kasic and Hariet as they explore the Midgar continent. The necromancer and his new minion disappear; apparently, they intend to search the planet's depths.

"Did anyone ever stop to think that Cloud might have ended up near Bone Village?" Roger asks.
"Don't worry about it. Tifa will look there too, don't doubt." Barret says.
Nanaki swears that no one saw Cloud pass Cosmo Canyon which he would have needed to do in order to reach Rocket Town by land. So the group starts at Costa Del Sol where a few of the patrons have returned as the zombie hordes seem to have dissipated. They learn that a spiky-haired man on a motorcycle peeled out of the harbor not too long ago.
The group visits Corel where the locals claim they saw Cloud entering the lift to Gold Saucer.
They find and talk to Deo, the progenitor of the establishment. "I don't remember seeing anyone by that description."
"By that description. You son of a...! This isn't the first time we've been here. You had us all locked up!" Barret yells.
Deo thinks about it. "Well... maybe he got locked up again."
"For what?"
"Who knows? Hmm. Look, I'll allow you to explore the desert prison to find this friend of yours. I'll give you fifteen minutes. It's not a large prison so that'll be plenty of time. Whether you've found him or not within that time makes no difference. You'll have to leave or you can stay down there permanently."
Down below, the group finds nothing and are running out of time when a prisoner claims he saw Cloud. "A guy with spiky hair, right? Yeah. I saw him." He points out of the prison. "He was heading out into the desert."
The group looks out into the vast desert and are just about to tell the man that he's crazy, when they find him missing.
Doubting that Cloud would actually travel into the desert, much less stay there, the group moves on to Gongaga.
The locals there claim to have not seen or heard anyone pass through the region.
"Obviously, Cloud disappeared before he reached this area." Roger says.
"I'm just wondering why he went to the Gold Saucer." Yuffie states.
"It does seem curious." Red says. "It was unnecessary to stop at that establishment. Could Cloud have really disappeared into the desert."
"We never found his bike either." Roger reminds them.
"Let's get movin'." Barret says.