Some Nights
Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Final Fantasy VII or SquareEnix.
Chapter 1: A New Hope
Tifa looked up at the starry night sky, a peaceful paradox to the chaos beneath its dark covering. In the distance the brunette could make out the faint sounds of gunshots and explosions; most likely in the next valley over. Filling her lungs with a breath of fresh air Tifa turned to her sleeping charge. A boy, no more than 10, lay sleeping under a rough make-shift blanket; a complacent smile upon his lips. Chocolate eyes softened as his face scrunched up as loose threads tickled his nose. After taking in their surroundings once more for imminent danger and satisfied with their temporary safety, the warrior woman settled in beside her charge. Sensing the sudden warmth the sleeping boy immediately snuggled in close to his motherly figure.
To calm herself Tifa began absently running her fingers through the boy's hair. The motion reminded her of happier times; peaceful times. A time when one didn't have to stand watch at night for incoming raids or bandits, or have to steal food to eat, or kill just to survive. This was a future none could have contemplated when the large meteor fell from the sky. A future in which humanity was ravaged by plague and the surviving populace struggled to make a living scavenging or defending what little property they lay claim to.
Tifa's musings helped pass the time, sooner than she realized the sun was dawning over the eastern horizon dispelling the shadows of another sleepless night. Gently she shook the sleeping child awake, making sure to allow the boy to revel in the lingering holds of sleep.
"Denzel, it's time to wake up honey."
The boy grunted, rolling over to bury his face into her chest and hair. Tifa let out a laugh and began to prod the boy's sides. The sounds of innocent laughter signaled to the woman that her charge was fully awake. "Come on, sweetie. It's a long way to Edge. We need to get started if we want to make it their by sundown."
A pair of blurry blue eyes blinked up at her in worry. "But Tifa, you haven't slept at all. You need to get some rest! We can wait another day to get to Edge; I don't mind sleeping on the ground. Honest!"
Tifa ruffled his hair, touched by the boy's concern for her well-being. "It's only a day sweetheart. It'll go by faster than you know it and I'll be able to rest as soon as I secure our travel space at the next rallying company." With that the pair began walking out into the desert heat.
As the day drew on Denzel grew weary from the sun's heat, causing him to stumble and fall from the dune. Hearing her charge's distress Tifa rode down the side of the dune. At the bottom Denzel lay sputtering upon the sand, still dazed from the heat and the sudden tumble down the 20 foot dune. When Tifa was at his side she tenderly picked him up and dusted him off. Placing a palm upon his cheek her brow furrowed at the boy's sudden fatigue and pale color.
"Denzel, you're sick! Why didn't you tell me?" She exclaimed forcing the boy to sit down upon the sand. Instantly a canteen of water was at his lips which was greedily devoured. "We need to find you some shade and get you to rest. You could've passed out from heat exhaustion!" Tifa chided worriedly. Frantically she scoped the desert for any cover other than the rocks that served as their bed for the past night.
Denzel grabbed Tifa's arm preventing the brunette from running too far off. He shook his head and put on a weary smile. "No Tifa. We have to keep going." He argued feebly. "The only shade there is, is back the way we came. We have to keep going. We're almost there."
His guardian bit her lip in worry and indecision. On one hand he was right, going back the way they came would result in another day or possibly two days' delay. But if they were to keep going at their current pace in his condition, he would very easily succumb to heat stroke and die. Tifa shook her head. "I'm not going to risk your safety, Denzel." She wiped a trail of sweat from the boy's brow. "Edge can wait another day or two."
"But the spaceport can't!" He argued back. Tifa was taken aback by his sudden fierceness. It was uncharacteristic of the timid boy. "We'd have to wait another year in order to register. I won't be dead weight. We have to find my parents! Who knows where they'll have gone in a year." His eyes grew glassy at the thought of his parents.
Tifa's heart ached at the mention of the boy's parents. 'Zack...Aeris...' The thought of their deaths weighed heavily upon her. But the lie she kept up to keep hope in her charge's eye was the heaviest burden she'd ever have to carry. A smile crept to her lips as the wind suddenly picked up. "We'll find them. I promise."
The wind suddenly lashed out at the pair, coating them in a wave of sand. Through her coughing Tifa looked to the horizon to see a sandstorm blanketing the land. "Looks like we're in luck, kiddo. A sandstorm's brewing!" She turned to Denzel who managed a smile through his own coughing. "You know what that means." Tifa got on one knee allowing for the boy to hook his arms around her neck. Locking a hand underneath his knee she turned her back to the storm and faced the city. Tifa picked up her necklace that had a green orb dangling from it. Blowing on it, the orb lit up emitting a strange glow. "Remember to mind your face." She gently chided. Denzel nodded before wrapping his extra shirt over his face, leaving just enough exposed to see.
Tifa turned to eye the storm, just before it was upon them she sprinted off towards the spaceport. The green orb around her neck continued to shine with an eerie light as she was able to stay just ahead of the fast traveling storm. "Good thing this storm showed up! Right, Tifa?" Denzel yelled over the roaring sands.
Tifa grunted as she leapt off of a cresting dune. "Guess you could say that. It's not often we get to use our materia."
"I still don't know why we didn't use it to get here sooner Tifa. We could've been here weeks ago."
They were nearly upon the town now. She would have to slow her pace and enter under the sandstorm to ward off suspicion. "I told you before, Denzel. You can't use magic lightly. It has its consequences." Not to mention its enemies. Tifa slowed and the pair watched as the sandstorm engulfed them, coating everything in sight with a whipping dust. After waiting a few moments, Tifa made her way into the space port town. The streets were deserted as they should have been; all buildings had been closed up to prevent sand entry. Tifa quickly found an alleyway in which she hid, the major force of the storm being mitigated from her and Denzel's bodies.
"We'll wait it out here." She yelled to her charge, who could only nod.
It took well over an hour for the storm to subside. Everything lay blanketed in a foot or more of sand, making the town look like another set of dunes of the desert. Hand in hand Tifa and Denzel ventured out into the street once the sounds of people busying about became common place. Tifa kept her head down as she made their way to the spaceport at the center of town. Once inside, her charge couldn't help but to stand in awe at the many consoles and star charts depicting incoming and outgoing flights. Quickly Tifa located the flight desk which was being currently being manned by a portly fellow about her height.
"Excuse me, sir. Can I purchase two tickets for the starship Highwind?" The man looked from Tifa to Denzel who shyly hid behind Tifa's leg when he was given a rather shady glare. To which Tifa slammed down her Gil card and smiled a sickeningly sweet smile at the receptionist. A bit flustered by Tifa's forcefulness he nodded and began processing their boarding.
"The shuttle doesn't leave for another 15 minutes. I suggest you get everything you need and begin boarding immediately."
Tifa curtly nodded to the receptionist before grabbing Denzel's hand and leading him away. Through the relatively small spaceport Tifa led them to the docking bay where a shuttle the size of a bus lay.
"That's the Highwind?" The boy questioned, his face scrunching up in disappointment.
Tifa laugher filled the nearly empty hanger as she led the boy up the ramp. "Of course not. This is a shuttle to the Highwind. Spaceships are too large to land upon planets every time they make a pit stop. So they have supply shuttles make the short trips from orbit to the planet's surface."
"Then how do they build such large ships?"
"Some spaceports are large enough to be planets themselves. It's on these ones that starships are built. Back in the old days, yes starships were built upon a planet's surface and launched into space. But that became too costly. So they only build them in space now."
15 minutes came and went. No sooner did the pair along with other passengers find themselves in orbit of the planet some had once called home. Through the window the planet looked as dead from afar as it did up close. Noticing Denzel's worried expression Tifa ruffled his hair and kissed the top of head; silently reassuring him that it was going to be ok. As soon as the Highwind came into view Tifa smiled and pointed, indicating their destination. Never before had she seen so much hope in her charge's eyes. She could only hope that it would last long enough for her to find a solution to their predicament.
A/N: A new story to chew on while I work! My attempt at a futuristic Sci-Fi. This one kind of hit me while I was driving one day, so please R&R!