This was nice and quick, no?
I'm not one hundred percent happy with the flow of this one, but I just needed to stop working on it and post it already.
The Place Where There is Water.
by Nentikobe
Now with his horn Assalam struck a barren rock, piercing it to a great depth, and drew forth a gushing spring of life. Wherever those waters flowed, fires were quenched and the Earth was made fertile with a multitude of fruitful things. Great trees rose up and blossomed, and under their shade came beasts both wild and tame. All this was by the intent of the Holy One, and the Unicorn was the instrument of His will. In such a way was formed the Garden of the Unicorn, called Shamagim, which means the Place Where There is Water.
Unicornis: On the History and Truth of the Unicorn
annotated by Michael Green
Part Two
It had begun to rain again as they made their way through the streets of Edge. It was a light rain, but still heavy enough to soak anything still dry thoroughly. Tifa could see people bustling about the streets dancing in it. They were laughing and smiling and hugging one another, celebrating the end of geostigma.
Or, at least, the end of their geostigma.
Barret urged the truck they drove on faster, wanting to reach the bar as quickly as possible. Tifa said a silent prayer to deities unknown that Denzel would obey and go outside.
He had. When they pulled up in the truck, it was to find him standing outside the bar, rain jacket on, hood pulled back, with his dripping hair lying flat against his head. Marlene stood a few feet behind him in the archway over the entrance wearing her coat with the hood tied tight over her head, galoshes on her feet, and holding an umbrella.
Tifa made her way toward the boy as Marlene rushed into the open arms of her father, squealing with delight. She came to a stop in front of him and he looked up at her, tears mixing with rain. The black boil on his forehead stood out, framed by his wet strands of hair. The sadness in his eyes told her that he already knew why she had told him to go out in the rain in the first place.
"I'm sorry," was all he could manage before Tifa knelt down and hugged him tightly. "I know how much you want me to get better." The boy's voice began to falter.
"It's okay, honey. Don't apologize," Tifa said soothingly to her foster child.
"Johnny stopped by to check on us, and…" Denzel's voice broke and was barely above a whisper, " …and he…he told us about the rain."
Tifa responded by hugging the boy tighter and kissing him on the top of the head. He in turn hugged her tightly and sobbed in her arms.
"Why won't it work for me? It worked for everyone else! Why not me?"
"I don't know."
Together Tifa and Barret got the children inside. Tifa helped them bathe while Barret cooked them a nice hot meal, and soon after they were fed the kids were in bed. Denzel asked about Cloud as Tifa pulled his sheets up over him, and Marlene echoed with, "Yeah, when's he coming home?"
"I can't say right now. There's…there's a lot going on."
Denzel turned over to face away from her with a pout. "He said he would."
"I know, sweetie. Just don't think about it anymore tonight and get some rest, okay? Goodnight."
They echoed their goodnights as Tifa kissed their foreheads and left the room.
The children had been asleep for nearly three hours now. It had been nearly two since Barret and Tifa had run out of things to talk about.
Tifa sat at the bar of The 7th Heaven, this time on one of the stools in front instead of behind it, staring at the wall without actually seeing it. Her right elbow rested upon the countertop and her hand covered her mouth in a loose fist. She had been crossing and uncrossing her legs all night and was trembling all over. She hadn't been able to stop since she got home.
Since they couldn't talk about something together, Barret would periodically begin talking alone, telling various stories of his exploits since he'd first left 7th Heaven almost a year ago. Most of the time he'd be half way through a story before Tifa even realized that he was talking. Right now was one of those times.
"So I told him I'd kick his ass if he didn' shu' up. He went quiet righ' then and there. He knew I could take 'im." Another story about the men he worked with out in the oil fields. When had this one started?
In any case, she was catching the punch line of it. Pity she hadn't heard the rest so she could laugh, because Barret certainly was. This time Tifa couldn't tell if it was genuine or forced.
She let out an exasperated sigh and folded her arms on the counter, resting her head upon them. Barret immediately stopped laughing and looked up at her from the table at which he was sitting, unable to think of something else to say that he knew wouldn't upset her further. The sound of the chair scraping the floor seemed magnified ten fold in the silence of the room as Barret stood up and approached the bar. He walked around to the other side so he was facing Tifa.
"Wanna drink?"
Tifa looked up at him, then lowered her eyes. "No, thank you."
"Mind if I…?"
"Go ahead."
She placed her head in her arms again.
"Ya know, Teef," Barret began slowly as he made his drink, testing the waters, "As I remember, the las' time ol' Spiky pulled a stunt like this, we found 'im."
Tifa didn't respond.
Once upon a time Barret had been a harsh-talking man who didn't think twice before he spoke. But time had changed this, and now he tried his best to not be so rash, despite the task being so damned hard. Most of the time he still screwed up royally, but Barret took the woman's current silence as a sign to attempt to go further.
"'Course, 'e'd gone all funny in the head, but then 'e's always been funny in the head."
"Barret," Tifa began softly, lifting her head but still not looking at him, "I appreciate what you're trying to do, but…"
"Sorry," he cut her off.
"No, it's just…"
"Hey, you don' need to say nothin'. I understand."
Tifa extended her arms out over the counter and clasped her hands together. She closed her eyes and fought off the scream of misery she could feel building inside her. She was startled by the sound of a glass being placed in front of her between her arms.
She opened her eyes and stared at it.
"What's this?"
"What, you a bartender and not know?"
"I know what it is, but I said I didn't want anything."
"Well, I figured ya needed somethin' anyway." Barret relaxed against the counter and took a swig of his drink.
Tifa hesitated before taking a swig of her own. She placed the glass down and stared at it for a few minutes. Finally, she said, "I can't stand this, Barret."
The man was silent, not knowing what to say for once in his life.
"I just wish that things could be normal, I just…I don't understand why things have to always be this way. All I ever wanted was a family…"
"Tifa…"
"Please, stay here with the kids. I need to go back and help."
Barret took another swig of his drink. "Uh-uh. You ain't goin' nowhere. 'Sides, Reeve said to stay put."
She closed her eyes to fight back the forming tears. "I…can't. I just can't."
"You ain't in no condition…"
Her eyes were fierce when she looked at him. "I can handle it." Although Barret thought the rising tone in her voice suggested otherwise.
"No way, Tifa. You're stayin' here. 'Nough said."
"Damn it, Barret…" she retorted, standing up. Barret was very taken aback by the sudden outburst; this kind of behavior was very un-Tifa like.
She wasn't at all an overly small woman, but compared with Barret, who easily had at least a foot on her, she wasn't all that large, either. Her anger, however, seemed to cause her to multiply in size ten fold, and an electricity radiated from her that could make a man of any size draw back. But Barret was never one to be easily intimidated. The two of them each stood their ground, narrowing their eyes in hopes of besting the other in this argument. They very well could had remained there for a very long time, if it hadn't been for the small, black plush cat in a red cape and golden crown who chose that moment to come walking into the room on its hind legs.
"Did I come at a bad time?"
"Cait Sith…I mean Reeve…I mean, what the fuck ever, man, I get so confused when ya use this thing," said Barret. "And try talkin' normal for once, will ya? Not this weird accent, wherever the hell it comes from."
"Well excuse me. And thank you for leaving me with the little girl," the cat huffed in its high-pitched voice.
"Eh, she thought you were cute. How can I say no, huh?"
"Hmm." He turned his attention to Tifa. "Everyone is on their way over. The Turks, they…found some things."
"Still helping?" Tifa asked.
"Yes, but I suspect they have their own hidden agenda. Probably hoping to find whatever is left of Jenova's head."
"If there is anything," added Barret.
"Well, we really won't know for sure unless…" Cait Sith let his voice trail off.
Tifa finished for him. "…Cloud is found."
The cat nodded. "Only he knows for sure what all really happened."
She looked down at the stools in front of the bar. "Unless…"
"Until," Barret interjected.
Tifa looked up at him, her eyes soft. There was a tiny hint of a smile wanting to form on her lips.
Neither of them noticed Cait Sith bow his head and clasp his hands, fidgeting.
There came the sound of soft footsteps on the stairs, followed by the entrance of a very groggy six-year-old girl.
"Hey, baby, what's up?" asked Barret, immediately walking over and picking her up.
"Cait Sith disappeared. Oh!" she noticed the small cat standing below her.
"Eh, we was just talkin', darlin'. 'E'll be back upstairs later." Cait Sith cleared his throat very loudly at this comment.
There was a sudden knock on the front door, causing everyone to jump slightly.
"That'll be them," said Cait Sith, a little heavier than he intended.
Tifa walked over to the front door of the bar, unlocked it, and then opened it to allow whoever was on the other side in. The first one to enter was Yuffie, followed closely by Red XIII, and then Cid.
"Hiya."
"Hello."
"Howdy."
All three of them were soaking wet. The two humans removed heavy raincoats and hung them on a coat rack by the door. Tifa didn't like the heavy tones of their voices at all.
She didn't get a chance to dwell on it, however, as two more figures entered the bar. The hoods of their rain jackets obscured their faces, and they were each carrying large bundles wrapped in heavy black fabric. After Tifa shut the door behind them, the first of the two figures pushed back his hood, revealing unnaturally bright red hair.
'Sup, yo?" said Reno, sounding uncharacteristically subdued, despite his attempt at the contrary. The second figure pushed back his hood as well, revealing himself to be none other than Reno's partner in crime Rude, and, in usual Rude manner, didn't say anything, and merely nodded in greeting.
"Why are you guys here?" Tifa asked.
"Yeah, it's nice to see you, too," replied Reno, cocking an eyebrow.
"I'm sorry, it's just…"
Before she could finish, she heard the loud rumbling of a motorcycle driving down the back alley behind the bar. Everyone was silent, and for an instant Tifa could feel her heart rising in her chest.
Still in Barret's arms, Marlene gasped loudly and twisted herself around to try to look out through the back. There was then the sound of more footsteps on the stairs, these ones being frantic, and a ten-year-old boy appeared at the bottom in a flash, looking wide awake and not the least bit like he'd just been sleeping.
Denzel had been awake the entire time. More than likely eavesdropping from the top of the stairs, Tifa thought.
"Is that…is it Cloud?" he asked hopefully. But the boy didn't give anyone a chance to answer. "It has to be!" With a smile he turned and ran into the back room of the bar to the alley door.
"Denzel!" Tifa called after him.
"Tifa, it's not…" Yuffie began. She never finished, but Tifa paid her no mind as she ran after Denzel.
The brown-haired boy was already standing in the doorway, holding it open and staring out into the rainy darkness of the night. His foster mother came up behind him and stared out into the rain as well, straining her eyes to catch a glimpse of the signature spiky, blonde hair.
The motorcycle came to a halt and its driver turned off the engine. It was almost pitch-black in the alley, but immediately Tifa knew who this person must be. He was far too tall to be whom she had been hoping for, and as he grew closer she noticed a glimpse of a red cloak sticking out from beneath a black poncho.
"Vincent…" she began.
"We found it in Midgar. Figured it shouldn't be left there," he responded.
"Yeah."
"I was told there was a shed in the alley to park it in."
"Yeah, I'll…get the key."
Quietly, Tifa went into the kitchen and grabbed the shed key from off of a nail on the wall. She returned and handed it to Vincent, who promptly went back out into the rain to move the bike into the shed. Denzel had moved away from the door and stood staring at the floor.
"Hey, sweetie, don't worry, okay?" Tifa said, placing her hands on his shoulders.
"Tifa?" asked Red XIII, who had just entered. "The Turks have something to show you."
"Coming."
Together she and Denzel made their way into the main room of the bar where everyone else was gathered.
Reno and Rude had placed the wrapped bundles on one of the tables and stood beside them. Very carefully she approached them, feeling uneasier the closer she got. Denzel remained beside her.
"Um…" spoke Yuffie.
"You may not want the kids to see this," said Cait Sith.
Tifa looked at Denzel, who shook his head. "I wanna stay."
"Me, too!" piped Marlene.
"Might be good for 'em if they were here. Better to get it over with," said Cid.
Tifa looked up at the two Turks on the other side of the table. "Show me what you found."
Together they unfolded the cloth on their bundles and revealed the contents inside. There was one large sword and five smaller ones. The smaller ones, of course, could all fit together and attach to the larger one, creating one massive blade.
These were Cloud's. Tifa had seen them with him right before the explosion.
All feeling completely left the woman's body as she reached out her hand and touched one of the blades. They had all gone from shiny silver to black, and small parts were melted from the heat. Denzel remained where he was, looking at them and biting his lower lip.
No one said a word. The only sounds came from Vincent as he entered the back door after putting Cloud's motorcycle in the shed, then came into the main room.
She didn't know how much time had passed, but Tifa found herself unable to move. It was as if her hand was glued to the blade she was touching. The movement of Denzel putting his arms around her middle is what snapped her back to reality.
"Where…did you find these?" she finally asked, not taking her eyes from the blades.
"Near the old ShinRa building," Rude replied.
"Yeah. Was a bitch, though. That place was totally destroyed," added Reno.
Tifa absentmindedly began running the fingers of her free hand through Denzel's hair as he hugged her tighter. Behind them, Marlene looked at her father.
"Why doesn't Cloud have his swords with him?" she asked.
"Uh…" he knew there would be no easy answer to the question.
"And why was Vincent driving his bike?"
Barret carried her over to one of the tables off to the side and set her down on it. "Look, I…Cloud, 'e…I really don' know, sweetie," is what he settled with.
"Did you find anything else?" Tifa asked the Turks, still not looking up at them.
The two looked at each other, then Reno replied, "Not a single thing."
"Not even…what you were looking for?"
Rude and Reno were both lost for words.
Tifa finally looked up at them, her face emotionless, if not for the slight glistening of tears forming in her eyes.
"Not even Jenova's head?" she asked, her tone sounding aggressive despite her voice remaining soft.
"Uh…" the Turks said in unison, not sure how to reply.
Tifa began to slowly back away from the table. "The cause of all of this? You couldn't just leave it alone?"
"Now wait a minute!" Reno said in defense.
Tifa backed away from the table further, not taking her eyes off the two men. "You guys can't ever just stop, can you?"
"I don't think you fully understand everything that's happened," said Rude.
Denzel unwrapped his arms from around Tifa's waist and looked up at her.
"Tifa?"
A sudden burst of memories washed through the woman's head. Memories that were all too similar to what was happening now. Memories of pain and loss; of thinking that the entire world could just end, because there was no way it could be any worse than right now. But there was one in particular that stood out in her mind. The memory of how long ago she thought she'd lost everything; the memory of how this all began. She looked down and away from Denzel at the floor.
"Sephiroth, ShinRa, SOLDIER, the reactor…Jenova."
Everyone in the room was watching her now, not understanding what she was saying. The tears finally spilt from her eyes and began running down her cheeks.
"Teef?" Barret asked from beside her.
Tifa looked up again, this time at the swords sitting on the table. "I hate it all."
Her friends each all took a tentative step toward her. Yuffie made to come up and give her friend a hug, but Tifa gave them all a look of apprehension instead.
"I hate it all!" she repeated, then turned and ran out of the room.
Tifa was almost to the alley door when Barret caught her arm.
"Tifa? Tifa! What the hell?"
"Let go of me, Barret!" she demanded.
"No way! You need ta calm down, first!"
"LET GO!" she managed to pull free.
"What do ya think you're doin'?" the dark-skinned man asked.
"I…I just…I can't do this anymore. I can't lose everything. Not again…"
"You're not. Come on, let's jus' go back…"
"No, Barret. No." And with that she opened the door and ran out into the rain.
"Tifa! Stop actin' a fool and get you're ass back in here!" she could here him call after her.
But Tifa didn't stop running. Not for a long time.
"Damn stupid girl," Barret mumbled to himself, opening a closet by the door and digging through its contents.
"Now what the hell was that all about?" asked Cid as he and everyone else entered.
"I can imagine she's pretty upset," Yuffie replied, entering in behind him.
"Well no shit! I mean that whole 'Sephiroth, Jenova, ShinRa reactor' crap, or whatever," Cid spat.
"Excuse me, jerk!" the petite girl retorted.
"Hey!" barked Barret, emerging from the closet with a raincoat in his hand. "No' in front of Marlene, huh?" He pointed at the little girl who had snuck in behind them.
"Where are you going, Daddy?"
"I'm gonna go find Tifa. This her jacket?" Marlene nodded in response.
It was by now that everyone had ventured his or her way into the back room of The 7th Heaven.
"Think you're gonna find her?" asked Reno.
"How should I know?" Barret replied as he began digging through the closet again. "That girl can be as funny in the head as Cloud 'imself sometimes. Usually 'cause of 'im that she gets that way, too."
"I doubt she'll go too far," Red XIII added. "I'll come with. My nose may be of some help."
"I'm coming, too!" cried Yuffie, and she quickly ran to get her coat from the other room.
"Looking for something like this?" Vincent asked, holding out his poncho to the man in the closet.
Barret took it and looked it over. "Yeah, this'll fit."
Vincent gave his version of a small smile, which isn't really much of a smile at all. "I don't think anything else would." He was right, too. Barret was the tallest person in the room and very overly muscular. Vincent wasn't much shorter, but he was definitely much slimmer. Still, the poncho was long and wide and would do its job. There was nothing else that would fit him either way.
"Hm. Where'd you guys get all these anyway?"
The room filled with silence again, a silence that was quickly broken when Reno cleared his throat. He gave a small mischievous grin when Barret looked at him.
"No way."
"A gift to the W.R.O., compliments of ShinRa Incorporated."
"We had extras. Sorry, I didn't think of you," added Cait Sith.
"Whatever, I don' care. I want you two gone by the time we get back." Barret pointed at the Turks.
"What?" Reno asked in disbelief.
"Maybe I don' know what's goin' on but Tifa's not gonna like you bein' 'ere."
"Hey, we helped! We found the kids, didn't we?"
Barret raised his eyebrows at this comment. "What's that mean?"
"Huh?" Both Reno and Rude were puzzled.
"Whatever. Yuff, Red, le's go. Vin and Cid, watch the kids." He turned to walk out the door then paused. "And Cait Sith, play with Marlene." He then continued on out the door, the other two members of the search party following behind.
"The hell with his, I'm outta here," Reno sighed. He and Rude made their way out to the front door of the bar.
Marlene ran to the alley door and poked her head out. "Daddy! I almost forgot!"
Barret stopped and turned around. "What?" he yelled back.
"Tell Tifa everything will be okay! Tell her I saw the Flower Girl!"
"Who?"
"The Flower Girl!"
Barret, Yuffie, and Red XIII all stood looking at her in disbelief.
"Aerith?" Yuffie asked.
"Yeah!" Marlene replied with a laugh. "She's watching over us! I forgot to tell Tifa earlier." The little girl then smiled a very wide smile and disappeared back behind the door.
"Well, now, that's interesting," said Red XIII.
Mmm…. I'm excited for chapter three. Inspired in part by Princess Mononoke and Kingdom Hearts II.
So please review. As I said at the end of Part One, Barret is incredibly difficult to write. At least, I think he is. I am very intersted in knowing what people think of the job I did with him, and whether or not I made Tifa too angry.
