Yay! Update! If you're a Cloud/Aerith fan, check out my one-shot for them called More than Words, it has a suprising twist! Anyway, hope you enjoy!
Chapter Four
Home, Sweet Home
A long silence stretched between them at Aerith's words. Yuffie gaped at her slightly, while Tifa was frowning as though she didn't understand. Cloud was frowning too, but only from surprise and something that seemed to resemble concern.
Before any of them could express their feelings aloud, there was a loud BANG, as a trapdoor flew open beside Tifa. She shrieked and jumped about a foot in the air, hand clutching at her heart. Yuffie jumped backward as well, zooming backward and smacking her head on the wall. Cloud flinched at the noise, eyes narrowing, muscles tense as he prepared to fight whatever came out the door.
Reno laughed and Sephiroth smirked at their reactions, earning them a glare each from Aerith. Smiling, she said, "You're later than usual Vincent. The lackeys giving you trouble?"
A deep male voice grunted from the trap door. "I brought two said 'lackeys' with me, they completed the training we can give them." There were several loud thumps as the sound of people climbing a ladder echoed around the room. Four people emerged from the floor, three men and one woman, each covered in dust and wearing baggy clothes.
The only woman among them had blonde hair, looking almost brown with the dirt coating it. Her eyes were a brownish green, and she looked to be around twenty-five or so. Her arms were crossed and she looked as though she disapproved of the entire situation.
The man next to her was tall and black. Bald and wearing a single earring, his face was serious and powerful. He looked at Aerith, Sephiroth and Reno in great respect, bowing his head slightly. It was impossible to tell his age.
The next man was blonde and looked to be in his thirties, with blue eyes and what was unmistakably a cigarette burning in his mouth. He looked at Tifa, Cloud, and Yuffie with a raised eyebrow, seeming unimpressed.
The three otherworlders gaped in wonder at him.
"C-Cid?" Tifa gasped, eyes wide as saucers.
The man frowned. "How the & ya know my name, girl?"
Letting out a small squeak, Tifa covered her mouth with her hands, as though she wished to prevent any more words from escaping her lips ever again. She shook her head at his questioning eyes, resettling herself on the blanket under her feet.
The last man was easily the most recognizable.
He wore a red headband that held back his long ebony hair, with a tattered red cloak to match. Underneath that, his clothes were torn and black. He also wore heavy brown boots with metal on the toe.
Yuffie gazed at him in amazement, knowing that he was unlike any man she'd ever met. It wasn't because of his gold claw-arm, his long black hair, or porcelain-like skin, no.
It was because of his eyes.
They were crimson, like blood fire, and the reddest rose, glowing with the power of Mako, and with power, sadness, and determination. Yuffie visibly swallowed as she felt her world rush around herself, as though the ground beneath her feet vanished, and she was falling, falling, into sweet oblivion. The man's eyes were locked with hers, though he seemed more confused that anything else, his eyes wide and surprised.
Reno broke the moment.
"Hey Vinnie," he said with a wide grin. 'Rith here thinks she's found her Martyrs. What do you think?"
Aerith rolled her eyes as Vincent's gaze turned to her, questioning. "They're not my Martyrs Reno, honestly…" But she gave Vincent a significant glance that he seemed to understand immediately. He gestured the three other people to sit around the room, and they obeyed him without question.
"Alright, now that everyone's warm and cozy, anyone care to…I don't know…EXPLAIN A LITTLE MAYBE!?!" Yuffie's irritated words were echoed on Cloud and Tifa's faces.
Aerith nodded toward her with a slight smile. She took a deep breath.
"As long as I can remember from being in this place, there hasn't been one prisoner that didn't want to get out- or die trying. So, once we were old enough, we started the Resistance." She turned and smiled at Sephiroth, Reno, Vincent, and Rude.
"We were some of the few people that knew how to fight, and had been trained in it," Aerith continued, turning her attention back to Yuffie, Tifa, and Cloud. "So we took it upon ourselves to train the people of this facility in the ways of fighting. That way, we could have an army of people bent on revenge, and we could strike against Rufus Shinra and the Empire. Except…" She sighed. "Many do not wish to learn how to fight, or they are too young or old. Thus, our plans changed. Rather than take the president of the Shinra Corporation, we planned an escape. After that…"
Aerith trailed off, biting her lip, an odd look in her eyes.
"After that…we have no plan, none other than staying alive, and well out of Shinra's way. We hope, that once outside, we will be able to do more of a frontal assault, but as of now, we are not ready. We cannot train the able fast enough for even our plans of escape to work…"
She trailed off again, though this time she smiled. "But…now with you here, you can help us fight the Empire, train our comrades, and get out of this forsaken place." Her smile was like a bright beacon in the dark, and Tifa, Yuffie, and Cloud exchanged uneasy glances. Tifa bit her lip.
"Aerith…I'm sorry…but, don't we get any say in the matter? How do you know that we even know how to fight, let alone that we can train others?"
Aerith smile faltered, and Tifa looked guilty. But Aerith's smile was merely replaced by a thoughtful look. She raised an eyebrow at Tifa, but directed her question at Cloud.
"So…what is your issue with us?"
Cloud blushed in the intensity of her gaze. "I…I don't have an issue with-"
Aerith cut him off with a wave of her hand.
"No. Not us as people. 'Us' as in the Resistance. You do not like it. Why?"
Cloud gave a small sigh, averting his eyes from Aerith's.
"You…you are not well organized. I value what you are trying to do, but you are putting all of the possibility of success or failure on three people you just met! You're putting a lot to chance, and putting a lot of lives at risk. What will you give them, even if you do get out of here? What do you give the thousands of people you tell me are confined here at this time? What do you give them as they waste away in this Hell?"
His speech was greeted with an angry silence.
Yuffie openly gaped at him, while Tifa gazed at him unbelievingly. Reno's jaw hardened, his fists clenching as he glared at Cloud. Vincent's eyes became such narrow slits it almost looked at though he had closed them, and his jaw line was twitching in anger. Rude crossed his arms, fists tight, while Cid and the blonde woman glared daggers at Cloud.
But it was Sephiroth's reaction that surprised them all.
"You Bastard!" Sephiroth hissed, leaping up from his place at the wall to run at Cloud, who had not time to prepare as Sephiroth's hands dived for his throat, pushing him up against the wall.
"How dare you?!?" He growled, pinning Cloud down to the wall. His jade-colored eyes were ignited with fury, the lines of his face hard.
"Let him go!" Tifa, Yuffie, and Aerith yelled, charging forward.
Tifa raised her fists, her expression like a raging forest fire. Yuffie raised her hands as well, eyes like flint, her breathing heavy.
Aerith ran forward, placing both hands on Sephiroth's shoulders. "No Sephiroth! He doesn't know, let him go now!"
Sephiroth relaxed at Aerith's touch, his hands loosening slightly on Cloud's windpipe. Cloud's face, which had been turning a blue to match his eyes, returned to normal color. He glared at Sephiroth, raising his hands, attempting to pry off Sephiroth's hands.
"Aerith!" Sephiroth hissed, his eyes darting to her. "He…insulted…what we go through…you go through…" His words were indistinct, coming out in a snake-like hiss from between his teeth. "Everyday…people…die…you…
we…help them…"
Aerith nodded, her hands gently coaxing Sephiroth's away from Cloud's neck. "I know Sephiroth," she said, her voice low and soothing. "But hey don't. Please…let him go…"
The silence stretched on, Sephiroth's eyes locking in a heated stare with Aerith's. Slowly, slowly, his grip loosened. The moment his fingertips were away from Cloud's neck, Aerith relaxed, a split second before Cloud punched Sephiroth hard in the jaw.
Sephiroth stumbled backward, clutching his bruised face, eyes flashing dangerously. Straightening, he clenched his fists and tried to move Aerith out of the way.
"Come on then," Cloud said, his breathing heavy as he entered a fighting stance. "Let's see how well you can take me on when I fight back."
Sephiroth growled low in his throat, lunging forward.
"STOP!"
Aerith stood between them, one hand outstretched toward both of them. Her eyes were getting brighter and brighter, and her palms glowed a faint green color. Both Cloud and Sephiroth stopped in their tracks, staring awestruck at Aerith. The light on her palms grew brighter as she began to speak.
"You will not fight each other. You are on the same side. Both of you back off before I blow your arms up. Now."
Her voice was different; simultaneously lower and more feral, while still sounding angelic. Her hair blew slightly in a wind she seemed to be conjuring herself. She raised her hands threateningly when neither Cloud nor Sephiroth moved from their spot.
Slowly, they backed away from her, and each other. And even more slowly, the strange light that had flooded her eyes so suddenly vanished, and her palms returned to normal.
Aerith swayed on the spot, her eyes closing halfway as the world seemed to spin before her, though luckily a pair of strong arms caught her before she hit the ground.
"Ugh…" She muttered, raising a hand to her forehead. Blinking blearily, Aerith looked up into strangely familiar blue eyes. "Cloud…?" she murmured as her senses returned to her.
It was indeed Cloud, looking at her with worry in his bright blue eyes. "Aerith…are you alright?" He murmured, so quietly that Aerith suspected she was the only one that heard. Giving a short nod, she realized that people, all of whom looked worried for her, surrounded her.
Shaking her head to clear it, she struggled to sit up, noticing with a slight blush that she was laid out across Cloud lap.
"Whoa…" Aerith said as she found herself at her full strength, even though she had just fainted. Tifa and Yuffie were looking at her in amazement and concern, frowns on their faces. Vincent had let a great deal of concern into his usually quite emotionless eyes, and Aerith noticed rather belatedly that his hand was gripping her shoulder tightly. Reno leaned forward and placed a hand on her forehead, searching her face for signs of illness. Cid and the blonde woman Aerith knew to be Elena be behind them, worry and slight apprehension on their faces.
It took her a moment to realize who was missing.
"Where's Sephiroth…?"
The crowd around her exchanged grim looks. It was Yuffie that answered.
"He…left," she said, not meeting Aerith's eyes. "After you fell. He had such a look on his face…like he had just witnessed his mother's death or something…he knew you were okay though," she added quickly, seeing Aerith's alarmed look. "He made sure of that first thing. Then he just…left."
Without a word, Aerith stood up, struggling against the many arms that tried to force her down. She shook them off.
"Sephiroth blames himself for something stupid again. He shouldn't have been fighting, but I let my powers get out of control. Sometimes…he can be such an idiot…" She sighed.
Tifa stepped forward. "Are you going to look for him?"
Aerith paused, before slowly shaking her head. "No…I've had enough experiences with this type of thing to know what to do. Sephiroth won't be found unless he wants to be. Which, I expect, won't be for a long while…"
She shook her head again, worry reflected in her eyes. "In any case, I've got a question to answer, don't I?" Her eyes flickered over to Cloud, who found himself feeling immensely guilty. Opening his mouth to apologize, he was cut off as Aerith gave him a very sharp look through narrowed eyes.
She turned back to Vincent. "Cover up the trap door, make sure Cid and Elena are well safe inside it. I have to lead the newcomers around."
Vincent gave her a long, piercing look before nodding. He ushered Elena and Cid down the trap door, shutting it firmly after them.
Aerith turned to Reno, though she addressed both him and Vincent. "Are you coming, or are you just going to meet up with us at usual place tonight?"
Reno frowned for a moment, before giving his usual cocky smile. "I think I'll come along. It might be fun to see the newbies stumble." He smirked at Tifa, who found herself blushing under his heated gaze.
Vincent looked thoughtful, frowning slightly. "I…have matters I must attend to. I will meet you all later." He gave them all a slight nod, and turned on his heel with a swish of his cloak. He paused slightly at the door, before turning to Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie. "You are a part of this world now." He said, his crimson eyes boring into them all. "If you do not do everything in your power to heal it, then you really aren't living. Your own world did not get where it is without hardship. The trials you will face here will determine who you really are." His eyes focused on Yuffie for a brief moment before he swiftly opened the door and walked out.
Frowning slightly, Aerith's eyes stayed fixed on the doorway Vincent had went through, seeming lost in thought. With a shake of her head, she turned back toward her companions, a smile in place.
"Come with me. I want to show you our world…"
And show them she did.
The strange newcomers found themselves amazed and terrified at the sights before them, the horrors and truths of their new life.
Yuffie watched, her heart shriveling, as children with hollow, sunken eyes lay like dead bodies on the ground, mouth part way open and parched, crying out for parents that weren't there. And she watched as Aerith held their trembling bodies, watched as she made them laugh and smile at the smallest things. She watched as they paid her in turn, tugging on her hand and showing her objects they had found, stories they had to tell. Aerith held their hands and laughed at these children, with their wide eyes and innocent smiles, her eyes sparkling like jewels in the mist. They loved her. She was their mother. She loved them, and held them, like no one else could.
Tifa watched, a sickness seeming to spread through her body as the old and broken stumbled by. Once, perhaps, they had been like her, young and strong, ready to face any challenge. And now they lay broken, forgotten. Alone. Unwanted. Left to die.
And she watched as Aerith kissed their foreheads, smoothed their hair and told them stories of light and love. She watched as they clasped her hands and murmured words she could not understand, though Aerith smiled as though they spoke plainly, embracing them like long-lost family. Tifa watched as Reno, with his cocky, joking, attitude, clasped their hands and wrapped their wounds, speaking softly, tender, caringly to the nameless people that would likely die in a day. His eyes were alight, like the sea in the sun, shining bright enough to outlast any other. And she smiled as he turned his eyes on her with the same caring light, making her whole world somehow brighter.
Cloud watched as anyone and everyone met them on the streets. He didn't know what he had expected, for Aerith to show them where they were to live, how to do their work, perhaps?
But not this, that much he knew.
Aerith showed them the people, the real people that were living there. She showed them these people so that they wouldn't be a distant memory, so that they wouldn't be another nameless face to forget. She showed them so that they could see and feel and touch the lives that were so utterly and completely real that their whole world seemed to spin with the truth of it. They existed. They laughed and cried, and held on tight to Aerith as though she were a precious gem that could break and never be seen again. They loved and looked on, looked into his eyes with such a deadened look, he found himself questioning what it meant to live, if such people could live this way. And Aerith smiled, her eyes and warmth filling his heart with such wonder, such happiness, such unfathomable life that he wondered how his heart had even been able to beat before, without these people, without her, there to smile for them. And he couldn't help it…
He smiled back.
The day was done, the people met, and throughout it all Aerith hardly spoke a word to the newcomers, hardly explained to talked about what was before them. But that had a purpose too. Now the people weren't just someone they were introduced to through someone else. They met them personally, by their choice and will.
As the day began to close, Aerith told them of one last place they had to go.
She led them back to the house that she slept in, and she led them down the trap door. Taking a torch from the wall she led them down a long, twisting tunnel, never halting in her step. Finally, she spoke to them all.
"I want to show you," she said. "I want to show you where we truly live together, as one. Where we can live without the Shinra butting in for a while, until the morning comes."
Without further explanation, she led them down the dark path to a wide archway. Runes of an unknown language were inscribed on the edges, glowing a faint greenish-white in the darkness.
An amazing sound greeted the end of their journey. Firelight and laughter. The wild, carefree laughter of young children.
The sight they met was even more spectacular.
A huge, antechamber-like room was before them, dug out of the very ground. Tall, ancient grey pillars carved with the same strange runes dotted the sides of the underground room, reaching up to dig into the ceiling. Stone houses, all with the odd symbols, lay like a quilted blanket before them, forming a great ring. In the center of it all, was a huge, crackling, bonfire; around which what seemed to be half the inhabitants of the facility were crowded. Children danced in the flickering flames as other banged on the ground in various beats, though a few were blowing on what seemed to be handmade flutes.
Laughing at their wide-eyed amazement, Aerith led them toward the throng, explaining for the first time that day.
"I stumbled across this place about five years ago. Shinra hasn't found it because only a Cetra can get in here and open the caves. All the old writing is from them. They built this place, who knows how long ago, as a safe haven for their people, and it's doing the same thing now." Beaming at them, she continued. "We can't fit everyone in here though, and we have to be careful about who we tell. Right now, only those openly in the resistance, else the young or the old, are in here. Soon, everyone will know."
Suddenly, as they drew level with the crowd, which parted automatically for them, a small blur rushed up, talking Aerith in a tight hug.
"Aerith!" The young girl squealed, her face buried in Aerith's shoulder. "You're here!"
She stepped back, revealing an adorable face, with long brown hair, brown eyes, and a delighted smile on her face that seemed hauntingly familiar to the newcomers…
"Marlene…"
Yuffie's whisper was lost within Tifa's, both of their eyes wide. Cloud too, was looking incredulous, though not as much as he had at the sight of Cid.
The girl, Marlene, frowned at them. "Are these the new people? Are they gonna help us fight Aerith?"
Aerith laughed after a small pause. "That's up to them sweetie. Do you want to show them the bonfire?"
Marlene grinned again. "Yup! Come with me new guys!"
And she dragged them forward, past Aerith and Reno's snickers.
Up close, the fire was even more impressive. Standing feet away from it, Tifa, Yuffie, and Cloud felt as warm as they would have on a summer's day. Smiling faces surrounded them, and they understood why this place was so wonderful and important.
Here, for a while, they escaped the horror of their reality. They laughed, and were really, truly, happy. Here around this bonfire, they were no different from someone from Cloud, Yuffie, or Tifa's world. They lived as one.
Marlene marched back to Aerith. Her eyes were wide with curiosity and wonder. Smiling, she took Aerith's hand and led her forward. As she came, the crowd was silenced, seeing Aerith seeming to mean something important. Marlene stopped when she had led the woman to a gap in the crowd before the fire, so that she was facing everyone.
"Will you sing for us, Miss Aerith?"
Aerith smiled, but didn't answer immediately. Instead, she turned to Cloud, her eyes locking with his. For a moment they were caught up in one another, but Aerith broke the connection by speaking in a ringing voice.
"Earlier," She said. "You asked me, 'What do you do for these people?' Well, Cloud Strife, I have shown you our world, and the people within it. I have shown you our lives, our very existence. And now, I shall answer your question. What do we give these people, Cloud Strife?"
She paused, and nodded at Marlene who smiled happily, joining the crowd for a better look at the young woman. Aerith looked up again, her eyes meeting Cloud's once more.
"We give them Hope."
As though on queue, those few that carried homemade flutes began to play a soft, familiar, melody. Her foot tapped in a similar, slow beat, and Aerith began to sing in a beautiful voice, once that seemed to show her life being in its entirety.
"I was standing, by my window
On a cold, and cloudy, day.
When I saw the, hearse come rollin'
For to take my mother away."
Pausing for a moment, Aerith raised her arms, her voice echoing throughout the entire room, haunting, beautiful, and sad.
"Will the circle, be unbroken,
By and by, lord, by and by.
There's a better, home a-waitin'
In the sky, lord in the sky."
Firelight glittered in her eyes as they swept the faces of the people around her. They lingered on Cloud, Yuffie, and Tifa, who found themselves remembering the song as though from a long-forgotten dream.
"Well I told the, undertaker,
Oh undertaker, please drive slow.
For that body, you are haulin'
Lord I hate to see her go…"
Tifa and Yuffie looked at each other, as the words came to mind. They knew this song. Softly, slowly, they began to sing along, their voices melding in a wonderful way with Aerith's, echoing for all to hear.
"Will the circle, be unbroken,
By and by, lord, by and by.
There's a better, home-a-waitin'
In the sky, lord in the sky…"
Aerith made no objection to the new voice, merely raising her hand to them, offering for them to join her fully. The came forward, standing before the crowd, hands clasped, uniting as one.
"As I followed, close behind her,
Tried to hold up and be brave.
But I could not, hide my sorrow,
When they laid her in the grave."
Three sets of eyes scanned the crowd, making connections, and uniting with people that were now their truths and reality. Emerald, Wine-red, and Stormy green-grey, met the people, and allowed their words to fill them.
"Will the circle, be unbroken,
By and by, lord, by and by.
There's a better, home-a-waitin'
In the sky, lord, in the sky…"
Tears brimmed in their eyes, emotion filling them as they felt the song explain their lives, their hopes, dreams, and fears. Striving to keep their voice straight, the girl tightened their hold on the other, as though they were afraid to leave.
"I went back home, my home was lonesome.
Missed my mother, she was gone.
All my brothers, and sisters crying,
In our home so sad and alone…"
Marlene stepped forward, linking hands with the three women, adding her own voice to the mix. Her young, innocent voice rang out, through the hearts of the people, and they never looked away from the haunting eyes.
"Will the circle, be unbroken,
By and by, lord, by and by.
There's a better, home-a-waitin'
In the sky, lord, in the sky…"
Cloud could feel the song within himself, yet no sound issued forth. Beside him, Reno began to sing, his deep and surprisingly good voice joining with the girls. Children all around were singing, some running up to join hands, others merely staying in place, reaching for someone beside them.
"We sang the songs of, childhood,
Hymns of fayth that made us strong.
Songs that our mother, had taught us,
Hear the angels sing along…"
Slowly, slowly, the crowd began to join them, the sound growing and growing until it felt as though the whole world sang with them. Cloud still found no words escaping his mouth, trying to immerse himself in the beauty of it all, so he could join them and become one.
"Will the circle, be unbroken,
By and by, lord, by and by.
There's a better, home-a-waitin'
In the sky, lord, in the sky…"
Emerald eyes locked with Cerulean blue ones, and Cloud felt something blossom within himself, something more than hope and dream, more than the song, could give. He felt it as he had never felt it before. And staring directly into Aerith's eyes, he began to sing along.
"One by one the, seats were empty,
One by one they went away.
Now my family, they have parted,
Will they meet again someday…?"
No one complained as a man with long silver hair stepped through the crowd, his moth forming the words, eyes never leaving Aerith's face. She smiled at him, and nodded, but otherwise did nothing. A dark-haired man with a long red cloak and a golden claw arm was behind him, and even he, too, sang the song.
"Will the circle, be unbroken,
By and by, lord, by and by.
There's a better, home-a-waitin'
In the sky, lord, in the sky…"
And their voiced melded, merging until there seemed to be only one voice, one voice filled with the suffering, sorrow, and hope, of a whole people. One voice that song united, for all eternity, binding them together for an endless journey. An Cloud knew, just as Tifa, Yuffie, and everyone there, knew, that they were together, for better or worse, that they were a part of one another, and that no matter what, they would help them in any way they could.
"In the sky, lord…in the sky…"
Whew! I've been planning this chapter for weeks! Not much excitement, but the next chapter will be hopefully.
Here's the Reveiws!
kyos-girl101: Thanks! I'm glad you think so, and I'll try to update as fast as I can!
May: As you can see, Cid is in this, as well as Marlene! You'll know why soon...
SimpleNClean92: Yup, Vinnie has his claw arm. There's a reason for that...and Tiranlges are fun, it's gonna cause a lot of drama and angst, but it will end up okay...for most people, at least...
Well, I THINK that's it for the last chappie, give me more reviews please!
Next chapter:
Work Our Fingers to the Bone...: Cloud, Tifa, and Yuffie are shown just what that pharase means as they make some startling discoveries, and we learn where Sephy and Vinnie went!
Please Review! I'll try to update soon!