Chapter Four: The Beasts Stir
Tifa awakes to a brilliant day, the sunlight streaming into her room and causing her to squint against the harsh light. Blinking away her weariness, she swings her feet onto the floor and walks to the door. She heads for the bar downstairs, but stops as she passes Cloud's room, the door ajar. Peering in, she spots him passed out on the bed, having arrived just an hour or so beforehand.
Smiling to herself, Tifa closes the door and continues heading downstairs. After picking up the day's newspaper and checking the headlines, she heads back up to her room to get changed before going back downstairs to relax in the restaurant. A short while later, Peshe arrives for the day.
"Mornin'" he offers as he steps through the back doorway. Tifa glances up from the paper as he enters, acknowledges his arrival with a nod, then turns back to her reading. Peshe saunters up to the bar and has a seat across from her. "So, whatcha want me to take care of today?"
Tifa keeps her eyes on the news as she shrugs minutely. "There isn't really much to do today. We don't get our next shipment of supplies till tomorrow, and we're pretty much ready to go for tonight. We just gotta wait for opening time."
Peshe watches her closely before cautiously asking, "So, does that mean today's an off-day?"
Tifa gazes at him, and smiles as she responds. "Just be back before we're open, okay?"
Peshe is already heading for the door. "Later!" he calls just before closing the door behind him. Tifa merely shakes her head in disbelief at his antics.
Beneath the swaying Banora apple trees, a single figure slowly meanders about their trunks. His long red coat trails down to his ankles, and his brown hair flows back and forth before his brilliant teal eyes. He gazes up at the trees around him, reliving old memories of this precious place.
As he wanders about the sparse grove, he suddenly starts to grow slightly confused. His pace quickens as he rushes past tree after tree, staring up at their branches as he goes. Finally, he stops and whirls back to face the direction he came from. None of the trees hold a single apple.
He stands in confusion for a moment, staring out at the plains around him, when one of the missing fruit drops to the ground beside him, bumping against his boot. He glances at it, then stares up at the open sky above him, searching for the apple's source.
"I knew it would be only a short while before you'd return here."
Turning to his right, the young man comes face to face with the stranger in blue. The two share very similar outfits, though in differing colors. The man in red takes note of the newcomer's red eyes, but betrays no thoughts or feelings with his face, staying neutral as he probes for information. "Who are you?"
The man in blue merely wanders off towards the trees slowly, his trademark smirk returning to his face as he goes. "It must be hard, knowing that you were made a monster, forced into a horrific lifestyle against your will with no regard for your thoughts and feelings. How have you been coping with such an ugly truth?"
The man in red shifts his weight uncertainly. "I'm no longer a monster. And while that answer tells me nothing about who you are, it sheds some light on what you may be."
The stranger stops, casts a small glance over his shoulder. "Calling me a monster, are you? Hm. I suppose by some definitions that may be so, but the truth is, I am far from really being one." He whirls around to face his companion and begins striding toward him, his smile growing. The man in red steps back reflexively. "The truth is, you and your brethren are the real monsters. I am but the being born to protect the world from the true threats, and thus am equipped with abilities necessary to do so."
"You think yourself a hero, eh?" the man in red asks, a smirk evident upon his own face. "The last person to take that title wound up being the worst monster this planet has ever known."
"I know," the stranger replies. "But the fact still remains that he was in reality a monster the entire time. It's certainly possible that I will be called a monster while I fulfill my duties, but that won't change the fact that I am the one true hero."
The man in red clenches one of his gloved hands into a fist as his smile fades. "Sorry friend, but that title's taken already." In a flash, he raises his hand before him, unfurling his fingers and firing a large orb of flame into the smirking face of his opponent. The ball erupts on contact, scorching the bark and leaves of the nearby trees while stripping the ground bare of grass and debris. The fireball's roar echoes for a few moments, but is soon replaced by silence as smoke and dust slowly drift back to rest upon the charred earth.
The victor stands in silence, his bright eyes probing the swirling curtain for anything within it. Slowly, his face contorts into one of concern as the dust begins to thin, revealing nothing but the scorched earth beyond it.
"Tsk, tsk. It would seem your temper was as real as the rest of the existing details about you, Genesis." Genesis restrains himself, refusing to turn and face the other man behind him. "That just makes this all the more exciting. Thank you for helping to confirm the validity of Shin-Ra's information. It'll truly be helpful in my quest."
"Your quest for what?" Genesis asks roughly, his voice lowering to a growl.
He can hear the other man's smile in his voice as he answers. "My quest for justice. For peace, security, and completion. It's up to me to undo what's been done to this planet, and to save it from ever suffering such mistakes again."
Silence hangs in the air for a moment. "Completion?" Genesis asks, truely confused.
The man in blue drops his head and begins to wander away from the other man. "Yes. Sadly, I was made incomplete and require certain ingredients to fulfill my destiny."
Genesis spins around furiously, his long red sword in hand and positioned just an inch from the back of his companion's neck. "Who are you?" he growls menacingly, eyes ablaze with fury. "And what do you want with me?"
"Done playing already?" the man in blue asks sadly. "How disappointing. And here I was hoping for an enjoyable afternoon with my relative."
Vibrant red energy begins to radiate from Genesis' sword as his grip on the hilt increases. "Tell me who you are, now."
The man in blue turns and locks eyes with the other man, smiling as he talks. "Why, can't you tell? I'm your baby brother."
Genesis merely glares back at him. "I have no brother."
The man in blue continues to smile though. "We may not share parents, or much else for that matter, but our bodies do share some key qualities. Unfortunately, it's that fact that has led us to this point."
Genesis grits his teeth as the man in blue touches a hand to his chest lightly. "I am Teiaiel, savior of Gaia and protector of its citizens. It is my duty to undo the evil that has been done through your conception, brother, and now I'm afraid it's time for you to go."
Genesis draws back his sword and swings at Teiaiel's neck, but the other man simply steps back out of range. Genesis advances, swinging his weapon again and again at full speed, but Teiaiel manages to stay just beyond the sword's reach, his smile never wavering.
Growing frustrated, Genesis takes his sword in both hands and leaps straight at Teiaiel, swinging with all his might as he cries out. The younger man subtly slips under the enraged warrior and arsies behind him. Twisting around, Genesis releases one of his hands and unleashes a breath-taking volley of fireballs at his opponent.
Hundreds of the small, glowing orbs arc towards the man in blue, some of them flying far off their mark to decimate the landscape far and near, while others manage to find their target and encase him in flame. Genesis doesn't let up though, as he continues the barrage and only lets up to swing his sword before him, the blade emitting a thin crimson wave of light which hurtles through the growing explosion, causing it to erupt in a final flash of energy. Slightly out of breath, Genesis lets his sword droop slightly as he searches the area for his enemy.
"Sorry, but you'll need to do better to overcome me, brother."
Genesis tries to turn, but finds that he can't. Straining to move his head, he manages to catch a glimpse of Teiaiel out of the corner of his eye. The man's arm is extended, open palm facing Genesis' paralyzed form.
"While I do need you, brother, I'd say it's simple to see that my abilities vastly outmatch yours. As a result, it would be easiest if you just do as I tell you to."
Genesis does his best to convey his outrage, but has difficulty doing so. He only manages to grunt, "I don't care what you believe. You will never become a hero."
Then, exerting all his strength, Genesis cries out as he unfurls his single black wing, striking Teiaiel full in the face and taking to the air before the man can react. By the time Teiaiel climbs to his feet, Genesis is a small speck high in the sky that swiftly vanishes behind a large cloud. As he watches the warrior disappear, his hands ball into fists. "Try to hide all you want, brother. No one can hide from their destiny." Blue energy begins to emanate from his body as his hands begin to shake violently, the power within him building...
Cloud's eyelids flit open, exposing his pupils to the brilliant light of the mid-day sun. Pushing himself off the bed, he wanders over to the glaring window and gazes at the city beyond it. Feeling uneasy, he stares up at the sunlight sky, noting the puffy white clouds that drift by slowly.
As the sun disappears behind one such mass, Cloud is cast into shadow and he hears the door behind him open. "It's about time you got up. You've been asleep all day long."
Cloud continues to stare outside as Tifa awaits his response. When it doesn't come, she cuts to the chase. "What did Rufus want?"
Cloud's eyes leave the sky and focus on something only he can see. He's silent a moment, then turns to face his friend. "Where's Peshe?" he asks. Tifa tilts her head to the side, slightly confused.
