Ballad of a Dove
Chapter 26 - Free at Last
by The Secret SOLDIER
Zack kept running. He could hear quick, soft footsteps behind him, and he knew that if he turned, Masamune's impossibly-sharp tip was probably only inches from his back. And unarmed as he himself was, there wasn't a chance in hell that he would survive another fight with Sephiroth.
He chose a door at random. As long as he didn't run into a dead end supply room or something, he could keep this up close to indefinitely. He had just as much mako in his blood as Sephiroth, and almost as many Jenova cells. If he had enough stamina to keep running, then maybe the general would get bored of chasing him eventually —
Hey, that was an idea. A fairly bad one, of course, but there weren't any better options. Jenova cells.
"Mother?" Zack said under his breath, both hoping and fearing for a response. "Any chance you can convince him not to kill me?"
When the Voice finally answered, it was hissing with malice. "You betrayed me. You promised me you were coming north to meet me, and now it becomes apparent you only wanted the girl."
"Well, gee, sorry. I'm only human. What did you expect?" Zack was afraid of antagonizing Jenova — if she wanted to, she could probably take over his mind now, or at least slow him down enough for Sephiroth to catch up. However, getting aid from her seemed impossible; it had been a mistake to start this conversation.
He closed another door behind him and darted across a narrow hall, through another door. How long would it be until he lost Sephiroth? Was that even possible?
"I suppose I expected too much from you, my son. The only good you've ever done me was by spreading my cells to others. Perhaps I should thank you briefly for that, at least. Even now the Cetra girl is bearing my offspring. She is close, so close..."
Zack froze, catching his breath, listening for footsteps, processing what he'd just heard. "She's what?!"
The Voice had a clearly mocking tone. "She's pregnant. That's what you and your human instincts did to her. That's why she's here. You did my job for me, before I was ever able to influence you at all..."
No way. Just... no way. His beloved Aerith was pregnant? With his child? Zack didn't know whether to laugh or cry violently. More importantly, she was being held here in that condition? He turned around, halfway intent on going back and beating Sephiroth to a bloody pulp for what he'd done. But his heart stopped momentarily as footsteps approached outside and the general's bitter scent grew stronger. Zack couldn't move, couldn't breathe, until the man's presence passed on down the hall outside the door. The black-haired SOLDIER almost chuckled. For all Sephiroth's mystique, even he hadn't spent years in a tank of condensed Lifestream. It seemed he couldn't hunt by smell like Zack could, which gave the younger man a very tiny advantage. That, coupled with the fact that now he was behind Sephiroth, just might allow him to get back to Aerith in time.
Pregnant, and within a time field. Who knew how close she was to giving birth?
Zack opened the door and stepped back into the hallway, carefully looking both ways before deciding that the coast was, in fact, clear. Sephiroth, Cloud, Tifa, himself — there were far too many people running around unaccounted-for in this base. Huge as it was, they were bound to run into each other sooner or later.
The SOLDIER did an about-face and quickly retraced his steps toward Aerith's cell.
oooOoOooo
Tseng recognized the place as soon as he stepped through the front door and got over his coughing, shivering fit. Well, not recognized exactly, but he knew a Shinra research facility when he saw one. He'd never heard of one this far north, but then, a lot had been going on in the Company that he'd not been privy to.
He looked around, glad that the place was at least passably warm after that blizzard raging outside. If this was the place that Zack's premonitions had been leading them to, then it stood to reason that Jenova — and Sephiroth — and Aerith — would be here somewhere.
The Turk drew his gun from his shoulder holster and checked the powder. It was mostly dry, enough so to fire at least a few times. He ignored the sinking feeling that bullets would be utterly useless against the enemies he would be facing, and hefted the revolver in his hand anyway.
Now, assuming the layout of this base was built to Company standards, there would be a set of cells and interrogation rooms off of one of the inner, circular hallways. Tseng headed there first, hoping that Sephiroth did the logical thing for once and put his prisoner in a cell. If he had her quartered elsewhere in the base, there was no hope of finding her, especially without running into the general himself or his blond puppet.
Tseng hurried down the corridor, his instincts railing against the fact that there was no cover anywhere. All it would take would be for someone to come out of a side door, see him, and he'd be over. He supposed that Zack was in here too, somewhere. Unless he'd died out in the snow, when they'd been attacked by... whatever it was that had hit them. Tseng had simply followed the only visible trail of boot prints until he arrived at the door to this facility. There was just no way of knowing whose boots he'd followed.
He was almost to where he judged the cell block to be, when sounds of a fight reached his ears. Metal screamed on metal and an angered shout echoed dully off the concrete walls. Tseng's first reaction was to flatten himself against the wall and aim his gun in the basic direction of the noises. Abruptly, the combat ceased — someone must have lost. He was still trying to guess who it was and what the outcome had been when there were pounding footsteps racing down a side corridor, straight toward him. Obviously the loser hadn't died, but was fleeing.
The Turk dove for the nearest door, yanking it open and throwing himself inside. He closed it behind himself softly, hoping that the footsteps would cover the noise of the latch engaging. Damn enhanced hearing. Every noise seemed too loud. What was the threshold of their senses, anyway? Tseng held his breath for good measure, and tried to calm his racing heart. The footsteps hesitated right outside the door and he raised the gun to head-height. If they came any closer, he'd fire through the door and hope for a killing shot...
But the sounds passed. Tseng almost breathed again, his lungs beginning to burn, when a second pair of footsteps approached. These were soft and even, like a great cat hunting its prey. Even without seeing, Tseng knew that Sephiroth was just feet away on the other side of the door. No use making a head shot against him — that spawn of the devil would probably knock the bullet away like it was nothing. An ordinary human couldn't hope to make a scratch on him. Who knew, maybe even a SOLDIER couldn't touch him. Maybe he really was a god at this point.
Sephiroth continued on in pursuit of the first set of footsteps, and Tseng nearly fainted with relief. He waited a full five minutes before venturing back into the corridor, just to make sure he was well out of earshot.
Unfortunately there was no way of knowing how many were left of the original crew of this place — if any — nor how many of Jenova's puppets were roaming the halls. Tseng had to move slowly, listening at every door he encountered. It didn't help that he was terrified of running into the general again; the mere thought of it had his knees shaking. He'd almost died last time, if not for Zack's timely intervention in the Tower.
He opened another door and stepped into the antechamber of an interrogation room. There was a panel of one-way glass along a whole wall, and the materia over the door was glowing, indicating the cell was occupied. But instead of the usual Wall spell, this materia was golden-green. Time. Surely some devilry of Sephiroth's.
At this point, it hardly mattered who was in the cell. Aerith, or someone else unfortunate enough to have caught the General's attention. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, after all. Tseng hoped that, if it wasn't Aerith, at least the prisoner would be able to back him up in a fight.
The Turk stood back and pointed his gun at the pulsing materia. The concrete walls ought to muffle the gunshot, although with enhanced hearing, who knew what would be heard and how far away. Tseng pushed the heavy metal door closed behind him, and fired twice in quick succession. The first shot disrupted the shielding around the materia, while the second bullet travelled through the gap created by the first and shattered the orb into glassy fragments. A ripple of green-yellow mist washed through the room as the time field deactivated, and a sour smell arose from the broken materia.
Tseng fired a third shot at the lock on the cell's door — there was no point being subtle any more, and speed was more important now. With nothing left to hold it closed, the door swung slightly inward. Tseng advanced silently to the door, hesitated by the doorframe, then spun and kicked it open. He crouched in the doorway, gun at the ready just in case, and stopped dead.
"Aerith!"
The girl was seated, naked, on a chair in a shabbily elaborate room. From the stale smell of the air washing over him, Tseng knew that the door had been closed for a very long time — far longer than the two weeks or so it had taken him and Zack to head north.
Tseng lowered his gun and stepped forward. Aerith's head was flung back, resting on the back of the chair, and her eyes were closed. Her pregnant stomach hardly registered in the Turk's mind, as his first panicked thought was that she was dead. The revolver fell to the floor and he lunged forward, tripping over himself to get to her. Hands shaking violently, he touched her cheek, then his touch fell to her shoulders and he shook her, calling her name.
"Please wake up! Aerith!"
She stirred. There was the sound of an inhale and a sharp sob, and then she was in his arms, clinging to his shoulders so tightly that her fingers dug against bone.
"Tell me you're real. Tell me you're really here," she gasped, pressing her head to his chest. "Don't go away again."
Tseng was left breathless at her hoarse voice and her body so close against his.
"I won't leave you. I promise," he answered. She shook her head against him.
"You're just going to fade away again. You always do. Why are you even here?" Aerith's tone turned suddenly angry and she shoved him away roughly. "I bet Sephiroth dreamed you up to hurt me more. Or are you a figment of Jenova?"
Tseng landed on his knees in front of her chair, looking up at her with the eyes of a suppliant. "Aerith — I'm real. I'm not here to hurt you; I'll die before I hurt you. I'm real, I promise, and I'm here to take you away. You're safe now."
She stared at him with wide green eyes. Both arms were crossed over her stomach to shield her child from him. Finally she extended one hand toward the Turk in a gesture of acceptance, although her expression was guarded.
"Prove it."
Tseng reached up and let his fingertips brush against hers. He wanted so much more, but he couldn't risk doing anything to make her fear him. Whatever Sephiroth had done to her, he would kill that man for ruining the flower of Midgar.
"Follow me," he said. He rose slowly, moving as if she was a frightened animal. Which she well might be, after nine months in solitary confinement. If she wasn't mad from the silence and loneliness, then she was stronger than most men in Shinra's prisons.
Her swollen belly had finally registered in Tseng's mind, and all the implications of it. He felt a thrill of pride — hadn't she lain in his arms not a month ago? But she was Zack's. The SOLDIER would kill him for sure.
Much, much more importantly — how was this affecting Aerith herself?
Tseng paused in the doorway and watched as the girl gathered herself to her feet, shuffling slowly. She kept the scrap of pink fabric, which he now recognized as her one-time dress, clutched to her chest, although it didn't appear to be because of any sense of modesty or even cold. It was more of a protective gesture, a futile attempt to put some barrier, however flimsy, between herself and the world. Tseng's heart clenched painfully at the realization that he was on the outside of her world. Hopefully that would be fixed when Aerith returned to her senses and recognized him. He knew he looked woefully unlike the dapper, stoic Turk she was used to seeing.
He stopped just outside the door and motioned for her to follow him. As soon as her feet were outside the threshold, a light that he hadn't realized was absent returned to her eyes and she looked around with new interest. The hands holding her dress slid down a bit and her whole bearing relaxed slightly.
"I've never gotten out before," she murmured. "Even in the best dreams."
"You really are free," Tseng said quietly, still afraid of startling her. "Come one. You'll be safer the farther away we get."
He started to head toward the door out of the observation room when he was shocked to feel a soft hand tug at his own. He looked down to find Aerith smiling shyly and pushing up against his side.
"Thank you," she said.
Tseng let his hand entwine with hers. "Do you remember me?"
"Of course." She managed to look insulted and happy at the same time. "How could I forget you? Although to be honest, I'm not entirely sure you're real. I've been having a lot of dreams lately and I'm really afraid you're one, and I'll wake up still in that bed..."
Aerith frowned and her gazed shifted to the floor nervously.
"Is there anything I can do to prove I'm real?" Tseng's mind spun wildly for a moment. He could touch her. He could kiss her. He could do anything physical — anything a dream couldn't do — to get her to accept him. He felt almost drunk on euphoria, and the danger of their current position hardly registered.
"Not really," Aerith sighed. "I have really vivid dreams." She tugged on his hand, then slid out of his grasp. "Sorry, but I don't like feeling confined."
"Understandable," Tseng grunted, feeling crushed. As much as he ached for her touch, he was willing to do whatever was needed to make her feel safe. "Let's go."
He was across the room in three strides. It had been three or four minutes at least since he'd shot the materia, and if anyone was going to come check on the prisoner, he wanted to be as far away as possible. The Turk reached for his gun before remembering that he'd dropped it inside the cell, and he turned back for it. Aerith was still barely outside the door to her prison, trying to drape the pink dress over her body.
She was blushing. "Sorry. I just realized that I... um... didn't really have anything on..."
Tseng quickly shrugged out of his black jacket and held it out to her, politely turning his head away from the sight of her smooth white skin. While Aerith put on his jacket and knotted the dress around her hips, he retrieved his gun and came back to her side.
As much as he wanted to leave this place far behind him, he knew without a doubt that that was impossible. Aerith was three-quarters naked; at least she still had her lightweight boots on, but going out in the snow was completely out of the question. Tseng himself wasn't sure how much longer he would last either, whether inside or outside. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had food, and he would freeze if he left the climate-controlled base. Shinra facilities always came equipped with transportation. A place like this ought to have both snowmobiles and a helicopter or two. There was no reason for Sephiroth to have destroyed the vehicles — although since when did that monster function off of reason or logic? But if they could get to one, their escape was almost guaranteed.
After all, finding Aerith had seemed impossible earlier, and here she was, so who was to say they couldn't get away safely, too?
Tseng opened the observation room's door and glanced down the hall outside.
"We're clear for now. Come on."
Aerith shuffled after him, her arms once again forming a sling around her belly. Tseng took the lead, although he wouldn't be much of a vanguard against the superhuman enemies this base housed. Not a dozen yards down the corridor, he noticed sword marks gouged deeply into the walls, as well as... a Shinra-issued sword lying against the foot of one wall.
Zack?
Or Cloud?
Tseng left it lying and returned to Aerith's side. She couldn't move quickly and the Turk realized with a sinking heart that she would be the death of them both. Someone could be along at any moment and find them escaping.
"Come on," he said through gritted teeth. "Can't you go any faster? Please?"
In response, Aerith shook her head and sobbed once. "It hurts too much. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but I can't... can't... AAAHHH!" With a scream, she buckled to her knees and doubled over until her forehead touched the cold floor. Tseng, helpless, rubbed her back soothingly, hoping the contraction would pass quickly. If he'd had any doubts about how long she'd been in that time-field, now he knew that it had been almost exactly nine months.
This is definitely the worst-case scenario, he thought grimly. Then he noticed the slowly-spreading pool of bloody fluid spreading underneath Aerith. Her water had finally broken. The child was coming.
So, surely, was Sephiroth.
The unflappable Turk panicked.
A/N: Getting closer and closer to the climax here! Just as a heads-up to all you readers, it looks like this story will be around 30 chapters, so we're on the homestretch now. Thank you for all your support! I hope you enjoy this chapter!