Chapter Forty Three: The Long Night
Half an hour later, the team was gathered into the living room of Mr. Holzoff, the home's owner. They had removed their cold and wet outer clothing, seated about the room and sipping the hot chocolate he'd made them. He sat in a rocking chair by the fire, telling the tale of how he'd come to live there alone for so long.
Cloud and Tifa were seated together on the love seat, Cloud's arm around the back of it in a half-hearted attempt to look more married. They both appeared quite uncomfortable, and hoped their host wouldn't notice. Cid sat in an easy chair, smoking with Mr. Holzoff's permission, Yuffie on the floor at his feet and acting the part of an adoring niece with her favorite uncle. Cid looked ready to gag, both at the thought of having her as a relative and at having to play the role of Barret's best friend. Sephiroth was sitting off in a corner, his knees pulled up in front of him, blankly staring into the fireplace. Vincent sat in the opposite corner, gazing down at his clawed hand, which he held cradled in his lap. Red was curled up on a mat right in front of the fire, annoyed at having to play the role of a pet yet again but happy to be warm and dry, licking his paws as he listened with pricked ears.
"My partner fell... and died," Holzoff was saying, a deep sorrow in his voice. "I felt so guilty and ashamed that I hadn't tied that knot better. I couldn't go back home and face his family with his death on my conscience... so I stayed here. Everyone must think I'm dead by now... Ah well, it's for the best, and I like it up here anyway. So quiet and beautiful. Gets lonely sometimes, though... You all are my first visitors in many years." The man forced a smile through the pain of the old memory, looking over his guests as he sipped his drink.
Cloud didn't know quite what to say. "I appreciate you letting my... family and I stay here for the night, sir," he said, carefully changing the subject. "I don't know what we would have done otherwise."
"Think nothing of it!" Holzoff said. "I only have my single bed upstairs, but I see you all have sleeping bags with you. You can just spread out in this room, with the fire and all... Should be nice and warm!"
"Thank you," Cloud said again, genuinely grateful. He noticed the way Holzoff kept eyeing some members of the group, mainly Vincent and Sephiroth, but he never said a word about their appearance or questioned the tale of woe Yuffie had told. Maybe he was so desperate for company that just about anyone would do.
"I'll be turning in now," Holzoff said, standing with a yawn. "I had a long day out there looking for something eatable in all the snow! I'm sorry I couldn't offer you anything more to eat than the sad attempt at stew I managed. Feel free to help yourselves to anything else I have, and just holler if you need me. Good night!"
"Good night," Cloud, Tifa, Yuffie, Cid, and Barret replied. Red started to speak as well, but quickly caught himself and turned it into a yawn and stretch combination. Sephiroth and Vincent said nothing, though Vincent inclined his head in a mild attempt to be polite.
Mr. Holzoff could be heard making his way up the stairs a moment later, and Cloud sighed with relief. "That went better than I would have expected," he said quietly, quickly removing his arm from around Tifa. He didn't see the frown his haste caused to darkened her expression.
"Yeah, except now we all have to sleep in this one room, on the floor!" Yuffie complained, bounding to her feet and moving to collect her gear.
"Complain, complain," Cid muttered, also standing and retrieving his belongings. "It's this, or out in the snow, kid. Admit it, my idea worked."
"Yes, Uncle Cid, you're brilliant..." she muttered sarcastically, unable to avoid a grin.
"Stop that! It's scary!"
Yuffie giggled, then began to unroll her sleeping bag right beside Red and the fireplace.
"Hey, don't hog all the heat!" Cid exclaimed, rushing over to reserve a piece of the prime real estate. The two began to battle for space, and Cloud rolled his eyes, picking out a spot against one wall. The love seat looked more comfortable, but he gladly set it aside for Tifa with a shy nod in her direction.
"Aren't you and your wife going to share?" Barret asked him, snickering. He won evil glares from both Cloud and Tifa and quickly shut his mouth, concentrating on preparing his own makeshift bed.
Vincent finally stood, retrieved his own sleeping bag with a heavy sigh, and dragged it into the corner where he'd been sitting. He spread it out, kicked off his boots, and climbed inside without a word. He turned to face the wall and remained still, as if instantly asleep. Sephiroth did nearly the exact same thing a few minutes later, causing Cid to snort and roll his eyes.
"Brothers indeed... More like fucking twins."
"Shut up," came a muffled voice from Vincent's corner.
"That sounds like a good idea," Cloud said as he settled into his sleeping bag. "We have a long, cold trip ahead of us tomorrow. Everyone try to get some sleep."
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An hour later, the room was dark and still, the crackling of the fire filling the air. Everyone was sound asleep, accept for Yuffie. For some reason, she simply couldn't shut her mind off and relax for long enough to slip into the land of dreams. Maybe it was Barret's snoring... or Cid's snoring. Or Red's snoring. Or maybe it was having to sleep near so many people she hardly knew that left her feeling too vulnerable to find rest. She had never trusted people very easily, after all... and because of her actions, most people didn't trust her either.
Yuffie sighed and sat up in her sleeping bag, yawning and looking around the room. Cid was nearest to her, having settled for the next closest space to the fire. He was laying on his back, snoring loudly... probably a result of all those cigarettes. He was mumbling between snores, too. When she really listened, she swore she heard him say the name 'Shera' more than once. She grinned mischievously, planning to use it to taunt him the next day even though part of her found it incredibly cute. He was a lot like boys her age, she thought... When they liked a girl, they were usually mean to her, too. She hoped Cid would grow up and tell Shera how he really felt when this whole thing was over. He might have been rude, but Yuffie liked him. He was cool for an old guy, and he cursed a lot, something she hoped to emulate to annoy her father once she returned to Wutai.
Cloud was the next closest, though he was nearly pressed up against a wall in an effort to be as far away from the others, most likely Sephiroth in particular, as possible. He too was sprawled on his back, one arm hanging out of his sleeping bag, his head cocked to one side. He seemed a lot younger when he wasn't awake and looking mad or suspicious. He was only four years older than she was, after all, and in sleep he almost looked it. He was cute, too, she thought with a slight blush. Tifa was lucky... if only those two would stop being so stupid and admit how they felt.
Tifa was curled up in a ball on the love seat with her sleeping bag spread over top of her, as if she was protecting herself from something. She looked troubled, and Yuffie wondered if she was having a nightmare. She was so strong and good at hiding her pain when she was awake, and she envied her maturity... But she felt bad for Tifa, too. She had been through a lot even as a little girl, when her mother died, and then later when her father was killed in Nibelheim and she lost everything she had left. Yuffie knew exactly how it felt to lose one's mother at a young age, quickly pushing the thought from her mind as she always did. Though she tried to pretend she was fine on her own, Tifa needed someone⦠and that someone was Cloud. If anyone belonged together, she thought, it was those two.
Barret's mouth was wide open, and he was snoring loudly enough to nearly shake the walls. Yuffie was tempted to throw something at him, but didn't want him freaking out and shooting her when he woke up and thought he was under attack. He was probably dreaming about Marlene, she thought. She was all he seemed to think about other than shooting or blowing up anything Shin-ra related. She briefly felt a pang of envy, wishing her father loved her even half that much... even if Barret was pretty annoying and not the brightest star in the sky.
Red looked just like one of the cats the crazy old lady in Wutai kept, curled up in a ball and sleeping peacefully with his head tucked under one large paw. She had to suppress a snicker, knowing how he'd feel about the comparison. It must suck to have to pretend you're a pet all the time, Yuffie thought, feeling a bit of pity for him. Red was pretty cool, although he was a little too serious for her to relate to and often made no sense when he spoke. She wished people would respect her as much as they respected him, though. He was brilliant, but Yuffie was pretty smart when she had to be, too. People were just too busy wondering what she'd stolen from them to appreciate it.
Yuffie's eyes next passed over Sephiroth, and she was surprised to find that he didn't look quite so frightening when asleep. Maybe it was because his eyes were closed to hide the eerie Mako glow, or simply because he could not frown or glare so severely. He looked almost innocent, laying on his side with both hands tucked beneath his chin. He didn't seem so bad, certainly not like the man who almost single handedly defeated her country, or the man who had killed so many people five years before. Looking at him now, she could hardly imagine why she'd been so afraid of him even several weeks ago, despite the trail of blood he forged through Shin-ra Headquarters, and the ship bound for Costa Del Sol. The anger and harsh lines were gone from his face, and he looked surprisingly handsome, as well as years younger. He wasn't so awful after all, Yuffie thought. And from his reaction to Aeris being taken, she knew he must really care about her. Maybe there really was someone good inside him, no matter what Cloud thought. It was good for him to have Aeris, and maybe someone like him could make Aeris just a little less perfect. Maybe she'd even stop wearing that awful pink all the time, Yuffie thought hopefully. She could only hope they'd be able to save her, both for her own safety and for fear of what losing her might do to Sephiroth.
Yuffie last glanced at the place Vincent slept, facing the wall in the farthest corner of the room. He was deathly still, though she saw him take a shallow breath every now and then. He confused her even more than Sephiroth. He always tried to be so aloof and cold, but Yuffie could tell almost right away that he was using it as a cover for his real feelings. It was so sad... He really loved Sephiroth's mother, even after thirty years and all the horrible things she put him through. It was romantic and tragic at the same time, though Yuffie couldn't picture Vincent as anyone's boyfriend. But maybe he'd been a lot different before she died, and before Hojo had experimented on him.
As she tried to picture what he might have been like, Vincent suddenly sat up, and Yuffie almost shrieked. She quickly bit it off and hastily laid back down, hoping he hadn't seen her watching him. As quietly as death, he crept out of his sleeping bag and walked quickly and soundlessly to the door, vanishing into the frozen night without even his cape or boots. Yuffie could have sworn his red eyes were glowing with a near evil that chilled her blood. A minute later, when she'd finally calmed her racing heart and decided to try to sleep again, a horrifying sound reached her ears from outside the cabin walls, a mixture of human pain and demonic fury. She shivered and pulled her head inside her sleeping bag, curling up in a protective ball and squeezing her eyes shut. She hoped the light of morning would arrive soon.
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Vincent hurried through the snow, oblivious to the cold despite the fact that it was well below freezing and he wore only socks on his feet. The snow and ice did not slow him as he nearly ran from the cabin, awakened from a horrible dream in where he'd been strapped to a table with Hojo standing above him, a chainsaw in his hands. As the blade began to cut through the flesh and muscle of his left arm, Vincent had awakened. A wild, uncontrollable bloodlust ran hot through his veins, his body already beginning to ache and tremble. He knew immediately that it was Chaos... and that it would not be satisfied until it broke free.
Vincent nearly stumbled into a snow bank, but quickly caught his balance and continued to run, wanting to get as far away from the others as he could before the transformation completely overtook him. If he was far away from the others, he could not hurt anyone but himself... He gritted his teeth as a gripping pain took hold, doubling over as the demon began to tear itself free from its host. A moment later, he could feel wings forcing their way through his back, and his vision grew sharper and more feral. After staggering forward a few more feet, the pain became unbearable, and he fell to his hands and knees. He screamed in agony, though the sound was no longer human. He knelt there in the snow, crippled by pain as his body continued to transform, until he blacked out and Chaos took hold of him. His last conscious thought was of Lucrecia, looking down on him with tears in her eyes.
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"Sephiroth, you have to help me!"
Sephiroth stood in a pitch black room, unable to see anything but himself. There seemed to be no walls, no ceiling or floor... yet he was standing on solid ground somehow. He turned in a slow circle and looked around, but could not locate the source of the voice.
"Who is there?" he called out, searching the nonexistent room with wild eyes. "Where am I?"
"Sephiroth, please! You have got to hold yourself together!"
"... Aeris?"
Despite the fact that the voice seemed to come from a place far away, muffled and echoing off the walls he couldn't see, Sephiroth suddenly recognized the voice as belonging to the woman he loved.
"Yes! Sephiroth, Zack is taking us to the Northern Crater, and he's going to use the Black Materia to call Meteor and destroy the Planet! You have to get here with the others and stop him! I can't escape..."
"I am trying, Aeris!" he shouted desperately into the nothingness, wanting nothing so much as to see her face and know that she was all right. "But... it is so hard without you." He hung his head, sorrow gripping his heart.
He felt a soft, warm hand on his cheek a moment later. When he lifted his head, Aeris was standing before him, a gentle smile on her face and tears in her eyes. "I know," she said soothingly, looking up into his eyes with undisguised love. "I know it's hard... but you have to be strong for a little longer, and then we'll be together again. This time, it will be for good."
"Really?" he asked, hating how needy and hopeful he sounded.
Aeris nodded, a single tear trailing down her cheek. "Yes. I love you, and I know this will all work out if we're both strong. Please, Sephiroth... don't worry about me, or about us. But you have to work with the others and stop Zack."
"I... I will, Aeris. For you."
"For the entire Planet," she corrected, then leaned in and softly kissed his lips.
Sephiroth awoke with a start, his eyes snapping open though he remained perfectly still in his sleeping bag. His heart was pounding, and he had broken out into a cold sweat. It was only a dream... But it felt so real, as if he really had been talking to Aeris. He still felt the warmth where she touched him.
Was she really speaking to me somehow? he asked himself, taking a deep breath and unclenching his fists. She was an Ancient, after all, and had abilities humans did not. Had she been intentionally trying to reach him with a very real message? If so, Sephiroth had heard her loud and clear.
Do not worry, Aeris... I am coming.
