Disclaimer: All Final Fantasy 7 characters, places and things all belong to Squaresoft and other involved companies. I own none of them. This fanfic is purely for the fun and enjoyment of others and myself. I make no money from it.
SHARDS COLLIDE
CHAPTER 7
Cloud ran down the streets of Midgar as fast as his legs would carry him. He scanned the surrounding areas anxiously trying to catch sight of the woman who's face constantly floated through his mind. 'I shouldn't had said what I said.' He berated himself mentally for the 10th time. 'I should have been more open to her feelings.' He continually berated himself for his mistakes. If anything happened to Aeris he felt he would truly die of anguish.
Cloud ran towards yet another alleyway. His face darted this way and that, searching both directions, hoping he would catch sight of the brunette haired woman. 'Come on, where are you Aeris! Don't do this to me!' His anxiety was beginning to get the better of him and he suddenly felt the first signs of a nervous break down setting place inside his mind.
He ran down yet another alley path. He was no longer keeping track of where he was running only that he had to keep moving because each second wasted could lead to a more terrible fate for Aeris.
After running for what seemed like hours, he finally fell to his knees in exhaustion. His eyes were burning with hot tears of frustration and agony. He clinched his fists in desperation.
He didn't want to give up on the woman who was beginning to become the center of his life but there was nothing he could do. No matter how much he looked there seemed to be an even greater number of alternate routes to take. It was a hopeless effort. "Damnit!" He whispered in frustration.
Suddenly he heard a soft noise coming from the distance. He darted his head up to see the crumbled form of Aeris sitting by a street corner quietly weeping. Cloud breathed a shaky sigh of relief but restrained himself before automatically planing to walk towards her. Zack's advice rang clear in his mind.
****
Aeris wiped the streaking tears from her eyes. Her mind was full of erratic decisions. On one end she told herself that Cloud was just like all the rest. He was a selfish greedy man and that she couldn't believe he had betrayed her in such a way.
However, on the other side, her mind was logically thinking back to his shocked and remorseful reaction to her accusations. As her mind dwelled more and more on that image, her heart sank with regret that she had been so hard on him. She truly didn't want to think negatively of Cloud; far from it. She constantly berated herself for running off like that. She never even gave him a chance to explain himself. And now she was all alone, just like before. Alone and lost in the very same city she had begun to hate from the very moment she had first set foot here, Many years ago. This made her weep even more.
'Why do things always have to be this way?' She asked herself mentally. She didn't know what to do thus she just sat there miserably dwelling on the past few days. After a while, she finally collected herself and stood up. No matter what, she would keep on moving. Thoughts of her mother and her dying words rang loud in her mind. 'Live on Aeris. Live on and always have faith. The world is a better place then it seems. All you have to do is look…' A final tear ran down her cheek as she recalled those last tender words that drifted from her mother's lips. She would keep on living and she would find her own happiness. She had promised her mother as much. Even if Cloud had left her, it wasn't then end of the world. She was still alive and that meant that there was still hope for happiness. She brushed aside the tear and observed her surroundings. The scenery was just like before. Everything was barren and dead. No life could possibly thrive in such settings. A dreadful weight was beginning to fall on her shoulders and she prepared to embark once more into the world of loneliness and solitude.
Finally, as she looked around towards the outskirts of the junky sector she was in, her eyes came to rest on the hesitant form of Cloud, standing still in the, not too far, distance. Shock, bewilderment and a thousand other emotions ran through her mind all at once. However, the final expression she allowed to shine upon her face was a relieve smile. Cloud had come back to her.
****
Zack walked slowly through the crowded alleyways of sector 7. This was, by far, one of the more popular sectors of Midgar. At the same time, it was also one of the most run down parts as well. Everywhere he looked, he saw broken down buildings, shattered roads, mountainous piles of junk and many other objects of decrepit taste scattered about. Truly, this was a sight very unbecoming for a city as big and powerful as this one.
Zack broke his attention away from his surroundings, calling to mind once more that there was a reason why he was in this sector and it didn't involve sight seeing. He sighed heavily. He was supposed to find his contacts but It was hard to find anything in a sector this big. Suddenly he felt a light tug on the end of his pants. He turned quickly, thinking someone was trying to mug him but found that instead it was only a little girl trying to get his attention.
A bright smile formed on his face as he squatted down and greeted her. "Hey there, sport!" He said in a friendly voice. "What can I do for you?"
The little girl returned his smile with one of her own. "Hi mister!" She said cheerfully. "I'm trying to get to my house but my daddy told me never to walk around in the streets by myself. So can you walk me home?"
She had asked the question in such a cute and innocent tone, Zack almost laughed at the sincerity of it all but held it in as it might hurt the young girl's feelings. Zack regarded the wasted sector once more. 'I guess even thorns have their flowers blossoming from within.'
Zack flashed a bright smile. "Sure, I'll walk you home kid but didn't your dad ever tell you its not good to talk to strangers?"
The little girl lowered her head as if seriously debating something over. Again, Zack had to restrain himself from laughing. She darted her head back up and looked at him once more, still wearing her happy smile. "Well, you're an exception."
"Oh? And why is that?"
"Cause you don't look like a mean person."
This time Zack couldn't help the laugh which erupted from his mouth.
"Well I'll take that as a compliment I guess. But still you should be careful of who you try to befriend. Not everyone's as friendly as I am."
The girl nodded quickly then grabbed his hand. "Can we go now please? It's getting kinda cold."
"Oh, uh well yeah I guess so."
The girl promptly led him down the far end of the sector. After ten minutes of walking, Zack's expression quickly grew more grim. 'If my memory serves me right, this area's gotta be the slums.' He thought to himself wearily. 'It's amazing how such an innocent sweet little girl could live in such a run down area.'
"Is this really where you live?" He asked the girl quietly.
The girl nodded with a big smile on her face. "Yep! This is where me and my daddy live. It's not far from here. Just around that corner."
"Ok." Zack said with a smile on his face. They rounded the corner and once again, Zack found himself taken by surprise.
"A… a bar? You live in a bar?"
The child giggled at his reaction. "No silly! I don't live in a bar, I live under the bar!"
This made Zack even more mortified. "W- what?!?!"
Suddenly the door burst open and Two men walked out towards them. One of them had Raven black hair with a headband tying his bangs back. He was slim and carried a sub machine gun on his back. The other man was much more plump and had a bandana on his head wearing a yellow tee-shirt and army fatigue pants. He also had a machine gun. Zack narrowed his eyes suspiciously then moved his hand towards his sword hilt.
"So it was all a set up huh?" He asked in a steady tone of voice.
The girl stared wide-eyed at him. "No wait! You can't fight them! You're both the good guys!"
"Huh?" Now Zack was totally confused.
Soon another person came out of the entrance. It was a woman with Dark brown eyes and brunette hair. She was garbed in a white tee-shirt and short black shorts. This time, Zack recognized the face. He slowly lowered his hand and stared at the woman evenly.
"So you never intended for us to find you after all huh? Had it all planned out did you?"
In response, the woman simply smiled brightly and waved at him. "I'm glad you could make it."
"Yeah, I almost didn't… Tina Lionheart isn't it? Do you always use little kids to take care of grown up business?"
Tifa cringed lightly at the name mix up. 'Tina Lionheart? Where the hell did that come from?'
"Uhh… heh heh actually it's Tifa Lockheart. And to answer you question, no. We generally never use little Marlene here for any of the things we do. We merely had her come to you now because it was the most inconspicuous thing we could do given our current situation. Besides, Biggs and Wedge here had you watched from the very beginning. There's no way any of us would let anything happen to Marlene."
"So what happens now then? I'm pretty sure we're not going to just have this meeting out in the open like this."
Tifa glanced around wearily then trained her eyes back onto the dark haired mercenary. "Come inside."
Zack raised a slight eyebrow, still skeptical about the whole situation. Letting out a deep sigh, he braced himself and stepped forward into the medium sized bar labeled Seventh Heaven.
****
Cloud and Aeris stood staring at one another for what seemed like an eternity. Neither one made a move as they observed the other in an uncomfortable silence. Aeris regarded Cloud with a look of shock and pleasant surprise. Cloud wore a similar look but his expression also carried a great amount of guilt along with it.
A light breeze played across the dirty ground brushing dust along the roads. Aeris hair trailed in the direction of the winds making her even more magnificent to Cloud's eye. Finally Cloud worked up enough courage and walked forward. Aeris did likewise and in no time at all, the two of them were directly facing one another.
"Aeris…" Cloud began. "I'm sorry. I want to apologize for what I said earlier. I had no right to say what I did. I guess I just really wasn't thinking at all. I only meant-"
"Shhh…" Aeris cut him off. "Don't say anything Cloud. Please? Lets just live in the moment, not in the past. Ok?"
Cloud could hardly suppress the relieved smile on his face as he nodded his head in compliance. "Ok Aeris. We don't have to talk about it anymore if you don't want to. It's just… when you left, I was really scared…"
"Cloud…"
"I was afraid I would lose you… and I could never bare for that to happen… ever. I know I've known you for only a few days but Aeris… I … I mean I think…"
They had now walked within arms reach of one another and Aeris was staring directly into Cloud's eyes waiting expectantly for him to finish his statement. Her heart was beating fast from the exhilaration and she could tell Cloud's was as well.
Cloud swallowed the lump in his throat and continued. "Aeris I think I'm-"
THAP
Cloud suddenly grimaced in pain and clutched the back of his neck.
"Cloud!" Aeris quickly steadied him before he could fall over.
"Are you ok?"
Cloud blinked his eyes rapidly before responding. "Yeah, yeah I'm ok I think…"
"What happened?" Aeris asked in alarm, looking around wildly from right to left.
Cloud similarly scanned the surrounding areas. "That's what I'd like to know."
A sudden laugh rang out in the distance. Cloud and Aeris immediately looked up to find a man in a blue suit standing up on the rafters of a nearby abandoned building. He had spiky red hair with goggles over them. His white dress shirt, which he wore under his blue suit jacket, was messy and slightly untucked and a cigarette was tilted from his lips. He gingerly held it steady as he took another puff.
Aeris cringed at the sight of him.
"Heh, Long time no see, eh Aeris?" The man asked in an arrogant tone of voice.
Aeris expression became grim. "Reno. How did you know I was here?" she asked with anger and a touch of fear in her voice.
The man shrugged nonchalantly. "You should know better then to think you can hide away from Shinra. The company will always have tabs on you toots. You can't escape us!"
"No!" Aeris said almost in a desperate and plea-full tone of voice. "I will never be your guinea pig again! Never!"
At the sound of her anxiety, Cloud quickly rushed in front of her and drew his sword out. "Listen up Rhino or whatever the hell your name is, I don't know what's going on but I do know that you will never get this girl, do you hear me!? I will protect her with my life!"
Reno chuckled amusedly on his perch high in the rafters. "Oh? So 'you' are her protector? Oh come on! Give me a break! How can you protect her when you can't even protect yourself!"
Cloud said nothing but narrowed his eyes in anger and tightened his grip on his sword.
Reno continued his tirade of insults. "You couldn't even dodge a simple dart! That show's how incompetent you are as a protector for anything!"
"Just shut up and fight!" Cloud yelled back, now completely agitated by the red haired man's insults.
Reno smirked graciously. "Ahh, music to my ears."
Without another word, the man in blue hopped down from his perch and, in no time at all, was standing dead center in front of Cloud.
Cloud quickly erased his expression of shock at how fast the man moved and once again stood ready in his fighting stance. Reno's eyes narrowed dangerously as he too assumed his own fighting stance.
With a flick of the wrist, he was suddenly holding a deadly black weapon. Aeris gasped in fear at the all too familiar weapon she had seen so many times before. The dreaded nightstick was now at the ready in the Turk's hand.
Reno took another drag from his cigarette. "Just as to warn ya, I'm gonna mess you up pretty bad so I hope you got life insurance."
Cloud didn't respond but simply pursed his lips in anticipation.
In a flash of movement, Reno lunged at the mercenary full force. Cloud quickly dodged out of the way but almost immediately fell back from dizziness. He blinked rapidly to clear his blurring vision. Reno took full advantage of the opening. With swift, meticulous movements, the Turk rammed his boot into Cloud's face, completing a roundhouse kick. He followed up with a swift jab to the gut then five more to the chest and face. Cloud staggered back in pain as he continued to furiously clear his dimming vision. He could faintly hear Aeris screaming his name in alarm.
Cloud staggered a few steps more then steadied himself and took a swing towards his opponent with the full fury of his Buster Sword. However, he missed horribly. His vision was now almost completely shot. Reno darted in for another attack and before Cloud knew what was happening, Reno jammed his fists deep into his gut, forcing the man to scream out in pain. He fell to one knee, desperately trying to catch his breath.
Reno casually circled the defenseless man then swiftly kicked him in the stomach. Cloud groaned once more and fell over on his side. An evil grin formed on the turk's lips and he then began to forcefully deliver more swift kicks to his mid-section.
Aeris was now hysterical. "That's enough Reno! Stop it! Stop it already! Please?"
Reno temporarily ceased his relentless attack and regarded Aeris with calm eyes. "Well I don't know toots. I'm kinda enjoying myself here, ya know? But maybe if you come with me peacefully, I might forfeit my fun just this once and be a gentleman about the whole thing. What do you say?"
Aeris lowered her head in anguish. A soft whisper slowly escaped her lips. "…Ok… I'll do it. Anything… Just stop hurting him."
Reno grinned wickedly and turned to face her. "Well then, in that case, why don't you try these on." He casually tossed a pair of handcuffs her way. They fell heavily onto the ground in front of her. Aeris flinched when they landed but she hesitantly bent down and picked them up.
Suddenly Reno screamed out in pain and anger, causing Aeris to dart her head back up. She couldn't believe her eyes. Reno was crouched over holding his shoulder. Cloud was not too far away, slumped on one knee panting heavily with his sword at the ready. He turned his head towards Aeris but his eyes were half closed as he was still trying to clear his vision.
"Don't do it Aeris! I'll protect you. Don't give yourself up for me!"
"Cloud!"
Reno was back up in a heartbeat. Cloud tried to jump back but it was too late. He swung his sword down hard but Reno slid through his defenses. With the stealth of a cat, the Turk whipped out his nightstick and rammed it deep into Cloud's chest. Immediately he began to convulse violently as electrical currents ran through his body. Reno held it there for a moment longer then pulled away, letting the, now unconscious, man fall heavily to the ground.
Reno turned towards Aeris. He was panting loudly, still clutching his injured shoulder. "What a dumbass huh? I was going to let him get off easy and then he does something stupid like that! IT MAKES ME SICK!" He roughly kicked Cloud in the gut once more. Aeris crumbled to the ground crying in anguish.
"Stop it please! Please leave him alone!"
Reno was unheeded and continued his relentless assault, kicking the man with all the fury he had. Aeris was hysterical. It was all happening again. The past would never be buried in this evil hell called Midgar.
::::::::::To Be Continued::::::::::
Authors note: Thanks for reading and please stay tuned for chapter 8.