Disclaimer: All characters, places and things all to Squaresoft and other involved companies. I don't own any of it. This fanfic is purely for the fun and enjoyment of others and myself. I make no money from it.
SHARDS COLLIDE
CHAPTER 17
Aeris watched patiently as the caravan slowly rounded the corner. She had diligently followed the caravan as it slowly made its way from sector 5 all the way to sector 6. This all confused her at the most. She couldn't understand why the driver made the certain actions he did. If they truly had apprehended a rebel like they did, wouldn't it make sense to either drop them off at a sector prison or if need be, the Shinra building? However, both of which were passed or completely avoided by the drivers of the caravan. It had to be a trap. Yet Aeris knew there was no other way. If she didn't act, they would probably kill Tifa right on the spot.
Her sweaty fingers tightened around her staff and she continued to look with clear determined eyes towards the caravan from her position behind a pile of junk. She saw that, sitting next to Tifa's unconscious form, were two Shinra guards and she knew there were at least three more up in front. 'If I'm ever going to act then it better be now.'
Taking a deep breath, Aeris leapt out from cover with all the speed she could muster, then quickly ran up towards the transport and threw her staff in between the wheel, thus lodging it into place.
The Caravan came to a jolting stop, causing sounds of alarmed panic from up front. Aeris ignored it all. She continued to bolt towards the caravan, absently scooping up a metal pipe on her way. The Guards reacted quickly upon seeing her. One of the men opened fire. Aeris quickly dodged to the side then got up close under his defenses and swung her pipe in a deadly arch. The hard steel of the metal connected solidly with the man's skull forcing him down to the ground completely unconscious. Aeris heard the sudden intake of breath and the clicking of an automatic.
The remaining Shinra guard was caught so far off guard by her agility and speed he had completely forgotten that he was the target of her attacks for a moment. He quickly recovered and aimed his automatic towards her. "Stop right-"
Before he could finish, the metal pipe landed hard across his face tearing away flesh and spraying blood. As he rolled from the momentum of the attack he squeezed the trigger of his gun letting a spray of bullets fly forth from his automatic.
Aeris eyes shot wide open then she quickly spun left as the bullets just barely missed her. Angrily, she focused her mind once more, not giving her enemy a second chance to catch her off guard. As the man still fumbled across the ground, trying to orient himself, while at the same time clutching his wounded face, Aeris rushed forward then drove the pipe hard against his stomach.
The poor soldier, once again, lurched back from the strike then fell to the ground on his side. He tried to rise once more to escape the onslaught but aeris wasn't finished.
'I've got to take this guy out fast.' Without another thought, Aeris brought the pipe down hard against the man's skull, knocking him completely unconscious.
Aeris threw the bloody pipe to the ground then swiftly bent low and retrieved her staff. A slight smile came to her face at the feel of the warm solid material beneath her fingertips. She gingerly hefted the deadly weapon then jumped up aboard the Caravan rushing to Tifa's unconscious side.
"Tifa! Tifa wake up!" She said in an urgent voice, lightly slapping her a few times on the face.
Tifa opened her eyes groggily, letting out a soft moan as she slowly came to. "Uuugh.. What's going on…"
"No time for that now!" Aeris replied anxiously. "We've gotta get out of her fast!"
She quickly pulled out a small knife she had packed away before starting the mission. Tifa blinked her eyes violently as the young, green-eyed girl continued to work diligently to cut the cords binding her arms and legs together.
"Aeris?" She asked abruptly, recognition finally reaching her consciousness. "Wha-…? How?"
"No time for that!" Aeris shot back, nearly screaming the answer in her frustration.
Tifa sat up and shook her head, still trying to remember where she was.
"Can you walk?" Aeris asked, Finally cutting the last of the cords binding Tifa's feet together.
"I… I think so."
"Then come on!"
Aeris roughly grabbed Tifa's hand and yanked her off the Caravan with her as she ran as fast as she could towards cover.
Within a heartbeat, Something flashed before Aeris eyes and suddenly a very solid fist landed across her right cheek sending her painfully to the ground.
"Heh, well well well… Look who decided to play hero and join us."
Aeris knew that cigarette stained voice all too well as she looked up to glare at the menacing red haired figure standing before her.
With venom in her voice, she spat out the all to obvious word or recognition. "Reno…"
****
Zack shut his eyes tightly as he felt the warm sensation of materia flowing through his body. He hadn't had to cast a cure spell this strong in years and the sheer force of it all sent new fatigue and pain through his body, reminding him all too well of his darkened past. Slowly, Zack began to feel the spell work its magic as his bruises began to heal themselves and all other vestiges of injury, which Aeris couldn't heal, slowly began to disappear.
Zack leaned back from the intensity of the spell and let out a soft sigh of exhaustion. He was still sitting in the same spot where Aeris had last left him. He had been thinking about how much the young woman had changed since the last time he was with her, then deciding she might need his help, he had promptly pulled out his cure materia so that he would be more of a help then a burden.
Zack looked over his handiwork, taking small pride in himself. 'I guess I still got it in me.' It was a high level cure spell which he had only preformed a few times in his past then stopped completely after his 'Tragic incident.'
Zack shook his head vigorously, refusing to think about it. He pocketed the glowing orb then tentatively stood up from his perched seat of a fallen construction pipe.
"Still slacking off as always eh?"
Zack quickly spun around at the familiar voice, recognizing it all too well and dreading it at the same time. "I hoped I'd never have to hear that voice again." He shot in response. "I guess I could never be that lucky though huh?"
A soft chuckled was the only answer towards his rhetorical question. In a sudden flurry of movement a shadow quickly darted from the upper distance of a nearby roof and in no time at all, a figure stood standing poised in front of him.
"Heh, it's been a long time Zack." The figure said with a touch of sarcasm in his voice.
Zack growled lightly in response. His eyes narrowed at the man's jet black hair, to his crisp, unruffled suit, finally resting on his metal arm, which ran in perfect proportion to the rest of his body.
"Ahh, I see you've noticed my little… replacement since last we've met."
Zack ground his teeth then spat out the name of the man he dreaded most. "Tseng… What are you doing here you bastard!"
Tseng arched his head back and contorted his face in an expression of sarcastic shock. "Oh? You're not happy to see your old friend after all this time? Zack I'm disappointed! I was so eager to see you too!"
"Get to the point you bastard!" Zack spat out, barely holding his rage in check. "Why have you come here? Has Shinra finally decided to take me out? Or are you just here to impress me with your pathetic banter."
Tseng narrowed his eyes slightly. "Don't you dare start issuing commands out to me you son of a b!tch! Things aren't going to be like they were before!"
Now it was Zack's turn to glare. "I'll never go back to that life! That was another lifetime ago!"
"Ah you can try to hide away from your past but I can see your past still catches up to you." A smirk slowly rose up to his lips. "I can see it in your eyes."
Zack gasped slightly and took a tentative step back, his hand shaking nervously. "Shut up!" He growled.
Tseng chucked. "How long has it been Zack? How long has it been since you've felt the 'true' flow of materia through your veins? How many times are you going to force away your 'real' blood! It's true, after a while the effects will wear off and once again you will appear as if nothing happened but you can't escape your fate so easily."
"I will never go back to the way I was!" Zack spat in an enraged tone.
"Oh? But every time you use materia at a high caliber you inch closer and closer to what you really are. That's why you never use magic unless you absolutely have to, isn't it? You're afraid of the effects they have on you!"
"Shut your damn mouth! I know who I am!"
"Do you now?" Tseng chuckled once more. "Do you really think you know who you are? Or a better question is… Do the people you care about really know who you are?"
Zack clenched his teeth in anger then reached back for his buster sword. "They know all that they need to know! I will protect them from the dangers of my past!"
The small smile quickly rose up to a large grin on Tseng's smug face. "Aha. You will protect them eh? Even when their lives are hanging on the balance right now? How will you protect them when you are here and they are so very far away dying by Shinra's hands right now?"
Zack's eyes snapped wide and within a heartbeat, the brilliance of silver flashed out as Zack rushed forth, swinging his sword down hard towards his adversary.
Tseng moved back only an inch then rose his metallic arm, casually blocking the mercenary's sword thrust.
"Heh, child's play. You're going to have to do a lot better then that if you plan of fighting me old friend!"
With an enraged shout, Zack swung once again only to slice through air as his opponent skillfully flipped backwards out of harms way. Tseng landed lightly on his feet then shot another grin towards his attacker. "Don't worry 'old friend'. We'll get our change to fight properly very soon. Don't forget, I still owe you an arm for all the trouble you've cause me as well as Shinra."
Zack rushed forward again, charging towards his opponent with blinding speed. "FIGHT ME NOW YOU COWARD!" He screamed in wild rage.
Tseng continued to fall back, retreating into the shadows. The only trace of his remaining presence in the vicinity was the loud laughter, still ringing out in the cold, windy air. "If you wish to save your friends, meet me at the Sector 7 tower! Be prepared!"
And with that, the laughter ended and all that remained was the silent brush of wind against his rigid face. Zack glared into the distance then quickly sheathed his sword. If he was ever going to save his friends then now was the time. There was no longer any time left to ponder the past or his current position, given the situation. All that remained now was going forward and meeting his challenge head on. With that, Zack quickly darted towards the direction of Sector 7.
****
For the fifth time cloud turned over. He had been trying to rest up for hours now but couldn't seem to go to sleep. Shortly after his talk with the old man he had promptly prepared for sleep so that he could wake up refreshed and eager to find his friends in the morning. However, the only problem with that was that he couldn't shake the immense feeling of dread that continuously washed over him. For some reason something was telling him that something bad was going to happen. Something he should be present for. Something he could prevent.
Cloud shut his eyes tightly. 'Whatever it is, I'll be of no help to them if I don't recover.'
Once again he turned over on his left side, adjusting the pillow so that it lay over his face. Unfortunately, that same nagging voice returned even through the safety of his pillow to whisper that soft reminder that he was needed. No matter what he did he couldn't avoid it.
Finally, sighing in frustration, Cloud sat up from his pallet and threw the pillow against the wall in frustration. He slowly brought his hands up to his face, messaging his temples and trying to dispel whatever sleep remained, out of his system. He reached for his pants with one hand while pulling the covers away with the other.
He assumed the old man's daughter would have returned by now as it had been quite a few hours since he had gone off to sleep. He slowly squinted his eyes trying to adjust them to the lighting of the room. He recognized the soft outline of two different shapes sleeping on either side of him, obviously unaware of his little outburst a few seconds earlier. Cloud quickly slipped on his pants then silently crept upon the sleeping daughter. With a slight shake he called out to her.
"Hey…" He whispered. "Are you awake?"
The girl let out a soft moan as her eyes fluttered open. She gave Cloud a confused, dazed look then sudden recognition dawned on her. She quickly sat up, staring at him. "You… You're the man my father was talking about…"
Cloud nodded his head. "Yes. Look, I'm sorry for waking you but I have a favor to ask you."
The girl said nothing but continued to look at him in an odd way. Cloud could guess how weird it must be for her to be awakened by a total stranger then asked if she could do them a favor. Cloud figured it would be best if he just asked her.
"I need to know if you can get me to the end of the sector right now instead of tomorrow morning."
The girl seemed slightly shocked at his idea. "Tonight?!?… But why?"
"I… I just have to be there. I can't really explain why."
The young girl continued to stare into his deep blue eyes for a moment longer then finally nodded her consent. "Ok I'll do it. But I don't think you would want to go looking like that."
Cloud blinked a few times in confusion then remembered what he was wearing. A soft red quickly rose up to his cheeks as he stumbled with a reply. "Err… I guess you're right… Hey! You're father mentioned something about an attire I could wear of his."
The Young girl nodded. "Yes, It's in the back room. You can go and get dressed. Meanwhile I'll do the same and be waiting for you outside."
Cloud nodded then stood up and walked towards the back. He stopped in mid-step as a thought suddenly occurred to him. He turned around to face the girl once more. "By the way." He said, still in a whisper. "My name's Cloud."
The girl smiled back. "Mine's Angela. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Cloud nodded then turned back towards the back to find his new clothing. It took him a few minutes to scale around the walls and spot the mentioned attire but finally he found them. He couldn't really recognize the material but the shirt felt as if it was rough and woolen, almost like a sweater but it felt very durable. The pants too also felt durable but they weren't as woolen as the shirt. Cloud shook his observations away and quickly dressed into the garb. He saw added armor to go with it so he quickly put that on as well figuring it would come in handy.
Once dressed, he promptly exited the house to see Angela standing out in front with a bright smile on her face. Cloud almost took a double take. The girl was beautiful with strawberry red hair and soft brown eyes. She was also very slim and in good shape. Her hair was tied back in a tight ponytail and she wore dark brown trousers with a navy green shirt. He gloves were also brown with metal manacles at the wrist area.
Cloud smiled back at her. "Shall we get going then?"
Angela shot Cloud a thumbs up. "Let's!"
Cloud nodded his head and walked up along side her as she led the way. It was almost too fascinating to him to see all the sights and wonders of Midgar. He wondered how he had ever truly missed it; from the blazing lights, to the melodic tunes as they intermingled with all the others. Then there was the huge on-pour of people coming back and forth. Cloud could not think back to a time when he had ever seen a place so lively.
Cloud slowly turned his head towards Angela. She was a pretty girl to look at. Her smooth features were attractive and almost too tempting to simply marvel at for hours. He was sure all the guys were probably lined up to ask her out. Yet she had a soft nature about her, almost befitting of her name. She seemed to only take in the glow of the world and expunge all the bad that came with it.
"How long have you been living here?" He asked in a conversational way.
Angela looked back at Cloud, realizing he had been talking to her then smiled brightly. "Oh I've lived here my whole life. It's just been me and my father for the past 12 years now. We used to live in better conditions but when my father quite working for Shinra everything changed. But even still, it was because of the change… Because of the way my father was that I never stopped loving him and never will stop."
Cloud's eyes rose slightly. "You're father used to work for Shinra?"
Angela laughed lightly at his surprise. "Oh come on! It can't be all that shocking. And besides, didn't you wonder about it? After all, you are wearing his old uniform."
Cloud nearly doubled over from shock at that. His eyes quickly darted towards his attire which he was just now beginning to recognize now that the lighting was better.
"This… but wait!… This is… This is a SOLDIER's uniform!"
The young woman giggled softly at his remark. "Well of course!" She said, staring at the Shinra SOLDIER insignia on his belt. "My father was a soldier First Class actually. He fought in the Wutai war years ago and actually had the honor of serving with the great Sephiroth! Me and mom were really proud of him."
Cloud's mood darkened slightly at the mention of Sephiroth, the man who had taken away his happiness as well as his childhood. He quickly shifted the subject over, hoping to divert away from talking about Shinra's super soldier. "So what happened to your mom?"
Cloud winked immediately at the hurt expression that quickly seized the girl's face. He regretted asking the question as soon as it had come out of his mouth. "I'm sorry." He said softly.
The girl shook her head. "No… It's alright. My mother died 12 years ago. Both my father and mother were part of Shinra. When my father was returning from a mission he found that a few of the troopers were trying to harass my mother. He quickly intervened and ended up killing the men who had been trying to assault her. Shortly after, president Shinra ordered for my father to be executed and branded him a traitor to Shinra for killing his own comrades. There was a huge search and eventually my father had to fight his way out. While trying to flee from the havoc, my mother was shot and died shortly after. Her last words were that she now knew the Shinra were corrupt and that it was up to him to aid the rebels in bringing them down."
Cloud nodded his head slowly. "Your mother must have been a strong woman."
Angela smiled and nodded. "Yes she was. She was very kind too. I loved my mother."
Cloud smiled as memories of his own mother came into mind. Soon they were followed by images of her death. He shook his head roughly then looked back towards her. "So why would your father opt for me to wear a SOLDIER uniform? Won't that make me suspicious?"
"Actually, it's quite the contrary. It's because you are wearing a SOLDIER outfit that you will have an easier time getting around. The people of Midgar are absolutely terrified of SOLDIER's because of their great fighting potential and heightened abilities. Once there was a mugger who tried to take on Sephiroth and the man ended up dead lying in 20 pieces on the ground. Word has it, He took the man out in less then 5 seconds."
Cloud nodded, trying his best not to show his disapproval at the talk of his mortal enemy. Angela noticed his discomfort thus she didn't say any more as they continued their journey. As they walked further and further through the sector, Cloud was more and more gratified that he had had a guide for the journey. There were so many twists and turns, he knew he would have never been able to find his way around had he been on his own.
The two of them were rounding past an offshoot alleyway of sector 5 when they heard the sounds of commotion going on. Cloud noticed the noise of gunfire and stopped immediately.
"What was that?" He asked absently, while heading towards the alleyway.
"I'm not sure." Angela answered him, growing tense.
Cloud narrowed his eyes. "Angela how far is the sector 7 entrance from here?"
"About a half mile more if you keep straight on this road." She answered, her voice still slightly tensed.
Clouded nodded his head. "Ok. Angela, I want you to head back to your father's house. I thank you greatly for your help and I hope someday I can repay you."
Angela suddenly grasped his arm anxiously. "What are you planning to do?"
"I've got to see what's going on over there. I can't just ignore what's happening if I can do anything about it!"
"But… but you may die!"
Cloud turned swiftly back to the frightened woman. "Angela, I'm a rebel against Shinra. I face dying every day of my life. That still doesn't stop me from doing what I know is right. Please… Go back to your father."
Angela closed her eyes. "I want to help."
Cloud shook his head. "You can help by continuing to support your father! If you die now you'll only break his heart and destroy anything left that he has to fight for. Please… I won't be able to protect you. Please go…"
The girl softly nodded, tears now rolling down her eyes. "Be careful…" She said in a soft almost whispering voice.
Cloud nodded then ran further towards the alleyway leaving Angela standing alone in the distance.
::::::::::To Be Continued::::::::::
Author's note: Thanks for reading and please stay tuned for chapter 18.