A Pain That Won't Leave
By Soul Hunter
Part Twelve
He's tired. He's never felt as exhausted as he did at this very moment. There had been many a battles that he fought that carried with it larger pains, greater aches. But they were merely sufferings of the body. They were just the cries of the minutest fibers in his physical being that demanded for rest from the endless struggles and ceaseless wars that he was forced to partake in. The copper lion wanted desperately to give in to rest, to surrender to the demands of his body. But deep inside his soul, he knew that he just couldn't give way to the hurt.
There was something here that carried a bigger stake than anything he ever knew. Bigger than the threat of meteor, more enormous than the dangers of a demented godling. For a moment, he wished he had never allowed himself to comply with his grandfather's admonition of having his mind and heart tuned in with the planet's voice. Now he was being subjected to the endless echoes of a world on the brink of insanity. He was being forced to listen to its laments and its wails. His pain was not merely than of the physical nature.
Born of his newly developed sensitivity, he has started to feel the planet's pain. A short period of solemn meditation and silent effort in searching for his true self uncovered a deep-seated connection to the planet's being. He had not thought it acceptable, much less possible. But he knew better than to ignore a call to his destiny. Though, unlike his grandfather, he was constructed to fight, his existence revealed a far more profound purpose. A meaning that he shared with the man who floated rather than walked.
He had to decide between the life of a sage and that of a mighty defender. He had to think of the future. Soon, he will be having his own family. Would it benefit them more to rely on a wise man, or a gladiator? He had thought then that the two callings would never reconcile. He had to choose one, only one.
And today, he had no choice but to assume both. Flexing his wiry muscles, the lion beast pushed himself to his second wind, a gallant effort that drove back the darkness, though temporarily. At the same time, he focused his mind to that of the rift that spawned the destroyer. He tried to make sense of all the chaos and the mayhem ravaging its way out from the sacred ground. He tried to communicate with the planet, his psyche delving deeply into the world essence while his eyes guarded his perimeter.
The Weapon suddenly lashed out with vengeance, bellowing a fiery stench from its deep maw that trounced him with impunity. He slammed hard against a hard marble wall, and consequently writhed with agony. Fighting back to ignore the pain, the lion beast shook his head before assuming his battle stance. He thought, his efforts would be all for naught so long as the nihilist stood in his way. The situation demanded for its destruction. That or he may have to witness the slow death of a helpless planet crying out for rest.
Spewing out a reverberating howl, the proud warrior roused his fallen comrade. Slowly coming about, the man with the red cloak flashed his equally crimson eyes around to assess the situation. His reflexes coming to fore, the enigmatic being quickly rolled aside to dodge the humongous foot plummeting down over him. He fired a round from the powerful Death Penalty to temporarily occupy the attention of the enemy, after which he quickly dashed beside his beleaguered partner. Wincing in frustration, the Weapon roared once more, as if sending a message that it will not allow itself to be thwarted.
They froze for a moment, possessed of a frantic urgency that called for the nihilist's demise. But they just didn't know what to do.
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"So what now?" Cid asked, to which Tifa simply shrugged with resignation.
"I don't know It would help a lot if you could tell me what exactly do you mean by that."
"I mean" He followed up, subsequently feeling reluctant. "Uh you know. Your plans?"
He then wished he had just shut his mouth. Brash as he is, Cid Highwind wasn't beyond the sensitivity to realize what Tifa should be agonizing about. He looked at her, his eyes half-pitying and half-admiring. He can't help but sympathize with her for the burden that she had been trying to hide, and at the same time express his deep respect for her steely determination to conceal her heartache. Helplessly, the pilot tossed a glance at his spiffy-looking comrade, who was more demonstrative with his mind.
"If you want, you can come with us to Kalm when we deliver those SOLDIERs to the peace force."
Reeve then hesitated. Though meaning well with his suggestion, he grew suddenly afraid that Tifa might mistake his words as in intent for further drumming in the bitter situation besetting her. Fortunately, the former bargirl wasn't that narrow-minded.
"Thanks, Reeve. Don't worry about me, I can manage. Besides" She paused, biting her lips. "We all know what this means for Cloud. So let's just let them be. I'm sure it's going to work out for the best for all of us."
"That's what I don't like about you, Tifa." Cid blurted out. "You're too freakin' nice. I have nothing against Aeris, okay? But don't tell me you're gonna give up on him just like that?"
Tifa chose to ignore Cid's remark. What's the use, she thought to herself. She's never been inclined to punishing herself in fighting lost battle.
"Guys I appreciate your concern for me. But I'm fine, really. And" She then stopped abruptly. Looking at her two friends, she easily discerned their skepticism. Not that she blamed them for it. She really can't deny that no matter how hard she tried to act strong, the ordeal of her hurting heart was still very much manifest. She's not one who does a good job of hiding her true feelings.
Cid and Reeve then relented, figuring out that they really cannot do something to alleviate her suffering. And when Tifa stepped toward the door, they didn't make a move to stop her. They hated being unable to help, but they also knew that this is one thing that Tifa had to face on her own.
She walked out, listlessly, toward the barn that suddenly fell quite. Echoes of recent memories came rushing back to her mind, of this bar that used to be filled with laughter as she and Elmyra took amusement at a scowling Cloud who didn't know the first thing about milking a cow. Such heartwarming gaiety, permeating a time that she thought would eventually lead to a life of lasting contentment in the company of the only man she truly loved. For a moment, Tifa thought she heart Mimi's frantic moans again, mixed with the stifled grumbles of his beau as he avoided that wrong pinch that might send the cow's agitated hind leg toward his face. Those were truly happy times.
And she's almost sure they're all but over now.
Her languid musing eventually led her to the small compartment that Cloud used as an alternate bedroom. She smiled sadly, recalling the many times she quietly tiptoed from her bedroom in the wee hours of the morning to come here and share a blissful dawn with her childhood sweetheart. Her tongue felt a tinge of bitterness. All those are mere memories now, never to happen again.
Tifa then caught sight of a small pocket within the nearby haystack. It looked ruffled, indicating that it had just been intruded. She investigated, noting Cloud's Ultima Weapon that he brought along with him when they rescued Marlene from the clutches of the mercenaries. A closer look revealed the slots to be empty. Tifa sighed. Even in the midst of unusual circumstances, he still didn't neglect putting his materia in safe storage after using it. Cloud had always been tidy this way, despite the rather chaotic hairstyle he sported.
She looked further inside the hollow cavity to notice his materia box unlocked. A slight curiosity then drove her to open it, after which she saw the neat row of green, blue and red orbs tucked in their respective holding slots. Pulling up a small cord at the corner of the box's interior, she then opened up a secret compartment.
Tifa's eyebrows met in slight bewilderment when she saw one of the three hidden holding slots empty. The KotR materia was missing.
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The sanctuary erupted with the raw power and rage coming from the infant demolitionist. The place that used to know nothing but blue and white in its pristine surroundings has now been introduced to the fury of bright red and orange incendiary bellows mixed with the ominous plumes of green and black mystic flames that threatened to overcome the erstwhile peaceful place. The incomplete Weapon flailed about, his arms destroying everything they touched while its eyes blasted forth hellish fires of madness and strife.
They knew that they didn't have time for anything except direct action. Calling out for help, the raven-haired mystery man unleashed upon the creature the unfettered fury of the red dragon that introduced his scarlet ferocity amidst the backdrop of clear, blue skies. Responding to its command, the very ground that the Weapon stood on suddenly broke free from the surrounding terrain, lifting up gradually in the midst of a splitting sea of destructive force to present the enemy to the flare master. His mouth crackled with power, thereby releasing his explosive wrath on the green creature as the floating earth beneath him was disintegrated under the infernal conflagration.
It would have been enough to decimate half the world they stood on had it been directed accordingly. And yet the only thing it managed to accomplish was push the Jade Weapon a mere three steps back. It displayed incredible speed and resilience in quickly coming back with a retaliation in the form of another energy blast from its eyes. The lion beast then felt his feet suddenly touching nothing as the Terra Break attack carved a maw of nothingness within the earth. A barrage of energy bolts followed, striking the warrior pair with impunity. They writhed and squirmed in pain as the onslaught relentlessly pummeled them, almost canceling out the protective layer of Wall they erected around them earlier. When the bombardment ceased, only the gun wielder was left standing, though he was visibly weakened enormously by the assault.
He looked around, and saw his fallen comrade. A disconcerting scene that summoned malevolent, raging hell-forces from within his dark soul. In the blink of an eye, the comely face of the gunslinger boiled, convulsing violently as his mind melded with that of the demonic force lurking deep inside his psyche. Magnificent wings burst forth from the folds of his back accompanied by the sharp claws that replaced his trigger-loving fingers. What was once handsome had become hideous in revealing the devilish visage of Chaos.
The demon-beast lunged forward heedlessly as if unmindful of the kind of threat before. Black blood pumped into his steel-tough muscles as all four appendages planted their razor-sharp claws on the miscreant. The green creature howled in pain as it felt the poison from Chaos' talons, coursing through his underdeveloped exoskeleton. A mild tremor consequently shook the ice-covered land as the Jade Weapon bucked and struggled to shake off the winged demon fastened on the back of its neck.
Chaos groaned, together with a mighty push that drove the claws of his feet deeper into the Weapon's rubbery flesh. Securely hinging himself, he then pulled out his arms and started swinging and slashing at the enemy's head, shrieking with feral fury as ribbons of flesh, skin and greenish black blood started flying out in all directions. Delighted tongue protruded from his lips and licked off the creature's blood that sprayed around his mouth, all the more increasing his ferocity.
But the man-turned-beast was startled when slimy hands clamped tightly around him, intending to pull him out from his stronghold. Chaos mightily held on in spite of the immense strength of the destroyer tugging hard to free it self from the pain he introduced. In desperation, Jade Weapon used his other claw studding it in tearing off the portion of his flesh where the man-beast was clinging. And with a loud, hurting cry hurled both his flesh and the diminutive demon toward the rocky embankment. Chaos hit a large boulder head on, bringing undreamed of pains that consequently reverted him back to the crimson-clad gunman.
He regained control of his mind, but wished that he hadn't after being subjected to the worst headache he ever felt. His vision still spinning, the smooth-faced warrior attempted to focus his eyes, meeting with dismal failure. He was still oblivious to his surroundings when the Weapon's claws started on a speeding, deathly descent towards him.
End of Part Twelve