Aeris's Resurrection Part 1
Even after Cloud and the gang had defeated Sephiroth, they continued with their adventures. One day, while Cloud, Yuffie, and Vincent had been cruising around in Vincent's new car-a shiny, sleek black Jaguar-a man ran up to their car, pleading for help. That is how their new adventure begins...
Vincent stopped the car the instant the man ran up. He then proceeded to roll down the window, lean out halfway, and ask, "What's wrong?"
"Please! My town is in trouble!" the man replied desperately, all the while casting nervous, hurried glances back in the direction of a mountainous area.
"How can we help?" Cloud asked, letting genuine concern pass over his face as he pushed Vincent aside to get a better look at the man.
The stranger seemed old-his hair was graying at his temples and age lines wrinkled his tanned forehead and the pouches of skin near his eyes. Despite his apparent old age, the man was muscular and he had an air of one who commands respect.
By the looks of him, the stranger had obviously been in a major fight. His shirt was torn, he had a black eye, and blood oozed down his arm from a high, deep-looking cut on his shoulder.
His eyes were filled with desperation, sorrow, and concern. Cloud guessed that his side was losing in whatever battle raged between the two high, rugged mountains.
Cloud's examination all happened in a matter of seconds, but before he knew it, Vincent had invited the man into the car and Yuffie was sliding over to make room for him in the back.
As they drove towards the center of the two large mountains that Cloud had noticed earlier, the man, whose name was Baron Derek Aarons, told them his story.
"The Shin-hwa forces, which are a separate branch of the Shin-ra, heard about how the group of terrorists that call themselves AVALANCHE annihilated Shin-ra. Now they've decided to go on a worldwide rampage to hunt these guys down and kill them-to make them pay for what they've done, in other words.
"Unfortunately for us, our town was nearest to their headquarters and thus the first on their list," and thus the first on their list," and here Aarons let out a sigh. "Their forces...outnumber us greatly, and I'm afraid the odds are all against us. We could use all the help we can get. Though I do realize that your help would put you all at a great risk." By now, Aarons had stopped looking at them, and was now studying his hands.
"I'm sorry about your town," Yuffie said, placing a reassuring hand on his arm. "Of course we'll help. We'll kick their sorry asses to hell and back just like we did with Shin-ra!"
"So you're the group AVALANCHE?" Aarons asked with unfeigned wonder.
"You bet we are!" Yuffie replied haughtily. "And when you've got Yuffie the Materia Hunter on your side, you're bound to win!" Now she directed her attention to Coud. "Don't you think we should call the others? The more people, the better chance of winning, right? And I, for one, don't intend on losing. " As an afterthought she added: "I wonder if those Shin-hwa dudes have any materia?"
Ignoring her statement about materia, Cloud pulled out his PHS. He agreed with her idea of phoning the others, if not with her question of the materia. They had a major war to fight here, and all she could wonder about was the damn materia! Oh, well. She was the one who had remembered to phone the others, and she was a very useful ally, so Cloud didn't mention anything about her irrelevant thought about materia.
After a brief conversation with Barret telling where they were and what the situation was, Cloud hung up and looked to Aarons. "Do you know how close we are to your city from here?" he asked.
"I'd say we're only a few minutes away now," Aarons replied. The desperate, pathetic look had left his eyes and they were now filled with the look of someone who knows that they are going to win. Apparently Yuffie's attitute was contagious.
After a short drive along a rocky path, the Baron called for them to stop. "We're here now."
They all stepped out of the car. The view that greeted them was one of mountainous beauty. They had stopped on a winding dirt road that wrapped around the large mountain and headed towards the center, where Aarons's town was located.
"I don't see anyone." Yuffie stated the obvious, her hand on her shuriken.
"Yes," Aarons replied. "I stopped you early because a car rolling into Nicholstown in the middle of a battle may seem more than a little suspicious. To both sides. If we follow this road, we will make a less conspicuous appearance. It's not a long way to go." Aarons bolted off at an all-out sprint, intent on saving his village.
"Wait up!" Yuffie panted as she struggled to keep up with Aarons's blazing pace.
After a sharp turn, the village was in sight. Sounds of a battle could be heard-gunshots, shouts, and grunts of agony.
A couple more strides and they arrived. It was hard to believe how easily Aarons had come off. Arrows flew in from almost every direction, soldiers and townspeople fought in the streets, and most soldiers were armed with machetes, ready for action.
As for the town itself, it couldn't really be called a town anymore. Most buildings were charred ruins or smoldering wrecks.
Yet Cloud had to give the townspeople a lot of credit. They were fighting courageously, though as Aarons had stated earlier, all the odds were against them. Of course, with AVALANCHE here to help them, that could all change.
"We better get in there and help!" Yuffie yelled. Before Cloud or Vincent could reply, she had drawn her shuriken and charged into battle.
* * * * *
A few minutes later, a large blue Chevy van came to a screeching halt.
"C'mon, you guys! We have to hurry! Cloud's in danger!" Tifa yelled worriedly as she jumped out of the van.
The others followed her as she ran in the direction of the town, her dark brown hair flying behind her.
Once they arrived, they had the same reaction as Cloud's.
"This town is in ruins," Tifa whispered, spying the burning buildings.
"Let's pay those bastards back for this!" Cid declared, and ran into the town to help.
"Where's Cloud?" Tifa asked no one in particular, not bothering to hide the anxiety and worry in her large eyes.
She saw a flash of metal in the distance and heard metal clashing against metal as a fight raged on.
Tifa ran through the fields, wincing as she stepped over dead bodies. So many dead, she thought sadly as she continued. But there was no time to mourn over the casualties now.
Just as Tifa thought that she had spotted Cloud, a hand grabbed her roughly on the shoulder and whirled her around.
She had just enough time to catch a glimpse into blue eyes as cold as ice before one of the man's fists flew towards her face. The other was on her shoulder, but she still was able to duck. Tifa could feel the whoosh of air above her head. His fist had missed her by mere inches.
Tifa brought her own fist straight into the man's stomach and hit home. He let out a grunt of pain, and his hands flew to his stomach, releasing the vise-like grip that they earlier had on Tifa's shoulder. Free! she thought incoherently.
Instinct told her to run, run away as fast as she could, but she ignored it. Besides this man was unarmed. She thought that she would be able to take him in ease. Tifa assumed a fighting stance as he charged her again.
She brought her leg up in a high kick aimed for the soldier's head, but he avoided it and punched her in the stomach, leaving her gasping for air.
He saw his chance and began pummeling Tifa with his fists. She held up her arms in an attempt to block her face from his vicious blows. Things were beginning to look bad, very bad.
Just when it looked as if things couldn't get any worse, or better for that matter, she saw a flash of metal as something cut its way through the air. The next moment the soldier let out a pathetic wail of pain and clutched at his back.
His eyes were filled with questions-this wasn't supposed to happen. I wasn't supposed to die! How did this happen to me?-then he fell over, dead.
Blood gushed from his back in a steady river, forming a puddle around him. Out of his back arched a shiny steel object. It took a moment for Tifa to realize that it was Yuffie's shuriken.
Tifa heard a shriek and saw Yuffie speeding towards her with two soldiers hot on her tail.
"Tifa, HELP!" Yuffie screeched. "Pass me my shuriken!"
Oh, no, Tifa thought as she looked numbly at the shuriken protruding out of the dead man's back. Sure, she had helped to kill Sephiroth and the others, but it never got any easier looking at the dead. Especially if she had to touch them. She tried to ease her nerves as she grasped the shuriken and pulled. She almost hurled at the squelching noises it made when it was pulled out of the dead man's body. Trying to think comforting thoughts, Tifa threw it to Yuffie.
Yuffie caught it wiht one hand and spun around to face the soldiers. They took out their weapons-swords similar to Cloud's-and held them up to face Yuffie. With a single flick of Yuffie's wrist, both men were dead-decapitated by Yuffie's shuriken.
"Thanks, Tifa!" Yuffie yelled as she ran down the hill.
Now feeling had begun to come back into Tifa and she thought that she could talk without her voice quavering. "Where's Cloud?" Tifa asked, wiping her bloody hands on her skirt.
"He's fighting up front with the Baron," Yuffie replied casually. "Where I just was," she couldn't resist adding.
Tifa's eyes opened wide in terror and concern. "He's...up there?" She gestured toward the hill.
"Yeah, and as a matter of fact, I should get back up there, too. Come on!" Yuffie said as she ran back up the hill.
"Well, here goes nothing," Tifa murmured as she followed Yuffie.
When the two girls reached the top of the hill, Tifa looked down, which was a big mistake. Where could Cloud be in all of this mess? she wondered. Soldiers were everywhere. Then an uninvited thought crept into her mind. Is he still alive?
She looked around to ask Yuffie if she knew where Cloud was, but Yuffie was already running down the hill. Without hestitating, Tifa ran after her.
Tifa heard loud gunshots and surveyed the area. She saw Vincent and two Shin-hwa soldiers shooting at each other while taking cover behind rocks. Yuffie was sneaking towards them while hiding behind rocks. Tifa mimicked her movements.
The gunshots went on for a couple more seconds before only empty clicks could be heard from Vincent's direction.
"Dammit," Yuffie whispered under her breath. "He's shooting blanks."
"We've got to help," Tifa whispered back.
"My thoughts exactly," Yuffie replied, still whispering. "Hold this. If any soldiers come, you know what to do." Yuffie handed her shuriken to Tifa. "I'm gonna go save Vincent."
Before Tifa had a chance to speak, Yuffie was sneaking off again. Yuffie moved quickly and quietly in the soldiers' direction. Now she was only a rock away. "Okay, breathe." Yuffie quietly instructed herself before running up behind one of the soldiers.
She did a quick karate-chop to the side of his neck. It would've knocked him out cold if he hadn't turned at the last minute. But Yuffie always fought with a backup plan prepared. When he turned, Yuffie kicked the machine gun out of his hands. Before the soldier had time to react, Yuffie had grabbed the machine gun up.
Just as she was about to shoot the guy, Yuffie noticed that the other soldier had noticed her and was now turning in her direction. Without knowing she was about to do it, Yuffie pulled the weaponless soldier in front of her as her human shield. A very useful shield, too. The bullets that his friend fired hit him and only him.
Yuffie threw the dead man aside and shot his partner quickly three times in the chest area. She knew instinctively that he was dead.
"Vincent! I got them both!" Yuffie yelled.
"Thanks!" he yelled back, running over to where Yuffie was. "But I just ran out of bullets and that was the last clip."
"Take this." Yuffie gave him the machine gun that she had taken from the first soldier. She then motioned for Tifa to come over. "You," and Yuffie pointed to Tifa "take the other one."
Tifa did as Yuffie instructed. She knew that defending herself with a gun would be much more effective than with her bare fists.
"Come on, Yuffie, Tifa," Vincent said once Tifa had the machine gun in her hands. "We need to go up front and help Cloud."
Tifa looked up at the mention of Cloud's name. Then she remembered the soldiers. Her eyes narrowed angrily and she held the gun more surely now. "Yeah. Let's go kick some Shin-hwa ass."
Yuffie looked at her and nodded in agreement. Now that she had her shuriken back, she was more sure of herself. "Lead the way," Yuffie told VIncent.
Vincent solemly nodded and led them to another clearing.
"Oh, God," Tifa whispered. "Cloud's down there?" This place was infested with soldiers. She began to believe that he was dead. No one could survive this.
"Yes, he is," Vincent replied. He took up a sniper's position on a rock and motioned for Tifa to do the same. "Let's kill as many as we can from up here. Then it'll be easier for us when we get down there."
Tifa and Vincent started shooting. About 15 soldiers were dead before anyone noticed. Another 15 were killed before the situation got too dangerous to continue.
As Tifa looked down, she spotted Cloud. She let out a startled gasp when she saw his condition. A line of blood ran down his arm, presumably from a large gash. Probably made from a blade, the street-smart section of her brain told her. Though it said probably, it knew positively. It also told her to run to him. That she was his last hope.
She obeyed.
"Tifa, where are you going?" Yuffie demanded, trying to keep her voice as low as possible. "Jesus Christ!" Yuffie ran after Tifa when Tifa didn't so much as turn back.
Vincent glanced up, startled, as he saw his two companions running down the hill towards the valley. "Are they crazy?!" he muttered before he was hit on the head with the butt of a gun. Everything began to swim around and blur together in his head. Vincent turned around with amazing slowness and glimpsed the soldier who had hit him. He emptied the machine gun into the soldier before everything went black.
* * * * *
Tifa never felt the pain when a bullet grazed her shoulder. All that mattered now was Cloud's safety. She needed to get to him, needed to save him. He needed her help. Yes, she was sure of that. Tifa was not aware of Yuffie behind her. All she could think about was getting to him, saving him before-
A soldier jumped in front of her, interrupting her thoughts.
"Get outta my way," Tifa growled.
The soldier didn't reply but instead aimed his revolver at her head.
"Get the hell outta my way!" Tifa heard her voice raise with fury. She was blinded by rage at this man-this creature- trying to interfere with her plan. Her hands seemed to move with a will of their own as they pulled the trigger and held it down. Tifa brought the gun upward, making a line of ragged holes in the soldier's body. Now no one could stop her. Just let them try.
Without much more confrontations, she reached the area where Cloud and the soldier were dueling.
Metal clashed against metal as Cloud brought his sword down and the other man blocked it with his own, or vice versa.
Blood was pouring out of the gash in Cloud's arm and another one in his leg.
Again, rage overtook Tifa and she brought down the butt of her gun onto the soldier's head. She could hear the crack of bone, but it seemed far away.
Then her legs gave up on her and she fell to the ground. She was aware of a man's voice-Cloud's-telling her not to worry, that everything was going to be fine. She could hear Yuffie, too. She could also hear sobbing noises-Is that me? she wondered before she slipped into unconsciousness.
* * * * *
"Ugh," Tifa mumbled, grabbing her forehead. She noted the purplish bruises on her arms. Why am I not surprised? she mused before looking around. She was in a large white room, on a large clean bed. The room smelled of antiseptics and sterilization and she noticed that she wasn't in her normal clothes. "Where am I?" Tifa asked a nurse.
"You're in Nicholstown, of course," the nurse replied. "Quite a big battle yesterday. I heard you killed the captain. Imagine that." The nurse's hazel eyes glowed with admiration. "By the way, I'm Nancy."
"Really?" Tifa asked, still half-asleep. All that seemed so far away. And it had been only yesterday? Then she suddenly snapped back to reality. "Where's Cloud? Is he all right? Did he-?"
Nancy interrupted her. "He's fine. He was up and about hours ago."
"But how can that be?" Tifa asked, talking more to herself than to Nancy. "I saw his cuts. Those slashes-he should've been in Intensive Care for weeks."
"No, of course not. You see, we import this special herb from Svenson Hills. It fixes up cuts like that." Nancy snapped her fingers for emphasis. "Seals you up real good in a matter of seconds.
"Yup, Svenson Hills has all kinds of stuff. Heard a certain woman there can even bring people back from the dead. Imagine that. I also heard that it's beautiful at sunset. Never been there myself, of course, what with the job and all, but someday I'd like to go," Nancy continued.
Cloud ran into the room. "Tifa, I think I may have found a way to bring Aeris back!" For a moment, he looked like a smiling child.
Tifa offered him a grin that she hoped didn't look as fake as it felt. How could he have no concern over how she was doing? It was always Aeris this, Aeris that, never anything about Tifa! But she did not voice these thoughts aloud, of course. Instead, she said: "Really? Well, we should get going as soon as possible, then."
To be continued...
By: Kris
TurnipGirl27@aol.com