Disclaimer: All Final Fantasy 7 characters, places and things all belong to Squaresoft and other involved companies. I own none of it. This fanfic is purely for the fun and enjoyment of others and myself. I make no money from it.
WHERE ANCIENTS FEAR TO TREAD
CHAPTER 3
"I don't f#ck'n believe this!" Barret yelled for what seemed to be the 100'th time. "You sure they didn't say nothing to you about them going anywhere? Not a single word?"
Cloud sighed in irritation. "Look Barret for the fifth time, I was told nothing, alright? I was practicing the whole day and through part of the night and in that time I saw nothing out of the ordinary."
"I can't believe the girls would up and leave like that man! The tiger I can understand. He made it clear he wasn't going to be with us for the long hall from the beginning but the girls too? Something just ain't right man!"
Cloud sighed. "Aeris and Tifa have just as much of a right to decided to leave as anyone else. No one is going to stop them. They are old enough to make their own decisions."
"That's Bull$hit man and you know it!" Barret yelled then rammed Cloud against the far wall, gripping his shirt collar tightly. Cloud simply glared at the big man with a penetrating gaze. Barret met that gaze with an angry glare of his own.
"What happened to you man? You didn't always used to be like this! You used to love those girls. No matter how messed up and warped that may sound, I do know you had feelings for them both. What happened to those feelings? Where have you hidden them?"
As if a cord was struck, Cloud powerfully shoved Barret away from him, shooting him a dangerous stare, fire swarming in his stark green irises.
"I'm not hiding anything Barret! Open your eyes! Look around you! Can't you remember what happened a month ago? A war is going to break out! A big one and Sephiroth is positioned on the front lines!"
"It's not even about that man!" Barret countered back.
"YES IT IS!" Cloud roared. "A month ago you pledged yourself to bringing Sephiroth down! You made a promise that you wouldn't sit idly by and watch the planet die! What happened to that conviction? You may be hypocritical in your beliefs but I for one intend to see this through to the end! I will not rest until I have Sephiroth's dead corps at the end of my blade!"
"Cloud…" Barret shook his head with a level of disgust in his eyes. "You're loosing it man! You're LOOSING IT!" Can't you see what you're saying? This isn't about saving the planet anymore with you. It's about getting your f#cking revenge! It's about making Sephiroth pay for what he did to your friend!"
"Zack died so he could give us the opportunity you're now trying to take for granted!"
"Zack died trying to save his friends lives and you know it! Man, Zack would never risk his life for anything as hollow as revenge. You know I used to be just like you. I used to think that the only thing left for me was revenge but you know what? 'Zack's death' opened my eyes! Yeah you may be shocked to hear that but it's true. It took Zack's death for me to finally get it through my thick skull that there's more to life then revenge and suffering. He taught me that we should enjoy the beauty of life while it still lasts otherwise it'll just pass us by! 'That's' what you're friends sacrifice showed me! That's what it meant to me! It's not about Sephiroth or Shinra or revenge or even the planet for that matter! It was about the preservation and tranquility of human life! It's about living to your best and sacrificing your all so that others have the opportunity to reach that level of happiness. Revenge has nothing to do with it."
Cloud found that he could say no words yet at the same time Barret's speech did little to affect his soul. "You just don't understand Barret!" The blond man seethed in anger. "You'll never understand!" And with that, the young mercenary stormed out of the room leaving a frustrated Barret standing behind in his wake.
****
"Could it possibly get any colder down here?" Tifa said with disdain, wrapping her arms tighter about her shoulders.
"Stop complaining." Red hissed back. "We're almost there. Just hold yourself together."
"Ha! That's easy for you to say!" Aeris said through clenched teeth. "You have fur insulation."
Red13 merely grumbled a response then proceeded to walk onwards.
"Oh a lot of help you are!" Tifa hollered after him.
"I told you before you didn't have to come!"
"Let's just stop with the arguing already ok guys?" Aeris interjected, trying to be the peacemaker.
"Fine." Tifa said, waving her arms nonchalantly. "So exactly how much further do we need to travel Red?"
"I'll tell you when we get there."
"Just tell us now!"
Red turned his head slightly so that he could regard them with firm, steady eyes. "No. Now come on! We're wasting time!"
"Sheesh! This sucks!" Tifa said in a low voice. "Trapped in a dark tunnel, walking in a constant pool of what seems like water, I can't even see three inches in front of my eyes, and all Red say's is 'I'll tell you when we get there!" This sucks!"
Aeris smiled next to her. "Well at least we don't have to worry about being bored on the barn."
Tifa sighed knowingly. "Yeah. I wonder what Cloud and Barret are saying now that we're missing."
"Aren't they still asleep though?"
Tifa gave Aeris a surprised look. "It's been six hours! The sun set hours ago!"
"Really?" Aeris asked with deep interest. "That's really weird. I could have sworn we've been walking for only two hours max!"
"Yeah I know what you mean." Tifa said in a mystified voice. "These tunnels have a strange feel about them. Almost as if time simply stops in it's tracks while we're here. If we're not careful, our lives could pass us by down here and we wouldn't even realize it!"
Suddenly Red13 stopped in his tracks, startling both of them. "That's it!"
Tifa shot the tiger an annoyed look. "What's it Red? Why are you stopping now?"
Red matched Tifa's gaze. "This whole time, I've been wrestling with the idea of what exactly I was feeling. I know there is a force pulling me further down this tunnel but I couldn't focus my mind enough to pinpoint the source until now. I suppose the whole feeling of timeless space down here is almost like a failsafe. If one doesn't realize it, They could lead themselves in a never ending maze and not realize it."
"What!" Tifa was almost boiling with rage. "So you mean to tell us you were lost this whole time until now?"
"To be honest with you, yes. I think we were all in some weird trance and still are. However, the fact that we actually know what's going on now, gives us an edge. It is our key to reaching our destination safely and sanely."
"That's not my point!" Tifa yelled. "You could have gotten us killed down here just now! What do you have to say for yourself!?"
At this, Red13 turned around and walked towards the two women. Tifa stood tall, ready for anything the tiger had to throw at her. Much to her shock, Red simply walked right past her and stopped in front of Aeris. Aeris blinked in confusion and Red13 slightly lowered his head in a gesture of respect.
"Aeris, I thank you. If you had not brought the subject up, we would have never realized we were trapped in this reality warped prison."
The flower girl merely blushed while Tifa shot daggers at Red with her eyes. "Hey what about me? I helped figure it out too ya know!? Where's my thanks?"
Red simply chuckled at her and resumed his place at the front. "I want the both of you to focus your minds on anything time related. If we keep our grasp on reality, we'll make it to our destination safely."
Aeris and a grumbling Tifa both complied. Closing their eyes, the three of them began to focus intently on the reality of their individual lives.
Almost immediately, their whole surrounding shifted and pulled away to reveal a new area entirely.
"Whoa!" Tifa said in surprise. They were all now standing in a dark brown cave with access tunnels leading in five different directions.
"Where do we go from here?" Aeris asked curiously.
Red13 narrowed his eye slightly, concentrating on the inner voices in his soul once more.
Finally the tiger raised his head. "We go straight down the middle."
"Are you sure you're not getting us lost again?" Tifa asked sarcastically.
Red13 ignored the jest and resumed walking down the path.
Tifa looked around carefully, continually keeping her mind focused on the present in the hopes that she would not lose herself in this weird, reality shifting, cave.
Suddenly Aeris cried out and fell over. Tifa's eyes widened in shock as the woman clutched her head painfully.
"Aeris? Aeris what's wrong?" Tifa asked frantically.
"I… I can't… the voices! The pain!"
"Aeris… you feel it too don't you?" Red asked, now standing in front of her with a serious expression on his face.
Aeris merely raised her eyes level with his and nodded mutely.
Red turned away, looking at the far wall then closed his eyes and nodded to himself silently as if confirming some unspoken realization.
"What is it?" Tifa asked, walking up to the tiger. "What's wrong with her?"
Red sighed as he faced Tifa. "Do not concern yourself, her ailments will fade shortly."
"Don't concern myself?!? Like hell I won't! Listen here, you're gonna tell me what's wrong with her right now or I'm going to beat the information out of you!"
Red shot her a dangerous glare as if challenging her to compound on her threats. Tifa balled up her fists ready to strike at the tiger when suddenly a firm hand grasped her forearm.
Tifa turned to see Aeris clutching her arm and rising to her feet at the same time. "No… it… it's ok Tifa. I'm alright now. We are all friends here, we shouldn't be fighting like this."
"…Tell that to the tiger with the chip on his shoulder." Tifa mumbled under her breath.
Aeris either didn't hear or ignored the comment all together. "We're close now." She said silently. "I can feel pain and anguish… Is this what you were feeling also Red?"
Red13 simply nodded his head solemnly.
Aeris gave him a look of sorrow and compassion. "It's awful." She said gently. "There's so much pain."
"Pain is something we all must deal with in life." Red13 said mystically. "I have known and felt it all my life yet I have not yet broken in my resolve. Whatever it is that we will find down here, it too will not shatter my resolve. Yet I feel pity for it and wish that it not be forced to go through the same pain I have known in my life."
Aeris nodded in understanding. Tifa simply raised her arms in anxiety. "Look we can do the whole philosophy thing later ok? For now lets just get moving! Whatever we find, we'll find when we get there!"
A slight grin touched Red's face as he looked towards her. "For once, you speak words of wisdom Tifa. I am impressed!"
"Just keep moving!" Tifa said in an annoyed tone.
They continued onwards yet Tifa began to notice Aeris continued clutching her head with more and more intensity as if assaulted by some unknown force. She turned her eyes and noticed that Red13 also drooped his head low as they neared closer. Whatever was going on was affecting them both immensely yet for some odd reason she alone was not affected by it.
They continued to walk further on and after a while, Tifa was forced to half carry her green eyed companion who looked about ready to collapse from pain.
"Look Aeris…" Tifa said in a worried voice. "I'm really concerned about you. Maybe you should go back. You too Red. It seems to me like whatever this thing is that we're getting to is sucking the very life from the both of you but not even affecting me at all. I'll keep going while you two head back."
"I… appreciate the concern…" Red13 said in a heavy, pain-filled voice. "However, this is something I simply cannot avoid. My path is clear and this is what I must do."
Tifa turned her eyes towards Aeris. The green-eyed woman nodded her head as well. "I'm not backing down either Tifa. I've got to see this thing through to the end. I can't explain it…"
Tifa nodded gently and continued on.
After a few more pain filled steps, the ground suddenly gave way from beneath them. "Damn!" Tifa screamed as she felt herself falling weightlessly towards the ground. She looked on either side and finally noticed that Red and Aeris were so far gone now that they were completely unconscious. Tifa might have said something, anything to bring them back to consciousness but unfortunately the bottom of the tunnel broke her fall and the consciousness she desperately tried to reawaken in her comrades.
****
The village of Kalm was a peaceful one at this time of the day. However, like most other towns, even in the most secure of areas, a bar is not always the warmest place to be.
Fortunately, for the heavily cloaked blond man who chewed absently on the end of his cigar, the solemnity of his surrounding never affected him much.
Instead, he was presently more preoccupied with other more demanding issues at hand. He sat back casually in his chair as the man sitting across from him grew even more nervous.
"So…" The blond man said in a heavily, cigar accented voice. "I got word that there's a certain somebody who can wield a blade like no other roaming around in the area."
The bony, slightly freckled, man sitting across from him gulped in nervousness for a moment then slightly bobbed his head.
"Riiight.." The cloaked blond man said in an even, relaxed tone of voice. "I also got word that you know stuff normal people don't generally take the liberty to know off hand."
The cloaked stranger almost laughed as the man quickly became even more rigid. He wasn't surprised really. Anyone who lived on the streets knew about him and his partner as the infamous assassins. Whenever they were in the business of looking for someone, the person in question never turned up living much longer. It was no surprise at all that the man he was now talking to didn't suspect he had the intention of killing him too once he received the information he wanted.
However, even though the blond reveled in the fear he struck into the man, he also was extremely low on patience. He raised his right arm and snatched the cigar out of his mouth then inched if close to the man's face. The man immediately drew back in fear but not too far back for fear of causing a scene.
"Look kid…" the cloaked blond said in the same casual voice. "I can tell that you're tense. Any self-respecting person in your position would feel the same way if they were dealing with people like me. But for your own sake, try to maintain 'some' self control eh? Just tell me what I want to know and it'll all be over before you know it."
"W…w… what do you w- Want to know?" The man finally managed through his trembling lips.
"Information kiddo. Locations to be exact. This sword guy I mentioned earlier? I hear he's supposed to be a guy of magnificent skill. Word has it he took down the Shinra building 'bout a month ago and sped off with a crew of other folks. They say he killed everyone in the entire building."
"Y-… Yeah… I kn- know… the scoop on that."
"Good. Now what I want from you is information on where that certain person and his merry band of destructive comrades ran off to. I've got connects that say you know."
Once again the man gulped nervously. "I… I've heard there were some strange people the stowed in with a barn family just 5 kicks south of here. It's on the Chocobo valley region. You ca- can't miss it."
The blond man's eyes glazed over slightly as he processed the information in his head. After a few moments he trained his eyes once more onto the man sitting in front of him. "Hmph, I know where that is. I appreciate the help, now here's your reward."
The man trembled even more as the blond neared incredibly close to him. Without saying another word, the cloaked man then jammed the lit end of his cigar into the back of one of the man's shaking hands, causing him to scream out in pain.
The cloaked blond smiled crookedly then rose up to his feet, still staring at the now agonized man in front of him. "From here on, stay away from dangerous information like this. Your next caller may not be as fortunate as I am, catch my drift?"
The man was so petrified, he could only nod his head. Once again the blond almost chuckled. "Good boy."
He then stood up and walked towards the silhouette of another shadowy figure sitting close by in the distance. "We got our lead." He said to his partner with a wicked grin on his face. "The sparks are finally about to fly."
::::::::::To Be Continued::::::::::
Author's note: Thanks for reading and please stay tuned for chapter 4.