WHERE ANCIENTS FEAR TO TREAD
CHAPTER 5
Aeris groaned slightly. She felt as if her body was on fire. Never before had she ever felt this spent and drained. She could barely move, barely even keep her eyes open. Yet she had no choice but to stay awake. She couldn't drift back into the comfortable silence of oblivious sleep. Not after hearing the cries of agony close by. The cries had jolted her awake, however that was nothing compared to the fear clenching her heart at recognition of the familiar voice. It was Tifa. This alone drove the flower girl past the limitations of her own pain and anguish, forcing her to tap into the strength within.
"Tifa…" Aeris almost pleaded, struggling to push herself off the ground. Every second had been torture for her. Not simply the physical torture of having to move her body but mental torture because at every second her friends screams of pain and agony grew louder and louder. And now those screams had died out. She couldn't hear them anymore and that frightened her more then anything else.
"Tifa… just hold on a little longer."
Giving one last grunt, Aeris pushed herself up to a sitting position. Keeping her head low from fatigue, she closed her eyes and concentrated as best she could. Slowly a light green orb began to pulsate from within the palm of her hand. She grit her teeth tightly and soon the orb began to grow bigger and bigger until it engulfed both her and Red13.
With a final shout filled with both exhaustion and determination, the green eyed woman screamed out the name of her limit break, forcing it to continue washing over both her and her fallen companion.
"HEALING WIND!!!"
Almost immediately, Red13 jerked his head up, scanning his surroundings dazedly. "Where… where are we?"
Aeris closed her eyes once more then stood up carefully. "Come on Red. We've gotta go. Tifa needs us."
"Tifa? What are you talking about? What's going on with her?"
"I heard her screaming! Please Red! We've got to go now!" Aeris desperately pleaded with the red tiger.
Red shook his head in slight confusion but complied. "I don't really know what's going on but ok, I'm with you."
As if on cue, a huge beast suddenly burst from out of nowhere sidelining Red right across the face and driving him hard into the wall.
It was all the tiger could do to grunt in pain as he sagged limply to the ground below.
"Red!" Aeris screamed in concern. Her heart nearly leapt from her throat as soon as she caught sight of what was in the monsters other hand. There, Tifa lay limp in the monster's grip, a bloody mass being held up only by her left ankle.
Aeris once loving eyes, filled with fury at the sight as she charged angrily towards the huge monster.
"You beast!" she screamed, whipping out her long staff. For a split second her mind trailed back to the friends who had helped her with this weapon along the way. Zack's helpful instructions on how to fight mixed in with Jessie's considerate gesture of giving her this special weapon. Keeping those thoughts of how much her friends had helped her in the past and how much they needed her now, Aeris summoned up all of her strength as she continued to charge towards the armor shelled menace.
The beast turned around, hungrily eyeing her then yanked its claws out preparing for the strike. Tifa's body dropped limply to the ground.
This infuriated the flower girl even more. With a power she never knew she had, Aeris leapt up into the air and struck the creature with all of her might before it even had a chance to strike. The staff smashed right into the monsters face, cracking through armor and biting into soft flesh and blood. The creature howled in pain and anger as it staggered back a few feet.
Red, who was lying not too far away, noticed the small battle being wagged and painfully brought himself up on all fours.
Aeris continued her attack and swung again. Unfortunately, the monster was ready this time and dodged to the side, past her attack. Aeris angrily redirected her strike. The monster blocked the attack at the last second then swung his arm back catching Aeris across the face. The green eyed girl let out a howl of pain as she slammed hard into the wall. She could feel the wind leaving her body yet she could do nothing as her form slowly trailed to the ground.
The monster slowly walked towards her, preparing to finish its work while still holding its injured face with the other hand.
Suddenly out of nowhere, Red13 jumped onto its back, sinking his teeth menacingly into the creature's throat. Once more, armor was torn back and blood was spilled while the monster howled in pain and anger.
It reached up its hand and clamped its sharp claws around Red's throat. Bringing the Tiger to eye level, the monster stared hatefully at the one eyed animal then brought its arm up then rammed it into the ground as hard as it could. Red screamed in pain as he felt his back break from the impact of the attack. The monster wasn't finished. It yanked the fallen tiger's form from up out of the ground then ramming him back into another spot on the floor again. The monster continued this activity while a still dazed Aeris could do nothing but watch in anguish.
"Red… no…" She pleaded miserably.
Red was now completely unconscious as he was continuously beaten. The monster stopped in its torture and lifted the fallen tiger up to survey its work. Red was a bloody heap. The monster let out a low gwaff, almost sounding like a laugh. Suddenly, the gwaff turned into a shout of pain.
"FINAL HEAVEN!!!"
Aeris eyes snapped wide as the monster fell forward onto the ground. Standing there, right behind it was a battered Tifa. She was barely on her feet as her composure shook from strain and exhaustion.
Tifa lightly flashed Aeris a grin. "D…did I get em?" She asked then suddenly fell to the floor back into unconsciousness. Aeris didn't know what to say. Never before had she seen such an attack from the dark haired woman and she feared for her friends life, surprised that she could even stand, looking the way she did.
Unfortunately, Aeris didn't have much time to ponder this as the monster suddenly began to move again. The actions were low and labored but Aeris could feel her blood freezing when the creature slowly began to drag itself to its feet again. Suddenly images of her friends beaten forms invaded her memories. Thought's of Zack's sacrifice and of the sacrifice of the Avalanche members. She knew now what she had to do. Aeris glared angrily at the monster now.
"I won't allow it to happen again!"
Clutching her staff once more, Aeris rose meticulously to her feet then charged forth towards the still rising creature.
"I won't allow it!" Aeris screamed then swung her staff as fast and hard as she could. Unbeknownst to her, the staff suddenly flared a bright green color as the energy of the planet came to aid her. In one fell swoop, she struck, the staff connecting solidly with the side of the creatures head then forcing it away from atop its shoulders. The head flew a good distance away, bouncing off the far wall while the body gave a final shake before falling limp to the floor.
Aeris fell to her knees in exhaustion. Both satisfied with her success and sickened with the realization of what she had just done. She never liked violence and she abhorred killing yet to save her friends she had done both. Though she may not have liked it, she was still glad she had done it if it meant saving her friends.
Saving her friends! Aeris head snapped up in a flash. Her eyes scanned fearfully over her two fallen comrades. She painfully rose to her feet preparing to head towards Tifa's fallen form.
Suddenly a green mist shot up from where the creatures fallen form was, nearly forcing the flower girl back into the wall. Aeris eyes grew wide as the mist slowly transformed into a shape. The figure of Sephiroth was once again staring down. A slight smile twitched his lips at what he saw.
Aeris green eyes filled with anger and hate. "Sephiroth! It was you!"
The transparent SOLDIER merely smirked. "Ah if it isn't the lovely flower girl. I am impressed that you were able to awaken such power. I eagerly look forward to our future duels. Alas you have defeated my shell monster. You may have your reward."
And with that, the transparent form faded away into nothing. Aeris blinked a few times in confusion.
She quickly dismissed those thoughts and made her way towards Tifa's fallen form. Anxiously, she dragged it over to where Red13 was lying silently. Hoping for the best, once again Aeris summoned the force from within and cast a Healing wind. Little by little her friends bones and torn flesh slowly began mending themselves back together. Within seconds Tifa's eyes fluttered open and Red grunted slightly before rising to his feet.
"Aeris." Tifa said proudly. "Thanks. We really owe you one."
"Indeed." Red agreed, shaking his head to clear it once more.
Aeris blushed embarrassingly. "I couldn't have done it without you're help guys. We're a team right."
Both comrades smiled and nodded their heads.
Aeris returned the smile but still something continued to bother her. Sephiroth had mentioned something about a reward. What was he talking about.
"coo coo"
Her thoughts were broken immediately by the sudden innocent sound coming from within what remained of the mist.
"What's that?" Tifa asked in confusion.
Red merely regarded the flower girl with a strange expression. "I'm sure you already know don't you Aeris?"
Aeris said nothing in the way of a comply as she instead slowly moved forth towards the mist. Reaching her hands out and sinking them into the green smoke, she drew them forth now holding a Baby Gold Chocobo crying miserably within her hands. Aeris wrapped the small form gently to her, cradling it lovingly.
"Aww it's so cute." Tifa said lightly.
Red nodded absently then turned slightly towards the exit. "This was what we had set out to find. I… believe it was worth the sacrifice."
Both women said nothing. Aeris simply cuddled the creature closer while Tifa stood back looking proudly upon the life they had just saved. "It was the least we could do." The ex-Avalanche woman said softly.
****
It had already been Two days since the absence of Tifa, Aeris and Red. The barn had been considerably quiet since then. Barret continued to help the farmer out with his responsibilities. Meanwhile Cloud continued to train himself relentlessly, revenge and determination clearly evident in the man's glowing green eyes. The words of the dark man spoken to him days ago were almost completely gone as now all he could see through his vision of dexterity and training, was the fight against Sephiroth.
Cloud panted heavily and wiped his brow as yet another drop of sweat trailed down into his eyes. 'Damnit!' He swore to himself mentally as the minor drop of liquid broke his concentration. He had long since discarded his shirt as it was hindering him from his training. Now dressed in a pair of his favorite baggy navy blue pants along with his standard issue military boots, he brushed his hair back with a swift thrust of the hand.
He quickly refocused his mind then raised his buster sword high again. Slowly, rhythmically, as if in a dance, he bobbed and weeved through his impressively skilled sword strokes.
With each new swing he struck harder. He could feel the power bleeding off of him as he once again found himself self-consciously delving into the hidden arts of his mysterious new power. His sword strokes and thrusts increased as he became more intense in his training. He swung with rapid speed and precision. He finally extended his sword in a signal of ending his kata, letting his blade guide his actions until he finally came to a complete close.
Suddenly a loud noise rang out, the sound of a bullet being fired reverberated all throughout the distance. Cloud immediately spun around, his eyes locking solidly onto a figure walking slowly from the distance, clapping.
Cloud narrowed his eyes in anger.
The man continued to clap. "Nice performance. I was almost impressed."
"Who the hell are you?" He snapped wildly.
"I'm sorry." The stranger said by way of apology but Cloud knew, by the look in the man's eyes, he had no sincerity behind it. The stranger ran his fingers through short chopped strands of blond hair. "I had initially thought you were someone else. I realized I was wrong only a few seconds ago. Now all I'm looking for are some answers."
"You still didn't answer my question." Cloud raised his sword slightly to show he meant business.
The man smirked a bit, puffing on a cigarette he had in his mouth. "So you're asking for a fight then?"
Cloud let his body speak for itself as he quickly lunged in towards the man. Suddenly, before he could even react, Cloud found himself tumbling to the ground as the man swiftly darting to the side.
He laughed heavily at Cloud's fallen form. "You're gonna have to do better then that kid!"
An angry growl escaped Cloud's lips as he madly dashed from the ground swinging rapidly towards the new man. The intruder dodged and weeved as best he could but knew he couldn't outlast the blond man's fury for much longer. With a flick of the wrist, suddenly he blocked the last of Cloud's attacks with a long, solid brown staff.
Cloud only hinted at his slight shock with a twitch of an eyebrow but soon he was quickly engulfed in a flurry of swings once more. The man found himself at a loss for words. 'Damn… This kid moves just like 'him'! Who the hell is he?'
With a desperate sidestep, the new man quickly arched his staff low, lifting the sword fighter's legs high off the ground. Unfortunately this did not deter Cloud in the least as he simply rolled through the fall, back up to his feet. He lashed out again this time more furiously.
"$hit!" The man cried out as he blocked a sword thrust aimed for his throat. Cloud struck again, more enraged that the man had escaped death. The intruder lifted his staff once more to block the attack. Cloud's sword ripped right through the hard material of the staff, following all the way down.
The man stumbled back before the blade could cleave him then fell on his back. His face arched in full awe at the power behind the blond's attacks.
Cloud stood over him victoriously then raised his sword to finish him off completely.
The man was fast to speak out against this. "Hey stop! Stop! I give up! $hit!"
Cloud flinched ever so slightly then followed through with his downward thrust.
"Hey no wait I'm not your enemy!" the man cried out frantically as he saw the sword come down on him quick.
At the last possible second, Cloud shifted the blade slightly to the side letting it hit the soft earth just inches away from the man's head.
An angry scowl took the place of a momentarily shocked expression and the man promptly stood up angrily. "Hey what the hell is your problem you stupid f*ck! I told you I wasn't your enemy! Why did-"
Before he could finish, Cloud quickly lifted his sword positioning it so that the blade was just barely grazing the man's neck. Cloud held his steady death gaze as he bore into the man's soul with his penetrating eyes.
"I don't have much patience… Speak now or I'll kill you."
The man narrowed his eyes angrily, then in a quick motion he smacked the sword to the side at the same time moving out of the way of the follow up thrust. He quickly jumped to the side. Cloud reared around in anger and prepared to retaliate when suddenly the loud ringing noise of gunfire rang out once more and he stumbled over in pain, clutching his shoulder. Cloud quickly darted his head to the side seeing a dark shadowy figure walking up towards him from the distance, his gun smoking in the air. The other blond man smiled broadly and stood up in front of the blond haired man.
"What a dumb jackass you are!" He said angrily, then held his hand out towards the wounded blond.
Cloud was at a loss for words then after a moment he took the man's offered hand with a quizzical look printed on his face. "Who are you?" He found himself asking once more.
The man looked at Cloud proudly then clapped his hand on the blond's good shoulder. "Despite your obvious lack of self control, you're a pretty good fighter kid. Me and my friend here are also good fighters and could use your help tracking somebody down. Information is all we need. Once we have it we'll be on our way. And as far as introductions are concerned, the name's Highwind. Cid Highwind. And my friend over there goes by the title Vincent Valentine. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."
::::::::::To Be Continued::::::::::
Author's note: Thanks for reading and please stay tuned for chapter 6. ^_^ thanks!