Final Fantasy VII
The Final Cetra
Chapter 2 – Harsh Winds of the North
I don't own FF7 or Squaresoft. As much as I'd like to, I'm not making any money off this in any way, so you can't sue me. :P
Yeah, I know this one is short... sorry. I wanted to make it longer, but I just didn't quite have it in me. Oh well, expect Chapter 3 to be longer and better (and a whole lot quicker; sorry for taking so long to get this up.)
Ifalna did not need to hear Professor Gast's screams. The bullets blaring in the background, the shouts of Hojo and his men... none of it was necessary. She knew what would happen the moment those brutish officers knocked on her door and Hojo's voice was heard from the other side.
Hojo... She hated that name. She had been in contact with that crazed scientist once before. He did not have any sense of humanity. Any subjects of his were simply viewed as specimens. It had been said by many scientists that he would never be as great as Professor Gast... And now Professor Gast was dead. Killed by the person jealous of his superiority. Hojo and ShinRa were almost the same. Both without a sense of humanity, both viewing people as simple specimens... They would do anything to get what he desired. She could still remember everything about him because of that ordeal...
Ifalna shut her eyes at the thought of him. She did all she could to get him out of her mind. She had been one of Hojo's 'specimens' in the past. However, she knew the evil Hojo possessed. Please... she asked the planet. Just don't let Aeris ever be subject to such evil...
The final few gunshots from Professor Gast's house could be heard. Ifalna was already far away, but she sobbed as she ran out of the village. She didn't know where she was going... she didn't even have a clue what direction she was headed in. She didn't know what lay ahead or It didn't matter. She would rather be dead then her or her daughter be in the custody of that crazed scientist. However, Ifalna could sense that the planet wanted Aeris to live.
Here, the snow was steep. She could barely get through. All she was wearing was the small amount of clothes she had been wearing when she was with Professor Gast. She had gone from a warm house to the frozen winds of the land surrounding the Gaea Cliffs. Aeris was only kept in a small bundle of blankets. Ifalna held her child close. She wiped the tears from her face, and attempted to trudge on.
Hojo shouted after her, remarks she could not hear. An order to his soldiers prompted a barrage of bullets in her direction. None managed to hit, but the disturbance caused Ifalna to lose her footing. She cried out as she stumbled down the icy glacier, over a cliff into the ice and snow below. She clung to Aeris tightly, but quickly lost consciousness upon hitting the ground.
* * *
She snapped her eyes open, darting them around at whatever was in sight. Aeris... she thought.
With much effort, she got up. Looking around, she saw that she was in a large field of snow. However, the cold and the snow was not what worried her. Her child was gone...
Frantically searching and digging through the snow, she managed to find her buried under the snow. Sobbing, Ifalna held her child close. Aeris was frail, and Ifalna had not helped her at all. She buried her deep in her breast, and continued walking over the snowy field.
She had somehow managed to elude Hojo, but Ifalna was sure he was out with an army searching for her. She could not stay in the same place. Out here she would simply freeze to death; it was a miracle she hadn't already. She needed to keep moving.
The sun faintly hung in the sky, and Ifalna trudged across the snowy field. It was an endless mass of snow and ice. The wind whipped around her, sending snow in every direction and most likely misguiding her. Out here, it was impossible to tell if one was retracing their steps or heading in the completely wrong direction. The only way people got through this place was with something to mark their way. Ifalna had no such markers, and the snow was impossible to get through. Her footprints filled with snow mere seconds after she had made them. Ice bit at her face, and wind got fiercer with every step she took. Her tears had frozen to her face, and the sun had dipped below the Gaea Cliffs.
In the cold night, Ifalna had lost all strength to go on. However, she clutched Aeris close to her, trying to keep her warm, hoping for a miracle. As her body temperature dropped to dangerous levels, she collapsed in the snowy fields. Ice carried by whipping winds covered her body.