Disclaimer: Escaflowne and FFVII characters do not belong to me. Never have and never will. Please don't sue.
Author's Note: Sorry for the delay but school is killing me. (I have this TCP/IP class that's burning my brain cells….) Anyway, I'd like to thank everyone for those nice reviews. I would also like to thank Glenda for pointing out some spelling mistakes in the last three chapters. I'll fix them sometime this week. Um….I wrote this chapter last night. If you find spelling and grammar errors I'm truly sorry. I'll fix it when I can.
'…' means someone is thinking.
*…* refers to telepathy (Aeris and Sephiroth do this a lot)
Chapter 4: A Broken Heart, Flowers and a Rolex
~*~*~*~*~
Millerna sighed and ran a hand through her lose hair. She was tired. She had spent most of the night looking after Allen and hadn't left his side since he was brought into the infirmary room. Of course, there was the exception when she walked everyone to their rooms….but that only took a few minutes. However, right now she had too much in her mind to even consider taking a nap.
Allen was hurt, her father was dead, and Eries was nowhere to be found….
So much for being a princess. Nothing ever seemed to come out right. She had been hoping to have an elegant party in Van's honor, but her plans were ruined by the sudden attack lead by the strange man named Vladimir. And strange indeed. Millerna had never met anyone as bloodthirsty as him. She had witness him kill and stab people for no utterly valid reason as he walked towards the throne room….where he killed her father.
~Flashback~
Her father, the king of Asturia fell to the floor helpless as Valdimir killed off every single guard protecting him. Millerna had ran into the throne room to look for her father and Eries….instead she saw Vladimir wiping his sword with his fingers and plunging his weapon down into her father's stomach. She had screamed. Vladimir had turned to face her but instead of attacking her he only laughed evilly. He once again wiped his sword with his fingers and he pointed the end at her. She had been afraid and started to run out but she tripped over a dead soldier.
She remembered with disgust how Valdimir roughly picked her up from the floor and forcefully kissed her on the lips. She had kept her eyes opened, while he did the same. His purple eyes penetrated into her soft blue-gray ones, enjoying the mere terror that reflected from her eyes. After the kiss he pushed her against the wall and asked her for Van and Hitomi's whereabouts. The end of his sword was resting on her throat and for a moment she thought she was going to die because there was no way she was going to let her friends get hurt.
Lucky for her, Allen appeared out of nowhere and pushed Vladimir away from her. Soon both men had engaged into a fierce battle. She felt someone grab her arm. When she turned she was facing Dryden who was holding a very scared Merle. Realizing that Allen had planned this out for her to escape with Dryden and Merle, she wished Allen good luck. Allen only nodded in response. Vladimir was too much involved in the fight to even pay attention.
~End Flashback~
Millerna buried her face in her hands as she remembered last night's event. 'I'm so sorry Allen. We should have tried helping you….Vladimir did this to you and it's all my fault. If I had been stronger….'
"Don't blame yourself, Millerna. There was nothing you could do."
She hadn't realize she spoke the last part out loud and that voice belonged to Hitomi. Millerna jerked her head up as she felt a hand gently touch her shoulder.
"He'll be fine. You'll see," Hitomi said gently. "Don't blame yourself for something that was not your fault."
Millerna smiled weakly, "You're right."
Behind Hitomi she saw Van and Merle standing. Merle spoke first.
"How is Allen doing," she asked the princess.
Millerna placed a hand over Allen's forehead. "He's doing fine. However, some of his wounds are deep and it will take a while before they heal," she replied.
Van walked next to Millerna. "Vladimir hurt him pretty bad, didn't he," he said.
"Yes. Yes he did," she replied quietly. "I'm glad he didn't kill him but like I said before, his wounds need time to heal. This was not a sparring match. It was a fight to the end. Thankfully, Hitomi's father showed up when he did."
"I'm glad too," Hitomi whispered.
"Yeah! He kicked Vladimir's ass," Merle exclaimed.
"Merle," Milerna said shocked. "Who taught you to say that?"
"What," Merle asked confused.
Van cleared his throat, "The A-word. You know…."
"You mean 'ass'," the cat girl asked.
Van sweatdropped. Hitomi had an idea where the younger girl learned such language….it could only had been one person….
"Yes, THAT word. It's not a proper word for a young lady like yourself to say," Millerna said.
"But….Gadeth says it all the time," Merle complained. "He even says some other words."
"When I see Gadeth I will yell at him for speaking that way in front of a lady. As for you, young lady, I better not hear such words come out of your mouth again," Millerna scolded the young cat girl.
Merle pouted, "Fine."
Hitomi smiled. "Well, at least we know that Allen is going to be all right," she said. "The question is….when will he wake up?"
Van grunted, "Lets hope it's soon enough. We're going to need as much help as possible to defeat this new enemy."
"How can you say that," Millern gasped. "He's injured and the only reason you want him to heal soon is to fight this new enemy! Is THAT all you can think of?!""
Van was taken back. "I didn't mean…."
Hitomi held up her hand to silence him. Van nodded as if agreeing to something.
Hitomi spoke, "Millerna, I know you're worried about Allen. We all are….but you must understand that no matter what we say, Allen will continue fighting for the people. Whether he is completely healed or not, we will not be able to stop him. If you really love him….you must understand him. Van is only saying what is true. We need as much help as we can to defeat this new enemy."
"I'm sorry," Millerna sobbed. "It's just that….I can't bear the thought of seeing Allen killed in the battle field. Everyone important to me is gone….my mother, my father, Marlene, Eries is missing….and now, Allen is laying here helpless in the infirmary room. You guys are my friends….I don't want to see you hurt either."
Hitomi hugged Millerna. "Don't worry, everything is going to be fine. Allen will be better soon and we'll keep searching for Eries….," she told the princess soothingly.
"We won't let anything happen to you either," Van added.
Millerna wiped a few tears form her face. "Thank you," she whispered.
"Come. Lets get you cleaned up," Hitomi said.
Millerna protested, "….but, what about Allen."
"I'll stay with him," Van said sitting on a chair next to the bed. "He'll be fine."
Millerna hesitated, "Very well….but when I'm done I'm coming right back."
Van smiled, "And I'll be here waiting for your return."
"Thank you, Van," Millerna said.
"We'll be back," Hitomi told the young king.
Van nodded.
"Merle, are you coming," Hitomi asked.
Merle looked up. She had been messing around with a first aid kit she had found under the bed Allen was laying on. "No thanks. I'm going to the garden," she replied, standing up. "Is that all right with you Lord Van?"
Van shrugged, "Fine with me."
Merles eyes lit up. "Thanks," she said and climbed out of the window. She disappeared.
Hitomi frowned. "She probably went to bother my parents," she said. "Lets hope she doesn't drive them crazy."
"They can handle her," Van said.
"You're right. I'll be back as soon as I can. Lets go Millerna," Hitomi said walking out of the room.
Millerna paused and turned around. "Van….," she began.
"There's no need to thank me again, Millerna," Van said.
"Sorry about a few minutes ago."
"Don't worry about it. Now go and get some rest. I don't want you fainting or anything."
Millerna smiled. "Thanks for being a great friend," she said before exiting the room.
Van leaned against his chair. He looked at Allen's sleeping form. Millerna had done an astounding job patching up his wounds. Van sighed. It wasn't until a few days ago when he realized that Allen was the closest person he would ever consider as a best friend. Heck….he's probably the only friend he's had. Even if they had their disagreements….they always ended up in the same side.
Van looked a the door where Millerna had just exited through.
"And thank you for taking care of my best friend," he said silently.
He made a face. 'Great. Now I'm getting all emotional,' he thought.
~*~*~*~*~
Dryden hid behind a statue that stood near the infirmary door. Thankfully, Hitomi and Millerna went the other way and did not see him hiding. He watched quietly as the beautiful princess walked further down the hall with Hitomi. When they disappeared out of sight he fell on his knees. Salty tears began to pour down his face and onto the floor.
Millerna loves Allen.
He had seen Van, Hitomi and Merle walk into the infirmary room. He had wanted to walk in himself but something stopped him. Instead, he chose to overhear their conversation from outside. He didn't know why, but he felt it was necessary.
He didn't need to be a genius to realize that Millerna was still in love with Allen. The way she cried for the blond man was heartbreaking. She had stayed up most of the night tending to Allen's wounds and praying for him to get better.
With trembling fingers he pulled off the engagement ring he wore. He loved Millerna but he couldn't marry her knowing that she loved another. He stood up and placed the ring in his pocket. The king is dead and there was no one to keep Millerna from being happy with Allen.
He wiped his tears with the back of his hand. He truly did love Millerna.
Why else would he be letting her free?
~*~*~*~*~
"SEPHY! Aeris!"
"Oh no," Sephiroth groaned. "Not her! I haven't even been in this world for a whole day…."
"Be nice," Aeris scolded. "She's just a girl."
"She's no ordinary girl, Aeris," he growled. "She's a cat girl….which makes her more annoying!"
Merle ran towards the couple.
"Hello, Merle," Aeris said cheerfully.
"Hi! Are you guys still picking flowers," the cat girl asked excitedly.
"We're finished," Sephiroth said flatly. Aeris gave him a stern look.
"Oh….," Merle said, her ears falling.
Aeris looked at Sephiroth. "Ahem."
He folded his arms. "But if you want you can help my wife pick out a few more flowers," he grunted.
Merle jumped up. "Thanks, Sephy," she said, not noticing the tone of his voice.
"Don't call me that!"
The cat girl ignored him and skipped to towards Aeris. "Sephy said I can help you pick flowers," she said.
"That's NOT my name!"
"That was NICE of him," Aeris said smiling. "Here, you can help me pick out some of these flowers while I speak to my husband."
"Don't worry! I'll choose the most beautiful ones," Merle said and set off to work.
"I know you will," Aeris said gently. She walked next to Sephiroth and tugged some of his silver hair.
"Ow," he muttered, stupidly.. "What was that for?"
Aeris rolled her eyes. "I told you to be nice," she said.
"I was. I let her pick flowers, didn't I," he said.
Aeris stared at him with her arms crossed.
"What? Aeris, I….," Sephiroth began. He stopped when he felt a familiar power coming from a distance. "What the…."
"Honey, what's wrong," Aeris asked concerned.
"Hold on a sec," he said. He closed his eyes and began concentrating. He now sensed two familiar powers.
"Sephiroth….," Aeris whispered.
His eyes snapped open. "That's funny," he said. "I sense two familiar powers. One is coming from the south….and another from the east."
"Do you recognize them," his wife asked.
"If I concentrate a bit more….," he said. Sephiroth frowned. "It can't be…."
"What is it, honey," Aeris whispered urgently.
"Cloud is here," he muttered. He added in telepathy: *So is the rest of AVALANCHE.*
*How can that be?*
*I don't know. But it makes perfect sense for them to be here since we were at a meeting when the pendant sent for both of us.*
*You're right. We also can't forget that AVALANCHE is like a family to Hitomi.*
*That's for sure….however, I can't seem to find an explanation for the other familiar power.*
*What do you mean?*
*Aeris, I sense Rufus and the Turks somewhere in the east.*
*What?! How can that be?*
* I don't know. I have a feeling that this new enemy has something to do with it. Although, I do remember sensing the Turks before we were transported to Gaea….*
*You may be right. Now that I think about it….It is strange that AVALANCHE was not with us when we appeared at the castle. That includes the Turks.*
*Someone split us up on purpose. I'm not liking this one bit.*
*What if they are in danger.*
*Don't worry, I'll--huh?"
Sephiroth looked down and saw Merle tugging on his cape. "Do you mind," he growled.
"Sorry, Sephy," Merle said. "It's just that I've been calling out your name for a long time and you don't respond. You seemed out of it for a moment."
"Stop calling me THAT! And I was not out of it….I was just thinking."
Aeris smiled. "Don't worry, Merle," she said. "He does that when he's in deep thought. Right, honey?"
"Whatever," Sephiroth mumbled.
"Ok, well….I picked out the prettiest flowers," Merle said happily. She showed off the bundle of flowers she held in her arms.
"They're beautiful," Aeris exclaimed. "Don't you think so, dear?"
Sephiroth grunted. "Yeah. Good job."
Merle beamed.
Sephirtoh crossed his arms. *Aeris, this is not the moment to be admiring flowers. We have to figure out where exactly AVALANCHE and the Turks are located at. We don't want Vladimir or whoever he's allied with to do something displeasing to them.*
*Fine. Lets go back to the castle and talk to the others.*
"Merle, sweetie, were going back to the castle. Do you mind carrying the flowers a bit longer," Aeris asked.
Merle shook he head. "I don't mind."
"Good. When we get there, I'll ask somebody to give us a vase or something where we can place the flowers in," Aeris said. "Sephiroth, we're ready to go."
"Lets go then," he said.
The three of them walked away from the garden and headed towards the castle. Sephiroth and Aeris were walking hand in hand. Merle studied the couple silently without them realizing what she was doing.
"I just realized something," Aeris suddenly said to her husband.
"What is it," he asked.
"I didn't ask Millerna if I could pick flowers….Now I feel bad for picking some without her permission," she said quietly.
"Don't worry," Sephiroth said soothingly. "I don't think she'll mind."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Hon, do you think the guys are all right? I mean, this is not their world or anything…."
"Knowing Cloud, he'll find a way to make it through this whole situation….and so will the Turks."
"You think so?"
"I know so. Don't worry we'll discuss this with everyone else." He raised her hand and kissed it. "This is what I love about you. You're always worrying about others. How did I end up with such a wonderful wife?"
"I ask myself the same question about you."
Aeris leaned her head on his shoulder. They almost forgot about their problems.
Merle just stared at them with a confused look.
What just happened? Who's Cloud and what are Turks?
A few minutes ago Sephiroth had a serious tone and now his voice sounded smoother and kinder. Even Aeris began talking weird and doing funny things like leaning on Sephiroth's shoulder like a lovesick girl. Only one thought ran through the young cat girl's mind.
'Grownups can be weird sometimes.'
~*~*~*~*~
Outside a village….
"This IS all YOUR fault!"
"What?!"
"YOU were the one who wanted to go through the back door!"
"Wait a minute! YOU were the one who wanted to give them a surprise attack!"
"Well, yeah….but it's still YOUR fault that light sucked us up!"
"I object! I had nothing to do with the light, Ruffie!" (hint, hint…)
"Don't call me that, stupid!"
"Shut-up!"
"You shut-up, Reno-lame-ass!"
A woman with short blond hair and a tall bald man with glasses sweatdropped while two men argued back and forth.
"This is embarrassing," the woman muttered.
"……" (FFVII fans….we all know who this is.)
"You'd think they would grow up," the woman continued.
"……"
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, too," she said. (^_^;;)
The blond woman ignored the two men for a moment and began to take a closer look at her surroundings. They were in the front gate of what seem to be a small village in a forest. Inside the gate there was a market place and further down there were small shacks. She observed that the villagers seemed to be wearing some sort of peasant clothing that she once had seen in a medieval history book.
'That's strange,' she thought.
"..…."
She turned. "What is it, Rude?"
"……." Rude gestured towards the arguing pair.
Elena turned to find Rufus holding Reno in a headlock. Some of the villagers were already giving them weird looks.
"Will you two quit it," she shouted. "You're acting like little boys!"
Rufus tightened his hold on the red-haired man. "Well, Reno needs to learn to keep his mouth shut!"
Reno opened his mouth to say something but couldn't from the lack of air.
Elena sighed. "Rufus, you're ten times more mature than Reno. Plus, you're our leader…. And can you let go of him already. He can't breathe."
The blond man frowned. "I guess you're right," he said and let go of Reno.
Reno fell to the ground and gasped for air. Rude helped him to his feet.
"Thanks….man," Reno said in between breaths.
"……"
"That's better," Elena said. "Instead of arguing, we should be trying to figure out where we are and how to get home."
Rufus crossed his arms. "Well, after I saw what looked like earth hanging next to the moon last night….I doubt we're anywhere near home," he said.
"No shit," Reno said sarcastically.
Rufus glared at him. "Why you--"
"Please….no more fighting," Elena begged. She gave them a pleading look.
"Fine," Reno said, waving his hand.
Rufus sighed, "We should at least enter the village to get information about where we are." Rufus ran a hand through his hair. He added, "While we're at it….lets get some food. I'm hungry."
"……"
"I'm with you guys, but damn I'm tired," Reno yawned.
Elena nodded. She noticed some villagers pointing fingers at them. "I think only one of us should go in there. All four of us at the same time will create a distraction," she said.
"Well, Reno can't go 'cause he'll end up only bringing back ONLY booze," Rufus began.
"That's for sure," Elena muttered.
"I could go for some right now," Reno said thoughtfully.
Rufus continued, "Rude…..we'll he's just too serious. I choose Elena to go."
"Me too," Reno said.
"……"
"What," Elena exclaimed. "Why me?!"
Rufus shrugged, "You fit the job, I guess."
"Why don't you go," she demanded.
"'Cause I'm the leader and YOUR boss," Rufus said. "Anyway, it was your idea and I don't feel like walking into that village. It smells funny."
Elena rolled her eyes. "Fine….," she sighed. "But I don't have any money!"
Rufus pulled out a gold watch with diamonds out of his pocket. "Use this for currency," he said handing it to Elena.
"Holy shit," Reno exclaimed. "That's a Rolex! You're going to trade that!"
"I have a few more back home," Rufus shrugged. "It's not like I'm going to miss it. I'm wearing a better one anyway." He showed them the other Rolex watch on his right wrist.
"I still don't believe it," Reno said. "Dude, how can you just give away a Rolex."
"……"
"See! Even Rude agrees with me," Reno said.
"Whatever," Rufus muttered.
Elena placed the watch in her pocket. "Let it go, Reno. This wristwatch is possibly going to get us some food and information. I'm leaving now, so watch my back," Elena said.
"Sure thing, babe," Reno replied.
"……"
"If anything goes wrong, yell out for help. We'll, be waiting," Rufus said.
Elena nodded and walked into the village. Once she was out of sight, they went to sit by the gate. Rufus and Reno sat on some rocks, while Rude just kept on standing. Every now and then a village kid would run pass them.
"Damn, I really need some booze," Reno said after a while. "Rufus, can I ask you something?"
"What," the blond man responded.
"If I asked you for that Rolex you're wearing, you won't mind will ya? I mean, you have plenty of them back home," Reno said.
Rufus glared at him and Rude gave him a weird look.
"Chill out, guys. It just asked a simple question….," Reno said.
"Reno, shut up," Rufus growled.
"……"
~*~*~*~*~
Vladimir drummed his fingers on the smooth surface of the table. He was frustrated and bored. He's been waiting all morning for Master to give him orders to attack Dilandau and those Mytic Moon pests with him. He waited.
And waited.
His throat gave out a growl. Patience was not in his blood.
His purple eyes gazed at the bottle of wine in front of him. It was red.
Like blood.
He grinned. At least all this waiting will be worthwhile…..
~*~*~*~*~
To Be Continued
A/N: *dodges tomatoes* Ok, I know I said in the last chapter that there was going to be some more stuff on Dilandau, Cloud and everyone with them. I'm sorry! It's 3-something in the morning and my hands are tired of all the typing I've been doing. They'll come out in the next chapter. I couldn't think of a way to get Sephiroth and Aeris to realize AVALANCHE and the Turks were on Gaea. I know that the Sephiroth being able to sense powers was lame but HE is the Great Sephiroth. He can do stuph other normal people can't do….For you guys that never played FFVII, the character named Rude speaks with "……" most of the time. Every now and then he will say a word or two. Don't look at me like I'm crazy, Square created him. (The only people who understand his "……" are the characters in my fic and FFVII people.) Heck, even I don't know what he says most of the time. Until next time….And don't forget to review! *gives everyone a puppy look*
Next Chapter: Hahahaha! I'll leave you with the suspense…..Damn, I'm tired.
Author's Note: Sorry for the delay but school is killing me. (I have this TCP/IP class that's burning my brain cells….) Anyway, I'd like to thank everyone for those nice reviews. I would also like to thank Glenda for pointing out some spelling mistakes in the last three chapters. I'll fix them sometime this week. Um….I wrote this chapter last night. If you find spelling and grammar errors I'm truly sorry. I'll fix it when I can.
'…' means someone is thinking.
*…* refers to telepathy (Aeris and Sephiroth do this a lot)
Chapter 4: A Broken Heart, Flowers and a Rolex
~*~*~*~*~
Millerna sighed and ran a hand through her lose hair. She was tired. She had spent most of the night looking after Allen and hadn't left his side since he was brought into the infirmary room. Of course, there was the exception when she walked everyone to their rooms….but that only took a few minutes. However, right now she had too much in her mind to even consider taking a nap.
Allen was hurt, her father was dead, and Eries was nowhere to be found….
So much for being a princess. Nothing ever seemed to come out right. She had been hoping to have an elegant party in Van's honor, but her plans were ruined by the sudden attack lead by the strange man named Vladimir. And strange indeed. Millerna had never met anyone as bloodthirsty as him. She had witness him kill and stab people for no utterly valid reason as he walked towards the throne room….where he killed her father.
~Flashback~
Her father, the king of Asturia fell to the floor helpless as Valdimir killed off every single guard protecting him. Millerna had ran into the throne room to look for her father and Eries….instead she saw Vladimir wiping his sword with his fingers and plunging his weapon down into her father's stomach. She had screamed. Vladimir had turned to face her but instead of attacking her he only laughed evilly. He once again wiped his sword with his fingers and he pointed the end at her. She had been afraid and started to run out but she tripped over a dead soldier.
She remembered with disgust how Valdimir roughly picked her up from the floor and forcefully kissed her on the lips. She had kept her eyes opened, while he did the same. His purple eyes penetrated into her soft blue-gray ones, enjoying the mere terror that reflected from her eyes. After the kiss he pushed her against the wall and asked her for Van and Hitomi's whereabouts. The end of his sword was resting on her throat and for a moment she thought she was going to die because there was no way she was going to let her friends get hurt.
Lucky for her, Allen appeared out of nowhere and pushed Vladimir away from her. Soon both men had engaged into a fierce battle. She felt someone grab her arm. When she turned she was facing Dryden who was holding a very scared Merle. Realizing that Allen had planned this out for her to escape with Dryden and Merle, she wished Allen good luck. Allen only nodded in response. Vladimir was too much involved in the fight to even pay attention.
~End Flashback~
Millerna buried her face in her hands as she remembered last night's event. 'I'm so sorry Allen. We should have tried helping you….Vladimir did this to you and it's all my fault. If I had been stronger….'
"Don't blame yourself, Millerna. There was nothing you could do."
She hadn't realize she spoke the last part out loud and that voice belonged to Hitomi. Millerna jerked her head up as she felt a hand gently touch her shoulder.
"He'll be fine. You'll see," Hitomi said gently. "Don't blame yourself for something that was not your fault."
Millerna smiled weakly, "You're right."
Behind Hitomi she saw Van and Merle standing. Merle spoke first.
"How is Allen doing," she asked the princess.
Millerna placed a hand over Allen's forehead. "He's doing fine. However, some of his wounds are deep and it will take a while before they heal," she replied.
Van walked next to Millerna. "Vladimir hurt him pretty bad, didn't he," he said.
"Yes. Yes he did," she replied quietly. "I'm glad he didn't kill him but like I said before, his wounds need time to heal. This was not a sparring match. It was a fight to the end. Thankfully, Hitomi's father showed up when he did."
"I'm glad too," Hitomi whispered.
"Yeah! He kicked Vladimir's ass," Merle exclaimed.
"Merle," Milerna said shocked. "Who taught you to say that?"
"What," Merle asked confused.
Van cleared his throat, "The A-word. You know…."
"You mean 'ass'," the cat girl asked.
Van sweatdropped. Hitomi had an idea where the younger girl learned such language….it could only had been one person….
"Yes, THAT word. It's not a proper word for a young lady like yourself to say," Millerna said.
"But….Gadeth says it all the time," Merle complained. "He even says some other words."
"When I see Gadeth I will yell at him for speaking that way in front of a lady. As for you, young lady, I better not hear such words come out of your mouth again," Millerna scolded the young cat girl.
Merle pouted, "Fine."
Hitomi smiled. "Well, at least we know that Allen is going to be all right," she said. "The question is….when will he wake up?"
Van grunted, "Lets hope it's soon enough. We're going to need as much help as possible to defeat this new enemy."
"How can you say that," Millern gasped. "He's injured and the only reason you want him to heal soon is to fight this new enemy! Is THAT all you can think of?!""
Van was taken back. "I didn't mean…."
Hitomi held up her hand to silence him. Van nodded as if agreeing to something.
Hitomi spoke, "Millerna, I know you're worried about Allen. We all are….but you must understand that no matter what we say, Allen will continue fighting for the people. Whether he is completely healed or not, we will not be able to stop him. If you really love him….you must understand him. Van is only saying what is true. We need as much help as we can to defeat this new enemy."
"I'm sorry," Millerna sobbed. "It's just that….I can't bear the thought of seeing Allen killed in the battle field. Everyone important to me is gone….my mother, my father, Marlene, Eries is missing….and now, Allen is laying here helpless in the infirmary room. You guys are my friends….I don't want to see you hurt either."
Hitomi hugged Millerna. "Don't worry, everything is going to be fine. Allen will be better soon and we'll keep searching for Eries….," she told the princess soothingly.
"We won't let anything happen to you either," Van added.
Millerna wiped a few tears form her face. "Thank you," she whispered.
"Come. Lets get you cleaned up," Hitomi said.
Millerna protested, "….but, what about Allen."
"I'll stay with him," Van said sitting on a chair next to the bed. "He'll be fine."
Millerna hesitated, "Very well….but when I'm done I'm coming right back."
Van smiled, "And I'll be here waiting for your return."
"Thank you, Van," Millerna said.
"We'll be back," Hitomi told the young king.
Van nodded.
"Merle, are you coming," Hitomi asked.
Merle looked up. She had been messing around with a first aid kit she had found under the bed Allen was laying on. "No thanks. I'm going to the garden," she replied, standing up. "Is that all right with you Lord Van?"
Van shrugged, "Fine with me."
Merles eyes lit up. "Thanks," she said and climbed out of the window. She disappeared.
Hitomi frowned. "She probably went to bother my parents," she said. "Lets hope she doesn't drive them crazy."
"They can handle her," Van said.
"You're right. I'll be back as soon as I can. Lets go Millerna," Hitomi said walking out of the room.
Millerna paused and turned around. "Van….," she began.
"There's no need to thank me again, Millerna," Van said.
"Sorry about a few minutes ago."
"Don't worry about it. Now go and get some rest. I don't want you fainting or anything."
Millerna smiled. "Thanks for being a great friend," she said before exiting the room.
Van leaned against his chair. He looked at Allen's sleeping form. Millerna had done an astounding job patching up his wounds. Van sighed. It wasn't until a few days ago when he realized that Allen was the closest person he would ever consider as a best friend. Heck….he's probably the only friend he's had. Even if they had their disagreements….they always ended up in the same side.
Van looked a the door where Millerna had just exited through.
"And thank you for taking care of my best friend," he said silently.
He made a face. 'Great. Now I'm getting all emotional,' he thought.
~*~*~*~*~
Dryden hid behind a statue that stood near the infirmary door. Thankfully, Hitomi and Millerna went the other way and did not see him hiding. He watched quietly as the beautiful princess walked further down the hall with Hitomi. When they disappeared out of sight he fell on his knees. Salty tears began to pour down his face and onto the floor.
Millerna loves Allen.
He had seen Van, Hitomi and Merle walk into the infirmary room. He had wanted to walk in himself but something stopped him. Instead, he chose to overhear their conversation from outside. He didn't know why, but he felt it was necessary.
He didn't need to be a genius to realize that Millerna was still in love with Allen. The way she cried for the blond man was heartbreaking. She had stayed up most of the night tending to Allen's wounds and praying for him to get better.
With trembling fingers he pulled off the engagement ring he wore. He loved Millerna but he couldn't marry her knowing that she loved another. He stood up and placed the ring in his pocket. The king is dead and there was no one to keep Millerna from being happy with Allen.
He wiped his tears with the back of his hand. He truly did love Millerna.
Why else would he be letting her free?
~*~*~*~*~
"SEPHY! Aeris!"
"Oh no," Sephiroth groaned. "Not her! I haven't even been in this world for a whole day…."
"Be nice," Aeris scolded. "She's just a girl."
"She's no ordinary girl, Aeris," he growled. "She's a cat girl….which makes her more annoying!"
Merle ran towards the couple.
"Hello, Merle," Aeris said cheerfully.
"Hi! Are you guys still picking flowers," the cat girl asked excitedly.
"We're finished," Sephiroth said flatly. Aeris gave him a stern look.
"Oh….," Merle said, her ears falling.
Aeris looked at Sephiroth. "Ahem."
He folded his arms. "But if you want you can help my wife pick out a few more flowers," he grunted.
Merle jumped up. "Thanks, Sephy," she said, not noticing the tone of his voice.
"Don't call me that!"
The cat girl ignored him and skipped to towards Aeris. "Sephy said I can help you pick flowers," she said.
"That's NOT my name!"
"That was NICE of him," Aeris said smiling. "Here, you can help me pick out some of these flowers while I speak to my husband."
"Don't worry! I'll choose the most beautiful ones," Merle said and set off to work.
"I know you will," Aeris said gently. She walked next to Sephiroth and tugged some of his silver hair.
"Ow," he muttered, stupidly.. "What was that for?"
Aeris rolled her eyes. "I told you to be nice," she said.
"I was. I let her pick flowers, didn't I," he said.
Aeris stared at him with her arms crossed.
"What? Aeris, I….," Sephiroth began. He stopped when he felt a familiar power coming from a distance. "What the…."
"Honey, what's wrong," Aeris asked concerned.
"Hold on a sec," he said. He closed his eyes and began concentrating. He now sensed two familiar powers.
"Sephiroth….," Aeris whispered.
His eyes snapped open. "That's funny," he said. "I sense two familiar powers. One is coming from the south….and another from the east."
"Do you recognize them," his wife asked.
"If I concentrate a bit more….," he said. Sephiroth frowned. "It can't be…."
"What is it, honey," Aeris whispered urgently.
"Cloud is here," he muttered. He added in telepathy: *So is the rest of AVALANCHE.*
*How can that be?*
*I don't know. But it makes perfect sense for them to be here since we were at a meeting when the pendant sent for both of us.*
*You're right. We also can't forget that AVALANCHE is like a family to Hitomi.*
*That's for sure….however, I can't seem to find an explanation for the other familiar power.*
*What do you mean?*
*Aeris, I sense Rufus and the Turks somewhere in the east.*
*What?! How can that be?*
* I don't know. I have a feeling that this new enemy has something to do with it. Although, I do remember sensing the Turks before we were transported to Gaea….*
*You may be right. Now that I think about it….It is strange that AVALANCHE was not with us when we appeared at the castle. That includes the Turks.*
*Someone split us up on purpose. I'm not liking this one bit.*
*What if they are in danger.*
*Don't worry, I'll--huh?"
Sephiroth looked down and saw Merle tugging on his cape. "Do you mind," he growled.
"Sorry, Sephy," Merle said. "It's just that I've been calling out your name for a long time and you don't respond. You seemed out of it for a moment."
"Stop calling me THAT! And I was not out of it….I was just thinking."
Aeris smiled. "Don't worry, Merle," she said. "He does that when he's in deep thought. Right, honey?"
"Whatever," Sephiroth mumbled.
"Ok, well….I picked out the prettiest flowers," Merle said happily. She showed off the bundle of flowers she held in her arms.
"They're beautiful," Aeris exclaimed. "Don't you think so, dear?"
Sephiroth grunted. "Yeah. Good job."
Merle beamed.
Sephirtoh crossed his arms. *Aeris, this is not the moment to be admiring flowers. We have to figure out where exactly AVALANCHE and the Turks are located at. We don't want Vladimir or whoever he's allied with to do something displeasing to them.*
*Fine. Lets go back to the castle and talk to the others.*
"Merle, sweetie, were going back to the castle. Do you mind carrying the flowers a bit longer," Aeris asked.
Merle shook he head. "I don't mind."
"Good. When we get there, I'll ask somebody to give us a vase or something where we can place the flowers in," Aeris said. "Sephiroth, we're ready to go."
"Lets go then," he said.
The three of them walked away from the garden and headed towards the castle. Sephiroth and Aeris were walking hand in hand. Merle studied the couple silently without them realizing what she was doing.
"I just realized something," Aeris suddenly said to her husband.
"What is it," he asked.
"I didn't ask Millerna if I could pick flowers….Now I feel bad for picking some without her permission," she said quietly.
"Don't worry," Sephiroth said soothingly. "I don't think she'll mind."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Hon, do you think the guys are all right? I mean, this is not their world or anything…."
"Knowing Cloud, he'll find a way to make it through this whole situation….and so will the Turks."
"You think so?"
"I know so. Don't worry we'll discuss this with everyone else." He raised her hand and kissed it. "This is what I love about you. You're always worrying about others. How did I end up with such a wonderful wife?"
"I ask myself the same question about you."
Aeris leaned her head on his shoulder. They almost forgot about their problems.
Merle just stared at them with a confused look.
What just happened? Who's Cloud and what are Turks?
A few minutes ago Sephiroth had a serious tone and now his voice sounded smoother and kinder. Even Aeris began talking weird and doing funny things like leaning on Sephiroth's shoulder like a lovesick girl. Only one thought ran through the young cat girl's mind.
'Grownups can be weird sometimes.'
~*~*~*~*~
Outside a village….
"This IS all YOUR fault!"
"What?!"
"YOU were the one who wanted to go through the back door!"
"Wait a minute! YOU were the one who wanted to give them a surprise attack!"
"Well, yeah….but it's still YOUR fault that light sucked us up!"
"I object! I had nothing to do with the light, Ruffie!" (hint, hint…)
"Don't call me that, stupid!"
"Shut-up!"
"You shut-up, Reno-lame-ass!"
A woman with short blond hair and a tall bald man with glasses sweatdropped while two men argued back and forth.
"This is embarrassing," the woman muttered.
"……" (FFVII fans….we all know who this is.)
"You'd think they would grow up," the woman continued.
"……"
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing, too," she said. (^_^;;)
The blond woman ignored the two men for a moment and began to take a closer look at her surroundings. They were in the front gate of what seem to be a small village in a forest. Inside the gate there was a market place and further down there were small shacks. She observed that the villagers seemed to be wearing some sort of peasant clothing that she once had seen in a medieval history book.
'That's strange,' she thought.
"..…."
She turned. "What is it, Rude?"
"……." Rude gestured towards the arguing pair.
Elena turned to find Rufus holding Reno in a headlock. Some of the villagers were already giving them weird looks.
"Will you two quit it," she shouted. "You're acting like little boys!"
Rufus tightened his hold on the red-haired man. "Well, Reno needs to learn to keep his mouth shut!"
Reno opened his mouth to say something but couldn't from the lack of air.
Elena sighed. "Rufus, you're ten times more mature than Reno. Plus, you're our leader…. And can you let go of him already. He can't breathe."
The blond man frowned. "I guess you're right," he said and let go of Reno.
Reno fell to the ground and gasped for air. Rude helped him to his feet.
"Thanks….man," Reno said in between breaths.
"……"
"That's better," Elena said. "Instead of arguing, we should be trying to figure out where we are and how to get home."
Rufus crossed his arms. "Well, after I saw what looked like earth hanging next to the moon last night….I doubt we're anywhere near home," he said.
"No shit," Reno said sarcastically.
Rufus glared at him. "Why you--"
"Please….no more fighting," Elena begged. She gave them a pleading look.
"Fine," Reno said, waving his hand.
Rufus sighed, "We should at least enter the village to get information about where we are." Rufus ran a hand through his hair. He added, "While we're at it….lets get some food. I'm hungry."
"……"
"I'm with you guys, but damn I'm tired," Reno yawned.
Elena nodded. She noticed some villagers pointing fingers at them. "I think only one of us should go in there. All four of us at the same time will create a distraction," she said.
"Well, Reno can't go 'cause he'll end up only bringing back ONLY booze," Rufus began.
"That's for sure," Elena muttered.
"I could go for some right now," Reno said thoughtfully.
Rufus continued, "Rude…..we'll he's just too serious. I choose Elena to go."
"Me too," Reno said.
"……"
"What," Elena exclaimed. "Why me?!"
Rufus shrugged, "You fit the job, I guess."
"Why don't you go," she demanded.
"'Cause I'm the leader and YOUR boss," Rufus said. "Anyway, it was your idea and I don't feel like walking into that village. It smells funny."
Elena rolled her eyes. "Fine….," she sighed. "But I don't have any money!"
Rufus pulled out a gold watch with diamonds out of his pocket. "Use this for currency," he said handing it to Elena.
"Holy shit," Reno exclaimed. "That's a Rolex! You're going to trade that!"
"I have a few more back home," Rufus shrugged. "It's not like I'm going to miss it. I'm wearing a better one anyway." He showed them the other Rolex watch on his right wrist.
"I still don't believe it," Reno said. "Dude, how can you just give away a Rolex."
"……"
"See! Even Rude agrees with me," Reno said.
"Whatever," Rufus muttered.
Elena placed the watch in her pocket. "Let it go, Reno. This wristwatch is possibly going to get us some food and information. I'm leaving now, so watch my back," Elena said.
"Sure thing, babe," Reno replied.
"……"
"If anything goes wrong, yell out for help. We'll, be waiting," Rufus said.
Elena nodded and walked into the village. Once she was out of sight, they went to sit by the gate. Rufus and Reno sat on some rocks, while Rude just kept on standing. Every now and then a village kid would run pass them.
"Damn, I really need some booze," Reno said after a while. "Rufus, can I ask you something?"
"What," the blond man responded.
"If I asked you for that Rolex you're wearing, you won't mind will ya? I mean, you have plenty of them back home," Reno said.
Rufus glared at him and Rude gave him a weird look.
"Chill out, guys. It just asked a simple question….," Reno said.
"Reno, shut up," Rufus growled.
"……"
~*~*~*~*~
Vladimir drummed his fingers on the smooth surface of the table. He was frustrated and bored. He's been waiting all morning for Master to give him orders to attack Dilandau and those Mytic Moon pests with him. He waited.
And waited.
His throat gave out a growl. Patience was not in his blood.
His purple eyes gazed at the bottle of wine in front of him. It was red.
Like blood.
He grinned. At least all this waiting will be worthwhile…..
~*~*~*~*~
To Be Continued
A/N: *dodges tomatoes* Ok, I know I said in the last chapter that there was going to be some more stuff on Dilandau, Cloud and everyone with them. I'm sorry! It's 3-something in the morning and my hands are tired of all the typing I've been doing. They'll come out in the next chapter. I couldn't think of a way to get Sephiroth and Aeris to realize AVALANCHE and the Turks were on Gaea. I know that the Sephiroth being able to sense powers was lame but HE is the Great Sephiroth. He can do stuph other normal people can't do….For you guys that never played FFVII, the character named Rude speaks with "……" most of the time. Every now and then he will say a word or two. Don't look at me like I'm crazy, Square created him. (The only people who understand his "……" are the characters in my fic and FFVII people.) Heck, even I don't know what he says most of the time. Until next time….And don't forget to review! *gives everyone a puppy look*
Next Chapter: Hahahaha! I'll leave you with the suspense…..Damn, I'm tired.
