Chapter 4
~ Falling into War ~
Outside Bone Village
"Heyhey Red," a whisper came from nearby, followed by a sharp pain from a thrown rock.. "Red, you okay?"
The world slowly came back into focus as Red opened his eye. He lay on his side, every joint, muscle, and bone aching. It was still night, though the sky was beginning to hint at the upcoming morning. Ten yards away, several of the Cetra soldiers continued digging deep wholes into the ground, apparently graves for Red and Cid.
Another rock hit, harder.
"I'm awake, Cid," Red finally whispered, groggily. "Are we dead?"
"Not yet, mate," Cid whispered. "But if we don't get out of this, we will be. What can you do?"
Red started to move slightly, but realized he was tied up, bonds around his legs. Red raised his head a little and looked over to Cid. Cid had his back to the dog, with his arms and legs bound behind him.
"Hang on, Cid, if I move quietly, I may be able to get you free," Red whispered.
Trying not to make and sudden sounds, Red crunched his body together, weighted his feet down, and pushed away from the ground, pushing himself towards Cid. He looked up at the Cetra, but they continued to dig. They were talking noisily, and not paying the least bit of attention to "the barbarian and his pet."
Carefully, Red continued to slide back again and again until he finally felt Cid's hands against his back. "Cid, can you grab my clip?"
Cid began grabbing at Red's mane, accidentally pulling tufts of fur. As Red bit his tongue to keep from yelling, he noticed the Cetra finished digging and were beginning to come towards them. "Hurry, Cid!" he whispered.
Finally, Cid found the comb, pulled it painfully out of Red's mane and cut the rope free from his hands. Moving as quickly as he could, he cut the rope from his feet, as well as Red. He was spotted by the Cetra, but he didn't try to hide it, as it was too late.
"What the heck are they doing?" the captian yelled.
Red shot up from the ground, and charged straight at the men. Not fully understanding the power the dog possessed, the Cetra stood and stared like a chocobo caught in the headlights of a train as Red sprang right into the pack.
Cutting through the armor, Red sunk his teeth into the first soldier, and whipped him around, taking out two other soldiers.
The other soldiers charged at him, swords raised, but Red jumped away from their attacks and darted away. He ran as fast as he could towards the Highwind, which Cid had already started up.
Red was ten feet from the Highwind when a bolt of lightning shot through him, slamming him down to the ground. With a loud yelp, Red rolled over to his back in agony.
The soldiers charged at Red, holding out their materia, and deciding which to hit him with next. They never got the chance.
The Highwind turned on its axis and opened fire with its front cannons Cid had recently installed. The bodies of the Cetra shredded and fell to the ground.
Red staggered to his feet and ran into the Highwind.
"MyMy thanks, Cid," Red panted.
"Do we go after Cloud?" Cid asked.
"I think it's likely too late,' Red replied. "Wherever they're taking him, they're already there, and we're too late."
"Where do we go, then?" Cid asked, pushing the ship forward and around.
"Rocket Town," Red replied. "We'll meet up with Barret and Tifa."
"Tifa ain't gonna like what she hears," Cid said.
"I know," Red answered. "Let's hope she doesn't take it out on the messengers."
***
Lifestream
"No!" the little girl cried. "Mother, please! Please don't die!"
The dark train station of the Section 7 slums in Midgar surrounded the little girl and the body of her mother. Blood stained the concrete. Rats waited behind the train, ready to charge in to the body.
A brown haired lady lay on her back, holding the hand of her daughter, tears coming from her eyes. She was dying, but she didn't fear anything. "Aeris," she said, staring through the little girl. "You mustyou must be brave, love."
"Momma," Aeris cried. "You–you just can't die, again! I lost you once, I can't lose you again!"
Aeris's mother's gaze turned away from Aeris, to a man in tan robes walking towards them. Her eyes widened, and her arm fell. Her soul left for the planet.
"Amazing, isn't it?" the man walking to the little girl asked. "It's so real. You really feel you're here, don't you."
"Shut up!" the little girl yelled. "Go away!"
"Now, now, my sweet Aeris," the man clamly said as he kneeled down to her, taking her hand in his own. "Remember, this isn't real. You were brought to the land of bad memories because you disrespected me. My guards couldn't let you get away with it. But, I forgive you."
Aeris looked up to him. She stood up and took a few steps back. "YouYou're him, aren't you?"
"Him?" he asked. "Well, let me introduce myself: I am Eiren. Once I was the King of all lands. Now, I simply rule the Lifestream. But, that will change. Soon, I will rule both sides of Life. The Planet and the Lifestream will be mine."
Aeris looked back down to her mom. "It–It's not real. She died long ago." The girl looked down at her body and her clothes. "This–This isn't me. I don't look like this anymore."
"That's right," Eiren responded. "You're beginning to understand. This is a place that many like to refer to as hell.' This is where dark souls go to rest for eternity. Your worst memories are here for you to live over and over again. You'll stay here until I know you can respect me."
Aeris looked up at the Cetra commander. "Why? Why are you doing this to me?"
Eiren let out a little laugh. "I'd like to say it is because of your power. I, myself could not manipulate the lifestream like you did a few months back. I could use that power. But, I guess it is more simple than that, Aeris. I guess, I'm in love with you."
Aeris laughed. "You? Why?"
Eiren took in a deep breath. "You are very pretty. You have great power. You are worthy of being Queen of the Planet."
Eiren turned to the little girl to see her response, which he was sure would be very happy, but she wasn't even paying attention to him. "What?" he asked. "What is it?"
"HHe's here," she said to herself with a smile. "He's here, isn't he?"
Anger spread across Eiren's face, knowing who "he" was. He raised his hand, and the memory around him came to life again. Aeris lost her mind, and suddenly began to weep. "Mother, no!" she screamed, running to the dead body.
Eiren turned and stormed off into the distance, angry and frustrated.
***
Rocket Town
Rockets soared through the air, followed by magic spells shooting ice, fire, winds, even Ultimate Spells. The destruction was devastating. House after house blew up, bodies flew through the air as the mighty Highwind class ships soared over the town.
"We have to hurry, while people are still alive!" Tifa screamed, holding on tightly to the charging Chocobo.
"Damn!" Barret yelled, riding on his chocobo closely behind Tifa. "They not even putting up a defense!"
"It was a surprise attack!" Cait Sith screamed, running alongside Barret's Chocobo. "The people weren't ready!"
Suddenly, an explosion blew out on one of the Highwind class ships. An electric bolt shot up from the city, followed by gunfire. The explosion barely did any damage, but it brought hopes to Tifa that maybe someone was fighting back, finally.
The trio charged into the city, not saying a word. Barret raised his gun-arm and began firing volleys back at the ships, which continued to rain down destruction on the helpless citizens below.
"What are they?" Tifa pleaded, jumping off her Chocobo.
Cait Sith came to a stop and looked carefully at the ships above. "I don't know, but I'm betting they came from Wutai, since they're still pointed East.
"Damn! We don't need another war!" Barret yelled. "We jes' got outta one!"
Finally, the rockets stopped raining down on the city. Just as people began to poke their heads out of the wreckage, the sky filled with parachutes. The soldiers were jumping down.
"There's too many of them!" Tifa cried. "We three can't stop them all."
"Our agents should be here!" Cait Sith yelled. They can help us!"
Barret shot out blasts at the charging soldiers, but the soldiers had barriers up and the shots weren't doing much damage. The first soldier reached them, and charged in, katana raised. He brought the sword down at Tifa with a powerful slice.
Tifa side-stepped the attack and used the momentum to bring her fist around and into the enemy's face. The man fell instantly, shocked at the power of the punch. "Glass jaw," Tifa said to herself.
Suddenly, the trio were surrounded, fighting on all sides. Barret shot off blasts, but it was ineffective. Tifa had to make up for the slack, and she fought better than ever before.
Her fists cut through the armor, sending the soldiers flying in one blow, and she moved with precision that defied belief. However, she was tiring. Fast.
"Barret, isn't there anything we can do to slow them down?" Tifa yelled.
"Notta thing!" Barret yelled, continuing his assault.
Just as the two began to fall back, they were knocked to the ground by a sudden explosion. The shockwave knocked everything within 100 feet off their feet, and singed Tifa and Barret.
"The hell was that?" Barret asked, looking over at Tifa, who was holding her ears. A Trickle of blood flowed out.
"What?" Tifa yelled. "Where's Cait Sith?"
Barret looked back. All that was left of the toy were two big white feet standing on the ground. The rest of the toy had blown up.
Barret and Tifa slowly stood up, surrounded by angry Wutai soldiers.
"Do you surrender?" the commander asked.
A shot rang out, causing everyone to jerk suddenly in fear. Tifa's eyes widened as blood leaked out from the commander's mouth. The lifeless body fell to the ground.
"Sorry, boys," a man said from a nearby burning house. He wore a messy business suit with no tie, and had long red hair. A cigarette dangled from his lips, and he held a wand over his shoulder. A blond haired woman wearing a very neatly pressed suit, and a black man, holding up the gun that just killed the commander stood nearby. "These guys are under our protection!"
The Wutai soldiers looked at each other in disgust. "Turks," one of the spoke up. "Kill them!" another yelled. Suddenly, the crowd charged in at Tifa and Barret, while many others charged the Turks.
Rude, the black man, and Elena, the blond woman opened fire, but the shots had the same effect of Barret's attacks. Reno pointed his wand in front of the charging enemies and let out an electric burst. The bolt shot into the ground and blew up, sending the first row of attackers flying in all directions.
"Great! Now we fightin' wit' the Turks!" Barret yelled. "Maybe we are on the wrong side!"
"It doesn't matter!" Tifa replied, as she sent her fist into an attacker's gut. "These guys are trying to kill us!"
Barret took a hit in his stomach. Another hit from a stick came across his head. Bleary eyed, he started firing all around, trying to hit anything that moved.
Tifa ducked, avoiding the shots. "Watch it! I'm not protected!"
"Sorry, Tif," Barret yelled. "This isn't working!"
Tifa looked over at the Turks, who were fighting hand to hand, now. They weren't doing too bad, but they were too heavily outnumbered. "Barret! We have to fall back! Can you clear a path?"
"What way?" Barret yelled, holding his gun-arm out.
"To your right!" Tifa yelled.
Barret concentrated carefully. He let the energy within his weapon build up steadily, taking some hard hits while he waited. Finally, the gun, energy at maximum, was ready. "Hold on, Tifa!" he yelled. The shot blasted through the crowd, sending more bodies flying and ripping the ground with the intense heat of the blast.
Tifa was up immediately, charging through the opening with several soldiers chasing her. She jumped up, kicking an oncoming soldier and sending him into a nearby building. The waitress opened the door to the nearby truck she was trying to get into and jumped in. She started it and turned it towards the attackers. The Wutai soldiers jumped out of the way as she drove full speed at them.
Sliding to a halt right, Tifa spun the truck around. Barret jumped in the back, and the truck sped off, slamming several soldiers out of the way.
The truck plowed through more soldiers and stopped right in front of the Turks. Each of the three, shocked that Tifa had come for them, looked at each other, then jumped in.
"Hold on!" Tifa yelled, and put the car in 1st gear and charged off, driving out of town.
"Well, that went well!" Elena yelled from the back. "We not only gave up the city, but we had to be rescued."
"Pipe down," Reno said from the front seat. "Their will be another battle."
Barret slumped down next to the cab of the truck, the wind whipping around him. "Damn. Now we allies with these guys? I can't believe this is all happening."
***
The Highwind Class ship, Yoshimara
"There they go," Yuffie said, rather sadly.
Vincent walked up next to her, looking over the side of the lower deck. "You knew we would encounter the rest of Avalanche," he said. "Why so sad?"
"Just, when I fight against them, I feel like maybe I'm on the wrong side of things," Yuffie responed. "Maybe were not doing things right."
Vincent let out a deep breath. "I don't know. We weren't just fighting Tifa and Barret. We also fought the Turks. Maybe we're on the right side, and they're on the wrong?"
"Maybe," Yuffie answered. "I want Wutai to return to GloryI just thoughtI didn't want to see"
"You didn't want to see it this way?" Vincent finished.
Yuffie looked up at the tall man. "If I knew we were going to destroy towns and cities, I don't know that I would have stolen that materia."
Vincent smiled. "What's in the past is in the past. It's what happens in the future that counts."
Yuffie looked back down at the burning village below as Wutai soldiers rounded up citizens and began putting out the fires that raged through the town. "I just hope we know what we're doing."
***
Next: Cloud.