DISCLAIMER: I don't own the FF7-verse, it belongs to Squaresoft. *pouts very disappointed*
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Ooh, so many pretty reviews! *beams* I'm so glad you've liked what you've read so far, since I was really unsure about publishing this story. But moving on now: I figured you'd like to know more about THAT letter.. And believe it or not, I have a reason for being annoyingly mysterious about everything. Really. *smirks* Well, I hope you'll enjoy this new chapter! (I sure put a lot of work into it!)
CHAPTER 2.
We pictured the
meek mild creatures where
they dwelt in their strawy pen,
nor did it occur to one of us there
To doubt they were kneeling then.
- Thomas Hardy -
The air was thick with black smoke that stung Sephiroth's eyes. Pieces of charred metal lay everywhere, still burning hot from the intense heat of an explosion. Lifting his gaze from the stone paved road, Sephiroth saw a gaping hole in the side of a Mako reactor's dome. Angry flames rose from inside the building like the slender necks of a many-headed dragon, stretching out to the night sky. A dark column of smoke ascended from the ruins, curling to the wind. The sparks that danced around it looked like butterflies that had caught fire; helplessly fluttering to oblivion.
From where Sephiroth stood, one could see the exposed core of the reactor, and the liquid Mako that dribbled through the cracks in it's concrete jacket. Chunks of metal hurled by the explosion had sliced open the dense metallic casings of pipes, and cut bundles of electric wires and cables into half. The exposed wires still shot sparks; nobody had cut off the electricity yet. Aside from the sirens of ambulances and firetrucks, sector two of Midgar was shrouded in ghostly silence. Cars lay abandoned on the sides of the main street, which curved around a tall skyscraper, as though to avoid the burning reactor.
A delicate breeze blew in Sephiroth's ears, pulling at the ends of his hair. He continued to stand motionless in the curve of the street, facing the reactors shadowy silhouette. The silvery bangles of his hair whirled in the wind like snakes that had lifted their heads at the scent of prey. Sephiroth's eyes narrowed in concentration, as he turned around slowly and swept his gaze over the surroundings.
Across the street was a small diner. A blue neonsign was attached to the wall above it's entrance, and it wrote 'Sheryl's Diner' in a big, loopy font. The building looked like a huge fish-tank; soft light was streaming out through a set of large windows. Sephiroth could see a few customers seated around a bar-table that stretched from a corner of the interior to the entrance, facing the windows. He felt a sudden thirst for a cup of coffee, as he realized he hadn't had time to have one since his breakfast. A steaming hot cup of black coffee with two pieces of sugar.. Nothing was better than that on a cold Midgar night. He could recall the times at the beginning of his career, when he'd ended a night of patrolling the streets to a coffee-break at an old, little café that had most likely been closed for years now. Strange, how quickly things changed. Back then, being a SOLDIER had felt so important. Through his strength and skills, Sephiroth had been awarded the approval he so desperately needed. And now, he only felt ashamed of his behaviour back then. Why should he grovel at the feet of those who were inferior to him? It hardly made any sence. Sephiroth gritted his teeth, drawing his attention back to the situation at hand.
On both sides of the diner stood tall apartment buildings with gloomy silhouettes. Statues of monsters grew out of the rugged stone walls, and the frames of windows arched sharply at the top. The Gothic style buildings looked like relics from an era that would never come again. Finishing his quick scan of the area, Sephiroth shifted his eyes to a leaflet he had snatched from a local bulletin board a few blocks away. The green paper had felt the effects of time and rain, but the large, black letters on it's surface were still visible. "Shin-Ra's reactors are sucking up the lifeblood of this planet, and we the AVALANCHE have decided to form a battlefront against them. We'll use whatever means necessary to stop this gross misuse of earth's resources--" As Sephiroth had finished reading the short text below the tittle: "Fight Shin-Ra Inc. for a better future", he let out a snort of contempt and crumpled the paper in his hands. The ball of green paper fell down to the pavement, bouncing gently before rolling into a puddle of muddy water.
Sephiroth began tracing the dull looking stonewall edging his side of the street. His footsteps echoed loudly as he walked, loose sand grinding under the soles of his boots. He knew the reactor wasn't much further. As an experienced SOLDIER Sephiroth knew every alley and street of Midgar. This was the place at which he'd received his basic training, and it was on these streets that he had taken his first life. He could still remember that night, like it had happened only yesterday. Sephiroth had been on a routine patrol with his unit, when they had ran into a gang. Most of his team had been wiped out in a matter of minutes, but him the ordinary criminals hadn't managed to touch. Their leader was a young man with deep green eyes and black hair, and his face had been smudged in dirt. Sephiroth still remembered the way he had coughed blood as the Masamune's blade had pierced his lung. And the man hadn't die right away, it took him a long while. The other members of the gang soon ran away, and left Sephiroth alone, to watch as the man he had fought with bled to death in his feet. Sephiroth remembered his superiors promoted him soon after that incident.
Lifting his gaze from the pavement still glistening with rainwater, Sephiroth counted the bodies lined up in a neat row against a building next to the reactors main entrance. There were eleven of them, all covered under white sheets. A revolting stench of burning flesh attacked Sephiroth's nostrils as he passed by the victims of the attack, but he just cast a nonchalant look at a hand that stretched out from under a sheet. It had burned black. Sephiroth blinked, and averted his eyes from the corpses.
SOLDIERs had probably assisted in carrying the bodies out of the reactors rubble, he thought, recalling the brief description of this assignment he'd gotten over the phone.
"A unit of SOLDIERs is already on the premises. Report to their unit leader ASAP, I'm sure he can fill you in on everything better than I can," the man had informed Sephiroth, "They'll also be assisting you on this mission so be nice, OK?"
Sephiroth hadn't replied, but the man had continued talking anyway. There had hardly been a need for that remark, for Sephiroth knew how to do his job. This was just another assignment which he would complete with or without the help of others. But then what? Sometimes the question troubled him more than he liked to admit.
Ever since he returned from the war against Wutai, he had felt different, somehow. Everything he'd seen there and the things he'd been forced to do for the sake of victory, had changed him. Sephiroth still remembered his awkwardness during the long vacation he'd been awarded with after the peace-declarations. How he had flinched at every sound and passer-by, his fingers automatically searching for the handle of his sword. And how he had spent hours just washing his hands, with steaming hot water that burned his skin, trying to remove the bloodstains that only existed in his mind.
Every night he went to bed fearing the nightmares that always came; always the same. Memories of his past taunting him, the voices of his victims, whispering incoherent words. Obscure messages. They sought revenge, unable to rest for as long as he was still breathing. And as much as he wanted to think he felt no remorse, Sephiroth was hardly a machine. He knew their faces would haunt him for the rest of his natural life. Their pleading eyes, tear-gazed and wide with fright. On more than one occasion, Sephiroth had picked up his gun and held it to his temple, wanting to pull the trigger. Waiting for the release.
Just holding the gun brought him some semblance of peace, or comfort. He needed to know he was still in control, that he could end the pain when it became too much to bear. Last night was the first time he'd written a letter though, and he'd kept it hidden in his drawer for the day. Perhaps that meant he really wanted to die. No, Sephiroth felt a pang in his heart at that, some stubborn part of him was still fighting it. The part that refused to give up. He didn't long for death, but sometimes the voices became too loud, the ache in his heart too violent. Sometimes he just wanted it to end, for the time to stop and the emotions to dissappear. To forget and remain forgotten.
But then the sun would rise, and the first rays of morning would chase away the ghosts of the past. In bright daylight Sephiroth could subdue the voices and lock all the painful memories into little well-organized boxes inside his head. It took a lot of his energy, but during the day Sephiroth was able to refrain from feeling, from remembering. Buried under a big flat stone, all those things - the darkness and the pain and the guilt - were all neatly hidden from view.
But the night would inevetably turn over that stone and reveal the squirming world under it. The very things he'd struggled his whole life to forget.. or deny. In his dreams, Sephiroth enjoyed the killing. He yerned for it like nourishment. He'd ram the blade of his sword through a victim and laugh, exhilerated. When waking up the next morning, his skin would be covered in a thin layer of cold sweat and he could pretend it hadn't really been him, that the dreams didn't hold any meaning. He could deny the hatred that had been brewing inside of him since the day he was discharged from the warfront. He could tell himself, the slaughtering of countless people hadn't given him pleasure. Sometimes it seemed like there were two Sephiroths, both fighting it out for the control of his traitorous body. One who wanted to believe he was no different from everyone else, and another who had already accepted what his stubborn heart refused to believe. That he wasn't in fact, a human at all. Not anymore, anyway. Sephiroth shook his head, derailing that achingly familiar train of thoughts. He had to concentrate on this mission; there was no time for anything else now.
Quickly making his way to the main entrance of the reactor, Sephiroth saw that the cast-iron gates hanging heavy on their hinges, had already been pulled aside. Two SOLDIER's in blue uniforms stood in guard on both sides of the front gate, and they saluted Sephiroth as he walked in past them. The gate revealed a small courtyard that lead to one of the low, box-shaped buildings surrounding the reactors dome. The wall on the left from Sephiroth, was hidden under several layers of pipes and wires. At the junction of some of them, was a big steelen tank. Another blue-uniformed SOLDIER struggled to turn the valve in it's surface.
"Would someone please turn off the goddamn Mako already!?" A woman's voice yelled from behind Sephiroth.
He spun around, and watched as the woman strode quickly past the guards. Her hair was of radiant ruby colour, that matched the wine-shaded glow of her eyes. She was dressed in a yellow firefighter's uniform, and she carried her helmet by the neck strap.
"I'm working on it, Miss Rhea." The SOLDIER she had addressed begore grunted, and glanced at the woman before continuing his useless attempts at turning the valve.
"You!" Miss Rhea suddenly spun around to face Sephiroth. "Help him, willya!" She pleaded, waving her hand in the SOLDIER's direction.
"It's not my responsibility." Sephiroth crossed his arms over his chest, turning his eyes away in irritation. He was supposed to be looking for the unit-leader, not chat with someone who wasn't even a member of SOLDIER.
"We can't enter the reactor for as long as there's a risk of getting showered with Mako!" The woman looked straight at Sephiroth, while tapping her foot impatiently. He didn't respond to her words in any way. "Geez, there might still be people inside! We're wasting time, and quite possibly lives!" The woman raised her voice a notch, her brow furrowed in anger. Sephiroth just looked at her coldly.
"They're already dead.." He spoke.
"You don't know that." The woman's eyes flashed defiantly, before she turned on her heels and marched over to the SOLDIER to assist him.
"S-Sir!" A fourth SOLDIER ran over to Sephiroth, and saluted him nervously. "Harper Reilly reporting to duty, Sir!" He fidgeted, clutching a standard issue riffle in his hands. Sephiroth only glanced at the man briefly, before shifting his gaze to the fire still raging inside the main building of the reactor complex. A part of the dome collapsed inside with a loud bang, feeding air to the flames that were slowly devouring the building. Smaller fires had started in buildings spread around the dome, but most of them had been extinguished. Sephiroth's vertical pupils drew in the amber coloured light the flames cast.
"So who's in charge here?" He asked, his eyes never returning to the trooper.
"That would be Zack Lacerta, Sir." The man answered quickly.
"Oh." Sephiroth replied, staring at the destroyed reactor. This close to the fire, he could sence the heat emitted by the flames. It was a tingly feeling just beneath his skin.
"Take me to him then, I have orders to start the investigations." Sephiroth told the trooper in a demanding voice, and the man nodded.
"Sure. I-I mean, yes Sir!" He responded, and began leading the way. Sephiroth paced calmly behind him, noticing the glare the red-headed firefighter shot in his direction. She was still trying to turn the valve. Some people never give up, Sephiroth sighed.
"Right this way, Sir!" The trooper, Reilly, said in an enthusiastic voice, as he ran up a set of stairs to a red-painted, fire-proof door. "If you don't mind my asking, Sir.. You know Zack, don't you? It's just that he's always bragging about knowing you." The trooper asked.
"We've worked together a few times." Sephiroth nodded unaffected. Reilly seemed satisfied with that answer, for he opened the fire-proof door without asking for any further details. He entered the long corridor behind the door, and waited at the entrance for Sephiroth to follow.
On both sides of the narrow corridor, were doors that had square-shaped metal plates screwed to their surface. Engraved in each plate was a three-digit series of numbers. Sephiroth could only guess, what the numbers meant. He lifted his gaze from Reilly's back, and half-heartedly counted the rows of fluorescent lamps placed on the ceiling. After not having slept properly in over 24 hours, the brightness of them stung his eyes painfully. Over the muffled thumps of his footsteps, Sephiroth could hear the electric humming of the air-conditioning vents. After a few minutes of haste walking, he saw a lobby opened up from the end of the corridor.
"Where is that Reilly guy? I know he was only recently transferred from military school but.. How long can it take for him to carry out one simple task?" A male voice spoke, and Sephiroth instantly recognized it as Zack's.
Sephiroth had perfect memory, and he never forgot a face - nor voice - of a person he had once worked with. Some would consider such a talent a gift, but to Sephiroth it was more like a curse. Colleagues were not the only people whose faces were etched to his brain, his victims were there too.
"I wish the firefighters would put out the fires already.. It'll be too dark soon to search for any evidence." Zack continued.
"Sir!" The trooper walking in front of Sephiroth suddenly stopped, and saluted the black-haired man standing in the lobby. The man, dressed in purple clothing, was surrounded by three others who looked like Shin-Ra's engineers.
"Reilly!" Zack's expression brightened up at the sight of the lower class SOLDIER. "What did they say!?" He asked anxiously.
"Uh, they said we'll have to wait 30 minutes, give or take." Reilly answered his unit leader.
"30 minutes? Damn." Zack snorted in disappointment. Suddenly his gaze fell upon Sephiroth, who was standing some distance away, in a shadowy corner. "Huh?" At first Zack only stared in shock at the man who had worked as his boss on more than one occasion.
"Zack.." Sephiroth greeted the black-haired man with a nod of his head.
"General. You were assigned on this too, huh?" Zack quickly recovered from the initial shock, and signaled for the Shin-Ra employees surrounding him to leave. The engineers quickly made their way out through the back door closeby.
When the door's lock mechanism clicked shut, Sephiroth returned his eyes on Zack. "Yes.. I'm to take command of your team, find the persons responsible for this attack and.. deal with them accordingly." He explained.
"I see." Zack replied thoughtfully, glancing at Reilly who had sat down on a red office chair to rest his feet.
"I gather you were unable to apprehend the suspects?" Sephiroth asked, moving out of his corner and towards the computers and heavy machinery that edged the lobby. Green and red lights flickered in their control panels, and various textbooks and manuals lay abandoned on shelves scattered around the room.
"No.. Sir. They managed to escape on the eight o'clock train to the slums." Zack shook his head, a hint of irritation in his eyes. As he had finished speaking, the fluorescent lights that illuminated the building quivered as if about to go off.
After a moments anxious waiting, Sephiroth collected his thoughts. "And this group you saw.. They appeared to be members of the AVALANCHE?" He asked Zack.
"Well.. Yes Sir. Who else would do something like this?" The black-haired man seemed bewildered, and surprised by Sephiroth's question.
"Who else indeed.." Sephiroth muttered to himself. Something about this attack didn't fit his image of AVALANCHE, but he chose not to voice his doubts. "Well, the fact that they took a train heading for the slums certainly supports the theory AVALANCHE has their headquarters under the plate." Sephiroth spoke up again.
"I agree.. But nobody knows where it is, exactly. I mean.. There are eight sectors down there aswell. That's a lot of ground to cover, with this little information." Zack cleared his throat.
"We'll find them." Sephiroth said confidently, pausing to look out of a small window above one of the control panels. A view of sector 3's market was revealed through the thick glass. He could see a small crowd standing around there, staring at the destroyed reactor. Some people shook their heads, some pointed at the dome with their hands. All of them wore similar, numb expressions though. Most of them were also huddled together, seeking comfort from each others' presence. Weaklings, Sephiroth frowned bitterly.
"Do you want to search the ruins now? I'm sure it won't take much longer for the firefighters to put out the last fires." Zack asked.
Sephiroth turned his back at the window, and contemplated his answer. "I don't expect to find much in the dark. It's best to wait until sunrise. We'll reconvene here tomorrow at 0800 hours, to discuss our next course of action." He ordered.
"Yes Sir! I'll inform the others." Reilly stood up from his chair, leaving it spinning slowly. The blue-uniformed man saluted both his superior officers, before running back the corridor to the courtyard.
"You finish up around here, and do alert me should you spot anything out of the ordinary." Sephiroth turned to face Zack.
"Of course." The man nodded, and watched uneasily as Sephiroth began retracing his steps out of the reactor.
"Hey Sephiroth?" Zack suddenly spoke up, stopping Sephiroth in mid-stride.
"Yes?" He turned around, and stared curiously at the First-Class SOLDIER behind him.
"We're having this party on friday.. Nearly everyone's coming, so.. If you'd like to join us, you're welcome." Zack grinned sheepishly, and handed Sephiroth an invitation.
He glanced at the pale blue card, on which the name 'Club Piranha' was written along with the the date and time of the party. "Oh. Thank you." Sephiroth finally said, a trace of emotion passing over his inexpressive face.
"So maybe I'll see you there?" Zack inquired.
"Maybe.." Sephiroth muttered, not sounding particularly interested.
"Well, goodnight Sir." Zack said, in a voice that vaguely resembled concearn.
Sephiroth wanted to laugh bitterly at him, to mock the man's choise of words. Yet his expression remained neutral as he turned around to walk back to his apartment. "Goodnight." Sephiroth answered Zack over his shoulder, and began pacing further away from him, and the smoking remains of the reactor.
* * * * *
"Gosh, I'm beat." Aeris heaved a sigh, as she collapsed on top of a sofa.
She had taken a quick shower and changed her clothing after getting caught in the rain on Midgar's upper level. Because of Midgar's plate it never rained in the slums, so sometimes Aeris forgot there existed a thing called weather. Now she was just glad to be back in the warmth of her home. The house was a small, two-storey building at sector 5's slums. The first floor consisted of the living room, kitchen and the large broom closet located under the stairs that led to the second floor. Up there were their two bedrooms and a bathroom.
"How was work?" Elmyra asked from the kitchen. She was washing the dishes from supper, and the the happy clatter of porcelain could be heard all the way to the living room where Aeris was sitting in.
"Peachy." She frowned, "I met Zack."
The sounds of dish-washing seized for a moment, and Elmyra appeared from the kitchen. She stood in the doorway, wiping her hands with a blue-white checked cloth. "Oh? Shouldn't he still be at work?" She asked, and undid the strings of her white apron, that had been tied to a bow behind her back.
"Yeah, he was. We kinda bumped into each other." Aeris explained, grinning sheepishly over the back of the cream coloured, floral-patterned couch.
"So you two.. talked?" Elmyra asked, a bit awkward expression on her face.
"Mom, you're prying." Aeris smiled warmly, "And yes, usually when meeting one's boyfriend some words are exchanged."
"Unless you really, really like your boyfriend." Aeris added quickly, a distant look in her eyes. An image of herself smothering Zack with kisses invaded her mind, until she shrugged off the thought. Sometimes she suspected that such fiery passion existed only in the cheesy romance novels she read. In a minute, a deep red blush spread over her cheeks.
"Did I just say that out loud?" She grinned, noticing a smile on Elmyra's face too.
"Good. I mean, that you talked. I had the feeling you had some.. issues to go through." Elmyra's happy expression soon changed into a concearned one.
"Issues? We have no issues. We're issue-free." Aeris smiled carefreely, but turned her back at Elmyra nonetheless.
"Sweetheart.." Elmyra's voice turned to a motherly tone. She crossed the distance to the couch, and sat down next to Aeris. "Is something wrong? You know you can tell me anything." Elmyra asked, grabbing a hold of Aeris' fingers.
"Nothing's wrong, I just.." Aeris began, glancing at her adopted mother. "Zack's been talking.. about marriage." She continued in a low voice, as though telling a deep dark secret.
"Really?" Elmyra's expression brightened up.
Aeris just looked at the woman next to her a while. Her soft green eyes had a glimmer of light in them, and her lips were drawn to a hearty smile. Of course she'd want her to marry Zack. Zack was perfect, everything Aeris had ever wanted. And yet.. Why did she feel so trapped in their relationship? "Don't get too excited, mom, he hasn't even proposed to me yet." Aeris squeezed Elmyra's hand gently.
"But you think he will?" Elmyra's voice was hopeful. She was most likely already looking forward to getting a grandchild or two, Aeris mused. Gosh children, she thought, I don't feel like I'm ready for those. Aeris had lived her entire life in Midgar, and she had hoped to see the world a little before settling down. A part of her didn't want to end up like her adopted mother, but she'd never admit it to Elmyra.
"Yeah." Aeris nodded, "And I really don't know what my answer will be."
Elmyra fell quiet, and the ticking of their old grandfather clock sounded unusually loud in the silence that hung in the air. "You love Zack, don't you?" Elmyra finally asked.
Aeris blinked, this was the question she had dreaded her adopted mother would ask. "Yeah. I mean, sure. Of course." She nodded, perhaps a bit too eagerly. Her words returned Elmyra's smile though.
"I know what this is about.." She changed her position a little on the couch, so that she was facing Aeris.
"You do?" Aeris asked, puzzled. How could Elmyra know, when she didn't understand it herself?
"It's perfectly natural to be frightened. Marriage is a big step, for the both of you. I remember what a nerve wreck I was before my wedding." Elmyra let out a fit of laughter, and a warm glow lit to her eyes. Aeris bit her lip, recognizing that look. Elmyra was lost in the memories of her husband; a man who had passed away in the war against Wutai. "But really dear.. I'm sure Zack will make you very happy." Elmyra assured Aeris.
"Yeah mom.. I'm sure he will." She smiled weakly in return.
Elmyra soon returned to the kitchen to finish her dish-washing, and Aeris was left alone in the living room again. "So is he coming to see you tonight?" Elmyra's asked from the kitchen.
"Oh Zack? Yeah. He said he would come by later tonight." Aeris answered, and leaned towards the wooden living room table. She picked up a yellow flower from the jade-green vase rested at the middle of the table, and twirled the flower around her fingers. "Mom?" She suddenly called out, her gaze locked to the yellow petals of the flower.
"Yes dear?" Elmyra asked, while placing plates and glasses into the kitchen cupboards.
"What do you know about the SOLDIER General?" Aeris asked, and immediatly heard a plate shatter on the floor. "Mom?" Aeris turned her head, and looked in the direction of the kitchen.
"Oh dear. I just.. I dropped a plate." Elmyra muttered to herself, and kneeled down to collect the pieces of broken porcelain.
"Mom?" Aeris asked again, waiting for Elmyra to answer her question.
"Y-you mean.. Sephiroth?" Elmyra's voice trembled slightly, as she returned to the living room.
"Yeah." Aeris furrowed her brow, and wondered why the older woman was behaving so oddly.
"W-why would you.." Elmyra began, silencing herself. "What brought this on?" She reframed her question.
"Nothing." Aeris bit her lip, concentrating her eyes on the flower in her hands again. "I just met him. Today." She explained awkwardly.
"You met.. Sephiroth?" Elmyra's voice was disbelieving.
"Yeah. And I just.. I don't know. Forget it." Aeris sighed, and bowed her head down a little. She never noticed the concearned look her adopted mother shot in her direction.
* * * * *
"Here's yer goddamn money." Barret Wallace tossed a pouch filled with gil to the feet of a man standing in the doorway to 'Tifa's 7th Heaven'. The bar was a mid-sized, wooden building, located at the seventh sector of Midgar's slums. It was a fairly popular hang-out during the weekends, but on the weekdays there were hardly any customers at all.
"Only 3000 gil?" The man said complacently after picking up his fee, "Next time, I want 5000."
Barret's face turned red with anger. "Ya ain't gettin' any special favours juz 'cos ya work for them Shin-Ra vermin!" He raised his voice, and took a step closer to the blue-uniformed man.
"Without me, you would've gotten yourselves caught tonight!" The man pushed Barret back, and removed his blue helmet.
"Cloud.." A young woman spoke up from behind the bar-table. She lifted a part of table to circle around it, and stepped between the two men. "We are thankful for what you did tonight. I know you put yourself in danger everytime you help us." The woman smiled, facing the blonde SOLDIER.
"Tifa, we can't afford to pay 'im 5000 gil!" Barret interrupted, "I've got Marlene's education to think about!" He added in a hushed voice.
"It's OK.." Tifa told him, and turned to Cloud again. "How about 4000?" She asked, and after a moments consideration, Cloud nodded in agreement.
"Man.." Barret groaned, and walked over to the elevator, they'd cleverly disguised as a pinball machine. Flicking a switch hidden behind the machine, the leader of AVALANCHE slowly decended to the secret headquarters located below the bar.
"We really need his help." Tifa told Barret sheepishly, just before his tall form disappeared under the floor level.
"Ya keep tellin' yerself dat. We fer doin' juz fine without 'im." Barret snorted in contempt, leaving Tifa and Cloud standing alone in the doorway.
"Barret's just being.. Barret." Tifa grinned, apologizing for her colleagues behaviour. "Do you want to come down? We're having a meeting soon." She asked as the pinball machine returned back up.
"Nah. They'll start asking too many questions if I don't return to the quarters soon." Cloud shook his blond, spiky-haired head.
"Oh. Alright then." Tifa's gaze sunk a little. She was tracing small circles on the floorboards with the tips of her shoes.
"General Sephiroth's been assigned to the command of our team.. He's pretty determined to destroy AVALANCHE. So I suggest you don't do anything rash anytime soon. Lay low for a while, OK?" Cloud suggested in a slightly worried tone.
"OK. I'll tell them that." Tifa smiled, flicking back her long dark brown hair.
"Good. I'll.. be leaving now. See you soon." Cloud turned to leave, after flashing a brief smile at Tifa.
"Cloud?" She suddenly called after him.
"Yeah?" Cloud glanced at her over his shoulder, and noticed she followed him out of the bar, pressing the door shut behind her.
"We all have our reasons for hating Shin-Ra, but.. What's your excuse? Do you really do this just because of the money?" Tifa asked, standing under the light cast by a streetlamp. The air was chilly but fresh, and Tifa inhaled it deeply. "What a beautiful night." She whispered with her eyes closed.
"I guess." Cloud said nonchalantly. "But you know, with my SOLDIER salaries, I need the money." He continued.
"Oh. So you do help us just for the money then." Tifa's eyes held a very sad gaze for a moment.
"Tifa.." Cloud swallowed hard, trying to think of something to say. "I never forgot.. about the promise. If that's what you ask."
"Really?" Tifa chirped, "I mean, I'm glad." She corrected herself, and brushed a whisp of mahogany brown hair behind her ear.
"Yeah, well.. I'd better go now. Bye.." Cloud muttered, and left Tifa standing alone on the porch of the bar.
"Bye." Tifa whispered, but didn't return back inside until Cloud had walked too far to be seen.
BTW, I'm sure you noticed I had to come up with a last name for Zack.. I wasn't thrilled to do that, but it was necessary in this one. Well, not much more to say about this chapter. The really good ones are still ahead. ^_^