DISCLAIMER: That's right, I still don't own the characters nor the FF7-verse. They're still, and (unless I suddenly win a hundred million euro's in the lottery) will always be Squaresofts.
AUTHORS NOTES: This is the second chapter!! Did you like the first one? I should be writing an essay for school right now, but I just couldn't resist!! Writing is the best escape!! I've got all my homework undone, it's midnight and my back hurts like hell.. So it's nice to live here in denial-land!! (I'm trying to ramble less, can you tell?) ^_^ Thanks for past and future reviews, I live for those!!
CHAPTER 2.
In secret we met:
In silence I grieve
That thy heart could forget,
Thy spirit deceive.
If I should meet thee
After long years,
How should I greet thee? -
With silence and tears.
- Lord Byron -
"Did you have to bust in through the front door?" Cloud Strife sighed and shook his spiky haired head.
"I just felt like kickin' some Shin-Ra butt!" Barret Wallace aimed his gun-arm at Cloud. "Got sumthin' to say 'bout that?" Barret asked him, with a threatening sound to his voice.
"What if I have? We wasted a lot of time fighting, and for what?" Cloud began to sound a bit annoyed. He had just about had it with Barret's attitude. He had no sence of priorities, which in Cloud's opinion made him a bad leader for AVALANCHE.
"You're just covering your old Shin-Ra buddies' backs, ain't ya Cloud? Barret kept provoking Cloud.
"And all you can think about is your crusade against Shin-Ra!" Cloud saw the way he was streching Barret's temper, but he just couldn't resist.
"I'll be damned if I don't kick your spiky butt.." Barret shook his gun-arm, his face red from anger.
"STOP IT!" Tifa Lockheart shouted, stepping between the two men. "We've got more important things to think about, like Aeris remember. Now let's go!" Tifa pushed Cloud further away from Barret, who looked like a ticking time-bomb about to explode.
"I just don't trust 'im." Barret muttered under his breath as they continued walking towards the laboratories.
"These elevators seem the be the fastest way up there.. Let's go." Cloud's voice was determined, as his blue eyes studied the building layout.
"Who died and made you the boss.." Barret glared at Cloud.
"You just wait and see.." Cloud answered, as he pressed the elevator button.
"Urgh.." Barret fought not to beat the blonde man senceless, and concentrated his thoughts on saving the woman who had protected his daughter Marlene at her time of need. Aeris was all that mattered right now..
Barret's hatred for Shin-Ra had only increased when he had lost almost his entire team of AVALANCHE members because of Shin-Ra's doing. The President had ordered the Turks to make the plate above sector seven slums collapse, killing so many people.. All Shin-Ra had ever done was fill people's heads with false hopes. Barret himself had seen Shin-Ra bring nothing but death and destruction. His hometown Corel had been destroyed because of Shin-Ra. Most of his neighbours and friends had died.. Barret blamed himself for believing in Shin-Ra's promises of a better life. As he looked at the luxurious furniture in the hallway, he felt like shooting them into bits. How could the President of Shin-Ra Inc. have all this wealth around him while the other half of the world lived in poverty and sheer misery? Never had the people in Corel received a gil from Shin-Ra, even though they had lost everything they had.
Barret thought this building itself was a shrine dedicated to the development of better and more destructive weapons. Weapons and power were, after all, the only things the Shin-Ra people thought about, beside maybe sucking up the lifeblood of the planet, Mako, more efficiently. Mako was indeed the energy that lit up this momument of greed. Not only literally, but also because Mako was the main source od Shin-Ra's wealth. He knew that he had hurt Shin-Ra badly when he had blown up their reactors, but never in his life had he thought the President would be twisted enough to kill hundreds of innocent people just to get AVALANCHE out of his way. Barret was looking forward to exploding this building just like he had blown up Shin-Ra's reactors, knowing with even more certainty that he was fighting a good fight. One day, he swore to himself, he'd get to see Shin-Ra's empire crumble.
"Hey Barret? Are you gonna come in or just stand there looking like a crazy person?" Cloud asked him with an irritating grin plastered on his face, leaning against a wall of an elevator. Barret glared at Cloud before joining him and Tifa in the elevator. He had been disturbed by Cloud's obvious lack of concearn for the Planet from the day he had joined AVALANCHE.. Tifa seemed to trust him, though. And, Barret thought to himself, Cloud was quite the powerhouse to have on AVALANCHE's side. Barret was just not sure, if Cloud truly was on his side.. There always seemed to be something about him, something strange.. Barret could only hope that whatever it was, it would not get all of them killed.
* * * * *
"Sephiroth?" Aeris stood up and moved closer to the glass to see the man better. The first thing Aeris noticed about him was that he was tall, much taller than Aeris herself. He also had long, silvery hair that fell gracefully on his back and shoulders. He was dressed in a long black leather coat and pants, and he had an intimidatingly long, narrow bladed sword as his weapon. The most striking feature about him however, were his pasific-green eyes, that shone with such radiance Aeris couldn't help but stare at him. She had seen SOLDIER members before, even dated one, but this man.. The Mako in his eyes was so intense it made his gaze seem icy and distant, but for some reason Aeris didn't feel frightened as she approached him.
"Could you please help me out of here?" Aeris asked the man cautiously. She senced he was in a hurry somewhere, and the neutral expression on his face told her he might not be interested in helping her at all.
"Umm.. If I'm able to. I haven't seen one of these in a while." Sephiroth answered, and began to study Aeris' prison of glass.
"Sephiroth.. Have I met you somewhere? Your name, it sounds so familiar." Aeris said, leaning against the wall of her tank. Biting her lip, Aeris sunk deeper into her thoughts. It wasn't just his name, that seemed familiar.. It was everything about him.
"..Maybe. I used to be with SOLDIER." Sephiroth shrugged, without raising his eyes to meet Aeris'.
"Hmm.. thought so." Aeris nodded. Only SOLDIER members had that glow of Mako in their eyes..
Aeris looked at Sephiroth's calm face, feeling puzzled by him. He had delicate features, such that made him appear unusually beautiful for a SOLDIER. He had long and slender fingers, hands that were better suited for music or art than for killing.. Suddenly it hit Aeris. She was talking to the Great Sephiroth. There was no doubt about it. Aeris remembered the way her ex-boyfriend Zack had talked about Sephiroth.. She remembered Sephiroth had been a General at Shin-Ra for many years, fighting in nearly every battle of every war. He had been famous throughout the country, known for his brilliant sence of strategy and and battle skills, as well as his inhuman strength.. However, Aeris had heard Sephiroth had died in an accident a few years back. Why was it, that he was here, right there next to her and very much alive?
"I know! You're the General, right?" Aeris finally voiced her thoughts. Sephiroth gave her a brief glance, and Aeris saw a hint of anger on his face.
"Does it matter?" Sephiroth snorted.
"Guess not." Aeris said with a quiet voice. Well at least now I know what NOT to say, Aeris rolled her eyes.
As soon as Sephiroth finished disconnecting a yellow and a red wire, the door to Aeris' cell slid open with a hiss. "You're free to go." Sephiroth said, turning his back at Aeris.
"H-hey! Wait a minute mister!" Aeris ran after him, stumbling to a few loose wires scattered on the floor. Thanks to Sephiroth's perfect reflexes, he turned to face Aeris just in time for her to bump into him. "Sorry." Aeris blushed furiously, taking a step back. She studied her shoes a long while, until she gathered the courage to meet Sephiroth's intense gaze again.
"What." Sephiroth's voice lacked any emotion, as though the moment of contact between them had not even existed as far as he was concearned. I don't even know this man, Aeris placed her hand on her hip, why do I feel so offended?
"Are you just going to leave me here?" Aeris asked, looking at Sephiroth fearlessly. He just stared at her a while, then turned his back at her again. "Oh, no you don't." Aeris ran in front of Sephiroth.
"I have no reason to help you." Sephiroth said coldly.
"Then why did you!" Aeris stomped her foot in protest. Sephiroth didn't answer her right away.
"I.." He finally began, and tilted his head gently, as though searching his mind for the perfect answer. "I don't know." He finally told Aeris, confusion written all over his face.
* * * * *
"It's this way.. I think." Cloud ran his finger across the building layout. He had never been to the upper floors of the building before, because the access to them was highly restricted, so he had no idea where the laboratories were exactly. He was not going to let Barret know that though.
"That's what ya keep sayin'.." Barret laughed at him annoyed. "We'll get old and wrinkly before we find Aeris.." Barret continued with a deep sigh.
"Shut up, willya? I'm trying to think here!" Cloud finally lost his temper.
"I've had it! All you two do is argue!! Could you even pretend to get along so we can find Aeris and get out of here?" Tifa stomped her foot against the floor. The two men looked at Tifa, baffled by her sudden outburst.
"I think we should head further down this hallway.." Tifa told Cloud, and began to walk in the direction she had mentioned.
"Hey, wait up!" Cloud ran after her.
"Hey Cloud, Tifa.. Do ya hear sumthin'?" Barret asked the two.
"What?" Cloud and Tifa asked in unison.
"Someone's coming.." Barret pointed towards the opposite direction.
"You're delusional.." Cloud muttered, until he too heard the approaching footsteps. "You're right.." Cloud glanced at Barret, and the three of them gathered together to see who was coming towards them.
What they saw was a red lion like creature, that had a black eye-patch over his other amber-coloured eye. It also had a long tail with a bright flame at the end of it. "Who are you..?!" The creature spoke, stopping hastily before bumping into into the stunned AVALANCHE members.
"What are you?" Tifa asked the creature.
"I'm.. I guess you can call me Red XII, that's the name the leading scientist here, Hojo, gave me.." The lion looked behind it, a rather concearned look on it's cat-like face.
"We're with the AVALANCHE, we're trying to rescue a girl called Aeris.. Have you seen her?" Cloud asked Red.
"Umm.. Did this girl have a pink dress on her?" Red asked.
"Yes, she did! Do you know where she's being held?" Cloud stepped forward.
"I think so.. but we should go now.. I escaped from Hojo, and there are people chasing me coming this way.." Red informed the others, and they quickly began to run forward, being led by Red.
"It's this way?" Tifa asked, a bit out of breath. "Yes.. just follow me." Red answered calmly.
* * * * *
Professor Hojo leaned over the rail, studying two figures arguing below on the lower platform of his laboratory. He recognized the both of them, amused by the reunion of two childhood friends. Neither the Ancient nor Sephiroth seemed to remember those years.. Hojo was not sure whether it was a good or a bad thing. An Ancient might surely be of assistance in Sephiroth's search for the Promised Land.. But this particular one, Aeris, could not be trusted. "Then why did you!" The Ancient yelled, with a scolding tune to her voice. The Ancient claimed not to have any knowledge of the whereabouts of the Promised land.. Maybe she was only unwilling to share her information with Shin-Ra, Hojo thought, correcting his eye-glasses on his nose.
It didn't really matter to him, if President Shinra would never see even a glimpse of the Promised Land, as long as Hojo would get the proper credit of discovering it. He was sick and tired of being referred to as Gast's shadow. Hojo wanted to prove them all wrong.. He was better than Gast, because he was not afraid of science. He embraced it, and all the possibilities it revealed. Hojo raised his tranquillizer-gun, aiming carefully. He only had one try, after all.. Hojo fired the gun, which only let out a suffocated bang. Down below Sephiroth raised his eyes to meet Hojo's just as the dart equipped with heavy sedative's emptied it's contents within his artery. Hojo leered at the expression on Sephiroth's face. The frightful realisation that what was about to happen could not be avoided.. Seeing a man with inhuman strength and skills at such a vulnerable state always made Hojo forget the dead ends in his research.. It was such an overwhelming sensation, Hojo laughed cruelly, it was like being the god of god's.
* * * * *
"Sephiroth..?" Aeris asked, as Sephiroth pulled the tranguillizer-dart from the side of his neck. He stared at the red dart awhile, a look of child-like innocence on his face.
"Are you OK?" Aeris asked, placing her hand on his chest. Sephiroth gasped for air as he fell to his knees, falling to the floor. Whatever medicine the dart had contained, it had been powerful stuff. Aeris watched in horror as Sephiroth closed his eyes, his breathing heavy and troubled.
"H-hey.." Aeris stroked Sephiroth's hair, feeling very uncomfortable with the position she was suddenly in. The silvery strands of his hair felt so silky and smooth between her fingers.. I should leave though, Aeris reasoned. It would be impossible for me to drag an uncounsiouss man with me and escape. There is nothing I can do to help him here anyway, Aeris admitted. It would be wise to leave. Whatever held her in her place, did so against all logic and reason.. She just stared at him, a tender smile on her lips. There was something within Sephiroth's blank glares, a force shining inside of him like a beacon in the night.. Aeris was fascinated by him.
"Aeris!" Cloud gasped with surprice. "What are you.. SEPHIROTH!!" Cloud's voice quickly turned from amazement into sheer anger.
"The General?" Barret looked at the man Aeris sat next to. "What's up with 'im?" Barret turned his eyes to Aeris, who was smiling at AVALANCHE innocently.
"I'm so glad you're all safe!" She chuckled, clasping her hands together.
"No thanks to king vermin.." Barret muttered angrily, glancing at Tifa. She stood silent behind Cloud, her skin as pale as snow. Her eyes were focused on Aeris, and the man lying on the floor. "The General.. He's a good guy then, huh?" Barret asked, walking closer to Aeris.
"No. His 'mission' is different.." Cloud said bitterly. Aeris blinked at Cloud.
"You know each other?" She asked. "That's strange." She continued, biting down on her lip. She kept listening to Sephiroth's calm breathing despite the way Clouds eyes darkened at the sight of him.
"What do ya mean? Who did that to the General?" Barret looked first at Cloud, then at Aeris. "Could one of ya please explain?" Barret asked again, trying to make some sence out of the situation.
"I doubt this is the time nor the place for that.." Red spoke at last, his tail swaying nervously from side to side.
"What are you..?" Aeris asked, her eyes following the motions of the cat-like creature's tail.
"Never mind about that." Red turned his eyes away from Aeris, as though embarrassed of himself. "What I'm saying is that we should get out of here now rather than later." He told everyone, while Aeris continued to study his odd appearance.
"You're right." Cloud nodded, turning his attention back to Aeris. "Come on, let's go." Cloud told the girl.
"What about Sephiroth?" Aeris asked, with a troubled look on her face. "It doesn't feel right to leave him here, at the mercy of Shin-Ra." She frowned.
"Besides, he helped me.. I'd like to return the favour." Aeris said, smiling radiantly as a thought occurred to her mind. "I know! Let's take him along! Together we'd be able to carry him out of here!" Her voice seemed so hopeful and excited, that for a moment Cloud seemed to forget his anger towards the older man.
"No. He's not to be trusted." Cloud shook his head. "He's crazy.." Tifa continued with a small voice. Aeris pouted at Cloud awhile, until he seemed to give into her demand a little. "Red, since you're with us for the time being, it's up to you.. What do you say?" Cloud sighed, turning his clear blue eyes to the red-furred creature.
"I don't know the things you know.. That's why I have no reason to hate him - and this is a place where not even my worst enemies belong.." Red thought aloud. "So I think it's best we do as Aeris suggested.." He concluded.
"Fine." Cloud gave in, his eyes briefly flashing with hatred and contempt towards the silver haired man.
"Well, ain't this great. A decision." Barret smirked at Cloud, who seemed to have adopted the role of a leader. "This place gives me the creeps.." Barret said to himself, looking at the strange equipment scattered on top of large wooden crates.
"Me too.." Aeris smiled at his remark, following Tifa and Cloud with her eyes. What had she gotten herself into, in fact?
This is not that great of a chapter in my opinion, mainly because I'm such an impatient brat.. I wanna get to the neat chapters ahead! I hate that tranquillizer-business most, but I realized it was the only way to make Aeris and Sephiroth stay together.. He's so stubborn.. *deep sigh* Anyway.. Try not to let the spelling mistakes bother you & look forward to the fluffy cuteness ahead. I might also add some Cloud/ Tifa scenes, if I feel like it. ^_- Review me please, I'm an addict! (Remember: I can never be praised enough!)