Chapter 8 – Falcon Call
This state is elevating.
As the hurt turns into hating.
Anticipating all the ****** up feelings again..
The hurt inside is fading.
This shits gone way too far.
All this time I've been waiting.
No I cannot grieve anymore.
For what's inside awakening.
[You've taken everything and oh I cannot give anymore]
"Here to stay" -Korn
There was an uncomfortable silence that hung in the air like a virus throughout the house as Reeve carefully seated himself back on the chair. No one wanted to ask it, but Nanaki knew the question circulating through all their minds. Finally, Elena gave in.
"How are we going to get home, Aeris?"
For a split instant a sorrowful frown loosed itself unto Aeris pale face, then it disappeared in an expression that seemed a struggle to stay emotionless, though Nanaki did not need to use his superior sense of smell to know that the flower girl was crushed at losing her friends again. Of course, she would try to hide it. She knew what had to be done.
"There's a person deeper in the forests that can bring you back – I think…"
With a soft voice, Nanaki muttered, "You're hiding something."
Aeris looked at him, and her eyes were full of unshed tears. "N-no, I'm not…" Then, she finally gave in, and though she did not cry, she smelled and felt of sorrow. "Okay! For millions of years, people and all living things die and are reborn, y-you know that. But there are these three people, their some sort of shape shifters, and they've managed to trap certain people here. I think they're being led by someone, but I don't know who, or why. I'm sorry…"
Reeve reached across the sleek black coffee table and brushed over her pale hand with his. "Aeris, what's wrong?"
"I'm so sorry to bother you guys, but – I don't want to lose you! To see you again and then have you taken away just as fast…I'm so sorry…" She looked down at her feet as if she had just admitted the greatest of sins.
Nanaki understood though. If she was stuck in the lifestream, she wouldn't ever be reborn, meaning that even in the next life she would never see any of her old friends or family ever again. What a complex and horrible situation…
"We'll find a way." Reno told her gently.
Aeris looked deep into his eyes then, and Nanaki watched as Angel Jade met Aquamarine, seeming to meld into one another.
"How?"
One simple word, but it noticeably shocked Nanaki. It was disturbing to see his long-lost friend like this. In his memories, she had always been so positive, so brave…but now, she seemed lost in her own pessimism.
"If they, whoever they are, can bring people down here, couldn't the opposite effect be possible?" Reeve wondered aloud.
"That's what I'm thinking…" Reno shook his head. "Too weird. If people who die get reborn, the term 'death' would just mean that. So technically Aeris isn't dead, per say, just kinda…I don't know, trapped. One direction would lead to rebirth, but couldn't she just as easily…"
"I assume that is a correct theory." Nanaki said, thinking hard as he spoke, but hardly hearing his own voice. "But the physical body is already dead, if that is the correct term. Therefore, the myths of ghosts would simply imply of spirits without a body. If we did bring you back to Earth, you'd be a ghost, in the simplest form of saying it."
"We can't worry about me right now." Aeris sighed. "The person who attacked us, his name was Feliyui, he's one of the shape shifters. There're three, and they are staying at a fortress about a day away from here. I guess we'll know more once we get there."
"Just like old times." Reeve muttered.
Nanaki nodded, but his eyes were riveted on Aeris.
"Hey guys! About time you dug me up! What's new?"
The wiry voice of Cait Sith, which would normally annoy Cloud, frankly delighted him. Reeve had been telling them that, though he had programmed the robot and at times controlled him, most times the thing responded on it's own will and personality. He had had a more complex explanation, but it had confused Cloud too much and he'd forgotten. But, it would be good to have the catbot and moogle around; they were powerful fighters.
Cloud was, actually, surprised that the robot didn't know what one of Reeve's soldiers had just informed him, about Reeve's disappearance.
"Well, Reeve, The Turks, Marlene and Nanaki were taken by a giant green maggot, and our only lead is a piece of cloth." Cid filled him in sarcastically.
Cait Sith scratched at an ear and grinned. "Wow, just another day in the life of us, eh? Well, where to then?"
He looked at Cloud, and the blond man felt the lifeless but somehow friendly eyes on him. Cait Sith creeped him out, sometimes it was like talking to Reeve, but other times…
More like talking to a tin can riding a marshmallow. That's what Cid had called it. Cloud almost laughed, but instead said,
"The Cetra City."
"Great!" Without the human emotion, the robot obviously did not pick up that it was not a great thing, but instead began towards the doorway. "Oh, hey, uh, heh heh. Are the elevators working?"
Exotic trees met Vincent's gaze, the once beautiful scenery now like barbed needles piercing his garnet eyes. Though the place was as still and hauntingly majestic as the last time he saw the place, it now seemed to have a very negative effect on him.
He thought of Aeris, as he was sure everyone else was, and unconsciously pushed back a stray lock of blue-black hair, falling gently against his face. He hadn't known her well, only for somewhere around a week, but that had been enough. Her gentle laugh like the summer breeze in his ears, her mystifyingly deep jade optics, her sweet disposition; everything about her seemed so innocent but at the same time so wise and frighteningly powerful. With her simple presence, she'd touched all of their hearts.
And it hurt all the more as she was taken from them. Vincent had been amazed at how heartbroken he'd felt after that. Perhaps it was how much she reminded him of Her.
He hated this place. He tried, like so many times before, to shake the sadistic regret and self-hatred he felt when he thought of Lucrecia, but he was overwhelmed in this great, horrible place of so much mocking beauty.
I'm so sorry Vincent. I'm so sorry…The words echoed through his mind like the laughter of demons, and though the intention had been a kind-hearted one, those words alone hurt him more than anything else. The tears Lucrecia had shed as she slowly faded away from him…
I'm so sorry…Shuttap. Just shuttap.
The stone path was strong yet soft under his boot-clad feet. In front of him, Cloud was perfectly silent, and Tifa seemed torn with sadness. But none of his friends were exactly happy at the sight of the city. Only Shaela could be unaffected, but she was still solemn and quiet in the background.
Though Rude probably knew little about Aeris, it appeared he felt the overwhelming warmth of her lingering touch in the place. His eyes were invisible behind the sunglasses, and his face was obviously hiding thoughts only he would know.
In front of him, Cloud stopped, and with a robotic simplicity, everyone else did as he did. Vincent gazed ahead and saw the difficulty.
Clear, unwavering water glimmered in the sun, reflecting the white rays into the trees. It was a small pond, seeming ornamental, and the sight was even more crushing than any other, except perhaps the altar. The water seemed perfectly clear and fresh, and its beauty matched that of its surroundings. The more Vincent gazed into the water, the more he thought he could see her porcelain face.
In front of him, Cloud seemed to be doing the same, and Vincent could see his thoughts with minimal effort.
With twin hands clasped on her lap, her brilliant eyes flashed open. A slight, thin smile met her pale face as her high cheekboned face rotated slowly upward. A sigh of happiness whisped from her red lips, and she said something, something only Cloud knew.
Vincent still heard the indescribable sound as the masamune suddenly appeared through Aeris gut. It was just so absolutely appalling that he sometimes heard the sound echoing into the midnight sky of his peaceless sleep at night. And he saw her smile fade as she lurched forward a little.
There was a slice, and the blade was freed, it's bearer grinning a bit and his eyes looking so much like Aeris'. And Lucresia's.
She fell forward, and her hair unravelled onto her shoulders behind her. The sound of the green memento, Holy, was only describable as 'crystal' as it fell to the stone of the death place of it's possessor.
Cloud shuddered, and then walked around the lake, saying nothing and revealing none of the obvious agony he was in. In dutiful silence, his friends followed.
"Pitasha, I see them!"
Pitasha flicked his gaze over to his companion, and nodded solemnly. Passed the cover of the bushes and about a hundred feet away, nine figures walked slowly across the stone walkways of the Cetra City. Good, waiting had been hard and Pitasha disliked the feel of the world of the living. It was too – harsh, too – real. Whatever it was, it disturbed him.
Beside him, his two associates, soldiers of the Mistress, were watching them too. Straining his ears, Pitasha listened to the conversation of two of the enemy, one a young girl with dancing black hair and one a fiery eyed woman who wore exotic clothing and had a somewhat slippy foreign accent.
"Did Nanaki ever tell you of Aeris?"
Nanaki? Good, this was definitely them.
"Yes, all the time. Is this the place where…?" The foreign woman trailed off uncertainly, though her face showed no sign of it.
"The shit-winged angel killed her, yeah." The ninja girl glared up at the altar, and spat. "I would give it to be able to dig something sharp into his gut for that. The bastard!"
"He's gone now, at least."
"Amen."
Their leader, who must have been the one called Cloud, turned suddenly. "Well, we're here. Now what?"
"Now, we wait for some sign that we came to the right place." A giant cat on a moogle replied.
"What? So we're supposed to just sit around like idiots while we wait for a big green worm to gobble us up?" Back to the ninja again.
"I guess so. I don't know what to expect, so stay on alert." For an instant, Pitasha thought that Cloud had seen him, but those unnatural blue eyes roved on, scanning the City carefully.
The others did the same, obviously they trusted his judgement.
Pitasha turned to his soldiers and mouthed, "Stay here," and then began to shift his body into his preferred form, a silver-winged peregrine falcon.
He turned and began to fly up into the air, heading first away and then up to simulate a natural birds flying. With his amazing eyes, he saw Cloud and a couple other heads snap over to gaze at him. Cloud seemed to shrug it off, but one person, and tall man dressed in blue, watched him a very long time, his eyes hidden by sunglasses. Pitasha immediately knew whom to get first.
He rose above them, rising on a warm updraft, then plummeted down towards them like a silver arrow. Once he reached about ten feet above their heads and it seemed he would fly straight into the ground, he shuddered with a sudden blast of magic, and warped himself back into human form, landing in a controlled crouch. Getting the advantage of surprise, he grabbed the wrists of the man with the hidden eyes and pulled them back cruelly, careful not to hurt him but to make sure he knew who had control.
"What the hell?"
All nine of them turned, and weapons flashed and rang as they were freed of their sheaths and holders. Reacting automatically to the irritatingly loud sound, Pitasha jerked his prisoner's wrists up farther, and he heard a nearly hidden grunt of pain.
Cloud seemed ready for this, and his sword lowered loosely in his hands. "What do you want?"
"You are going to come with me to my masters territory, where you will be dealt with accordingly. Your captured friends are already there, and if you refuse to cooperate, they will pay with blood."
He clutched onto his captive and skipped aside as the man tried to kick him. He was impressively strong.
A dark-skinned man that towered above Pitasha and even his hostage swore fluently. "Marlene! You #^#*ing sonuva bitch, you let her go!"
"She will be possibly be let go if you come peacefully." Pitasha shrugged.
"Possibly? The hell does dat mean?"
Pitasha shook his head. Feliyui had said that the Mistress had wanted to keep the one named Marlene to raise her as a fighter. The shapeshifter strongly disliked the idea, the girl was only five! But his preference didn't matter to Her decision. One positive thing though, they had not yet caught Marlene, the two Turks, or Reeve. But his enemies couldn't know that.
Yuffie watched Rude's half closed eyes on the ground, as if they could tell her what to do. Should she attack? But They had Reno, Elena, Marlene and Reeve, and if she hurt the Falcon Man, what would happen to her friends? Yet, what good would she do if she went with him? She cursed at her vulnerability and waited for Cloud to decide. His face was dark and emotionless and he seemed stone dumb, torn between what to do.
And of course, there was Rude. As her attention returned to him, she saw a sudden muscle spasm in his arm that the Falcon Man missed. She almost smiled.
And with an amazing quickness, Rude snapped his wrists and turned at the same time, throwing the enemy aside. He stood over him, and held up his fists, ready to attack should he arise again. Yuffie was already at his side above the Falcon Man, the Conformer in her hands skilfully.
A sudden sound like thunder blasted through her ears, and as she watched, Rude fell over in a bleeding heap, blood pouring from a wound she couldn't place. She was later embarrassed for it, but she shrieked and put her hands over her head.
Another blast sounded, and she felt a stinging in her arm. A bullet had just barely grazed it. She hissed at the smarting pain, and turned on the messenger of the bullet.
Two people, appearing human, ran up towards them with guns raised. She couldn't place what kind they were, she knew nothing about guns, but she did know that they hurt!
A black figure whisped past and pandemonium broke out. All around her, friend and foe were attacking each other with weapons, and the Falcon Man was back on his feet, going for Cloud.
"Yuffie, are you okay?" Tifa asked breathlessly.
She nodded. "Rude! Oh gawd!"
She and Tifa crouched beside him as the tall Turk lifted himself up. His dark blue clothing was held against him and dyed a darker shade of black-indigo by bright crimson blood at his stomach, and with something between a grunt and a gasp, he grabbed at it with a hand.
"Rude!" Tifa shouted simply.
"I'm okay." He smiled lightly, but dangerously.
Yuffie tried to turn, but felt a sudden impact on her side, and her body seemed to go airborne and crumple in half simultaneously. For an instant, she couldn't place where she was, or the fact that she was still in the air, and then suddenly water overtook her, and the air left her lungs.
She broke the surface and looked up, seeing that she had fallen from the altar and landed in the warm water below. To her horror, she saw another figure begin to follow her pathway, and she just barely managed to get out of the way as Rude and Tifa fell were she had just been. She swam over to them, first pulling Tifa above surface and then Rude. Tifa seemed winded and Rude was, put simply, in a very large amount of pain as his side had slapped the water hard. Yuffie grimaced.
Ignoring the pain in her head and the sounds of guns and weapons above her, and without much thought, she put her arms around Rude's slender waist and tried pretty much hopelessly to help him stay above water. He looked down at her and then nodded his head towards the shore, which seemed so far away. Yuffie felt warm, oozing blood on her arm mixed with the feel of bare skin where his jacket had ripped away. She ignored it and began to pull hurriedly towards the shore.
"Wait." Rude reached over and grabbed Tifa, putting an arm over her shoulder and pulling her close. Yuffie realized that he was fine to swim and let go, swimming around him to Tifa, who was still gasping for breath and choking. She grabbed her other arm and with Rude's help began to pull her through the water.
There was the sounds of metal and blasts like thunder as her friends fought above her.
Pitasha groaned against the multiple wounds now bleeding heartily decided that he would have to send them back now, before anyone got killed. Of course, this would leave him vulnerable, but it had to be done.
He half closed his eyes and began to mutter ancient words under his breath that meant little to him but gathered so much power through him. He heard rapid breaths suddenly and unconsciously noted that one of the soldiers had come over to cover him.
"Sae Dalaea e' lyat, keer asadul sair'tak rasha!" The words drifted from his lips, and his opened his eyes briefly. His vision was blurred by green light, and he felt them widening though he saw nothing. There was a pulling feeling as he and the others began into the Lifestream, and then, there was nothing. No sight, no sound, no nothing. He sighed, and fell to the ground as darkness overtook his mind.
Though he could not see, his Mistress smiled grimly at the accomplishment. Finally, they were here.
Authors Note: I'm sooooo super duper sorry that took so long. School started like I said and I've been busy, and then my comp was being screwy (swears venomously at it.) I'll have the next chapter out quicker, I promise.
Anyway, hope you liked, and I hope it's been interesting. I'm sure that the Lifestream twist was just too obvious but I tried to make it a surprise. I'm going to have the next chapters in sort of groupings so I'm not forgetting to add some characters, so if I haven't exactly been using your favourite characters much (my poor, beautiful Vinny…) they'll be in the next chapters, I promise. Um…can't think of anything else to say…uh…luv ya all!
Ps: If you know the lyrics, you'll notice I skipped a line. There were probably a lot that could have been skipped, but that one had nothing to do with the story (less then the others) and would have confused people if they tried to see what it had to do with anything, lol.