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By: General Quistis
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FOUR: Dark Nation
The black panther-like animal sat down quietly by the window, as if like a human being looking outside. She had this stiff posture, like the royal cat she was trained to be… She gazed blankly at the view outside, and if we could share her thoughts, she would be thinking of the things that happened for the past two days…
She was interrupted when she heard the door opening, so she instantly turned to the door, but was quite relieved when she saw that it was just the nurse.
The nurse smiled at her. "Hello there, kitty cat." The male nurse said.
Dark Nation uttered a low "Meowrr…"
The female doctor entered after the male nurse and smiled at Dark Nation. "Oh, so she's the one with the girl?" she asked.
"Yes, Doctor… I believe she's hers." The nurse replied.
Dark Nation watched quietly as the nurse and the doctor walked to one corner of the room where a young girl with long dark hair was seated in a couch by the bed. She was staring into empty space, her eyes looking so blank and weary at the same time. Her long dark hair almost covered her face as her head bowed down slowly.
The doctor patted her shoulder gently. "Hello, Tifa," she greeted.
Dark Nation bent her head to one side as she observed what Tifa would do.
She did nothing.
Dark Nation bowed down her head and walked out of the room slowly, heading down the hall. Surely enough she was still thankful that the hospital does not have any rules about not allowing animals to enter the premises.
She continued to go down the hallway until she stopped when she recognized a very familiar scent which made her nose and ears twitch. Quickly, she followed the scent until it led her to the section of the hospital where the rich people were to be confined. Her heart began to beat faster as she continued to follow the scent. "Meowrgh…" she uttered softly when she finally reached the end of the hallway. She turned to her right and saw a door. She approached it and began to pound it with her right paw. "Meowrgh, meowrgh!" she repeatedly made some noise until somebody opened the door.
It was Reno. "Dark Nation?" he said in awe.
Dark Nation ran past him and ran to the bed where Rufus was lying down, eyes closed and sleeping soundly. Dark Nation climbed on the chair by the bed to get a better view of her master. "Meowrgh…" she said before rubbing her head against Rufus's cheek. "Meowrgh…" she began to purr, as if saying, "I'm glad you're alive!"
Elena went to Dark Nation and stroked her fur. "It's okay, Dark Nation. Your daddy's safe." She assured with a smile.
"Meowrgh?" Dark Nation turned to her with an inquiring look in her eyes, but turned to the bedside table with a curious look. The picture was there. In one swift motion, Dark Nation grabbed it in her mouth and rushed outside. "Oh no…" Elena ran after her, thinking that if Rufus wakes up without the picture, he'd throw a fit again.
Dark Nation continued to run, making sure that Elena was following close behind her.
"Dark Nation! Come back here! Do you want Rufus to get angry?" Elena demanded with a worried look in her face.
Dark Nation kept on running and stopped only when she arrived back at the room where Tifa Lockheart was. She headed for Tifa who was still seated on the couch, staring into empty space.
Elena stopped in her tracks when she saw the woman with Dark Nation. She slowly approached Dark Nation and that was the time when the panther-like animal handed her back the picture. Elena's eyes grew wide when she recognized who the woman was. "Oh my God…" she said in disbelief.
Dark Nation rubbed her head against Tifa's knee. "Meowrgh…" she uttered softly before purring.
Tifa slowly looked up at Elena with wide crimson eyes. It made Elena jerk and take a few steps backward.
"Who are you?" Tifa asked softly.
Elena's mouth dropped open, then turned to the picture, and then back to Tifa. "I… I…" she stammered, not knowing how to answer the question.
She was interrupted when the nurse entered with a tray of food. "Oh hello there, miss. Are you Miss Lockheart's friend or a member of her family?" he asked with a kind smile as he placed the tray of food on top of the bedside table.
Elena raised an eyebrow. "I'm… a friend of hers. I just learned about the incident but… what really happened, I don't know…" she stammered uneasily.
Tifa looked away and began to mutter some words "I've seen your face from afar in a portrait of beauty and madness…"
Elena frowned slightly and then turned to the nurse. He was shaking his head in pity as he examined the young woman's present state. "She's been muttering that poem ever since she woke up… I don't know why… but at least the poem's really beautiful…" he said with a sad smile on his face before turning back to Elena. "We were able to save her but we supposed that she hit her head against the insides of that well when she fell or while she was falling; we're not really sure." He explained sadly.
"You mean she has amnesia?" Elena asked, her voice trembling.
"Meowrgh," Dark Nation chimed in, as if answering the question.
Elena turned to Dark Nation. "I…is that her cat?" she asked the nurse.
"We don't know… but people who had seen Tifa were claiming that that animal's been with her, following her around before the incident happened. Some folks even said that the animal carried a message in its mouth and gave it to Tifa, and after she read it, she just cried and then suddenly, she started walking around the town, this black animal following her around. But I tell you this cat is very smart. After Tifa fell inside, she ran and went to the nearest house, catching the attention of some village folk. She made them follow her and led them to the well until they found out that there was this young woman inside the well." He explained as he patted Dark Nation's head.
Elena scanned dark Nation and raised her eyebrow. "You did that?" she asked, hardly believing it.
"Meowrgh," Dark Nation replied with a snobbish look in her eyes.
Elena remembered that the nurse mentioned something about the message. "What… you mentioned something about a message…" she stammered as she turned back to him.
"It looked like a letter. Nobody knows where it is right now," he replied as he turned to Tifa. "Hey, Miss Lockheart. It's time for your dinner." He said with a kind smile.
Tifa just looked at him with a blank stare.
His smile faded as he patted her head. "C'mon, don't look at me like that. You're beginning to scare me." He told her gently.
Elena came closer to Tifa and stared closely at her face.
She looked haggard and too weak to even speak to her, but she tried asking anyway, "Do you remember AVALANCHE?" she asked softly.
The nurse studied Elena.
Tifa slowly turned her gaze to Elena. "You mean snow from the mountains?" she asked softly.
Elena raised an eyebrow.
"Meowrgh…" Dark Nation meowed softly.
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