All Heaven in the Midnight of the Sun
Chapter Ten
Mist curled and twisted about the bodies of the dead, the ethereal whiteness mixing with the red that stained the ground. The bodies were of Moogles and human alike, crumpled in the stances of battle. Figures moved through the mist, black twisted things like dogs that giggled in their unintelligible tongues and licked the blood from the grass.
Something flashed in the mist, and one of the black thing lay dead, cut in two. Garret Audias turned and spat, then resheathed his sword. His head jerked up as a whistle sounded somewhere in the mist. He straightened to attention as another man strode briskly towards him. It was the captain.
"Do not waste your time on those scum. They just make cleaning the battlefield that much easier for us. Now come on, Audias. We need your help dealing with some prisoners."
Trying not to betray his excitement, Garret followed. This mist closed in behind them, leaving only the corpses and the black things that capered and giggled amongst them.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The prisoners were lined up on the outskirts of camp, their wrists in shackles. All were moogles, and as Garret looked at them, he felt a momentary twinge of regret. They are like children. But he shoved that thought away. He had killed many moogles in his service to the Emperor, and he knew that they were deadly, competent fighters when they had to be. He looked down the line, his blue eyes cold and hard. The wind whipped across the battlefield, and it brought with it the sounds of the demons that covered the battlefield. Garret tried not to shudder, but he saw that the moogles all jumped and began to quiver in fear. He felt that twinge again, and pushed it down again, more violently. The captain's voice spoke from behind him, cold and mocking.
"Hear that? They've eaten your friends, and I imagine they'll be eating you soon. The price is slight for the crime of defying the Emperor."
"We defied nobody," a voice said from midway down the line. The captain's eyes bulged in surprise.
"Which one of you miserable scum said that? Stand forward, if you are not a coward!"
One of the moogles stood forward. Garret could see the fear coming off of him in waves, but the moogle still stood firm and looked the captain directly in the eyes. Garret respected that. The moogle caught his eye, and Garret could not hold his gaze. He looked away.
"We defied nobody. Your soldiers came here and began to slaughter us! We were only protecting ourselves."
The captain laughed and shook his head.
"Then you indeed defied us. The Emperor decreed you wiped form the face of the Earth, and you stood against his will. For this you will die."
He unsheathed his sword.
"Would you like any last words, scum?"
Incredibly, the moogle smiled. "I-"
"Too damn bad," the captain said, and his sword flickered through the air.
It stopped an inch from the moogle's face with a clash as it met Garret's sword.
Garret looked the captain in the eye, and saw the fear there. It pleased him. He pushed him back, and turned to the moogle.
"You were saying?"
"I...was just saying that I will relish the day when his corpse is the one feeding the demons."
Garret turned back to the captain, and saw with no surprise that two more soldiers were standing behind him. He smiled.
"This is not necessary, Captain. If these moogles want to state their case before the Emperor, it is their right. It is the right of all under his rule."
The captain grimaced.
"Even for a Tachikaze, you always did think too much of your own importance. That right is for humans only, not this filth."
Garret tensed.
"But you seem to enjoy being filth, so you shall die like it."
All three moved forward at once. Garret moaned in agony, and brought his hands to his head. This was not what he wanted. This was insane. But it was too late. He unsheathed his sword just as the two soldiers moved in from either side.
"Please, Captain."
"Don't talk to me like a human, you traitor," the captain said, and all three moved forward at once. Garret stifled a sob, and then he disappeared. Everyone gasped.
And then one of the soldier's gasps turned into a gurgling scream as a sword punched through his chest. The other soldier moved forward, growling in fury, and his head left his body before he even knew what was happening. The captain gasped in shock, and then he rushed forward, sword swinging. It hit only empty air. And then he felt his hair being grabbed and his head pulled back, and a voice whispered into his ear.
"I am sorry, Captain."
Then Garret slit his throat.
The entire battle had been over in a matter of seconds. Garret turned back to the shocked moogles, his body slick with blood. He grabbed the keys from the captain's belt and used them to unlock the moogle who had stepped forward.
"Help the others. I will provide the distraction while you get out of here."
And with that, he strode off, deeper into the camp. Moments later, the screams began.
The moogles were quickly freed, and they ran into the mist, all save one.
"Kurin! What are you doing!"
The moogle who had defied an Emperor looked back to see another moogle gesturing at him frantically. He shook his head.
"Go. I want to find the man who saved my life."
The other moogle just stared at him, and then turned and ran.
Kurin knelt next to a dead soldier and took his sword, and without looking back, walked into the mist.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Garret smiled through the blood that splattered his face. His sword rested lightly against his thigh.
"This is it?" he screamed. "This is all you've got? Twenty men cannot stand against one?"
Battle madness had taken hold, and he saw the world through a haze of red. Any reluctance towards killing his fellow men had long gone. In truth, he did not even remember what he was fighting for. But how grand it was to fight again!
Two arrows whistled through the air, and he brought his sword up to counter. One was knocked away, but the other buried itself into his left leg. He stumbled, and the men who had fired the arrows stepped forward, flanked by three other soldiers. He grinned through his dripping red hair at them.
"Nice to see some new folks. I was starting to think this shithole was deserted."
Quick as lightning, two more arrows were fired. One hit him in the side, the other in his left arm. He fell to his knees. One of the soldiers stepped forward, his sword raised above his head to cleave Garret in two. Before he could scream, his legs disappeared below the knees. As he fell, Garret's sword speared his heart. He threw the corpse at his comrades, and as one of the archers caught it, he cut the corpse, and the man holding it in half with one stroke. He jumped into the air, and came down upon the other archer with his sword extended. It punched through the back of his head and skewered the soldier behind him. But with that his energy was expended, and he crumpled to the ground. The last remaining soldier stared at the bloodied corpses of his comrades for a moment, and then, his eyes full of rage, he raised his sword to strike the killing blow.
The last thing he ever saw was a sword sticking out through his chest. He crumpled, and as Garret watched in disbelief, the moogle he had saved stepped over the corpse and offered his hand. He blacked out.
- - - - - - - - - -
The story was over and Aeris stared over the campfire at her two companions with disbelief. The dark walls of the cave flickered in the silence. At last, she stood up and walked out of the cave, her head lowered. Kurin and Garret sat and looked after her, and then at each other.
"Go after her," Kurin said.
"Why should I? It's raining! And anyway, you're the fuzzy one."
"Why the hell does that matter?"
"Because fuzzy animals are more comforting than soldiers at a time like this!"
Kurin glared at him, then lay down and closed his eyes. Garret sighed, and walked out of the cave.
He found Aeris sitting on the ledge above the mouth of the cave; her head turned up into the pounding rain. With some difficulty, he climbed the slick rocks and sat down next to her.
"Did I upset you?" he asked.
She turned to him and smiled sadly.
"No, it just reminded me of a story of my own. After I died, and after Sephiroth was defeated, Cloud swore that he would find me, and the Promised Land. He spent the rest of his life penniless, and though Tifa and his friends tried to stop him, he wandered the world looking for me. Tifa tried to follow him, and he told her that it was his quest, and his alone, and she could not come with him anymore. He deserted the girl that loved him for me; he deserted any hope of a happy life. I remember looking on through the Lifestream and hearing his last words. He had come to the place where I had died in some vain hope that he could find me there, but he was too old and too weak and too hungry too climb those stairs back. He had found the body of Tifa, who had followed her love all this time, butchered by monsters several days earlier. And as he lay dying on the altar, he said, 'I can't find it, Aeris. I can't find it.' And he joined the Lifestream and became one with the world again, but I never same any of them again, any of my old friends."
Garret's shock only increased when she embraced him, sobbing into his chest.
"What did he ever do to deserve that!? What did I ever do to deserve this!?" she screamed. Her arms clenched around him as the sobs wracked her body.
He could not answer. He could only sit there, holding her, as the rain came down and mingled with his tears.