Chapter 6: At the Breaking Point
Disclaimer: I don't own the ff7. Really? Gee, I never would have guessed.
Finally! This chapter is huge. I think I must have the biggest chapters on here. Oh well, lots of reading material, right? This gets harder and harder every second…whew. I know I am a horrible critic of myself. It's kind of a bad habit, but it also makes me strive to do better each time I put out a new chapter. I'm trying to keep up the good work. I'm getting the feeling that this might be a pretty long story. I hope no one minds. Enjoy the 6th chapter! ( it must be 6:30 in the morning and I haven't gone to bed)
What time was it? Not time for me to wake up I hope though I had the sneaking suspicion that it was. The simple movement of my hand was enough to trigger immense amounts of pain from the muscles in my arm. Last night had taken more out of me then I thought. Walking was not something I wanted to think about. Moving in general gave me bad vibes.
Last night… It was a wonder how I managed to sleep at all with so many fears plaguing my mind. I suppose my body was simply too exhausted to stay awake. Now that I'd finally awakened I was back to thinking about all that had happened yesterday.
So Scarlet and her boss had hired thieves as their army. I suppose if you're in need of manpower there is no better place to go. Especially when you're up to no good. The Diamond Backs had always been known for their love for bloodshed back in the days when Midgar was still a massive city of power. They were also by far the strongest, they controlled just about everything on the streets. It really was no surprise that they were working for Scarlet.
But what exactly were they going for? World domination? That didn't sound right and besides, the black materia didn't do that. The last time I checked it summoned meteor and that was it, but Scarlet had spoken of a hidden power. Now they were running Avalanche members down to find it. How many of us had already been captured? It was almost a certainty that Barret and Cid had fallen into the hands of the enemy after Scarlet's reference to the girls. She knew of Marlene's existence, but not Melony's. The only way she'd know was if they had gotten their slimly hands on the girls.
Damn. So many complications, why couldn't things go smoothly for once? Things never went smoothly. There was always something around to mess it up. There had to be a way to get the girls back. They couldn't defend themselves like everyone else and their lives were in the most danger out of everyone. Scarlet knew exactly how to get to me the wench.
The sound of the door opening snapped me out of my thoughts and my eyes opened for the first time.
"Still asleep." Sephiroth muttered.
My head shot up from the pillows in retaliation to his comment and I was overcome by pain. "Ouch!" I yelped freezing into a sitting position. That hurt really, REALLY bad. I took a deep breath and tried to relax. "As you can see…I'm not asleep."
"So noted." Sephiroth frowned. "Sore?"
"Just a little." I answered my eyes falling on the banana in his hand. My stomach growled hungrily.
Sephiroth's eyes narrowed. "What?"
"Oh!" I said blankly realizing that I'd been staring. "Sorry."
He sighed and handed what was left of the fruit to me. "Here, take it. I've already had one anyways and you're obviously hungry."
I smiled brightly taking the banana from his hand. "Thank you." I beamed and took a bite.
"Satisfactory?" He questioned.
I nodded vigorously. "Very!" It was beyond satisfactory. I hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon! Anything would suffice right at the moment…well maybe not anything.
The banana didn't last long and I was still hungry when it was gone, but that would have to wait for the time being. There was something much more important at hand that had to be addressed.
Sephiroth watched me intently while pulling on his gloves. "It seems we've got a mess on our hands. Do you mind filling me in on last nights happenings?"
I tried to relax and clear my mind. There were so many things that had to be explained. "Scarlet is working for someone who's looking for the black materia. She said something about it having a hidden power. Those of us in Avalanche were the last ones to have it after your defeat so they are coming after us." I stopped to catch my breath. "It seems that one of the thieve groups from Midgar is backing them up too. That's where they are getting their man power."
He rested his elbows on his thighs and his chin on his hands listening carefully to my explanation. "Does Avalanche have the black materia still?" He asked.
"Sort of." I mumbled. That was the best way to sum it up. Sure it sounded extremely vague, but it really was the best that I could do!
"What do you mean 'sort of'?" Sephiroth frowned.
I bit my lip and played with the banana peel in my hands. "You see…it kind of…split in half. After we defeated you that is." I explained. "We've got one half and the other half disappeared into the life stream. It could be anywhere."
"It split in half?" Sephiroth echoed in astonishment. "I didn't even know that was possible!"
I nodded. "Yes, in half. It probably doesn't have any power at all anymore, but I don't know. I'm not exactly a genius when it comes to the workings of materia. I've never had one break in half. I've never even heard of such a thing, but that's what happened." And it only gets weirder.
"Oh it still has power I'm sure." Sephiroth advised me. "Maybe not as much as it used to, but it still does and now that power has been distributed to two pieces. This is very dangerous."
"There's more though." I said. "You see…I'm the only one who knows where the one half is. All of us agreed that it was the safest thing to do so that if someone did come looking for it they would not have very many leads." I said. "Cloud had passed on the information to me before going to the Promise Land with Aeris."
"And?" Sephiroth prodded.
"It reformed." I answered. "The half formed into a smaller orb and now instead of completely black it glows red in the center."
Sephiroth's brown lowered in a disturbing manner. "That is extremely strange." He commented. "You don't have it with you, do you?" He asked his eyes narrowing.
I shifted my gaze to the window nervously and nodded. "I do." I answered quietly.
"Are you sure that is wise?" He asked. "If you were to be capture you'd be handing it right over to him, though I can see why you might want to keep it with you at all times."
"There was no place for us to put it so Cloud simply gave it to me and said to keep it safe. Besides it's not like I just stuffed it in my pocket." I frowned. "I put it somewhere inconspicuous."
"Where is it then?" He asked.
My eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why do you want to know?" I asked.
Sephiroth tossed his hands into the air. "Oh for god's sake woman! Do you really think I'm going to take it from you and destroy the world? If I were really after world domination than I'd have done it a long time ago, which you very well know! I'm only trying to help."
"I'm sorry, I was just being careful. You don't have to get angry." I answered while pulling my hair over my shoulder. My fingers closed around the black ribbon that formed a bow around my hair and pulled it apart. A small orb rolled out from beneath the folds of the silk bow and into my hands. Its center glowed a wine colored red much like my eyes. "Here." I placed it in his hand.
He studied the orb with a calculative eye. "How strange." He murmured. The red light began to glow even brighter and tiny bolts of lighting shot out from its interior zapping his hand. "Shit!" He cursed and instinctively dropped it to the floor.
My hand shot out and caught it mid way. "What on earth was that?" I asked watching it cautiously. The orb gave no hint of harming me. "I've never seen it do that before, are you alright?" I asked.
The lighting had burnt holes in his glove. "I'm fine." He answered pulling off the wrecked glove. "But this isn't." He sighed and tossed it into the garbage can. "I've never seen anything like this before, but for whatever reason it seems to have chosen you as its holder."
"But it didn't do that to Cloud when he had it!" I answered bewildered by the whole thing. This was extremely strange.
"He was probably its first choice, but when he left it had to chose another and that was you." Sephiroth replied. "This calls for an investigation of huge proportion. There must be something that explains this phenomenon. I'm curious to know and I get the feeling this hidden power Scarlet mentioned has everything to do with this."
"But where will we find information about it?" I asked.
"The best place to look is either in the old Shin-Ra mansion, the City of the Ancients or Cosmo Canyon." Sephiroth replied walking up beside the widow for a moment to look out. "But for now, we'll head to Wutai as planned and see what has gone on there. Yuffie may have escaped for all we know and if she did we'll need all the help we can get. We're dealing with something vastly dangerous here. That other piece is floating around somewhere and we need to find it before they do."
I nodded. "But they don't know it's split in two."
"We can't be sure. They most likely don't know, but they might figure it out." Sephiroth answered. "We must be cautious."
"They have Cid's daughter and Barret's too!" I stated worriedly. "Scarlet threatened to hurt them, possibly worse if I didn't cooperate. If anything happens to them I don't think I could live with myself." I whispered anxiously. "We have to do something."
He was watching me again with a curious expression. "If they mean that much to you we'll get them back. No harm will come to them, I promise you." He assured me and stepped away from the window. "We're just about to dock. I'm going to talk with the captain again before we go to gather any extra information he might have. It turns out he was one of my Soldiers back in the Wutai war so there's no need to worry about him causing trouble. When you're ready to go come get me."
"Ok." I answered and tried to move my legs. The action proved harder then I thought it would be. My legs apparently had not intention of moving and upon having to nearly paralyzed me with pain. I cringed as I forced them out from under the covers.
Sephiroth was on his way out the door when he stopped. He dug around in his pocket and pulled out a small bottle. "Take this." He commanded and threw it to me. "It will make you feel much better."
"Thank you." I answered and picked up the small potion.
He nodded and closed the door behind him.
I stared down at the potion curiously. He could be trying to poison me, but I seriously doubted it. The top popped of easily and I drained the cool liquid. Whatever it was it sure had a buzz to it.
It was a trial getting my boots on, but the worst part was standing up. Somehow I managed to do it without collapsing though my muscles certainly wanted to. I checked about the room to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything. Sephiroth's black cloak had seemingly disappeared. He might have lost it last night for all I know. I sighed and headed out the door in a very slow walk.
I made my way to the mini restaurant, which was still serving food thankfully. I bought a turkey sandwich and a bottle of water, and took a seat at one of the tables. People were bustling about with their luggage buying food to take with them on their way to Wutai. It appeared that they were still slightly edgy from the night before and eager to get away.
After finishing my sandwich and water I headed up to the top to search for Sephiroth. The staircases were hell on my muscles, but the potion was already working its magic and I was starting to feel better. When I found him he was talking with the captain and several other sailors. The conversation seemed to be important and urgent so I just waited.
Minutes passed and I found myself pacing back and forth in annoyance. As more time went by I grew more impatient and stopped, placing my hands on my hips. I glared agitatedly at the group of men who'd yet to notice my presence. How long was this going to take? I sighed in defeat and spun on my heel to leave. If he was going to talk for the rest of the day I had much better things to do rather than wait around here.
So I headed back down the stairs leaving them behind me. I reached the deck and started off for the exit ramp. After wandering around lost for a bit I finally found it.
"Where do you think you're going?" Sephiroth's voice rang out from above me.
I jumped and followed the voice to the balcony above me. "Oh, so you're finally finished talking?" I frowned irritably. "I would have thought you'd notice me waiting out there. I just gave up in the end."
"I told you to come get me. You could have said something." He replied and leapt over the railing with ease landing in front of me. He smirked. "Who needs stairs?"
"I do." I replied narrowly. "And I didn't come get you because I didn't want to interrupt your conversation. It looked important." I said. "So what WERE you talking about then?"
"We can speak while we walk." Sephiroth said and started off.
"Well?" I asked as we descended upon the ramp.
"It seems that Reeve has disappeared. The entire Shin-Ra Corporation is in complete disarray now that their president is gone and no one is paying attention to the fact that several other Avalanche members have gone missing. The situation at hand worsens every minute." He sighed. "There is still no word about Yuffie. Either Scarlet failed or Wutai doesn't want anyone to know that their leader's successor has disappeared."
We came to a stop just outside of the dock. I silently prayed for Yuffie's safety. Several others had already disappeared, who was left other than myself? "You said some of the others are gone. Who else?"
"Barret and his daughter, Cid and his family, and Reeve is all. Nanaki fled Cosmo Canyon it seems or at least that's the impression everyone seems to be getting from the reports. He must have realized something was going on." Sephiroth answered.
"I wonder if Vincent knows too?" I asked thoughtfully.
"There was no word of him." Sephiroth said.
"I'm not surprised. He spends most of his time wondering about. We never know where he is." I smiled lightly. He was the most mysterious and standoffish of everyone, but he'd open up to me sometimes. Poor man. "He'd be one of the hardest to find and capture."
"Let us hope that he has escaped their grasp." Sephiroth said. "Shall we head for Wutai then?"
"I guess so." I answered.
A drop of rain fell onto the bridge my nose as we started off towards Wutai. It was only 2 miles East of here. Most people hired chocobo carriages, but we wouldn't need one. I preferred walking anyways, it help loosened my muscles. So far the potion Sephiroth had given me had helped a lot. At least I could walk without too much pain. Fighting was a different story however. If anything got in our way Sephiroth was the one to deal with it.
After the first mile my legs were already feeling weak and tired again. I'd slowed down considerably and trailed a good distance behind Sephiroth in my fatigue.
Eventually he stopped and waited for me to catch up.
"How are you feeling?" He asked as I approached.
"Fine!" I answered putting on my best smile. Why I bothered lying I don't know. He could always tell.
He frowned. "You're exhausted."
"So? It's ok." I said. "We're almost there."
"Alright then." He answered and we continued on.
We attracted numerous people's attention once we entered the town. I was relieved to reach a stopping point yet terrified of the consequences that might come from Sephiroth's presence. People watched us with an abundance of different expressions. Most expressed pure shock, others fear, some hate and some curiosity.
After a while the villager's expression changed into confusion and bewilderment. I knew the feeling, it happened to me only a few days ago when I first saw him. They knew that he was Sephiroth yet they saw someone completely different from the cold-blooded murderer he'd turned into years ago. This seemed to satisfy them enough to leave us alone.
We stepped inside the inn where several more pairs of eyes fell on us. The whole room went completely silent as they just stared at us.
The woman at the clerk table froze her hands trembling as I approached. "T-Tifa Lockheart!" She exclaimed. "What a-a pleasant surprise." She gulped her gaze trailing to the silver haired general who loomed above me. "Y-you'll be n-needing a room f-f-for two?"
I nodded with a smile. "Yes please."
"Mattress beds?" She questioned.
"That would do fine." I answered and pulled out some money.
"That'll be 50 gil." She said.
I handed her the money and she gave me the key.
"Number 8." She added.
"Thank you." I smiled and disappeared into the hall to search for the room. Sephiroth walked in complete silence behind me. "That didn't go bad at all."
"No." He answered. "We must be extra careful around here. Scarlet knows you're here, but I'm betting she won't show her face around here for a while if they did try and capture Yuffie last night. Wutai is on the alert by the looks of the people. Something has happened I can guarantee it."
"Yes, it does seem that way." I answered as the door swung open. A gust of cool fresh air blew into our faces. I gave a sigh of relief and flopped onto one of the two beds. "I'm so tired." I yawned.
"It's only 5." Sephiroth said. "Don't you want to find out if Yuffie's alright? You can't do that if your sleeping."
"I know that." I groaned in annoyance. I bolted up to a sitting position and hurled a pillow at his head.
His eyes widened and a gloved hand shot up catching it inches away from his face. "Almost." He smirked and hurled the pillow back at me with extraordinary speed.
There was no time at all for me to defend myself and it smacked me right in the face. "Jerk!" I yelled half giggling and jumped to my feet. He was half way out the door by now. "Wait for me!" I cried and hurried after him.
"Oh, so now you're coming?" He asked/
"Of course! I've got to keep an eye on you." I said with a grin and slid passed him.
The rest of the evening we spent questioning people trying to find answers and in the rain no less. In the end we didn't find out all that much, but from what people had said we concluded that Yuffie hadn't been captured. However she'd disappeared after last night's incident and hadn't come back since. No one knew where she was except possibly her father, but he would say nothing. Probably to protect his daughter's safety.
It was a fairly exhausting day over all and I was relieved to finally be able to rest. The moment we entered our room I crashed onto the bed and fell asleep instantly. Now I could sleep.
Morning came with rays of joyful sunlight peaking though the lilac trees outside the window and into the room. I sat up and stretched my arms a moan of satisfaction escaping my lips. I glanced over at Sephiroth who was still sound asleep a peaceful expression etched on his face. He rarely looked so happy and it was in his sleep!
I grinned mischievously. Now I could look at him all I wanted and no one would know! You evil woman!
He'd removed his trench coat I noted as my eyes trailed down his neck and landed on his bare muscular shoulders. Stop starring I thought to myself and forced my eyes away. I looked out the window at the roses and lilacs. I loved lilacs! They had the most wonderful scent. There wasn't another flower that could compare with them, not even the rose.
I approached the window and opened it letting the sweet smell of flowers and new fallen rain flood the room. What a lovely day. What time was it? The clock on the wall read 9 pm. Sephiroth was sleeping late again. What did he do all night?
My fingers slipped through my hair and massaged my scalp. It was time to take a shower I think. My muscles probably wouldn't mind it either. They were still sore, but not quite as much as they were yesterday.
I tip toed into the bathroom and took a quick refreshing shower. When I returned Sephiroth was awake sitting on his bed with his back turned to me. He was putting on his boots as far as I could tell.
His head raised and tilted slightly to one side in acknowledgement to my arrival. I continued to watch him as I stepped over to the window. Why did I find him so captivating? Perhaps it had something to do with his vastly good looks and the fact that he was always coming to my rescue. Nothing made my heart dance more than being rescued by a dashing knight in shining armor. It seemed that my heart had already made up its mind and had no intentions of changing it.
He turned around very suddenly startling me and I jumped. "Good morning!" I said hastily my face flushing a deep red. I started to chew my lip rather violently. "Sleep well?" Caught in the act again. Sure he knew anyways that I'd been watching him, but when you're actually caught doing it, now that's different.
"Very." He answered grinning at me. "And you?"
"Extremely well!" I smiled. He was laughing at me again behind his eyes. "I'm starving. Do you want to get something to eat? When you're ready that is?" I asked hopefully.
"Alright." He replied and began pulling on the remainder of his clothing.
I turned around to admire the flowers some more. A lilac hung very close to the window. My eyes brightened and I slipped my arm outside to try and grasp it. After a great deal of frustration and failure I gave up. When I turned around Sephiroht was watching me his eyes sparkling with amusement.
I held my head high and strutted past him with what little of my dignity I had left.
He chuckled lightly and followed me out.
Breakfast didn't last long and we were back at square one trying to find any new information that might have come up. Sephiroth pondered for a while on what our next move should be and decided that we'd look around a bit and see if we ran across Yuffie anywhere. If we didn't find her we would have to head back over to the middle continent and search for more information on the black materia.
I was still worried sick about Melony and Marlene of course not to mention everyone else. It must have shown for Sephiroth gave me a concerned look as we came upon the path that led to the mountains.
He studied the path thoughtfully. "Let's go up the mountain path and relax for a little while." He suggested. "There's no need to worry Tifa. Everything will be fine."
"I hope so." I answered softly and followed him up the path.
We came across a small meadow with large boulder scattered about here and there. Sephiroth came to a stop here and bounded up on top of one of the large rocks. "This is a nice spot." He said looking about him.
"Yes it is." I agreed taking a seat on a small boulder. He seemed strangely chipper today, more then usual that was for sure.
"Let's spar." Sephiroth said and jumped down onto the ground. He leaned his sword against the boulder and approached me.
"What!" I shrieked jumping up from the rock and taking a few steps away from it. He stopped right in front of me. "You must be jok-" Without any warning whatsoever my legs were kicked out from under me and I suddenly lay on my back. I sat up fuming with anger. "You bastard!" I hissed. "How dare you!"
He grinned smugly. "That was pathetically easy."
I flew to my feet. "You'll pay for that!" I cried and went at him with my fists. No matter what I did he always blocked me and it was infuriating! What was worse is he appeared to be bored. He wasn't even trying!
"Come now, you can do better than that!" Sephiroth chuckled.
My mouth twisted angrily and I clenched my fists tighter. I charged forward with an attack and was once again on the ground in seconds, but this time my recovery was much quicker and I was able to kick his legs out from under him. He slammed into the ground with a loud thud.
"Ha!" I exclaimed getting to my feet victoriously. "There you go you arrogant ass!" I smiled.
Now he was angry, obviously taken by surprise. He got to his feet and this time he attacked me. I panicked and lamely defended myself once again being flipped back onto the ground. A small rock stabbed me in the back and I let out a sharp cry of pain.
He came to my side immediately. "Are you alright?" He asked worriedly.
An idea popped up in my head in that very moment. My lips curved into an evil smile as he took my hand and pulled me to my feet. My fist shot out in an instant and struck him in the stomach stunning him. I followed up with an elbow to his chest and finished with a roundhouse kick that landed right on the side of his face.
The force of the blow knocked him off his feet and onto his back. I stood completely still my eyes wide in astonishment and shock. I couldn't believe what I'd just done! The fact that I'd succeeded was the most alarming part, but satisfying just the same.
He sat up very slowly his eyes flaming with furry and a queer sort of envy. I'd never seen him so angry before. For a split second the thought of running was very tempting. Damn I kicked his ass! I couldn't help but feel slightly joyous though his glare chased most of it away.
Perhaps I'd gone too far. I stood rigid and uncertain as I watched him. At least he appeared to be ok. The right side of his face was red from the blow though, but he was a quick healer.
"You cunning little snipe." He hissed getting to his feet. "Very intelligent, I must hand it to you. Not many people have made me look like a fool the way you did. Now it's my turn."
Here comes major bodily injury. I trembled as he came towards me his face completely serious. Put it together Tifa! It was time I started acting like the martial artist Zanghan trained me to be! Smart, calculative and instinctive. He'd said that I had the potential to be the best. Even though I was massively out classed, I'd make a fight of it and Zanghan would be proud of me wherever he was.
I awaited Sephiroth's attack patiently trying to figure out his strategy. It was not easy to anticipate his moves because he was so fast. A lot of the time I was on the ground before I even saw it coming, but this time I would concentrate harder.
He approached me carefully testing for my weaknesses and strong points. I fended him off easily, which boosted my confidence. I was in much better control of myself this time around. Everything I did was carefully planned and executed. Yet it still wasn't enough. At least this time I put up a decent fight and I even snuck in a few blows of my own. His endurance would be the end of me though. The man never got tired!
I stumbled from exhaustion and he took immediate advantage of it. My legs were knocked out from under me once again. I retaliated from the ground and just barely caught him behind the knees. They buckled and he landed on the ground beside me with a groan.
I rolled over and attempt to get up, but his hand caught my wrist before I could get away. In a split second his entire body had me pinned to the ground. He held my wrists tightly in his grasp and didn't intend on letting go any time soon from the looks of things.
I struggled but to no avail. He was simply too strong. "Let me go!" I yelled angrily trying to free my hands. I was helpless against him and he knew it the bastard!
He grinned nastily. "You're not going anywhere milady." He whispered.
My entire body began to tremble beneath him the closeness between us becoming almost unbearable. Even though I was his prisoner I welcomed his warmth and ceased my struggling. Our gazes locked and I melted into his beautiful eyes. This was too much I thought. "Please get off." I begged. Before I fall madly in love with you…but it was too late for that. I already had.
He said nothing, only studied my face very carefully.
Our faces were only inches apart and I could feel his breath against my cheek. My skin tingled and I shivered. Why did he have to tempt my heart in such a way?
A war was battling behind Sephiroth's eyes. Emotion dug its talons into the both of us and we could no longer hold back the urge to fall captive to desire.
His mouth covered mine in an almost violent kiss. It was so astounding and shocking that I almost couldn't believe it was happening, but the warmth of his lips was real and he was real too.
I'd never been kissed before in my life and had never dreamt it would be this wonderful! I acted on pure instinct and kissed him back eagerly wanting more. He released my wrists allowing me to wrap my arms around his neck and pull him closer while his own hands clamped around my waist.
Right here and now, I was completely safe and loved in his arms. I hadn't felt that way for many long years. I'd do anything to keep it now, but nothing ever lasted and I knew that he was uncertain and afraid of these emotions. Even in this moment of need I could sense his hesitation. Could he truly love me?
With an agonizing groan Sephiroth broke away. He breathed heavily staring down at me with disbelief and fear. His eyes were a blur of confusion, frustration and wanting. "We mustn't do this." He whispered hoarsely and stood up abruptly. He tore his gaze away from me and turned his back to me shamefully. "It can never be."
Tears of hurt began to roll down my face. So close to mending my shattered heart only to have the shards broken even further. Of course we couldn't, he was immortal and I was not. For some reason up till now I'd not thought about it, it hadn't mattered. Now that it did I found that I could barely breath from the painful realization.
Why oh why did the world treat me this way? Did I deserve no happiness after so many years of struggle? What had I done that was so wrong to deserve this torment? I'd managed to hold myself together through all of the pain and keep going only to be forced back down once again. I wrapped my arms around me trying in vain to comfort myself from the sudden cold that surrounded me.
I pushed myself to my feet wiping the tears away. Someday I'd thought…not anymore though. Fine then! Throw me down as if you think it won't hurt! Perhaps you don't realize how damned in love with you I am! The first time was bad enough, but the second time? So close and yet so far… I was reaching the breaking point.
So much anger at the world rooted itself inside me. I turned away and marched up the path towards the mountains. After that incident I'd rather not be in his vicinity, it was too painful. Lost and broken I stumbled about with no destination in mind. I stopped at the base of the mountain and clenched my fists. In a moment of rage I snarled and punched the rock with my fist. It sent a jolt of pain up my entire arm, but I didn't care.
"That's unhealthy you know?" Someone chuckled form behind me.
I spun around to find Scarlet, Evan, and 10 others. "Scarlet." I frowned crossing my arms in front of my chest. "You wanted something?" I growled.
"Yes actually, I do want something." She answered. "Oh, I've brought some friends of yours." She smiled and snapped her fingers.
To men walked out from behind the trees hauling Melony and Marlene with them.
I froze as fear clenched at my heart. "Marlene! Melony!" I whispered.
"Tifa!" They both cried gleefully.
"Shut up!" Scarlet hissed. "If either of them says another word hit them."
I clenched my teeth with bitter hatred for the witch standing before me. "Don't you dare touch those girls! I'll give you what you want, but only under one condition." I stated.
"And what is that?" Scarlet asked.
"You let them go." I ordered.
"Fair enough. I'm tired of the brats anyway." She answered giving them a look of disgust. "Where is the black materia?"
I shook my head slowly. "Let them go first, than we'll talk." I said.
Scarlet laughed, but it came out more like a revolting cackle. "You obviously don't understand who's in power here. You will come with us and then we will set the girls free."
I really hated that bitch. "Fine." I hissed and waited as Evan approached along with another. I stiffened as their hands clamped down on my arms.
Evan smirked. "It's a pleasure to see you again."
"It'll be a pleasure wiping that grin off your face." I muttered. "Bastard."
Scarlet smiled. "Perfect, call the helicopters."
I glared at her expectedly. "Well? We had an agreement didn't we?"
She grinned. "You're such a fool! You didn't actually think I was going to go along with it did you? Besides I made a promise to my boss. Professor Lorse would love to use these two young specimens for his experiments. He was Hojo's apprentice you know? He'll make them invincible warriors just like Sephiroth! You should be happy for them!"
My face paled. "Dear god." I breathed. Of course I shouldn't have believed her! I didn't, but I knew that I really had no choice. I hadn't given up just yet though. "You're such a lying son of a bitch!" I spat.
A surge of energy engulfed me suddenly and fog swirled around us. Two screams shattered the air. They came from the two men who held Melony and Marlene. I could just barely make them out as they fell limply to the ground behind the startled girls.
Evan forced me to the ground and twisted my arm behind me painfully.
"Run Marlene! Take Melony up into the mountains!" I yelled urgently.
Marlene nodded and took Melony's hand in hers. They raced through the fog and disappeared.
"Tifa!" A familiar voice yelled.
"Yuffie!" I responded in astonishment. "Get out of here!"
"What the hell is going on!" Scarlet shrieked.
"It's some sort of spell!" Evan said angrily. "We've got to get out of here! Where the #$ are the damn helicopters?"
I groaned and tried to move, but Evan held me fast. Damn.
"Let her go you scum!" Yuffie exclaimed. She was somewhere to the left of us.
Evan wrenched me to my feet and another man grabbed my other arm before I could use it. "Come on!" Evan growled.
My ears picked up the sound of helicopters amidst the angry shouts of what remained of Scarlet's men. I twisted my head around to search for Yuffie. Her face appeared suddenly in the middle of the fog. "Yuffie! Get the girls!"
"But-" She started.
"Please! Sephiroth is here! He'll help you." I exclaimed. "You have to trust me!"
Evan punched me in the stomach to silence me.
"Sephiroth!" She yelped in befuddlement. Someone suddenly appeared behind her and grabbed her. She flailed about trying to free herself and was getting absolutely nowhere by doing so. The man started to haul her towards the helicopters and she tried to kick him, but missed.
"Stupid bastard!" Yuffie yelled.
I struggled against my own captors the need to get to my friend stronger than ever, but there was no chance. We'd both been caught. Evan punched me in the stomach again to settle me down. "You're a persistent little bitch."
"Come on you idiots!" Scarlet snapped. "We've got to get out of here! Sephiroth will arrive any minute!"
We were only a few yards away from the helicopters now and I dug my heels into the ground.
"There he is!" Someone shouted.
"Son of bitch!" Evan cursed and pulled me harder but I resisted.
The fog was beginning to rise.
Yuffie was giving the man holding her a hell of a time, but not quite enough to get free. If only I get free for a second I could help her and maybe she could escape. Just like that a shield of energy surrounded me and the men holding me were flung away from me with extreme force. Where was this strange energy coming from? No time to waste thinking about it right now I thought. I ran as fast as I could to Yuffie's side and punched the guy holding her in the face. His arms released her and he fell to the ground unconscious.
"Thanks!" She breathed.
"Your welcome." I answered quickly. The words 'Star Eclipse' echoed from behind us and I froze stiff. "Run Yuffie!" I cried urgently. "Now!"
She nodded and sped away to attack some nearby foes.
I jumped to one side trying to avoid the spell. It still managed to get me, but the damage was only minimal. Evan however hadn't wasted any time and had wrapped his arms around me in a death grip by the time I'd gotten to my feet.
"Sephiroth!" I shrieked at the top of my lungs as Evan drug me once more towards the helicopter.
The silver haired warrior lifted his head in an instant and fought his way in our direction, but he was not going to make it. Evan had already yanked me into the chopper and then he punched me in the face. "Shut up!" He snarled. "Let's get out of here!"
"Tifa!" Yuffie cried as the chopper lifted off the ground.
Sephiroth cleared the last of the men out of the way and glared up at us. "Damn it!" He cursed angrily his hands clenching into fists.
Our eyes met for a few split seconds. "Please keep them safe!" I pleaded to him both out loud and in my mind. "I'm sorry." I whispered as tears streaked down my cheeks. This was my fault.
There was so much fear and anger in his eyes. Was he mad at me?
I'll come for you my lady…Sephiroth's voice echoed inside my head as we flew away.
Thank you.
Author's Notes: I just got over a bad case of writer's block. The second half of my story I'm completely redoing and it's going to be much longer now and hopefully better. I just hope it doesn't fall apart. This is a really, REALLY long chapter. Wow! It's just so…long. Whew, ok. Read, enjoy and review!