Tifa sat up straight. A dream was still floating somewhere in her mind,
lingering faintly. She shook her head, trying to remember. Trees...and
Cloud was talking to Aeris, she didn't remember what they said...but she
was hiding from them, because there was blood on her hands again...
She shook her head again, pretending it didn't bother her as much as it did. In a few minutes, it won't even be a faint memory, she told herself firmly as she dressed.
They were staying in Gongaga now, in a tiny and rundown place that passed for the local inn. The lobby there hardly deserved the name, but was large enough to accommodate a silent Cloud and a raging Barret, who greeted Tifa with a grunted curse.
"Aeris is gone," he enlarged. "Damn kid ran off on us!"
Cloud was surprisingly calm, and already making an exit as Tifa appeared. "I told you, I know where she's gone. She's going to the City of the Ancients. We're following her."
Barret turned to Tifa and shrugged. "After everything that happened yesterday, he's still so @&*!$#% cold! Alright, well, I guess we're goin' to the City of Whatever." He followed Cloud out as nonchalantly as he could, but Tifa wasn't fooled. He was worried about last night's occurrences. They all were. AVALANCHE members didn't just go into trances and turn bad-guy, and then pass out. She didn't understand at all--but for some reason, she still trusted Cloud, although she wasn't sure of how the others felt. She wasn't even sure how Cloud felt.
She turned to go, trying to shake off the feeling that there was something about this whole situation that was remarkably familiar....She glanced down at her hands involuntarily, and felt a vague surprise when she saw that they were clean.
The Tiny Bronco's engine roared in her ears. Heartily wishing they had better means of transportation, she clung her seat and searched the horizon for land ahead. Next to her, Yuffie was looking slightly green but determined. Tifa smiled at the girl-warrior's behavior. She was never quite sure how seriously to take her. Usually, though, she treated her the way she treated everyone else--with respect and camaraderie. After all, despite her youth Yuffie's fighting skills were valuable and very necessary.
Cloud had the same inscrutable expression he usually wore, but today Tifa was getting a weird vibe from him--it was almost as if no one else existed. Or maybe it was more as if Cloud himself didn't exist. She noticed he was not scanning the horizon, like his companions. He was looking down into the shallow water in deep concentration.
The plane came to a noisy halt on the beach of the Northern Continent. Cloud still looked immersed in the sandy ocean floor, so Tifa tapped him gently on the shoulder. "Cloud? Cloud! Wake up. We're getting out." She grinned at him.
Cloud pretended to scowl back at her. "Who's sleeping?" He leapt off the wings and onto the sand, executing a smooth landing. He broke into a run towards the sparse-looking forest ahead of them. Tifa followed, jumping and landing face first. Blushing hotly, she ran after him, ignoring Yuffie's calls of "Wait up, guys!"
By the time they reached Bone Village, the forest was somewhat denser and a whole lot darker. They walked over to the first person they saw, who gave them a quick tour of the place and a long lecture on the value of the work they were doing. Finally, Cloud managed to break through with a few questions on the forest beyond the village.
The man waved off his question with a laugh. "Oh, there's nothing special there. Just a lot of trees. I wouldn't enter, though, if I were you. You'll make the locals nervous. Lot of superstition around the place." He refused to say anything else on the subject, no matter how hard they pressed him for more, so Cloud caught hold of a local woman and asked for the story.
The young woman told them all about it--it contained the spirit and magic of the Ancients, but was impenetrable without the Lunar Harp. Cloud asked her about the Harp, and she promised to dig for it.
"It's funny, though....A girl passed through here a little while ago, and she went into the forest, too, but she didn't have the Harp...She must be someone special, to be able to just waltz into the Sleeping Forest," said the woman speculatively.
"She is," replied Cloud quietly-so quietly that Tifa decided she might have imagined it.
Yuffie yawned loudly. "Can we turn in? I'm about to fall asleep." Tifa realized suddenly that she too was absolutely exhausted; it had been a long day.
Cloud looked at them and nodded. "All right then."
Tifa awoke in the slightly musty tent they had borrowed. Cloud was already awake, fully dressed, and holding a strangely curved harp in his lap. He smiled at her as she got out of bed, blinking sleep out of her eyes. "Yuffie and I have been up for HOURS. C'mon, slowpoke, let's get going." He left the room so she could dress.
She stumbled into the brilliant morning sun a few minutes later. Yuffie grabbed her arm and propelled her towards the forest; Cloud was already waiting for them at the edge. Reluctantly, Tifa joined them and they entered the Sleeping Forest.
The first feeling Tifa was hit with was a feeling of bedazzlement. The forest seemed to glow all on its own. The sharp light of the morning sun was gone, replaced by a softer, more luminous gleam that seemed to come from the forest itself, instead of the sky. But almost immediately after that, Tifa was hit with something else--a sensation of deja-vu. She had seen this place before....
Cloud had stopped short. He was looking all around him in wonder. "This is it...this is where I saw her!" he breathed. "She said she was going to stop Sephiroth..."
Suddenly Tifa understood--this was the place from her dream! Again she looked down at her hands as the memory came back. Cloud and Aeris talking...Aeris leaving...the blood on her hands...it rushed back. She swayed on the stop as she saw the tree she had hidden behind. It's real? she thought, dazed.
Cloud ran forward, then stopped. "This way, she's this way," he said, then ran on. Yuffie looked from the running figure of Cloud to the stone-still Tifa, not understanding. Well, not understanding everything. There was one thing she thought she understood, as she followed Tifa's gaze straight ahead to the spikey-headed young man running swiftly towards Aeris.
The Forgotten City was a dismal and somewhat unsettling place. The houses looked as if they had grown there, the roads looked as if no one had touched them in years--and yet they weren't overgrown. Cloud walked around the place with a timid reverence that would have been amusing, considering it was Cloud, if Tifa hadn't felt the same way--as if they were trespassing on sacred ground. Warily, the team entered a house on the right side of town that twisted in on itself as if it had been shaped out of a giant snail shell. At the top of the house were three beds. The three tired people sank onto them without a word.
A few hours later, Tifa woke up to violent shaking from Cloud in the bed next to her. "What? What IS it, Cloud?"
"Aeris is here. I heard her calling from the city. We're going to find her, now. She needs me." It occured to Tifa that Aeris didn't need them, apparently she just needed Cloud. She banished the thought quickly, but the deep pang of resentment and jealousy stayed.
A sleepy Yuffie looked up. "We're IN the city, Cloud. She's not here. We checked yesterday, remember?" She dropped back into sleep again, but Cloud kicked her in the shins and she woke up again with a start.
Cloud closed his eyes for a moment, as if he was concentrating deeply on something far away. "She's beneath us," he said finally. "Come on."
He left them up there, running through the coiled house. Yuffie and Tifa looked at each other, and with a shrug, Yuffie followed him.
Tifa caught up with Cloud and Yuffie along the center path. At the end of the path was what Tifa assumed was a kind of doorway. Through the doorway was a stairwell, which led down to one of the most amazing sights Tifa had ever seen.
An entire city lay beneath them, at the end of a long flight of unsupported crystal stairs. The city gleamed in an invisible light, and the whole place radiated with magic. Tifa gaped, as did Yuffie, but Cloud started running down immediately.
Tifa and Yuffie ran after him, somewhat frightened at the intensity on his face. They reached the bottom, and a short crystal path spread before them. At the end was a small shrine, where Aeris was knelt in prayer. Cloud advanced toward her, and Aeris looked up, smiling.
Without warning, Cloud swung his sword above his head. Tifa shrieked, and heard Yuffie do the same next to her. Cloud dropped his sword to the ground with a clatter, and clutched his head in his hands. Aeris seemed still locked in her silent trance.
Perhaps that's why neither of them saw Sephiroth before it was too late.
Tifa did, though. She saw him shoot downwards out of nowhere. She saw his sword pierce through Aeris's stomach, and saw him pull it back out again. She watched as Aeris crumpled soundlessly into Cloud's arms. When it suddenly dawned on her what had happened, she whimpered softly and turned head down, away from the sight in front of her.
Cloud looked up at Sephiroth, standing above him and laughing mirthlessly. He screamed at him in rage, but Tifa couldn't understand what he was saying. There was something far more important to her at the moment, more important to her personally, than Sephiroth or even Cloud.
Her hands were covered in blood.
She stared at them for a split second before she fainted dead away.
She shook her head again, pretending it didn't bother her as much as it did. In a few minutes, it won't even be a faint memory, she told herself firmly as she dressed.
They were staying in Gongaga now, in a tiny and rundown place that passed for the local inn. The lobby there hardly deserved the name, but was large enough to accommodate a silent Cloud and a raging Barret, who greeted Tifa with a grunted curse.
"Aeris is gone," he enlarged. "Damn kid ran off on us!"
Cloud was surprisingly calm, and already making an exit as Tifa appeared. "I told you, I know where she's gone. She's going to the City of the Ancients. We're following her."
Barret turned to Tifa and shrugged. "After everything that happened yesterday, he's still so @&*!$#% cold! Alright, well, I guess we're goin' to the City of Whatever." He followed Cloud out as nonchalantly as he could, but Tifa wasn't fooled. He was worried about last night's occurrences. They all were. AVALANCHE members didn't just go into trances and turn bad-guy, and then pass out. She didn't understand at all--but for some reason, she still trusted Cloud, although she wasn't sure of how the others felt. She wasn't even sure how Cloud felt.
She turned to go, trying to shake off the feeling that there was something about this whole situation that was remarkably familiar....She glanced down at her hands involuntarily, and felt a vague surprise when she saw that they were clean.
The Tiny Bronco's engine roared in her ears. Heartily wishing they had better means of transportation, she clung her seat and searched the horizon for land ahead. Next to her, Yuffie was looking slightly green but determined. Tifa smiled at the girl-warrior's behavior. She was never quite sure how seriously to take her. Usually, though, she treated her the way she treated everyone else--with respect and camaraderie. After all, despite her youth Yuffie's fighting skills were valuable and very necessary.
Cloud had the same inscrutable expression he usually wore, but today Tifa was getting a weird vibe from him--it was almost as if no one else existed. Or maybe it was more as if Cloud himself didn't exist. She noticed he was not scanning the horizon, like his companions. He was looking down into the shallow water in deep concentration.
The plane came to a noisy halt on the beach of the Northern Continent. Cloud still looked immersed in the sandy ocean floor, so Tifa tapped him gently on the shoulder. "Cloud? Cloud! Wake up. We're getting out." She grinned at him.
Cloud pretended to scowl back at her. "Who's sleeping?" He leapt off the wings and onto the sand, executing a smooth landing. He broke into a run towards the sparse-looking forest ahead of them. Tifa followed, jumping and landing face first. Blushing hotly, she ran after him, ignoring Yuffie's calls of "Wait up, guys!"
By the time they reached Bone Village, the forest was somewhat denser and a whole lot darker. They walked over to the first person they saw, who gave them a quick tour of the place and a long lecture on the value of the work they were doing. Finally, Cloud managed to break through with a few questions on the forest beyond the village.
The man waved off his question with a laugh. "Oh, there's nothing special there. Just a lot of trees. I wouldn't enter, though, if I were you. You'll make the locals nervous. Lot of superstition around the place." He refused to say anything else on the subject, no matter how hard they pressed him for more, so Cloud caught hold of a local woman and asked for the story.
The young woman told them all about it--it contained the spirit and magic of the Ancients, but was impenetrable without the Lunar Harp. Cloud asked her about the Harp, and she promised to dig for it.
"It's funny, though....A girl passed through here a little while ago, and she went into the forest, too, but she didn't have the Harp...She must be someone special, to be able to just waltz into the Sleeping Forest," said the woman speculatively.
"She is," replied Cloud quietly-so quietly that Tifa decided she might have imagined it.
Yuffie yawned loudly. "Can we turn in? I'm about to fall asleep." Tifa realized suddenly that she too was absolutely exhausted; it had been a long day.
Cloud looked at them and nodded. "All right then."
Tifa awoke in the slightly musty tent they had borrowed. Cloud was already awake, fully dressed, and holding a strangely curved harp in his lap. He smiled at her as she got out of bed, blinking sleep out of her eyes. "Yuffie and I have been up for HOURS. C'mon, slowpoke, let's get going." He left the room so she could dress.
She stumbled into the brilliant morning sun a few minutes later. Yuffie grabbed her arm and propelled her towards the forest; Cloud was already waiting for them at the edge. Reluctantly, Tifa joined them and they entered the Sleeping Forest.
The first feeling Tifa was hit with was a feeling of bedazzlement. The forest seemed to glow all on its own. The sharp light of the morning sun was gone, replaced by a softer, more luminous gleam that seemed to come from the forest itself, instead of the sky. But almost immediately after that, Tifa was hit with something else--a sensation of deja-vu. She had seen this place before....
Cloud had stopped short. He was looking all around him in wonder. "This is it...this is where I saw her!" he breathed. "She said she was going to stop Sephiroth..."
Suddenly Tifa understood--this was the place from her dream! Again she looked down at her hands as the memory came back. Cloud and Aeris talking...Aeris leaving...the blood on her hands...it rushed back. She swayed on the stop as she saw the tree she had hidden behind. It's real? she thought, dazed.
Cloud ran forward, then stopped. "This way, she's this way," he said, then ran on. Yuffie looked from the running figure of Cloud to the stone-still Tifa, not understanding. Well, not understanding everything. There was one thing she thought she understood, as she followed Tifa's gaze straight ahead to the spikey-headed young man running swiftly towards Aeris.
The Forgotten City was a dismal and somewhat unsettling place. The houses looked as if they had grown there, the roads looked as if no one had touched them in years--and yet they weren't overgrown. Cloud walked around the place with a timid reverence that would have been amusing, considering it was Cloud, if Tifa hadn't felt the same way--as if they were trespassing on sacred ground. Warily, the team entered a house on the right side of town that twisted in on itself as if it had been shaped out of a giant snail shell. At the top of the house were three beds. The three tired people sank onto them without a word.
A few hours later, Tifa woke up to violent shaking from Cloud in the bed next to her. "What? What IS it, Cloud?"
"Aeris is here. I heard her calling from the city. We're going to find her, now. She needs me." It occured to Tifa that Aeris didn't need them, apparently she just needed Cloud. She banished the thought quickly, but the deep pang of resentment and jealousy stayed.
A sleepy Yuffie looked up. "We're IN the city, Cloud. She's not here. We checked yesterday, remember?" She dropped back into sleep again, but Cloud kicked her in the shins and she woke up again with a start.
Cloud closed his eyes for a moment, as if he was concentrating deeply on something far away. "She's beneath us," he said finally. "Come on."
He left them up there, running through the coiled house. Yuffie and Tifa looked at each other, and with a shrug, Yuffie followed him.
Tifa caught up with Cloud and Yuffie along the center path. At the end of the path was what Tifa assumed was a kind of doorway. Through the doorway was a stairwell, which led down to one of the most amazing sights Tifa had ever seen.
An entire city lay beneath them, at the end of a long flight of unsupported crystal stairs. The city gleamed in an invisible light, and the whole place radiated with magic. Tifa gaped, as did Yuffie, but Cloud started running down immediately.
Tifa and Yuffie ran after him, somewhat frightened at the intensity on his face. They reached the bottom, and a short crystal path spread before them. At the end was a small shrine, where Aeris was knelt in prayer. Cloud advanced toward her, and Aeris looked up, smiling.
Without warning, Cloud swung his sword above his head. Tifa shrieked, and heard Yuffie do the same next to her. Cloud dropped his sword to the ground with a clatter, and clutched his head in his hands. Aeris seemed still locked in her silent trance.
Perhaps that's why neither of them saw Sephiroth before it was too late.
Tifa did, though. She saw him shoot downwards out of nowhere. She saw his sword pierce through Aeris's stomach, and saw him pull it back out again. She watched as Aeris crumpled soundlessly into Cloud's arms. When it suddenly dawned on her what had happened, she whimpered softly and turned head down, away from the sight in front of her.
Cloud looked up at Sephiroth, standing above him and laughing mirthlessly. He screamed at him in rage, but Tifa couldn't understand what he was saying. There was something far more important to her at the moment, more important to her personally, than Sephiroth or even Cloud.
Her hands were covered in blood.
She stared at them for a split second before she fainted dead away.
