Chapter 5: Ascension of an Angel
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the storyline. Please don't sue!
Shera was running through the park, as a shortcut to the bar from the Highwind, trying to hurry through the rain.
"Huff. . .Huff. . .I should've brought an umbrella. . . Huh?" She stopped at the edge of a creek, as her foot bumped into a large but soft object. Tifa. "OH MY GOD! TIFA!" And so she hastily tried to hoist her onto her shoulder, and dragged her to the bridge and pulled her across. "AAAHH!", screamed Shera as a dark figure fell from above the treetops.
"Here, I'll help." It was Vincent, and he easily picked her up onto his shoulder, and ran off with her and Shera, heading towards the Highwind.
"Zzzzz. . . . . snore, hic!" Cid was asleep on a bed, overcoming his hangover when he was rudely awakened. "Hey! What the (hic) hell!? Tifa?", he asked with a slight slur.
"Move it! She's hypothermic!", yelled Shera in his ear. Tifa was a slight bluish color, her body seemed to almost shiver on its own. Her breathing was ragged and harsh, and it seemed she was unconscious. Vincent gently laid her on Cid's bed and wrapped her in his cloak. "I'll get Cloud."
"Tifa!", he called, his voice cracking from the strain and dryness. He'd been out for hours in the pouring rain, to no avail. He only kept calling her name, it was the only thing that came through his mind. He'd never been so worried; it felt like he was going to puke. He couldn't stand being alone. Not again. His body collapsed in exhaustion up against a wooden fence, he could barely move. He just sat the in the cold rain, looking up to the dreary black sky that cried its tears upon him, and he himself allowed his teardrops rain upon his face. "I wonder.", he thought. "why the sky is crying. Is it for me? Or is it for Tifa?" And the sky cried the loss of a love, the absence of an angel. "Let it cry not for me. My sorrow is nothing. Please.aid.Tifa.", he whispered to the heavens, cloaked by the shroud of black sorrow. And when he said this, he felt an invisible presence by his side, but this presence was familiar. "Cloud." It was Vincent there, but he felt something else. "It's Tifa."
"How's he holding up?", asked Barret outside the door of the infirmary.
"I don't know. But we should leave him be.", said Yuffie.
"How's she doing?", asked Reeve to Shera, as she walked out of the infirmary with a clipboard of Tifa's stats,
"She's getting better, but she still has hypothermia. Just give her rest. Cloud is staying with her. Make sure he gets some rest though. We don't need two people in there." And so they all left the door, while Cloud stayed inside.
"Tifa. . .", he said quietly as he touched her cold face. "It's. . . all my fault." But in his despair, he fell down on his knees and started to cry. "Y.you can't leave me! I. . . don't want to be alone. . ." And his memory suddenly raced to the time, one year ago when she said these exact same words to him. But he quickly came back and grasped her hand and held it tightly. And he just looked at her. But his eyes watered over as he tried to warm her soft hand against his cheek. "I. . .I'm afraid Tifa. . . I'm afraid to close my eyes, because you might not be there when they open." He heard the door open, and Barret was there.
"Er, hi Cloud. Um, you should probably get some sleep."
"Right. I'll go.", he said. And he gently laid Tifa's hand beside her.
"You'll sleep here.", said Barret, giving him his quarters.
"Yeah. . ." And so he moved into his darkened room, with a window shining pale moonlight that made it feel like that night, now exactly one year ago. The Highwind was flying above the rain clouds, and he admired the look of the clouds moving under his window. But he was still exhausted, and fell into the springy cot and fell asleep even before his head hit the pillow.
"Cloud. . ."
"Hm? Who's there?" In his dreams, he was floating in the darkness, answering a strange call that was both near and far.
"Cloud!"
"AAHHH!", he screamed. "AERIS!"
"Yup.", she smiled. She had on her same simple pink dress and red jacket, as well as her metal staff. But she now had large snowy white wings that stood out against the black shadows.
"How!? Why!?"
"I said I'd be here. . .one year ago. . .And now I am."
"Tifa's. . . Tifa's. . ."
"I know. That's why I'm here."
"But what can you do? You're dead. . ."
"I've already done more than you could possibly dream of.", she said with a soft twinkle in her emerald eyes.
"I. . .Don't want to lose anyone again." He said, his eyes getting watery.
"I know you don't.", she said as she hugged him tightly, trying to comfort him. "But you know, I'll eventually need to leave you as well."
"Please, don't." He hugged her more tightly, stroking her wings, breaking down into tears.
"It must be done. Someone can't live in their dreams forever."
"I wish it were like that. That way, I wouldn't have to feel sad."
"Life can't be happy without sadness. If there were only happiness, nothing would be there to define it. I WILL have to go."
"Okay. . .But just a little longer."
"Cloud, I see you may understand the first part of what I'm about to tell you. But whether you have realized the first part, I'm not so sure."
"What is it?", he choked out as Aeris move away. She lifted his bowed head up, so she could look him in the eye.
"In this life, in the great scheme, we are all ultimately alone. . .", she said to him directly. "But it is love that binds us together. Don't cast yourself away, and seek your bond with Tifa. There is a bond there that will never be broken. Find her." And she began to walk away again, and flew away slowly with her wings.
"NO! AERIS! WAIT!"
"Don't worry. I'm closer than you think." And a feather came down and hit the floor, sending a ripple across its surface, like if it were water.
"Cloud! Wake up!" It was Shera at his side, with a grave expression. "It's Tifa. She's. . . gone."
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the storyline. Please don't sue!
Shera was running through the park, as a shortcut to the bar from the Highwind, trying to hurry through the rain.
"Huff. . .Huff. . .I should've brought an umbrella. . . Huh?" She stopped at the edge of a creek, as her foot bumped into a large but soft object. Tifa. "OH MY GOD! TIFA!" And so she hastily tried to hoist her onto her shoulder, and dragged her to the bridge and pulled her across. "AAAHH!", screamed Shera as a dark figure fell from above the treetops.
"Here, I'll help." It was Vincent, and he easily picked her up onto his shoulder, and ran off with her and Shera, heading towards the Highwind.
"Zzzzz. . . . . snore, hic!" Cid was asleep on a bed, overcoming his hangover when he was rudely awakened. "Hey! What the (hic) hell!? Tifa?", he asked with a slight slur.
"Move it! She's hypothermic!", yelled Shera in his ear. Tifa was a slight bluish color, her body seemed to almost shiver on its own. Her breathing was ragged and harsh, and it seemed she was unconscious. Vincent gently laid her on Cid's bed and wrapped her in his cloak. "I'll get Cloud."
"Tifa!", he called, his voice cracking from the strain and dryness. He'd been out for hours in the pouring rain, to no avail. He only kept calling her name, it was the only thing that came through his mind. He'd never been so worried; it felt like he was going to puke. He couldn't stand being alone. Not again. His body collapsed in exhaustion up against a wooden fence, he could barely move. He just sat the in the cold rain, looking up to the dreary black sky that cried its tears upon him, and he himself allowed his teardrops rain upon his face. "I wonder.", he thought. "why the sky is crying. Is it for me? Or is it for Tifa?" And the sky cried the loss of a love, the absence of an angel. "Let it cry not for me. My sorrow is nothing. Please.aid.Tifa.", he whispered to the heavens, cloaked by the shroud of black sorrow. And when he said this, he felt an invisible presence by his side, but this presence was familiar. "Cloud." It was Vincent there, but he felt something else. "It's Tifa."
"How's he holding up?", asked Barret outside the door of the infirmary.
"I don't know. But we should leave him be.", said Yuffie.
"How's she doing?", asked Reeve to Shera, as she walked out of the infirmary with a clipboard of Tifa's stats,
"She's getting better, but she still has hypothermia. Just give her rest. Cloud is staying with her. Make sure he gets some rest though. We don't need two people in there." And so they all left the door, while Cloud stayed inside.
"Tifa. . .", he said quietly as he touched her cold face. "It's. . . all my fault." But in his despair, he fell down on his knees and started to cry. "Y.you can't leave me! I. . . don't want to be alone. . ." And his memory suddenly raced to the time, one year ago when she said these exact same words to him. But he quickly came back and grasped her hand and held it tightly. And he just looked at her. But his eyes watered over as he tried to warm her soft hand against his cheek. "I. . .I'm afraid Tifa. . . I'm afraid to close my eyes, because you might not be there when they open." He heard the door open, and Barret was there.
"Er, hi Cloud. Um, you should probably get some sleep."
"Right. I'll go.", he said. And he gently laid Tifa's hand beside her.
"You'll sleep here.", said Barret, giving him his quarters.
"Yeah. . ." And so he moved into his darkened room, with a window shining pale moonlight that made it feel like that night, now exactly one year ago. The Highwind was flying above the rain clouds, and he admired the look of the clouds moving under his window. But he was still exhausted, and fell into the springy cot and fell asleep even before his head hit the pillow.
"Cloud. . ."
"Hm? Who's there?" In his dreams, he was floating in the darkness, answering a strange call that was both near and far.
"Cloud!"
"AAHHH!", he screamed. "AERIS!"
"Yup.", she smiled. She had on her same simple pink dress and red jacket, as well as her metal staff. But she now had large snowy white wings that stood out against the black shadows.
"How!? Why!?"
"I said I'd be here. . .one year ago. . .And now I am."
"Tifa's. . . Tifa's. . ."
"I know. That's why I'm here."
"But what can you do? You're dead. . ."
"I've already done more than you could possibly dream of.", she said with a soft twinkle in her emerald eyes.
"I. . .Don't want to lose anyone again." He said, his eyes getting watery.
"I know you don't.", she said as she hugged him tightly, trying to comfort him. "But you know, I'll eventually need to leave you as well."
"Please, don't." He hugged her more tightly, stroking her wings, breaking down into tears.
"It must be done. Someone can't live in their dreams forever."
"I wish it were like that. That way, I wouldn't have to feel sad."
"Life can't be happy without sadness. If there were only happiness, nothing would be there to define it. I WILL have to go."
"Okay. . .But just a little longer."
"Cloud, I see you may understand the first part of what I'm about to tell you. But whether you have realized the first part, I'm not so sure."
"What is it?", he choked out as Aeris move away. She lifted his bowed head up, so she could look him in the eye.
"In this life, in the great scheme, we are all ultimately alone. . .", she said to him directly. "But it is love that binds us together. Don't cast yourself away, and seek your bond with Tifa. There is a bond there that will never be broken. Find her." And she began to walk away again, and flew away slowly with her wings.
"NO! AERIS! WAIT!"
"Don't worry. I'm closer than you think." And a feather came down and hit the floor, sending a ripple across its surface, like if it were water.
"Cloud! Wake up!" It was Shera at his side, with a grave expression. "It's Tifa. She's. . . gone."