For Better or Worse – Chapter 2
*~*~*
Barret walks upon the streets of Midgar with his chest puffed out and his chin up high, as if daring anyone who lurks in the shadows to come after him. He walks down Thirteenth street, his street, patrolling it as a Shinra official would guard his facility.
As he passes by an old and gloomy looking house, 113 was the number, he stops to reminisce the joyful times he enjoyed while in this house, the only times in his life that he had actually smiled. He made his way to the back of the house and found himself looking at Gilmore, a tree that once flourished with green leaves. It now lays dead and decayed, almost as if it was nothing more than a memory.
Barret looked down to see a bottle of whiskey, almost empty but still a drinkable portion remains. He turns back to see a large hole in the wall of the house. He remembered it was when he was testing Vincent's supernatural strengths against his own manly strengths. They had competed by throwing items against the wall to see whose could leave the most dents.
Barret had cracked the wall, whereas Vincent has made a hole through it. He could almost hear the voices of his beloved friends, of Cloud, Vincent, and Tifa—
"Ahh!"
The scream erupted from the house within. Barret rushed over to the hole to see where it had come from. What he saw made his eyes pop wide open.
"Tifa!?"
*~*~*
Tifa Lockheart leaned her head against the glass window of the Limousine Cloud had arranged for her to ride in. He had a special Shinra meeting today, involving the death of Shank, Shinra's security captain, and suggested she took a ride in the city.
Tifa closed her eyes and let out a breath of frustration. She can't remember who she was in the past or how her life was before 2 months ago, when she woke up in Cloud's care. He had told her much but not enough to satisfy her. Two months have passed, and she still isn't able to remember anything. She hated herself for being ignorant.
Tifa closed her eyes tight shut, and wished with all her heart – to God, to anyone that could listen—that she could remember.
And then, as if her dearest wishes were answered, she opened her eyes at the exact moment to see the street sign "Thirteenth Street". Suddenly, as if her old self had reached up and touched the new her, she remembered the neighborhood.
"Driver," She called, "Could you stop at the next corner?"
And the obedient driver made a turn at "Thirteenth Street", and stopped.
Tifa got out of the car and looked up and down the street. The neighborhood isn't very rich, with trash all over the sidewalks and streets, houses boarded up and looked very damaged. But somehow, it looked like she knew this place.
"Miss?" the Driver called, "Is everything okay?"
Tifa ignored him. She was mesmerized by the sights in front of her. Although old and poorly looking, the streets of "Thirteenth Street" looked like home. She couldn't take her eyes off the place because just by looking at it, she felt as if her memory was coming back to her.
She didn't even notice the three thugs walking up to their rich intruder in their poor neighborhood.
"Hey! We don't want any trouble!" cried the limo driver.
Tifa turned around to see the two thugs pounding on the poor driver.
"Stop it! You're hurting him!" she cried. But the two thugs turned their attention to her, lechery in their eyes.
"Would ye' looky 'ere!" commented one of the thugs. Tifa glanced over to see a third thug coming, and the limo driver was down and out.
She was all by herself.
One of the thugs grabbed her wrist. He tried to pull her closer to him. Tifa could smell his nasty breath and could almost read the lechery in his eyes as he licked his lips hungrily. Then something happened. It was as if Tifa had become another person. She lifted her knee and nailed him between his legs. Then she drew her fist back and slammed it against the man's face. He fell down, grasping his bloody nose. The others laughed, seeing him being put down by a girl. Then they turned to her and started moving towards her.
Tifa was once the toughest girl and had lived on these streets since her earliest years. But she had forgotten her memory, and in her present state, she couldn't take on three full-grown men. So she did the only thing logical: She ran.
The men chased after her. As Tifa ran, her terrain somehow became more familiar to her. An old and gloomy house caught her attention, and somehow she found herself running towards it. She hoped that it might bring back more of her memory so she could regain her fighting skills. Tifa ran towards it and used her momentum to slam right through the front door. She cried out in pain as she fell against the door, realizing it was harder than she had expected.
She turned around to see the three men climbing in after her, and she got up and ran. Somehow, Tifa knew where she was going, and made her way to the back of the house, where she was sure that there would be something to protect her.
She ran into the room, finding nothing but a few plates on the floor and a bucket of water. Tifa tripped over the bucket of water and fell down. She turned around just in time to see three of the thugs enter the room, smiling widely.
"I'll go first" says the shortest one, the one that had his nose busted. He obviously wanted revenge.
Tifa crawled backwards until the back of her heard hit the wall. She cried out again, and begged for her knight to come to her rescue.
Suddenly, she saw two strange eyes looking back at her at a hole in the corner of the room. She saw those eyes pop wide open, and before she knew it the wall on the opposite corner exploded.
The three thugs stopped and turned around. Facing them was a large man who seems to be very angry. One of the thugs, obviously the smartest of the trio, recognized the man as Barret, and jumped through the closed window, shattering it and hurting himself but preferred to take his chances with the window than with Barret. The other two thugs looked at each other, dumbfounded, and rushed towards Barret.
Tifa didn't really understood what she saw, but she think she saw two man running towards a bigger man, then the two guys flew threw the wall.
The huge man made his way toward her, and she squirmed a bit, not sure to register this new intruder as friend or foe. Seeing her dismay, he was confused, and he stopped. Then he uttered her name, "Tifa"?
Tifa looked at him questioningly, then backed up even more.
"Tifa!? Its me...! don't you remember me?" asked the unknown intruder.
Tifa looked at him, not understanding how he knew her name. Then something happened to her, that same feeling when she saw the "thirteenth" street, her old self reaching up to her new self. Tifa was lost, confused, and even terrified. but she uttered the only thing that came to her mind: "Barret..."
*~*~*
Vincent Valentine flew through the streets of Midgar late at night. Jumping from houses to houses and traveling faster than the speed of sound with all his concentration was the only way he knew to ease the pain and yearning within his heart. He turned a right at "Thirteenth Street" and down towards house "113".
He did even care that there was a rich limo in his poor neighborhood. He just wanted to go home, to fill himself with the memories of his beloved and ease the pain within his heart. So when he saw his front door was open, he wasn't very surprised, because this was gangland and it was expected.
He made his way to his room to find two large holes and a broken window. He spit in disgust, seeing the damage to his house.
Vincent was ready to go upstairs and take his rest when something attracted his senses.
The aroma in the air. Her scent.
"Tifa..." he cried softly. And then, "Tifa!!!"
*~*~*
This is the End of chapter 2. I think it's a little weak, but tell me what you think! R&R!
Vietknight2004
*~*~*
Barret walks upon the streets of Midgar with his chest puffed out and his chin up high, as if daring anyone who lurks in the shadows to come after him. He walks down Thirteenth street, his street, patrolling it as a Shinra official would guard his facility.
As he passes by an old and gloomy looking house, 113 was the number, he stops to reminisce the joyful times he enjoyed while in this house, the only times in his life that he had actually smiled. He made his way to the back of the house and found himself looking at Gilmore, a tree that once flourished with green leaves. It now lays dead and decayed, almost as if it was nothing more than a memory.
Barret looked down to see a bottle of whiskey, almost empty but still a drinkable portion remains. He turns back to see a large hole in the wall of the house. He remembered it was when he was testing Vincent's supernatural strengths against his own manly strengths. They had competed by throwing items against the wall to see whose could leave the most dents.
Barret had cracked the wall, whereas Vincent has made a hole through it. He could almost hear the voices of his beloved friends, of Cloud, Vincent, and Tifa—
"Ahh!"
The scream erupted from the house within. Barret rushed over to the hole to see where it had come from. What he saw made his eyes pop wide open.
"Tifa!?"
*~*~*
Tifa Lockheart leaned her head against the glass window of the Limousine Cloud had arranged for her to ride in. He had a special Shinra meeting today, involving the death of Shank, Shinra's security captain, and suggested she took a ride in the city.
Tifa closed her eyes and let out a breath of frustration. She can't remember who she was in the past or how her life was before 2 months ago, when she woke up in Cloud's care. He had told her much but not enough to satisfy her. Two months have passed, and she still isn't able to remember anything. She hated herself for being ignorant.
Tifa closed her eyes tight shut, and wished with all her heart – to God, to anyone that could listen—that she could remember.
And then, as if her dearest wishes were answered, she opened her eyes at the exact moment to see the street sign "Thirteenth Street". Suddenly, as if her old self had reached up and touched the new her, she remembered the neighborhood.
"Driver," She called, "Could you stop at the next corner?"
And the obedient driver made a turn at "Thirteenth Street", and stopped.
Tifa got out of the car and looked up and down the street. The neighborhood isn't very rich, with trash all over the sidewalks and streets, houses boarded up and looked very damaged. But somehow, it looked like she knew this place.
"Miss?" the Driver called, "Is everything okay?"
Tifa ignored him. She was mesmerized by the sights in front of her. Although old and poorly looking, the streets of "Thirteenth Street" looked like home. She couldn't take her eyes off the place because just by looking at it, she felt as if her memory was coming back to her.
She didn't even notice the three thugs walking up to their rich intruder in their poor neighborhood.
"Hey! We don't want any trouble!" cried the limo driver.
Tifa turned around to see the two thugs pounding on the poor driver.
"Stop it! You're hurting him!" she cried. But the two thugs turned their attention to her, lechery in their eyes.
"Would ye' looky 'ere!" commented one of the thugs. Tifa glanced over to see a third thug coming, and the limo driver was down and out.
She was all by herself.
One of the thugs grabbed her wrist. He tried to pull her closer to him. Tifa could smell his nasty breath and could almost read the lechery in his eyes as he licked his lips hungrily. Then something happened. It was as if Tifa had become another person. She lifted her knee and nailed him between his legs. Then she drew her fist back and slammed it against the man's face. He fell down, grasping his bloody nose. The others laughed, seeing him being put down by a girl. Then they turned to her and started moving towards her.
Tifa was once the toughest girl and had lived on these streets since her earliest years. But she had forgotten her memory, and in her present state, she couldn't take on three full-grown men. So she did the only thing logical: She ran.
The men chased after her. As Tifa ran, her terrain somehow became more familiar to her. An old and gloomy house caught her attention, and somehow she found herself running towards it. She hoped that it might bring back more of her memory so she could regain her fighting skills. Tifa ran towards it and used her momentum to slam right through the front door. She cried out in pain as she fell against the door, realizing it was harder than she had expected.
She turned around to see the three men climbing in after her, and she got up and ran. Somehow, Tifa knew where she was going, and made her way to the back of the house, where she was sure that there would be something to protect her.
She ran into the room, finding nothing but a few plates on the floor and a bucket of water. Tifa tripped over the bucket of water and fell down. She turned around just in time to see three of the thugs enter the room, smiling widely.
"I'll go first" says the shortest one, the one that had his nose busted. He obviously wanted revenge.
Tifa crawled backwards until the back of her heard hit the wall. She cried out again, and begged for her knight to come to her rescue.
Suddenly, she saw two strange eyes looking back at her at a hole in the corner of the room. She saw those eyes pop wide open, and before she knew it the wall on the opposite corner exploded.
The three thugs stopped and turned around. Facing them was a large man who seems to be very angry. One of the thugs, obviously the smartest of the trio, recognized the man as Barret, and jumped through the closed window, shattering it and hurting himself but preferred to take his chances with the window than with Barret. The other two thugs looked at each other, dumbfounded, and rushed towards Barret.
Tifa didn't really understood what she saw, but she think she saw two man running towards a bigger man, then the two guys flew threw the wall.
The huge man made his way toward her, and she squirmed a bit, not sure to register this new intruder as friend or foe. Seeing her dismay, he was confused, and he stopped. Then he uttered her name, "Tifa"?
Tifa looked at him questioningly, then backed up even more.
"Tifa!? Its me...! don't you remember me?" asked the unknown intruder.
Tifa looked at him, not understanding how he knew her name. Then something happened to her, that same feeling when she saw the "thirteenth" street, her old self reaching up to her new self. Tifa was lost, confused, and even terrified. but she uttered the only thing that came to her mind: "Barret..."
*~*~*
Vincent Valentine flew through the streets of Midgar late at night. Jumping from houses to houses and traveling faster than the speed of sound with all his concentration was the only way he knew to ease the pain and yearning within his heart. He turned a right at "Thirteenth Street" and down towards house "113".
He did even care that there was a rich limo in his poor neighborhood. He just wanted to go home, to fill himself with the memories of his beloved and ease the pain within his heart. So when he saw his front door was open, he wasn't very surprised, because this was gangland and it was expected.
He made his way to his room to find two large holes and a broken window. He spit in disgust, seeing the damage to his house.
Vincent was ready to go upstairs and take his rest when something attracted his senses.
The aroma in the air. Her scent.
"Tifa..." he cried softly. And then, "Tifa!!!"
*~*~*
This is the End of chapter 2. I think it's a little weak, but tell me what you think! R&R!
Vietknight2004