Their speed was mind numbing. The wind screamed past, as did debris and
building materials. Barett gripped the cable with his good hand as tight as
he could. His palm was beginning to sweat and the additional weight of Tifa
and Cloud was taking its toll.
"Goddammit!" He swore, "I can't hold it!"
Tifa had never been a religious woman, but she found herself praying madly to whatever powers were listening. She could feel Cloud's shin close to her face, and she started to feel calmer... at least she could die next to the man who had haunted her thoughts for almost eight years.
"The gate!"
Tifa snapped out of her thoughts. The Sector 7 gates were right in front of them and the tsunami of destruction was closing in. Barett strained to cling to the wire while Tifa and Cloud simultaneously gasped and held their breath.
The second they cleared the gate, Barett's strength failed, and the three rebels were sent sailing across the ground. A thunderous explosion rocked the sheer earth and Barett, Cloud, and Tifa turned just it time to witness the top plate smash into the slums.
Death.
Not a breath of a word was shared between the comrades for a long while. Cloud shut his eyes and turned away from the gate, putting his arm around Tifa's shoulder. She inhaled loudly and began to cry. Cloud welcomed the distraction and did what he could to comfort her. He was about to say something to Barett when he turned and saw the man.
"No..." He barely breathed it. His dark eyes wide with disbelief and his face smudged with dirt and tears. "Marlene..."
Cloud reached out a gloved hand tentatively.
"Marlene!!" Louder this time.
"Hey... Barett..." Cloud was about to touch the larger man's shoulder.
Suddenly the dark man's shoulders hitched and he yelled so desperately and loudly that it shocked his other two companions. "MARLENE!!" With surprising speed, he shot off to the blocked gate as fast as he could. He pushed frantically on parts of the pillar and plate, trying to get back into the destroyed sector. "Biggs!" The tears were falling freely now as he started moving pieces of debris that were as big as he was. "Wedge!" With strength born of rage and anguish he threw a massive chunk of concrete out of the way. "Jessie!!" The rate of his digging slowed dramatically as he inhaled and exhaled deeply. Sinking to his knees, he bowed his head to rest on a protruding I-beam. "God dammit." He punched the metal half-heartedly before he got a second wind and began wailing on the cold metal.
Cloud and Tifa stood nearby, too saddened and sympathetic to do anything for the older man.
"GOD DAMN IT!!" His good fist smashed into the metal, tearing at the skin of his knuckles. "DAMMIT!" Again he hit the metal. His left hand was bleeding freely. "DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!!" He finally stopped his tirade but the emotions within him were still not pacified. "What the hell is it all for!?" He let out an inhuman scream of sheer emotion that echoed loudly off the debris and alleyways.
Cloud, unable to stand by any longer, slowly moved to his side, and Tifa mimicked him. "Barett..." He and Tifa spoke his name at the same time.
Anger.
Rage.
Death.
He shot to his feet and jammed a clip of ammunition into his gun. Irate, he emptied the bullets at the pile of scrap metal in front of him. He continued firing. He swept over the wreckage until the weapon ceased to fire. The ammunition clip was empty and discarded shells littered the ground at his feet. The large man let out another inhuman howl of burning rage and grief. His daughter... his friends... his makeshift family and his comrades... they were all gone. Forever. His knees gave out underneath him.
"Barett!"
He barely heard the youth beside him.
"Barett... stop. Please, stop... Barett."
He heard the gentle voice of Tifa... at least she was still with him. She was like a sister and he loved her as family. Tifa was all he had. He turned his head to her, eyes still tearing. "Tifa...they're gone."
She reached out and touched her hand to skin on his face. "It's okay... I'm here... Cloud's here, too. We'll figure everything out."
Cloud, feeling embarrassed and suddenly closer to the two rebels, put a supportive hand on Barett's shoulder.
"God damn..." He muttered, and let his bloody fist hit the ground.
"Marlene..." Barett whispered again from his seat on a piece of loose metal.
Tifa wrung her hands nervously, a habit she had picked up recently. "Barett? Marlene is... I think Marlene is safe."
He looked up slowly and turned towards her. "What?" He was brimming with hope and even Cloud found himself hopeful.
The young martial artist continued. "Right before they took Aeris, she said 'don't worry, she's all right.' Before we fought Reno, I had asked her to find Marlene."
Barett bolted to his feet. "R-really?" He asked, barely able to keep his voice steady.
"But..." Tifa turned away, her eyes tearing up again. Her family... her friends... her comrades.
Barett understood. "Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie."
Cloud sighed. "All three of them were on the pillar when it fell."
I bit of the old Barett returned when he snapped irritably, "Think I don't know that?" He turned his back to them. "But we all fought together... as comrades."
Cloud was suddenly amazed at how close he felt to the older man suddenly. He secretly loved Tifa for so many years and even though they were only friends, he felt a deep connection between them. With Barett's last comment he felt that he could almost look to the older man as some kind of uncle. At that moment, the young SOLDIER felt the three of them could take on the world alone. They would have to do exactly that.
"I don't want to think of them as dead." He continued.
"Or the other people of Sector 7," Tifa added solemnly.
The rage flooded back to the dark-skinned man. "This is all so screwed up! They destroy an entire village just to get six people! They killed so many!" He shook his head.
"Are you saying," Tifa's eyebrows knitted with emotion, "That this is our fault? Because AVALANCHE was here? Innocents were killed because of us?"
He shook his head again, vehemently. "No, Tifa! That ain't it! Hell no!" His voice grew in volume. "It ain't us! It's the damned ShinRa! It's never been nobody but the ShinRa!" He threw his arms up in frustration. "They're evil and destroyin' our planet just to line their own damn pockets with gold! If we don't get rid of them, they're gonna kill this planet!" He whirled to face her. "Our fight ain't never gonna be over 'til we get rid of them!"
"I don't know..." She turned to look at him.
"What don't you know!?" His voice grew angrier. "You don't believe me?"
"It's not that," she amended. "I'm not sure about ... me. My feelings."
Barett, frustrated, turned to Cloud. "An' what about you?"
The young man didn't reply, but simply left towards the gate to Sector Six.
"Yo!" He turned back to Tifa. "Where's he think he's going?"
Tifa's hand shot to her forehead. "Oh! Aeris!"
"Oh yeah, that girl. What's her deal?"
Her amber eyes looked pained for a split second before she answered vaguely. "I don't really know... but she's the one I left Marlene with.
"Damn. Marlene!" He moved after Cloud's retreating form, but not before he shot a glance back to the girl. "Tifa, there ain't no turnin' back now."
She started to follow him as well, but she gave one last pained look at the Sector 7 she hoped to never see again. She trotted after Barett and Cloud hoping to solve some questions.
Guilt.
That was Cloud's main emotion at the time. He tried so hard to be stoic and detached, but his attempts had failed sorely. Aeris... he let them take her, and after Barett's breakdown, how could he not feel guilt? He never imaged what the older man would look like full of despair and grief, and he never wanted to see it again. Tifa had been crushed by the loss of her comrades and Cloud didn't even deserve to be near her, but he had seen her cry. Aeris' tears of pain... and the tears of loss that Tifa and Barett shared... he hated himself beyond words. It was his fault. He was unable to do anything.
"Cloud!"
He turned to see Barett and Tifa run up to him. The former AVALANCHE leader did not meet his eyes. "Take me to Marlene."
"Are you going to help Aeris?" Tifa looked at him, still shaken.
"Yeah... But before that, there's something I want to know."
"What is it?"
"It's about the Ancients." He admitted. He was about to clarify further when, for a split second, his vision went white and powerful echo raced through his mind.
In my veins courses the blood of the Ancients. I am one of the rightful heirs to this planet.
It stopped as suddenly as it had started but it left Cloud with a feeling of oblivion, then suddenly, like an old memory, nearly gone, something resurfaced. "Sephiroth..." Still unstable, the young man stumbled forward and fell to his knees.
Tifa stepped up quickly, with a supportive arm on his shoulders. "Are you all right?"
Barett, slightly less emotional, voiced his own concern. "Pull it together, man!"
He wobbled to his feet, turning red from the closeness he and Tifa shared. "There's one other thing... Can I think of you as friends? After I failed at the pillar?"
Tifa furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Cloud, we've always been friends." Her heart skipped a beat, even in the midst of so much destruction, his hopeful stare was sending shivers up her spine. "Of course you can think of me as your friend and comrade."
Barett, dropping his tough-act for once, also agreed. "You did all you could, kid. We all did. Yer a pain in the ass, sometimes, but I still consider you a friend. You can do the same for me."
The walk to Aeris' house was short, but painful. The three remaining members of AVALANCHE passed many people who heard the explosions or saw the actual collapse of the pillar. The residents of Midgar were shaken badly and the very person they looked to for help was the very source of the problem.
They walked in silence, Cloud leading the way. Aeris' house, nestled in the cozy corner behind a weapons trailer, looked appealing and inviting from the outside, but Cloud sensed a certain chill to the dark wood frame. He apprehensively made his way to the front door and knocked tentatively. The older woman, Elmyra, answered the door. She seemed welcoming, but very sad.
She already knew.
Elmyra ushered the three rag-tags into her kitchen and placed a kettle of water on the stove for tea. "Cloud... was it?" She turned to look at the young man standing awkwardly next to her table.
"Yes. Cloud Strife." He said politely, not wanting to appear rude to Aeris' obviously worried mother.
She smiled thinly. "It's about Aeris, isn't it?"
The young man nodded grimly. "... Sorry. The ShinRa have her.
"I know," she wrung her hands is worry. "They took her from here." She seemed resigned and very much aware of Aeris' current danger.
Cloud's blonde eyebrows furrowed. "They were here?"
"That's what she wanted."
He could not keep his next inquiry silent any longer. The question had bothered him greatly. "Why is the ShinRa after Aeris?"
The older woman turned around, obviously troubled. "Aeris... is an Ancient. The sole survivor of a lost race."
Barett's leaned forward in interest and confusion, "But aren't you her mother?"
Elmyra shook her head sadly, her graying hair, woven into a loose bun, swayed slightly. "I'm not her real mother." She sighed, "Oh... it must have been fifteen years ago... during the war." Judging by the concerned looks on the faces of the three in front of her, she decided to continue. "My husband was sent to the front. To some far away place called Wutai." The kettle started to whistle, so she moved it off the burner and went to retrieve some coffee mugs. "One day, I went to the train station because I had got a letter saying he was coming home on leave." She selected a set of four simply decorated cups and poured the tea into each. "I wanted to see him so badly... but he didn't arrive home on the scheduled day... or the day after." She handed Tifa a white mug adorned with a painting of a rose. "My husband never came back. I wondered if something happened to him." Cloud received a mug with bright chrysanthemums. "No, I was certain his leave was just canceled. I went to the station every day." Barett took a cup with white lilies painted on the handle. "Then, one day I saw a woman lying on the steps to the platform, and a little girl next to her crying. I ran over to try and help, the poor girl was nearly hysterical and the mother was not going to last long. You used to see this sort of thing a lot during the war."
The silence from the younger people in front of her was thick, and they seemed very drawn into her story. "Her last words were: 'Please take Aeris somewhere safe'. My husband never returned and I had no children. I was lonely, so I decided to take her home with me. Aeris and I became close very quickly. That child loved to talk. She used to talk to me about everything. She told me she escaped from some sort of research laboratory somewhere, and that her mother had already returned to the Planet, so she wasn't lonely... and many other things."
Barett handled his mug carefully as he set it down on the dark wood table. "Returned to the Planet?"
The older woman nodded. "I didn't know what she meant. I asked if she meant like a star in the sky, but she said it was this Planet. She was a mysterious child in many ways."
"How else was she unique?" Tifa asked, decided at the last second that 'unique' would be a less offensive choice for 'different'.
"One day," Elmyra answered, "She walked down the stairs while I was reading the paper, and told me not to cry. She just blurted it out all of a sudden. When I asked if something had happened she said that someone dear to me had just died. She told me that his spirit was coming to see me, but he already returned to the planet. At that time, I didn't believe her, but..." She paused, old pain visibly resurfacing. "Several days later... we received notice that my husband had died in combat."
The AVALANCHE members sat in disbelief and empathy. "I'm sorry you went through that." Tifa offered meekly.
Elmyra smiled sadly, but warmly. "That's how it was. A lot had happened, but we were happy. Well, until the day that the ShinRa found her. The leader of that elite assassination organization, Tseng, came to our house. He asked me to return Aeris, and that they've been looking for her for a long time. Despite what he was asking, I knew he was good man working for bad people." Cloud scoffed, winning a death-glare from Tifa. Elmyra didn't seem to hear him. "He always told me that Aeris was a special child, that she was an Ancient. He said that Aeris could make all the people in the slums happy by leading the ShinRa to the Promised Land, something that the Ancients had the innate ability to do. Aeris always denied it, and Tseng would leave, only to come back the next week and ask again. Sometimes he asked if she ever heard voices, but Aeris denied that, too. I knew, though. I knew about her powers. She tried so hard to hide it, so I acted as though I never noticed.
Cloud ran a hand through his unkempt blond hair. "It's amazing how she's avoided the ShinRa and the Turks for all these years."
Tifa, her chin resting on her hand, made an expression of confusion. "But why now?"
"She brought a little girl here with her. On the way, Tseng caught them and Aeris cooperated in exchange for the little girl's safety." Elmyra replied.
Barett's eyes widened. "Marlene!! Aeris got captured because of Marlene?" When he noticed Elmyra's questioning gaze, he averted his eyes. "I'm sorry, Marlene is my daughter. I'm really sorry."
The woman appeared shocked for a moment, before suddenly becoming very angry. "You're her father?! How in the world can you leave a child alone like that!?"
Cloud and Tifa looked at Barett, unconsciously interested in his reaction. "Please, don't start with that." He sincerely looked sorry. "I think about it all the time. What would happen to Marlene if..." He neglected to finish his statement. "But you gotta understand somethin'. I don't got an answer. I wanna be with Marlene, but I gotta fight, 'cause if I don't the Planet's gonna die. So I'm gonna keep fighting. But I'm worried 'bout Marlene. I really just wanna be with her always." He sighed. "See? Goin' in circles."
Elmyra thought for a moment, but then her expression softened. "I think I understand what you're saying. She's upstairs asleep, if you want to see her."
Barett left immediately. Tifa watched his retreating form and attempted to rub away some stress and tension by massaging her temples. "It's my fault... I was the one who got Aeris involved in this."
Elmyra, thankfully, comforted her. Cloud was so awkward around her anyway, and he was already upset and distracted over today's events. "By the way, Cloud?"
He looked up, his amazingly clear blue eyes refracting all light. "Yes?"
"You and the others are welcome to stay the night."
"Thank you very much." He politely shook her hand and went to go see Barett and his daughter. The stairs creaked as he stepped up them, suddenly wondering how many times Aeris had moved up these stairs. In another world, Cloud knew he would've fallen for her the first time their eyes had met. But in reality, his heart belonged to another. Even if she thought he was pathetic and worthless, he would never be able to love another. No. Now was not the time to get caught up in his usual self loathing and doubt. Not when so much was just barely ahead of him. He promised to flog himself later.
Barett's gruff voice reached his ears as he made it to the top step. He wasn't able to make out what was said, so he continued closer to the room from which the voices were echoing. "I'm so glad... I'm so glad you're all right."
A little girl's voice, Marlene's, piped up. "Daddy, don't cry. Your whiskers hurt!"
Cloud, suddenly reminded of Barett's breakdown at the gate, knocked on the door to talk to his friend. He could hear the large man shifting around and the door opened slightly.
"What's up, Cloud?" It was almost impossible to tell if he had been crying. "You gonna go help Aeris right?"
"Yeah, I wanted to ask if you were going." The last thing Cloud wanted to do was force the newly reunited father and daughter apart after so much worry.
Barett scratched his beard. "She's done so much for me. If it's the ShinRa you're dealing with, I can't jes' sit here. So yeah, I'll go."
Marlene poked her head out from behind Barett's massive leg. "Guess what! Guess what!"
Cloud never felt particularly fond of children and didn't feel up to playing the little girl's guessing games. He looked at her quizzically, however, when he thought Barett might try to do to him if he responded rudely.
"Aeris was asking me lots of questions, like what kind of person you were! I bet she likes you, Cloud!"
Cloud sighed. "I don't think so, Marlene."
Barett smirked knowingly, and Marlene frowned. "Stupid!"
Elmyra knocked on the door frame just then, and the three looked up at her. "Before you leave, you should at least rest up a bit... I only have two spare beds though."
Tifa, who had come up behind her, looked questioningly at Barett and Cloud. "How do you wanna work that?"
"You and Marlene can have the beds." Barett offered, waiting to see Cloud's, hopefully irritated, reaction. The other man didn't react.
Tifa and Marlene got ready for bed quickly. Marlene changed into an oversized shirt, scavenged from Elmyra's closet, and Tifa only stripped herself of her steel plated boots, gloves, and her leather belt and suspenders before sitting down on the clean bed.
As she lay down, she could hear her spine and shoulders crack in protest. Once comfortably, however, she immediately relaxed and listened to the sounds that surrounded the house. Sirens could still be heard in all directions, looking and helping the injured. Once again, the tears threatened to come. But she held them back, reminding herself that she had to be strong.
She noticed Marlene's steady rate of breathing and assumed the poor little girl was asleep. Tifa didn't think she ever become more scarred than she already was, but today's events had proved her wrong. She remembered seeing Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie, hurt and dying on the pillar. All she wanted to do was break down and cry. She wanted to wail and sob until her throat bled, but she knew she had to be strong and endure it. For the sake of Barett and Marlene she had to endure it. For the Aeris' sake, and for Cloud's sake.
Dammit. No matter what happened or how serious it was, her thoughts and emotions were always dragged back to him. No. She wouldn't be tormented by her insecurities either. Tomorrow, she would prove her worth to Cloud, Aeris, Barett, and more importantly, herself.
* * * *
The next morning the remainder of AVALANCHE, Marlene, and Elmyra sat around the heavy kitchen table savoring a meager breakfast of tea, bread, fruit preserves, and a few slices of meat.
Tifa, still bent on her silent vow from the night before, looked at Cloud questioningly. "You're going to get Aeris right?"
"Yeah." He nodded from behind his tea mug.
"I'm going with you." She mistook his concerned expression for an expression of skeptical tolerance. The look only furthered her determination.
"We're going right into the ShinRa Headquarters; you gotta be prepared for the worst." He nervously twitched his leg, he would much rather not involve Tifa any farther, but he needed all the help he could get.
"I know, Cloud," She said, locking eye contact. "Right now, I feel I have to push myself to the limit. If I stayed here I'd go crazy."
Cloud nodded and Tifa seemed satisfied.
After breakfast, Barett looked to Elmyra. "Sorry, Elmyra. Is 'dere anyway I can ask you to take care of Marlene for me?"
"Yes," She nodded, "I don't mind."
"Midgar is gettin' dangerous. You better go somewhere else." He warned.
"I know." She seemed sad, but she had a look of determination in her eyes. "But promise me you'll come back to her. Don't get yourself killed."
"Thank you." Barett's voice was full of genuine emotion. "Bye, Marlene. Give Daddy a hug."
The little girl flew to his arms and latched onto the big man. "Bye, Daddy!"
AVALANCHE headed out the door of the quaint little house and began walking out towards Sector 6. "How do we get to the ShinRa Building?" Tifa asked.
Barett shrugged. "There ain't no train that goes up 'dere anymore. The main entrance is on the plate above Wall Market, though."
"Well," Cloud put in. "Why don't we go there and see what we can climb up?"
"Goddammit!" He swore, "I can't hold it!"
Tifa had never been a religious woman, but she found herself praying madly to whatever powers were listening. She could feel Cloud's shin close to her face, and she started to feel calmer... at least she could die next to the man who had haunted her thoughts for almost eight years.
"The gate!"
Tifa snapped out of her thoughts. The Sector 7 gates were right in front of them and the tsunami of destruction was closing in. Barett strained to cling to the wire while Tifa and Cloud simultaneously gasped and held their breath.
The second they cleared the gate, Barett's strength failed, and the three rebels were sent sailing across the ground. A thunderous explosion rocked the sheer earth and Barett, Cloud, and Tifa turned just it time to witness the top plate smash into the slums.
Death.
Not a breath of a word was shared between the comrades for a long while. Cloud shut his eyes and turned away from the gate, putting his arm around Tifa's shoulder. She inhaled loudly and began to cry. Cloud welcomed the distraction and did what he could to comfort her. He was about to say something to Barett when he turned and saw the man.
"No..." He barely breathed it. His dark eyes wide with disbelief and his face smudged with dirt and tears. "Marlene..."
Cloud reached out a gloved hand tentatively.
"Marlene!!" Louder this time.
"Hey... Barett..." Cloud was about to touch the larger man's shoulder.
Suddenly the dark man's shoulders hitched and he yelled so desperately and loudly that it shocked his other two companions. "MARLENE!!" With surprising speed, he shot off to the blocked gate as fast as he could. He pushed frantically on parts of the pillar and plate, trying to get back into the destroyed sector. "Biggs!" The tears were falling freely now as he started moving pieces of debris that were as big as he was. "Wedge!" With strength born of rage and anguish he threw a massive chunk of concrete out of the way. "Jessie!!" The rate of his digging slowed dramatically as he inhaled and exhaled deeply. Sinking to his knees, he bowed his head to rest on a protruding I-beam. "God dammit." He punched the metal half-heartedly before he got a second wind and began wailing on the cold metal.
Cloud and Tifa stood nearby, too saddened and sympathetic to do anything for the older man.
"GOD DAMN IT!!" His good fist smashed into the metal, tearing at the skin of his knuckles. "DAMMIT!" Again he hit the metal. His left hand was bleeding freely. "DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!!" He finally stopped his tirade but the emotions within him were still not pacified. "What the hell is it all for!?" He let out an inhuman scream of sheer emotion that echoed loudly off the debris and alleyways.
Cloud, unable to stand by any longer, slowly moved to his side, and Tifa mimicked him. "Barett..." He and Tifa spoke his name at the same time.
Anger.
Rage.
Death.
He shot to his feet and jammed a clip of ammunition into his gun. Irate, he emptied the bullets at the pile of scrap metal in front of him. He continued firing. He swept over the wreckage until the weapon ceased to fire. The ammunition clip was empty and discarded shells littered the ground at his feet. The large man let out another inhuman howl of burning rage and grief. His daughter... his friends... his makeshift family and his comrades... they were all gone. Forever. His knees gave out underneath him.
"Barett!"
He barely heard the youth beside him.
"Barett... stop. Please, stop... Barett."
He heard the gentle voice of Tifa... at least she was still with him. She was like a sister and he loved her as family. Tifa was all he had. He turned his head to her, eyes still tearing. "Tifa...they're gone."
She reached out and touched her hand to skin on his face. "It's okay... I'm here... Cloud's here, too. We'll figure everything out."
Cloud, feeling embarrassed and suddenly closer to the two rebels, put a supportive hand on Barett's shoulder.
"God damn..." He muttered, and let his bloody fist hit the ground.
"Marlene..." Barett whispered again from his seat on a piece of loose metal.
Tifa wrung her hands nervously, a habit she had picked up recently. "Barett? Marlene is... I think Marlene is safe."
He looked up slowly and turned towards her. "What?" He was brimming with hope and even Cloud found himself hopeful.
The young martial artist continued. "Right before they took Aeris, she said 'don't worry, she's all right.' Before we fought Reno, I had asked her to find Marlene."
Barett bolted to his feet. "R-really?" He asked, barely able to keep his voice steady.
"But..." Tifa turned away, her eyes tearing up again. Her family... her friends... her comrades.
Barett understood. "Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie."
Cloud sighed. "All three of them were on the pillar when it fell."
I bit of the old Barett returned when he snapped irritably, "Think I don't know that?" He turned his back to them. "But we all fought together... as comrades."
Cloud was suddenly amazed at how close he felt to the older man suddenly. He secretly loved Tifa for so many years and even though they were only friends, he felt a deep connection between them. With Barett's last comment he felt that he could almost look to the older man as some kind of uncle. At that moment, the young SOLDIER felt the three of them could take on the world alone. They would have to do exactly that.
"I don't want to think of them as dead." He continued.
"Or the other people of Sector 7," Tifa added solemnly.
The rage flooded back to the dark-skinned man. "This is all so screwed up! They destroy an entire village just to get six people! They killed so many!" He shook his head.
"Are you saying," Tifa's eyebrows knitted with emotion, "That this is our fault? Because AVALANCHE was here? Innocents were killed because of us?"
He shook his head again, vehemently. "No, Tifa! That ain't it! Hell no!" His voice grew in volume. "It ain't us! It's the damned ShinRa! It's never been nobody but the ShinRa!" He threw his arms up in frustration. "They're evil and destroyin' our planet just to line their own damn pockets with gold! If we don't get rid of them, they're gonna kill this planet!" He whirled to face her. "Our fight ain't never gonna be over 'til we get rid of them!"
"I don't know..." She turned to look at him.
"What don't you know!?" His voice grew angrier. "You don't believe me?"
"It's not that," she amended. "I'm not sure about ... me. My feelings."
Barett, frustrated, turned to Cloud. "An' what about you?"
The young man didn't reply, but simply left towards the gate to Sector Six.
"Yo!" He turned back to Tifa. "Where's he think he's going?"
Tifa's hand shot to her forehead. "Oh! Aeris!"
"Oh yeah, that girl. What's her deal?"
Her amber eyes looked pained for a split second before she answered vaguely. "I don't really know... but she's the one I left Marlene with.
"Damn. Marlene!" He moved after Cloud's retreating form, but not before he shot a glance back to the girl. "Tifa, there ain't no turnin' back now."
She started to follow him as well, but she gave one last pained look at the Sector 7 she hoped to never see again. She trotted after Barett and Cloud hoping to solve some questions.
Guilt.
That was Cloud's main emotion at the time. He tried so hard to be stoic and detached, but his attempts had failed sorely. Aeris... he let them take her, and after Barett's breakdown, how could he not feel guilt? He never imaged what the older man would look like full of despair and grief, and he never wanted to see it again. Tifa had been crushed by the loss of her comrades and Cloud didn't even deserve to be near her, but he had seen her cry. Aeris' tears of pain... and the tears of loss that Tifa and Barett shared... he hated himself beyond words. It was his fault. He was unable to do anything.
"Cloud!"
He turned to see Barett and Tifa run up to him. The former AVALANCHE leader did not meet his eyes. "Take me to Marlene."
"Are you going to help Aeris?" Tifa looked at him, still shaken.
"Yeah... But before that, there's something I want to know."
"What is it?"
"It's about the Ancients." He admitted. He was about to clarify further when, for a split second, his vision went white and powerful echo raced through his mind.
In my veins courses the blood of the Ancients. I am one of the rightful heirs to this planet.
It stopped as suddenly as it had started but it left Cloud with a feeling of oblivion, then suddenly, like an old memory, nearly gone, something resurfaced. "Sephiroth..." Still unstable, the young man stumbled forward and fell to his knees.
Tifa stepped up quickly, with a supportive arm on his shoulders. "Are you all right?"
Barett, slightly less emotional, voiced his own concern. "Pull it together, man!"
He wobbled to his feet, turning red from the closeness he and Tifa shared. "There's one other thing... Can I think of you as friends? After I failed at the pillar?"
Tifa furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Cloud, we've always been friends." Her heart skipped a beat, even in the midst of so much destruction, his hopeful stare was sending shivers up her spine. "Of course you can think of me as your friend and comrade."
Barett, dropping his tough-act for once, also agreed. "You did all you could, kid. We all did. Yer a pain in the ass, sometimes, but I still consider you a friend. You can do the same for me."
The walk to Aeris' house was short, but painful. The three remaining members of AVALANCHE passed many people who heard the explosions or saw the actual collapse of the pillar. The residents of Midgar were shaken badly and the very person they looked to for help was the very source of the problem.
They walked in silence, Cloud leading the way. Aeris' house, nestled in the cozy corner behind a weapons trailer, looked appealing and inviting from the outside, but Cloud sensed a certain chill to the dark wood frame. He apprehensively made his way to the front door and knocked tentatively. The older woman, Elmyra, answered the door. She seemed welcoming, but very sad.
She already knew.
Elmyra ushered the three rag-tags into her kitchen and placed a kettle of water on the stove for tea. "Cloud... was it?" She turned to look at the young man standing awkwardly next to her table.
"Yes. Cloud Strife." He said politely, not wanting to appear rude to Aeris' obviously worried mother.
She smiled thinly. "It's about Aeris, isn't it?"
The young man nodded grimly. "... Sorry. The ShinRa have her.
"I know," she wrung her hands is worry. "They took her from here." She seemed resigned and very much aware of Aeris' current danger.
Cloud's blonde eyebrows furrowed. "They were here?"
"That's what she wanted."
He could not keep his next inquiry silent any longer. The question had bothered him greatly. "Why is the ShinRa after Aeris?"
The older woman turned around, obviously troubled. "Aeris... is an Ancient. The sole survivor of a lost race."
Barett's leaned forward in interest and confusion, "But aren't you her mother?"
Elmyra shook her head sadly, her graying hair, woven into a loose bun, swayed slightly. "I'm not her real mother." She sighed, "Oh... it must have been fifteen years ago... during the war." Judging by the concerned looks on the faces of the three in front of her, she decided to continue. "My husband was sent to the front. To some far away place called Wutai." The kettle started to whistle, so she moved it off the burner and went to retrieve some coffee mugs. "One day, I went to the train station because I had got a letter saying he was coming home on leave." She selected a set of four simply decorated cups and poured the tea into each. "I wanted to see him so badly... but he didn't arrive home on the scheduled day... or the day after." She handed Tifa a white mug adorned with a painting of a rose. "My husband never came back. I wondered if something happened to him." Cloud received a mug with bright chrysanthemums. "No, I was certain his leave was just canceled. I went to the station every day." Barett took a cup with white lilies painted on the handle. "Then, one day I saw a woman lying on the steps to the platform, and a little girl next to her crying. I ran over to try and help, the poor girl was nearly hysterical and the mother was not going to last long. You used to see this sort of thing a lot during the war."
The silence from the younger people in front of her was thick, and they seemed very drawn into her story. "Her last words were: 'Please take Aeris somewhere safe'. My husband never returned and I had no children. I was lonely, so I decided to take her home with me. Aeris and I became close very quickly. That child loved to talk. She used to talk to me about everything. She told me she escaped from some sort of research laboratory somewhere, and that her mother had already returned to the Planet, so she wasn't lonely... and many other things."
Barett handled his mug carefully as he set it down on the dark wood table. "Returned to the Planet?"
The older woman nodded. "I didn't know what she meant. I asked if she meant like a star in the sky, but she said it was this Planet. She was a mysterious child in many ways."
"How else was she unique?" Tifa asked, decided at the last second that 'unique' would be a less offensive choice for 'different'.
"One day," Elmyra answered, "She walked down the stairs while I was reading the paper, and told me not to cry. She just blurted it out all of a sudden. When I asked if something had happened she said that someone dear to me had just died. She told me that his spirit was coming to see me, but he already returned to the planet. At that time, I didn't believe her, but..." She paused, old pain visibly resurfacing. "Several days later... we received notice that my husband had died in combat."
The AVALANCHE members sat in disbelief and empathy. "I'm sorry you went through that." Tifa offered meekly.
Elmyra smiled sadly, but warmly. "That's how it was. A lot had happened, but we were happy. Well, until the day that the ShinRa found her. The leader of that elite assassination organization, Tseng, came to our house. He asked me to return Aeris, and that they've been looking for her for a long time. Despite what he was asking, I knew he was good man working for bad people." Cloud scoffed, winning a death-glare from Tifa. Elmyra didn't seem to hear him. "He always told me that Aeris was a special child, that she was an Ancient. He said that Aeris could make all the people in the slums happy by leading the ShinRa to the Promised Land, something that the Ancients had the innate ability to do. Aeris always denied it, and Tseng would leave, only to come back the next week and ask again. Sometimes he asked if she ever heard voices, but Aeris denied that, too. I knew, though. I knew about her powers. She tried so hard to hide it, so I acted as though I never noticed.
Cloud ran a hand through his unkempt blond hair. "It's amazing how she's avoided the ShinRa and the Turks for all these years."
Tifa, her chin resting on her hand, made an expression of confusion. "But why now?"
"She brought a little girl here with her. On the way, Tseng caught them and Aeris cooperated in exchange for the little girl's safety." Elmyra replied.
Barett's eyes widened. "Marlene!! Aeris got captured because of Marlene?" When he noticed Elmyra's questioning gaze, he averted his eyes. "I'm sorry, Marlene is my daughter. I'm really sorry."
The woman appeared shocked for a moment, before suddenly becoming very angry. "You're her father?! How in the world can you leave a child alone like that!?"
Cloud and Tifa looked at Barett, unconsciously interested in his reaction. "Please, don't start with that." He sincerely looked sorry. "I think about it all the time. What would happen to Marlene if..." He neglected to finish his statement. "But you gotta understand somethin'. I don't got an answer. I wanna be with Marlene, but I gotta fight, 'cause if I don't the Planet's gonna die. So I'm gonna keep fighting. But I'm worried 'bout Marlene. I really just wanna be with her always." He sighed. "See? Goin' in circles."
Elmyra thought for a moment, but then her expression softened. "I think I understand what you're saying. She's upstairs asleep, if you want to see her."
Barett left immediately. Tifa watched his retreating form and attempted to rub away some stress and tension by massaging her temples. "It's my fault... I was the one who got Aeris involved in this."
Elmyra, thankfully, comforted her. Cloud was so awkward around her anyway, and he was already upset and distracted over today's events. "By the way, Cloud?"
He looked up, his amazingly clear blue eyes refracting all light. "Yes?"
"You and the others are welcome to stay the night."
"Thank you very much." He politely shook her hand and went to go see Barett and his daughter. The stairs creaked as he stepped up them, suddenly wondering how many times Aeris had moved up these stairs. In another world, Cloud knew he would've fallen for her the first time their eyes had met. But in reality, his heart belonged to another. Even if she thought he was pathetic and worthless, he would never be able to love another. No. Now was not the time to get caught up in his usual self loathing and doubt. Not when so much was just barely ahead of him. He promised to flog himself later.
Barett's gruff voice reached his ears as he made it to the top step. He wasn't able to make out what was said, so he continued closer to the room from which the voices were echoing. "I'm so glad... I'm so glad you're all right."
A little girl's voice, Marlene's, piped up. "Daddy, don't cry. Your whiskers hurt!"
Cloud, suddenly reminded of Barett's breakdown at the gate, knocked on the door to talk to his friend. He could hear the large man shifting around and the door opened slightly.
"What's up, Cloud?" It was almost impossible to tell if he had been crying. "You gonna go help Aeris right?"
"Yeah, I wanted to ask if you were going." The last thing Cloud wanted to do was force the newly reunited father and daughter apart after so much worry.
Barett scratched his beard. "She's done so much for me. If it's the ShinRa you're dealing with, I can't jes' sit here. So yeah, I'll go."
Marlene poked her head out from behind Barett's massive leg. "Guess what! Guess what!"
Cloud never felt particularly fond of children and didn't feel up to playing the little girl's guessing games. He looked at her quizzically, however, when he thought Barett might try to do to him if he responded rudely.
"Aeris was asking me lots of questions, like what kind of person you were! I bet she likes you, Cloud!"
Cloud sighed. "I don't think so, Marlene."
Barett smirked knowingly, and Marlene frowned. "Stupid!"
Elmyra knocked on the door frame just then, and the three looked up at her. "Before you leave, you should at least rest up a bit... I only have two spare beds though."
Tifa, who had come up behind her, looked questioningly at Barett and Cloud. "How do you wanna work that?"
"You and Marlene can have the beds." Barett offered, waiting to see Cloud's, hopefully irritated, reaction. The other man didn't react.
Tifa and Marlene got ready for bed quickly. Marlene changed into an oversized shirt, scavenged from Elmyra's closet, and Tifa only stripped herself of her steel plated boots, gloves, and her leather belt and suspenders before sitting down on the clean bed.
As she lay down, she could hear her spine and shoulders crack in protest. Once comfortably, however, she immediately relaxed and listened to the sounds that surrounded the house. Sirens could still be heard in all directions, looking and helping the injured. Once again, the tears threatened to come. But she held them back, reminding herself that she had to be strong.
She noticed Marlene's steady rate of breathing and assumed the poor little girl was asleep. Tifa didn't think she ever become more scarred than she already was, but today's events had proved her wrong. She remembered seeing Biggs, Wedge, and Jessie, hurt and dying on the pillar. All she wanted to do was break down and cry. She wanted to wail and sob until her throat bled, but she knew she had to be strong and endure it. For the sake of Barett and Marlene she had to endure it. For the Aeris' sake, and for Cloud's sake.
Dammit. No matter what happened or how serious it was, her thoughts and emotions were always dragged back to him. No. She wouldn't be tormented by her insecurities either. Tomorrow, she would prove her worth to Cloud, Aeris, Barett, and more importantly, herself.
* * * *
The next morning the remainder of AVALANCHE, Marlene, and Elmyra sat around the heavy kitchen table savoring a meager breakfast of tea, bread, fruit preserves, and a few slices of meat.
Tifa, still bent on her silent vow from the night before, looked at Cloud questioningly. "You're going to get Aeris right?"
"Yeah." He nodded from behind his tea mug.
"I'm going with you." She mistook his concerned expression for an expression of skeptical tolerance. The look only furthered her determination.
"We're going right into the ShinRa Headquarters; you gotta be prepared for the worst." He nervously twitched his leg, he would much rather not involve Tifa any farther, but he needed all the help he could get.
"I know, Cloud," She said, locking eye contact. "Right now, I feel I have to push myself to the limit. If I stayed here I'd go crazy."
Cloud nodded and Tifa seemed satisfied.
After breakfast, Barett looked to Elmyra. "Sorry, Elmyra. Is 'dere anyway I can ask you to take care of Marlene for me?"
"Yes," She nodded, "I don't mind."
"Midgar is gettin' dangerous. You better go somewhere else." He warned.
"I know." She seemed sad, but she had a look of determination in her eyes. "But promise me you'll come back to her. Don't get yourself killed."
"Thank you." Barett's voice was full of genuine emotion. "Bye, Marlene. Give Daddy a hug."
The little girl flew to his arms and latched onto the big man. "Bye, Daddy!"
AVALANCHE headed out the door of the quaint little house and began walking out towards Sector 6. "How do we get to the ShinRa Building?" Tifa asked.
Barett shrugged. "There ain't no train that goes up 'dere anymore. The main entrance is on the plate above Wall Market, though."
"Well," Cloud put in. "Why don't we go there and see what we can climb up?"