I hope I didn't take too long putting this up. It took longer than I thought. . . I've been pretty busy. I'm thinking of some pairings in this story, but I'm not quite certain about them yet, so I don't want to announce any. Just keep in mind there might be some. Please enjoy!
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Rotations of Life:
Chapter 4:
Meetings
10 years later
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"Here, Aeris." Elmyra handed her a purse full of gil and her basket of flowers. "Don't for get to stop by the store later." "I won't, Mother," Aeris promised with a smile, and walked away. Elmyra watched her daughter go, the long brown braid swinging as she walked. With a sigh, she gathered her own purse and her list of names. t was time to get to the bottom of those rumors she had heard. At least after she opened the shop, in any case.
---
The black and white cat looked around the place on his perch with an air of disdain. True, the great pink-white lummox he rode could probably clobber anyone if need be, but this was reputed to be a rough inn after about dinnertime, and it was almost that. And besides that, it was filthy, and the floor sticky, with what he didn't want to speculate about. A little girl approached him, dragging her mother along from the table she had been sitting at.
"Mother, look at the giant stuffed toy that cat is sitting on! Can I have him?" It was more a demand than a question.
"Stuffed toy?" he asked in annoyance. "My dear child, he is not a" -- he sniffed -- "'stuffed toy.' I am Caitsith!"
The girl squealed and ran off, her harassed mother trailing along behind her.
Caitsith sighed. It was going to be a long evening. Especially with some of the incredulous looks he was receiving from the tough men at the bar. Ah, well. They would learn, albeit the hard way.
---
"Look, Lockhart, are you damn sure about this? I don't want any &#$! screw-ups." Barret looked at the woman who stood there before him, arms akimbo.
"Perfectly, Barret. It's quite a simple mission, too. We bust in, steal some weapons, and get out. We can't let Shinra have all the new weapons, or anything we try against them won't work!" Tifa looked very proud of herself over this. Barret stared at her in amazement.
"You're &%! insane! It's not that simple! There're guards, and SOLDIERs, and security systems, and all sorts of shit! What the #%$ is wrong with you?"
Tifa looked down for a moment, and re-adjusted her tight shirt. Barret tried to ignore that. It wasn't fair that she had to flaunt herself so. . . He snapped his mind back to the problem at hand.
"Listen, Lockhart. It's a great plan, it just needs work. We need to work out all the details first. Besides, what the %#$ are they doing, anyway? They haven't provoked AVALANCHE for a bit, and I'll be damned if I'm going to waste any good men. Or women," he added hastily to that statement at her raised eyebrow.
"Don't you care that people have been going missing all over Midgar? And with SOLDIERs swarming the city, doing all their raids, who knows when they could search here?"
"Do you know for a fact it's the SOLDIERs and Shinra? Lockhart, we need to be sure it's them before we go rushing into that damned building!"
"That doesn't say anything about the weapons," Tifa said stubbornly. "I do know that they are making one, and experimenting things on people."
"And you know this how?" Barret asked, looking at her piercingly.
"I have my ways. . . Oh, all right."She had started to say the first in a mysterious manner, but at Barret's glare, she stopped. "I got a SOLDIER drunk and wrangled it out of him."
Barret laughed. "Well, there's no denying you've got spunk, kid." He turned away, and added softly, "Too much of it. . ."
"What was that?" Tifa demanded.
"Nothing. . ."
---
Aeris poked her head into the shop, confused. "Mother?"
There was no answer. The shop was still, Aeris' footsteps the only noise. "Mother?" she asked again, worried.She walked into the back of the shop, and stifled a scream. The back, which her mother kept spotless, was a mess. Fruits and all sorts of things she sold were scattered everywhere, papers torn. There was mud and some other substance on the floor. Aeris bent down to see, and drew back almost immediately, feeling sick.
Blood.
"Mother. . .." Aeris picked up her basket and ran home, hoping against hope her mother was there.
She opened the door to find the house in disarray, and no one there either.She fell to her knees, feeling hysterical.
"Aeris?"
She turned to see her neighbor, Junko, standing cautiously near the doorway.
"Your mother gave me this at about noon. She said to give it to you. She looked worried. Do you know what happened here?"
"No." Aeris took the letter from Junko's hand and took one last look at the apartment. "But I think I have a clue. Thank you for the letter."
Aeris put it carefully in her basket along with her purse, and walked away. She went to the one place she had not told her mother of. An abandoned church, hardly used in the slums district except for one-night lodgings.
Once there, she sat on the stone floor near the altar and began to read.
'Aeris,
I have heard that the men are here, searching for us.I hope the do not find this, or you, but I cannot be certain. Do not be afraid, but I have something important to tell you. They are the Turks and the SOLDIERs, and they are searching for me because I ran away. Away from what, I am still reluctant to tell you, but I know I must.
I was used as an experiment, in the lab of a man named Hojo. He injected me with cells, of a Cetra. What exactly that is I am not quite sure, but I was awakened to the Planet's pain. I fell in love with a SOLDIER, and he helped me to escape, but after you were born, he was found and killed.
This is for you. The Materia should help you. Stay away from SOLDIERs and the Turks, who wear blue. Remember, the SOLDIERs all have had Mako shots, so look to the eyes.
I love you.
Elmyra'
She picked up the green-white Materia and looked at it. She now had no doubts as to what happened to her mother. The Turks had found her. She tied the Materia into her pink bow, and began to gather her things.
---
"What is the meaning of this?" Sephiroth asked patiently to the guards who blocked the doorway.
"You are to come with us."
"And if I do not wish to come?"
The guards shifted slightly. The one in charge met his gaze. "We have to force you."
"Do you really think you can stop me?" He asked, amused. He fingered his great sword.
"Yes." The man said this in a slightly confident voice, as if hoping all the guard they had would be able to stop the strong general.
Cloud looked on in horror as Sephiroth unsheathed his blade. Apparently these men did not know about his strength, or if they did, thought they could over-power him. They drew their swords as well, and Cloud heard movement behind him.
"They've surrounded us," he said quietly to Sephiroth.
"Then they will die."
Cloud nodded, reluctantly. He only just managed to get his sword out before Sephiroth started on the second man. The first fell to the ground without a sound.
"He's getting away!" "Get him!""Get reinforcements!" came the cries of the unfortunate men.
Cloud and Sephiroth made quick work of them, save for the few men who went running. Sephiroth turned to go, then stopped Cloud as he made to follow.
"It might be best if you did not come with me," Sephiroth said coolly. "You will do much better on your own."
Cloud opened his mouth to protest, and then shut it at Sephiroth's frosty gaze. He nodded, slowly, and started off in another direction.
"And Cloud," came his voice, "I do believe that you are not a SOLDIER anymore."
And he was gone.
---
"You what?" Hojo screamed at the SOLDIER, spittle flying everywhere.
"We--we couldn't stop them! They killed almost all of us!" The SOLDIER gulped out, trying to look anywhere but at Hojo.
"Find them! Now! And if you make anymore mistakes. . ." Hojo slid a finger across his throat. The SOLDIER stared at him. "I said now!" The SOLDIER ran.
Sinking heavily into his chair, Hojo glared at everything in sight. His prize experiments, gone! He wanted to throw something, but didn't; everything in his room was important. He settled instead for writing a furious memo and delivering it into the hands of his secretary.
Logging into his computer, he was about to start reviewing all his notes when the phone rang.
"Yes?"
"We've found her. Only the mother; the girl was out somewhere, and she refuses to speak with us."
'Finally!' Hojo thought. "I'll be right down. Where are you?"
"Lab 3."
"Secure the area and make sure no one comes near. I'll be right there."
Perhaps his plans weren't so bad after all.
---
"Rufus, pay attention!"
The Vice-President of Shinra reluctantly looked over at his father, startled out of his thoughts. "Sorry Father."
"Good. Now, we have had reports about a new source of energy, and our scientists are working to find it. After all, we might just run out of Mako sooner or later, but I doubt it. We need to harvest this new source and monopolize it. Think of all the millions we can make!"
Rufus nodded, not showing any of his thoughts. Yes, he would find the source, and then take over the company. His father was really getting too old for this sort of thing.
"Excuse me, Father. I have some business to attend to."
The President of Shinra nodded, and Rufus walked to the door. Upon leaving, he made his way to the lab. He would be powerful, more powerful than Sephiroth. Hojo had promised him. He would take over the world. With his plans in motion, it would be his for the taking.
All he needed was Sephiroth and the Ancient. That was all. He rubbed his hands with glee as he thought of his new title: Rufus, Lord and Master. He walked on, his head full of plans and dreams.
---
Tifa was in deep trouble, and she knew it. Barret had specifically forbidden her from trying any of her plans without his permission, but she had already broken the promise she had made. More than broken;shattered it into a million pieces was more like it. She quickly hid behind the pillar as SOLDIERs walked by, knowing that if she was caught, no one would know where she was. She was alone.
She felt a tap on her shoulder and jumped, whirling around as fast as she could, punching out at whoever was there. Her fists caught the man in the middle, and he fell backwards onto the floor with an audible whump! The blonde man shook his head dizzily, then jumped up to grab her should as she tried to run.
Tifa gasped.
"That's not much of a way to greet a childhood friend now, is it?" Cloud asked her, rubbing his stomach.
"No. . ." she said weakly.
"What exactly are you doing here?"
"Nothing," she lied, trying to twist out of his grip.
"Am I supposed to believe that? Come on, Tifa, even as kids you didn't do anything without a reason."
"I was--spying."
"On who? SOLDIER?"
She shifted uncomfortably. "Yes. . ."
"You don't have to worry; I'm not going to turn you in. I'm not exactly a SOLDIER anymore."
"What happened?"
They turned at the shout that came behind them. A group of SOLDIERs were running towards them. "Later!" Cloud said and took off, Tifa following him.
"Let's split up!" she panted as they reached the outside.
"Right!"
"Meet you at the slums, Sector 7! At the inn!"
She didn't know if he replied or not, because more shouting came, and she put all her attention into running through the back alleyways she knew.
---
Cloud was lost. He hated to admit it, but he had never actually explored the town of Midgar. He did know where the slums were, so he headed in their general direction. Leaping on top of a car, he jumped to the top of the roof of the house near by, which was low to the ground. He ran swiftly atop the roofs of the houses, looking around to see where the inn might be.
He was looking so intently, he didn't see the small hole in front of him. His foot caught, and he went smashing into the roof and into the floor below.
Dusting himself off, since it wasn't that much of a fall, he heard a voice behind him.
"Who are you?"
---
Aeris hadn't been in the church long when she heard a noise from above her. Looking up, she saw a man crash through the roof and land in front of her on the ground. For a moment she hovered between uncertainty of helping him or running, but when she saw him pick himself up, the first question was answered.
"Who are you?" she asked. "I haven't met many who go jumping through roofs for fun."
"I didn't exactly do it on purpose," he said, turning around. Then she saw his eyes.
"You're a SOLDIER!" she cried, and ran, scooping up her basket as she went. A strong hand caught her arm.
"Let me go!" she yelled, spitting in his face. He blinked in surprise, but didn't let go. Instead, he wiped it off calmly with his free arm and stared at her.
"Why should me being a SOLDIER have anything to do with anything? Besides, I'm an ex-SOLDIER.You can trust me."
Aeris bit her lip, unsure if she should tell him. Just then, five men burst in from the entrance, wearing blue.
"You! Girl! Come with us!"
Aeris looked Cloud in the eye, and whispered, "I'm going to trust you now. Be my bodyguard, and help me get away from those men."
"Girl!" the leader barked sharply. "We won't wait much longer!"
"I'll go on a date with you. As payment," Aeris said desperately, looking worriedly over Cloud's shoulder at the five Turks.
"Done." Cloud turned to the Turks. "Sorry guys, this girl's taken."
"Listen, you! Do you know who you're talking to?" The leader puffed himself up in the chest, swelling with haughtiness and pride.
"Yeah. Some guys with a bad attitude who are trying to take my girlfriend. Get lost." Cloud looked back at Aeris, and winked. "I'm Cloud, by the way," he whispered softly.
"Aeris," she whispered back.
"Turks! We are Turks! You foolish boy, hand her over! Now!" The leader's eyes looked about ready to pop out of his head, and his face was purple with rage.
"Run!" Cloud yelled, grabbing Aeris' hand and running the opposite direction of the Turks.
"Is there a way out this way?" he asked her as they ran.
"I don't know. There'd better be."
The pair ran inside an open door and slammed it shut. Cloud pushed the rotten chairs and table up against it, his eyes searching the room as he did so.
"There! There's a door behind that curtain."Aeris pointed, and Cloud grabbed her hand again, going through and closing the door behind them.
"There's the exit," he said quietly. "Come on."
Out on the street, the two ran into the crowd of people, where they slowed slightly, knowing the Turks would have trouble finding them in the swirled mass of people.
"Do you have a place to go?" he asked her.
"No."
"Oh. Well, I do, but I don't know where it is."
Aeris stared at him. "How can you not?"
"I'm not from around here. Do you know where the inn is?"
"Yes. Follow me."
She led him through the streets until they arrived at the inn. Aeris looked at her basket in despair. More than half of the flowers were gone, and almost all of the rest were ruined. At least the gil purse was still there. Cloud opened the door to the inn, holding it for her. She walked inside, but not too far, waiting for Cloud.
"I wonder where Tifa is," he said quietly.
"Who's she?" Aeris asked curiously.
"A friend."
"Let's ask that man over there." Aeris walked over to a particularly large man who looked as if he ate nails for breakfast.
"Excuse me," she asked sweetly. He turned his head towards her. "Do you know where we can find a woman named Tifa?"
He looked at her, startled. "What do you want with her?"
"We're friends," she said quickly before Cloud could speak; he had a scowl on his face.
"Cloud!" came a call from the stairway. A woman with long brown hair and a too short skirt and shirt for Aeris' liking stood there. "I was wondering when you'd get here!" She looked at the dust covering the two of them and asked, "Who's this?"
"I'm Aeris. Aeris Gainsborough. Cloud helped me out of a nasty situation."
"I see," she said coolly.
---
Cloud saw the sparks flying in Tifa's eyes as she said that, and groaned inwardly. He quickly stepped in. "So, Tifa, why were you in Shinra's Headquarters anyway?"
"What?" roared the man Aeris had asked. "Tifa. . ." he growled warningly.
"Uh oh."
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Well? What did you think? Was it worth the wait? I'm very sorry it took so long, but I was in the process of visiting friends and destroying Sin in FFX. But it's longer than I usually write, so that should make up for it. Pretty cool. Anyway, please review!
Lysaandi