Note: I have temporarily removed the later chapters (7-20) for rewriting and improvements. I will reupload them as I finish the new versions, so hang in there!
Chapter Six: The Sanctuary
Revision 1.0, 7-25-2004
Darkness.
Pain.
There was nothing he could see, nor hear, nor feel. Invisibly he stood, as if watching over his own broken and splintered body, the only object he could identify. Luckily he hadn't landed on the blade of his own weapon, for that would have certainly cut him in two.
What was he doing here? It hurt to remember. The last thing he saw, an image still burned into the back of his eyelids, was the smog enveloping his two comrades as he plummeted down into the abyss under the gigantic plate of the City. Where was he now?
Was he . . . dead?
No, that couldn't be it. If he truly were dead, how could he know where he landed? How could he identify his own broken body, lying in a heap at the bottom of the abyss?
He could have saved himself, perhaps. If only his wings hadn't been broken, he could have landed safely....
But by now it was too late. It was over.
And through the void, though he could hear nothing, he knew a voice was calling to him.
Cloud...
What was it? Was he being led through that dark tunnel, away from his shattered body to whatever lay past that final expanse?
Get up, Cloud...
He took one step away from his own body, lying there in the darkness, towards the void.
No, Cloud.
What? It was over; he had fought valiantly and died to a noble cause. What else was required of him? He tried to take another step.
You cannot go that way. Cloud....
Had he lived a lie? Was he not welcome in the thereafter? He stopped in his steps, in fear. If he was not to enter into the mythical final haven, where else could he go?
No... not that other place. Anywhere but there.
Something brushed up against his broken body, and he winced in pain.
There is still more for you to do. Go back....
The pain! Why the pain? He stumbled backwards, falling down. The tendrils of searing agony wrapped themselves around him, and he tried to ignore it as it suffocated the area around him.
Don't you remember? Last time?
Remember . . . what? No, he couldn't. The pain was too much.
Get up, Cloud....
Finally, his senses began to return.
There Cloud lay, his body resting in a patch of flowers fit for a grave, covered in cuts and scars, his hide stained nearly purple with his own blood. As his eyes slowly lifted open, he took in all the light surrounding him.
A voice from nearby, still out of his vision, sighed in relief. "Thank the Rainbow, you're still alive!"
"Huh...?" Cloud muttered. He strained his head around, towards the direction of the voice. "Where... am I...?" Cloud's eye caught sight of a large, splintered hole in the ceiling above him, through which he had unquestionably plummeted through. "Man... some landing...."
"You gave me quite a scare," responded the voice, a mare's voice, as Cloud continued to try and look around to locate her. "One moment I'm watering the plants, and the next -- CRASH! -- you come raining down...!"
Cloud struggled with his legs to get them on solid footing. He rolled over from his side onto his legs, then looked around again.
And there she was, right in front of him.
Cloud gazed at her. A unicorn. The same pink mare who had sold him a flower the night before. The same brown mane and tail, the same emerald green eyes, and the same deep red cape. Next to her lay the wicker basket, empty of its blossoms.
"You...."
"You remember, don't you!" The mare responded happily.
"Yeah... the flowers...," Cloud added. "Imagine... meeting you again in a place like this . . . just where am I, anyway?"
"Fifth District Sanctuary, right next to the Slumps; I live not far from here. They say that long ago, ponies would come to places like these to celebrate, to have fellowship with one another . . . but not any more. So it's just me and the flowers...."
"Flowers...," Cloud said, looking down and around him. His vision fell upon the rainbow of blossoms surrounding him, in particular one underneath his hoof. He was crushing them! Surprised, Cloud instinctively jumped back in a flip, and landed squarely on the edge of the flower bed. There was a uniquely pegasus-shaped depression of crushed blooms where he had landed.
"Damn! So sorry about that...."
"Oh, there's no need," the unicorn responded as she slowly stepped into the bed herself to tend to the damaged flora. "These flowers are quite resilient. They'll grow back in no time."
Cloud shrugged. Feeling a little stiff, he stretched his legs and wings to relax.
-- Wait a minute, his wings! Cloud checked them over quickly, opening his wings to their full span and then folding them back up. They weren't broken anymore!
"How...?" Cloud wondered aloud. But the unicorn answered for him.
"Oh, your wings? Lucky for you I was around, otherwise you'd surely have died from that fall."
"Whoa, you mean...," Cloud stammered, "you healed me?" Cloud checked his wings again, looking for signs of their past injuries. Even if healed by magic, injuries like that would still leave scars. And yet, as he ruffled through the feathers, he found no signs of injury. It was as if they had never been broken or harmed in the first place.
Cloud looked to the unicorn, dumbfounded. "How did you do that?"
The unicorn smiled. "It's a gift."
"That's amazing...."
The unicorn nodded and then returned to sorting through the flowers.
"Say, I don't think we've had a chance to properly introduce ourselves," Cloud began, humbly. "What's your name? Mine's Cloud."
"Good strong name," the unicorn muttered. "Call me Aeris."
"Aeris, huh?"
"Oh!" Aeris exclaimed as she picked up a small green gem out of the flower bed. "You must've dropped this." Aeris tossed it to Cloud and he caught it.
"Thanks," Cloud answered. On a whim, he drew his weapon and checked its gem compartments. Sure enough, one had fallen loose from the impact of his fall. Setting the blade down for a moment Cloud reaffixed the gem in its spot.
"So you know how to use them, then," Aeris nodded.
"Yeah, nothing special," Cloud answered as he sheathed the weapon across his back. "You can buy them just about anywhere these days. For a price, of course...."
Aeris nodded. "Well, what do you think of this one?" Aeris produced a light, almost iridescent green gem from a pocket in her cape. "It's special...."
"Special? It looks like any ordinary magic gem to me. What's special about it?"
Aeris laughed. "It was my mother's. It doesn't work though."
"Are you sure? Let me see...," Cloud requested. Aeris tossed the gem in his direction and he caught it. Cloud looked at it deeply, focusin ghis thoughts into it, to identify it. The gem gave only a very brief flicker in response. Yes, it was indeed a magic gem, but exactly what kind it was, Cloud had no idea. The gem, it seemed, refused to identify itself.
"You're right," Cloud answered before he tossed the gem back to its owner. "There's something different about that one. It won't identify itself. What kind is it?"
Aeris shrugged. "I have no idea. It reminds me of mom, though, so I just keep it with me."
Aeris glanced towards the open door to the sanctuary for but a moment, noticing some shadows pass by outside. "Say Cloud...."
"Yes?" Cloud answered.
"What... do you do for a living?"
"Me? Soldier for hire. Whatever's needed, I guess."
"I thought so," Aeris chuckled. "I... I have job for you; I need a bodyguard."
"Bodyguard?" Cloud asked. "I can do that... but I gotta warn ya, that kind of job doesn't come cheap...."
"That's okay, I can pay you later."
Cloud shook his head. "No, I'd rather have some payment up front this time. I wasn't exactly paid well for my last few jobs...."
"A down payment, huh?" Aeris smiled, a curious look in her eyes. Smiling, almost giggling, she gave Cloud a quick kiss.
"What was that for?"
"You're hired. You can have the rest of it later," Aeris said.
Cloud shook his head. "You can't be serious, asking that...."
"It's a date, then. Okay, 'bodyguard', you're hired!"
"Hey...!" Cloud tried objecting.
A voice from across the sanctuary interrupted them both. "Sounds romantic. Shame it won't be happening though...."
Cloud instinctively turned in the direction of the voice. Standing between them and the front door of the building Cloud spotted a redmaned pony dressed completely in a navy-blue, almost black suit. Strapped to his shoulder he held a walking stick with gems inset into the handle. Flanking this dark-suited pony stood two Rin Sha soldiers in blue uniform, with laser rifles drawn.
"Who are you??" Cloud demanded. Something about that midnight-blue suit seemed very familiar. "--Wait, don't tell me. You're... you're a Lurk, aren't you? A Rin Sha Lurk!"
"How observant of you, renegade. Step away from the ancient pony, and let us do our job."
"If you think I'm going to back away, you're even dumber than those corporate goons in the central tower. She is under my protection now."
The two soldiers flanking the Lurk raised their rifles and drew beads across Cloud's flank with their sights.
"Stand down!" the Lurk ordered his two soldiers.
"But Vegas, sir, don't you want him taken out?" The soldier objected.
"I haven't decided that yet. Stand down!"
His two soldiers sighed and lowered their rifles.
"So what's going to be, sir pegasus?" The Lurk, Vegas, asked. "Walk away, let us do our job, and we'll let your traitorous hide live to see tomorrow...."
"Not going to happen." Cloud grabbed the handle of his weapon, ready to strike the Lurk down.
"You'd rather fight? Against a Lurk?"
"Cloud!" Called Aeris, from the back of the sanctuary. Behind the altar, behind the flower bed, stood a lone door leading elsewhere.
Cloud growled, then began to walk backwards away from Vegas. "This isn't over...."
Vegas, smiling, motioned for his soldiers to stay still as Cloud retreated. "No, it's only starting."
Cloud then turned and ran to follow Aeris.
"Vegas, sir," one of the soldiers objected. "Why didn't you --"
"Relax," Vegas said. "We'll get them." He took a few steps forward, muttering to himself. "Twinkling eyes, all right. He had... twinkling eyes."
Stopping in the middle of the sanctuary's flower bed and its matted blooms, Vegas turned around to his soldiers. "Alright, guys, move in....
"...oh yeah," Vegas added as he kicked a blossom from the bed of flora. "And don't go trampling over the flowers...."
On the right wall of the back room lay an old window, its glass long shattered and cleaned up, and the window itself now nothing more than a bright hole in the wall. Aeris and Cloud had almost reached this exit, after maneuvering around old tables, chairs, and storage boxes, when an explosive shot interrupted them. Flying over their heads, the small grenade-like projectile exploded near the wall, shattering wooden supports holding up the old haven's second floor. As Cloud and Aeris recoiled from the force of the explosion, a rain of wooden splinters and storage boxes from above descended to the floor, covering their exit in a pile of sharp debris.
"Now now," Vegas called from the entrance to the sanctuary, stowing away a single-shot grenade launcher into his uniform. "You didn't think you could get away that easily, did you?"
Cloud drew his weapon and approached Vegas, while Aeris looked around for any place else they could escape to. Vegas chuckled.
"What's so funny?" Cloud asked.
With a smirk, Vegas drew his walking stick and began walking over towards Cloud. "You have no idea what you're getting into," he taunted.
"Well, it can't be any worse than challenging a former Stallion to battle," Cloud countered.
Cloud charged Vegas, sword first. But Vegas easily blocked the blow with his nightstick, as the two equines clashed in combat. The moment they clashed, Cloud felt a sharp heat penetrate through his sword and body, into the ground. Electricity! Yelling in pain, Cloud fell backwards and onto the floor.
Vegas laughed again as Cloud struggled to regain his footing, his muscles resisting due to the lingering shock. "Fool...," Vegas sneered.
"Sir!" Called Vegas's two soldiers as they entered the back room. Immediately they spotted Cloud on the ground. "Should we take him out?"
"No, this one's mine," Vegas ansewred. "Get the ancient pony!"
The soldiers looked around, yet Aeris was nowhere to be seen. Only a few hoofprints and tufts of floating dust on a rickety wooden staircase belied where she had went. Vegas's two soldiers looked upwards, towards the ceiling, where a wooden upper floor shook slightly under passing steps.
"There she is!" They shouted as Aeris appeared above, near a staircase leading up into the ceiling's rafters. Immediately they drewtheir rifles and opened fire in her direction.
Aeris screamed.
"You idiots!" Vegas shouted as he charged his own men, knocking their rifles from them. "We have strict orders to capture her alive! Fire one more shot in her direction and I'll have your heads to decorate the office with!"
Ah, a diversion. Cloud succeeded in forcing himself to stand back up, grabbed his weapon, and lunged for Vegas.
Vegas was expecting him, and whirled around just before he reached within striking distance. Blade clashed against nightstick, and Cloud reeled in pain as another electrical shock coursed through his body. His sword would not avail him against such a weapon, and the force of the shock forced Cloud down again.
Vegas turned to his soldiers. "I'll deal with the ancient pony. Destroy this fool," he ordered as he began calmly walking around the old tables and chairs of the back room, calmly drawing his small pistol and loading a fresh grenade into its barrel.
Cloud struggled and forced himself back onto his feet to find Vegas's soldiers aiming at him with their laser rifles. Cloud was about to charge them when an explosion rang out from the upper levels.
Vegas held his smoking gun proudly as a rain of wooden debris fell from the upper levels, and with it, a certain red-caped unicorn. Aeris fell a short distance from the ceiling rafters, spared the deadly impact of a two-story fall by her landing on the second level. Vegas began loading a third round into his pistol.
Cloud glanced back at his two opponents to see them still gaping at their commander's actions. Immediately Cloud seized the opportunity and caught them off-guard. In the time it took them to react to Cloud's sudden offensive, he had nearly beheaded the first of his opponents in a deadly swipe, and cleaved through the laser rifle of the second when he tried to block a followup blow. Cloud, though, swung his sword around with its momentum and slashed right across the soldier's torso armor, cutting a near-fatal blow through the opponent's hide.
Both opponents fell to the ground, then Cloud directed his attention towards Vegas just in time to see him firing another shot from his pistol. The red projectile darted upwards into the air and impacted Aeris in the side, near the neck. "Cloud!" Aeris shouted.
Furious, Cloud charged Vegas to attack. Yet his opponent anticipated him again, and Cloud's blade clashed again with the Lurk's electrified weapon, sending Cloud down in a shock while his opponent laughed out loud.
"C-cloud...," Aeris tried to call.
"Give it up, unicorn," Vegas shouted. "That tranq's strong enough to take down a dragon. And your, 'bodyguard', here won't be of much service either...." Vegas kicked Cloud's weapon aside. In full command of the situation, Vegas calmly walked towards the stairs as Aeris stumbled over her own feet in her attempts to run.
Cloud struggled to get back up and grabbed whatever weapon presented itself. Now armed, he stood up on his feet and then charged Vegas.
Once again, the Lurk was expecting him, and their weapons clashed. Vegas's nightstick chipped into Cloud's weapon, and in the impact, Cloud knocked the weapon aside, and then delivered a sharp kick to Vegas's side, knocking him down.
"What the--?" Vegas shouted, quickly assessing the situation as Cloud dropped the small plank of wood, a mere splinter from the crossbar it had been broken from, to the ground. That weapon had served him well; now it was time for another. As Vegas quickly regained his footing, Cloud focused his thoughts into one magical gem set into his armor, one he had been saving for a time such as this.
Vegas was the target as Cloud unleashed an icy burst of wind in Vegas's direction. Vegas prepared for the impact as the freezing air wrapped itself around him, forming a layer of ice around his body and, especially, his legs.
"You won't get away with this...," Vegas yelled as he tried in vain to break his legs from the ice casing affixing them firmly to the floor.
"Oh? I think I already have," Cloud said, picking up a piece of wodden debris and then knocking Vegas senseless with its broad side.
Cloud ran back to the center of the room, picked up his sword, and sheathed it across his back. Then he chased up the stairs, to the second level of the back room, to get Aeris.
Aeris lay across a small gap of splintered wood, on her side. Quickly Cloud ran through the obstacle course of dusty, wooden debris, across the small gap, to her. Cloud nudged her and lifted her head up. "Aeris!"
Aeris strained her eyes open. "Cloud...."
"C'mon, we're getting out of here," Cloud said as he lifted Aeris up from her side, onto her four feet.
"So tired...."
"I know, it was a tranq," Cloud said. "You've got to fight it!"
Aeris yawned and nodded in response. She struggled to stand up to her feet, succeeding halfway, and then Cloud helped her stand.
"A... what...?" Aeris said, yawning again.
"Pull through it!" Cloud ordered, momentarily gaining Aeris's full attention. "We have to get out of here. Where do we go?"
Sleepily, Aeris pointed up. "Roof exit...."
Cloud growled, then noticed the tranquilizer dart still stuck in her neck, partially obscured due to her mane. Cloud grabbed it and pulled it out.
"Ow!" Aeris shouted, snapping to attention. "What was that?"
Cloud showed the dart to her. "Tranquilizer. You've got to stay awake so we can get out of here. Where do you live?"
"Slumps... nearby...," Aeris answered, yawning again.
"C'mon, stay in there," Cloud insisted, shaking Aeris to keep her awake. "Lead the way."
Drowsily, one foot at a time, Aeris began ascending the stairs leading to the ceiling rafters, and Cloud followed alongside. "Aeris, you know who those ponies were, right?"
Aeris blinked, then blinked again. "...They, they're Rin Sha...?"
"Good," Cloud answered. "Yes. Well, the Lurks, actually. One of the Rin Sha executive branches.
"...Lurks?" Aeris stumbled, and Cloud grabbed her to keep her from falling back down the steps.
"Hang in there!" Cloud ordered. "The Lurks, they have many jobs. Officially, they're in charge of scouting and recruiting new fighters into Stallion."
"...Scouting? They looked... more like they wanted to kidnap someone...."
Cloud nodded. "Yeah, that too. Propaganda, abduction, assassination . . . there isn't a single black project in the Rin Sha that the Lurks don't have their dirty hooves in. --Hey, do you follow that?"
"What?" Aeris said, blinking her eyes open.
Cloud sighed. "C'mon, stay awake! You can do this. Which way do we go?"
Aeris raised a leg and pointed to a hatch on the far wall. "That... way...."
"Right." Cloud helped Aeris walk the distance across the ceiling attic level towards their exit. While he let Aeris sit down, he trotted over and unlatched the exit, then swung it aside.
He discovered a huge pile of garbage and debris piled on the other side.
Cloud shrugged. "This could take awhile... Aeris, can you give me a hand here?"
Cloud looked back to see Aeris dozing lightly. He shook his head and then ran over. "Aeris!"
Outside, in the giant heaps of trash and debris outlining the Fifth District Slumps, one of the piles shook and shuddered slightly, scaring away vermin and other creatures. It happened again, and then in a third shove, a small pile of junk and debris fell over, spewing a cloud of dust into the air. Cloud and Aeris walked out onto the scrap heaps as the air began to clear.
"How long has it been since anyone's even used that exit?" Cloud asked to Aeris.
"A few years," Aeris answered, still a little groggy, but now nowhere as sedated as she had been earlier. "We, need to keep the door hidden...."
Aeris knelt down and tried in vain to lift up a layer of metal scrap. Cloud turned back, then knelt down to give her some help. Together they lifted the old bulk upwards, and then propped it up against the hillside of scrap, concealing the way they had come through. Given a few weeks, perhaps, and the thick air would again coat it in a layer of dust, hiding it from view. "Is that how...."
Aeris nodded. "Uh-huh. It's used so rarely, I must be the only one who knows there even is a roof exit to the sanctuary."
"That's just as well," Cloud nodded. "Say, are you feeling all right?"
"What was that for?" Aeris asked indignantly. "I'm fine now!"
Cloud blinked in wonder; five minutes ago he was struggling to keep her awake, and now she was as energetic as he'd ever seen. It should have taken hours for a pony to shake off the effects of a tranquilizer. And yet, here was this unicorn, pulling through in about ten minutes? That was impossible, Cloud knew.
...Equally as impossible as him having survived that fall from the Upper Fifth District, and waking up with his wings fully intact instead of broken.
Cloud didn't understand. Was it because she was a unicorn?
"...We should keep moving," Cloud said aloud to change the subject. "Once that Lurk comes to, he'll send for some reinforcements and then start hunting for us."
"You mean for me, don't you? I'm the one he was after."
"Perhaps," Cloud countered. "But he'll also want payback for me getting the better of him in that fight."
"Looks like you need a place to stay. How about my house?" Aeris began to lead north across the hillside of scrap and junk.
"Hey, let's not get ahead of ourselves," Cloud advised, as he quickly caught up. "What do the Lurks want with you? Is it because you're a unicorn?"
"Probably...," Aeris said as Cloud stopped her. "It... isn't the first time they've tried to get me, either."
"Really?"
"Yeah. The last time was many years ago. And he was there to protect me then...."
"Who?"
Aeris smiled. "Oh... it's not important right now. Say, didn't you used to be in Stallion?"
Cloud halted and blinked. "Once. ...you can tell?"
Aeris nodded. "Of course. Your eyes twinkle in a funny way."
"Oh, that...," Cloud said, looking away. "...wait a minute. How did you know that?"
Aeris chuckled andbegan leading the way again. "There's time for that story later. Come on, I'll show you to my place!"
Cloud sighed. The unicorn seemed to know more about him than she let on. First she had identified him as one of Snowslide's members, and now as a former Rin Sha Stallion as well. There had to be a reason for it, but exactly what it was, Cloud had no idea.
Cloud tracked Aeris as she trotted and hopped ahead, across short gaps and unstable areas of the scrap heaps, towards a set of metal shacks and old converted trailers that identified the main plaza of the Fifth District Slumps. Here Aeris disembarked, jumping down to ground level, and Cloud was not far behind in following.
"Here we are," Aeris announced. "Fifth District Slumps. My house is not too far from here...."
"Your... house?" Cloud asked. In truth, none of the buildings surrounding the Slumps plaza were actual houses. Cloud was expecting that she would simply lead him to one of the retrofitted trailers . . . like one on the left, a rusted-orange metal trailer whose apray-painted sign identified it as a trading shop. Or like one on the right, a mere tent constructed of metal slabs and poles, with all the structural integrity of a house of cards.
These and other examples of the poor shanties that the Slumps ponies called home made Cloud even more unprepared for the surprise that awaited him, as Aeris led the way across the plaza towards the eastern perimeter of the Slumps, through a small path leading between piles of garbage and trash, curving right and left until the Slumps plaza was no longer visible, and arriving straight into....
Paradise.
Cloud couldn't believe what he was seeing. White light shone down brightly through clean air, as if there were no such thing as city smog, to illuminate a field of vibrant blooms. Roses, marigolds, and countless other flowers he couldn't name flourished under the artificial lighting, arranged like hues of the rainbow. Through the center of the garden ran a small stream, no doubt fed from the City's water filtration system, irrigating the soil and flora. Green grass carpeted the ground as Cloud carefully stepped forwards through the small field, scanning his eyes across the edges, and spotting ivy growing on the surrounding heaps of City debris. Here, not too far from the City's central pillar, lay the impossible miracle that Aeris humbly identified as her home, the plant life covering up the stains and garbage that so well identified the City Slumps. Here, it was like a slice of the Upper City descended to ground level; or better yet, as if the smog-laden City had never existed in the first place.
Cloud cast a glance at Aeris, waiting for him up ahead and to the left, standing at the entrance to a genuine, wood-and-metal framed house, ornate as to be fit for nobility. The structure itself was in excellent condition, untouched by the City's smog or corruption, much like (and equally impossible as) the small meadow surrounding it.
Nothing about this place made sense; the City authorities would never fund such a beautification project in the lowest depths of the City, yet even if the endeavour were privately funded, how could it last when it was surrounded by garbage and corruption on all sides, especially above? How could it remain free from the hapless inhabitants of the Slumps, the drunks, and the gangs? Hesitantly, Cloud walked forwards towards Aeris.
Aeris opened the door to the building as Cloud neared. "Mom, I'm home!" She shouted as she entered the house.
Cloud spotted a mint-green pony, a mare with chestnut colored mane and tail, and wearing a short apron with various tools, including a few gardening implements. She stood up from her seat at one end of the room, shutting off the television set she had been watching. The mare glanced over Cloud, then turned to Aeris. "Aeris, you're safe. Who is this?"
"This is Cloud," Aeris introduced, turning to Cloud. "Cloud, this is my mom, Mira. Say hello...."
"...Hi, Mrs. Mira," Cloud answered.
"Oh, just call me Mira like everyone else," Mira answered with a smile. "So, what can I do for you?"
"Nothing, really...," Cloud answered humbly. "I was doing my job. Now that Aeris's safe, I should get going...."
"Safe?" Mira turned to look at Aeris. "They were after you again?"
Aeris nodded. "Yeah, they were. But Cloud was there too. He protected me."
Mira shook her head. "First there's the explosion in the Refractor above, and now this. I swear, it's getting more dangerous in this City each day...."
"Can Cloud stay for a little while?" Aeris volunteered.
"Me? No, I have to get back to HQ. ...It isn't much of one, just a place in the Seventh District. My friends will be wondering what happened to me...."
"Then I'll go with you!" Aeris interjected.
"No way," Cloud rebutted. "It could be dangerous out there. I'll make better time going alone...."
"Dangerous?" Aeris laughed. "Come on, Cloud. I grew up around here. Danger's a fact of life, I can handle it."
"No, I can't have you getting involved...."
"But you know what happened back there in the sanctuary. I'm already involved."
"No, you stay here," Cloud insisted.
"Excuse me?" Mira interrupted, moving herself between the unicorn and pegasus. She turned to Aeris first. "Look, Aeris, I don't want to argue with you. You never change your mind once you decide on something. But can't you least stay for some lunch first?" Mira then turned to Cloud. "Both of you must be hungry...."
Pausing, Cloud gave it a thought. He hadn't eaten a proper breakfast before they left on their mission -- hell, he hadn't had much of a dinner the night before either. So yes, he was fairly hungry. "Fine by me," Cloud answered.
"Okay, then," Aeris nodded. "Mom's cooking is the greatest. You'll love it!"
"That's the spirit," Mira said, smiling. Then she walked towards the kitchen to prepare some food.
Over the next twenty minutes Cloud enjoyed the closest thing to a 'social lunch' as he'd ever had. Not that Cloud was the social type, mind you; but the smell of Mira's cooking had reminded him of just how long it was since his last proper meal. Mira and Aeris did most of the talking, while Cloud merely attended quietly to his food, offering one-word answers to questions volleyed in his direction. Cloud had no watch to keep time with, and the minutes seemed to fly by as he cleared his plate. Somehow he managed to finish at about the same time as Mira and Aeris, despite having helped himself to larger portions. Perhaps the two hosts were pacing themselves for this, planning to run out of food and small-talk at the same time.
When the meal was over, Aeris announced that she was a bit tired. Cloud agreed, for a full stomach tends to make one tired. Wary of having stayed longer than he planned on, Cloud eyed the front door as Aeris ascended the stairway to the upper floor of the house.
"Cloud, can I ask you something?" Mira inquired.
"Sure, go right ahead," Cloud answered.
"You... were in Stallion, yes?"
"The eyes, right?" Cloud said, nodding and looking away.
Mira nodded in response. "I, uh... have a favor to ask. Could you... please leave?"
Cloud nodded again. "No problem. I did my job, I must be getting back."
Mira sighed in relief, as if glad she didn't have to explain her reasoning. But she did so anyway. "I don't want Aeris to get attached to yet another Stallion officer...."
"Former Stallion officer," Cloud corrected.
Mira nodded. "Yes. But you're with those rebels now, aren't you?"
"You knew?"
"Yes," Mira answered. "You fit the official description perfectly: blue pegasus, blonde hair, and no markings...."
"But you're not going to report me," Cloud suspected.
"Heavens, no," Mira answered. "I don't care for the Rin Sha. You see the garden out there?"
"Y-yeah," Cloud said, tripping over his own words. "How can it be?"
"It's because of Aeris," Mira answered. "Many years ago, she found several packages of flower seed stashed away in the pantry. I told her not to, but she went out and planted some of them anyway. I knew they wouldn't grow; because of all the trash the Rin Sha throw down from the upper levels. She tried anyway. I don't know how, but a few weeks later, she came back in all excited about how one of the flowers was actually blooming! I couldn't believe it. A flower -- a real, live flower, growing in the Slumps -- I don't know how she did it. After that, she just set to work clearing out the junk and planting more. Much more. And now, we have this beautiful garden outside. It's a miracle...."
"It's not the only one, too," Cloud said, stretching his wings. "...But I really must be going."
"Go right ahead," Mira said back.
"Thanks for your courtesy. Tell Aeris, uh... I hope we'll meet again."
Mira shook her head. "No, it's fine. You can tell her that the next time you find her selling flowers."
"I'll be moving on now."
And with that, Cloud opened the front door to the house and stepped outside. He took a minute to look around, and merely take in the beautiful paradise surrounding him, before deciding to continue on. He had to leave this beautiful place, he knew. He needed to check in with his comrades back in the Seventh District.
Cloud left with haste, casting only an occasional glance behind him to make sure he wasn't being followed.
Author's Notes:
Ack, it took me forever to collect enough time to finish this version of the chapter. There's no time for procrastination like tomorrow....
Anyway. I had three objectives for re-writing this chapter. The first one is the opening sequence, with the mysterious voice talking to Cloud. This time, I wanted it to be vague, impossible to determine exactly who or what it is (similar to playing FF7 for the first time). I also introduced the near-death aspect of it, as if to imply that he's already dead from the fall (which by rights he should have been).
My second objective inthis chapter was to recreate the confrontation with Reno, now called Vegas. I didn't entirely like the portrayal of the Turks in FF7, it didn't seem quite professional enough for a high-ranking Shinra organization. I mean, Aeris gets trapped in the bottom level of the back room, meanwhile Cloud is up in the rafters shoving barrels(!?) down to stop the soldiers . . . what is Reno doing? Why would he just stand there and let his flunkies do all the work? So here, when Vegas came in, I tried to make it clear that Vegas is in full command of the situation. He takes on both Cloud and Aeris, he chews out his own men, and when Cloud tries to fight back, Vegas gets the better of him. Now, Vegas shooting Aeris with a tranq, I added that completely on a whim. I figured it would give Cloud more to do and tense the situation a bit.
My final objective for this chapter came after Cloud finally bested Vegas and helped Aeris escape. After digging their way to freedom and arriving in the Fifth District Slumps, comes Cloud's breath-taken reaction ot Aeris's house and the garden surrounding it. Back in the game of FF7, there was never any emphasis on the fact of just how Aeris could live in a genuine house, with a thriving garden nearby, in a city full of pollution, retrofitted trailers acting as houses and shops, and devoid of flowers. The game placed no emphasis on the contrast between Aeris's house and the surrounding area, and that was one thing I needed to change.
For the next chapter, Cloud begins his journeying from the Fifth District Slumps towards the Seventh District. But when he sees Lockheart being shuttled towards the Sixth District Slumps, the kingdom of a sleazy mob boss, everything changes. Rumors abound regarding the rebels and the Seventh District, somewhere in there is his childhood friend, and a dark plot is afoot.
Disclaimer:
Final Fantasy 7, its original characters, and its original plot are, of course, productions of Squaresoft Inc. (now Square Enix, LLC). And My Little Pony is a trademark of Hasbro, Inc.