"All right!" Tifa exclaimed happily. "If you aren't feeling too poorly- and you aren't, right?- then can we try that thing some more?"
"What thing?" Cloud replied curtly. He'd been hoping that Tifa would get the hint and stay behind, but he should've known better. Still, a promise was a promise, and he intended to see it through. That didn't mean he couldn't give her a hard time, though.
"You know, that thing where I get stronger so I can beat the tar out of you?" Tifa chuckled.
"Right," Cloud mumbled. What was the most inane and idiotic thing that he could give her to do while they were walking? There wasn't much, so he said the first thing that came to mind: "Why don't you cast a fire spell or something?"
"Is that all?" Tifa raised her eyebrows.
"I dunno. Do whatever you want. You asked for something to do, and I gave it to you."
Tifa harrumphed and set to work on her assigned task. After everything she did yesterday, a fire spell would be no problem.
Sure enough, it only took her a few tries before she was finally able to keep sustained flame hovering over the palm of her hand. She looked over to Cloud for his approval, but he wasn't even paying attention to her. So, for lack of anything better to do, she busied herself by tossing it from one hand to the other until even that became mundane. With as much flair as she could manage, Tifa then hurled the fireball into the air where it exploded into a dazzling display of red and orange colors.
"What'dya think, Cloud? Pretty cool, huh?" she asked knowingly.
"Hm?"
Tifa reached over and punched him in the arm furiously. "You jerk! You weren't even watching! If you're gonna go through the trouble of helping me out, the least you could do is pay attention."
"I was watching," Cloud protested as he rubbed the spot where Tifa had accosted him. "It was nice. There, I said it. Now, for your next task...uh-" he looked around briefly. "Why don't you try flying...or something?"
Tifa's mouth gaped open and she stared back at him with wide eyes. "F...F-Flying?! You can't even fly, Cloud!"
"Just cast an aero spell on yourself...yeah, that could work!" he said with an excited look on his face that was most likely forced. "Hey, you never know until you try, right?!"
"I'll cast an aero spell on you if you keep this up!" Tifa fumed. "Why can't you take this seriously? You were doing fine yesterday!"
"If I were to do that we'd have to stop, and I don't want to stop right now. Once we get to Nibelheim I'll give you another lesson."
Tifa, however, was too eager to learn and not willing to wait that long. "You know," she said coyly, "the sooner I learn this stuff, the sooner I leave you alone."
"I thought you didn't want to leave?" Cloud countered with a slight grin.
"Damn!" Tifa thought. "Well, I was only thinking of you. I mean, you hate everyone, so I figured you'd be happy if I left."
"I don't hate everyone!" Cloud protested. He glanced at her briefly before returning his gaze to the horizon. "I just hate it when people are always heckling me."
"Well, yooouu could always try loosening up a little," Tifa proposed rapidly.
"Not again," Cloud groaned.
"Again?"
In reply, Cloud merely held up a finger to his lips and said, "Shh. No more talking. That's your next lesson: be quiet for at least five minutes."
Tifa frowned. Staring at his back, she had to suppress the intense urge to slap him up the backside of his head. Then, she brightened as an even better idea popped into her mind.
Once again she formed a tiny ball of flames in her hand, but instead of launching it into the air, she quickly stepped up behind Cloud and pressed it against his rear.
"YEOUCH!" Cloud yelped as he leaped into the air, frantically pawing at his butt in an effort to extinguish the flames.
"You can't catch me!" Tifa taunted as she pointed a finger at him and laughed. Without waiting for a reply, she took off running towards the town, which looked to be a mere two or three miles away.
"Tifa!" Cloud said dangerously.
He darted after her, but Tifa noted that he wasn't using any lifestream energy to increase his speed; otherwise, he probably would've caught up to her in an instant. "Ha!" Tifa thought triumphantly. "Looks like you're warming up to me already! Don't think I can't see through that façade you've got up."
He certainly didn't make it easy for her. Whenever she slowed down, Cloud formed a fireball that was about three times the size of her own and made ready to heave it into her own backside. Basically, it forced her to keep running at the pace he'd set.
Fortunately for Tifa, sprinting was still something she was relatively good at, so she was able to keep running until they entered the sleepy town of Nibelheim, at which point Cloud ceased his pursuit.
It was odd. Tifa had grown up in this town, only to leave it behind after Sephiroth had burned it to the ground. At that time, she thought she'd never return, but by circumstance nearly five years later she did, and what she saw didn't make her happy- neither her, nor Cloud. That was the first time when she began to doubt whether or not everything that'd happened between her and Cloud in the past had been merely a hallucination. Of course, Sephiroth played a major part in that turn of events, but even though everything had long since been resolved it still left an uneasy feeling in her heart. As far as she was concerned, the real Nibelheim still lay in ashes underneath the ground.
"All right," Cloud stated coolly, "the first order of events is to find supplies. That can be your job."
"What? Why me?" Tifa complained. "What are you going to do?"
"I have to...go someplace. Look, I'll find you if I need you, okay?" Cloud offered. "There's the store- go get the stuff and meet me on the mountain trail in about three hours."
He didn't even give her a chance to reply before Cloud simply turned and started walking away.
Tifa stared harshly at his back as she watched him go, but she knew that it wouldn't do any good to argue with him.
Walking into the store Cloud had pointed out to her, Tifa nodded politely at the man standing behind the counter.
"Ma'am," he nodded in response. "Haven't seen you around before. You new here?"
"Actually, I was born here," Tifa replied as she browsed the shelves. The store was so small that it allowed her to converse and shop at the same time.
"Really?" he said good-naturedly. "What made you leave?"
Tifa glanced over with a fiendish look on her face. "It burned to the ground," she said simply. The surprised look on the man's face was expected, but she continued quickly before he had a chance to reply. "And don't tell me it didn't happen, because it did."
"Huh?" he replied helplessly. "Look, lady, I just came here recently, myself, and this town wasn't burned or anything."
"It's because it was rebuilt."
"Well, obviously it was rebuilt!" the man said incredulously. "All I know is that this place was deserted before we got here."
Tifa paused from her shopping and glanced over at the man seriously. "What do you mean? There weren't any people here?" she asked skeptically.
"Yeah," the man nodded. "It was really creepy. The town was in perfect condition, and we couldn't imagine why anyone would want to leave. The funny thing is that they left everything behind. And when I say that, I mean everything. Beds, chairs, blankets...even toothpaste in the cabinets! It's just not natural! It's like they up and disappeared!"
Tifa nodded in understanding. Of course, it was inevitable that once Shinra stopped paying the people to live here and pretend to be citizens they would return to their own hometowns.
"But hey," the man continued, "Who am I to complain? Got a nice house, decent income; what more could I ask for?"
"Hm," Tifa replied absent-mindedly. After grabbing a few miscellaneous supplies, she brought them up to the counter to purchase them. "You haven't seen any...uh, suspicious people about, have you?"
"Like who?"
"Well, he's kinda tall...cropped, messy brown hair with brown eyes...um, wears a really long cape or overcoat thing?" Tifa described from memory. It had been dark when Kether had revealed himself, but she believed she had just portrayed him accurately.
The man shook his head. "No, no one like that around here. You're the first new person I've seen in this town for a while."
"What about the mansion?" she asked further, but in a quiet voice as if someone were listening. "Is it still there?"
"Shinra mansion? Yeah, it's still there," he replied. "That was the only thing that wasn't in perfect condition.
"For a while, no one seemed to really care about it. Someone proposed that we try and repair it, but it would've ended up costing too much, so we abandoned that project."
He seemed ready to conclude the story there, but Tifa said, "Go on." She still wanted to know more about the place that had nearly destroyed Cloud's life. For his part, Cloud never mentioned anything about it to her, even at her request. Instead, she'd asked Vincent if he knew what had gone on in that evil place, and the stories he'd told her nearly made her sick to her stomach.
"Well, it was a hangout for teenagers and kids, I guess," he continued. "Then the fad changed into going up onto the mountain, so even they stopped goin' inside. A few kids still used to play hide and seek there about a year ago, but..."
"What happened?" Tifa pressed.
"They disappeared one day and never came back. The whole town scoured the mansion, but no one ever found them. We've pretty much given them up for dead," he added sadly. "That's why no one ever goes there anymore. Superstitious folk say it's haunted and most levelheaded people agree that it's just not safe to go in, so it's as abandoned as ever."
"I see," Tifa said quietly. "Thanks for your time," she said as she handed the man some gil to pay for her items.
"No problem. Hope to see you around sometime," he waved as Tifa exited the store.
She'd only been in there a mere twenty minutes. That meant she still had two hours and forty minutes to kill before she could meet Cloud.
Dammit, what was she gonna do for that amount of time?
Glancing around the town, her eyes were inevitably drawn to the large mansion that sat on the hilltop some distance away. Just as the man said, it looked as old and decrepit as ever. Briefly, she wondered if she could petition that the town tear the damnable thing down, but that would be too unreasonable. Besides, it looked like it was going to fall apart on its own accord soon, anyway.
Still, she could not ignore the sensation that she was being drawn towards it for some reason. Her body told her that if there truly was something dangerous inside she had an obligation to investigate since she was much stronger than anyone who lived in the town. Surely she would be able to handle whatever was thrown at her because of it; however, her mind screamed that it was in her best interest to just walk away. The cold stench of death still hung heavily in the air around that mansion, proving that it hadn't changed at all these past two years.
Torn between these two emotions, a decision was quickly reached when she heard a cry for help that seemed emanate from inside the building. Dropping her things next to the gate, Tifa tore up the hill and reached the sprawling doors not half a minute later.
Testing the door handle, she was surprised to see that it still functioned properly, but upon opening the doors she was greeted with such a stagnant odor of mildew that she had to cover her mouth and nose with her hands.
"Hello?" she called out experimentally. There was no response.
Nevertheless, she pressed onwards into the dimly lit foyer, completely unaware that the doors had closed and locked themselves silently behind her.
FFVII
Cloud tapped his foot impatiently as he waited at the bottom of the mountain trail for Tifa to arrive. He had told her four hours, hadn't he? Or...was it three?
Sighing dejectedly, Cloud busied himself by kicking around small stones that littered the trail. It probably would be best if he just waited here for her to come; otherwise, he would leave to go and look for her and she would pick that same time to come to him, and then they'd be walking in circles around one another for the rest of the day.
Glancing over at the large parcel he had balanced against a large boulder, Cloud briefly wondered whether or not it would be of any use to him anymore.
Out of mere curiosity, he walked over and removed the outer wrapping from the object. Without even the slightest grunt or effort, he lifted the tremendous Buster Sword from the ground and swung it experimentally through the air.
Even though the blade had not originally belonged to him, it had seen more action in Cloud's hands than it could probably ever hope to experience from its previous owner.
"Oh yeah," Cloud thought proudly. "I've still got the hang of it."
"Whoa, awesome!" came an excited voice from a little distance away.
Cloud glanced over and saw that it came from a disheveled teenage boy who had been walking nearby with, presumably, his girlfriend.
"Uh, thanks?" Cloud replied as he scratched the back of his head nervously. He'd used it so often around his ex-comrades that they'd grown accustomed to it and had never commented on it once. The fact that the exclamation now came from a teenager did little to detract from the overall jubilation he felt. After all, praise, in all its forms, was always welcome.
"Is it fake?" the boy continued as he ran up to Cloud, the girl trailing at his heels.
"No, it's not fake!" Cloud quipped. Just to show off, he spun the blade several times in the air before he planted it firmly into the ground near the lad's feet.
"How much does it weigh?"
"I dunno," Cloud shrugged. "I never bothered to weigh it."
"Can I hold it?!"
"Rich!" the girl whispered fiercely into his ear. "Don't try to pick up that thing!"
"I think your girlfriend's right, kid," Cloud shrugged. "This is a real weapon, after all, not some toy."
The boy returned Cloud's gaze with wide eyes. "Hey, man, that's my sister, all right! Dammit, why does everyone think she's my girlfriend?!"
"Maybe cause you don't have one," the girl chuckled quietly to herself.
"S-Shut up! Anyway, can't I at least hold it?" Rich pleaded.
Somehow the idea of his sword being in someone else's hands irritated Cloud. Maybe it was just a personal thing? Still, it would be fun to see if the kid would even be able to lift it, so Cloud replied, "Sure thing. Knock yourself out."
With that, he leaned back on the rock face and watched with a slight grin on his face.
"Don't hurt yourself, all right?" Rich's sister said sarcastically.
The boy didn't even answer. Taking a few quick breaths, he sized up the sword before he clasped his hands around the handle. His initial pull failed to budge it in the slightest, but on his second try he managed to dislodge it completely. Now that it was balanced against the ground instead of settled in it, Rich tried his best to lift the humongous blade, but he was only able to do so after much difficulty.
He let the blade drop to the ground with a loud clatter as he wheezed, "Damn, how can you even lift that thing?"
Trying to suppress his urge to laugh, Cloud leaned over and retrieved his sword from the ground. He deftly brought it to rest against his shoulder before he bothered replying.
"Let's just say I'm a little stronger than most."
"That's so cool!" the girl smiled widely. "You must work out a lot! Do you fight with that sword, too?"
"I-" Cloud stopped mid-sentence. Then, more softly, "I used to. Not anymore, or at least not until recently."
"Wow! A real life warrior! I'll bet you were in SOLDIER when they were still around, weren't you mister?"
"Call me Cloud," came his curt reply. The girl's last remark left him somewhat unsettled, for though he'd come to accept it, he still felt self-conscious about never realizing his dream of entering SOLDIER. "No, I never was," he said finally.
"Oh well, Cloud," the girl said his name with a slight giggle. "Hey, you're prolly stronger than any of them were, anyway, right?"
Cloud shrugged.
"Listen," she continued without missing a beat, "would you like to...y'know, come over to our house for dinner? My mom is making stir-fry! It's really good, trust me!"
Cloud let out a low chuckle and shook his head. This was probably the first time that a little girl had a crush on him, and he'd only been in town for half a day. What next- an invitation to a movie? That just wouldn't do, especially considering her age...now, how could he wheedle his way out of this one?
"I'm sure your mother makes wonderful stir-fry...um, I'm sorry, what's your name?"
"Oh, no, I'm the one who's sorry! I should've introduced myself earlier. My name is Aeris."
Cloud's heart skipped a beat and he took a step backwards. His sword fell from his hand to land unceremoniously on the ground. "W...What did you j-just say?" Cloud asked slowly.
"Aeris. Nice to meet ya, Cloud!" she extended her hand warmly.
Cloud shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts. "I-I'm sorry...you did say your name was Aeris?"
"Um...yes?" she replied with a puzzled look on her face. "Rich, did I say something wrong?"
"Hell if I know," the boy shrugged.
"Wait! Please, uh...Aeris...what...? I-I mean...would you mind telling me your mother's name?"
Rich and Aeris exchanged quick glanced before she replied. "Ellie. Ellie Gainsborough. Actually, she's not my real mom," she added as she looked down at the ground and shuffled her feet. "She adopted me about two years ago, along with Rich. Our real mom left us at the orphanage for some reason."
Cloud nodded slowly. "Now I understand," he said under his breath.
"Huh?" both Rich and Aeris said at the same time.
"Oh, nothing!" Cloud smiled. "Aeris, you know what? I think I will have dinner with you tonight."
"Really?!"
"Yup!" Cloud grinned. "Just lemme...grab my sword," he said as he glanced mischievously at Rich. He smoothly picked it up off of the ground and shouldered it once more.
"Damn," Rich shook his head. "Don't know how you got that strong, but it takes all kinds, I s'pose."
Cloud couldn't help but laugh at Rich's response. "You'll get stronger when you get older, trust me."
"You really think so, huh?"
"Sure!" Cloud said emphatically.
Meanwhile, Aeris had stealthily managed to meander over to Cloud's side as they walked back towards the town. It didn't take long before the trio was once again within the city's boundary, and the two children quickly made a beeline towards their home.
Cloud recognized it immediately, though he could not recall who had lived there before. Surrounded by a small picket fence, the two-story house had changed from its original green color to a more soothing blue. Glancing behind the residence, Cloud could see a rather large garden that sported a wide variety of colorful flowers and shrubs. Whoever lived here definitely like flowers- that much was for certain.
"Come on in!" Aeris said happily. "I'll just go tell mom you're here."
"Wait for me!" Rich called after her as they both disappeared into the house.
Figuring that no one would bother it, Cloud discreetly placed his sword in the grass before he entered the home. What he saw inside was like something from a movie: the house was filled with ornate vases overflowing with flowers that had been picked from the back yard. Pictures and decorations of every sort lined the walls- probably of her children and their friends, but there were a few that Cloud did not recognize.
"Mom! Mom!" he heard Aeris calling. "We have company!"
Glancing into the kitchen, he saw Aeris was now conversing with Ellie. Cloud was happy to note that she seemed to have aged well- smiling as he watched her interact with her daughter.
"Well, we don't get company every day!" Ellie replied merrily. "Supper's almost ready, so go and wash up!"
"Yes, ma'am! Hey, Cloud, go and meet my mother!" Aeris said as she swiftly passed Cloud and headed towards the bathroom.
Obeying, he silently entered the kitchen and waited for Ellie to turn around.
For a long time she just stood there without saying anything, and Cloud began to wonder if something was wrong. Then: "Cloud." she repeated softly.
She turned around slowly, and when she saw that it was indeed him, the agonized look on her face became all the more visible.
Cloud swallowed hard. He had hoped that this would've been a more happy reunion, but he could hardly fault her for this reaction. It was only natural that she would be upset, after all, considering what'd happened the last time he'd entered her home.
She slammed her spatula onto the counter and stormed over to where he was standing. Now he could see tears brimming in her eyes as she raised her hand into the air, which could only mean one thing...
Cloud braced himself for the assault but kept his arms at his side. After all, he'd had this coming for two years, and he wasn't going to stop her from extracting some sort of emotional compensation for what he'd done to her.
Slowly, agonizingly, Ellie clenched her fist and lowered it, all the while struggling to keep herself from breaking into sobs.
"Why'd you stop?" Cloud asked with a puzzled look. "I guess you must really hate me- and I can't blame you for that- so why not vent your anger on me?"
Ellie pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. Grabbing a tissue from a nearby desk she wiped her eyes and blew her nose gently before she answered. "She asked me not to," was all she said.
"...Aeris did?"
Ellie nodded firmly. With a heavy sigh, she picked up her spatula and resumed cooking her family's dinner. She probably wasn't going to say anything else unless he spoke first.
"Then...you already know?" It was more a statement than a question.
"Yes," Ellie replied swiftly. "That morning two years ago I woke up and found she'd gone after you. I knew then that it was only a matter of time before she would be...well, let's just say that I knew as long as she was with you there'd be trouble, so I eventually resigned myself to it."
Rubbing her temples wearily, she sat down on a nearby chair and stared at the floor. "I didn't know for sure until about a year ago. That was when I had a dream."
"Of Aeris?" Cloud asked.
"Yes. She told me..." Ellie faltered in her speech. For a moment it seemed as though she'd be unable to finish her sentence. Then, after clearing her throat, she held her head up valiantly and continued speaking. "She told me that she had passed on, but that I shouldn't be sad." Here she let out a small chuckle that lasted only for a few seconds. "Just like she said when my husband died in the war. 'Don't be sad' was what she told me."
Cloud didn't know what to say. It had all been his fault, and yet there wasn't anything he could do to go back and change what had happened. "I'm...I'm sorry," was all he could manage.
"Don't be sorry," Ellie said with a wave of her hand. "Aeris also told me that you had tried valiantly to save her. She said that you were so sad when she died that it nearly broke her heart."
Cloud lowered his head and nodded slowly. "Still, it probably would never of happened if I hadn't shown up."
Ellie shook her head and managed a weak smile. "You knew that the Turks had been after her since childhood. I suppose it was only a matter of time before they caught her."
"Hey, Mom, is dinner ready yet?" Rich interrupted their conversation as he entered the kitchen.
"No, not yet, honey," she said firmly. "Why don't you and Aeris go out and play for a bit longer? I'll call you when it's ready."
"Uh, okay. Hey, Aeris, come on!"
Cloud watched the two children escape outside once more, but his attention quickly returned to Ellie.
"I suppose," she began with a wry smile, "that the reason you came here was because you found out that girl's name was Aeris? Am I right?"
"Yes," Cloud admitted reluctantly. "At first I couldn't believe it, but then I figured you must've had something to do with it."
Ellie smiled. "I suppose it's selfish of me to try and replace Aeris with that girl, but I've come to love her just as much, so I don't think it's too terrible of me."
"She's certainly rambunctious enough," Cloud said in a half-hearted attempt at humor.
"That is true," Ellie laughed. She looked as though she was about to say something more, but then she closed her mouth and returned to her food preparation.
"What?" Cloud insisted. "Were you going to say something?"
"N-no!" she replied swiftly.
"Come on! If it's important, you should say it."
"Well," Ellie relented. "It was actually a question, if you don't mind my asking?"
"Go ahead," Cloud agreed. "I think I could at least answer a question for you."
"Before Aeris left my dream, she said something rather odd. She said that you had lost something, and that she was praying for the day you would finally regain it. What did she mean by that?"
Cloud furrowed his eyebrows and thought for a moment. Of course, it could only be one thing, but how could he go about explaining it to Ellie?
"It was...because the Cloud she knew then wasn't the real Cloud. Somehow, she was able to see through the reality I'd created for myself, if only slightly, and she tried her hardest to get me to realize that it was all merely an illusion."
"And?"
Cloud smiled slightly. "I did eventually break free. The person she knew existed all along is standing here right now."
"That's good to hear," Ellie said with a relieved sigh. "She did seem to favor you somewhat."
Cloud shook his head. "There was a former member of SOLDIER named Zack that she had dated about two years before I'd met her. I think she must've seen a little of him in me."
"Of course," he added mentally, "the fact that I was wearing his clothes and carrying his sword had nothing to do with it..." It was probably more out of mere curiosity that caused her to become somewhat interested in him in the beginning. After that, maybe she genuinely grew interested in the person behind the image?
"Anyway," Cloud continued verbally, "we had a deep friendship, but I don't think it was anything more than that."
"I see," Ellie replied thoughtfully. "Was there...someone else?"
"There was," Cloud answered with a stern countenance. "At that time I didn't realize it, though."
"Was? What do you mean? Did something happen to her?" Ellie asked with a worried look on her face.
Cloud furrowed his eyebrows and said lowly, "A lot has happened since then. Any feelings I had for her have long since disappeared."
"Liar!"
Cloud jumped slightly. "W-What?" he asked cautiously.
"Huh?"
"You just called me a liar!" Cloud remakred vehemently.
Ellie shook her head. "No I didn't! You must've heard one of the neighbor's children or something."
"Oh..." Cloud said suspiciously as he glanced around the room to make sure no one was hiding nearby. Was he starting to hear things? As he glanced around, he noticed a clock on the wall that said it was nearly seven-thirty.
"Well, it's late, so I suppose I should be going," he said lightly.
"So soon? Won't you stick around for dinner? It's almost ready."
Cloud politely declined. "I came to town with someone and we need to find each other before it gets dark," he explained.
"Oh..." Ellie said with a disappointed look.
"Tell Aeris and Rich that I'll come back and visit them sometime...if it's not too much trouble?"
"Of course not! You're welcome here anytime. I apologize for my behavior earlier."
"Not a problem," Cloud assured her. "But I could use your help. Are there any bars here? My friend is somewhat of a bar hopper."
"No," Ellie replied. "This town's awfully small, though, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding your friend."
"I see. Well, thank you for your time," Cloud waved as he made his way towards the door.
"Wait!" Ellie called after him. "Your friend- they've been to this town before, right?"
"Yeah," Cloud answered her. "Why?"
"Oh, good!" she exclaimed as she rested a hand over her heart. "Then they know not to go in the mansion."
Cloud narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
"It's just that that place has become pretty dangerous. A few kids disappeared a while back when they were playing inside, and no one ever found them."
"Great," Cloud mumbled to himself. Knowing Tifa, that's probably exactly where she went to. No reason to make Ellie worry, though. "Yeah, she knows better," he lied. "Well, thank you again. I hope I'll see you again soon."
Without waiting for her reply, Cloud quickly exited the home and then all but sprinted towards the mansion.
"Dammit, Tifa!" he said through clenched teeth. "I swear: if you've gotten yourself into another mess I have to save you from I'm gonna make your life so miserable!"