WEll ive had this chapter written for ages but i guess i got lazy, i need to get a good spell checker too -- anyway, enjoy, the next chapter will hopefuly be out quicker ;
Blackness clocked her, it pressed down on her, choked her. She stumbled slightly as she walked, walking endlessly, just walking. The cold deep within her bones made walking hurt, so much. But something pushed her on, something........ a light. Like a gentle hand, guiding her.
Still walking in the blackness, forever, was she trapped here? Were was here? and why was she here?
Still walking........ still walking..... .walking........walking ..........walking. She fell to the ground tired. Limps complaining, shouting for rest. But she had to keep walking. Past the villages, past the mountains. Shapeless, all black. Everything. Why? The gentle hand seemed to hold hers and squeezed tight. It felt familiar, but who?
Blond.....spiky....hair.....? Were? Gone?... No there! Cloud! Wait!.....why wasn't her voice working. Cloud! She followed, running, but her foot falls made no sound.
Drip..........drip..... splash.... drip. Red.......blood.......Cloud.
There was the sound of breathing, sobbing. Nothing more, the emptiness filled her lungs, threatened to kill her. Nothing. Nothing anymore mattered. The bloodied corpse in front of her. All she could see, all she could focus on. The blond hair. The tall manic man standing over the body, long black hair. No. Not Cloud!
Then a bright light filled the area and the smell of...... flowers. And a figure in white appeared from the bright light, it bathed everything in white, on the figures back were a pair of large white wings, even its hair and skin looked white. Maybe it was just the light, turning everything the colour of fresh snow. Tifa could just make out a face, and lips that formed a small sad smile.
'Tifa,' the voice echoed all around her, but not in a booming threatening way, the voice was gentle but there was a hint of sadness to it.
'I know that voice..... could it be....?'
'Tifa, please, i need you're help,i need you to go to him, and warn him............'
'.....Aeris?' Tifa reached out, slowly so she could touch the figure, see if it was real and if it was indeed the friends killed by Sephiroth.... Aeris. The light grew brighter and brighter...............then she woke.
A scream ripped through the gently, silent air, drenched in sweat, drowning in it. The feeling of the suffocating blackness still on her. Shaking with fear the ruby eyed girl sat up. Her body shook worst then anger could move it. She felt sick, terrified. No, he can't be dead, he can't be alive. It was just impossible. And Aeris, somehow thinking of the girl calmed her, Aeris..... she seemed troubled and wanted Tifa's help. Something was wrong.
She threw the blankets from her body and swung her legs off the bed and into the cold un-welcoming night time room. She shivered slightly as goose flesh creeped up her body. She jumped out of bed and walked to the bathroom. It was still so cold, she could still feel the blackness around her.
She reached the small room and switched on the light, blinking as the light flooded the area. She slowly walked over to the sink still half asleep. She stopped at the sink to look at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were red and puffy, her face shinny with sweat. She made a face and bent over the sink to splash her face with water. She took a deep breath and looked in the mirror again, what she saw mad her scream. Long shaggy black hair, over a handsome yet sunken face, hollow eyes, like a persons eyes from lack of sleep. Pale, pale flesh. Impossibly pale. Death pale. Dark fiery eyes, burning with hate. A manic grin over full kissable blue lips. A hauntingly familiar face.
Tifa whipped around looking behind her, expecting to come face to face with the mad man. But nothing. She took a deep shuddering breath, looking around her, no noise, no shadows, no nothing. There
was no one there. Almost crying she faced the mirror again.
A small round pretty face, dripping with water and tears. Pale from shook, jewel like ruby eyes shining from unshed tears. Thins feminine lips shuddering with silent sobs. Brown, chocolate hair plastered to her cheeks and falling down her back in an elegant waterfall. She was the only one in this room. There was no one here. She must have got water in her eyes or something.
She nearly ran back to bed, leaving the lights on. Wishing there was someone here, Yuffie, Vincent, Nanaki, any one, just someone for company, so she wouldn't have to be alone.
She lay on the bed and curled into a fettle position, trying to find comfort in her own heat, but she felt so cold. She pulled the blankets around her until they were over her head, curling into a tighter ball, silent tears streaming down her cheeks like greedy snakes.
What had that dream been about? Cloud couldn't be dead! And Aeris voice, 'Warn him' warn him of what, it was nothing, nothing. Stop being stupid. She closed her eyes tight but the image of the black haired man came back to her, her eyes flew open as she remembered something, realised why he had looked so familiar...but.. it couldn't be, it was impossible.
A small swirl of light fell from the ceiling and it gently fell towards the girl on the bed, it slowly began to take the for of a pure white feather, it came to it journeys end as it fell gently on the brunets forehead. Tifa jumped slightly and picked the feather up studying it closely.
'It'll be ok, you can do it.'
Tifa smiled and hugged the feather to her chest.
Tifa kicked at the dust angrily her face set. She didn't know why she was angry nor did she understand the powerful emotions viaing for attention inside her. One thing she understood was the gapeing hole in her heart, the intense emotion of missing someone. The way she would always look for his stupid, spiky blond head in the crowd.
She kicked the dirt again and continued down the street. She didn't pay any paticual attention to were she was going wanting to get away. To be alone. Truth be told she was getting sick of being treated like a hero. Everyone loved her, thanked her, smiled at her. They were all heroes, her, Cid, Vincent, Barret, Red XII, Yuffie, Cloud....Aeris.
Tears came to her eyes as she remembered to two people she missed the most. A powerful hatred rose in her, Sephiroth, he had take everything away. It was all his fault, damn him.
She kicked the dirt again catching a stone, watching its stuttering dance across the dirt. She wondered were Cloud was now, was he safe? Did he have enough food? Money? Shelter? He could be dead for all she knew. She felt a wrench in her heart, no he wasn't dead, he couldn't be dead.
"HE CAN'T BE DEAD!!" she shouted, startling a few people. But she didn't care, she found herself running, her feet carrying her. Tears blinding her. She bumped into many people raising angry yells and glares.
"Tifa wait!" a familiar voice called but she ran on not caring.
She didn't know were she was going but her feet seemed o know were to go.
She nearly ran into the fence in her hurry, the chocobos gave a startled 'wark!' and ran away from the crazy girl that had nearly run them over.
She clutched the fence her knuckles slowly turning white, she took deep breath trying to catch her breath and easy the burning in her lungs after her frantic run.
'Tifa, please, i need you're help,i need you to go to him, and warn him............'
That voice had been Aeris and she has sounded so desperate so sad. She knew something. And it had something to do with Cloud, but what. He was in danger, but from who, who had that man been? Who? He looked so familiar. If only she could just go talk to Arise, ask her what she had meant. Tifa's grip tightened on the fence then she let go and strode purposefully over to the barn. She would go to the lost city of the ancients, she would talk to Aeirs somehow, she had to.
She ran over to were a black chocobo stood, looking dangerous and sinister, its black coat gleaming. It looked at her with one dark beady eye before uttering a cry and flapping its wings restlessly. She smiled and threw open the door.
"Tifa what are you doing?!" TIfa whipped around to face a red faced out of breath Barret, so that's who'd called after her.
'I have to find Cloud! Its important he's in danger!" TIfa sounded almost frantic her eyes widening slightly. Barret walked forwards and gently rested a hand on her shoulder.
"Tifa calm down, have you planned this journey out? DO you have enough Gil. food, water?" Tifa shook her head mutely, she hadn't though of anything like that. Barret sighed, he'd figured as much.
"I'll go see what the ranch owners have wait here." she nodded and slumped onto the floor, the black chocobo looked confused and restless. It pawed at the ground and moved back and forth.
Barret came back a few moments later with a backpack full of food and a purse full of gil.
"Theres a flasg of water in there and some sandwiches, heres some gil. BE careful." Tifa nodded and smiled at the gunman.
"Thank you Barret."
"Do you want me to come with you?" Tifa shook her head.
"I can do this on my own, she said determinedly." Barret nodded. Tifa jumped onto the black chocobos back and leaned over to whisper in it ear
"I need to get to the city of the Ancients, can you get me there?" the chocobo let out a loud wark and ran off a brake neck speed. Tifa gave a yelp of surprise and threw her arms around the chocobos neck clinging on for dear life, she forgot how fast the clumsy looking birds could run.
After a few days of a breath taking chocbo ride they arrived in Bone Village. The site of the village bought back memories that made her choke on a sob. She slid from the chocobo back and gave it a light pat of thanks. It gave a long wark, then rush off to explore the village.
She walked through the forest, unafraid, nothing would stop her talking to Aeirs, not even the fact that Aeris was dead.
The water reflected the light beautifully, it was so calm and tranquil. Tifa closed her eyes and listened to the whispers around her. She couldn't understand them or understand why she could hear them, but she could understand one voice, a reassuring voice.
"It'll be ok," it said to her. Tifa, still with her eyes closed sighed.
"It will be ok!" she repeated. Her eyes opened and she almost screamed, standing in the water was the pale, shimmering see through form of Aeirs, bathed in a warm light. She smiled at Tiffa.
"Tifa, hi." she said as if there was out of the ordinary for her to be standing there. Tifa stared a t her eyes wide.
"Dont be scared, it'll be ok."
"Aeris," Tifas pretty ruby eyes filled with tears as she ran towards the girl, "AERIS!" she threw her arms out to capture the girl in a hug but instead she fell through and icy veil and landed in the water.
She came up gasping for air and slupttering. Her hair was drenched and plastered to her head. She looked at Aeris eyes full of sadness and Aeris wore an expression of pain.
"Im sorry Tifa." Tifa stood and noticed for the first time she wasnt standing in the water but on it, on a disk of green light.
"Aeris, what............what did you mean, by that dream. What's going to happen to Cloud?"
Aeris suddenly looked desperate and worried.
"You have to tell him, you have to warn him, its Zack, Zack is after Cloud!!" Aeris sounded so desperate he eyes were bulging.
"You have to find him and tell him, you just have to." Aeris was pleading now, desperate for Tifa to understand.
"But.... Zack......hes dead." Tifa looked lost, Aeirs began to fade and she looked terrified.
"So am i," Aeris smiled sadly, "Find him, tell him, please Tifa, you'r my only hope, please find him!" throughout the short speech Aeris had slowly been disappearing, slowly she was becoming less and less there, untill she was there no more, only the memory of the coldness of falling through he see through body.
"Aeris? ........................ AERIS!!!!" but she was gone, even the voices were gone, Tifa was alone again.
"You can do it."
Tifa's head shot up but no one was there, she smiled.
"I can do, ill find him Aeirs, dont worry." and Tifa ran.