Disclaimer: Final Fantasy 7 belongs to Square. No Chocobos, Moogles, or even Moombas were harmed in the production of this fanfic.
Author's Note: Thanks to Onna and Fiery Tempest for teh beta-readz0rs.
Sweet Sacrifices - 2 By: Liv
The yellow taxi had parked right in front of the hospital's lobby. Its color glowed amidst the hard rain and dark night. Tifa pushed the door open. She jumped out and jogged towards the hospital, ignoring the need to close the door. Her khaki coat was slightly wet, she held it tight so as to keep her warm. But once inside the hospital, she had loosened her hold of it revealing her skimpy clothes as she frantically looked for the woman who called her. She saw many bodies covered with bloody white cloth and men and women weeping. "Holy God..." She felt her lips move and heart beat loudly. These were men from war, she was sure. She saw dog tags on top of each quilt. Her thoughts were interrupted by someone's voice and turned to her left to see Rufus looking at her, Aeris beside him with a gray towel to warm her up. "Aeris!" She called, jogging over to her.
Aeris' head lifted from leaning against her brother's shoulder as she looked at Tifa. "Oh, Tifa!" Her body rose to a sitting position as she held out her hand for a hug.
Like a mother, Tifa immediately sensed her need for one and embraced her friend, who wept at her shoulder. "It's okay, I'm here." She whispered. She felt Aeris nod. "You look like you've seen a ghost, what happened?"
Rufus faced Tifa who looked at him to speak. "Men from the Wutai War were charged into this hospital. She's seen so many wounded and dead bodies. It was a very morbid sight." He sighed. "I had asked her to come home with me but she wanted to stay..."
Tifa's mind raced to say something. Soon, she gave a soft forced laugh. It scared her, she wondered why. "Aeris, these are soldiers, not relatives. Pull yourself together."
Aeris' weak arms moved to push Tifa slowly away so as to be able to look at her. She was teary-eyed and pale. "These are men who worked for Shinra, Tifa. They died for us!"
"Shhh!" Tifa embraced her friend once more. "These are soldiers who swore their lives to Shinra. It's...sad...but...it's something we must accept." She had a difficult time stringing the words together.
Footsteps came, but only Rufus had turned to see the newcomer. It was an old man with brown hair and gray streaks like his mustache. His glasses are dark rimmed. He had a lab coat over his neck-tied polo top and brown pants. He held a black clipboard with some well-kept files on it. "Good evening, I'm Dr. Gast." He held out his hand.
"Good evening," Rufus immediately took it and shook it with both hands. "How are they?" He asked on behalf of his sister when the hands have already separated. It was only then that the women turned to the doctor.
"Sadly," Gast started adjusting his glasses. "More than half of the patients have died. Either due to severe pain, loss of blood, and magical poisoning. There are also reports of instant deaths."
Rufus sighed shaking his head. With Materia, war had become intensified...
Aeris' heart fell, but still she waited for more news. She hoped they would be good ones, however.
"Most of the survivors have lost body parts, very few had remained complete. But many of them are in critical condition. we're asking for as many blood donors as we could while they can still live."
"...I can help!" Tifa interjected and raised her hand. "I'm pretty healthy! I, I can help!" Both Rufus and Aeris had turned to her in surprise but she ignored them. She slowly stood up.
"Tifa--"
"Aeris," Tifa returned to kneeling in front of her and held her hand. "I know what I'm doing." If there was anything she could do to make Aeris better, she felt it would be this.
Gast cleared his throat. "If that is so, there's no time to lose. Please follow me."
Tifa nodded and removed her coat and threw it to Aeris. "See ya!" She called and waved while jogging behind Gast. Her heart pounded, she didn't know why, though. She felt excited but not entirely in a good way.
Aeris squeezed Tifa's coat to her chest. She'd gotten more color, but was still pale nonetheless. The rain had died a little but it still poured. The lady turned to Rufus. "What do we do now?" She choked.
Rufus sighed and removed Aeris' scattered hair from her face. "We'll go home and tell everyone concerned about this. That's all we could do."
Aeris nodded. She allowed her brother to help her stand and escort her towards the entrance. As if on cue, the Shinra's white limousine arrived. Rufus was caught by surprise.
A long black haired man in navy blue business suit opened the door and stepped out. Relief surged into him quickly as he saw Aeris staring at him. "Aeris!" He jogged towards the woman, ignoring the rain.
"Tseng," Aeris wasn't so surprised. "W, what are you doing here?" Her voice was faltering at some points. She held no hand to stop Tseng--Heidegger's son from embracing her.
"It's late, Aeris, I was worried!" The head of the Turks looked at her, holding her wet face with his hands. "How are you?"
"I, I'm fine." Aeris nodded looking anywhere at the floor. Too many thoughts were entering her head once more. It started to throb again as she saw everything brighten but she did not let it show. "L, let's go...I want to rest."
"There is much more to do." Rufus eyed Tseng.
Tseng lifted his chin with a serious look and nodded. "Yes, sir." Hostility?
Aeris waited for Sephiroth's reaction who stood by her window, watching the rain slide down the glass. True, the woman was tired and needed sleep. But she couldn't, and called for Sephiroth so she could tell him what she saw. She was on her silver silken nightgown, her legs tucked safely under her cotton quilt. Her hair was let down and brushed neatly.
"Damn..." Sephiroth muttered to himself. "I was told that there was victory for the Shinra. But how this happened...the Wutai army must have taken one last attack while our soldiers are off-guard."
Aeris' eyes were sad, her hands squeezing her quilt. "If this had been done on purpose, will we wage another war?" Her weariness could be heard.
"One war is enough. I don't want to tear this earth apart." Sephiroth shook his head, his hair following movement. "And with Wutai's situation now, they would not be able to win against us. It won't be a fair fight."
"War is never fair." Aeris looked away.
"I know..." Sephiroth trailed off. But somehow, in some way, he wanted to try and make it so--even with the smallest, most insignificant way possible. He turned to Aeris. "Who in authority did you see wounded?"
Aeris tried to remember as best as she could. But she could only recall one man. She knew he was a commander for his uniform. "A commander." She turned to Sephiroth once more.
"Any description?"
Aeris' head ached once more but she did not give up. "He was blond...with bright blue eyes."
Immediately, Sephiroth knew who it was. "Strife."
"Cmdr. Cloud Strife of the 4th Division?" Aeris clarified.
Sephiroth nodded. "Is he alive?" Sephiroth turned around to face Aeris.
Aeris didn't know what to answer. Her mouth went dry and her throat needed water. "I hope."
Sephiroth took time to study the younger woman. She is taking too much of this... He approached her and lifted her quilt over her body. "Get some rest." It was very seldom for him to act as an older cousin to her. But still...she was his cousin.
Aeris nodded and made herself comfortable as she laid down on bed.
"Thank you for telling me, good night." Sephiroth leaned over and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. Before he stood straight and left.
"Good night, Sephiroth..." Aeris whispered and soon fell asleep.
Before Sephiroth had closed the door, he had locked it from the inside. He made sure no one could open it from outside before he proceeded to his own room.
Nearing it, he wondered as to why the door was open. He held the hilt of his sword as he opened, but only groaned to see his father, staring at the window. "Yes, Father?"
The scientist chuckled before he turned around to face his son. "You seem tired, Sephiroth." Hojo's face easily deceived people as to his age. The tall man brushed a black lock of hair away from his face as he approached the general of the army. "Is everything okay?"
Sephiroth shook his head. "The events that took place today was too quick."
"Stress should be gone tomorrow." Hojo patted his son's arm before he passed by him, proceeding to the open door. "I just came to check on you, good night." He pulled the door close behind him.
His blurry eyes slowly opened, its mystifying blue eyes releasing its glow. The place was dim and silent yet cool. He focused his sight on the white ceiling as he waited for it to clear, relieved it didn't hide itself anymore. He had blinked many times to rid his body and mind of the grogginess from his sleep. Soon, more sensation came to him. His ears heard the soft hummings of the machine around him and his nose smelled the mixture of bleach, medicine and blood around him. There was movement beside his bed, but he did not even care to look.
The long black haired man in violet top and dark colored pants awoke from his uncomfortable sleep beside the bed. His arms are crossed on it where his face had been hidden in the little space his they made. His forehead was red and back ached from being arched while he sat on the floor. His eyes were squinted as he looked over to the body on the bed. Surprised, his green eyes grew alert upon seeing his friend alive. "Cloud!" His hands moved to holding his friend's arm. They were pretty slow from his drowsiness.
Cloud Strife slowly turned to his friend and smiled weakly. "Hey, Zack..." He choked. His throat was dry.
"Thank GOD you're alive, Cloud!" Zack Valentine said out loud, fixing his position besides the shouts of protest of his body. "And thank God you still remember me."
Cloud closed his eyes, chuckling softly. "No amnesia here. Don't worry." He opened his eyes again for questions to ask. "What happened...after we won the war?"
"Well, I bet you're first-hand to know about the bomb the Wutai soldiers attached to our truck." Zack groaned. "They gave their final skirmish before they were restrained."
"I know..." Cloud's voice had a hint of sadness.
Zack twitched his lip, but soon changed it to a proud smile. "But hey, at least our hero's alive!"
Cloud's eye brows arched. "Hero?"
"Yeah! You, Cloud Strife, hero!"
"Me?"
"Yeah!" Zack playfully hit Cloud's bare arms who in turn, shushed him for his ecstatic disposition. "Oops, sorry." He looked around before he continued, facing Cloud once more. "Stop it with your humility!"
"But you got Godo to surrender--"
"Sure I did. So, they call me the hero, too. No biggie." Zack shrugged. "But you could have wiped their army out back there, Cloud! I heard a lot of Wutai soldiers stayed home when you joined us in the 2nd week of the war!" He laughed. "You scared'em good, man!"
"Stop flattering me..."
"I'm serious!" Zack whispered loudly before his voice softened once more. "You were great, pal! You fought bravely...but not violently, of course."
Cloud gave a small laugh. "Now how do you explain that?"
"Well...you fought great...but it's not really slaughter, my friend."
Cloud felt his energy coming in slowly, his bandaged chest moving up and down as he breathed. The motion was slow to keep the wound from aching. His quilt was on his abdomen and legs. Legs...thank God he still has them. One of them was covered in a cast and raised to a certain level, however. "My men?"
Zack blinked while his mouth was left ajar. He sighed and twitched his lip. "Hate to break it up to ya...but..."
"They died?" Cloud's eyes expressed his disbelief.
"...most of them."
"Shit," Cloud moved his head to facing the ceiling again, his eyes shut.
"Hey! It wasn't your fault, man! It's their time." Zack raised his hands a little as if to show his point. "Tsk!" He groaned and patted his buddy's shoulder. "Maybe you should get some sleep, it's dawn..."
"...yeah...maybe I should."
Once more, the sun shone brightly in the morning sky, no evidence of last night's rain seen.
Aeris was dressed with a pale green blouse and full-white skirt with a repetitive design of leaves. Her slip-on sandals were black. She heard a groan as she settled a vase of flowers from her garden beside the television set in her friend's room. The interior was simple. A single bed by the wall, pictures frame on the walls, a wall clock, the TV set in front of the woman and to its right, windows. She turned around and saw her friend's head move.
Tifa woke up with squinted eyes looking at Aeris. "Mama?"
Aeris smiled and approached Tifa. "It's Aeris, Tifa." She sat beside her and held her hand. "You did a brave thing."
"Aeris," Tifa smiled. "I'm alive."
Aeris laughed softly. "How are you?"
"Woozy, still." Tifa shook her head. "Don't try this at home." She laughed along with Aeris. "Man...I felt like I was gonna die, already. The minute they were readying me, I wanted to back out." She gave a concerned look at Aeris. "But more importantly, how are YOU?"
"I'm rested and better, thank you." Aeris nodded.
Tifa gave a sigh of relief. "That's good...I thought you weren't gonna make it home and faint on the way."
"Shut up." Aeris pinched Tifa's palm.
"Ow, stop that."
Aeris had on her calm smile again. "Great news, I heard someone lived because of your blood."
"Oh, he'd better be." Tifa nodded, grateful. "At least he made it."
"You saved the commander's life."
"I what?!" Tifa had jumped out of her wooziness momentarily. Her eyes were wide in surprise.
Aeris nodded.
"...wow...I, I...I mean, I..." Tifa didn't know what to say. "I...just...w, wow, really?" She watched Aeris giggle. "Hey, if you were in my position, you wouldn't know how it's like to know you saved a life, woman."
"I know, I'm sorry." Aeris shook her head. She heard the door open and turned to see Dr. Gast coming in with his daughter behind him. He was carrying his clipboard once more. "Dr. Gast," She stood up and nodded, acknowledging his presence.
Dr. Gast returned the gesture. "I see that you've visited Ms. Lockhart?" He glanced over to the woman.
Tifa waved. "Hey doc."
Gast smiled and nodded. "You seem to be doing pretty good."
"I wanna go home." Tifa whined and got everyone to laugh. "Hey, can I visit the commander? I wanna see how he's doing..."
Gast nodded. "He's doing a remarkable job of recovering, I might release him tomorrow or the other day."
Lucrecia turned to Aeris. "You wanna come along?"
"Yes," Aeris nodded. "Very much so."
- End of Part 2 -
Author's Note: Thanks to Onna and Fiery Tempest for teh beta-readz0rs.
Sweet Sacrifices - 2 By: Liv
The yellow taxi had parked right in front of the hospital's lobby. Its color glowed amidst the hard rain and dark night. Tifa pushed the door open. She jumped out and jogged towards the hospital, ignoring the need to close the door. Her khaki coat was slightly wet, she held it tight so as to keep her warm. But once inside the hospital, she had loosened her hold of it revealing her skimpy clothes as she frantically looked for the woman who called her. She saw many bodies covered with bloody white cloth and men and women weeping. "Holy God..." She felt her lips move and heart beat loudly. These were men from war, she was sure. She saw dog tags on top of each quilt. Her thoughts were interrupted by someone's voice and turned to her left to see Rufus looking at her, Aeris beside him with a gray towel to warm her up. "Aeris!" She called, jogging over to her.
Aeris' head lifted from leaning against her brother's shoulder as she looked at Tifa. "Oh, Tifa!" Her body rose to a sitting position as she held out her hand for a hug.
Like a mother, Tifa immediately sensed her need for one and embraced her friend, who wept at her shoulder. "It's okay, I'm here." She whispered. She felt Aeris nod. "You look like you've seen a ghost, what happened?"
Rufus faced Tifa who looked at him to speak. "Men from the Wutai War were charged into this hospital. She's seen so many wounded and dead bodies. It was a very morbid sight." He sighed. "I had asked her to come home with me but she wanted to stay..."
Tifa's mind raced to say something. Soon, she gave a soft forced laugh. It scared her, she wondered why. "Aeris, these are soldiers, not relatives. Pull yourself together."
Aeris' weak arms moved to push Tifa slowly away so as to be able to look at her. She was teary-eyed and pale. "These are men who worked for Shinra, Tifa. They died for us!"
"Shhh!" Tifa embraced her friend once more. "These are soldiers who swore their lives to Shinra. It's...sad...but...it's something we must accept." She had a difficult time stringing the words together.
Footsteps came, but only Rufus had turned to see the newcomer. It was an old man with brown hair and gray streaks like his mustache. His glasses are dark rimmed. He had a lab coat over his neck-tied polo top and brown pants. He held a black clipboard with some well-kept files on it. "Good evening, I'm Dr. Gast." He held out his hand.
"Good evening," Rufus immediately took it and shook it with both hands. "How are they?" He asked on behalf of his sister when the hands have already separated. It was only then that the women turned to the doctor.
"Sadly," Gast started adjusting his glasses. "More than half of the patients have died. Either due to severe pain, loss of blood, and magical poisoning. There are also reports of instant deaths."
Rufus sighed shaking his head. With Materia, war had become intensified...
Aeris' heart fell, but still she waited for more news. She hoped they would be good ones, however.
"Most of the survivors have lost body parts, very few had remained complete. But many of them are in critical condition. we're asking for as many blood donors as we could while they can still live."
"...I can help!" Tifa interjected and raised her hand. "I'm pretty healthy! I, I can help!" Both Rufus and Aeris had turned to her in surprise but she ignored them. She slowly stood up.
"Tifa--"
"Aeris," Tifa returned to kneeling in front of her and held her hand. "I know what I'm doing." If there was anything she could do to make Aeris better, she felt it would be this.
Gast cleared his throat. "If that is so, there's no time to lose. Please follow me."
Tifa nodded and removed her coat and threw it to Aeris. "See ya!" She called and waved while jogging behind Gast. Her heart pounded, she didn't know why, though. She felt excited but not entirely in a good way.
Aeris squeezed Tifa's coat to her chest. She'd gotten more color, but was still pale nonetheless. The rain had died a little but it still poured. The lady turned to Rufus. "What do we do now?" She choked.
Rufus sighed and removed Aeris' scattered hair from her face. "We'll go home and tell everyone concerned about this. That's all we could do."
Aeris nodded. She allowed her brother to help her stand and escort her towards the entrance. As if on cue, the Shinra's white limousine arrived. Rufus was caught by surprise.
A long black haired man in navy blue business suit opened the door and stepped out. Relief surged into him quickly as he saw Aeris staring at him. "Aeris!" He jogged towards the woman, ignoring the rain.
"Tseng," Aeris wasn't so surprised. "W, what are you doing here?" Her voice was faltering at some points. She held no hand to stop Tseng--Heidegger's son from embracing her.
"It's late, Aeris, I was worried!" The head of the Turks looked at her, holding her wet face with his hands. "How are you?"
"I, I'm fine." Aeris nodded looking anywhere at the floor. Too many thoughts were entering her head once more. It started to throb again as she saw everything brighten but she did not let it show. "L, let's go...I want to rest."
"There is much more to do." Rufus eyed Tseng.
Tseng lifted his chin with a serious look and nodded. "Yes, sir." Hostility?
Aeris waited for Sephiroth's reaction who stood by her window, watching the rain slide down the glass. True, the woman was tired and needed sleep. But she couldn't, and called for Sephiroth so she could tell him what she saw. She was on her silver silken nightgown, her legs tucked safely under her cotton quilt. Her hair was let down and brushed neatly.
"Damn..." Sephiroth muttered to himself. "I was told that there was victory for the Shinra. But how this happened...the Wutai army must have taken one last attack while our soldiers are off-guard."
Aeris' eyes were sad, her hands squeezing her quilt. "If this had been done on purpose, will we wage another war?" Her weariness could be heard.
"One war is enough. I don't want to tear this earth apart." Sephiroth shook his head, his hair following movement. "And with Wutai's situation now, they would not be able to win against us. It won't be a fair fight."
"War is never fair." Aeris looked away.
"I know..." Sephiroth trailed off. But somehow, in some way, he wanted to try and make it so--even with the smallest, most insignificant way possible. He turned to Aeris. "Who in authority did you see wounded?"
Aeris tried to remember as best as she could. But she could only recall one man. She knew he was a commander for his uniform. "A commander." She turned to Sephiroth once more.
"Any description?"
Aeris' head ached once more but she did not give up. "He was blond...with bright blue eyes."
Immediately, Sephiroth knew who it was. "Strife."
"Cmdr. Cloud Strife of the 4th Division?" Aeris clarified.
Sephiroth nodded. "Is he alive?" Sephiroth turned around to face Aeris.
Aeris didn't know what to answer. Her mouth went dry and her throat needed water. "I hope."
Sephiroth took time to study the younger woman. She is taking too much of this... He approached her and lifted her quilt over her body. "Get some rest." It was very seldom for him to act as an older cousin to her. But still...she was his cousin.
Aeris nodded and made herself comfortable as she laid down on bed.
"Thank you for telling me, good night." Sephiroth leaned over and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead. Before he stood straight and left.
"Good night, Sephiroth..." Aeris whispered and soon fell asleep.
Before Sephiroth had closed the door, he had locked it from the inside. He made sure no one could open it from outside before he proceeded to his own room.
Nearing it, he wondered as to why the door was open. He held the hilt of his sword as he opened, but only groaned to see his father, staring at the window. "Yes, Father?"
The scientist chuckled before he turned around to face his son. "You seem tired, Sephiroth." Hojo's face easily deceived people as to his age. The tall man brushed a black lock of hair away from his face as he approached the general of the army. "Is everything okay?"
Sephiroth shook his head. "The events that took place today was too quick."
"Stress should be gone tomorrow." Hojo patted his son's arm before he passed by him, proceeding to the open door. "I just came to check on you, good night." He pulled the door close behind him.
His blurry eyes slowly opened, its mystifying blue eyes releasing its glow. The place was dim and silent yet cool. He focused his sight on the white ceiling as he waited for it to clear, relieved it didn't hide itself anymore. He had blinked many times to rid his body and mind of the grogginess from his sleep. Soon, more sensation came to him. His ears heard the soft hummings of the machine around him and his nose smelled the mixture of bleach, medicine and blood around him. There was movement beside his bed, but he did not even care to look.
The long black haired man in violet top and dark colored pants awoke from his uncomfortable sleep beside the bed. His arms are crossed on it where his face had been hidden in the little space his they made. His forehead was red and back ached from being arched while he sat on the floor. His eyes were squinted as he looked over to the body on the bed. Surprised, his green eyes grew alert upon seeing his friend alive. "Cloud!" His hands moved to holding his friend's arm. They were pretty slow from his drowsiness.
Cloud Strife slowly turned to his friend and smiled weakly. "Hey, Zack..." He choked. His throat was dry.
"Thank GOD you're alive, Cloud!" Zack Valentine said out loud, fixing his position besides the shouts of protest of his body. "And thank God you still remember me."
Cloud closed his eyes, chuckling softly. "No amnesia here. Don't worry." He opened his eyes again for questions to ask. "What happened...after we won the war?"
"Well, I bet you're first-hand to know about the bomb the Wutai soldiers attached to our truck." Zack groaned. "They gave their final skirmish before they were restrained."
"I know..." Cloud's voice had a hint of sadness.
Zack twitched his lip, but soon changed it to a proud smile. "But hey, at least our hero's alive!"
Cloud's eye brows arched. "Hero?"
"Yeah! You, Cloud Strife, hero!"
"Me?"
"Yeah!" Zack playfully hit Cloud's bare arms who in turn, shushed him for his ecstatic disposition. "Oops, sorry." He looked around before he continued, facing Cloud once more. "Stop it with your humility!"
"But you got Godo to surrender--"
"Sure I did. So, they call me the hero, too. No biggie." Zack shrugged. "But you could have wiped their army out back there, Cloud! I heard a lot of Wutai soldiers stayed home when you joined us in the 2nd week of the war!" He laughed. "You scared'em good, man!"
"Stop flattering me..."
"I'm serious!" Zack whispered loudly before his voice softened once more. "You were great, pal! You fought bravely...but not violently, of course."
Cloud gave a small laugh. "Now how do you explain that?"
"Well...you fought great...but it's not really slaughter, my friend."
Cloud felt his energy coming in slowly, his bandaged chest moving up and down as he breathed. The motion was slow to keep the wound from aching. His quilt was on his abdomen and legs. Legs...thank God he still has them. One of them was covered in a cast and raised to a certain level, however. "My men?"
Zack blinked while his mouth was left ajar. He sighed and twitched his lip. "Hate to break it up to ya...but..."
"They died?" Cloud's eyes expressed his disbelief.
"...most of them."
"Shit," Cloud moved his head to facing the ceiling again, his eyes shut.
"Hey! It wasn't your fault, man! It's their time." Zack raised his hands a little as if to show his point. "Tsk!" He groaned and patted his buddy's shoulder. "Maybe you should get some sleep, it's dawn..."
"...yeah...maybe I should."
Once more, the sun shone brightly in the morning sky, no evidence of last night's rain seen.
Aeris was dressed with a pale green blouse and full-white skirt with a repetitive design of leaves. Her slip-on sandals were black. She heard a groan as she settled a vase of flowers from her garden beside the television set in her friend's room. The interior was simple. A single bed by the wall, pictures frame on the walls, a wall clock, the TV set in front of the woman and to its right, windows. She turned around and saw her friend's head move.
Tifa woke up with squinted eyes looking at Aeris. "Mama?"
Aeris smiled and approached Tifa. "It's Aeris, Tifa." She sat beside her and held her hand. "You did a brave thing."
"Aeris," Tifa smiled. "I'm alive."
Aeris laughed softly. "How are you?"
"Woozy, still." Tifa shook her head. "Don't try this at home." She laughed along with Aeris. "Man...I felt like I was gonna die, already. The minute they were readying me, I wanted to back out." She gave a concerned look at Aeris. "But more importantly, how are YOU?"
"I'm rested and better, thank you." Aeris nodded.
Tifa gave a sigh of relief. "That's good...I thought you weren't gonna make it home and faint on the way."
"Shut up." Aeris pinched Tifa's palm.
"Ow, stop that."
Aeris had on her calm smile again. "Great news, I heard someone lived because of your blood."
"Oh, he'd better be." Tifa nodded, grateful. "At least he made it."
"You saved the commander's life."
"I what?!" Tifa had jumped out of her wooziness momentarily. Her eyes were wide in surprise.
Aeris nodded.
"...wow...I, I...I mean, I..." Tifa didn't know what to say. "I...just...w, wow, really?" She watched Aeris giggle. "Hey, if you were in my position, you wouldn't know how it's like to know you saved a life, woman."
"I know, I'm sorry." Aeris shook her head. She heard the door open and turned to see Dr. Gast coming in with his daughter behind him. He was carrying his clipboard once more. "Dr. Gast," She stood up and nodded, acknowledging his presence.
Dr. Gast returned the gesture. "I see that you've visited Ms. Lockhart?" He glanced over to the woman.
Tifa waved. "Hey doc."
Gast smiled and nodded. "You seem to be doing pretty good."
"I wanna go home." Tifa whined and got everyone to laugh. "Hey, can I visit the commander? I wanna see how he's doing..."
Gast nodded. "He's doing a remarkable job of recovering, I might release him tomorrow or the other day."
Lucrecia turned to Aeris. "You wanna come along?"
"Yes," Aeris nodded. "Very much so."
- End of Part 2 -