Darkness - Disturbed
-----Aerith was jolted roughly from her sleep. Eyes flying open, she realized that the black beast of a Chocobo she was seated upon had juddered to a halt. Her sudden awakening brought awareness of several things; foremost of which being the warm, solid body pressed against her back. She felt color rise into her cheeks, and straining against the arm that held her she pulled away. A sound of amusement let her know that Sephiroth was very much aware of her discomfiture. A moment later he slid from the Chocobo the ground. Before she had time to protest, he lifted her and brought her down beside him. The moment her feet touched solid ground she took several steps away, needing the distance to maintain clarity. She immediately turned her attention to their surroundings. Rising up before them was the rocky wall of a mountain side, and set within that wall was a shadowed opening. Looking back the way they had came, Aerith saw a vast expanse of mist ridden marsh stretching for as far as she could see.
Sephiroth sent the Chocobo running across the marsh with a firm slap on its withers. He glanced at Aerith and then began walking towards the entrance in the rocky incline. Aerith, following, asked, "Where are we going?""Through the Mythril mine," he replied.
Aerith opened her mouth to ask another question when suddenly an unearthly roar reverberated throughout the marsh. Aerith, spinning around, cried out in horror as an enormous serpent burst forth from the waters, the black Chocobo dangling, broken, from its jaws. Water flew everywhere as the serpent shook its massive head, forcing the carcass down its throat. Sephiroth pushed Aerith behind him with one hand, and drew his masamune with the other. "Get back," He ordered tersely, and Aerith, terrified, complied.The serpent, moving with astonishing swiftness, slithered closer. Sephiroth strode forth to meet it. The serpent reared its head to strike; as it began to descend Sephiroth was already moving, away from the deadly jaws. He whirled, a graceful vision of death, and blood flew in crimson spray from the great scaled neck. The serpent screamed in pain; its body thrashed wildly in an attempt to crush the one that had wounded it. Pale hair flying out behind him, Sephiroth twisted lithely and launched himself into the air. Fangs snapped shut where he had been just a second ago; he landed lightly on the other side of the coiled body.
Aerith watched the deadly dance between man and serpent in horrified awe. It was unthinkable: the speed, agility and raw power with which Sephiroth moved. The serpent was easily one of the most monstrous things she had ever seen; the blinding quickness it posessed was matched evenly with that of the man. The serpent was completely focused on Sephiroth; the former general was leading it away, she realized. His purpose in doing so was very soon revealed; rising up from the rocky ground stood the jagged remains of what had once been a tree, burned and charred as if struck by lightning. Sephiroth halted abruptly; the serpent lunged for him. What happened next was but a blur to Aerith. Sephiroth dropped his masamune and leapt. He seized the serpent's neck, and twisting fiercly in mid air, forced the massive head down. With a strangled shriek, the serpent was brutally impaled on the sharp remains of the tree. The sinous body thrashed and contorted in its dying throes; Sephiroth tumbled down to crouch safely some distance away. Long minutes passed before the serpent's body gave one last twitch before falling still. The harsh, biting scent of blood clouded the air; garishly crimson rivers poured from the serpents neck to stain the marsh water.Aerith, vaguely aware she was trembling, watched Sephiroth as he rose to his feet and strode to retrieve his fallen sword. He wiped the blood from it with one gloved hand before smoothly returning it to the sheath across his back.
He was hardly, she realized numbly, breathing hard.He looked at her then, his expression unreadable. "Come," he said, and walked to the opening in the rocky wall. Aerith, with one last fearful glance at the bloodied, gruesome corpse of the serpent, hurried to follow.
They entered the mines, and soon their path was dark but for the stray patches of sunlight slipping through holes and cracks in the cavern ceiling. The walls surrounding them caught the light and reflected it off of the shards of Mythril embedded in them. Aerith, struggling to remain calm after what she had just seen, found the whole place rather beautiful. Washes of blue and green light fell over them as Sephiroth led the way unerringly, weaving a path through a myriad of confusing, intertwining corridors and open areas. They maintained silence as they travelled, and their footsteps echoed hollowly throughout the recesses of the caverns. Aerith quickly became lost, and gave up all attempts to discern which direction they were now headed. She was about to ask how much farther the caves went on when Sephiroth halted in his tracks, poised alertly. Aerith froze as well, wondering what had captured his attention.Then she heard it.
Voices.There was no way to make out what was being said, but it was clear that whoever was speaking was quickly drawing nearer to their position. Sephiroth swore softly, eyes darting around the interior of the large cavern they were in. Towards the middle yawned a gaping chasm; a thundering sound from within indicated it was a channel for an underground river. On the other side of the chasm, which was bridged by a narrow span of natural rock formation, was what appeared to be a darkened tunnel, presumably the exit from this complex mass of caves."Halt!"
The shout rang clearly throughout the cavern. Sephiroth stopped, and till holding Aerith firmly by the arm turned to see who had discovered them. Aerith, catching sight of the speaker in question, gasped. "Tseng!"It was indeed Tseng, followed immediately by Reno, Rude, and a blonde woman Aerith did not recognize. She knew the members of the Turks quite well; for most of her life she had worked at avoiding capture at their hands. She was more familiar with Tseng, however, for they had been childhood playmates and had grown up together. They were - almost - friends. At the sight of him, hope welled up within her. "Tseng!" she called out, taking a step forward only to be pulled back by Sephiroth's restraining grip.
Tseng, recognizing Aerith, quickly made his way down the rocky embankment he stood on. The three others followed suit. As Tseng neared, his steps slowed, eyes widening as they settled on the snow maned man holding her captive. "Sephiroth!""I told you he was back," Reno said from beside Rude.
"Turks," Sephiroth drawled. "What an unpleasant surprise.""Aerith, are you alright?" Tseng asked, eyes moving back to her.
"Yes," she replied tremulously. Tseng looked then at Sephiroth."What do you want with her?"
"That," Sephiroth replied evenly, "Is none of your concern." He began moving again, but Aerith resisted."Tseng, help me -" she bit off her words as Sephiroth sharply wrenched her arm, and made a small sound of pain.
"Release her!" Tseng thundered, drawing from within his jacket an automatic pistol. The three behind him did the same.Sephiroth, shaking his head, began to laugh with derision. Aerith, desperate, wrenched away with all her strength. She escaped his grasp and bolted for Tseng. Sephiroth lunged after her, and pandemonium erupted.
Someone opened fire.Aiming for Sephiroth, the blonde woman's shots went wide, biting into the rock bridge and sending up a spray of debris.
"Elena, NO!" Tseng yelled, moving to stop her from firing.The rock span beneath Aerith and Sephiroth shook violently, sending Sephiroth unsteadily down on one knee. Cracks appeared, spidery lines, where Aerith was standing. Panicked, she flung herself forwards. The bridge trembled and then began to crumble. Pieces began to fall from beneath her feet. Her attempt to reach safe ground fell short, and with a terrified scream she plunged from sight.
"AERITH!" Tseng cried, leaping forwards.Sephiroth had jumped easily to the opposite side where the exit stood. He stared into the chasm, his helpless fury rising as Aerith's scream echoed throughout the cave.
Rude had knocked the gun from Elena's hand, and now the blonde woman was staring in astonished disbelief at the spot Aerith had just been standing. The entire bridge had fallen away, and now the Turks were effectively separated from the former general. For a moment Sephiroth and Tseng stared at each other from across the open void; with a snarl Sephiroth sent waves of white flame exploding across the chasm. Tseng scrambled backwards, away from the blistering heat.When the fire had faded, Sephiroth was gone.
-----Damn them!
Unbridled rage carried Sephiroth out of the caves and racing along the rock strewn slope on the other side of the mine. He knew which body of water the underground river flowed into; he held very little hope that the girl would survive that far.Bloody fools! He howled silently, running now through thick forest. He forced his senses outward, crawling over the land. Where was the river? He stopped running, calmed his breathing, and concentrated.
Forest.Tree.
Animal.Water -
He bgean sprinting again, following the gentle flow in his senses indicating the river. Branches whipped his face, ripped at his hair. He dodged trees and leapt over underlying roots and fallen limbs. The part of his mind no focused on searching was in a state of something akin to frantic turmoil. Was she dead? Would the current even carry her outside the caves, or would she lie forever at the bottom of a mountain stream?He came upon the river so swiftly that he plunged right in. As the water, bone chillingly cold, rose up around his boots he began to wade steadily upstream, tracing it back to its source. He noticed that the water was not deep, and that the river bed consisted mainly of large, jagged rocks. He continued on, fighting against the current. Around him rocky ledges arose, worn from the passage of raging waters a millennia ago. The river was now contained within a canyon, and rising up sharply before him was the mountainside.
There was the river mouth, pouring out from a small opening in the cliff face, forming a slight waterfall. At the base of the waterfall was a small pool which in turn fed the actual river. Sephiroth splashed into the pool, halting when the water passed his waist, and began scanning the shores. The current was not strong here, and he doubted very much that, had she even been carried out of the mountain, she would not have gone beyond this point. He waded around to the far side of the waterfall, blinking as the gentle spray misted in his eyes. He could see no sign of her here. Wading to the other side he tossed his now sopping hair over his shoulders while continuing to search.He saw her then, lying facedown at the far shore of the pool. Her lower half was still submerged in the water; the swirl of the current pulled at the tattered pieces of her skirt and some tendrils of her hair. As he drew closer he could see lesions and abrasions against the pallid color of her skin. She did not move; he knelt by her and gently turned her upright. Checking first for a pulse, and then for breath, he was relieved to find that she was - just barely - alive. Upon closer inspection he noticed the bluish tinge to her lips, and the way her skin seemed to glow with an eerie iridescence in time to her pulse. Holding her up with one arm, he stared at the water around them. The abundance of life surrounding this river indicated a healthy mako content. The water of the world gained its life giving mako from the Lifesteam, deep underground. He looked at the girl closely again, inspecting the signs. There was no disputing it; she was exhibiting the symptoms of mako poisoning. He suspected that within the confines of the Mythril mine the river, at one point, merged with the Lifestream, and the girl had been submerged there.
He stood then, gathering her limp form carefully into his arms. He could feel, even through the barrier of his gloves, the chill her body emanated. He stood for a moment, debating the next course of action; the next area with any type of medical clinic was the port city of Junon, but it was a long distance away and he doubted the girl would survive that journey. No, they needed immediate shelter and warmth. He rotated on the spot, looking for some sort of opening in the cliff face. There was more than one exit from the Mythril mine, he knew. It didn't take him long to find one; a shadowed crack in the rock wall not too far above their current location. He began picking his way carefully up the gentle incline, easing around large rocks and other debris. He had to enter the opening sideways, with the girl held tightly against his chest. The interior revealed that it was a small cave, circular in shape. It was quite dark; very little sunlight slipped past the craggy entrance. Satisfied it would do, he laid the girl down on the rocky floor. Igniting a materia fire was a small matter; the orange flame that rose from the ground gave off comfortable heat and could burn for hours unattended.With a source of heat now available, he knelt again at the side of the girl. He had never treated mako poisoning before, but he had seen it often among the ranks of SOLDIER. He had no idea how severe her case was; the fact that she was still alive was promising. Removing his gloves he laid the back of his head against her forehead. Her skin was clammy and icy. He gently moved her closer to the fire. He amplified his own power into that of his healing materia set into his blade, and flooded her with healing magic. It would not cure the poisoning, he knew, but it would help ease her pain. Shrugging out of his greatcoat, he draped it over her; for leather, it was surprisingly warm. Bare now from the waist up, he shifted himself closer to the blaze to ward off the damp chill. His hair was dripping uncomfortably cold rivulets down his back; he gathered the sopping mass into one hand and began wringing it. When the excess water had been removed, he tossed it back over one shoulder. Rearranging himself so that he sat cross legged, he reached behind and undid the clasp that fastened the masamune sheath to his back. Setting the sword down beside him, he pulled his knees up to his chest. Resting his chin on his knees, he regarded the unconscious girl.
Her sickly countenance did nothing to discourage the attraction he felt for her. If anything, he felt apprehensive; almost fearful that she would die. He wanted to enfold her in his embrace and give her his own warmth. The urge to reach out and stroke her brow, give her a comforting touch was almost overwhelming. These feelings were disconcerting, and he hated that. In the mines, when she had called out to Tseng with such hope, he had irrationally wanted to strike the Turk down right there. And when she had fallen, screaming, from his sight - he had been so close to leaping after her that it startled him.His life had always been different from that of everyone else, for he was separate from them all; a greater entity. What possible need could someone like himself have for affection, and friendship? He had always regarded such things with scorn. How ironic, he mused, that he now found himself at their mercy.
The girl had begun to tremble during his reverie; gentle shivering at first but increasing in strength. He grew concerned; he had done all he could to keep her warm.Unless -
No. He wouldn't give in, he wouldn't. He was above such things.Lines of pain were creasing her brow as her body shook forcefully to try and retain heat. Torn, Sephiroth stared at her, feeling, for the first time in his recollection, helpless.
He wouldn't do it ...The girl curled into a ball, folding in on herself. With a muttered oath he moved swiftly to her side. Lifting the coat, he eased down behind her, shaping his body against hers, encircling her with his strong arms. The force of her shaking rocked them both, and he drew her tight against him while at the same time covering their bodies with the coat. He felt awkward and strange; human contact was something he went out of his way to avoid. Gradually her tremors ceased, and her body relaxed against his own. Emotions he'd never known he had were battling within him; with a muffled groan he buried his face into her neck. The feel of her, so soft in his arms, was going to drive him insane. She was so small; his arms encircled her completely. He could feel how frail she was beneath his own superior strength.
Why, he demanded silently of whatever had struck him with this affliction, have you done this to me?No answer came. Battling his chaotic feelings, he drew her in tightly and stared into the dark.