Hey everyone! First off, I would like to say that this just might be the darkest thing I have ever written. Sure, my other two stories had some angst in them but they are no where as dark as this one will be. I've been a little depressed due to recent events in my life, so that is why I felt like writing something like this.
Warning: This fic is very dark, weird, and disturbing. It includes some graphic violent scenes.
Note: This story is in Cloud's point of view.
Disclaimer: I don't own FF7 or any of its characters. They belong to Squaresoft (or Square-Enix)
Nightmares and Phenomenon
Part 1: Reoccurring Nightmares
I just stood there, helpless to do anything. She looked at me with eyes that were filled with mixed emotions. As the masamune impaled her, all emotions began to leave her eyes and her body became limp. He slowly pulled the masamune out of her body and her lifeless corpse fell to the ground. He stared at me with those cold, glowing eyes of his and had an evil smirk on his face. Blood began to drip from his masamune and a small puddle had formed.
"Aeris! No!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I ran towards her as fast as I could but the closer I got, the father away she seemed. All the while Sephiroth just kept staring at me with that cold glare and evil smirk. Then everything faded to black.
That was when I woke up and sat up on my bed. My heart was pounding and my adrenaline was still in effect. I was shaking erratically. I barely noticed that the door to my room had opened and the footsteps that were approaching me.
"Cloud, are you okay? I heard screaming", said a voice that I recognized to be Tifa. I turned around to face her and replied, "I'm fine." As I said those words, I had stopped shaking and my heart beat became normal. Tifa just stared at me with concern in her eyes. "Did you have a bad dream?" she asked. I nodded my head yes. She stood there for a few minutes before asking, "Are you sure you're okay?" I just nodded my head without a word. Tifa slowly began to walk out of my room and took one last glance before leaving. I just lay in bed for several hours unable to sleep. I didn't want to have that nightmare again.
This was not the first time I had that nightmare. It all started about three months ago. A first they occurred once per week, but they have become more frequent in the last week or two. I wonder if Tifa knows if I've been having the same dream the last couple of days. I know that she knows that something is wrong. She seems to be worried about me lately. I thought about telling her about my nightmares, but I know it would only worry her even more. So, I decided to keep them a secret.
After Sephiroth was defeated several years ago, everyone in AVALANCHE went their separate ways. Tifa and I now live together in a house in Costa del Sol. She had recently opened a new bar there and I often help her manage it.
Sometimes I wonder if I love Tifa or if it is just friendship. I know she has feelings for me and I have some degree of feelings towards her, but I don't know to what extent. Some part of me wants to love her but another part is hesitant. Maybe it is the memory of Aeris that is holding me back. It has been several years since her death, but I still can't get her out of my head. Sure, I had feelings for her, but I didn't know her long enough to say that she was my true love. If she didn't die, would I be in love with her now? Perhaps that is a question that will never be answered.
I should have been able to save her, yet I didn't. Even after all these years, I still feel like I've failed her. Guilt has flooded my heart since her death and it has yet to be drained. People say that grief after someone's death will eventually fade with time, but my case seems to be the exact opposite. Even Tifa's comforting hasn't helped me too much, although it might be the only thing keeping me sane. Maybe I will always feel guilt and grief. Maybe said guilt and grief is the reason why I'm having these nightmares.
I was helping Tifa run her bar today. She says she can run it by herself, but I know she can use all the help she can get. Suddenly, she walks towards me and says, "Cloud, are you sure you're okay? You look pale." I reply, "Don't worry Tifa, I'm fine." However, Tifa remains unconvinced and insists that I go home. I was about to object, but I ultimately decided to take her advice and went home.
When I arrive at the house, I sat down on the couch and tried to read a book. However, the lack of sleep due to my nightmares had caught up with me. My eyes felt as if they weighed a ton and I had to fight to keep them open. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't stay awake and I soon found myself in a deep sleep.
I saw Aeris in front of me. She reached for my hand and I reached for hers. Before our hands could meet, her arm suddenly went limp and the life left from her eyes. That was when I noticed the bloody point of sword sticking out of her chest. Then I noticed very familiar eyes glowing from behind Aeris' lifeless course. With one swift pull of his sword, Sephiroth released Aeris' body and she fell onto my feet. I looked down at the bloody, lifeless corpse at my feet and looked back up at her murderer. Sephiroth looked as if was about to say something to me, but before he could everything faded to black.
I woke up startled and nearly fell off the couch. What was weird was the fact that this new nightmare was slightly different from the other ones. Sure Aeris still died, but the other nightmares were exactly the same. I decided to keep myself from going back to sleep by watching some T.V. However, the remote was missing, which was odd since Tifa and I normally keep it in the same place. As I began to search for the remote, I noticed something very strange. As I approached the bookshelf, I noticed that every single book was lying on the floor. How could this be? The last time I checked, all of the books except the one that I took were neatly placed on the self. I was careful to make sure that none of them fell. What could have caused them to all fall out of the shelf? In fact, when did they fall? Was that what caused me to wake up? It could have been, but I didn't remember hearing any noise.
I just decided to shrug this odd occurrence off and began to put the books back onto the shelf. Little did I know that this was only the beginning of a series of bizarre phenomenon.