The rest of AVALANCHE felt the passing of Barret Wallace. All gasping in sudden and surprised pain, not one of them had to speak aloud the name of the person who had been killed. Nobody wanted to admit that they all feared they would be next to cause the wave.
Even Cloud in Timber was disturbed enough to put down the knife he was weilding and take a few moments of rest in order to gather his thoughts. Yuffie in Esthar paused as she stood at the Presidential Palace with the army behind her, the thoughts were all the same though. Who could have killed Barret Wallace?
Cid stumbled and fell to his knees when the shock hit him, his blue eyes were wide and his heart thundered like a jack hammer. How the hell could someone of taken down Barret? It was damn near impossible for someone to do that, the man always hung out with Red XIII and they rarely allowed the other to be harmed.
He shook his head as he got to his feet with the aid of Zell, "Damn...one down..."
Squall raised an eyebrow, "What happened?"
Quistis frowned, Vincent had done something like that back in the Deling Shopping arcade and he had quickly phoned someone. Perhaps now would be a good time to ask a few more questions, it wouldn't do to have Cid pass out in the middle of a fight because of whatever was bothering him.
"That's what Vincent did back in Deling," she whispered to Squall when the the teen walked closer to her, "I think something has happened."
The older blonde took a deep breath and brushed Zell away from him. He didn't have the luxury of showing any kind of weakness to the teens in front of him, Barret was dead. He didn't know who had performed the kill but whoever it was, he didn't want to get on their bad side if it was someone neutral.
We're almost at Esthar, just a few more minutes and we enter into a war zone, he thought with a heavy heart, Yuffie is gonna be there...all I have now is either to convince her to join us or...
The or was something that he found he wasn't willing that much to think about. He didn't want to kill the lithe ninja, he cared for her. She was like a neice to him but Yuffie had a chance to kill the teens but hadn't, that filled him with hope.
I don't wanna kill you Yuffie, he frowned with little confidence, but I will if need be.
"Cid? You ok?" Squall had managed a look of small concern to the older being, "You're not having a heart attack are you?"
Cid gave him a one sided smile, "Nope...though it feels like a stroke. Someone just killed one of the bad guys."
That news seemed to boost the three teens in front of him. To them, it meant that it was possible to kill whoever was trying to kill them. That saving Esthar was a possibility rather than a hopeless dream.
"You can sense that?" the former garden instructor asked as she gazed at the man.
The leader of the four shrugged ackwardly, "...Yeah...we know if we're in the area or if one of us dies. It isn't very pleasant."
Quistis looked back in the direction they had came from, trying to see if Vincent had managed to find his way to them but was greeted with the long and lonesome sight of the cold marble corridor. Doors would break the seemingly endless wall, Cid would pause for a few seconds at one every couple of minutes, as though he was trying to figure out what door they should take.
His explanation of the place had been rather vague, simply saying that the place was built around what was inside the residents hearts. It had grown from the coldness from AVALANCHE and was still growing as more memories were added. It was a living space.
"These doors," Squall pointed to one a few feet away, "where do they lead?"
Cid shook his head as he started walking again, "Times and places long forgotten by us or places that we just know jack about."
The SeeD leader rubbed the back of his neck, a little confused. He opened his mouth only to find that he couldn't think of anything he really wanted to say in regards to that. Time compression was where time was gathered into one place, their experience of it when battling Ultimecia and defeating Adel had certainly been different from this.
Freefalling as the ground and building gave way, travelling through all the different locations they had been to and battling those weird little sorceress that had crept up. They had all ended up at the orphanage on the Centra coast, faced with the huge and dark floating castle of Ultimecia.
Definately much better than losing my lunch after freefalling a good couple of miles, the teen rubbed his cheek. It still hurt like hell, Cid had cast a cure spell on him but the spell had managed to heal the broken bone.
"Places you don't know about?" Quistis tilted her head, if they had created this world, surely they would know all about it.
Cid nodded, "Yeah...futures that aren't set in stone or that have been changed due to some event performed in another door. We look in the crystal, see what we want to change and head through the doors that lead to it. The doors we don't know anything about then change to react to what's been done."
Squall shook his head, "What?"
"For example," Cid stopped at a door, "This door leads to...huh..."
The door lead to a rather fond memory of his. It was the day of the rocket launch, one of his more enjoyable AVALANCHE adventures. Cloud and Vincent had been the guys who had travelled into space with him, saving his ass by not giving up on him when the oxygen tank had blown. Shera had shown up and helped serve up a rather choking peice of humble pie.
The thought of Shera only lead him to look at Quistis with a rather sad smile. She looked so much like her mother but she had grown in a time and place so different that if the pair ever met, they wouldn't have the slightest thing to talk about.
God...Shera...look what I did to our little baby, he thought with disgust, she's turned into a little warrior...so much for her being a teacher or a rocket scientist. I wonder if she has ever even gotten to travel into outerspace.
"Where does this door lead to?" Squall asked softly as he saw the mixed look of sad but fondness on the older man.
"My hometown," Cid stated as he walked away from it, "A rocket launch. As I was saying, if Cloud wanted to, he could go back and knock Shera out. Leave her locked in a cupboard back in Rocket Town and allow me to die when the oxygen tank blows up."
"Who's Shera?" Quistis asked.
"...a woman who I cared for deeply and who didn't deserve to die the way she did," Cid growled, "Your mother."
Quistis blinked, "My mother...I..."
"No time for explanations of the long winded kind," Cid grabbed her arm and started the walk to what seemed to be like the end of the corridor, "We gotta get to Esthar."
Esthar, the one place where they all wanted to go but the one place they were all scared to. What would they be greeted with? Horror, death and brutality were all major possibilties that none of the four were wanting to face up to.
Squall could feel his heartbeat get faster as they approached Esthar, could he really bear the loss of Laguna and Selphie if they didn't know about the attack and the city failed to respond in time? Did they even know of the possible danger? That was sneaking up on them, that someone they trusted was really an enemy?
"How much longer til we get to the city?" Squall wishing for a weapon, his gunblade had been left at the Garden but he did have his Lionheart at the Presidental Palace.
Cid stopped at a large hole and his blue eyes narrowed. He hated dropping into a place when so much spiritual energy was getting used up, Bahamut Zero growled deeply in his soul. The dragon knew that the combination Choco/Mog was just moments away but it couldn't tell his master that. That he was dropping right into a fire fight with the one member who might turn to help them.
They didn't speak the same language, only sharing emotions. At the moment, both were tense and nervous as to facing another former member of AVALANCHE. How could Bahamut Zero share it's knowledge that Yuffie was waiting for them?
It shook in it's silver holder, glowing a bright red. Bahamut Zero trying it's best to tell his master to be cautious and to pick another drop point into the city, sadly, Cid didn't pay attention. He placed the summon's shaking down as anger.
It's okay buddy, Cid rubbed the orb, Hopefully, we won't meet our old friends.
"Cid? How much longer til we get to the city?" Squall asked again, he found his grey eyes being drawn to the red orb. Why did he keep rubbing it? Was it a nervous thing, like when Rinoa holds her rings around her neck for confidence?
The older blonde pointed down into the hole, could he really take these kids into what could be a war zone by now? Allow them to see the horror that his former friends were currently trying to inflict in this world?
"Jump through that and we should be there," Cid stated with surprising confidence. It had been a while since he last did a drop in, he really didn't know where they would end up. He just prayed that they were all focused on the same place.
"Alright, one major thing before we fall down the rabbit hole," Cid warned, "We need to think of the same location. It's kinda similair to your experience when you went to the future. Think of a room, Odine's lab or the presidential room."
Zell took a moment to think about the location, if the city was being attacked, then shouldn't they all go to the place where they were most needed? To aid those who were in danger and to kick ass of those who tried to hurt his friends?
Why was Cid telling them of places that were safe and secluded? Was he afraid of what might happen? Didn't he realise that they were all SeeD's and knew how to handle themselves in a fight?
"Why not to the heart of the action?" Zell responded.
"Because it's just damn stupid," the urge to deck the martial artist coming back stronger as Cid peered into the hole, "Your friends don't have weapons. All I have is a gun that I'm not one hundred percent on and you won't be able to stand up agaisnt the army that is out to get ya'll."
The blonde pilot could if he wanted to, override the minds of the three teens in front of him and take them exactly where he wanted them to go. He didn't want to do that, it was to draining and he didn't want to have little strength just incase they got in a fight.
We became involved as soon as we were born...the brunette crossed his arms and frowned.
According to what Vincent had said, they had all been killed. Why was it so important that they all lived now? Had something been changed so drasticlly by them dying that Cid and Vincent now felt it was proper to stop the needless deaths?
"...I don't agree with him though he is right," Squall said after a few moments silence, "we don't have weapons. If we are gonna fight, we need to have an army and a damn good plan to take them on with."
He fought the urge to rub his eyes tiredly, his jaw was hurting like hell. His head felt like it was ready to explode in pain and he was really tired. The sleep spell that Vincent had cast over him when they had been in Deling refused to lift completely. He looked over to Quistis and it was clear that she looked tired as well.
That didn't appease the small blonde but he did know that he would never be able to stand up to army that was probably tearing it's way throughout the city but he would give it a damn good go in order to get revenge for the fallen SeeD's and for Balamb Garden.
"You don't care that Rinoa and Irvine might be dead?" Zell clenched his fist, why was Squall so eager to roll over and allow this guy to take over.
Pale cheeks darkened as the statement had been made but he did have a point. They didn't know if they were alive or not but that didn't stop Squall from secretly hoping that his friends really were okay. It seemed almost unbelievable that they could be dead but life was something of a cruel bitch.
Cid shook his head, "Look, as soon as we get into the city and find your friends, we'll call Sephiroth to see if he has Rinoa and Irvine okay?"
The pilot held his hand out to Quistis, "Take my hand, all of you hold onto each other. We all agreed on Odine's lab?"
He waited until he got nods from the teens but he had his suspicions that Zell wasn't thinking about the lab. As much as he trusted Squall's mind, the teen was probably thinking about Balamb Garden and his potentially dead girlfriend.
Mentally, he shook his head. He really didn't want to take control of the jump, wanting more than anything, a nice easy ride to the city. Cid closed his eyes and took a deep breath, stretching his soul out to find the right place in his mind.
The journey down was going to be tough, the teens would be confronted with so many past images of Esthar and the future ones as well as they fell. It would only be for a few seconds but it would be tough on them if they opened their eyes.
"Close your eyes," he commanded, "and hold your breath til we get there."
He went first, Quistis went second but that was only because they were all holding hands. A gust of air shot up past them and she was tempted to open her blue eyes to find out what was happening exactly to her. Faint screams could be heard as the air seemed to muffle all sounds reaching her ears.
It felt like someone was trying to crush the air from her lungs and she wanted so desperately to open her mouth and take a deep geedy breath. She squeezed her eyes shut further and gave a small squeak of pain as Squall gripped her hand a little to tightly for him to be concerned. Was he nervous as well?
Suddenly, her feet connected with something solid and she fell forward. The three men with her were caught off guard and stumbled forward as well. The four of them fell to thier knees and gasped for breath. It seemed to take a few long seconds before they could control thier breathing.
"Eve...everyone ok?" Cid whispered, he shook his head but regretted the action when it threatened to implode into itself. Pain seared throughout his body and he knew that at least one of the teens had thought about somewhere other than the lab.
He wanted to scream at the teen responsible for failing to think about the right place but his body just wanted to stay down and get some rest. He hadn't rested since his stay in Balamb. Once they got to the Shumi Tribe or...a brainwave suddenly attacked the blonde.
The airstation and the space station that had been reclaimed and restored. Time compression only worked on the planet so if Cloud did get hold of a method of travel to the space station, the kids and those aboard it would see them coming and prepare for it.
If he could get them to them to the place where they launch the space pods to the station then he might be able to keep them out of trouble at least for a few days. Give them time to sit and figure out how to attack Cloud and the remaining AVALANCHE members if he didn't kill Yuffie and Tifa.
Could I really be held responsible for the death of Tifa and Yuffie? he shook his head again, the pain lessening but his body seemed to be stuck to the ground and refused to budge.
Standing up was not something he could really try at the moment. His body was tired, his hands and feet were like ice and not responding to any kind of orders given by his mind. He kept his eyes closed as he rested his head on something that felt like a carpet and prayed to the gods that they were all safe.
"Cid?" Quistis leaned forward, "Are you okay?"
Cid pulled himself up, "...I'm getting to old for this crap..."
Quistis helped her two male friends up, watching Zell with interest as the smaller blonde seemed to be angry at something. While they had been falling, it had felt that someone was trying to take over her will. To make sure that they ended up where they wanted to be.
"You idiot..." Zell hissed as he stalked over to Cid, "the hell do you think you were doing!"
Squall rubbed the back of his neck, his entire body felt lighter than what it did when he was in the time compression area. It was like someone had lifted a heavy weight off his chest and he could finally breath. He took a deep breath and he could smoke coming from somewhere.
"Something's burning in the lab...?" Squall walked slowly over to the door and placed a hand on it, the metal door cool to the touch so the fire wasn't outside the lab.
Cid frowned as he ignored Zell and headed over to the SeeD leader, he smelled smoke as well and that concerned him. Had Yuffie and her army broken through the barricade and were now making a rather messy way to the lab?
The blonde pressed his ear against the door and listened carefully, hoping to hear at least some sort of firefight going on. Nothing could be heard from the otherside of the door but that meant nothing. Cloud could be waiting with a huge army behind him, waiting to pick off any people foolish enough to step through.
He said nothing as he took a step back from the door, something wasn't right. The city was too quiet. No screams, the faint smell of smoke that seemed to linger in the air. It creeped him out a little but he pushed that down and ignored the feeling.
"Okay...we all stick together, no heroics and no running off to save any damsels that are in distress awrite?" Cid turned partly as he opened the door, would the kids do as he asked or would he need to show them who exactly was in command of the little group.
He heard relunctant agreements from the trio behind him and he took the first step out of the room, nobody rushed them and no shots were fired as Cid cautiously lead the way down the corridor.
On the way to the lab...
Laguna hated being protected like some child by the younger guards, every step was surrounded by the men who had been assigned to assist him. Granted they had weapons and would lay down their lives at a drop of the hat but the president had tried to get one of the rifles but had been refused.
So what if I'm the president, I was a soldier before I came over here, he thought as he kept in step with Selphie and the lead guard.
In his mind, he was protecting Selphie and the very odd little man who for some reason had managed to remain as head of the scientific research. It was something that he was going to have to ask about when it was all over and some kind of normality had resumed. He kept quiet but his entire body couldn't stop feeling extremely tense and battle ready.
Odine followed a few steps behind, the older doctor struggling to keep up with the pace. No matter how hard he tried, he also knew that if they didn't hurry then whoever was tearing the city would be upon them in a matter of minutes.
It was rather fascinating learning that people from a possible past or future were the ones responsible for this. He would need to speak and get hold of one of the bodies of those doing this before he could figure out how they were able to manipulate time the way they were.
How on earth had they actually managed to manipulate time in such a way? If they had complete control over time then they would know exactly where people were at crucial moments and take them out then so why were they attacking the city now? Would President Loire perform some task in the very near future that would change the world?
"What's the brief rundown on this?" Laguna asked as they made a quick path down to the lab, his senses were heightened and his body was tingling in anticipation of a potential battle.
"I believe that it iz being performed by beings who can control time," Odine stated as he tried to copy the long and confident strides of his president but he always seemed to remain just a few feet behind.
Selphie looked back at him for a few seconds, controlling time? The only way she and her friends had done that was by allowing a sorceress from the future to perform something they had tried to stop. Could someone really have managed to pin it down to an exact science? Was that possible?
"So these guys are doing exactly what Ultimecia tried to do a couple of months back?" she asked.
Odine nodded. The people doing this however had managed to do it on a much smaller and more precise basis instead of engulfing the entire planet. They could almost pick when they emerged and where as well. How he would love to speak to one of them and ask them all the questions he could think of.
Guards stopped the three from going any further. Voices were heard coming from the lab, they were soft and whispering. It was as though they didn't know if they should go one way or another. Laguna tried to listen out for at least one of them, if he could hear what the people sounded like then he might be able to get a rough idea as to the true nature of the person.
"HALT!" the lead guard called down, "Identify yourself."
It took a few moments and even then the answer was defiant, "Not until you identify yourself."
Laguna knew that it could be one of the enemies tearing through his city and they were going to ambush the small group as soon as they turned the corner or told them who they were. He held his breath as he pondered if he should answer himself or just allow the guards to continue to shout out orders.
If the enemies had such contol over the time compression and could appear at anyplace and time, then it meant that nowhere was safe. Running around with the guards as protection really meant nothing in the large scheme of things as they could get picked off at anytime.
"President Laguna Loire," he shrugged when the guard shot him a foul look, "How did you manage to get this far into my city sir?"
"Laguna?" a familiar voice called back to them, surprise and relief was more than evident, "Is that you?"
"Squall?" Laguna crashed through the guards and ran the remaining distance to greet the teenager, he slowed down and stopped just short of the end of the corridor.
How had the teen gotten into the city? What was he doing here? Did he know what was going on or had he found the backdoor into the city again? To many questions kept rushing in his mind and the answers didn't seem to be entering anytime soon.
He paused but any fears that he had were quashed when the young leader of SeeD stepped around, it seemed that the teen was alright. Not in his usual clothes but he really didn't care about what the teen wore. Only that he was safe, though he did look extremely tired.
"Squall...thank god you're alright," the president smiled as he took the teen in a warm and relieved embrace.
Squall felt a blush creep on his cheeks but even he had to admit that he was nothing more than thrilled to see that the man in front of him was okay. He caught sight of Selphie, it seemed that she was also okay. So far, Cid and Vincent's worries about the city being raided were not founded but Squall noticed the guards weren't far behind.
"What's going on?" Squall asked as he pulled out of the hug, he brushed off Laguna's gentle touch to his bruised cheek.
Selphie walked over to him. "City is under attack. Squall...what's going on? How did you get here?"
Zell and Quistis came from behind their hiding place. Selphie frowned, how was that possible? Zell had been in Balamb, Quistis and Squall had been on the Garden so why on earth they were all currently standing in the corridor to the lab. At least they were safe but she didn't care, as long as they were alright.
"Time compression," Zell stated as he gave the bubbly girl a hug, "It was definately a weird thing. It's like one huge corridor filled full of doors."
Laguna looked at Squall with a raised eyebrow, there was no way the teens would have been able to perform that act. The owner of the voice earlier still hadn't made himself known but Laguna didn't know if that was because he had simply imagined the voice.
"How?" Laguna asked, he never took a hand off Squall and he was more than happy to find that Squall didn't seem to mind the touch.
Squall looked back to where the trio had emerged from, "Cid? Come out."
Laguna frowned as a blonde haired man dressed in black stepped out, sky blue eyes locked onto the president's and smiled warmly but there was some coldness in it. Something familair lept out at him, telling him that he had encountered the blonde man before but when seemed to fail him.
Cid said nothing, his smile dropped as he saw Selphie standing next to Zell and Quistis. Another one of the teens Cloud wanted dead and he had her in his grasp. Walking around on the planet was going to be a major problem, it was like a huge advertisement. He needed to get them off the planet and the newly restored space station seemed to be a good place to put them.
Tiredly, he kept a yawn from reaching the surface. He was exhausted. Rest would be something that wasn't going to be possible unless he knew they were safe. Maybe when they got on the space station, he could catch some sleep there. Right now, his mind was torn for the safety of the teens right in front of him and for Vincent who had to deal with his own literal demons back in the compression area.
"We don't have time to sit and have tea ladies," Cid stated as he tried to place where he had seen the president before, "We gotta get going and uh...Odine's lab ain't where we should be going."
He recieved a dirty look from Zell, knowing that it was because he had refused to go anywhere else previous but that was simply because he didn't have another idea then. They had to get out of the city, quickly. Travelling back in time compression was not viable because he was so tired, fighting off the evil thoughts that were now striking up in his mind was going to be a full time hobby that he had to deal with.
"Then were?" Odine stated, he was quite annoyed but fascinated by the man infront of him. So he was one of the beings that could travel through time, he didn't look much different from anybody else on the planet.
That was a little disappointing but wherever the blonde wanted to go, then why didn't they just go there via the route they would normally? Why the pit stop in the city?
"The space station," Cid responded, "it's the only place I can think of that might be the safest place to keep the kids."
The president of Esthar blinked in surprise, "Kids?"
"Squall Leonheart, Rinoa Heartilly, Zell Dincht, Quistis...Hi...Trepe, uh...Selphie Tilmett and lastly Irvine Kinneas," Cid replied, he mentally slapped himself for almost giving Quistis his name instead of the one the people who had looked after her.
There was no way he could be a father to her. He didn't have the right, he had lived a completely different life and being a parent hadn't been a part of it. It had perhaps been a distant and long wanted dream but that dream had died when his wife had.
Laguna looked over to him, did he mean that someone was threatening his son and his friends? Who would want to hurt them? They had saved the planet, they should have been hailed as heroes. It made no sense. So the people who were tearing his city up were after Selphie? That made no sense, as far as he was aware, nobody knew that the young teen was even at the city.
"So the army is after me?" Selphie frowned but the thought disturbed her greatly, she was partly to blame for the city being attacked?
The older blonde nodded, "Yeah but I got a feeling that they're gunning for the president and Doc Odine too so don't feel to bad."
The flippant tone he had said that hadn't gone down to well. His sense of humour and the abiltity to judge the mood of his intended victims needed some fine tuning. Laguna shook his head, it made little to no sense at all. There was a small warmth in those blue eyes but a darker coldness ran through them.
He got why someone would try and take him out. He was the ruler of a powerful city and he wasn't an easy target so the army rampaging through would be a way in getting to him. Odine...Laguna had to admit that even he would raze a city in order to get to the little man and stop have the weird experiments he had done.
Doctor Odine wasn't the sort of man who people loved or hated. It was a rather one sided hate thing, most of Laguna's staff had little love for the man and would avoid him at all costs. Ward and Kiros would do most of the talking but even then it was done briefly. However, the man hadn't done anything wrong or abused any sentient lifeform recently.
"So...why the hell are they after them?" Laguna looked down the corridor, gunfire could be heard faintly. The battle was getting closer and the president didn't know how long it would take before the army discovered the lab and killed all those who were found in it.
"Long story," Cid stated as he took one of the guns off the guards and handed it to Squall, "Squall? You know how to fire one of these?"
The SeeD leader nodded, "Prefer to have a blade but I can handle one of these."
Laguna took hold of Cid's arm, "Sir? I'd like you to answer my question, why is someone trying to kill my son and his best friends?"
Cid rubbed his eyes, the events of the past few days were creeping up on him and all he wanted was to have a nice cup of tea and to crawl into bed. The blonde sighed softly, he knew the president was probably afraid but he couldn't give him any answers that wasn't going to make him worry even further. It was a lose lose scenario.
Suprisingly, it was Quistis who answered for him. The young woman tucked a lock of hair that had escaped from it's place, she got the look of surprise from Cid. It gave her a moment to try and figure out the man in front of her. Everything about this man didn't look like her, no matter how hard she tried to find some similarities, she couldn't.
"Laguna, we don't have time for that right now. We need to get to the...space station," Quistis stated, "Also, I'm sure Cid will answer every one of our questions when we're all safe, right?"
Cid raised an eyebrow, "...right...now, which way to the space station?"
Timber
Cloud walked into the bathroom and checked on his terrified hostage lying in the bath. The bandages on the headmaster's left foot were now needing to be changed, due to the kicking the man had done during the original application of the treatment.
The swordsman knew he had business to attend to and he had to make sure that the man in the tub was still alive and that he wasn't going to die on him anytime soon. The gag that had been placed on Kramer's mouth was still firmly placed and the metal chains were still happily sitting strong.
"I'm going out for a while," Cloud smiled coldly, "but don't worry...I won't forget about you. You and I will be making out television debute soon, so get some rest. Let's look our best shall we."
Kramer squirmed in pain and terror as he tried to get away from the blonde. The young man was mentally disturbed, but he was slowly discovering that that word was something of an understatement. Reason had failed to get through and every wimper that Kramer gave had simply sparked more pain. His left foot was minus the big toe and the two adjoining digits.
He had bruises over his body when Cloud had tired of the knife and he wondered when the insane man would bore entirely of the torture and kill him. The headmaster thought briefly about the young SeeDs that had been killed at Balamb Garden, Cloud had allowed him to watch the news but that was only to confirm what had happened.
Surely Squall and Quistis had not fallen in battle agaisnt this foe? The young sorceress who had captivated the young commander wouldn't have allowed the deaths without some kind of fight. Irvine would have fought bravely agaisnt the enemies pouring in. If they had died, then it would have been a glorious death but that would mean he would need to believe they were stupid enough to allow themselves in a no win situation.
He couldn't say anything to refute that and the way the blonde was storming and pressing for information on the four teens who were staying on the Garden mean that perhaps they had managed to get away safely.
"If you behave yourself," Cloud stated as he moved to the base of the bath with the fresh bandages, "I might let you go with nearly all major limbs intact. That means no screaming, kicking or biting if and when I remove the bounds okay?"
Kramer was amazed to hear that being uttered in such a friendly but cold way. As if the man was merely telling him the time or what the weather was like outside. He looked into the glowing blue eyes and found that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find any kind of warmth.
It took Cloud only a few moments to change the dressing and he turned away from Kramer, even touching the headmaster was sickening. Maybe he would be better off if he just killed the sniffling fool right now.
However he had more pressing matters to attend to. His summon, Knights of the Round was giving off a rather odd sensation, telling him that he should perhaps head back to Tifa and see what she had been up too. It had been a while since he had saw her...really since he slapped her for doubting him. She should be at the city without water but she had been acting distant.
He walked out of the bathroom and closed the door. Opening a rift in time and space was something that took a lot of concentration and effort, something that took an amazing amount of skill to perform. It was easier when the others were around, they all thought about the room with the crystal and they would be there within seconds. It got harder when Cid had left, doubt had sprange into the hearts of those left but Cloud couldn't determind which ones were now no longer wanting to continue on.
He knew Vincent had always been friends with Cid and that would never change. The pair had formed a close friendship over the long years they had been alive and one wouldn't be found without the other in battle. Why had he even thought that Vincent would remain when the former astronaut had been banished?
Cloud stepped through the tear and briefly closed his eyes as he had the familair gust of air brush past his face. Instantly, he knew someone who shouldn't have belonged in the area had been there. Who would be stupid enough to travel this way? Had it been the person who had taken care of Barret earlier?
He quickened his pace to a slow jog as he went to find Tifa but slowed down when he heard the martial artist talking to someone. He followed them to their final destination and saw who she had been travelling with. His eyes narrowed in anger and it took all his strength not to go straight to her and run the traitor through with his sword.
Vincent...what do you think you are playing at? he thought as he stopped and waited for Tifa to return.
The woman didn't notice him as she walked along after a few moments, Cloud had only caught part of the conversation, a simple good bye and Vincent asking her to join him in the battle to save the children but Tifa had shown at least her by now rather meagre loyalty to Cloud by refusing.
"So...how is dear Vincent?" Cloud said coolly as Tifa went by, he enjoyed the brief look of guilt that passed on her brown eyes.
Tifa swallowed hard, how could she respond to that? How would Cloud respond to her answer? Would he strike her? Her bottom lip trembled as she thought about the possible answers. Not one seemed to be very pleasant but she only hoped for a verbal attack. She could cope with that.
She hated how she could but after the years, the words had a numbing effect on her battered soul. The one strike Cloud had gave her had startled her and had broken an already fragile hold of loyalty. She would follow Cloud to the end of the earth and time because she loved him but could she really cope with the deaths if Cloud got Aeris back?
Tifa knew Yuffie had been right, she didn't want the flower girl back. It would mean sharing Cloud with her and after having him to herself for so long, she didn't think she could. After everything she had done to help Cloud get Aeris back, could she really look the green eyed girl in the eyes and say that she was truly happy to have her back?
The only answer she could find for that was no. She couldn't lie to herself and say that she would be. If anything, she would resent the woman's presence in the group, the words the half Cetra would use to express the horror when she found out the exact why she had been returned and how much blood had been spilled would haunt the group forever.
"Tifa? How is the tormented Vincent?" Cloud asked again.
The martial artist gave him a forced smile, "I don't know what you're talking about."
Cloud gave her a warm smile as he walked to her, his blue eyes hiding the malice he now felt for the woman standing infront of him. Lies...how dare she lie so boldly to him. He had seen her talk to him with his own eyes, seen the look of guilt as he had said Vincent's name.
He hugged Tifa tightly and instantly felt how tense she became before she relaxed in his arms. Did she know the fate that was going to befall her? It would be regretable but he would make sure her death was quick and painless. It was the least he could do for her, he didn't want to drag the pain any more than he had to.
Slowly, he slid his hand to his back and took out his dagger. Tears threatened to spill down his cheek, his heart screaming out for him to let her go and say to the others that she had been killed. He kept her in the tight hug, his body trying to keep the warmth of the woman he was holding.
"Tifa..." Cloud whispered softly into her ear, "why?"
Tifa's eyes widened as she heard his voice crack, had the real Cloud she had fell for all those long years ago finally won a brief battle? The voice sounded so lonely, so sad. However, she knew that he was only stalling for time. Her death was already on the cards and no begging would bring it to a halt.
"Because I'm tired, Cloud," her own voice broke with tears finally being given a chance to fall, "I want this to stop."
Tears spilled from the glowing Mako eyes on the blonde swordsman, he took a breath to try and sooth his soul but it didn't work. It simply caught in his throat and made it hard to swallow. If he killed her, then it would hurt more than the deaths of Barret and Reeve because he did love her and because he had known her all his life. She had brought him back from a world of nothingness and this was how he was finally going to replay that act?
Cloud held her tightly, the voice of reason seemed to faintly resonate somewhere in his soul. He wanted to stop as well but not until he had Aeris by his side. The SeeDs would not be allowed to live, not if they were the one thing stopping him from being with his Aeris.
He held the knife closely to Tifa and heard the soft startled gasp she gave as she felt the tip of the blade press lightly agaisnt her back. Cloud allowed tears to keep falling from his eyes, why had she forced him to this? Helping someone who had betrayed him.
His hand shook and he was relieved Tifa couldn't see the mixture of confusion and anger in his face. He knew he had to stop the spread discord sown by his former allies but killing someone who had saved his own soul and brought him from darkness wasn't something he was able to do.
Cloud released Tifa from his grip and took a step back, turning away from her. He would banish her from this place, to let her live her life as she wanted now. He couldn't harm her, love still remained in his heart but it was dying fast.
"Run..." he whispered softly, "never come back."
Tifa raised her head and looked at Cloud's back with surprise, was he allowing her to leave? Just like that? That scared her more than if he had actually threatened her. Could she tempt fate and walk away, though would he follow her and then finish the job?
"What...?"
Cloud allowed his shoulders to sag, "I want you to run and never come back. It's what you want right? You want out? Here's your chance."
He's letting me leave? Allowing me to go and get out? she blinked and looked back to where she had left Vincent.
"If you leave to help them...then when we next encounter each other," the words were hard for Cloud to say out loud, his heart screaming to ignore the words falling from his lips to the woman he cared for, "death will be the departing gift."
Tifa swallowed as she watched the dagger fall from Cloud's grip. She stepped towards him and picked up the dagger. She was not going to be responsible for anymore death, she looked at the weapon and at Cloud's back. She could end it and save the kids.
The dagger was raised slowly but it felt like it was all over in a flash. The blade cut through the flesh and clothing like it was paper, blood spilled from the wound and crept slowly down. Surprised eyes widened as they registered what had just happened.
They looked down at the blade and staggered backwards, words seemed to die before they could reach the surface.
"I'm sorry," came the whisper.