Here's chapter 12, enjoy.
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Cloud opened his eyes to the burning fumes of smoke. When he barely regained his senses, he found himself on the ground. There was fire near him and the evening turned to sunrise. People ran from place to place in panic while some helped others up.
As he helped himself up, his hand felt something soft and warm. He realized that it was human skin and its familiar texture snapped him out of his shellshock and jump-started all his senses.
Cloud stood and picked up the frail body. He held her close to him and protected her as much as he can. Cloud took her away from the fire and smoke and sat on one of the benches, holding the lifeless body.
"Tifa!" Cloud cradled the woman's body. She remained still, only moving due to Cloud's movements. "Tif, it's me, Cloud. Answer me."
The blonde desperately waited for those ruby eyes to stare back at him. He didn't care how they would stare back at him or if it would stare back at him, as long as there was life in them. "Tifa wake up. Come on Tif, wake up..." Another futile attempt.
Cloud cuddled her closer and gently rocked her. "Somebody help her!" he just wished somebody was there. He could now begin to hear faint sirens getting louder and louder. The ex-SOLDIER felt helpless. He was mad at himself. He was mad at the world.
He just blurted out empty words and promises at her and now he is paying the price. He could feel teardrops streak down his pale cheeks. He did not sob nor cry; he just silently wept in agony and anger.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the faint outline of two familiar figures. One is bald while the other had red hair. He watched them for a while, rage boiling inside him. He had a feeling they had something to do with this. He wanted to kill them, and make them suffer. But he can't leave Tifa alone.
He could feel them watching him as well. For now, he could do nothing so he clutched his childhood friend tighter and rested his forehead on her forehead. No matter what, he won't leave her- not in this place, at least.
Cloud closed his eyes and wished that it was all a dream. But the pain he's starting to feel from his singed skin reminds him otherwise.
"Tifa I'm sorry... I'm so, so, sorry..." and time seemed to slip away.
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"Sir?" A gentle pat disturbed the hurt blonde. Cloud woke to the pungent smell of burnt objects and the suffocating fumes brushed his nose. Pain began to kick in.
And the woman in his arms was still unmoving. Cloud's temper rose at this yet he didn't do anything. He felt too weak to react or move or speak.
"Sir?"
Cloud looked up at the man who disturbed them. The man wore fatigues and a helmet with crosses painted around it. His uniform identifies him as a member of the national guard. He's a volunteer who looks like in his early twenties.
"Sir may we help? We have an ambulance waiting and we can bring her to the hospital for treatment." he spoke.
The blonde looked down at Tifa and absorbed the beautiful glow of her face. He gently brushed her hair and felt the brown strands soothe the palm of his hand.
Cloud nodded at the medic. The medic flashed a weak smile to brighten up the mood and ran to get some men and equipment from the waiting van. Cloud watched as they came back with a stretcher and a portable oxygen mask. The medic held two fingers on Tifa's neck. After a while, the medic smiled, "She'll be okay."
The blonde could almost jump for joy except that he was carrying a precious cargo. All he did was smile. "You hear that Tif?" he whispered, "you'll be alright. Just hold on for us, okay?"
"Sir if you don't mind, she still needs treatment that the hospital can give."
Cloud thanked the medic and laid the young brunette on the stretcher and accompanied the team to the ambulance. 'You're still beautiful no matter what,' He watched over Tifa until they closed the van doors and watched the vehicle as it sped away, sirens blazing. "Tifa just hold on. We'll come and visit you."
"Your family will..." and the blonde looked on until the red and blue lights disappeared from the horizon.
Cloud looked over at the destruction that transpired. A bomb ripped right through a building in the outpost. It didn't take long for him to realize that the damaged building was the barracks.
The bomb was intended to kill the soldiers and it seemed to work, judging by the number of stretchers being brought to the scene. He saw firefighters battle the last remaining fires in the building.
Amongst the activity of men running to and fro, Cloud could see the rose and the silver shine of the figurine he gave. With haste, he saved the two objects from being trampled on.
Well, there's nothing he can do now but go home and tend to the children.
As soon as he arrived, he sat on the sofa, thinking about Tifa. He had reassured himself for the nth time that she will be okay. Eventually, the pain and exhaustion took their toll on him.
When he opened his eyes, it was already morning.
The bar seemed different now that Tifa was gone. Cloud rose and trudged towards the door. He made sure the sign said "Closed" to those who were outside. Anyway, how would there be Tifa's Seventh Heaven if there was no Tifa?
Cloud heard footsteps from the stairs. It had a constant rhythmic beat to it, and a fast one too. For Cloud, here comes the hard part,
"Morning Cloud! Where's Tifa?" it was Denzel. The little boy, as always, had high spirits. Somehow it cheered him up.
Cloud shut his eyes and tried to brush off the negative thoughts in his mind. Tifa was so good at these things. He wished that she was here. He wished that this never would have happened, so that they may never be faced with something like this. With a deep breath, he opened his eyes and slowly faced the little boy.
Denzel's morning shine fell at how his role model looked. Something is telling him that this won't be a normal day.
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The boy never knew how right his intuition was. All throughout morning, the three were quiet. Breakfast did not go by smoothly because of last night's events and partly due to Cloud's inexperienced cooking skills.
Cloud however, was surprised. Marlene and Denzel took the matter much lightlier than he did. It is due to the fact that he promised them that Tifa will be alright. The two believed him in an instant and began making up reasons why their mom will be as Cloud had promised.
He could admit that the children were comforting him even if they did not know about it. One thing's for sure: He was feeling better and he knows that Tifa is feeling the same. Marlene and Denzel depended on it.
"Remember last time when Tifa cut her thumb with the kitchen knife? She just fixed it up without even complaining about the pain!" Marlene bragged with admiration.
"Yeah, and when Tifa was sick, she took care of herself and she was well right away." Denzel replied.
And well-hidden secrets were revealed to the blonde. "Wait a minute, when did she get sick?"
"You weren't home. You were out delivering something. She was sick for a day, but she got well right away."
"Oh, okay."
"Yeah, and the time when there was a rumble in the bar, she handled those big drunk guys with ease! She didn't get hurt at all!"
"Wait, there was a rumble in the bar?" Cloud asked.
Denzel nodded.
Suddenly, Cloud had a feeling that it was a bad idea to be listening to their stories. Yet there was that everlasting curiosity about what has been happening to his family while he was away.
Another thing that kept the children on their toes was a visit to the hospital where Tifa was confined.
Cloud went upstairs to his room and grabbed his phone. He dialled Reeve's number and waited. Cloud partly opened his curtains to observe the view of the activity below. Despite the events last night, everything seemed normal to the people down there. It was as if nothing happened.
Cloud saw some of Tifa's regular customers approach the door below him. Many did not move any further than the sidewalk on their bar before they would turn and leave. The blonde studied the customers, particularly on what location they can read the "closed" sign and walk away.
Some however, were more persistent. He watched as those people would actually peep through the window to see if their favorite bartender was around. Cloud could not blame them; it was an unusual day anyway.
Until now, no one was answering the phone. Cloud was starting to get impatient. Part of him told him to hang up and call a bit later while another part told him to wait. The latter prevailed. His patience was then rewarded,
"Hello?"
"Reeve, it's me."
"Who?"
"Cloud."
"Oh Cloud! Good thing you called. If it is okay for you-"
"Tifa's in the hospital."
"What did you say?"
Cloud focused his eyes on the tire of a parked bike across the street. His eyes felt relaxed that way and he answered, "Last night we were out in the park..."
"Yes, I know." Cloud could hear an exhausted sigh from the other line. "Last night was the worst night of all. Bombs had gone off simultaneously from armories and barracks of almost all Avalanche bases around our zone of control."
"Who did it?"
"How's Tifa?"
"She'll be alright. Who did it?"
Reeve paused.
"Our bomb teams analyzed the bombs to be, like the others, of Shinra design. I already contacted them regarding this matter and they seem to have hung up on me. And so-"
"How are you sure that it is Shinra?"
"I am still not prepared to act upon these allegations without further proof. However something came up that seem to have raised the probability that it is, in fact, Shinra. A cavalryman from the fourth legion survived another supply raid. He and his unit were escorting a supply of ammunition to Mideel when they came under fire." Reeve paused and a deep sigh was heard, "He said that the attackers wore Shinra uniform and used Shinra equipment."
"Is that all?"
"There is one more thing: I lost contact with the men in Junon."
"Well, Shinra or not, we must be ready."
"We're already on red alert."
Cloud made a full round around his room before sitting on his chair.
"Cloud, you still there?"
"Yeah, still here."
"Tifa's gonna be alright?"
There was a long pause.
"Yeah.." Cloud replied, his voice barely above a whisper. "She'll be alright.", 'I hope...'
"I'll inform the others-"
"No."
Neither spoke for a while.
"No." Cloud repeated. He hoped that Reeve would understand. He did not feel like explaining things to him. "Let's make sure." Cloud spoke more softly.
"Alright. Anyway Cloud, I have a delivery job for you, if it'll be alright. There are some important documents from the sensor post that was bombed last night. Those documents may contain intelligence that resulted in the post's destruction."
"I'll think about it."
"Don't rush Cloud, take all the time you need. Take care."
Cloud smiled weakly. He knew Reeve does not know that he just smiled but he still did in reply. Instinct told him so. "Thanks."
But Reeve had already hung up.
Cloud returned the phone and glanced at the clock. It was already 10:54 am. They should be getting ready to visit Tifa by now. Cloud figured that he will buy lunch for them outside since breakfast was not a pleasant breakfast. First of all, the news about Tifa's predicament was sinking in. Secondly, everyone knows he can't cook anything better than instant noodles.
The blonde exited his room in search of the two children. First he walked towards the children's bedroom. As soon as he reached the door, it briskly opened and almost hit him in the face. If it weren't for his quick reflexes, he would have had a broken nose.
"Cloud! What time are we going to visit Tifa?" came a squeak.
It's amazing how little kids can be so powerful, especially if they are in a frenzy of energy. "Actually, in a few minutes. You better get dressed." but the child was already dressed.
"Okay. I'm dressed already but Denzel isn't. He's still looking for something to wear."
Cloud nodded, "Hurry up. We're still going to eat outside."
Marlene grinned and closed the door.
Before Cloud left, he heard mumbling from the room. He could make out something that sounded like, 'Cloud isn't cooking!' followed by some 'Yes!''s.
He just shook his head and walked away, 'Tifa, hope you really are fine. We all need you here.'
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In another part of the planet, the lazy early afternoon roared with life. Heavy boots and the clanging of equipment were almost as loud as the humming of engines. Overhead, three choppers circled the area.
Soldiers boarded the armored vehicles that were parked. These vehicles moved and arranged themselves in two files.
Men began clamping artillery behind some flatbed trucks. After they were done, they climbed at the back of the trucks. The trucks then positioned themselves behind the soldier-filled armored vehicles.
Behind the trucks, mobile artillery waited.
The three helicopters that flew overhead were joined by a fourth. After that, they each landed on separate trailers which were then pulled by trucks to the helipad.
Men brought out hoses and began refuelling these choppers. As the process continued, the pilots climbed out of their aircrafts and double-checked the armaments.
After they were done, the helicopter carriers went into position behind the mobile artillery.
Tanks began to roll into view and took their place at the front of the convoy.
As soldiers ran around, and the activity ensued, a soldier stood at the side, talking with a man in a tux. The soldier wore a different type of combat uniform signifying his rank and complete command of the convoy.
After the man in the tux gave him the thumbs-up, the officer called each commanding officer of the tank, infantry, artillery, and chopper groups. After they were huddled, he handed each man a piece of paper and gave last minute instructions.
When they were done, they returned to their respective groups while the officer boarded one of the APC's. Activity around the camp ceased and the engines roared through the whole encampment. The gate opened and the large convoy mobilized.
Peace was smiling.
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The door opened. Three figures stood by the doorway, taking in the foreign environment and the familiar smell of different chemicals. The first thing that caught their eyes was a lady wearing all white. She held a clipboard while reading a machine which rested beside a bed.
There was an occupant on the bed. The figure's outline was clearly seen as a sheet covered it. They could not make out the face or the upper half of the body however, due to the woman who blocked their view.
The lady scribbled on the clipboard before turning her attention to the three newcomers. She flashed a sweet smile at them. "Hi."
The tallest of the three smiled nervously in reply while the other two did nothing. None dared to move further into the room, but all were anxious to know more.
The blonde shut the door behind them so that they can say that they made progress in entering the room. They were finally able to see the patient that lay on the bed when the nurse moved to check on the dextrose. Cloud gave a comforting squeeze on each child's shoulder.
"Cloud? You said Tifa's fine." Denzel looked apprehensive.
Marlene was seconding the motion.
"Yes, she is." Cloud spoke unconvincingly, doubt forming in his thoughts at the sad sight.
"Ms. Lockheart is alright. All she needs is a little nap and she will be much better." the nurse spoke.
The steady beeps from the machine and the gentle rising and falling of the sheets covering the patient's chest confirmed the nurse's statement. There was relief.
The three approached the sleeping patient and watched her. Cloud had to warn Marlene and Denzel not to touch anything or else something wrong might happen. Both of them agreed without any resistance.
Tifa looked peaceful. The soot from her face was now gone, replaced by a small bandage. Her hair was now messy compared to last night yet it failed to remove the moonlit shine it still had the night before. Her lipstick and make-up can be barely seen.
"What time do you think will she wake up?"
"Ah, it really depends on her."
"But she's okay right?"
"Yes she is. Don't you worry about it."
Cloud looked up, distracted by the voices. Apparently, the children met a new friend: the nurse. They would ask her so many questions about the machines and all those weird contraptions connected to Tifa. The nurse answered their questions patiently and toured them around the machines and their different functions.
Slowly, the usual vigor and happiness returned. And now, the dangers of the two little masses of energy touching something grew higher. Fortunately, they kept their hands to themselves.
The blonde continued on laying one eye on Tifa and the other on the two children. Soon, he had both eyes on the sleeping brunette. For a while, he stayed, stroking her hair.
Now that Cloud was feeling much better, he had to tackle the job offered to him by Reeve. They will need the money to pay for the hospital bills. He spoke to the two kids about this job he needed to do and asked them to guard and watch over Tifa while he was gone.
The two were quite uneasy about being left alone but since they were assigned to watch over their mother, it wasn't much of a difficult thing to do. Anyway, Cloud will be back soon.
The blonde walked over beside Tifa and placed a silver figurine on the small desk beside her. He stroked Tifa's hair one last time and whispered, "I'll be back Tif- back to see your smile again."
Then he walked to the door and opened it. He looked back and said goobye to his family before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.
A minute after he left, ruby eyes began to open, completely oblivious to what had just transpired.
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That afternoon, an Avalanche helicopter whizzed by the desert.
The occupants of the aircraft sat in silence, monitoring the area. Ever since a blast knocked out Avalanche's sensor relay, choppers were sent out to manually detect suspicious behavior.
For a while, none talked with each other. All but the pilot were intent on detecting something on their radar screen.
They flew around the vast expanse of desert without anything seen on sight. Just then, small dots began blinking on the screen. The crew dismissed it as other reconnaisance choppers on patrol. There were some assigned in that area anyway.
The small dots gradually increased in mass as more dots came in blinking. Avalanche did not send out large amounts of troops, and this was too large to be a civilian convoy. This aroused suspicion among the crew and they were compelled to investigate.
As they approached the blinking dots, they saw black smoke over the other side of a hill they were headed to. The pilot ushered the chopper towards the smoke and what they saw immediately placed them on red alert.
The co-pilot took the transmitter and spoke to base, "Air recon 6 to HQ, do you copy?"
The reply came in garbled, "HQ to Air recon 6, we copy. What's your status?"
"Air recon 4 is down. I repeat, Air recon 4 is down. We're passing over the wreckage now and we're unsure of survivors."
"Copy that, we have a bird on the ground. Any ideas why?"
"We're detecting a large mass on our radar. We intend to investigate after verifying if there are survivors."
"Alright, proceed."
The chopper safely landed beside the crash site. Three men jumped out and ran towards the fallen helicopter. They made a pass around the wreckage hoping to find any of their comrades. The only person they found was the dead pilot sprawled on the sand. His face was bloody, his upper body went through the windshield outside the chopper while his lower body burned in the wreckage.
The co-pilot looked on as the three crewmen searched. One of the men caught his eye. The man waved his hand and briefly shook his head. Vocal communication is futile due to the sounds of the chopper blades and the fire on the wreckage. The co-pilot replied with a nod and ushered the men to enter. "Air recon 6 to HQ, we have confirmation that none of them made it. We are now en route to investigate the large anomally in our radar."
As soon as the three crewmen climbed aboard, one shouted, "Aren't we gonna bury them?"
"There's no time! We need to go now!" and with that, the engines roared even louder and the aircraft gained altitude.
The pilot flew the aircraft with much haste, using the radar as their guide. "We're getting closer!"
The crew members watched as the large mass in their radar blipped closer and closer to the center of the screen.
Before the mass intersected with the center, they stopped their advance. Instead of accelerating towards the target, they increased their altitude to maintain distance.
All they could see was a large cloud of dust. The dust was so large that it can only be greated by a huge object or a multitude of smaller objects. In this vantage point they could not decide which of the two so it was agreed that they had to get closer.
What they saw was something of great shock and fear. It wasn't possibly plausible. The co-pilot scrambled for the transmitter, "Air recon 6 to HQ! We have one whole regiment on the move! It's not Avalanche! I repeat! It's not Avalanche! One whole regiment is headed towards Midgar!"
"HQ to Air recon 6! Say that again?"
"There is one whole regiment headed towards Midgar! It is not Avalanche! I see tanks, some armored vehicles, and artillery!"
"Do you have count of the units?"
"Negative HQ, the dust completely masks their numbers. The vehicles are black and there are a lot of them, that's all I can tell you."
Their conversation was interrupted by a panicked beeping sound on the panel. "We've been spotted and we're locked!" the pilot exclaimed.
Directly in front of them, they could see a fast moving object hurtling towards them. With quick reflexes and superior coordination, the pilot banked right and spun the chopper ninety degrees to the same direction.
This gave the left door gunner complete view of the projectile. In a desperate attempt to save their lives, the gunner fired indefinitely at their killer.
Tracers can be seen passing through the sides of the missile. Fortunately, he scored a hit and the missile detonated prematurely in mid-air. The pilot sped off to avoid further conflict.
Their daring escape was not yet over as they were targetted for another missile strike.
The second projectile was gaining fast on them and there was no way a chopper can outrun it. In fear for their lives, one of the crew members held out a flare gun and loaded it. This time, the pilot began doing minor aerial maneuvers to shake the missile.
Slowly, the missile neared them. It flew way too fast for the slower aircraft. The crew member leaned out and aimed the flare gun at the missile and fired without hesitation. He then began loading another flare round. Hopefully the heat would divert the missile.
Hopefully...
It looks like hope has fled them as the missile seemed to have ignored it. So the man fired another round and hoped. This time, hope always has a way of coming back and the missile took the bait.
The combined heat of two flare rounds was enough to draw its attention. The projectile hit one of the rounds just as it was about to run out. The impact to a lighter and smaller object was not strong enough to detonate the missile but it was strong enough to damage its heat sensor.
Eventually the missile ran out of fuel and it dropped to the ground in a loud explosion. The crew of Air recon 6 flew in relative safely, adrenaline pumping through their veins and trembling from those close encounters.
The men recalled their wild experience and laughed all the way back to their base.
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A/N
Alright, chap. 13 will come out soon. Hope you enjoyed!
Please R and R!