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"Hmm... Yeah, I think I know where he is."
"Really? Please, tell me where.."
The man looked thoughtful for a moment. He adjusted his goggles which were fastened securely on his helmet. His helmet, along with his uniform, was full of dust. One could barely see the name Turnpike on his filthy clothes. He exhaled, "If I remember correctly..."
(Flashback)
"Turnpike, where do we go?" the voice cracked over his radio headset.
"Err... Left! Make a left here!" he replied, holding the small mic closer to his mouth.
The small vehicle made a small lurch, nearly throwing Turnpike off his balance. As they made a left, he held onto the mounted .30 cal and trained its sights on places where there might be possible ambushes.
"It's a dead end!"
Turnpike looked and saw a fallen tower completely blocking the road. "Let's find a way around this thing! Back-up!" he turned and faced his fellow tank commander who was on the other light tank behind them and made a large circle with his right hand.
He watched as the other commander nodded in approval. He held his mic closer to his mouth and mouthed something which Turnpike couldn't hear due to the distance and the noise of the tanks' engines. Soon enough, they were backing up.
"There," Turnpike involuntarily pointed, "There's a street down there."
"Where?"
The tank commander lowered his arm, remembering that the driver is inside the tank and he could not see him. "On your right. Enter there."
"I dunno, looks dangerous there." the driver pointed. The street is empty and deserted. Plus it was small, rendering their vehicles less maneuverable.
"Just go! It's the only nearest route now!"
There was a slight hesitation before the engine roared and the tank lurched. "Hey, can you lay it easy on the accelerator?"
"Sorry, I'm used to driving the heavy tanks. You need to pump more out of 'em to make 'em run."
Behind them, Turnpike could see the slight apprehension on the other commander's face. Turnpike then directed his attention to his driver, "Make a left at the end."
As they travelled further in the street, the faint gunfire echo became louder and louder. "Gunner! How much ammo do we have?"
A different voice cracked in the radio, "Name's Caulfield sir. And we still have five hundred twenty rounds in the twenty five millimeter. Just enough."
"We're almost there!" Turnpike informed. "Make a right down that street!"
His request was approved when the tank made a right. At the end of the street, he saw some Avalanche legionnaires sprinting to the other side of the road. One of them dropped dead.
"Glad to see some friendlies."
"Yup" Turnpike replied. "All right, weapons free! Let's go!"
Both tanks exited the street and blocked the avenue they entered, providing cover for the pinned Avalanche legionnaires. Turnpike cocked his .30 cal and began firing bursts at Shinra positions. Sparks flew as bullets hit the reinforced metal.
A car was ripped apart as the twenty five millimeter cannons fired at it, in a successful attempt to frag the hiding Shinra soldiers.
"Okay, let's move on!" Turnpike yelled over the radio.
On they moved, with the legionnaires flanking the sides of the tanks.
Eventually, they passed by an alley were another firefight was going. In the alley, they saw four Avalanche legionnaires engaged with the enemy. Turnpike saw two of them were dead. One was sprawled on his back beside a trash compartment, his face was full of blood. The other had his back against the wall.
Turnpike could tell that the man was an officer. "Over here!" He yelled at the four pinned men as he readied the mounted turret and provided covering fire for them.
One of the pinned men turned around and faced him, his gun emitting smoke from constant use. The man had no emotion in him and his blue eyes lost their color. The man nudged the other three men and they moved to the tanks, moving into position beside it.
They moved out of the area, occasionally coming in contact with pockets of Shinra soldiers and engaging in brief firefights.
When they were out of the danger zone, the soldiers climbed on the tanks and sat. Turnpike noticed the man whom they rescued in the alley sitting on his right. Turnpike could only see his back and a helmet covered the sides of his face.
The man never said a word the whole time. He just sat quietly, his head down.
Soon, they reached friendly territory where they were greeted by legionnaires. The tanks then dropped the rescued men.
(end of flashback)
"... that's the last time I saw him."
The figure lit up, "Where is this place?"
"Down in Xavier plaza. Last Avalanche foothold in Edge. I heard that they might try to take the city back, but with the meager forces they have, I doubt that they'll ever have a chance."
The figure smiled, glimmer in its eyes.
"It's too dangerous out there. Aren't civilians supposed to be evacuated?"
"I was evacuated. Don't worry, I can take care of myself." the figure coughed, "Thank you so much." with that, the figure left.
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Night was falling. The cool air was beginning to take its toll on the fragile figure. Soon enough, it had to stop and cough.
Its strength continuing to fail it, the figure uprighted an overturned chair and sat on it, hugging itself to keep the warmth. It began to fumble in its pockets, hopeful for anything that may keep it warm: a lighter, or perhaps a match.
But instead, it felt something small and cold. The figure felt it, taking in its distinct and familiar feel. The object somehow gave it warmth, and a realization of a promise that won't be broken.
The figure stood and oblivious to the cold, it resumed its search.
There were times when the figure felt too weak to continue. But its determination kept disregarding this feeling and eventually, the figure didn't feel it at all.
The ambience of the ruined city was despicable. Gloominess overtook the once gleeful city, the busy streets that were full of life were now empty and full of death, and the music of chirping birds which greeted you every morning was replaced by the music of gunfire which greeted you at every turn.
Distant gunfire echoed around the quiet ghost town, forcing the figure to quicken its pace.
But a sudden burst of weakness and cold broke the figure's morale. It was forced again to stop and rest.
Finding a nearly intact house, the figure punched out the window and entered. The house was pretty cozy and warm. The automatic heater was on and many of the furnitures were there.
There were two bedrooms, but the figure trespassed on only one of them. This one had a large, gaping hole on the wall. On the floor, there was a corpse. It took only a few seconds for the figure to realize that the body belonged to a Shinra soldier. It was sprawled beside a fixed gun turret that was hastily installed on the wall.
Down the wall and across the street, the figure saw a few dead legionnaires. They were probably killed by this Shinra soldier, judging by the way their bodies lay on the ground.
It was so sad, thinking that this was a child's bedroom. A room that once held a child safe and secure was now a warzone.
The figure wiped a tear before grabbing a flowery-decorated bedsheet from the bed and leaving. It went to the living room and laid on a couch, covering itself with the blanket.
There was a small fit of cough before sleep took over.
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A loud bang woke the figure up. Heavy footsteps were heard thumping hurriedly up to the other bedroom. On instinct, the figure hid itself under the blanket.
Another group of footsteps were heard, followed by a yell, "Over there!" the figure tensed, 'Was I discovered?'
Then, loud gunshots startled it. The figure had to resist the urge to cough for fear of being discovered. It just hoped that a stray bullet wouldn't hit it. It tightly shut its eyes and desperately prayed as the firefight ensued in the house.
Amidst the noise, the figure heard heavy footsteps coming towards it. It didn't move a muscle, tension and fear sweeping through its body. The figure began to shake but due to the fear of being discovered, it had to stop itself from shaking.
Suddenly, the figure shrieked when it felt something heavy on its body. It could feel one hand on its arm and another on its leg. All the more, the figure tensed in fear.
Fortunately, its shriek was accompanied by a loud burst of gunfire and so, it wasn't heard. But this person that had his hands on the figure's arm and leg scared the figure even more. It prayed that the person did not notice that there was somebody under the sheets.
Soon enough, the battle ended. There were heavy footsteps and voices around the house.
Still, the figure did not dare peep from under the blankets.
Then, in a short while, the figure could hear the men leaving. The figure counted to three and pushed the blankets, along with the man, off itself, jumped and landed into a fighting stance.
But the man, much to the figure's surprise, was a dead Shinra soldier.
And around it, there were three more dead Shinra soldiers. The figure immediately left through the now busted door and resumed its walk.
It was only now that it realized that morning had broken. By now, people were supposed to get themselves ready for the day ahead; not running for dear life and clashing in the streets.
The figure avoided confrontations with Shinra patrols and weaved through sidestreets. And before long, its goal was near.
Xavier plaza was just a few blocks ahead. The figure prayed that the person it was looking for was still there.
More distant gunfire was heard and the figure broke into a run.
It was only a few more steps before the plaza can be seen. The figure pushed itself even more, disregarding its aching legs and the pestering cough that were preventing it from running.
Over the next corner was the plaza, and there was no stopping now.
But the figure's hopes were shattered when two Shinra patrol jeeps came from the plaza into the street the figure was in. The figure immediately stopped and hid behind a building pillar as the jeeps cruised past.
Its worst fears were confirmed when it rounded the corner and saw Shinra soldiers crawling all over the plaza. There were burning vehicles and lots of dead legionnaires being carried away by the invaders.
The figure even saw a torn Avalanche flag being burned by the cheering men.
"No..." the figure gasped as its eyes began to water.
The pain of its overworked legs caught up to it and the figure dropped to its knees, "No... This can't be happening..." and the figure wept.
The figure brought its hands up to its face and sobbed uncontrollably, coughing in between sobs and allowing its weakness to take over it.
The man it was looking for was now gone- Its search was meaningless. When it realized that it can no longer see the man it risked its life to find, a seemingly large balloon popped inside it and tears of pain burst from its eyes. No longer can he come home with them and fulfill his promise. "Why?"
"He's gone..." in its chest, newfound pain contributed to its near collapse on the floor. It wished for the Shinra soldiers to go away. It wished that it would be given even just a few minutes to find the body. Even if they wouldn't leave, at least they would allow it to see the body and take it home. Just that wish, nothing more. "Please..."
And on it cried, wishing, hoping, praying that this wasn't real.
Then, the figure felt a gentle hand on its shoulder, "Miss?"
The figure didn't say anything.
"It's too dangerous here. Let me help you."
"No, it's okay, I'm fine." the figure sobbed.
"It doesn't matter. We have to go before Shinra finds out we're here."
The figure looked up, and saw the face of a filthy legionnaire. "You're... a legionnaire?" and the sobbing stopped.
The man nodded, "I was one of the defenders of Xavier plaza during the Shinra assault. I was only one of the very few survivors."
"Survi- vors?"
He nodded again, "Come, let's go." and he offered his hand.
The woman took it and stood, newfound hope giving her the strength to keep on searching. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay." the man replied, hoisting her up.
"Oh wait," the woman spoke, "Do you happen to know someone... by the name of..." she paused.
"Who?"
The woman took a deep breath, she braced herself for whatever answer she might recieve and spoke, "Cloud Strife?" her voice broke.
The man was quiet for a while, seemingly deep in thought. His face lit up a little and finally, he spoke, "Come, and I'll tell you everything."
New tears began to flow from the woman's face. She didn't know whether it was from sadness or perhaps... joy. The answer was uncertain yet it meant a lot to her. "Is he alive? Please tell me..."
"Now is not a good time for a story. First, we must leave." the soldier looked around for any threats before returning his sight to the woman. He received a nod for a reply. "Oh, by the way, I'm Elias Sodder. And you are?"
"Tifa." the woman spoke, "Tifa Lockheart."
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"So, what happened?"
"We were given orders by the commander to saddle up our stuff." Elias walked, guns drawn. Behind him, a curious Tifa followed. She was still wiping some of the tears from her face.
The legionnaire fell quiet all of a sudden and poke his head around a broken wall. She figured that it would be a good idea to keep quiet for a while.
Elias whispered, "Shinra patrol."
Curious, Tifa stacked some bricks and stepped on it, propping herself over the wall to peep. "Only four. We can take them." she whispered back.
"What are you doing? Get down!" he whispered hoarsely, tugging on Tifa's shirt to bring her down.
The woman stepped down beside Elias and grunted in disappointment. Her puffy eyes and pink cheeks contorted in a small frown.
"There are more of them hiding somewhere."
Tifa gave him a questioning look. She didn't want long delays; she wanted to see Cloud and make sure he's alright. It has been four days now, who knows what could've happened to him. But for now, she decided on resigning to the experienced soldier beside her to make it to him.
Besides, it wouldn't help much if something happened to her.
"Okay, let's go."
Tifa nodded, allowing Elias to lead the way.
"Xavier plaza was the most heavily-fortified Avalanche position in Edge." Elias continued. "We would've succeeded in defending it..."
The woman caught sight of a broken bicycle, "What do you mean?"
"There was some sort of-" Elias paused to push some wooden boards aside, "misunderstanding in our ranks."
Tifa's eyebrows furrowed in bewilderment.
"The men in Xavier plaza were not under the command of the same field commander. Many of them came from different units commanded by their own lieutenants. The colonel was not there at that time and so, some of the lieutenants received some 'orders' to mobilize their troops and reclaim portions of the city."
"Not all received the order?"
"Nope. That's where the trouble started. The other lieutenants received orders to defend the plaza. There were some heated arguments but they followed their orders nevertheless."
"Now that doesn't seem right."
"It isn't. But we were trained to follow orders." Elias looked around the corner and through a fence, "It's clear. Come on."
Tifa paused. "But didn't they realize that the order was very suspicious?" She felt dizzy all of a sudden. Her knees almost gave up on her and she held on to a wall for support.
"It is. Almost half of the men were drawn out to attack different locations at once." Elias was completely oblivious to the woman's condition. Fortunately, he stopped, allowing Tifa to catch up.
"Where was Cloud in all this?" she asked weakly.
"He decided to stay, along with all the remnants of his unit. I was one of the men who were given the order to defend."
Tifa flinched at the mention of Cloud's name in the 'defend' part. For her, maybe it could've been better if Cloud was with the others who attacked, seeing the condition Xavier plaza was currently in. "What of the others who attacked, maybe we can find them." but then again, it would've been better if he wasn't drawn to this war at all.
The legionnaire lowered his head and spoke in a low tone, "It turned out that the enemy intercepted one of our radio transmissions, copied the frequency, and broadcasted the order to attack to the different lieutenants. They even used our code to make it look convincing."
Tifa placed a hand on the man's shoulder, "I'm sorry..."
But he continued, "But when we found out about it, it was too late. The men were ambushed and their units were completely obliterated. We were left nearly defenseless. Before we could react, we were hit by an artillery barage." He sighed. "Then, they attacked with such ferocity that we were completely swept away."
"Cloud... He was, okay right?"
Elias nodded.
"Where is he now?"
"I'm taking you to him."
Tifa's heart lept. A smile crept up her lips and a tear rolled down her cheek. 'Hold on Cloud, I'm coming.'
Normally, it would take a couple of minutes to go from one block to the other but this time, it would take them twice or thrice the time to get there. Sometimes even an hour.
Shinra's presence in the city is strong. The two almost always encounter patrols. Fortunately, they always manage to escape them.
Soon enough, night fell.
Elias had to think of a place to spend the night before continuing their journey since it was pretty dangerous at this time of the night. As they walked, he noticed a pile of rubble which was high enough for them to reach the attic of a broken house. He looked back at Tifa for approval but saw her drooping eyes and her staggered walk. Elias didn't think twice anymore. He holstered his weapon and began to climb the rubble, stopping now and then to help the tired woman up.
They found a small area in the attic where they hopefully could not be seen. There they sat, and waited for the long hours to pass. When night fell, Elias took out his flashlight, switched it on, and turned it upwards on the floor so that it can illuminate the area. He removed his helmet, running a hand through his brown hair and leaned his rifle on the wall before sitting against the same wall. He then placed his helmet beside him.
Across him Tifa sat, back against the wall, hugging her legs, and resting her head on her knees.
"Are you alright Tifa?" Elias noticed her pale face.
She merely nodded. Then she coughed, groaning in frustration as the cough gave her true condition away.
The legionnaire took out a can of his rations and a spoon. He opened it and handed it to Tifa, "Here. Might help regain your strength."
"Thanks." she replied, as she slowly took the can and began eating. It was only now that she realized she was pretty hungry.
"So," Elias began, staring at the flashlight. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the woman put the can down and watch him intently. Her ruby eyes shone in the light.
"Cloud..." Tifa spoke.
Elias turned his head to face her but his eyes remained on the floor, tracing the laces on his boots, "Yeah." he bent his knee a bit more to avoid accidentally kicking Tifa's feet.
After a long silence, Tifa began, "Cloud used to live with me, taking care of two adorable children. They were orphans but we consider them as our own." Tifa smiled as she recalled Marlene and Denzel's faces. At least she knows they would be safe, having Barret with them. "We had a very happy life. I thought we would stay together... As one happy family." then her face fell, "Before the war..."
Elias nodded solemnly, his eyes set upon the woman's face.
"Before, Cloud used to be away for days, weeks even. He was a delivery boy, you know." she continued. "Just last week he quit his job so that he could stay with us more often." Her voice cracked, "I thought we would be happy now, as a family. Especially now that he would be home more often, to take care of the kids, to stay..." she hid her face in her knees to hide the slight tinge of pink on her face, "...with me."
The legionnaire gave a slight smile at her story.
"Now the war tore us apart."
Elias saw her eyes began to form a watery shine. "Are your kids okay?" he hoped he didn't ask that.
Tifa nodded. "We have good friends who can take care of them for us."
"You know, you should stay with them, being their mother and all."
"But it wouldn't be the same if they lost another father." she blushed at the word.
"But losing both parents..." Elias figured that it would be futile to argue with her mostly because she was already here, "never mind."
"I just want our family to be together again."
Elias lowered his head in resignation.
"I remember the last time Cloud and I were together..." Tifa held her knees closer to her as if it was him. "We were on a date." she fumbled in her pocket and took out a silver object, shining in the light. "He gave me this." she then handed over the object to Elias who studied it carefully. "But then an explosion happened. I don't know, the next thing I knew, I was in the hospital. Cloud visited me often. Even if my eyes were closed, I could feel him there."
Tifa paused before continuing, "The only time I saw him with my eyes open was when he came in, haggard looking. He said that the people in the hospital were to be evacuated since the news about Shinra came. Before I was wheeled off in the ambulance to take me away from Edge, he returned that figurine to me. I thought I lost it since the explosion. And then..." she sighed, "He left... To fight." Tears began to roll down her cheeks. "But I couldn't let him go. I didn't want to let him go. But he left.
Seeing that figurine, I was given the courage to go and find him. I escaped from the ambulance, got some clothes, and made my way here."
The legionnaire returned the figurine, gently putting it in her hand, "If you believe that you will find him, you will."
"Elias, thank you."
The man raised a hand, "Don't mention it Tifa. I understand you perfectly."
The woman smiled. "Elias if you don't mind me asking, do you have someone you're fighting for?"
The legionnaire's face fell. He closed his eyes and forced a weak smile.
Tifa saw the sudden gush of sadness on his face, "I'm sorry for asking."
"There's no need to fight for someone anymore." he began. "Because I know that they are in a much safer place now..." he looked up to the ceiling, tears forming in his eyes. "Now, I am fighting for an end to this war."
Tifa nodded, keeping her gaze on her knees.
"I had a beautiful wife and a beautiful two year old daughter."
"What are their names?"
"My wife's name is Eva and my daughter's name is Bea."
"They are beautiful names." Tifa sympathized.
A smile formed on Elias' lips, "Yeah, they are. I bet they are in some of the most beautiful stars up there..."
Tifa smiled.
"I was a reserve, serving in the Local Defense Forces. The commander commissioned all reserves in Edge to the defense of the city. Eva and Bea were heartbroken when they found out that I was going to fight." he exhaled, "I promised them that I am going to see them soon and so, I made them go and leave the city." he bit his lip and lowered his head, "Then I found out that they got into a car accident. I didn't care about the details; all that mattered was if they were alive or not. But unfortunately..."
Tifa stood and sat beside the mourning soldier, moving his rifle aside and putting a hand on his shoulder to console him.
"Promise me one thing," the man spoke after a while.
"What is it Elias?"
"Promise me that you and Cloud will reunite with your two kids and make your family strong."
Tifa nodded, "Their names are Marlene and Denzel."
"Oh really? Then it looks like they would've been good friends with Bea." Elias smiled.
Tifa flashed him a sweet smile, "Yes they would."
Elias sighed, a smile lingering on his face, after a brief silence he spoke, "Well, you better rest, Tifa. First thing tomorrow we'll continue."
At this, Tifa frowned because she wanted to know a lot more about what happened to Cloud. But seeing the condition of Elias, she thought twice. This man has been through a lot. Tonight, he needed some rest.
The woman sighed and laid down on her side on the surprisingly warm floor.
"Cloud and the rest are holed up in an underground bunker in Vexin avenue. We're going to meet them there."
Well at least he answered the only question she ever needed answered. "Thank you. You need to get some sleep too." She smiled in reply and relaxed her closed eyes.
"Yeah I will."
Tifa heard a soft click and felt the place go dark. She felt so tired all of a sudden and allowed sleep to take over.
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A/N
Okay now there's chapter 15 for you.
Please R and R. I know, all writers keep on nagging you guys to read and review their stories and it can get pretty annoying to some. So, if you do not want to be annoyed, just push the little button down there on reviews and leave a thing or two for the story. They might stop asking for reviews then, right:-)
Hope you enjoyed this chapter and the story. :-)