A/N: You guys should know I'll try to comply with any and all of your suggestions. Thanks to my reviewers. Peace! Oh, and I wanted to know what you guys think. Should this story be a romance/action/adventure or something else? Also, is it rated right? If you guys can inform me or suggest something, I'd really appreciate it.
Disclaimer: I keep forgetting this. No, I don't own FF7.
Princess of the Knight: Cool! Not much of my work to be a fan of, though. I'll be looking for the new chapter as soon as I have time.
Ghost in the Mirror: Thanks! So you were thinking of Final Fantasy 11? Well, it turned out good.
AerithRosey: Thanks for the compliments! I had fun writing it. I'm glad you like it.
Beeria: Ah, advertisement's free. Thanks for reviewing. Apparently, you guys like long chaptersī. I'll try and keep that up.
prettymissy54: I'm glad it turned out that way. You never know with my stories. I'll update as often as possible. Thanks for reviewing.
Chapter Seven
Laura yawned and jumped out of bed. To her surprise, she landed on something that moved, and she soon found herself on the floor. For a moment, she was disoriented and unsure of where she was. Then Brandon sat up, clutching his stomach.
"What was that for?" he asked sleepily, his eyelids drooping.
"Sorry," she replied, not about to get up. She was quite comfortable on the ground next to Brandon.
Brand blinked at her for a few moments, trying to bring her into focus. He rubbed his eyes and reached for his cell phone on the ground. It was seven in the morning. He was awake at seven in the morning on a Sunday. He decided to call Garret. He'd probably answer at this ungodly hour.
"If you keep calling me, I'll kill you," was Garret's grumpy reply.
"Good morning," Brandon said. "How's Vincent?"
"His chest and arm still had bullets in them, but I managed to get them out. He'll live, but I sure as hell don't wanna be in his position." He hung up.
Laura looked at him anxiously, waiting for the news. "He'll be just fine," Brandon said. He didn't expect the hug that Laura gave him, and ran a hand through his hair with a confused expression when she suddenly let him go. "I'm going to go change now," she said and ran out of the room. Girls were weird.
Brandon called after her as she ran down the steps. "I'm going over to Garret's house on my bike. Vincent might know something about Sephiroth," he said.
It took him a few minutes to get to Garret's house and a couple more to get him to come to the door. Before Garret could attack him he said, "Let me see Vincent."
"Tell me everythin' that happened first," Garret said. "Vincent's asleep in the basement, and he hasn't been awake long enough to tell me."
Brandon quickly told Garret everything he knew, handed him the sheets he'd printed out before, and pushed past him into his house. Their houses were pretty much the same. He easily found the basement. Sure enough, Vincent was lying asleep on a mattress on the floor. His shirt was off, and his wounds were bandaged tightly.
As soon as Brandon sat down beside the mattress, however, Vincent's eyes opened. He looked at him and tried to sit up.
"Oh no the hell you don't!" Garret said, shoving him back down. "I didn't fix you up so you could hurt yourself more!"
"I think I saw Tifa," Vincent said, ignoring Garret. He was immediately allowed to sit up. "She was in a shed in the woods just behind the video store."
"Get offa your ass!" Garret said, grabbing Brandon's arm and yanking him to his feet. "Grab two guns from the kitchen and get in my car. I'll get Vincent."
Garret's rusted heap of a car spat out black smoke and backed out of the driveway. Vincent was lying down in the back, wearing sunglasses and one of Garret's t-shirts. That was their lame attempt to disguise him. Brandon was sitting next to Garret in the passenger's seat, hoping Garret's "baby" wasn't about to collapse. It pulled through, and they soon drove past the video store and into the woods.
Vincent guided Garret from there, telling him to take a turn at the few forks they came by. They found themselves parked in front of a big shed. Garret told Brandon to wait with Vincent in the car and kicked the shed's door open, shotgun in hand.
Brandon waited for what seemed like an eternity. He started to make small pyramids out of the empty beer bottles in Garret's car. He shattered tow of them when he heard gunshots go off inside the shed. He grabbed the shotgun he got for himself and ran for the hut. He had no choice in leaving Vincent behind.
Before he could talk himself out of it, he rushed into the shed and looked about wildly. What he saw nearly made him drop his weapon. A man with long, silver hair held Garret up by the neck. His shotgun lay forgotten on the ground. Brandon aimed his gun at the silver-haired man and said, "Put him down!"
The guy turned his face slightly from the struggling black man he held above the ground by the throat and lifted his free hand. There was a handgun in it. The gun began to shake in Cloud's hands.
"Put him down!" Brandon said nervously.
One of the guns went off. Brandon pulled his trigger, but it wouldn't move. It was on safety. Something fell from above, and he blacked out.
(Later)
Brandon woke up to an unfamiliar ceiling. He blinked several times before putting a hand to his aching head. There were bandages wrapped around it.
A nurse walked in and smiled when she saw him sit up. It was one of those fake, let's-get-this-over-with smiles. She poked her head out into the hall and said, "He's awake. You can come in now."
His mother walked in and enveloped him in a big hug. She looked angry, though, when she pulled back. "Garret told me everything!" she said sternly.
"He did?" Brandon asked with wide eyes. Why would he do that?
"Yes," she said. "I cannot believe you two! Why would you throw rocks at an unstable beam?"
Brandon stared at her for several moments before it clicked. "We- we were bored," he said quickly. "Don't be mad, mom."
"Well," she said, "that nice, sensible girl Laura left a while ago. She had to go to school."
"School?" Brandon said. "You mean it's Monday? I was out that long?"
"Well, what do you expect? You had a concussion!" she exclaimed. "I have to go to work soon, sweetie. I just wanted to be here when you woke up."
"When can I leave?" Brandon asked.
"They said tomorrow, but are you feeling up to it today?" she asked. Brandon nodded eagerly.
Laura's POV
Laura was in geometry, staring down a rather intimidating question, when her phone vibrated. She looked at the teacher and found him asleep on his desk. Shaking her head, she opened her cell phone and put it to her ear. "Hello?" she said in a half-whisper.
"Lauren? Oh, thank God. It's me, Tiffany," said a hushed, scared voice.
"Tiffany?" Laura said loudly. She glanced quickly at the teacher and was relieved to see him still sleeping. "Where are you?"
"A gas station," Tiffany said. "Please, come and get me. I- I don't know what to do."
"I'll be right there," Laura said. "Hold on, Tiffany." She hung up her phone and stuffed it in her pocket. "Uh, Mr. White? My, uh, sister's hurt. I have to go."
Laura went running out the school building and nearly ran over Yuffie and Reno. They were sneaking out.
"Laura!" Yuffie said, grinning. "Can you give us a ride?"
"I'm going somewhere," Laura said, not even glancing at her. Yuffie got in the back with Reno.
"We'll just come, too!" she said.
Brandon's POV
Brandon was sitting at home, eating Cheerios and minding his own business, when his phone rang. He answered it immediately when he saw who was calling.
"I'm coming to pick you up," Laura said without waiting for him to say "hello".
"Why?" he asked. "Is something wrong?"
"No, something really good has happened," Laura said happily. "Be waiting outside, okay?"
Brandon ran out the door as soon as she hung up. Almost as soon as he stepped out, Laura nearly wrecked into his house. He got in, and she sped off. Yuffie waved from the back seat, grinning widely.
"Reno's already there, and Garret's on his way, too," she reported.
"What is it?" he asked.
"Tiffany's okay," Laura said. "She's at her house being suffocated by her parents."
"She's-" There was a loud bang and the car suddenly began to spin out of control. The back end hit a tree in someone's front yard. Brandon's head had collided with the dashboard, and everything was slowly fading away.
Yuffie's POV
Brandon was unconscious, but Laura and Yuffie were fine since they had their seatbelts on. Yuffie tried not to throw up and watched Laura reach over to help out Brandon. Her airbags hadn't come out. Laura just stretched out her hand when there was a loud bang. The windshield shattered.
Yuffie and Laura ducked, but Yuffie was the only one to turn and look back. A truck parked behind them and a man holding a rifle stepped out of the car. She shook Laura's shoulder, and they looked at him, wide-eyed. Laura's cell phone was immediately out. Her fingers dialed 911.
Garret's POV
Garret was extremely relieved that his best friends were all right. Laura had told him both Brandon and Tiffany were safe and sound. He was driving way past the speed limit, eager to see his friend.
For a couple of minutes, he started messing with the radio. When it finally got to a good station, he paid more attention to the road. It looked like there was a wreck up ahead. He was about to pass when he saw a truck pull up behind it to help but screeched to a stop when he saw a familiar person step out of the truck.
When he felt under his seat and brought it out without a gun, he cussed and opened up his door. Sephiroth, Laura, and some girl he didn't know stared at him, surprised by his sudden entrance.
"This is a new neighborhood," Sephiroth said. "No one lives here. Your bodies will lie here for days before they find you. By then, Shinra Co. will be shut down. You can stop me."
Garret charged at him, fists clenched. He had to stop him.
As sudden gunshot made him reel back. There was a hole in his in his shoulder, and the blood was quickly spreading on his shirt. He looked up and met Laura's horrified eyes before falling to the ground.
Laura's POV
Garret was down. It was starting to register. Sephiroth was about to shoot her fallen friend in the head.
"No!" she shouted loudly. Her body was moving before she could even register it. She jumped on Sephiroth's back and grabbed his rifle.
Yuffie jumped out at the same time and kicked him in the side. He hit her with his rifle and grabbed Laura's arm. Laura used his strength to pull his rifle down with her. The rifle was aimed at him almost before she hit the ground. Sephiroth froze.
"The police are coming," she said, trying to calm her shaking voice. "Don't move and I won't shoot you."
Sephiroth laughed coldly, making her shiver. "Cloud couldn't shoot me. What makes you think you can, Aeris?"
Laura looked at him, shocked into lowering her gun slightly. When he moved, she quickly pulled the trigger, but he dodged it and ran for his truck. That was when the police arrived. Three cars stopped, surrounding her jeep. Sephiroth's truck went speeding by them.
"That's him!" she shouted. "He tried to shoot us!"
Two of the three police cars drove off, and a man stepped out of the one left behind. He had just called an ambulance.
"They'll be here soon to get your friends and take them to the hospital," the man said.
"Thank you," she said, dropping the rifle quickly as if it was burning. Yuffie held her bruising face and walked over to Laura.
"I'm never getting in a car with you again," Yuffie grumbled.
A/N: So that's it for this chapter. Hope you liked it. Please review and all that. Like I said, suggestions are welcome.