Chapter 15: The Golden Wire of Hope
Cloud was walking to the junkyard, remembering everything with Sephiroth and about the Ancient…
In my veins courses the blood of the Ancients. I am one of the rightful heirs to this planet! Sephiroth…?
Barret and Tifa appeared from behind Cloud which Barret yelled out, "Cloud! I know that you don't like me much sometime but could you please take me to Marlene!" Cloud turned to Barret before nodding slowly.
Barret sigh a relief while Tifa noticed something with Cloud's expression and so she said, "You're going after Aeris, aren't you? Well then, I'll come with you then." Cloud nod his thanks and he went ahead of them while Tifa was thinking about a other certain person…Dart…
Meanwhile at Shinra…
"Dart…wake up…please wake up…" murmured a gentle voice. Dart slowly opened his eyes and saw Aeris over him which he smile painfully. Aeris smile as well but slowly while Dart got up, wincing in pain as he felt his chest on fire.
Aeris said, "Don't get up so quickly. After all, you took a hard beating from Tseng and the other person." Dart shook his head, feeling a split lip with his tongue. He got up off the bed and he tried to walk around which he did but with pain coursing over his body.
Aeris look at him with sad eyes and she said, "I'm sorry that I put you through this pain, all because they want me…" Dart shook his head and he started to check his chest which kept burning like fire.
He took his shirt off and Aeris gasped at the bruises all over his chest. Deciding to heal him, she focused all her power into herself and she felt a warmth in her which she let ago onto Dart. Surprised, Dart's chest was healing itself as the bruises began to fade and Dart couldn't feel the pain anymore.
Dart quickly said, "Wow…thanks…" Aeris gave a happy smile and hugged Dart which Dart only patted her back. Suddenly the cell door opened and two Shinra soldiers went in which Dart got up, snarled at them which one of them took out a pistol and aimed it at him.
Dart stopped and nodded his head while the other Shinra soldier took Aeris with him. Dart quickly said, "Don't do what they want, ok!" Aeris nodded before they went of the cell, locking it down. Dart growled out loudly and he punched the door which gave a little dent.
Back to Cloud and party…
They arrived after fighting enemies in the junkyard and they were getting bit tired of the enemies attacking them. Barret and Tifa was godsmacked at the flowers blooming all over the garden while Cloud just walked toward the door. He knocked on the door and Elmyra opened the door.
Cloud started, "I'm sorry but Shinra got Aeris…" Then he became quiet as he saw tears coming down Elmyra's face.
She said, "I know already. They took her from here. She gave herself up so they would attack me or the little girl upstairs." Which Barret gave a start and was about to say something but he stopped himself, wanting to know more about Aeris.
Cloud said, "So could you tell me one thing? Is Aeris a Ancient?" Elmyra stopped crying and she stared at Cloud before nodding slowly.
Elmyra began her story, "I know what you thinking. If Aeris is an Ancient then I would be as well but I'm not her true mother. Oh…it must have been 15 years ago…during the war in Wutai. My husband was sent in the front line. One day, I went to the station because I got a letter saying he was coming home on leave. My husband never came back. I wonder if something happened to him? No, I'm sure his leave was just canceled. I went to the station everyday. Then, one day… You used to see this sort of thing a lot during the war. Her last words were, "Please take Aerith somewhere safe." My husband never came back. I had no child. I was probably lonely. So I decided to take her home with me. Aerith and I became close very quickly. That child loved to talk. She used to talk to me about everything. She told me she escaped from some kind of research laboratory somewhere. And that her mother had already returned to the planet, so she wasn't lonely…and many other things…"
Cloud, Tifa and Barret was amazed by her story and Cloud began thinking about Sephiroth and he made a decision. Barret shook his head and he asked Elmyra, "Where is Marlene? The little girl…she is my daughter…"
Elmyra gasped at this and shouted at him, "You're her father? How in the world could you ever leave a child alone like that?"
Barret shook his head and said, "Please don't start with that. I think about it all the time. What would happen to Marlene, if I… But you gotta understand somethin'…I don't have an answer. I wanna be with Marlene… But I gotta fight. 'Cause if I don't…the planet's gonna die. So I'm gonna keep fightin'! But, I'm worried 'bout Marlene. I really just wanna be with her…always…"
Elmyra slowly nodded her head and said, "Well I think I'm beginning to understand…Marlene is upstairs…" Barret nodded his thanks and he ran upstairs.
Cloud shook his head and he went outside to think more clearly. Tifa followed after him and she asked him, "You're going after Aeris, aren't you? Well…I'm coming with you."
Cloud nodded his thanks and said, "Well…I thinking that Dart is with Aeris so I think that Aeris is safe for longer… Let wait here for Barret…"
Meanwhile at Shinra's Headquarters…
Punching the wall, Dart was growling with bit of anger when he heard someone next door to him so he went over to the wall. The voice was saying, "Do you mind? I'm trying to sleep here. Beside, the wall is enforced with steel. Dumbass!"
Dart responded back saying, "Who the hell are you?"
"My name is Mari. Who are you? Wait a minute; are you the protector of the Ancient? Well…I heard that you gave Tseng and Jacob a hard time in the battle."
"Well, I've managed to injure Jacob but I didn't get a proper chance to fight Tseng properly so I'm waiting to get out and kick Tseng ass!"
Mari chuckle a deep laugh and said seriously, "So tell me, do you think that you need serious training with that fancy gunblade of your or what…?"
Dart gave that thought a lot of a thought and nodded slowly… "I think I'll need it in the near future so thanks for that. How the hell how we gonna get out of the shit-hole…"
Mari chuckles and said, "That the problem with this 'shit-hole.' You can't get out unless someone got a pass swipe card and outside of the cell. So, you can see the problem then?"
Dart punched the cell door once again and growled out. Giving up, he sat down on the bed and started to wonder about Aeris.
Cloud and party
They arrived at the markets slum. Cloud said to Barret and Tifa. "Let's split up and find information to get up there. Meet up here in two hours." Both of them nodded and they parted ways.
Barret
Barret walked for a few minutes, taking the sight to himself when he saw a shop called GUN. Interested, he walked through the doors. He saw a man that was messing with a combat gun that seems to go on something. He said, "What is it? Is that a gun or what?"
The manager jumped in surprised and turned to see a muscularly man with a gun that seem to be attached to his arm. Smiling, he asked, "Are you a gun-welder? I'm making a gun that can attach itself to a person's arm that had been chopped off. You're the first person that I've seen so would you please try it out?"
Barret took the gun off his arm and took the other gun from the manager and he began attaching it to himself. He felt it smooth to attach and somehow he knew it was destined to be his best weapon, one day… He took it off and gave it back to the manager.
The manager took it back with a surprised look on his face and said, "What's wrong? Is it unsuitable?"
Barret finished putting his gun back on his arm and he said, "It ain't that. I want you to make it better that it will become a legend… Could I give that gun a name?"
The manager slowly nodded and Barret said, "I will name this gun…The Missing Score…" The manager looked impressed at the name that he started to think how to make this gun better than other guns that he seen before.
The manager said, "You know, thanks for inspiring me. Take these batteries because it worthless to me. All I know for that is that it can help on certain paths that you might encounter." Barret took it without questions.
Barret left the manager alone but before saying, "Good luck with the weapon."
Tifa
She went northern to the Don's palace and remembering that leech, she went inside. Surprised, she saw an empty room with lot of items gone. She could see that there were no more people in this place. Suddenly she heard a noise from somewhere and she tensed herself up.
It was faint but she heard a voice yelling, "Help me! HELP ME!" Tifa ran upstairs, through the Don office and saw nobody there. Growing worried, she went back and the place she was before so she went downstairs. She saw a man trapped in the man-sized torture chamber.
Sniggering, Tifa went over to the man and she started to laugh at the man which was pissing himself. The man said, "There you…oh craps…please don't kill me!" Tifa finally stop laughing and she began to wonder how the heck did he get on there?
Tifa asked, "How the hell did you get there? No worries, I won't kill you…if you tell me how to get in the Shinra Headquarters." The man looked at her with some worries but he could tell that Tifa weren't a violent woman by nature.
The man replied, "Well, you can get the trains up there but it been down for a long time. The other way is to go up the wire nearby here. That all I know. Now, please get me out of here!"
Tifa said, "Thanks but I ain't getting you out of there. I don't want you going after girls for your boss. You can stay there and think about your crimes." Then Tifa turned to leave him all alone.
Cloud
Cloud was walking to the shops nearby when he heard a scream. Quickly, he took his sword out and ran over to the scream that came from. Then he saw three thugs ganging up on a girl that seem to be sixteen year old. Realizing that the three thugs were going to rape her, he ran over to them when something happened.
The ground seem to shake and the earth seem to adapt into three people that was holding spears and quickly, they struck through one of the thugs before disappearing. The other two thugs turned to see their friend on the floor, bleeding.
The taller thug turned to the girl and said, "What did you do, you witch!" Then the thug held her close and slaps her on the floor. The girl seems to holding her tears when another three earthy form appear again and struck the smaller thug which felled almost instantly. The taller thug saw all this and pales quickly. He dropped his dagger and ran off, leaving the girl and two dead thugs behind.
Cloud was curious at this person so he put away his sword and went over to the girl while holding his hand up to show that he mean no harm. The girl slowly walked back until she was on her back with the wall and she said, "What do you want! Stay away from me or…I will kill you!"
Cloud could tell that she was being serious so he said, "Don't worry, I'm not here to harm you. I saw them thugs so I thought you were in danger so I rushed here to help you. Plus, I'm looking for information so that I and my two friends can get up in the Shinra Headquarters to rescue one or two of our friends."
The girl look shocked at Cloud's plan and she was beginning to be impressed. She asked, "Well, could I come with you? There is a person that I know that was captured by the Turks. I want to help him…"
Cloud nodded but he said, "Only on one condition. Tell me, what that power you possess?" The girl became uneasy and the three earthy forms appeared again, so Cloud quickly took his blade out just in case that they would attack him. He said, "This is geomancy isn't it?"
The girl blinked once and nodded slowly as the earthy forms disappeared. Cloud said, "Well, you can come with us then. Be careful because I don't have room for slackers. So what's your name?"
The girl said, "Maria Maxwell. Don't underestimate me or you will regret it straight away." Cloud chuckles at this and he starts to walk back to the meeting point when Maria teleports in front of him. Startled, Cloud nearly fell on the floor. Maria laughed at him with a goofy face.
Cloud gave a sheepish grin and they went together back to the meeting point. They saw Barret arriving with Tifa and they went over to them. Tifa saw Maria and she said, "Who's this?"
Cloud looks over at Maria and considers what to tell Tifa and Barret when Maria said, "My name's Maria and I'm going with you to the Shinra Headquarters. My bro-friend is up there and I need to rescue him!"
Tifa and Barret slowly nodded and they said, "All right. Welcome to the team." Maria smiles happily.
Tifa said, "Well, I know where we are going now. There is a wire going up to the headquarters so follow me!" Then Tifa walked back to the direction near the Don's palace and they followed after sighing.
Five minutes later…
"This wire? This won't hold us for long. For Barret at the most anyway…" said Cloud who began to snicker. However, Barret did not hear him and Cloud slowly stopped laughing.
Barret said, "Well, this wire will get us there…I'm going to call you The Golden Wire of Hope!" Tifa, Maria and Cloud look at Barret strangely and Barret turned to them…and he face-faults at their faces.
Barret recovered quickly and shouted, "Let's go and rescue Aeris! And Maria's friend!" Then Barret quickly went up the wire to save face. Cloud shook his head, Maria laughs a little and Tifa gave a small smile. Then one by one, they went up the wire.
Sorry for the long update. I had a writer's block for a long time because I was thinking what Maria's power would be and I asked around for advice and now I have an idea with her. Next chapter will be called, "Dart and Mari partnership!" This next chapter will give huge spoilers about Dart's connection with someone in the Shinra Headquarters. Look out and please review!