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Chapter 5

The second Oasis

The power core stood tall in front of us. This is what we had to destroy, according to Kat and Dev. One of three. I looked at Aerith. She seemed to be contemplating a plan to destroy this thing. None of us dared to step closer. We knew something was awaiting us. We could feel it. We just didn't know what it was.

"So," Tifa said breaking the silence. "Why are we here?"

At first I thought she was crazy. Why else would we be there? We were there to destroy the power core to weaken the Puppet Master. But then it occurred to me that no one told her what we were doing. She wasn't there when Kat and Dev explained it. Aerith, still examining the power core from a safe distance, explained to Tifa the reason we were there and our journey to come.

"There are two others," said Aerith. "We have to destroy those, too." Tifa nodded.

"Oh," she said. "So how are we going to destroy it?"

"Can we shoot it until it breaks?" I asked, deciding to contribute to the conversation.

"No," said Aerith turning to me. "It has to be a well-planned out-"

We hear a grunt and the sound of metal on metal. We turned. Tifa had gone up and started punching and kicking the thing! Only one question stuck out in my head: Why weren't her hands breaking?

"She has metal on her gloves and shoes," Aerith explained as if she read my mind. "That's why it doesn't hurt her. She's a very skilled martial artist." Aerith shook her head. "But that doesn't mean she can go up to the power core without any caution!" Aerith took a step towards Tifa to stop her but was stopped by something flying past her. She backed up.

"What was that?" I asked. I positioned my gun, ready to shoot. We looked at what had flown past Aerith. It was sticking out of the ground. I wasn't quite sure what it was but it looked like a giant throwing star. A 4-point shuriken is what Aerith mumbled under her breath. I looked at her. The look on her face was sad. "What's wrong?" I asked her.

"I know that weapon," she said. "It's-" We heard the sound of footsteps coming towards us fast, like someone was running. I heard Aerith call out in pain as something rammed into her back and she fell to the ground. I looked around but I couldn't see anything. I, then, felt a pain in my back and I fell to the ground as well. Aerith sat up.

"Where are you?" She yelled out. "Show yourself!" The mystery person then stepped out in front of us. It was a girl. She was about 16 with short black hair and brown eyes. She was very short. She glared down at us. I heard Aerith sigh. She stood.

"Yuffie," she said. Yuffie walked past her and grabbed her shuriken. "You're a doppelganger?" Aerith asked. Yuffie didn't answer. She just glared at us. I stood.

"Is she another person you knew?" I asked. Aerith remained silent. She only stared at Yuffie who stared back at us. The only sound was the sound of clashing metal as Tifa continued to beat up the power core. I didn't think she could hear any of this conversation, nor did she know Yuffie was here. Her back was turned. Sparks and metal were flying off of the power core. She was doing some major damage to it.

Yuffie turned her head and looked at what the commotion was. A demonic smile crossed her face. She sprinted towards Tifa. Aerith and I gasped.

"TIFA LOOK OUT!" Aerith screamed. Without turning, Tifa ducked right as Yuffie thrust the throwing star at her. It stuck into the power core. She pulled on it to try to get it out but it wouldn't budge. Tifa then stuck out her foot and spun around, tripping the short girl. Yuffie fell on the ground but then she put her hands on the ground and did a back handspring, kicking Tifa in the process. Tifa stumbled back.

"Tifa is strong," Aerith began. "She could beat Yuffie any day. But as for the doppelganger Yuffie, I don't know. They tend to be a lot stronger than the actual person, smarter, too, in this case. We need to distract Yuffie so Tifa can defeat the power core."

"Why can't we just attack the power core?" I asked.

"Tifa was doing more damage to that thing than our guns could do combined." Aerith said. She held her gun tightly. "I really don't want to kill another friend. . ." She said quietly to herself. "But I have to. . ."

"Aerith," I said. She looked at me with sad eyes. "It's not really Yuffie. Just keep that in mind. It's a copy. It doesn't matter what you do to it. Just kill it!" Aerith smiled then nodded.

"Right," she said. "Let's go." She ran up and stood in front of Tifa who had been knocked to the ground. I could tell she was getting tired. She probably wasn't fully recovered from her previous injuries either. I followed Aerith and stood next to her. I turned my head half way to Tifa.

"You keep attacking the power core. We'll distract the doppelganger." Tifa then nodded and climbed to her feet. She continued punching and kicking the power core. Yuffie, obviously angry now, grabbed her shuriken and pulled it out. I heard Aerith swallow hard. I put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"It'll be fine," I said. "Don't worry." She nodded again and aimed her gun at the small ninja. She then pulled the trigger. Yuffie held up her shuriken and blocked the oncoming bullet. She kicked off the ground and dashed towards Aerith and me. I dove to the left and dodged her attack. Aerith however put her gun in front of her and blocked the attack. Yuffie and Aerith were now face to face pushing on each other to gain power over the other. Yuffie pushed hard and Aerith fell to the ground and her gun fell from her hand. It skidded away from her, out of her reach. She looked at it and then back at Yuffie, a scared expression on her face. Yuffie, however, was smirking. She was stepping on one of Aerith's arms to restrict her from movement and her knee was digging into her stomach. Aerith, obviously, had a hard time breathing. She struggled against the ninja, to no avail.

I rose to my feet then froze. I didn't know what to do. I completely lost all knowledge of what I had to do. I was scared for Aerith. I clutched the gun in my hand and aimed at Yuffie. I aimed at her head. Yuffie raised the shuriken. At the same time I fired my gun, Yuffie threw the shuriken down with incredible force. I closed my eyes as I heard the painful screams of both Aerith and the doppelganger.

Yuffie had fallen to the side. She had died. The bullet went straight through her head. But not before the shuriken made contact with Aerith. There was a gaping hole in her stomach. When Yuffie fell over, she must've still been holding the shuriken because there was more than just a hole. There was also a cut running from the hole to the side of Aerith's body. Blood surrounded her. I ran over to her and knelt to her side.

"Aerith," I called to her, taking her hand. "Aerith say something!" She looked up at me through her tears. They ran down the side of her face. Now I really didn't know what to do. I looked up at Tifa who was staring at Aerith on the ground, a hand on the power core. She clenched her fist then angrily punched the core one more time, this time it was more powerful and full of anger.

"DAMN IT!" She shouted. Once her fist contacted the metal, it began to tremble. It then started collapsing around her. She jumped out of the way right as a huge piece of metal hit the ground where she was standing. She crawled over to Aerith and me. Tears stained her face.

"Aerith," she said her voice shaky. Aerith was breathing heavily. I felt like it was all my fault. If only I had shot the gun sooner. . . Suddenly, we were engulfed in a bright white light. I shielded my eyes. I heard the sound of waves instead of crashing metal. When I opened my eyes, we were on a beach at dusk. The sun was buried under the horizon but the sky was still painted with oranges and reds. I looked down at Aerith. She didn't seem to notice the change in location.

"Welcome back," said a familiar voice. Tifa and I looked up. It was Kat. She was standing in front of us facing the waves. She knelt down at Aerith's head and held a hand over her body. A ball of light came from the palm of her hand and slowly fell onto Aerith. Her wound then lit up to a bright white color. The color soon faded and the wound was gone. I was taken aback. Never before have I ever seen magic of this magnitude. Aerith opened her eyes and blinked a couple of times. She sat up quickly and looked around.

"Where are we?" She asked. She was greeted with a hug from Tifa. She hugged her tightly. Aerith had a shocked look on her face. I smiled at the gesture. I could tell Tifa was worried and scared for her friend. I was glad things went how they did. I looked up at Kat who was patiently waiting for this to end. She looked as though she had something important to say.

"I'm so glad you're ok, Aerith!" Tifa said through her tears. Aerith smiled and patted her friend on her back.

"Me too," She said

"Ehem." Kat got our attention. Aerith and Tifa turned to face her. I stood and dusted the sand off my legs. Aerith and Tifa did the same. "Congratulations," said Kat. "You have defeated the first power core. And you've managed to find a friend along the way." She gestured to Tifa. "But I bring some terrible news." I couldn't see her face but her voice sounded upset. She held up the palm of her hands and a white sphere appeared above them. Then and image appeared. It was two guys. No. Not just guys. It was Zack and Cloud. They were walking down a path.

"So Cloud," Zack asked. "What'll you do if you actually meet the real Tifa here?" Cloud blushed slightly.

"I don't know," he answered. "Probably just. . . hug her. . . and never let go. . ." He blushed a little more. I heard someone shift their position beside me, probably Tifa getting bashful again. Zack smiled.

"Dude, why don't you just ask her out or something?" He asked. Cloud sighed.

"Ok, One: she isn't here. And two: she probably doesn't feel the same." Zack scoffed.

"Are you kidding, bro?" Zack kind of yelled. He opened his mouth to say more but then he stopped and fell over. Dead. Cloud kneeled by him calling his name. There was a deep gash in his back.

"ZACK!" Cloud yelled. Soon after, Cloud spit up blood and fell next to Zack, also dead. Blood leaked in and around them and coated them in it. Then one of the Tifa doppelgangers came into view. She was licking the blood off of her fingers. She then ran off. The sphere turned white again and it disappeared.

Silence filled the area. The only sound was the sound emanating from the waves and the occasional seagull. I didn't dare turn my head. I didn't want to see their faces. Aerith has been through enough emotional trauma already. She didn't need this. And Tifa, poor woman, witnessed her love get killed by none other than herself. Or what looked as though to be herself.

"I'm terribly sorry," Kat said. "You are all welcome to stay until tomorrow morning. Your wounds will be healed completely by then. Again, I am very sorry. . ." Then she walked off.

Wolfy: We are both still very very grounded... T.T