Chapter 6
The Second Oasis (Pt. 2)
I stood silently, afraid to move or make a sound. I heard a shuffling next to me and then deep sobs. It sounded like Tifa. I didn't dare look at her. I didn't want to see how broken she looked. The mere sound of her sobs made me internally cringe with pity for her. And Aerith. She was only standing there, a look of shock on her face. Her eyes were wide and her lips were parted a bit, the bottom one trembling ever so slightly. She glanced over at Tifa and made her way towards her. Kneeling beside her, she wrapped her arms around the sobbing woman, whispering inaudibly into her ear, comforting her. But soon, Aerith began to cry as well. No, not just cry. Aerith broke down. She buried her face in Tifa's shoulder and sobbed loudly. Tifa seemed shocked by the sudden change, and I was shocked, too. It seemed like Aerith was going to be strong about this, but it makes sense that she didn't. The two women sat in the sand and cried together.
I turned and began walking along the shore, giving them their privacy. I started to think about this world, about why we came here, why we were chosen to save this place from insanity. It wasn't fair. Aerith and Tifa both lost several people very dear to them. Even if one wasn't the real thing, it still hurt them. I wondered if there was anyone besides Kat and Dev who looked like my old friends. I've only seen a couple doppelgangers that resembled them. Thank Etro none looked like my sister or Fang. If one does come around. . . I'm not sure if I'll be able to handle it.
I looked up at the midnight sky, the calm waves relaxing me as I walked. A light breeze was felt against my skin. It was a great place to relax. I wanted to stay here, to just forget about the impending doom and stay in this oasis forever. But I knew I couldn't. I had to get home. To see Serah again. And Fang and Vanille. I wondered if they missed me, or even knew I was gone. Fang was probably throwing a temper tantrum while Vanille and Serah tried to calm her down.
I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, letting the ocean air calm my nerves. I looked back to where Tifa and Aerith resided in their tears. Tifa had calmed down a bit but Aerith still looked very upset. I turned and made my way back to them.
Once I arrived, Tifa glanced up at me, her face still puffy; eyes still red from the tears. Aerith lay there in the brunette's arms breathing slowly and trying to remain calm, as it seemed. I looked them over sadly, feeling pity for them, but we needed to move. We needed to get out of here and move on. "We need to leave," I said. Tifa looked at me as if I was the one who killed Zack and Cloud. I looked away, not able to withstand the hateful glare.
"Do you really expect us to keep moving in the state we're in right now?" She asked her voice shaky.
"We don't have time to just sit around here," was my reply. I hated to seem so careless but they needed motivation to keep going. So I gave them just that. "Don't you want to get revenge?" I asked them. "Revenge on the Puppet Master for creating those damn creatures, for killing the people you love, for sending us to this horrible place?!" My voice rose and became more firm with every word. Aerith was now sitting up and looking at me. Tifa also gave me all of her attention. "I know you're both heartbroken but we can't just sit here and do nothing. We have to do something about this man. He needs to stop tormenting people any further. This world will fall apart under his power. Hell, it's already started. So let's keep going. Let's save this world." I held out my hand to them hoping my speech gave them the motivation to finish what we started. Tifa turned away, her hair curtaining her face. I frowned and pulled my hand away.
"Fine," I said. "If you two don't want to save this world, it's fine with me. I'll do it myself. I turned and walked away not knowing what else to do. There was no way I could do this by myself, not without my gunblade. Even with the gunblade I wasn't sure if I could do this on my own. But I have to keep going. It was defeat the Puppet Master, or die trying.
"Leaving so soon?" asked Kat, who was standing right beside me now. I jumped at the sudden appearance and glared at her. "What about your friends?"
"They're just people I met." I said shaking my head. "And they don't want to help."
"So you plan on going in along?" The Vanille clone asked. I sighed. "This isn't just something you can do on your own. The journey will be more difficult than the destination. You can't defeat an army with just one soldier. Former soldier to be exact. Alone, you are nothing. But with a team, you have a chance. I looked at her for a while, letting her words sink in. She was right, though. I couldn't go alone. And I couldn't let them be alone either.